Roddy Graham

Wayne Rooney's on crutches and Cesc Fabregas has a broken leg. Without kicking a ball, Chelsea has received an Easter basket full of good news in its quest to dethrone Manchester United this week when the two most important players on its two biggest rivals went down with injuries in mid-week Champions League action. Chelsea […]

According to the MLS Web site, the league has decided to add to its designated player rule. Effective immediately, teams will now have two designated player slots, and an option to buy a third. The third slot, it seems, would cost a team $250,000 – money that would be shared as allocation money among the […]

Before we get into the weekend's games, there is a bit of news today. Jon Busch, waived last week by the Fire, has reportedly signed with the San Jose Earthquakes. He's a quality keeper, but the Earthquakes' issues, I think, would be better addressed by adding some defenders. Now, for the week that was: Thursday, […]

So much for Manchester City's much-discussed game in hand, eh? After Wednesday's loss to Everton, City finds itself two points back of Tottenham with eight matches left. Perhaps a Monday home date with Wigan Athletic will be enough to raise Roberto Mancini's squad's spirits. Of course, after getting sent to the stands along with Everton's […]

With weeks of labor talk dominating the MLS headlines, the start of the season has been sneaking up on me. Seems like a good time for a preview. Eastern Conference 1. Columbus Crew– It's hard to bet against them winning the Eastern Conference this year after watching them – in the preseason, no less, take […]

It's game on for Major League Soccer in 2010. In a teleconference at around 1 p.m., MLS and its players' union announced the agreement on a new five-year collective bargaining agreement. Details haven't really been released yet, but it appears that the players won some concessions in reagrds to guaranteed contracts and player movement, but […]

Two members of the big four clash Sunday when Liverpool visits Old Trafford for a date with Manchester United. Manchester United will be trying to stay in first place in the league standings, with Chelsea and Arsenal in hot pursuit. Liverpool, on the other hand, is fighting to stay close to a Champions League slot […]

If you thought that MLS and its players union had until March 25 to avert a work stoppage and get a new collective bargaining agreement done, the timetable has moved up a bit. Multiple reports, quoting sources close to the investigation, have stated that the players will strike on Monday, March 22, if a new […]

For the last couple of weeks, we've read with interest as players have sounded off about the ongoing labor dispute between owners and players. Today, the owners strike back. AEG chief executive Tim Leiweke spoke at length with the Los Angeles Times in a story published today, and to say he took a few shots […]

Landon Donovan took a plane from London to Los Angeles on Sunday, wrapping up his 10-week loan spell with Everton. After hitting an In-N-Out, he'll be getting set to start the MLS season with the Galaxy. Maybe. As I'm sure you've heard, his fellow MLS players have voted to strike if a new collective bargaining […]

With around 10 games left on the schedule, it's white-knuckle time up and down the table in the Barclays Premier League. Three teams are within two points of first place, four teams are within four points of fourth place and seven teams are within six points of the drop zone. Or, if math really isn't […]

After a couple of days worth of meetings in Washington D.C. with federal mediator George H. Cohen, Major League Soccer and the MLS Players Union agree on only one thing: There isn't a work stoppage. Right now. Here's the net result of the meetings so far, a joint statement about the progress of the negociations: […]

According to multiple reports, Landon Donovan is asking his MLS employers, the L.A. Galaxy, to extend his loan stay at Everton. "I have told Galaxy what I want; they know what's going on and I speak to my manager there often," Donovan told the Telegraph. "Both clubs know how I feel, which is that I […]

On Friday afternoon, Major League Soccer and the MLS Players Union announced that they will meet next week in Washington D.C. to resume labor negociations. And they've accepted an offer of mediation from George H. Cohen, director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. What's this mean? Since I didn't read the words "binding arbitration" anywhere, […]

While Cheslea will spend the weekend trying to advance in the FA Cup, Manchester United will have the chance to climb over the Blues and claim the top spot in the Premier League table. Standing in the way is Wolverhampton and a trip to Molineux. Making it three: United already owns a pair of wins […]