Sturgis will now be playing for the Reds

Yesterday, Sounders FC found themselves without two contributors from the 2010 Season; Sanna Nyassi and Nate Sturgis.

Both were selected by the Vancouver Whitecaps in Wednesday’s Expansion Draft, but both have since been traded.

Nyassi was shipped off to the Colorado Rapids in exchange for an International Roster Spot.

Sturgis was traded to Toronto FC for TFC’s 8th pick in the next MLS SuperDraft.

It’s a day to welcome the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Portland Timbers to MLS as they begin to fill out their rosters for the 2011 MLS Season. It’s also a day to say goodbye to Sanna Nyassi and Nate Sturgis who were both selected by the Whitecaps in the Expansion Draft.

Nyassi, selected second overall, was the 3rd member of Sounders FC when he signed in September of 2008. The Gambian saw action in 36 matches in 2010 for Sounders FC across all competitions where he tallied 4 goals and 4 assists.

Sturgis came to Seattle in the Sounders’ Expansion Draft two years ago. The 23-year-old found a consistent spot in the starting lineup after the departure of Freddie Ljungberg in the middle of July- a coincidental timing of Seattle’s turnaround. Nate recorded 1 goal and two assists for Sounders FC in 2010.

On the Expansion Picks by the Whitecaps, Head Coach Sigi Schmid noted, “We are disappointed to lose them both to Vancouver and we want to thank them for their contributions to Sounders FC.”

Thanks to Chris Coulter of SoundersPhotos.com for the images.

The Seattle Sounders FC announced today that the Gambia National Team has called in midfielder Sanna Nyassi for African Cup of Nations qualifier against Burkina Faso in Burkina Faso on Saturday, October 9.

Nyassi, 21, leaves on Wednesday, October 6 and will miss Seattle’s match at Kansas City on October 9.

Nyassi has three caps for Gambia’s senior team with two goals. He has 20 appearances this season for Seattle, starting 10 with three assists.

Nyassi already has two caps for the Gambian side. He started for Gambia against both Angola on (1/3/2010) and Tunisia (1/10/2010).

Official Release

The Seattle Sounders FC announced today that the Gambia National Team has called in midfielder Sanna Nyassi for Saturday’s African Cup of Nations qualifier with Namibia in Banjul, Gambia.

Nyassi will miss Seattle’s U.S. Open Cup semifinal versus Chivas USA and the MLS match on Saturday at New England. He will return to Seattle on September 6.

Nyassi has started the last six MLS matches and eight altogether this season. He has three assists in 17 appearances.

Marshall has 68 caps for Jamaica. He is expected to leave Seattle on January 27 and return on February 1.

Sanna Nyassi made his official senior national team debut and scored in his second appearance for Gambia during two friendlies played earlier this month. Nyassi started for Gambia against both Angola (a 1-1 draw on January 3) and Tunisia (a 2-1 win on January 10).

• Brad Evans (3)
• Sebastien Le Toux (9)
• Freddie Ljungberg (10)
• Kasey Keller (18)
• Nate Jaqua (21)
• Sanna Nyassi (23)

SOOOOOOO. my desire to blog was curbed quite a bit. but with that, the roof is going to be completed today, i have been catching up on my sleep, and i was able to get 15 minutes 1×1 time with drew last night before the members meeting. so there is a lot to talk about. i mean a lot.

as the first, err and only, person of the membership council, i threw around my dictatorship and demanded a meeting with drew. or, i sent an email to bart asking if they could slot me in anywhere… 6 – 6:15 was my time.

i am not a reporter, i am a fan. so i didn’t have any questions prepared. i know i know. lame. but he asked me how i got voted in. and then i talked to him about an idea that i had for inaugural season ticket holders which he really liked. in fact he brought it up to bart at the end of our chat but bart mentioned they already have something planned. he hinted to what it was but i am under sworn secrecy.

i can tell you that my idea was for them to develop a patch that noted the inaugural season ticket holder, that the fan can get put on the sleeve of a new sounders jersey. i liked it b/c that patch is literally a bit of a badge of honor, and i thought the sounders would like it b/c well, it actually encourages shirt sales which easily pays for the patch cost itself. either way, they already have a plan so it won’t be that.

back to drew. he was a very nice guy, totally someone that you can have a beer with and not feel like you are sitting next to a celebrity. and i mean that as a compliment. he was interested in hearing my thoughts, and was really easy to talk to. i had actually seen this video earlier in the day yesterday and talked to him about it. i get 15 minutes with a minority owner of our sounders and i bring up the price is right. nice work.

as for the membership meeting last night, there wasn’t a heck of a lot of new info. a few things of note.
- FSN is doing some partnership thingy that sounds a bit fluffy to me. i think of it as the mariners all access equivalent. there will be some interesting things i guess but whatever.
- we have sold 18,000 tickets now. that number was stuck on 17,000 for quite a while so i guess we put that down to the freddie effect for the most part.
- there was a bit of a Q/A with Nyassi and Le Toux which provided for the most entertaining part of the night. Nyassi is still learning english although he does very well, but he is very careful when choosing his words b/c clearly he wants to say it correctly. this made for a perfect response when asked who he is most excited to play against. me paraphrasing here “i look forward to playing against beckham of course, but also my brother. I have already called him and told him that when he comes to seattle for him to be prepared for us to kick his ass”. brilliant. he also had another nice quote that went something like “i want to play good football so you will be happy”. good on you nyassi. i know you are lightning quick and i hope you can score as well. i am quite sure we are going to get a lot good quotes from this kid.

the other thing of note is that they are going to name the members association and name the band. they will do this with a vote similar to how they named the team.

the options you have, along with the write in vote, are:

Members Association:
- Sounders FC Union
- Sounders FC Membership Association
- Sounders FC Alliance

Band:
- Sound Wave
- Sounders FC Band
- Green Machine

i haven’t made my mind up on the members association, but i really like “sound wave” for the band so that will get my vote. also, the band played again last night, and they sound really tight. i hope it sounds that good in the open air as it does in a room, but either way, the band is a nice touch.

alright, so that should be enough to make up for lost time. with the expansion draft coming up, and the promised coach within a month, there will be plenty to talk about.

FRIDAY!!!!

The night started with ECS singing The Bluest Skies over the female Emmcee. Followed by the recurring video chronicling the history of Sounders FC.

Gary Wright was first up…

• Wants Seattle to be the “Capital of Soccer in the US”
• Expansion Draft is next Wednesday
• Head Coach should be announced within a month
• Starfire is a first class training facility. Tyring to be the best facility not only in the Northwest, but in the Country
• Wants Sounders FC to play in the World Club Cup not just in the US

FSN will own the distribution rights for a variety of ancillary programming featuring Sounders FC, which include match replays and team shows, both on the network and via on-demand (VOD). FSN gains the exclusive right to replay Sounders FC matches from the time the game ends until the next Sounders FC match is played. FSN will also have the opportunity to produce and air a weekly Sounders FC show which will give Sounders FC fans a unique perspective on the club through the network’s exclusive access.

The LONE member of the Membership Council was introduced.

Drew said he would wear a Sounders FC lapel pin on The Price is Right.

He’s Wrong!

It’s possible that the person who asked the question mis-heard Harkes during the US National game, check out the comments below…

Come next year, we’ll make you happy

When he comes here next year, we’re gonna WHOOP his ass

To be honest, I don’t like it when it’s cold

Related Articles

• The Ballots
• We met with Drew Carey
• Our thoughts on the Members Association
• Membership Details (May ’08)
• Prost Amerika’s First Ever Membership Meeting High on Feel-Good Factor
• Seattle Soccer Style’s Sounders FC Alliance? Members Association? Union? or ???

That’s a prorated salary since his September 5th signing. We will keep you posted when the 2009 contract is released.

Then followed up with, “Hanauer indicated the club isn’t likely to sign more players until after the USL Sounders return from an October trip to Argentina.”

Hat tip to GOALSeattle.com who was up before the break of dawn to post this too.