As the preseason gets into full swing and rosters begin to stabilize, it's time to take a look at the men who pull the strings and have the greatest impact on the team itself.  The modern manager is part tactician, part showman, and part PR man.  The best are the ones who can bring a […]

The U.S. Soccer Federation yesterday announced an expanded Open Cup format and schedule, one that will incorporate all MLS and lower division teams in a newly and hopefully more condensed way.  In essence, the changes allow the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup to mirror the English FA Cup, where lower division and semi-pro teams have […]

This past season in U.S. soccer was certainly an interesting one.  In MLS, two new teams were promoted and the soccer world fell in love with them and their passionate fans.  Coaches were hired and fired, players finally fulfilled their potential, and others failed to inspire.  One MLS team had a chance to make history […]

As our long-time readers know, MLS Talk likes to provide serious, well-thought out news analysis mixed with offbeat and laughable soccer-related thoughts.  This is the latter type of post. Prior to First Kick 2011, the MLS Talk writers got together to give some predictions for the upcoming season.  At the time, we promised we'd resurrect […]

With their 1-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo yesterday, the Galaxy reached their season-long goal of winning an MLS Cup and certain high-profile players notched their first North American championship.  Anytime a team wins a championship, writers and bloggers take to the keyboard to assess where that team or franchise fits in the pantheon of […]

Undoubtedly, expansion is an exciting time for MLS fans, as it allows them to see and experience a "new" market, a new potential rival, and the possibility of the next great soccer city.  With the success of recent expansion clubs in Philly, Portland, and Vancouver (well, at least in the stands), the addition of the […]

The annual MLS State of the League audio conference, held prior to the MLS Cup, is usually good for some news and gossip from the MLS league office.  This year's conference was no different, as The Commish touched on the hot topics of expansion and relocation, as well as more nuts and bolts like life […]

On the eve of the second leg of the conference semifinals, the league has stirred some intrigue around one of its teams not in the playoffs.  According to Steven Goff of The Washington Post, soccer fans in the Baltimore, MD area have begun to receive surveys gauging their interest in locating an MLS franchise in […]

The difference between MLS and most other major American sports leagues is that two teams with losing records can play a low scoring game in the rain and have it be one of the most exciting games of the year. Actually, it may have just been one of the most exciting 20 minutes of the […]

In the long history between these two teams (winners of the first five MLS Cups), there has never been an ending quite like this.  The Chicago Fired dealt DC United's playoff chances a major blow while keeping themselves alive for a late playoff run by scoring two second half stoppage time goals to stun DCU […]

Anyone who has been looking for a new home understands the feeling of displacement that comes with it: the yearning for something new and different which you can model after your vision, while still feeling unsettled because you haven't found that perfect place yet.  In June, MLS fans looked at Kansas City and either pitied or ignored […]

Until Saturday's match versus RSL, Dwayne De Rosario was a good pickup for DC United.  The team was playing better with him in the lineup and he gave them an offensive spark that they had lacked with Dax McCarty.  Then on Saturday night he took it to a new level.  First he fed Andy Najar […]

The question I wrestled with in my head last night was this: if there were no playoffs or a playoffs with just four teams instead of 10, would this weekend be as exciting?  Regardless of how you feel about the playoff format or the playoffs in general, the answer I came up with was YES. […]

Fans who saw the scoreline of September 10th's 3-0 win by DC United over Chivas would assume that DCU would win handily against the Goats at home and, with New York's loss, would move into the driver's seat with their playoff push.  But as the excellent fan blog Black and Red United noted, Chivas actually […]

It's catch-up time.  In both games in hand and playoff positioning. In the shadow of the CONCACAF Champions League matches six MLS clubs will take the pitch tonight in critical games for playoff positioning.  One of the matches is a match-up of heavyweights, while the other two look to be mismatches that could be surprises. […]