Saturday Kickaround

Travel tips for South Africa from that other newspaper to the north:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/travel/09pracgames.html

That other paper also has an update on the U17 tournament in Nigeria later this year:

http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/07/us-learns-opponents-in-u-17-world-cup/

Higuain 0? That's interesting. I was reading that he was on the market...

Real Madrid should be exhausted from the cross-country travel and two previous matches. I also think that they've exhausted their allotment of pre-season goals.

DCU 2 - RM 1

After watching the RM-TFC lowlights, I must ask this - should Marvell Wynne be called up?

anyone have a good soccer bar near fedex? thanks

Wynne - Called up?
To what big team? Maybe the RedBulls...
Or is he not deserving even of that punishment at this point?
Truly he looked no worse than usual.

Some Veron news- taking a big salary hit out of the kindness of his heart http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=665956&sec=global&cc=5901

"If this were not Real Madrid, if this were a mid-level [English] Premiership team or a smaller team from Spain or Italy, I don't think we would be playing the match," United President Kevin Payne said. "But opportunities to play a club like Real Madrid don't come along that often"-Payne

In other words, the money was too good. Success of franchise, away!

Also, Soehn, you don't want United to be handled like Madrid. They don't exactly get bang for their buck. They are arrogant, ridiculously high spenders, and I still think that a stiff defense and a healthy attackby any one of the top clubs will be their downfall in the Champions League, and that Barca will still rule the roost.

Agreed. Watching Barca vs Seattle (I know, hardly a measuring stick), they seemed to be already playing some very fast, very crisp soccer. It will take Madrid a while to pick up that speed and chemistry, even if they're already offensively potent.

Does anyone know of a soccer-friendly restaurant or tavern in the vicinity of West Chester, PA, where I may find myself Sunday afternoon and evening? I hope that after tonight, I won't be in a position of having to stick around and root for the Sol, but who knows?

Wow - forecast 95˚ at kickoff tomorrow.

DCU picking up Harrisburg City Islanders forward Tiyi Shipalane on a loan deal? http://www.pennlive.com/cityislanders/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/sports/1249704638167940.xml&coll=1

What does this mean for the Anderlecht/Burundi defender DCU was hoping to sign?

Completely OT, http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/2009/08/galleries/the_top_20_hard_1.php?pic=8#galtitle, but I like to think that his time in DC had something to do with our favorite Kiwi's development (and I wanted to provide a happy Saturday link for all of us ladies).

At the moment it means absolutely nothing. No indication Shipalane will be added to DC's MLS roster - thus filling the one remaining open slot - any time soon. It would be quite the savage burn, however, if he eventually ends up with Khumalo's spot!

Khumalo got lucky breaking his wrist when he was on a high.

(Seriously, they keep paying him, while N'Silu looks to be finished).

Alright, I'll clarify. I don't think Khumalo is going to make it as a United player, but he did show a little spark, and then got sidelined with the coaches thinking well of him.

Meanwhile, N'Silu plays, gets time, looks below average, and I'm pretty sure we're losing him.

What is more, they'll give Khumalo even More paid time to adjust after coming back from the injury.

The tipping point for me was the video of him playing with the children. His feet have no more quality than an average high schooler. Aw well. Hope this new guy is better.

DCU's twitter confirms that Shipalane is in town and a loan deal is being discussed. I would be shocked if Khumalo lost his spot on the team instead of N'Silu, who appears to be very much in the doghouse. On the surface, it would appear to hurt our forward depth, since Shipalane is a wide player, but with Pontius, Quaranta, Gomez, and Khumalo all capable of playing up front, I don't think we're losing much. I believe Allen has played as a forward in the past as well.

Shipalane showed he can cause teams a good amount of discomfort with his speed, and I didn't see too much of the "chicken with its head cut off" routine that you get out of fast players sometimes. Ultimately, I'd lean towards favoring this move. N'Silu doesn't have Soehn's confidence, so right now he's like a wasted roster spot. Even if Shipalane is ineffective, we at least get someone Soehn is willing to use (therefore resting a more important player).

Reading the article linked by hoyanick1 revealed some things:

First, Shipalane can apparently play forward. Second, it sounds like he's likely to sign (possibly on loan) this weekend, then return to Harrisburg for the USL-2 playoffs. The USL-2 season is just about over, so the playoffs will be done within a month. For as long as Shipalane is playing for Harrisburg and not us, he wouldn't take a roster spot thanks to the new MLS rules regarding loans.

Once he joined us full-time (whenever Harrisburg is eliminated), he would count on the roster, which obviously would mean someone else has to go. I would guess that means that players under threat (mostly N'Silu, along with possibly Allen and Khumalo) have a month to prove they belong.