There has been a lot of talk about how he got too frustrated with his teammates, too devisive as a player in the locker room, and just not good enough for us. There is no doubt that there is some truth in some of it. I don’t believe that he wasn’t good enough for us, however. I do believe that the link up between him and the other players just didn’t work. Is that his fault? Not really, or at least not completely. You could just as easily blame the other players, and the couching staff for that matter. But it doesn’t mean he wasn’t good enough.

For everything negative said about him, let me also remind you that we would not have made the playoffs last year if it weren’t for is run of form at the end of last year. I haven’t gone back to look at the stats per game… but he had something like 6 assists in the last 7 games. And these weren’t just “last player to touch the ball before the goal” type of assists. He did the hard work and made most of those goals. There were countless pin point crosses that led to the goals that gave us that last surge into the playoffs.

Also, as Adrian says in the following quote… he was a big part of bringing legitimacy to this organization before we even stepped foot on the pitch. He helped peek the interest of the sport and team for many that may not have looked in the first place. No, it isn’t a reason to buy a player, but it is possible that the electricity, ticket sales, and buzz, when we started in 2009, would not have been quite what it was, without Freddie.

Adrian on Freddie “I think Freddie played a big part in helping us launch the franchise. It was a big signing, in a rollout of a bunch of big announcements for this club. Whether it was signing Kasey Keller, or a partnership with Xbox, or KING-5, or Kevin Calabro. There were a bunch of big announcements that helped us launch this franchise in a big way. Freddie was one of those. He did a good job in helping us make the playoffs last year, but now he plays for the enemy and our focus is on our team and how we beat he and Chicago on Saturday.”"I think Freddie played a big part in helping us launch the franchise. It was a big signing, in a rollout of a bunch of big announcements for this club. Whether it was signing Kasey Keller, or a partnership with Xbox, or KING-5, or Kevin Calabro. There were a bunch of big announcements that helped us launch this franchise in a big way. Freddie was one of those. He did a good job in helping us make the playoffs last year, but now he plays for the enemy and our focus is on our team and how we beat he and Chicago on Saturday.”

You can read all of Adrians thoughts on Freddie and DP’s in general here.

I know some people will want to boo him, and so be it. They have their opinion of how to treat a former player,  and I have mine. I would boo if he told Seattle to F off. I would boo if I thought he didn’t try on the pitch for us. I would boo if he had said bad things about the organization. But he didn’t do any of that…

So on Saturday, when his name is announced, I will applaud him for what he did do for us, forget that he had his moments of frustration, and then route us on to kicking the crap out of the Fire.

Ok moving on. This weekend, a friend of mine that I share season tickets with has a group of family and friends in from the UK. He has been gathering up as many tickets of those sitting around us as possible. Earlier in the year I was happy to give mine up to him in order to trade for another date…

But recently, when Freddie got traded, we also started to do really well, and with this game being his homecoming… of sorts, and the importance of the result affecting both teams playoff chances, well I wasn’t happy to be missing this one. Thanks to my boss, who is not going to be using his suite, I will not be missing it anymore. I, along with 11 other friends, will be taking in the match at the club level on Saturday night. After the hot towel and neck massage, I will sit down in the leather recliner and enjoy my prawn sandwiches, with the crust cut off of course, while sipping on a chablis, routing on our boys.

From where I will be sitting, bad calls will be met with a scoff of disbelief as I turn my nose in disgust. Good plays will be honored by a slight head nod and a “hip hip hurah”. I will leave in the 80th minute to miss the crowds and traffic. Finally, I will be mingling with the elite that I so deserve.

But seriously, it should be fun (or at least different) for one game and I am just glad that I get to go.

In other news… Samprissa did us quite a favor last night and kept our CCL hopes alive… they thrashed Marathon which leaves the group very interesting IF, we manage to beat them next week. We then need to route for Monterrey to keep on tearing through the group (other than us). Next week, if they, and we win… we are tied with Saprissa and Marathon all on 3 points. That would be quite a break and a decent place to find ourselves in after losing the first two. Not saying it is easy from then on out, but it sure looks better than it does right now. How big will that bogus PK call against Marathon look then?  Like I said yesterday, I won’t be crushed if we can’t make it out of the group, but I do want to compete. I don’t want two meaningless games at the end of the group stages.

