We're a Selling League Now! MLS 2019

[Bermuda Iron]

If Bermuda scores against Mexico in the middle of the night and only jefe sees it, does the goal count?

I saw it...

[imp]

Okay, it counts. It counted. Did the whole island go nuts, or was the whole island not paying much attention?

[Bermuda Iron]

I wouldn't say 'went nuts', but when Leverock scored the group I was with were certainly whooping with delight! It was a great performance by our little island team, played at altitude against a very strong Mexico side, and we would have qualified for the Gold Cup had we held on for a most unlikely draw. We seem to freeze when playing at home, but really give it a go away (losing at home heavily to Panama and Mexico, but then deservedly beating Panama away and only just losing to Mexico).

[jefe]

https://imgur.com/dUGUODC

Behold the disaster that is the Fire rebranding

[Hot Pepsi]

[Hot Pepsi]

That is profoundly bad. The Fireman’s badge was/is great.

[jefe]

Olympique Lyon is buying Reign FC, and so far keeping them in Tacoma.

Claudio Reyna leaves NYCFC to become Austin FC's TD.

Only 4 people got picked in phase 1 of the re-entry draft today.

Arthur Blank/Atlanta United are buying into Aberdeen.

[ursus arctos]

I wonder if Aulas will try to bring the OL-branded hair salons to Seattle

[Anton Gramscescu]

Miami in the East. Nashville in the West.

No more balanced schedule. Each team plays home-and-home against divisional rivals (24 matches), plus single matches against 10 of 13 teams from the opposite division.

[jefe]

Oscar Pareja returns from Mexico to Orlando City, and they owe Dallas some money thereby due to the agreement Dallas made to allow Pareja to leave them for Mexico.

FAO Ursus: NYCFC seem likely to play their CCL quarterfinal game at the baseball/rugby stadium in Coney Island.

Charlotte to be announced as team 30 on December 17th to join Austin in 2021 for a $325M fee. If teams 31 and 32 were to be announced now, they'd be Phoenix and Vegas.

MLS opening day is 2/29/20, the very first game of the season is Colorado@DCU at 1:30; MLS Cup is 11/7/20.

Inter Miami added Luis Robles and A.J. de la Garza, Columbus signed Axel Sjoberg, and Nashville imported a Honduran defender from Olimpia, Sacha Klejstan returns to the Galazy, and Lucas Cavallini appears to be joining Vancouver, among other moves.

In 2022, the USL Championship replaces the PawSox in Pawtucket in their very own 7,500 seat stadium; ownership fronted by the guy who currently own Phoenix Rising. Tulsa Roughnecks have rebranded as.....FC Tulsa; Colorado Springs Switchbacks have broken ground on their very own 8000 seat home.

[jefe]

DCU re-sign Frederic Brillant for 2 years and buy Bill Hamid back for Denmark.

SKC just dropped a lot of money on Alan Pulido from Chivas.

Revs spiffy new training center opened.

TFC have been in the league for years and years now, and until today I had no idea that the southside team bench in BMO is basically where Exhibition Stadium's LF foul pole was.

[Anton Gramscescu]

TFC have been in the league for years and years now, and until today I had no idea that the southside team bench in BMO is basically where Exhibition Stadium's LF foul pole was.

I would have put it at the visiting team's bench, not ours, but yeah, that's about right.

Michael Bradley, Toronto's Eternal Champion, agrees a two-year deal with an option, on TAM wages(!) on the same day Kawhi Leonard visited Toronto for the first time since June (nice contrast). Which means we're in the DP market for another speedy winger/forward. My money's on Eindhoven's Gaston Periero.

I look forward to crushing Seattle next November.

[jefe]

Ottawa Fury are officially dead and gone; their owners sold their franchise to the rich Brazilian guy who owns Miami FC, who will join USL for next season. USL is also going to set up an All Star game next season as well.

USOC format is out, and 11 teams enter an an earlier round than before this year, so there's guaranteed to be a ton of MLS v lower league matchups.

Philly are rebranding their USL team as Union II, since they can't find a place for them to play in the Lehigh Valley and keep the Bethlehem Steel name.

Sal Zizzo signed for Landon Donovan FC, who will do a bunch of cross promotions with the Sockers.

There are trademarks filed for 8 potential Charlotte names, all of which suck.

[jefe]

MLS full schedule rumored to be announced on Thursday.

Seth Sinovic leaves SKC after 9 years for New England, who are also bringing in a Polish DP striker.

Zac MacMath to Vancouver for $50K of TAM; Diego Valeri-re-signs in Portland for a while.

NYCFC, to avoid midweek games, is moving 4 home games to Citifield.

Charlotte is officially in. Don Garber said this will likely be the last expansion announcement. That's funny.

LAFC spend $2.5M for a Uruguayan u-20 midfielder.

[Anton Gramscescu]

MLS full schedule rumored to be announced on Thursday.

I had literally logged on to ask you when the schedule was coming out, jefe. Cheers.

[imp]

Zac MacMath to Vancouver for $50K of TAM

Still one of the best footballer names on the planet.

[jefe]

NYCFC, to avoid midweek games, is moving 4 home games to Citifield.

And the great thing is, the last one is vs DCU so I can go see my team without endangering my soul by entering the grounds of hell.

The league also was nice enough to break out which teams each team won't be facing; for DCU it's KC, RSL, and Portland.

Philly doesn't leave the eastern timezone for the last half of the season.

Under $4M got Olympique Lyon 89.5% of Seattle Reign; and Sacramento couldn't be shoehorned in this season so the NWSL will go with 9 teams again.

[jefe]

Lucho Acosta signed for Atlas in Liga MX

[Anton Gramscescu]

The news that the CPL has been included in FM2020 is creating scenes of hysterical joy in the tiny community of Canadian soccer twitter.

As you were.

[jefe]

One of the CPL teams, the York one I think, fired their president.

Inter Miami signed a Haitian international kid off the Sounders reserve team, and are probably signing Juan Agudelo.

Orlando is loaning in an Argentine CB; New England bought one of the world's many Camara's from Le Havre as a TAM signing; and Philly signed a Venezuelan d mid

Rafael Wicky is probably leaving the U-17's to coach the Fire, reunited with their new TD, both of whom were at Basel.

[Anton Gramscescu]

York 9 did fire their coach, and have also hired longtime Ursus collective fave Paul Stalteri as their assistant coach.

There is a new Canadian Championship format. All MLS teams now show up at the Quarter-final stage (along with CPL regular-season champ Calgary), and the draw has been made regional, East on one side of the bracket and west (plus Hamilton) on the other. York 9 will (probably - there is a play-in against an amateur team) face TFC in the quarters, with the other likely match-ups being Halifax-Mtl, Hamilton vs. Calgary and Edmonton/Victoria vs. Whitecaps. This will be a distinctly unpopular format along the 401 because it means TFC & the Impact can only meet in the semis, not the finals.

[jefe]

Juan Agudelo and Roman Torres to Beckham FC are expected to be announced soon, as is their coach-Diego Alonso, former Liga MX winner with Pachuca and Monterrey.

Currently, every single US youth coaching job is vacant, except for the men's U-23 and women's U-17.

Philly re-signed Aurelien Collin.

Chris Durkin very much wants to stay in Belgium, and Dynamo Dresden are looking into Russell Canouse.

Leandro Gonzales Pires is close to signing for Xolos de Tijuana.

The owners of the now former Fresno USL team are still trying to move them to play at Cal State Monterey Bay's stadium. Currently, this would be quite difficult. Because it's paved over and used for graduations. They'd have to renovate it first.

[jefe]

USMNT traditional January Camp Cupcake is heavily youth laden, and will happen 1/5-25. In Qatar. Then we play Costa Rica 2/1, the Dutch away in march, and maybe Wales away also, at last rumor.

Canada, meanwhile, will be having their own camp in SoCal, and playing Iceland.

Fraser Aird got fired by his club team in Scotland for going to the Old Firm game and making naughty gestures at Celtic fans.

FCD loaned Pablo Aranguiz to U de Chile; Orlando signed a Brazilian center back, and Alexander Katai may be moving to the Galaxy.

[jefe]

USMNT traditional January Camp Cupcake is heavily youth laden, and will happen 1/5-25. In Qatar. Then we play Costa Rica 2/1, the Dutch away in march, and maybe Wales away also, at last rumor.

Canada, meanwhile, will be having their own camp in SoCal, and playing Iceland.

Make that camp in Bradenton after the current messiness, and Canada will also play Barbados.

DCU are chasing a bunch of expensive Peruvians; and Orlando is signing Alianza Lima's GK.

NYCFC are probably going to hire current Valeranga/ex-Celtic manager Ronny Delia, and have permanently signed Keaton Parks from Benfica.

Tony Pulis's kid left his job managing St. Louis FC to be an assistant at Beckham FC; replaced by Steve Trittschuh.

USL 1 might be coming to Portland, Maine.

RBNY wanted to buy a winger from Hull City but were turned down as of now; Portland signed Diego Chara's brother as a DP.

[Anton Gramscescu]

Bacary Sagna leaves the Impact