Montreal Impact steal one in Seattle

By Money Mike


The Seattle Sounders came into the season opener without a few key players. Adam Johansson, David Estrada and Patrick Ianni were out injured. Lamar Neagle was left out of the lineup. Djimi Traore was left on the bench. And Ozzie Alonso and Marc Burch were suspended. So I expected play to be a little sloppy on the part of the Sounders, but I did not expect a result like this. On Saturday, the Montreal Impact came to CenturyLink Field and stunned the crowd of 38,998 in attendance as they defeated the Seattle Sounders 1-0. The Sounders had some chances in this game, but they couldn't deliver and with the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinal on the road at Tigres coming up a couple days from now, Seattle needs to correct their mistakes and correct them fast. Since both legs of the Champions League are this Wednesday and next Tuesday, the Sounders next match in league play won't be until March 16 at home and their opponent happens to be the Portland Timbers.

In the 18th minute, Montreal had a chance to go up 1-0 and probably should've gone up 1-0. Andrea Pisanu spotted the run of Marco Di Vaio and fed him with a perfectly timed through ball in the box. Di Vaio got in behind Zach Scott and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado but he put a little too much under the ball and shot it over the bar.

In the 24th minute, the Sounders had an opportunity of their own to break the deadlock. Again, the passing was sloppy on both ends of the pitch and teams struggling to clear the ball out of their own area. Felipe Martins looked to clear the ball from danger but Jhon Kennedy Hurtado stepped in to head the ball to Andy Rose whose touch was a little heavy. Felipe slid in to win the ball back, but Rose fed the ball to the near side for Mario Martinez who looked and curled the ball to the near post for Eddie Johnson who got past Matteo Ferrari, but he flicked the ball wide of Troy Perkins's right hand side.

Five minutes later, EJ had another opportunity. Justin Mapp's misplaced pass gave Mauro Rosales a chance to catch Montreal on the counter. Rosales rolled the ball to Johnson on the right side of the box. Johnson waited for support before cutting inside and trying to curl his shot into the corner, but it was too far central and easily gathered by Troy Perkins.

In the 35th minute, the Sounders get caught on the counter and the Impact take full advantage of it and open the scoring. Marco Di Vaio found Felipe who had time and space to look up and he lifted the ball up for Davy Arnaud who settled the ball in front of him and chipped it over the head of Michael Gspurning and in the back of the net to put the Impact ahead 1-0. Just poor play on that one from Andy Rose, Zach Scott and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado. Hurtado was late trying to get back, Scott overcommits by pushing up and closing down Felipe and nobody picks up Arnaud. Just shocking defending on that play.

Just over four minutes into the second half, Montreal had a big chance to go up by two. Patrice Bernier sent Sanna Nyassi in behind the defense with the great through ball. Just as Nyassi was getting ready to strike, he starts to lose control. However, the Sounders still couldn't get it away as Zach Scott and Michael Gspurning collide in the box. Marco Di Vaio stepped in with the net empty trying to make it 2-0, but DeAndre Yedlin got back to get in the way of that shot to keep it a one score game.

In the 64th minute, the Sounders dodged another bullet. Sanna Nyassi worked a give and go with Marco Di Vaio on the near side. Nyassi made a good run forward and whipped in a very good cross for a diving header from Davy Arnaud, but the ball bounced back into play from the crossbar and the score remained 1-0.

A minute later, Seattle were denied by the frame. Mario Martinez slid the ball to Eddie Johnson at the top of the area, who poked the ball back to Brad Evans for a first timed shot that beat Troy Perkins, but the left post comes to Montreal's rescue this time.

With just under 10 minutes to go in normal time, Seattle had a golden opportunity to level the match. Eddie Johnson fed Leo Gonzalez who made an overlapping run from his left back position. Gonzalez chipped the ball to the near post for Alex Caskey who flicked the ball for Eddie Johnson who strikes the ball off the crossbar from point blank range. I'm still having difficulty figuring out how he couldn't score from that position, but that's what the outcome of that chance was and Seattle come away empty handed in the opening match of the 2013 season.


Observations:

DeAndre Yedlin impressive in his debut with the Sounders.

