Traore is a centerback....I suggest we keep him on the back, and not on the right flank....

_________________

Man up, stand in line.

meant Rosales, was reading a post and typing

To be completely honest, I can see Rosales being gone before EJ. Rosales, while a great player, is an injury prone veteran who won't be with the club next season. Add to the fact that he is taking up a DP slot. I can see Rosales being moved during the summer. Especially considering how stacked our midfield is.


In other news, it sounds like Robbie Rodgers is close to coming out of retirement (he retired a few months ago after coming out that he was Gay). Sigi said that if he was to come out of retirement he'd love to have him. Rodgers played for Sigi at Columbus. Chicago currently hold his rights.


I could see us bringing in both Herc and Rodgers this summer.

_________________

Man up, stand in line.

i thought it was funny...

anyways. this team needs scoring. I cant see giving up EJ or Rosales unless more dynamic players come in. While gomez has a nice history of netting goals in Mexico, it hasnt translated to much on the USMNT. Id like him, but not at the expense of proven scorers.

Sounders grab a 2-2 away draw. Last five minutes were a red card festival with three total. Two for the Sounders and one for the Union.

_________________
I am a firm believer in luck, and I found that the harder I work the more I have of it.

At least they showed fight and desire today. Could tell they wanted it. Frustrated not to be playing well.

_________________

Man up, stand in line.

The Sounders defense is brutal. The Union should have had at least 4 goals that game. The Sounders were very lucky to come away with a draw. The only bright spots on defense is the goalkeeping and Traore. The rest leave a lot to be desired. They are awful. I was impressed with Yedlin earlier but the more I see of him the less I think he's a defender. He may be better off in the midfield. He has a lot of speed and enthusiaism but lets too many guys run by him. Luckily, there's Traore or Gspurning to bail hm out. I know he's young but if Sounders can't score, then they can't afford to give up goals.

Seattle absolutely stole a point they didn't deserve yesterday, and the officiating was horrible. That match was an embarrassment to the team and the league.

_________________

You are absolutely entitled to state your opinion whenever you wish, and I am absolutely entitled to point out the stupidity of that opinion with the same frequency.

Talk about stealing some points, the game @KC yesterday we won 1-0 in 90+5 stoppage time. Traore scored a excellently timed goal that had KC's GK looking like he was about to cry. Considering there was only 3 minutes of extra time and we scored in the 95th minute on the road, not to mention KC thought traore was off (which we wasn't) I'd say that qualifies as a steal. Maybe the Sounders luck will finally change, this team is a lot better than their record.

Meh, I would not call it a "steal' since there was a blatant handball by KC right by the goal. It was so blatant that backup GK Hahnemann was sent off in the 24th by the fourth referee for complaining about it. I guess that is what happens when you have a 20 game head referee. The fourth referee has only 50 games under his belt. That particular crew is pretty green.

_________________
I am a firm believer in luck, and I found that the harder I work the more I have of it.

so much of that game was "MLS".... but 3 points for the Sounders, and I believe that makes 7 of 9 from the Sounders. Not pretty, but very necessary.

I agree. It was one of the worst matches that I have watched as far as officiating goes. Even the linesmen were shitting the bed.

_________________
I am a firm believer in luck, and I found that the harder I work the more I have of it.

For those not in the Seattle area, MLS is having a free trial weekend for their MLSLive streaming service.

https://live.mlssoccer.com/mlsmdl/secur ... gn=KickOff

_________________

You are absolutely entitled to state your opinion whenever you wish, and I am absolutely entitled to point out the stupidity of that opinion with the same frequency.

Seattle has their best match of the year by far, beating San Jose 4-0. And I think it was no coincidence at all that the back line had their best match as a group in the first one that JKH didn't play in.

_________________

You are absolutely entitled to state your opinion whenever you wish, and I am absolutely entitled to point out the stupidity of that opinion with the same frequency.

Great match!