What else? Well, away from this continent, the UEFA CL draw yesterday created some talking points. Drogba returns to Marseilles. Dechamp back to Chelsea. Eduardo back to Arsenal. Newcomers Tottenham getting the champions Inter. AC and Real matched up in the group stage again. Rubin Kazan (who?), one of the few teams to every beat Barcalona at Camp Nou, get the spanish giants again. Could they do it two years in a row?

Regardless of if you  will boo or cheer or do nothing at the announcement of FL10 (or FL8 as it is now) or whether you will be watching from the GA in the south endzone or your pedestal in a suite, here is to 3 points against the Fire tomorrow night.

Happy Friday GO SOUNDERS

If we had taken our chances, it may have been different. but iffa coulda should woulda and all that. There wasn’t a glaring hole in our defense, or our offense, but tonight, I think the were just  better than us. They shut us down. Yes we were a tad unlucky with the post and the called back goal and all that, but I am not going to go there. They were better. 

As for everything else… well, the only thing I am really opinionated about right now is nkufo. Like most of you, I am routing for him. I am… big time. But forget who he is, forget what he costs, forget that he played in the WC and you would say that he is sucking right now, and doing it in a major way.

He is second guessing himself. He isn’t making the pass that he should b/c he is scared. He is tripping over the ball…. honestly, he is terrible right now. Deep down, we all know he can play much better. 20+ goals in the Dutch league is not easy, and frankly it is harder than the MLS. But obviously something hasn’t transferred, and I sure as hell hope that it does soon b/c we can’t sit on hope for too long.

I haven’t got much more tonight… sorry. I sat down in the GA and while the atmosphere was fun, the perspecitive sucked. Put me on the prawn sandwich brigade right now b/c midfield 15 rows up is way better. I can still sing. I can still shout… but more importantly, I can see what the F is going on. I like it much better.

0 points from 6 sucks, and is likely our dagger, but not for sure. 3 points in the next game is a must. if not, then we are done for sure. I have enjoyed the CCL so far and would like to continue, but I am not going to cry this year if it doesn’t happen for us. Having said that… let’s hope for a draw tomorrow eh? Or a Samp win would be ok too.

More important than tonight, however, is  3 points on Saturday… that is by far more valuable to us. Let’s hope the team responds.

The reaction around the blogosphere, however, has been largly negative, and I gotta say, I think it is stupid.   

People are calling for a refund. People are saying that the f.o. “messed up”. And the biggest shock for me was the ECS who retweeted  someone else’s thought of “Seriously, Sounders supporters: Do not go to Friendly C. And do not sell your tickets. #Trophiesnotfriendlies.”

Ok, this pisses me off quite a bit. I talked with one of one of the ECS leaders about this today, to get his view and still, I don’t get it. Where the hell is your “support the club no matter what?”  It wasn’t hard to find this support when Celtic came to town, even though they weren’t a popular choince either. Why so different this time? I admire the dedication to the supporter culture, but this, for me isn’t supporting your team. Yes, it is a friendly and no, they aren’t a massive club. But really, not show up? What does this accomplish?

Let me take a step back. I am a big fan of the ECS. I think they bring a fantastic atmosphere, and I love their commitment. I know many of them personally and have rarely had a beef with them. But it is that exact commitment that I don’t understand in this situation. I get that friendlies mid year are not wanted and that people don’t want to be forced to pay for them as part of a ticket package.

Yes, I understand that. but you know what? The F.O. already understands that too. In fact, 8 or so ECS, sat in a room with me, Joe Roth, Adrian Hanauer and Gary Wright where, in no uncertain terms, Adrian said that most likely there will be a 34 game season next year, followed by Joe saying that there will be no more than 1 friendly next year. What does that mean? well, next year we will probably still be 18 tickets and 17 of them will be MLS.

I know that words in a room aren’t a contract, but if you have ever talked with either Adrian or Joe, the former has integrity in what he says, and the latter is very convicted. If Adrian says… “it is looking like a 34 game season” I believe him. If Joe says “mark my words, we are only going to have 1 friendly next season”, I believe him. I realize that the ECS has some contentious negotiations and disagreements with the f.o. in the past, so I get that they may be a little jaded… but to be frank, I just don’t agree with them.

For me, the trophies not friendlies message has been heard, and there is no further reason to beat this horse. In fact, boycotting further will achieve nothing more. They have heard the argument and even if they did chose to ignore, a boycott will not change their mind further.

