win this season was in a 122-101 victory at Sacramento on Dec. 11. ... | Forum
miaowang123
Jul 20 '18
Despite the on-pitch action being over for another year for Canadas three MLS teams, there is still plenty to be resolved in the coming weeks as the Whitecaps, Impact and Toronto FC all have crucial decisions to make ahead of the 2014 season. Chris Baker Bengals Jersey . On this weeks blog, I look at three big questions surrounding our MLS clubs. 1. Who is next in Vancouver? When the Whitecaps took the decision not to renew the contract of head coach Martin Rennie after two years with the club, it seemed as though Frank Yallop would be the man to take over the job. However, the former Canada head coach instead became the top man in Chicago with the Fire - a deal that was completed in the space of 24 hours, something that maybe caught Vancouver a little bit by surprise and ruled out a leading contender to replace Rennie. The Whitecaps have now started the interview process. Current assistant coach Carl Robinson should be a leading candidate. Another name in the running is Richie Williams. Marc Weber reported in the Vancouver Province this week that Williams was in Vancouver to meet with club officials about the position. The former New York Red Bulls player and assistant coach is currently head coach of the United States U17 team. Promoting Robinson would be a move that is welcomed by many of the Whitecaps players. Both Canadian Russell Teibert and MLS Golden Boot winner Camilo have given their support to the former Wales international who has plenty of experience in Major League Soccer since joining the league in 2007. He is well-respected around the league as a bright young coaching mind who will go on to be a successful head coach in Major League Soccer. The Whitecaps have a wealth of young talent within their squad and their Residency Program so the new coach must be someone who is capable of developing that talent. Both Robinson and Williams have experience in that area. There is also the possibility of the Whitecaps holding out to see who else becomes available in the coming weeks. Will Sigi Schmid stay in Seattle? Is out-of-contract Jason Kreis really a viable option? With decisions needing to be taken regarding players futures, the Whitecaps need to move swiftly to fill the void if they are to have the maximum time available to prepare properly for next season. 2. Will Marco be back in Montreal? Montreal Impact president Joey Saputo apologized to the MLS family during his post-season press conference earlier this week following his clubs meltdown in Houston a few days earlier. The 3-0 defeat against the Dynamo was hard to take, but the way in which the team lost their heads was a bitter pill to swallow. Finishing with eight men was bad enough, but losing top scorer Marco Di Vaio for the first three games of next season after supplemental discipline was a further kick in the teeth. Whether or not the loss of Di Vaio will be a problem for Marco Schallibaum to deal with remains to be seen. The Swiss coach is keen to come back for another year, but Saputo and Sporting Director Nick De Santis are still unsure whether they want to stick with Schallibaum in 2014. That would have been unthinkable even two months ago, with Montreal still tied for first place in the Eastern Conference as late as mid-September, but the way they plummeted down the standings has raised concerns. Saputo is wise to take his time over the decision instead of making a rash move while the emotion of the playoff exit is still very raw. If Schallibaum isnt back, it would be the third coach in as many years for Montreal. The decision must come down to why Saputo and De Santis believe things went wrong in the closing weeks of the year. In late summer, they were happy with the coach and expected him to lead them into next year. Does the last two months of the season change that? Down the stretch, the Impact were unable to field a settled lineup due to a number of significant injuries. It seemed the squad also struggled to deal with the impact of the added Champions League games in the schedule. That is beyond Schallibaums control, but there were also questions surrounding some personnel decisions as well as some key games where they looked flat. Schallibaum is an intelligent coach and someone who has the respect of many of the players. If given the opportunity to return, I believe he will have learned some key lessons from his first season in MLS, and will come back a stronger, wiser leader next season. 