Steve Davis

Since the L.A. Galaxy ushered in the Designated Player era with David Beckham’s ballyhooed signing back in 2007, we have all argued about whether spending big for stars was “essential” or merely “helpful” in the MLS title chase? Oddsmakers have just provided a little more food for thought in the ongoing debate. The Westgate Las […]

Quick quiz: Which team from the Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference can best compete for the landmark 20th league title this season? Answer: It’s a trick question, of course. Far more likely that your 2015 title winner comes out of the West. That would be a re-configured West, one that was already stacked and packed before […]

Generally speaking, journalists should avoid match predictions. We should report, analyze, interpret and attempt to add context. But if we could truly predict results, well, we’d be gamblers living large in Vegas. Something else journalists shouldn’t do: assign real weight to the result of any friendly. If supporters want to get their soccer shorts in […]

It really is a hoot to talk about new arrivals into your favorite club. That’s true pretty much across the board, whether your banner flies in MLS, Premier League, Liga MX or for that little team down in Italy’s second tier that you adopted during sophomore year abroad. Fawning over new players is like going […]

Juan Agudelo is back in Major League Soccer, and there are lessons to be learned (or re-learned) from what we’ll call “a close shave.” We are talking, after all, about a guy who flirted briefly with a career death tumble into the Freddy Adu zone. Even if you aren’t 100 percent sure what the “Freddy […]

Bold experimentation has been a cornerstone of Jurgen Klinsmann’s time in charge of the national team. It fits, too; the man has always been a free spirit, the blessedness of trial and error hard-wired into his DNA. As a head coach, Klinsmann delights in nudging individuals from their comfy zones, which you cannot do unless experimentation, […]