Up The Gear News

Clint Dempsey was the star of the weekend as he scored both goals in Fulham's 2-2 tie with Chelsea. His first was a fantastic backward side-volley flick, with the second coming in the 89th minute.

~and~

Jonathan Spector returned from a hip injury finally, made the bench for West Ham on Sunday, and even made an appearance as a sub in the dying moments of the game! This is great news. We need more American defenders getting playing time in top leagues.

~and~

I have always wondered why Landon Donovan wasn't the perfect player for Arsenal?


MLS Team News

COLUMBUS CREW

Shawn Mitchell of the Dispatch with the huge news Crew fans were thinking would not come to them - the leagues defender of the year Chad Marshall turns down Europe to re-sign with the Crew. Wow! I am very surprised by this one.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bob Hunter of the Dispatch hands out a giant batch of year end awards, and several go the Crews way including player, coach, team and fans.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

HOUSTON DYNAMO

The team signed left fullback & team captain Wade Barrett to a new contract. They also re-signed assistant coach John Spencer.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

LOS ANGELES GALAXY

The Gals have signed veteran Jamaican goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts from Village United.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION

The Revs signed midfielder Michael Videira, a former draft pick of theirs that spent last year in Scotland at Hamilton.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

SEATTLE SOUNDERS

Don Ruiz of the Olympian feels that the new Sounders had a great 2008 even though they didn't play a game yet.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

GENERAL

Kyle McCarthy of Goal.com has New Year resolutions for MLS.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

John Haydon of the Washington Post with a 2008 review.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tobias Xavier Lopez of the Fort Worth Star Telegram wraps up 08 too.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Andrea Canales wonders what happened to the theory that New England assistant Paul Mariner was on the verge of getting a head coaches job.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS Rumor City - Don't Tease Me Bro!

The whispers of Spanish centerback David Belenguer from Getafe coming to MLS won't go away. But I gotta tell ya, he is old. So let's hope this one does not happen.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And no-team Ghanaian midfielder Steven Appiah says an offer from MLS teams makes him "laugh very loud". Ouch.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS Stadium Talk

The Houston Chronicle reports on a hugely unexpected move where county commissioners have pledged $10 million needed to build a stadium for the Dynamo in downtown Houston!!! This was a major hurdle that many thought was being passed off with out public discussion taking place. I cant wait to go to MLS Cup there.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS Expansion News

A writer for the Hillsboro Argus in Oregon has his Christmas wish list, and at the top is a MLS team for Portland.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Soccer In America

Steve Davis of ESPN Soccernet lists him Top 10 most influence people in our countries soccer hierarchy today. Did I make the list? Surely! No? Damn. How does this list not have someone from ESPN on it?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jeff Carlisle of ESPN Soccernet with his year in review.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Allen Ramsey of Goal.com with his top list of 08, which is mostly America-centric.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kenya Brown at Yanks Abroad with is wishes for 2009.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Americans In Europe

Ives Galarcep at ESPN Soccernet gives us the horrible news that Borussia Dortmund centerback Neven Subotic has decided that his senior international career with be with his native Serbia and not his naturalized United State. Dammit!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The National newspaper in the United Arab Emirates with an article on Landon Donovan arriving in Dubai to train with Bayern Munich. Beckman and the LA Galaxy are part of the article too. Bayern play a match in Abu Dhabi against the club called Al Jazira on Jan 10.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Andrew Hush of ESPN Soccernet does a Q & A with Clint Dempsey, in two parts - PART 1 - PART 2.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

TRANSFER RUMORS

Are DaMarcus Beasley and Maurice Edu both already over at Rangers? Neither has played much at all much less even been on the bench this first half of the season.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The same goes for Bobby Convey at Reading who has rarely been on the game day roster all season.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Finally you have to ask about the loan of Eddie Johnson from Fulham to Cardiff City, where he is still sitting on the bench, but barely seeing any action. How much longer will that go on before he is sent back to Fulham, and then where?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

While we were being told that Monchengladbach were a potential bidder for Oguchi Onyewu, it was really his defensive partner Bonfim Dante (a Brazilian, natch) that they wanted, and have now signed.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MOST RECENT MATCHES
(only players who saw the field are listed)

~Boxing Day Matches~
England Premiership
-Clint Dempsey - Fulham - went the full match in the midfield as they drew 0-0 at Tottenham.
-Brad Friedel - Aston Villa - played the whole match as usual and drew 2-2 at home against Arsenal.
-Tim Howard - Everton - went the distance winning 0-1 at Middlesbrough.

England Championship
-Jay DeMerit - Watford - played the whole match but they lost at hom 2-4 to Bristol City.