I was a little surprised to see this kid in the lineup for this match, but DeAndre Yedlin got the start and I gotta say I was really impressed with his performance. Yedlin remember played a year in the Sounders FC Youth academy and was signed back in January as the first homegrown player in club history after two seasons at Akron. Normally at 19-years old when you make your debut for your hometown club, you end up feeling a lot of pressure and struggle to handle it. But he didn't feel any pressure, he took his debut like it's another game. His passing was good. One on One defending, excellent. Despite all that, I'm still not quite satisfied that he should be an everyday starter at right back because on the attacking end, his crosses weren't great and on the defensive side of the ball, there were times when Sanna Nyassi beat him especially the first couple of minutes where Nyassi got in behind him and both were pulling eachothers jerseys. If Nyassi went down under that, I think the referee would've called a foul and Yedlin probably would've been sent off. But based on what I've seen out of him, he'll only get better as he gains more minutes and he will be a future starter on this team for sure.

Asside from DeAndre's performance, the Sounders attacking game was, ya know...... not good. First of all, someone on Seattle Times called Zakuani a One Trick Pony. I don't know who said that, and I don't care, but that's got to be the most bullshit comment I've ever heard or read or whatever. The wide play however, was very poor, the crosses were weak, and the guys are just getting caught out of position. Rosales needs to move back to the right side of midfield where he's most effective and they need to push Zakuani up front with EJ and move Martinez to the left side of midfield. They need to change something attacking wise until they finally get another striker.

Ya know.... first game, they lost. Big deal. Look, I'm not happy with the defeat myself, but there's absolutely no reason to panic. These guys off and on have hit a brick wall, but they find ways to bounce back and win games. So this team will bounce back from this loss, no doubt. We've got a long long way to go this season. 34 games. This was the first game, so now we have 33 games to go.


Scoring summary:

Montreal Impact - Davy Arnaud 1 (Felipe Martins 1) 35'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Brad Evans (caution; foul) 17'

Montreal Impact - Andrea Pisanu (caution; foul) 64'


Lineups:

Montreal Impact - Troy Perkins; Hassoun Camara (Dennis Iapichino 84'), Matteo Ferrari, Alessandro Nesta, Jeb Brovsky; Andrea Pisanu (Calum Mallace 69'), Patrice Bernier, Felipe Martins, Justin Mapp (Sanna Nyassi 45'); Davy Arnaud, Marco Di Vaio

Seattle Sounders FC - Michael Gspurning; DeAndre Yedlin, Zach Scott, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez (Servando Carrasco 84'); Mario Martinez, Andy Rose (Alex Caskey 62'), Brad Evans, Steve Zakuani (Sammy Ochoa 69'); Mauro Rosales, Eddie Johnson

Sounders get set to open up 2013 against the Montreal Impact

By Money Mike


After a month in a half of preparation, it's time to get back to business. The Seattle Sounders get set to take the pitch once again in front of their hometown crowd as they kick off the 2013 season against the Montreal Impact. Last time these two teams met was last season in Montreal on June 16th where the Impact have the Sounders a major beating as they came away 4-1. This is the first trip to Seattle for the MLS edition of Montreal. The last time we've seen a matchup between the Sounders and the Impact in Seattle was a half decade ago in the first leg of the 2008 USL Quarterfinal which Seattle won 2-1, but would eventually lose the second leg in Montreal 3-1 and losing 4-3 on aggregate thus closing the book on the Sounders USL franchise. Montreal begins their second season in Major League Soccer, while Seattle kicks off their fifth season.


Injury report:

Montreal Impact - Alright for the Montreal Imapact, three players are a no go for this game and I'm not gonna speculate how long these guys will be out for their club. Sinisa Ubiparipovic has been struggling with a calf injury. Maxim Tissot is out with a shoulder injury. And lastly, Nelson Rivas has a bad knee.

Seattle Sounders FC - For the Seattle Sounders, two are out and two are questionable. Patrick Ianni suffered a fractured right foot at the beginning of training camp so he'll be out for a while. Andrew Duran was given the all clear my the doctors after suffering a torn ACL during his loan stint with the Atlanta Silverbacks, but he's gonna need to work his way back into gametime form before he can make his debut for the Sounders. Speaking of that, Shalrie Joseph has a right calf strain and I don't think he'll make his debut tomorrow. He's listed as questionable. Last but not least, Adam Johansson is a gametime decision for tomorrow. He's been sidelined most of the preseason after suffering a right knee sprain during one of the preseason matches in Tucson.