_________________

Great day for the Sounders. Sunshine, a roaring crowd, a clean sheet, and goals. Does it get any better?

_________________
Tall men come down to my height when I hit 'em in the body.

Jack Dempsey

Ditto. Nice to see Neagle have a great game. Hopefully they can keep it up.

Couldn't have asked for a better result.

_________________
I am a firm believer in luck, and I found that the harder I work the more I have of it.

Just came across this thread. I'm a huge sounders fan with season tickets since 2009. The sounders this season have been interesting to say the least. I think we are finally hitting our stride. It will be huge to get Oba fit and playing everyday. What do you think of Neagle? Is he best utilized as the third striker, or when Oba and Eddie are both playing, slide him out wide? I think he has displaced Zak on the striker depth chart, but probably not as a winger. Neagle seemed to disappear when Oba came in last Saturday and he slid over.

_________________
"I just try to be the calm in the storm." - Wilsonism 101

I would be tempted to run a 4-3-3 with Morales, Martinez, and Zak as the mids, EJ, Martins, and Neagle as a forward combo.

_________________
I am a firm believer in luck, and I found that the harder I work the more I have of it.

I was looking into the 4-3-3 formation with Neagle inserted. However, they could still use 4-4-2 as well. I've seen teams use an upper-midfield and lower-midfield combination for central midfielders. So Sounders could use this with Alonso in lower mid, Neagle upper mid, plus Rosales and Zak on the wings. Here, you have Johnson and Martins on top. Subs could be Joseph, Martinez, Rose, Caskey, Carrasco, and Evans.

In simpler terms, what I was trying to say is a 4-3-1-2 formation rather than 4-4-2. Here's the link to a visual of that formation -
http://football-formation.com/formations/4-3-1-2. I don't believe any team is using this formation per se but many teams use a variation of 4-4-2 that sort of resembles this.

How about we leave Andy rose on the bench, forever.

_________________
I am a firm believer in luck, and I found that the harder I work the more I have of it.

No disagreement from me on that one.

Lamar Neagle is a lot like Brad Evans in the fact that you want him on the pitch cause he is a gamer. He's a guy that gives it his all everytime he's out there and can make a difference. Neagle can play up front our out wide and is decently good at both.


I still think that Rosales and Zakuani are still the first choices for wingers, but right behind him is Martinez, Neagle and Evans.

Up top its gotta be EJ, Oba, Neagle, Estrada.

_________________

Man up, stand in line.

Excellent match thus far!

_________________

Entertaining game. That red card was ridiculous though.

_________________

Yeah that red was pretty damn harsh, especially since Carassco got called for the exact same thing earlier in the game and didn't even get a yellow for it.

The red was excessive where a yellow would have sufficed. However, let's not let that take away from a complete dismantling of the Western conferences best team. The Sounders could have and should have placed a seven spot on FC Dallas who were outclassed the entire evening.

_________________
I am a firm believer in luck, and I found that the harder I work the more I have of it.

Lets just go ahead and play the high line offside trap against a team that features Lamar Neagle, Eddie Johnson and Obafemi Martins...Yeah, that should work. Horrible game plan and the execution of it was even worse. Those tactics against this club will end up with goals upon goals upon goals...and thats exactly what happened.

I know everyone will be talking about the red, and about EJ, Neagle and Oba getting goals but I want to point out one player who was exceptional. Servando Carrasco. He was spraying balls all over the pitch last night. He looked a little bit like a poor mans Paul Scholes (I cringe everytime Carrasco goes in for a slide tackle). His play over the past 4 games has been outstanding.

That being said...I hope Ozzie isn't out too long with his groin strain.

_________________

Man up, stand in line.