Now, as for the “quality of the side”. Well what the F did you expect? We have had well known sides that aren’t star studded all year. Celtic and Boca are essentially of the same caliber, history and star power (in their own country at least), as Chivas. Celtic clearly has more of a contentious history to be sure, but you get my point. Did people all of a sudden think that Bayern Munich were going to take time out of their season to come to the US? Or AC/Liverpool/Juve/Ajax?

Hell, let’s get this out in the open right now. We were spoiled last year with the caliber of the opposition… Get it?  I thought people knew that, but apparently not.

And for those questioning the FO’s ability to ‘entice’ the caliber of club that they deserved… well get over yourself. First, who are you to say that we deserve it, but second you are just wrong. If if you haven’t noticed, there was this thing called the World Cup this year. It is a soccer tourney and some players go to it. It gives these team much less time to train and travel. ManU wouldn’t go west of KC[fact]. Real wouldn’t play on the west other than in LA with their large stadiums[fact]. ManCity wouldn’t play outside of their sponsors city[fact]. So if you have forgotten the fact that Seattle has attracted previous big names such as ManU, Celtic, Brazil NT, Mexico NT, USMNT,  Chelsea, Barca etc etc et over the years… are you now all of a sudden going to suggest that the F.O. who had a hand in ALL of the aforementioned games/teams coming to Seattle, has all of a sudden “screwed up”? If so, then you need to get a grip.

I am not apologist for the Sounders FO and I do not think they do everything right, but I will tell you this… I do believe that they toe the line between the inevitable business side of running a multi million dollar sports team, and the appeasing of the fans, very very well.

Yes, we are listened too. I can give you more than a dozen examples of that.

Where were all the complainers last year when we got Barca, Chelsea and the Final? yeah… that is what I thought. So what if year two wasn’t as exciting? Nobody disagrees with you, and as a result, it will be changed. Have a little patience eh? This is year 2….YEAR 2.

As for those that suggest we should have used ticket C for CCL or USOC etc., well for me, this is at least the most compelling argument. It would have been nice wouldn’t it? I actually brought this up with a friend that has a lot more insight to ticketing policies and realities than I… and my tune was indeed changed.

So let me paint a picture for you. Imagine that you are a season ticket holder in the most expensive seats in the joint (I think they are like $45). And now, we have a CCL game where the FO says… “GUESS WHAT? that ticket that you paid $45 for, ticket C, well we will be using that for a CCL game on a Thursday night. is that cool?” sure you say, but then they reply. “oh, and all the tickets for sale will be much cheaper. Is that cool with you?”

Some of you may say “yes, yes, it isn’t that big a deal.” If you feel that way, well so be it. But ticket pricing integrity is actually a delicate thing, and if you piss off season ticket holders, or make them question why they paid a certain price while a “walk up” got a bargain? well that makes selling season tickets the next year all that much harder. So instead, consider the decision they made. The f.o. made the decision to lower the price of the CL games some and USOC games substantially so people could afford to go, especially those that don’t normally get to go.

I know full well that this isn’t a thorough and perfect argument,  but there is clearly A LOT more to the story than “just let ticket C be for CCL. it is so simple.” Well, no it isn’t.

Even though we are fans, if the f.o. did everything the fans wanted, well, we would be screwed. I prefer to let the people who have proven to know how to run a football club continue to run the football club as long as I believe they care and are listening to us. And I am certain of that.

Sorry for the length and randomness of my reply to those that feel this way, but when you are disagreeing with some incomplete reasoning… it makes the retort that much harder.

So for those that still feel that not showing up and supporting your team, for a ticket you have already paid for, that you aren’t going to sell…? well if my previous attempts to change your mind have fallen on deaf ears, let me assure you that what you are doing is in fact going to change NOTHING. It will not tell the f.o. something that they don’t ALREADY KNOW and in fact, you will just look like a spoiled brat taking his ball and going home.  Instead, you could show up for a game of international soccer that is… well… essentially free to you.

And before we go too much further, it must be said… that this post is brought to you by, Pauliner. Delicious Pauliner. About 6 pints worth to be exact.

But throw in the towel, we should not do. Our play was beautiful, and for those that follow me on twitter ( shameless plug for @yamsmos) you will know that i guaranteed a win. Not quite sure what happened, but I have a call into sigi to understand why he didn’t give us the win that we requested.

