2010 Schedule

Today the MLS 2010 Schedule was released. An exciting time to be an RSL fan, but as I was looking through the schedule, I became less and less excited. Don’t get me wrong, I cannot wait to see RSL defend its MLS Cup, but the schedule made me think of how much work goes into the schedule, and the biases that are given to some teams. Here is a breakdown of the schedule.

Saturday 3/27 @ San Jose

Again, RSL starts the regular season on the road. I think all of the bad weather we had at our games, mixed in with the poor attendance of those games really pushed MLS to avoid SLC during the first part of the season. After starting our first two games on the road, we open up Rio Tinto Stadium for the year with

Saturday 4/10 vs. Seattle

An exciting match up against this second year team. With the success they had last year, I know there are a lot of casual MLS fans who love the Sounders.
Following that match, we finish April off with 2 more road games, meaning we play only 1 home game in our first 5. RSL better figure out the road woes of the past so we do not find ourselves at the bottom of the table early. If we play like we did during the playoffs, we should be okay.
Now, the thing that I found amusing with the schedule is that there are hardly any months with an equal amount of home and road games. In the month of May, we play 4 out of the 5 games at home, with the expansion club Philadelphia coming to town on

Saturday 5/8 vs Philadelphia.

June only sees RSL playing three games during the world cup, and July finds itself pretty equal with 3 road games and 2 home games. Then, in August, we are back to only 1 home game in the month and 3 road games. During this time, CONCACAF Champions League will be going on so there will be some other games at home, but the MLS schedule could be a little better.
Then, in September we find ourselves playing 3 games at home and 1 on the road, and in October playing 1 game at home and 3 on the road.

With this schedule, there could be a lot of ups and downs unless RSL can find some consistency. I do not enjoy the months that are loaded with home games and months loaded with away games, but hopefully RSL can improve on the road this season.

Designated Players

So, news today is that Landon Donovan just signed a new contract with the LA Galaxy, that will pay him a lot more than he was previously making. Prior to this contract, Donovan was “grandfathered” into a designated player slot, meaning that LA had filled their spot with David Beckham, but they allowed the Galaxy to keep Donovan as well. Several players have been grandfathered in order for them to stay with their current teams. Many people are upset that Donovan still is not required to take up the Designated Player spot for the Galaxy, which would mean they would have to choose between Beckham and Donovan.
While I am no expert on the rules of running a team in the MLS, I had to think about how big of a deal this is, and what the implications could mean.
First, I had to think of RSL. We do not have anybody occupying a Designated Player spot, and yet, we were the MLS Champions in 2009. Now, the regular season was not that good for us, but I wonder if that had more to do with us totally sucking on the road, and not because we do not have a designated player.
My only concern (and argue with me if you think I am wrong) is that as the MLS continues to grow, more players will want to play in this league, whether they are Americans or from elsewhere. As these players come into the league, I fear the MLS will make exceptions to where players go to in order to make the players happy, and sell their product. Do you really think Thierry Henry is going to come to the MLS if he is told that he is going to play for Real Salt Lake? Where my fear lies is that eventually teams with have 3, 4, and maybe 5 Designated Players on their roster, and then it might be too difficult to compete with them in the future. Will this happen? I don’t know. I hope that the league would see this as a problem and make some firm rules about rosters.

Roster Moves

So far during this off season, RSL has made three changes to their roster.
The first move was the acquisition of Abe Thompson from Kansas City. Abe is a veteran MLS striker. Honestly, I cannot remember ever seeing him, and his name is not familiar for me. I guess we will just have to wait and see when RSL gets into training camp about this new player.
With the addition of Thompson came the trading of Chris Seitz to Philadelphia. In my opinion, this was a good move for RSL. Seitz has barely seen the pitch here at RSL, and I think he deserves a chance to go and show what he can do. With Rimando playing the way he is, I do not see us using Seitz anytime soon. I think that Kyle Reynish will be sufficient as RSL maybe looks to add a veteran backup keeper. This was also a good move as I believe it prevented Philadelphia from taking any RSL players in the expansion draft.
Finally, RSL agreed to a contract extension with Fabian Espindola through the year 2013. Great news for RSL. With Yura's future in question (will he stay in Europe if his team is relegated, switch to a new team, etc) and the possiblility of Robbie Findley playing for the National Team during the World Cup, it was important for RSL to lock up Espy. He is a great striker in my opionion, and adds a lot of flare to the team. It will be interesting to see how Kreis lines up our strikers this upcoming season.
What do you guys think of the moves? Is their anything you are hearing in regards to roster moves? Let me know.

Lets Get Started

Welcome once again to View From the North Goal.
I know, last year I really sucked at the blog, but I was trying to do way to many things with it. This year, the blog is strictly going to be reactions and my personal views on Real Salt Lake. If you are looking for news and information on the team, check out
www.rsltothecore.com. That is the team’s homepage on news and information. You can also check on some links from that page. My personal favorites are Keepin it Real and www.rslsoapbox.com.