Suspensions:

Montreal Impact - None to report

Seattle Sounders FC - Unfortunately we do have a couple to report. Marc Burch is surving the last game of his three game suspension for an inappropriate gesture directed at one of the Real Salt Lake players during the playoffs. And of course, Ozzie Alonso is suspended for the opener because of the red card he picked up at the end of the 2nd leg of the Western Conference Final against the LA Galaxy. It actually occured following the final whistle of the game.


Key matchups:

Eddie Johnson vs Alessandro Nesta - Montero may be out, but Seattle still has another goalscoring threat and his name is Eddie Johnson. Coming off a 14 goal season, EJ comes into his second season with the Sounders with high expectations. Asside from that, I expect the three-time World Cup veteran to mark him throughout the match.

Felipe Martins vs Andy Rose - With Alonso suspended, it looks like Andy Rose will fill in as a holding midfielder, just like last time when these two teams met in Montreal. Felipe is a crafty individual, coming off a fantastic year where he scored four goals and led the Impact with 10 assists in 30 appearances for the Impact. As a holding midfielder, Rose can't let him create any easy opportunties. This could be a big matchup right here.


Prediction:

It's definitely not going to end 4-1 Montreal like it did in Montreal last year. I don't think Alonso being suspended will hurt the Sounders that much. I think the Sounders are well prepared for the opener and are ready to come at them in full force. Like I said earlier, the Sounders had a month and a half to prepare and I don't see how they're not prepared and again I don't think the missing presence of Alonso will hurt the team. So now as I've said that, I think the Sounders will come out here and walk away with three points in front of their fans to kick off 2013.

Seattle Sounders FC - 2
Montreal Impact - 0

NEAGLE IS BACK: Sounders reacquire Federal Way Native from Montreal

By Money Mike


Earlier today there was a tweet saying that there was going to be a roster move made by the Sounders with a player coming to the Emerald City. Out of all the players over thinking, hoping, or expecting, I don't think anyone would've predicted the return of this man. The Seattle Sounders reacquired Lamar Neagle from the Montreal Impact in exchange for an international roster slot. The Sounders now have seven international slots and four of them are currently occupied by Andy Rose, Adam Johansson, Christian Tiffert and Mario Martinez. Neagle rejoins the Sounders for a third stint and will surely be with the Rave Green for more than a year, unlike his first two stints with Seattle. Last February, the Sounders traded Neagle to the Montreal Impact along with Mike Fucito in exchange for Eddie Johnson in what almost the entire Sounder nation considered to be a dumbass move because of his horrible stint in Europe and his lack of form, but EJ proved everybody wrong with he scored 17 goals in 38 appearances in all competitions for the Sounders.

So as all of you know, Neagle has been in and out of this roster these past five years. He signed with the Sounders in 2009 as a Developmental player (not a Homegrown player), however he didn't made an appearance for the Sounders in 09' and was released. In 2010, he joined the Charleston Battery of the USL Second Division and led them to their third League Championship in club history. He made 19 appearances that year and led the league with 12 goals and also recorded an assisted. He also scored in the USL Second Division final that turned out to be the game winner. Following that, he moved to IFK Mariehamn in Finland for a short stint and scored two goals in five appearances. After his stint in Finland, Neagle returned to Seattle on trial and ended up signing a contract with the Sounders after impressing the Sounders coaching staff during preseason. At the start, people weren't expecting to see much of Lamar Neagle in 2011 but after Steve Zakuani suffered a double fracture at the hands of Brian Mullan, Neagle stepped in and made a huge impact for the Sounders, making 23 appearances and scoring five goals including a hat trick at home against the Columbus Crew. And of course last season, he gets traded to Montreal where he made 23 appearances and scored two goals for the Impact including one against the Sounders. Now here he is back in his home town of Seattle, ready to make a bigger impact with the Sounders.