A few bullet points about the match… and then bed. Well, wine, and then bed. oh, and i do my best at caps… but i am sure i fail

- jeff parke. Somehow we we don’t talk about him much in this blogosphere. none of us have had many problems with him, other than questioning his commitment, however, can we all now agree that he is first class? we knew he would be good, but much better than that, he is. I love having him back there. The rotation of him, Hurtado, Ianni, and Marshall is not bad at all is it?

- Alonso. He did his best to try and make me love him more than I already do. And I didn’t know that it was even possible. But it is, b/c i saw that shot in slow mo… and all I can say is F Thornton. Not sure why we didn’t pull the ol’ hot sauce in the contact lens… b/c that would have really done him in, and we would have won that match.

- nkufo. This isn’t a put down or a major critique, but I don’t know what is different for him. Is the service lacking?  Are the defenders tougher? Is he homesick?  I have no idea and any hypothesis would be mostly guessing, unless someone knows some facts. We all want him to succeed, but being honest, his first touch is very heavy and he really hasn’t shown a heck of a lot that makes me think he is going to start banging in goals.

I am more than happy/willing to give him the benefit of the doubt… but he has to start delivering.

- the red card was  just silly. it was almost silly for the chivas player, but  VERY SILLY for leo… it was just dumb all around. Most of all, the 4 minute conference for Prus and Co to come up with the reason for why they were going to come up with so much crap.

- Montero, for the first time, came up just a bit flat today. the whole team did on the finishing. You can excuse him for the thornton smack down that he received…. but still.

I am ok with the draw, not happy, but ok. btw…

caps were sort of there… take what you can get ok?

Did you see that? Did you?

What you say? Well if you don’t know what I am talking about, then where the hell have you been? BP capped the well a few weeks ago, and now my lack of capital letters is the greatest threat to our children.  More on this later.

Onto the Sounders.

This week was a weird one for news. There has been a lot of things to talk about, but they mostly fell into the “interesting” bucket, if that makes any sense. Without the Sounder playing mid week, it feels like it has been all quiet.

Things like Rooney’s brother training with the Sounders, and Nyassi not completely observing Ramadan as he had done last year, are very interesting, and they are relevant, but I still feel like nothing has happened this week. I know Mike feels the same way. Hell, he posted  the silly stat of the week about our record depending on what colored shirt Keller was wearing. Not that there is anything wrong with that. I love that stuff. Also, have any of you heard the rumblings of how bad the Sounders players usually play when they are pictured on the front of the season ticket? I reckon we best start tracking that as an official stat too. I only just heard about it last game, where Ianni was featured. Actually, he had a good game… so this may all be poppycock, but I am not ready to give up on it yet. Especially for 8/28.

- I suppose the lack of news, or at least lack of stuff to talk about, is mostly down to the lack of a mid week game. It has been a few weeks since we have had to wait a full 7 days in between games. I know it is good for the players… but I guess it isn’t good for me. I was getting used to it. My appetite will be filled in Aug/Sept then eh?

Does anyone know the most games an MLS team has ever played in one season? I don’t think friendlies or preseason should count… but it would be interesting to know how many MLS, USOC and CCL games any one team has every played. I wonder if we are going to come close to that this year.

- In WGAS  (the first 3 words are “who gives a”)  news, I have a coworker who knows a guy who knows a guy on the Sounders coaching staff. I had helped her out on something here at work, and she offered to get me an autograph of anyone. These aren’t too hard to come by if you try, as most of the players do autograph sessions around town etc, but frankly, I haven’t gone to any yet. So, it was a perfect time for me to get a few jerseys signed. Last year, I won the auction on two jerseys work in the MLS All Star game. Mr Montero and Mr Hurtado. If the certificate of authenticity that came with the jerseys wasn’t enough to make you believe, the hot sweaty stench that came out of the manila envelope when opening them  in my house was proof enough for any skeptic. Anyway, I knew I was too, uh, big boned to fit into Montero’s jersey, but I thought I had a chance with Hurtado. He is taller than me, so I figured his few inches on me could be stretched out horizontally instead. Wrong.

Here is where I learned something about MLS/Adidas jersey sizing between authentic and replica jerseys. They aren’t the same. The large that Hurtado wears is smaller than the large that I wear in a replica jersey. I suppose they want me/us to feel good about ourselves.

So what to do with two jerseys that I can’t wear… well, get them signed of course, and one of these days, I will get them framed and hung in my Man Cave which doesn’t exist today.

- For those that also follow the EPL closely, like myself, the weekend is almost here. The soap opera is about to start for yet another year. And let’s face it, it is little more than a soap opera these days. It is why we all love it so much.  It is all, “who kicked who” and “did the ball cross the line” and “who didn’t shake who’s hand”. Yes, the football is quite good to, but it wouldn’t be quite so…. um…. juicy and enthralling, without the augmentation of the drama that is in that league.

- If you missed Josh’s conversation with Sigi go back and check it out. Nothing shocking, but a good read nonetheless.

- And finally. If you are tired of talking or reading about my lack of capital letters, then stop right here, close the browser window, and rest easy that you are going to miss nothing in your life if you don’t read another word.

Some of you have kindly, and others, not so kindly, said that they dislike reading my posts due to the lack of capital letters. And, in all honesty, I get that. As I replied yesterday, it is a bad habit. Nothing more. It’s not a lack of understanding of what a capital letter is. It’s not me trying to be ‘cool’ or ‘unique’. It is just a bad habit. Not sure when it started… but easily fifteen years ago.  Yesterday/Today, there was another CAPS incident on another site (no need for details), that really pissed me off.  And yes, I do realize how silly it sounds that I just noted a “CAPS incident”.

Part of me wants to say “F it”, or rather I guess it would be “f  it” … this is a blog and I am a fan, not a journalist. But the other part really enjoys this blog for the readers, the debate, the information share and the comments. I don’t want to alienate people, or make people feel like they have to suffer through my posts. So, as I promised to Seth, I will try to work on this habit.  However, to the certain someone that called me an idiot, I have this to say to you. f**K yOU. Yes, that was a lower case letter at the front of the sentence… oh, and an upper case letter in the middle of the word. You must be squirming now.

Forgive me for the momentary lapses in caps that are sure to happen, especially after many beers and a game. Drunk posts are very much off limit to this effort. Squinting to see the keyboard is struggle enough, but having to worry about grammar and caps? Good Lord.

this is the second time we have sat down with this group this year, and while the first meeting was ok… it didn’t really offer too much to talk about here. this one, however, was quite the opposite. it was a very productive meeting and gave me a lot of hope for the council and the democracy in sport that is often talked about.

first… i must say this. there is some detail that i need to keep somewhat vague. i appreciate the FO talking with us on a variety of issues, but some of the details need to be kept under wraps due to the fact that ‘deals aren’t yet done’ or it is considered ‘sensitive’ or something like that. trust me when i say i am not holding on to any huge secrets here. just a few things about the next friendly, and internal ‘things’. not ultimately important, or something you won’t find out eventually.

if anything, i want to just give you a feel for the types of things discussed, and perpetuate the idea that the FO really does care about what is going on in this organization, specifically from our point of view. i really believe it.

- first we talked about an old (well only as old as the club) idea about every season ticket holder getting an email, not just the account holder. this was something that the council has pushed on for quite a while. last meeting it got legs. this time, there wasn’t a conclusion, but only that they hear us, and it is very much being worked on. eventually, there will be no more forwarding to all the other people in your group.

- the next topic was the champions league. opinions about atmosphere, ticket prices, crowd size and education messaging/advertising were discussed. nothing earth shattering here, but the one surprising stat is that of the 17k who showed up for metapan, the majority were NOT season ticket holders. i was surprised by that actually. do our season ticket holders know nothing of CCL? or do they already go to enough games? theorize away.

it is fair to say that the further we go in the competition, the more understood it will become, but i would be a little surprised if most of our STH’s didn’t have a clue to what was going on… but maybe it is true.

i can say personally… that it is a lot of games. while in my single days, or even before kids days, i would easily make it to each game… i can’t do that so much anymore. it is already tough enough to say to my wife… hey, for these 17 games, you will be home with the kids with no help while i am drinking beer and having fun… i will be gone for 4-5 hours.   now, i am going to add 3, possibly more, evenings on top of that? it isn’t that easy unfortunately, and maybe there are a lot more people like me, or in somewhat similar situations. whether it be kids, finances, jobs, sig others, or whatever… going to these extra games just isn’t that easy. regardless of education of what the CCL is.

- how many of you went to the end of the year party last year? how many people of you thought it was pretty lame? well most of you would have said yes to the second question if you said yes to the first. this year it will change. this is a detail that i am not going to really disclose b/c it isn’t fully baked. but i can tell you that it sounds MUCH better, and much more worth your time. or, at the very least, you will know what to expect, and you can chose to go or not, based on that information.

