In retrospect, it was obvious.  Houston is so good playing with an aggregate lead in the playoffs and with DC missing Chris Pontius and a fully healthy Dwayne De Rosario, the task really was impossible.  But it didn't feel that way at RFK Stadium Sunday afternoon, as a crowd of over 20,000 (including 350 standing […]

Injuries, an international break, and a bevy of good matches gave MLS fans a number of games to watch Friday and Saturday.  With the number of games to be played dwindling, every match-up takes on that much more importance, and this weekend the results shook up the Eastern Conference standings. On Friday, a back and […]

What do the Michigan Bucks and DC United have in common? They are the only two teams to score more than two goals against the Chicago Fire in 2012, but last night the Fire could only blame themselves (and not dodgy turf or a backup XI) for an embarrassing loss.  With a loud but small home town […]

Team: Chicago Fire Coach: Frank Klopas Last Season: 9-9-16, 6th East, 11th Overall Twitter Hashtag: #CF97 In our 2011 preview of the Chicago Fire, I predicted the Fire would either make a surprise long run in the playoffs or miss the playoffs, be stuck in neutral, and just be lost in the near future.  Neither of […]

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 New England Revolution are a team in transition this offseason.  Long-time coach Steve Nicol has been fired and replaced by a man familiar to Revs fans: former player Jay Heaps.  The new head man comes in at a time when the team's glory days of MLS Cup appearances seem in the distant past, which […]

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 […]

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 […]