Category: Section 2 Around the Net

The former goalkeeper of English Championship side Plymouth Argyle, Luke McCormick, was jailed for seven years Monday for killing two young brothers while driving drunk. The 25-year-old was returning from a teammate’s wedding in the early hours of the morning last June with more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in his blood when […]

Goalkeeper Tim Howard’s anger when he thought Trinidad & Tobago had scored in last month’s World Cup qualifier in Chicago illustrates how badly the U.S. defense takes conceding a goal, writes Frank Dell’Apa. Even with the side leading 3-0, Howard punched the ground and then started shouting at his teammates until he realized the goal […]

“Two mistakes, two goals. We gave them those goals. We’ve said that the whole season, we’ve given goals away. But I think we can take a positive out of here. One point against a good team that’s on top of the Eastern Conference is nothing to be sad about.” Real Salt Lake defender Nat Borchers […]

“The goals we gave away were horrendous. We can’t give goals away like that. We tried to pass it and we tried to do the right things, but we were just off. You see the character of the team, though. Two-nil down at home, 20 minutes to go, and they don’t give up. We end […]

“Tonight [Saturday] was just so pleasing because I think it all came together. Unfortunately, it might just be too little, too late, but we’ve given ourselves a great opportunity.” Toronto FC coach John Carver stays optimistic until the end after his side’s 3-1 win at New York.

“I think what we’ve run into today are the champions. They’ve shown championship quality. They have extremely good players in most areas of the pitch. What they also do is make very, very good decisions on the ball. They don’t give it away cheaply [and] they punish you for your own mistakes.” Colorado Rapids’ coach […]

“The only thing about a tie is you just inch along. We needed the full three points, but we’re not out of it by any stretch.” Kansas City Wizards’ captain Jimmy Conrad after his side’s 1-1 tie with the Chicago Fire Sunday.

World soccer governing body FIFA is inviting the world’s journalists to South Africa to show them how safe the country will be when it hosts the World Cup in 2010. FIFA spokesperson Hans Klaus told reporters in Cape Town it will take the hacks on “FIFA-sponsored tours” of the 10 host from next month. “Europe […]

“Fines don’t hurt people. It has to be suspension. FIFA can deduct [qualifying] points and ban them from games.” Former Chelsea defender Paul Elliott is putting pressure on the English Football Association to lobby FIFA for more stringent punishments for racist crowd chants.

Meanwhile, Portsmouth is to report Tottenham Hotspur to the FA for the racist and homophobic chants its fans aimed at Sol Campbell (now of Portsmouth, formerly of Tottenham) during last Saturday’s EPL game between the two sides.

“It’s going to my ****ing lawyers.” Audio of Newcastle United interim manager Joe Kinnear’s full and frank exchange with a Daily Mirror reporter. Warning: contains enough foul language to make Ray Hudson blush.

As far as the competition for No. 1, that’s kind of irrelevant at this point. . . . I think Gary [Smith] made a decision that he’s going to go with me, and up to this point the ball has bounced a little our way since I’ve been in.” Colorado Rapids goalkeeper Preston Burpo talks […]

There’s a famous Kurt Vonnegut short story where nobody dies any more thanks to a medicine that’s been invented to ensure immortality. Needless to say, without the threat of death, life turns out to be something of an existential washout.” Pretentious hack muses on a soccer future without relegation.

Columnist Michael Arace is tentatively assured to find that the potential new part-owners of the Columbus Crew are apparently not interested in moving the franchise to Las Vegas. Arace and Dispatch beat reporter Shawn Mitchell talked to agent Dave Whinham, representative of Mark Noorzai, who is the man with plans to build a $500 million […]

The honeymoon is finally over for Toronto FC’s general manager and former coach Mo Johnston, reports Gareth Wheeler. “TFC has only two wins since the end of May and Johnston’s resources to bring in new players seemingly start and end with one man,” he writes. Fan banners have started to appear proclaiming that ‘Mo Must […]

“There was a time the Earthquakes would have been happy to score a point on the road,” writes Tobias Xavier Lopez. “But not after a 1-1 draw Thursday against FC Dallas.” He tells of the “anger and frustration” in the post-game San Jose locker room after a controversial penalty kick allowed Dallas to tie the […]

The unexpected success of the United Soccer Leagues’ Montreal Impact in Concacaf Champions League group play has raised a logistical issue the team hadn’t previously worried about. If the team continues its good form and qualifies for the competition’s home-and-away quarterfinal, where would it play the home game in the middle of winter? “We’ve started […]

Montreal Impact coach John Limniatis explained his team’s incredible 2-1 Concacaf Champions League away victory at Olimpia of Honduras with simple words. He said the win, which came in the middle of a seven-game stretch in 15 days, was a result of industry and self-belief. This is in stark contrast to the attitude of at […]

The tell-all memoir of David Davies, the former executive director of the English Football Association, continues to leak its pre-publication scoops to the U.K. media. The latest revelation is that the FA was offered the chance to buy votes while bidding for the 2006 World Cup.   The call to the FA offering to set […]

In other alleged bribery news, Zenit St .Petersburg has denied allegations that it paid Bayern Munich to throw last season’s UEFA Cup semifinal. Spanish newspapers El Pais and ABC reported that a leading Spanish judge has heard a taped telephone conversation in which Russian criminal Gennadios Petrov claimed to have paid the German team “vast […]

Austin Kelley hopes that the still nameless L.A. team set to compete in Women’s Professional Soccer next year will pull out all the stops to sign Brazilian Marta, after winning the somewhat flimsy right to try and negotiate a deal with the player in the league’s ‘international draft’ last week. “Start the bidding war,” writes […]

“I know for a fact [Newcastle owner] Mike [Ashley] is talking to eight consortiums about [buying] the club,” says Newcastle’s interim manager Joe Kinnear.

“It’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that the only thing preventing Celtic and their ilk winning more often on their travels are simple human frailties: insecurity and fear.” Barry Glendenning searches for clues to solve the mystery of Glasgow Celtic’s terrible Champions League road form.

“I’ve been listening to and have been enjoying their latest effort, Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever, so I’ll throw them on the list as the last record I’ve purchased.” Guest blogger and Kansas City defender Jimmy Conrad is a fan of U.K. band The Cribs, from the glorious town of Wakefield in Yorkshire. Not a […]

You may have lost count of the newspaper and internet columns hailing the arrival of English striker Darren Huckerby as the reason for San Jose’s turnaround this season. But Huckerby wasn’t coach Frank Yallop’s only signing. Midfielder Arturo Alvarez, who played for Yallop in the  Quakes’ earlier MLS incarnation, has also made a huge difference […]