- 2011 visiting team supporter plans. as you know, with pdx and van joining the league, the ease of travelling to an away game became just that much better. or, so you would think. mls dictates that ONLY 150 tickets need to be allocated to the away fans for any game… and there is an understandable argument that if a stadium can sell out, why not sell out to all the home fans? well there is a lot of debate on this topic… a few

- let’s give them more tickets, so we can have more tickets at  their stadium. i.e. if we don’t let them in, they won’t let us in. i am kind of in that camp.

- if we don’t open up seats for the timbers army, for example, will they come anyway? some think yes… and if they do come, then you likely have a situation. you may have  a thousand (or whatever number) TA without a ticket and either in our bars or they buy tickets from scalpers, or off stub hub etc and are dispersed around the stadium. most of this is probably ok, but it only takes 1 drunk away supporter, and 1 drunk home supporter for something to kick off… and that would be not so good.

so i can’t tell you what will happen, b/c honestly, it has not been decided… but it was probably the most contested topic of the night.

- the golden scarf moving forward.  this is another where i won’t have details of how it is going to play out, b/c it hasn’t been decided. but, some of the production, frequency and “worthiness” of the recipients is in question. it isn’t going to get cut, but likely significantly… “refined”.

- vuvuzelas? not banned yet… but everyone wanted them banned.

that is about it…  while nothing earth shattering here, i think the take away that i have (and have always had) is the front office is committed to hearing what we say. we likely won’t influence every decision, and this is a business, so sometimes business decisions are made that fans don’t agree with, however, i don’t believe that this is a front or a gimmick. our feedback is genuinely sought and considered, and that is pretty impressive.

oh. where were we…  you came here for a sounders blog? right. got it.

well well well. it is becoming fun again isn’t it? winning is always fun. so let’s just keep doing this thing.. the winning thing.

- montero continues to mature. his play off the ball has been phenomenal. the way he held up that defender to maintain the ball, and then slot home the first is something i haven’t seen out of him before.  10 more games like this… and seriously, he could be the league mvp. there is no joke in that. his pass for the second goal was sick. it was great. that was also kellers first assist for the sounders.

oh, and for those that don’t follow me on twitter, and therefore already read this, (btw you should…. @yamsmos) i saw montero before the match and he as representing a full on cosby sweater. it was beauty full.

- nkufo… a little bit of the same. he still seems to be a little heavy footed. when he should have gone right, he went left. when he should trap, he flicks on. however, it isn’t all bad. he sure as hell attracts a lot of attention and montero doesn’t feel like he has to do it all on his own, and is free to roam. that is pretty obvious and it has breathed new life into him. nkufo will get his…. let’s just hope it is sooner rather than later.

- zakuani… he has going a little dark lately hasn’t he? is it our new players? are we not depending on the wing as much? not sure it is any of those things, but i wouldn’t mind him figuring it out a little b/c right now, nyassi is looking to be more like the threat.

- el flaco, or “2D” as we like to call him. boy, he really is skinny isn’t he? it is like you walked into a hall of mirrors fun house, looked into the mirror, saw your “sigi” pearshaped body in front of you only to turn around and see your el flacco stick of a bod. he was a little absent and nervous in his first ten minutes, but no matter, he took montero’s pass… tried his best to mess up his first touch, but then slotted it home. i honestly have nothing against ljungberg, and i still like him… but … err…. freddie who? right?

fred. love ya. we rode you into the playoffs last year… but if fernandez keeps averaging a goal every 20 minutes, you will be very quickly forgotten?

- the ref. i haven’t bitched about a ref in a while… but he was bad wasn’t he?  he sure seemed to think really hard about every call in that short squatty stance of his and then flipped a coin and basically got it wrong every other time. it is silly and immature to make fun of someones height, and that is why it is fun btw, but “go back into your hobbit hole” was my favorite jab that i heard last night.