3. Is Torontos DP search nearing an end? Toronto FC supporters have grown tired of broken promises in recent years, especially in the 2013 season when there was plenty of talk about Designated Player signings that wasnt backed up with actions. However, it seems under new MLSE president Tim Leiweke, the club is finally getting close to securing a couple of big name additions. Two of Torontos main targets right now are Italian forward Alberto Gilardino and England striker Jermaine Defoe. Gilardinos agent attended the final match of the season at BMO Field against Montreal a couple of weeks ago, and reports suggest a deal has been agreed upon with the strikers current club Genoa which would see the man who won the World Cup with Italy in 2006 added to the Reds squad at some stage next year. The club is also doing all it can to woo Defoe. The Tottenham Hotspur striker is a former teammate of Reds head coach Ryan Nelsen and when asked about the 31-year-old, Nelsen said he would be a phenomenal signing, speaking in glowing terms about his finishing ability and also his character on and off the pitch. While the additions of Gilardino and Defoe alone would not guarantee a turnaround, they would go a long way to finally giving the long-suffering fans a team capable of challenging for the playoffs. It would give the club two proven goal scorers who have the potential to be prolific in MLS – if they get the service. Thats where new GM Tim Bezbatchenko and Nelsen would have to work hard to ensure they can secure the pieces necessary to give those big name players the opportunity to thrive. While these deals are still not across the finish line, it does seem as if significant progress has been made, and Toronto are closing in on a couple of major signings that would finally provide the fans with something to smile about. Sam Hubbard Bengals Jersey . The defending champions sent their preliminary list to FIFA on Tuesday, with coach Vicente del Bosque to announce the final 23-man squad on May 25. Costa is set to lead the attack in his native Brazil, with Atletico Madrid teammate David Villa and Chelseas Fernando Torres also included, while David de Gea replaces injured goalkeeper Victor Valdes. Jessie Bates III Bengals Jersey . a€“ All signs point to the Maple Leafs having their top offseason acquisition in the lineup on opening night.SALT LAKE CITY -- Gordon Hayward had 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to lead a balanced Utah Jazz offence in a 109-86 win over the slumping Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night. Richard Jefferson scored 17 points and Diante Garrett had a career-high 15 points as the Jazz had seven players with 10 points or more in Utahs largest margin of victory this season. The Jazz shot 57.5 per cent from the field, the highest mark of any Phoenix opponent this season. Gerald Green had 17 points and rookie Archie Goodwin matched his career-best with 16 for the Suns. Playing their only road game in a nine-game stretch, the Suns have been looking to improve their playoff position. However, with a third straight loss, Phoenix leads Memphis by just one-half game the eighth and final Western Conference berth. Hayward, mired in a shooting slump (31 per cent in his previous 13 games), made plays all over the court in this one. Some fans chanted to put Hayward back in the game to get his first-ever triple-double. He just smiled as he watched the Jazz play the last 6:15 of the runaway win. Goran Dragic did not dress due to a sprained ankle and the Suns missed his playmaking abilities. Dragic twisted his right ankle in the third quarter in a loss to Minnesota on Tuesday and will have the injury re-evaluated on Thursday. Ish Smith had 13 points and five assists but the Jazz didnt respect his outside shooting and the defence wasnt spread like it would have been with Dragic. The Suns were 6 of 19 on 3-pointers. The Jazz turned a five-point lead into a 72-57 advantage thanks a 12-2 run and aa 5:08 stretch where they held the Suns without a field goal. Jessie Bates III Jersey. The Jazz broke it open in the fourth quarter as Garrett showed the skills he wished the Suns could have seen last season. Garrett was a late pickup for the Jazz this season after playing 19 games for Phoenix in 2012-13. Garrett had 11 points in the first five minutes of the fourth period to push the Jazz lead to 95-73. Derrick Favours scored 15 points in his second game back from a hip injury and Alec Burks scored 15 and Jeremy Evans had 11 in reserve roles. The Jazz outscored the Suns 50-36 in the paint and were equally adept from beyond the arc, making 9 of 18 attempts. After allowing a 35-point fourth quarter against the Timberwolves on Tuesday, the Suns defence was again porous against the Jazz. Utah players often beat their Phoenix counterparts down the courts and were one step quicker to the hoop on drives. Though the Jazz are buried near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, the starting lineup of Jefferson, Marvin Williams, Favors, Hayward and Trey Burke improved to 18-9 on the season. NOTES: Morris got a technical in the third quarter for yelling at official Zach Zarba after he was called for a foul on Jeffersons attempted dunk. ... The Suns largest lead was one point. ... The Jazz outscored the Suns in every quarter. ... Utahs previous biggest win this season was in a 122-101 victory at Sacramento on Dec. 11. ... Phoenix coach Jeff Hornacek played for the Jazz from 1994-2000 and served as an assistant coach with Utah from 2011-13. His No. 14 jersey number hangs in the rafters. China Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Jerseys ThrowbackChina NFL Hoodies NFL Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Autographed Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Jerseys From China ' ' '
Share:
