Kenya Brown College Park, Md. Peter Schmeichel has said that he will quit Manchester United at the end of the season. Now talk of United’s next goalkeeper has already begun to heat up. Top of the list is Mark Bosnich (Aston Villa), who is a free agent at the end of the season. I know this may be a longshot, but do you think Kasey Keller may have a shot at getting in with Manchester? This is a guy who has proven himself with smaller clubs (financially wise) and has led them to success. Doesn’t Keller deserve a shot with a bigger club and possibly collecting more silverware? Duncan Irving: Bosnich is three years younger than Keller, and a bigger name, which would probably make him a better buy for United. Keller is a very good goalkeeper, but he’s not the sort of spectacular keeper people would expect Man United to buy, although there’s no reason why not, as he’s out of contract and has certainly proven himself to be an excellent Premier League keeper. Bosnich has also been with Man. United before, so he is a known quantity. Kasey seems inclined to test the market, as he’s been granted permission to speak to other clubs and has not negotiated with the Foxes at all. He might try his luck on the continent, but I imagine he’ll stay in England, as he is a good fit there. I think that Leicester be inclined to keep him if it can. If he leaves, they’d just have to go find someone else. I definitely don’t see Kasey coming back to MLS for a while. He’s only 29 and he’s got at least five years left in him at the top level. Merrill Ring Claremont, Calif. After three years, which European leagues is MLS equivalent to? (The original comparison was to be to the Belgian First Division or the Dutch First Division minus the top three teams.) Is a young American player better off playing in MLS or, say, the English First Division or German Second Division? Paul Kennedy: It’s a close call. Minor-league ball in Europe is traditionally cruder, so the playing level isn’t going to help a young American that much. It isn’t necessarily going to help him move up — of the dozens of players in the Second Division, only a small percentage move up. If you look at the Americans who have been in the Germany Second Division in recent years — e.g. John Van Buskirk, now back in the Third, and Matt Okoh, out with injuries — it didn’t help them get callups to the national team. Where European Second Division play still has it over MLS is in two practical areas: training — 10-11 months a year, instead of 10 months at best — and competition — not quality but seriousness. The pressure on players to succeed in major soccer countries is something that MLS has yet to duplicate. Andrew Lencoski San Antonio In soccer, teams are penalized on throw-ins for deviating too far from the throw-in spot. This is a non-dangerous play. Yet on free kicks the ball can be moved 15 to 20 feet sometimes and sometimes this does create a dangerous situation. Why is this allowed and the throw in deviation not allowed? Mike Woitalla: I fear, Andrew, that you have been the witness to some slack refereeing. Here’s what the Rule Book says: Free kicks are “to be taken from the place where the offense occurred.” (Unless it’s from a foul on the defending team in the goal area, then it can be taken anywhere in the goal area. An indirect-kick foul on the attacking team in the opponent’s goal line shall be taken from the part of the goal-area line that runs parallel to the goal line, from the nearest point where the offense was taken. Direct-kick fouls in the penalty box, of course, result in a kick from the penalty spot.) And: “A throw-in taken from any position other than the point where the ball passed over the touch-line shall be considered to have been improperly thrown in.” Very often, referees aren’t sticklers about exactly where a free kick is taken. If it is in midfield and the team is getting the ball into play quickly, what’s a few feet? What’s odd about the referees whom you have seen: Why be a stickler on the throw-ins and not the free kicks? When I refereed, I wouldn’t get pedantic about 10 feet for a throw-in, or a free kick in midfield. Even 15 feet (5 yards) in the middle of the field doesn’t seem like that big a deal. Within 35 yards of the goal, the ref ought to be precise, however. The key difference in what the rules have to say is that a team that throws from the wrong spot loses the ball. Yet the referee can let a free kick be retaken if it has quickly been kicked from the wrong spot. Damian Wright Rowlett, Texas To quote Paul Gardner: “Dallas suffers the worst stadium problem in the league, way too big, too old, and at the wrong site.” As an Inferno member I agree. Do you have any candidates for ownership of the Burn. Without an owner, Dallas will forever be in the rumored to move franchises. A new owner, then maybe a new stadium (my idea is a partnership with Dallas Cup) would be a much better indication of this market. Of course, if I win the Lotto… Ridge Mahoney: Only lukewarm interest in the Burn, from what little information I’ve been able to gather. The Cotton Bowl is certainly a drawback, and not a few people in the Burn front office would bolt Dallas for cozy Robertson Stadium in Houston, but MLS has Houston on its expansion list. Alberto P. Abreus Emerson, N.J. Is there any chance the U.S. will host the World Cup earlier than 2010. The news from Korea was that they wanted to move the tournament due to the rainy season for a September start. Duncan Irving: No, I’m afraid not. There’s too much money invested and too many sponsors involved from the Far East for it to happen. The rainy season may result in the tournament’s being played in May and June, and possibly more games will be played in Japan as well. The one thing will be looked at closely after 2002 is the idea of co-hosting a tournament. The logistical problems for both this tournament and Euro 2000 (co-hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands) have been numerous. Japan and Korea’s co-hosting has always been something that former FIFA boss Joao Havelange said he was strong-armed into and that it was a mistake.