It is still sinking in that we are the MLS Cup Champions. There is pride in knowing that when other teams play us, they will be playing the defending champs. 2010 looks to be a very good year, not only for RSL, but for the entire soccer community. The regular season looks to provide new challenges, as we work now for the Supporters Shield. There is also the excitement of a new team in the league, the Philadelphia Union, who might be starting Chris Seitz as their keeper. I can only imagine the game here, Rimando vs. Seitz. RSL looks to play in their first ever CONCACAF Champions League, and look to be only the third American team to win that prestigious tournament. In the summer, MLS might take the backseat as we look to South Africa and the World Cup, which might see the inclusion of our own Robbie Findley. I am very excited at what is to come, and I hope you are all as well.
As always, if anybody is interested in looking at tickets, let me know and I will work it out.
Check back next week as I will discuss some recent roster moves by RSL.

So this has been a sorry excuse for a blog as of late. I apologize for any who read this blog as their source for RSL info. I know, not a lot.

However, I am going to begin blogging the 2010 RSL season, and I promise, this is going to be better. Instead of blogging on the news of the team, this is just going to be a fan perspective of the beautiful game, and our favorite team, Real Salt Lake.

Hope to see you guys soon, as I won't start blogging here until the season is over for RSL.

Thoughts on the US Open Cup

Well, RSL is currently playing their first match in US Open Cup Qualifying, and they are getting blown away against Seattle 4-1 in the second half.  As I have been listening to this match, I was thinking about the US Open Cup, and here are some thoughts.

I wish that people took the US Open Cup more seriously.  And by that, I don't mean the players, because I think that they go out and play hard every game.  I am glad that the radio is providing coverage of this match, but if we have a TV Channel dedicated to Real Salt Lake, why can't they provide television of this match?  Why is the only game that we see ever in the US Open Cup is the final?  There are great stories that develop during the open cup, whether it is teams from the lower division making deep runs, as well as qualifying for the CONCOCAF Champions league.  

While I love the international game, I would love to see maybe some extra coverage of the Open Cup on Fox Soccer Channel.  By this, I do not mean every game, but they could at least start with maybe the quarterfinals, and do some games on tape delay.  All they would have to do is not show Fox Soccer report 8 times a day. 

I think that people do not care about this tournament, because nobody gets to see it ever.  At least let me see my home club play in this important tournament.

Well, that is all for this time.  What do you guys think about the US Open Cup?  

Week 6 Power Rankings

Sorry for the lack of a week 5 power ranking.  Instead of backtracking, here is week six.

1. Chivas USA- 16 points

Started out the week losing to a Toronto team that has started to play very well.  Finished the week with a victory against a struggling Dallas team.  Still the most points in the league.

2. Toronto FC- 11 points

Jumped to first place in the east with victories against the powerful Chivas USA and Kansas City.  Did not allow a goal in either game.  Both games were at home, so it will be important to see if they can continue this success on the road.

3. Seattle FC- 12 points

Following a couple of losses, Seattle bounces back with a victory against San Jose.  Kasey Keller has still not allowed a goal all season, which is still pretty scary for other teams.

4. Real Salt Lake- 9 points

After a disappointing loss on the road to a horrible New York team, RSL puts on the most impressive victory in all of MLS this season, trouncing the New England Revolution 6-0, with all goals coming in the second half, and all by different players.  However, RSL has yet to score a goal on the road, which is where they will be on Saturday when they take on Colorado.  If RSL wants to show that they can be a powerhouse, they need to win away from Rio Tinto.

5. Chicago Fire-10 points

After blowing a victory last week by giving 2 goals to KC late in the game, Chicago turns it around and scores two late goals to get a draw against Columbus.  If the Fire want to rise in the standings, they need to turn these draws into Wins.

6. DC United- 9 points

Pulled of an incredible comeback against the New York Red Bulls, scoring two goals in the 90th minute of play.

7. Kansas City Wizards-10 points

Started the week with a win against New York, although the only goal was on a penalty kick, and they played the entire game a man up following a Red Bull red card.  Closed the week out by losing in Toronto.

8. Colorado Rapids- 8 points

Only able to manage a draw against a struggling Galaxy at home, but they will have another chance as rivals Real Salt Lake come into town.  The Rapids need to find somebody other that Conner Casey to score goals consistently.

9.  New England Revolution- 8 points

Suffered their first lost of the season to RSL, giving up 6 goals in the process.  Even though New England was without many starters, they played horribly.

10. San Jose Earthquakes- 5 points

Lost in Seattle, and they were blanked by Kasey Keller, but who hasn't been this year.  They still lack a dynamic scorer.

11. Houston Dynamo- 5 points

Did not play this week, they will see if they can build on their victory against Colorado.

12. FC Dallas- 4 points

Lost to Chivas USA, and did not score any goals in the process.  At least they have a victory this year.  Kenny Cooper continues to impress.

13. New York Red Bulls- 5 points

Trying to build after an impressive victory against RSL, New York goes and puts a goose egg in Kansas City, and then handed the game to DC United, giving up 2 goals in the 90th minute.  

14. Los Angeles Galaxy- 4 points

They haven't won any games, but at least they aren't losing a whole lot either.  I don't know if Beckham is going to want to come back.

15. Columbus Crew- 4 points

The defending MLS Cup champs are struggling, and they still have not had a win this year.  They looked in position to do so, up 2-0 against the Chicago Fire, but they gave up 2 goals late and settled for a draw.  Same as LA, at least they are not losing a lot of games.