- and finally. the day started off with our council meeting with the FO. Adrian, Gary and Joe were there, and it was easily the best meeting we have had to date. the formalities are gone and honest opinions are debated. i enjoyed this meeting thoroughly. i will write up what i can later this week, but a lot of interesting stuff was talked about. i can tell you that vuvuzelas, friendlies, away support, CCL, golden scarf and much much more was debated, and while i didn’t agree with all of it, the sheer fact that the FO is taking everything as serious as it can, is refreshing.

sounders are now 47% likely to get into the playoffs…. not quite there yet, but the playoff race is well and truly on.

i don’t want to get ahead of myself as there is still a lot to be done, but the second half (third) of the season just got a lot more intriguing eh?

yesterday, we had just about every result go our way from the teams above us… and only one team, rsl, won. toronto, colorado and surely san jose will all be looking at the results and tables of late and thinking… crap.

sportsclubstats.com has our probability of making playoffs up to 35% now.  and as much as it pains you… and me… let’s route for the galaxy over freddies new team, chicago today ok? we need to keep chicago below us and LA are already in the playoffs.

about the game.

i could only partially watch it. i was at the market arms on a “date night” with the wife and another couple. i got to watch, but i coulnt’ be glued…unfortunately. this marriage thing sure gets in the way of soccer i tell ya.

- montero has scored or assisted in the last 45 games if you haven’t been paying attention. and to all the “i told you so’s” out there… NO YOU DIDN”T tell me so. last year, most of us were split into the ’montero is god’ camp or ‘montero needs to work harder camp’. i was clearly in the latter. most of us all know that montero was a great player but some were satisfied, and some thought he was very lazy and, if he would run a bit more, he would have more goals, and twice the assists. well guess what, that is what he is doing, and that is the result. so no, you didn’t tell us so. you were satisfied with his effort and return, and we weren’t. now he is doing what we asked and we can see the return.

i realize i am sort of tough talking out into the air right now, but i get a little pissed at some of the comments out there where people were saying they were right about montero b/c they weren’t. it has been his hard work effort that has been the difference and now you can see why some of us were bitching about him.

ok, enough about that. montero, keep it up, and keep the debate hot b/c you are our MVP right now in my book.

- nkufo looked up for it a bit more didn’t he. he still had a bit of the ol nervous leg syndrome and found himself not sure what he was going to do with the ball on a few occasions. but this is down to new team still. yes, he has played footy all his life, but he still doesn’t really know his teammates, opposition, how to play in a baseball stadium etc. he will get there, and in fact almost had his goal with a well taken shot, but the keeper did well to get down and block.

- nyassi… making all the right moves to maintain a starting spot eh? that assist for montero’s goal was perfect and all credit to him. nice to see him battling with convey, although he did start to get visibly frustrated, and that was likely the game plan all along. he will need to temper that and just focus on his play b/c it has improved greatly.

- parke – i haven’t checked the blogs/news to get the status here… but it would be a big blow if we lost him. it was just a head knock, and i don’t mean to say that can’t hurt or cause concusion.. but usually that isn’t a long term thing. we need him back there b/c he has been a rock.  while marshall and ianni did the job, SJ came too close for comfort on too many times in the second half.

- el flaco- well we didn’t get to see too much of him, but you could see his quality from the moment he touched the ball. i can’t quite explain it, but there are those top players that just seems to have the ball stick to their feet and are able to run seemingly simple runs, but avoid defenders somewhat all too easily. messi is the best example of this right now, and no, i am not comparing the two, i am just saying that fernandez seems to have some of that. time will tell, but i am very excited about him. he got a welcome to the MLS tackle or two from the san jose amways… but he got up and got on with it, which was nice eh?

that is all i have… nothing revelating here… but i may get time to sit down and watch it properly later today and will add if necessary.

oh, and i know that every sport, and every team in the world has its most annoying fans ever… well ours were at the market arms last night, and sitting right behind me. you would have thought we were watching professional wrestling or something the way they were yelling and cursing, loving and then instantely hating on our players, and just downright being immature douchebags every second they could. 

“go on leo go on leo, nice…. AH SH*T LEO, YOU SUCK. YOU ARE WORTHLESS”

“REFEREE. YOU CAN’T BE OFFSIDES ON A THROW IN. YOU DESERVE TO BE SHOT”       me… “uh, it wasn’t offsides dude, it was a bad throw”…”WHO THE F CARES, YOU CAN’T BE OFFSIDES ON A THROW”

“SQUARE…. SQUARE… TOUCH… TOUCH… SQUARE…. ZAKUANI YOU SUCK.”

and i won’t even mention the subtle, yet oh so racist comments about many of the latino players.

