Robert Hay

Recently we've shared that various soccer luminaries such as Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson has advocated a spring-to-fall schedule change in advance of the 2022 World Cup. Now we find out that UEFA itself is advancing well past the thinking stage. The British press is reporting that the English Premier League and Bundesliga are […]

Tomorrow night (or evening for those on the West Coast) the United States January camp team will take the pitch against Chile in a friendly where both sides are lacking all of their biggest stars. Chile is a good South American squad, normally second-tier behind countries like Brazil and Argentina, but with their former coach […]

Earlier this offseason, I posted a poll and question about what EPL teams you would like to see do a tour of the United States. Since then we have seen Barcelona confirm a three-stop tour of the U.S., where they will be playing both Manchester United (DC) and AC Milan (Miami). But with as large […]

The MLS drafts are finally over. After over a month of players being picked, picks being declined, picks being traded, and picks being digested, there will be no more MLS drafts until the Montreal Expansion Draft at the end of this year. To recap, we've seen: The Vancouver and Portland Expansion draft, where teams had […]

The past few weeks U.S. soccer fans have bemoaned the loss of national team players like Edson Buddle and Robbie Findley, players who, while not top-notch international players, are U.S. nationals whose presence gave MLS some respectability internationally. However, while we on this site and others were complaining about the losses, we have not had […]

While we await the final release of the MLS schedule, third-division USL Pro announced their schedule and division alignments on Friday, emphasizing the league's accessibility and stability. The press release from USL Pro emphasizes that six of their franchises have more than ten years of operational experience. The league will feature 15 teams in three […]

The MLS is certainly unique among major U.S. sports – it is the only draft in which a team passes on a player because he needs to establish residency. But such is the reason why MLS fans love the MLS – it is unique in both the world of soccer and the American sports world. […]

Ok, it's time to revive the dead horse and ride it some more. Trust me, I don't want to but I have to. Since the December 2 vote to award Qatar the 2022 World Cup, I have made peace with the decision. While I still believe the country was not the best bid put forward […]

As MLS prepares to begin its first season with 18 clubs, the recent talk on the Internet has focused on its possible 20th team. Recent talk on this site has centered on Don Garber traveling to Miami to meet with Miami soccer fans; if you have not read The Gaffer's article on the meeting then […]

Breaking this weekend was the surprising news that 2010 MLS MVP candidate Edson Buddle was poised to make his long-discussed move overseas. What made it surprising was that the move was not to Birmingham City, which is where he had long been rumored to go, but to FC Ingolstadt, a Bundesliga 2 club that is […]

One thing I like about the MLS Superdraft is that it is the type of draft where a first round player can make an almost immediate impact. Some sports try to hype their drafts, but at the end of the day the draftees will languish in the minors for a few years hoping to eventually […]

All of us have had friends who are in a complicated relationship. It may even have been us: the guy recently began dating a much more attractive woman who, while not a young bombshell, is still a gorgeous woman. This woman recently ended an intense relationship but does not treat your friend like a rebound […]

If you're like me, the holidays are a time of getting out of your workday routines due to relaxation/travel/stress. In fact, at times I miss news stories because I tend not to check news sites or Twitter as much as I normally do. So as I begin my work week routine again, I notice that […]

Happy New Year to all our readers and best wishes in 2011! The past year was a big one for American soccer. A good but not great World Cup run, a highlight goal from Landon Donovan, and the controversial rehiring of Bob Bradley after the World Cup. A first MLS Cup win by Colorado, the […]

In any sport, a championship season depends on getting some breaks at the right times. Some of those breaks occur in the offseason, when the current season's roster is composed of trades scrutinized by the media as well as those that fly under the radar. The trade of Jeff Larentowicz to the Rapids was the […]