England League One
-Jemal Johnson - Milton Keynes - started and played 69 minutes as they won 1-2 at Bristol Rovers.
-Zak Whitbread - Millwall - played the entire match as they lost 1-0 at Peterborough United.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~Regular Weekend Matches~
England Premiership
-Clint Dempsey - Fulham - went the full 90 and scored BOTH GOALS, drawing a Yellow Card for removing his shirt after the 2nd one that came in the 89th minute, as they drew 2-2 at home against Chelsea.
-Tim Howard - Everton - went the full 90 as they won easily 3-0 at home over Sunderland.
-Jonathan Spector - returned from a long injury lay off as a sub in the 89th minute, and they won 2-1 at home over Stoke.

England Championship
-Jay DeMerit - Watford - played the whole 90, got a Yellow Card, and they drew 0-0 at QPR.

England League One
-Jemal Johnson - Milton Keynes - started and played 80 minutes of a 2-0 home win over Southend United.
-Zak Whitbread - Millwall - played the full 90 as they drew 1-1 at home against Yeovil Town.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

CONCACAF News

Honduras will host the 7 team UNCAF Championship that sends Central American qualifiers to the Gold Cup. The games run Jan 22 to Feb 1.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Group A
Honduras
Nicaragua
Belize
El Salvador

Group B
Costa Rica
Panama
Guatemala
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Full list of matches coming soon.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mexico & FMF News

Soccer By Ives with an article on the possible new trend of Mexicans who recently went to Europe but are now heading back home.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Inter Liga

It's almost time for Inter Liga 2009, the tournament that sends Mexican teams to South America's Copa Libertadores tournament.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Official website.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Matches & Scores:
-Fri Jan 2
Venue: Pizza Hut Park, Dallas TX
Toluca v Morelia
UAdG Tecos v Pachuca
-Sat Jan 3
Venue: Robertson Stadium, Houston TX
UANL Tigres v Atlas
Guadalajara Chivas v Club America
-Mon Jan 5
Venue: Robertson Stadium, Houston TX
UAdG Tecos v Morelia
Toluca v Pachuca
-Tue Jan 6
Venue: Pizza Hut Park, Dallas TX
UANL Tigres v Club America
Guadalajara Chivas v Atlas
-Thu Jan 8
Venue: Home Depot Center, Carson CA
Morelia v Pachuca
Toluca v UAdG Tecos
-Fri Jan 9
Venue: Home Depot Center, Carson CA
Atlas v Club America
UANL Tigres v Guadalajara Chivas
-Sun Jan 11
Venue: Home Depot Center, Carson CA
Finals
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

South America News

The Miami Herald with a story on the Uruguayan season that ended in brutal violence and cancellation of the season all together. That is sad to read about.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

England News

Stevie G from Liverpool spent Sunday night in the pokey after being arrested in a bar fight! Oops.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

John Molinaro of the CBC says that Fulham manager Roy Hodgson is on a level of his own among English managers.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kevin McCarra of the Guardian looks at the new democracy in the Premiership, and the impact of Fabio Capello.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dominic Fifield of the Guardian calls this Premiership season the most competitive ever. (Yet there will be no real surprise winner.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

John Ashdown of the Guardian reviews the weekend in the English leagues not called Premier.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When Saturday Comes asks the same question that I always ask - If Boxing Day is such a big day for matches, then how come we never see any big matchups. It's all about money.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

European News

From the BBC comes an article on this idea - The Atlantic League - comprised of the top teams from Scotland, Portugal, Holland and Scandinavia. What do you think of that idea?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

GERMANY

The Bundesliga website has a Q & A with Monchengladbach sporting director Max Eberl. A mention of Michael Bradley.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

ITALY

FIFA.com has a Q & A with Italy and Milan midfielder Andrea Pirlo.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Gazzetta dello Sport has a Q & A with Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

NETHERLANDS

Leander Schaerlaeckens of the Guardian reviews the last round in 08 of the Eredivisie.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

SPAIN

The New York Times with an article on the great turnaround so far this season at Barcelona.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Barcelona will do some pre-seasoning next summer in America again.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Top Of The European Club Standings & Top Goal Scorers

England 20 of 38 games played
45 Liverpool
42 Chelsea
38 Manchester United (18 played)
35 Arsenal
35 Aston Villa (19 played)
-Goals
14 Nicolas Anelka - Chelsea
11 Robinho - Manchester City
10 Amr Zaki - Wigan
9 Gabriel Agbonlahor - Aston Villa
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

World News

Martin Rogers gives us his 2008 World Best XI. And other stuff too.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jonah Freedman of Sports Illustrated with the new World Soccer Club Power Rankings as the year closes.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Gareth Wheeler of the Toronto Sun with his wishes for 2009.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Greg Seltzer of Soccer 365 gives us his Christams Wishlist.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

African News

Emmanuel Adebayor of Arsenal has been named Togo's Footballer Of The Year.