so on the off off off chance that you read this blog (assuming you can read), you know who you are and i well and truly hope that you are damned to a life of listening to celine dion covering ace of base songs.

sounders played their ass off, and there is no fault for effort anywhere on this team. it was the full 90 and even though i was ready to have a hear attack in the last ten minutes… as i was not ready to watch another game gifted away… credit to the boys who did the job that we were so used to last year.

i didn’t get to see replays of either zakuani’s goals… the first seemed a little sloppy (no complaints) and the second a result of a nice johnny legendriley cross. or do i have those mixed up. either way… both were a result of player taking his chances by being in the righ place at the right time.  and let’s be honest… most of your goals should come from that. you can’t rely on crazy skill and wicked shooting for most goals, or you will lose more than you win. you should rely on people taking their chances and that is what he did.

some thoughts on the overall performance… and then i am off to bed.

- montero. i count this as the third game in a row where you didn’t sit on your ass and you ran it off instead. keep up the good work. if not for the sounders, or their fans, do it for yourself and your desired european move b/c you won’t get one unless you show that effort week in week out.

- nkufo. don’t shoot me… but he is still a little lost. and i don’t blame him. he is still figuring out what his teammates like/do and where they like to run/pass. i hold nothing against him. there is a lot to settle into in a new team/city/league. so time will tell, but today, he wasn’t quite there.

- parke…. you may not love seattle, but we love you. he was phenomenal tonight. we have him 1 or 2 more years? count them down b/c he likely won’t be here any longer.

- zakuani - add these types of goals to your somewhat regular breakaway goals?? you may be a 20 goal threat before you know it…. and i wouldn’t be too mad at that.

- nyassi - not sure i liked you on the left…. you didn’t do too much. please go back to the right.

- alonso - i have free weekends on 7/30, 8/14 and 8/21.  let me know when you are available for our first date.

i was sitting next to a very nice guy tonight although he was a soccer newbie. he had 100 questions for me… which i was happy to answer, but i was able to shut him up after this one… “who is the best player”. i said “that is not answerable, but watch alonso as much as you can and watch him break up the plays all game long…”   that shut him up from then on out and at the very end of the game he said… “wow, that was phenomenal. how can he not be the most important player on the pitch. he must have broken up 50 plays”.

i didn’t have any good logic to disagree with any of his logic.

- finally… thank god for keller and “that save”. due to that we would have been quite a bit more grumpy tonight.

KASEY KELLER   CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP.

all in all… results this week were pretty darn good. LA and SJ drew, rsl drew, and houston lost.

i hope the sounders aren’t just stringing us along, but they sure are giving us hope by clawing their way back in…. whatcha think?

Freddie's last effort in Rave Green? (by Chris Coulter)

of course it is possible, but it doesn’t take much interpretation to believe that the real answer is a big fat “NOPE” and that is kind of sad toe me.

today, in case you haven’t heard, a Q&A with chris henderson pretty much confirmed what we all thought was going on with freddie. there is a lot there, but clearly when you read this,

Does he have any future here at all? “I think it’s day to day…”

it doesn’t look good.

in all honesty, i am sad about the whole thing. yes, i was frustrated with his antics this year. yes, i was frustrated that he couldn’t be the same player he was 4 years ago. but the reality is, this year has been pretty poor for him and it is hard to argue that we are better with him on the field.

i 100% genuinely believe that this comes down to freddie not happy with his play on the pitch. everything else, imho, has stemmed from that. he is a proud person (like most of us) and when he couldn’t ply his trade in MLS??? well i think that hurt him. you go from FA Cup hero/multiple prem league titles/part of the arsenal invincibles/captain of country  to MLS and you don’t have what it takes anymore… that is a blow.

his frustration was taken out at referee’s, at himself, at teammates… sometimes just the air above him. he wasn’t happy.

of course i don’t know this for a fact… but having watched him play most of his career, he is a different person on the pitch at seattle than i have ever seen in him before. maybe the pressure of being the DP got to him or maybe something else… but the freddie and seattle experiment didn’t hit it off.

so, as it stands, surely he has more than likely played his last game for us.

if only we could have the freddie of the last ten games of last year. that was the freddie we signed. that was him at his best (well almost). he was smiling, we were smiling… MONTERO was smiling.

it is best to go our separate ways, wish each other well, and continue to somehow scrape and claw and fall backwards into the 8th and final playoff spot, but it won’t be with the best looking underwear model in seattle.