It's always good to see your strikers score. All the goals came from the top guys - Johnson (2), Neagle, and Martins. I believe Martins has a gaol in every game he's played. Dallas is a good team but the drop-off in the middle was quite noticeable once Ozzie got hurt and left. I'm talking about the drop-off in pace and speed. The Sounders were much slower. Thus Dallas was able to put them into more set pieces and controlled the ball better. When they ran, Sounders dominated the game. They could have easily had 5-6 goals this came. Evans had a beautiful opportunity that he didn't finish. Johnson had one earlier in the match. With that sais, the Sounders are hot right now. It seems the team has found ways to play together and win. Their chemistry seems to be real good.

the 4-3-1-2 is implemented quite a bit. not as much as the 4-2-3-1. they are all really just versions of a 4-3-3. the bigger difference and choice comes of what type of wingers you have and what your cms can do.

The 4-3-1-2 though is a very defensive formation... more of a 4-5-1 (which is a defensive form of the 4-3-3). in looking at this formation you are planting 7 players in the first 3 zones (of 7, according to the Dutch and Spanish) of your formation. While you may wiggle your way out (if your Barcelona) holding 7 players that deep in the MLS is a dangerous and negative position to start in. it also leaves 3 zones between your wing players and their attacking teammates (the 2 outside mids would support or attack over the 2 forwards, but in this formation would have nearly 30 yards of gap between them).

the most attacking version is the 4-1-2-3, or Chelsea (mourinhos) 4-flat 3-3. the 4-2-3-1 is a mainstay in the Pl right now, with one of the two holding a very defensive CM, while the other roams and pings with the CAM.

Thanks Uncle Si for the explanantion and clarification of the various formations. This helps.

There was a tidbit in Saturday's sports edition of Seattle Times' Sounder report that the Sounders are inquiring about Jose Javier Barkero. Barkero is a midfielder (34 years old) and former teammate of Obafemi Martins. If they bring Barkero on, who would be released? Would it mean the end of Mauro Rosales?

Depends almost entirely on his salary demands.

Well that sucked! Possibly the worst Sounders game i've watched.

No kidding! Yikes, that was ugly.

_________________

Well the Sounders just lost again...this time to an USL team - Tampa Rowdies. Things are going the wrong way. Hopefully they can get back on track soon.

I have no words.

_________________

Man up, stand in line.

2 shots neither on goal against the Galaxy (waste of my time and money to go see them) and then they can't beat a 3rd tier team of scrubs and Martins can't put a PK in... what the hell

17th different line up on the 17th game (all comps) tonight...


consistency may be our biggest problem this season.

_________________

Man up, stand in line.

That was probably the most ridiculous red card I have ever seen. Hopefully there is some sort od repercussion against the referee for that poor call.

_________________
I am a firm believer in luck, and I found that the harder I work the more I have of it.

Salazar with a bad call...you don't say....

_________________

Man up, stand in line.

thats a ref simply waiting to find a reason for a red card.... which makes him a poor ref

MLS needs to fine or suspend for this to reign him in a bit. The announcers mentioned that he has already disqualified at least five Sounders already this season. As a Sounders fan this upsets me. As a soccer fan this infuriates me. There was no malice in Martins movements yet the referee treats him like Suh.

_________________
I am a firm believer in luck, and I found that the harder I work the more I have of it.

Yeah, that red card was nonsense.

How about the own goal? Haha, that was probably the greatest I've ever seen.

_________________

I would have agreed with you had I not just finished watching the US vs. Germany match.

_________________
I am a firm believer in luck, and I found that the harder I work the more I have of it.

In said game Sounders CM Brad Evans played a marvelous game at RB for the nats. There is talk of him starting our next qualifier....which would be awesome.

_________________

Man up, stand in line.

Agreed. Evans played outrageously well in today's match against the Germans.

_________________
I am a firm believer in luck, and I found that the harder I work the more I have of it.

Good win by the Sounders despite the terrible red card call. We need to be more consistent!!

We need players. Should hold open tryouts for the game against the whitecaps. What is that ... 6 starters we'll be without:

Johnson, Martins, Alonso, Evans, Martinez, who am I missing.

(is Rosales still out?) (is Yedlin on U-23 duty?

Goodness let's play 11 defenders and hope for the best