Thoughts on this move:

I have to admit, I'm just about as shocked to see Neagle back in Seattle as I was seeing him get traded to Montreal last season. But either way, it's great to have him back in the Emerald City. The fans love him, he's become more of an attacking threat game after game and I think this year will be the year he unloads and makes as much of an impact with the Sounders as he did during his second stint. Of course this also leads to more questions. With Fredy Montero out on loan to Millonarios for the 2013 season (by the way, he will be back with the Sounders in 2014 for sure), what do you do with your lineup. Fans have been debating about who should partner up top with EJ. "Rosales should start up top, no Zakuani should start up top, no Martinez." Do you guys ever consider Neagle as a possible option? He played forward in college and also at Charleston. Putting Martinez up front would be a bad idea because one, he's not a forward and two, you lose a bit of creativity in the midfield (not that Zakuani doesn't have it). More moves still to come for sure, but a good move here by the FO.

Sounders FC monthly rewind: June 2012

By Money Mike


So I've been a couple days late with my work here because I just got re-settled after spending four days in California because my sisters dance team was performing at Disneyland and also I had a lot of studying to do. So for those of you waiting for my EURO 2012 recap, I'll get on it as soon as possible when I get the time. Right now, I'm gonna give you guys a rewind of Seattle's difficult month of June. Of course I'm going to give my positives (this was difficult) and negatives (Parke and Hurtado) about the month and take a look ahead to the month of July and I'm also gonna give my thoughts on the transfer period as the summer transfer window opened up last Wednesday.


Positives:

It was a little difficult finding some positives for this past month because the Sounders still have not won a league match since May 9th and now the team that started 7-1-1 is now 7-5-5. One positive that I'll throw out is that they we're able to keep their win streak in the U.S. Open Cup alive on the road against the top team in the league, the San Jose Earthquakes who have been in great form all season and the Sounders went over there and came away with a 1-0 win on a goal by Cordell Cato to advance to the U.S. Open Cup Semifinal against Chivas USA on July 11th at Starfire. Also from what I've seen, I think Mauro Rosales is starting to produce as he picked up a couple of assists these last three games. One last positive is that we are getting healthy which is a good thing, especially on defense with Adam Johansson who looked pretty good last Saturday unlike his last three matches.


Negatives:

This was ridiculous. Poor marking from our center backs Jeff Parke and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado which may have cost them a place in the starting lineup. What has happened with Hurtado? This is not the same Jhon Kennedy Hurtado we saw in 2009 up to May 2010 before he suffered a torn ACL, great defender, communicating well with his teammates but that was then. Same with Jeff Parke, what the hell happened? Ever since may, Jeff Parke has sucked and watching him against Portland made me sick to my stomach because his set piece defending was awful, leaving David Horst wide open. Parke's contract with the Sounders is up after this season. I don't know about Hurtado's, but I know Parke's in the final year of his contract and the way he's played a long side Hurtado, he doesn't deserve to stick around any longer. At 30 years of age, this guy should be in his prime or at least close to it. When it came to the negatives in June, Parke and Hurtado were obviously a top that list.


Western Conference Standings:

1. San Jose Earthquakes, 11-4-3 (36 pts), GF 36 GA 24 GD 12
2. Real Salt Lake, 10-6-2 (32 pts), GF 28 GA 21 GD 7
3. Seattle Sounders FC, 7-5-5 (26 pts), GF 21 GA 18 GD 3
4. Vancouver Whitecaps, 7-4-5 (26 pts), GF 18 GA 19 GD -1
5. Colorado Rapids, 7-8-1 (22 pts), GF 24 GA 21 GD 3
6. Los Angeles Galaxy, 6-9-2 (20 pts), GF 25 GA 27 GD -2
7. Chivas USA, 5-7-4 (19 pts), GF 11 GA 18 GD -7
8. Portland Timbers, 5-7-4 (19 pts), GF 16 GA 21 GD -5
9. FC Dallas, 3-9-5 (14 pts), GF 16 GA 26 GD -10


Looking ahead to July + A few thoughts on the Summer transfer period:

So as we know, the summer transfer window for Major League Soccer opened last Wednesday and will remain open through July 27th and there's been a lot of talk these last couple weeks about the possibility of 1. FC Kaiserslautern midfielder Christian Tiffert coming to the Emerald City following a disappointing 2011-12 season in which his club was relegated from the German Bundesliga. The last report I found regarding Tiffert was that he has agreed to personal terms with the Sounders and that the club is currently negotiating transfer fee. So it looks like Tiffert is close to joining the Rave Green.

As for the Sounders. The CONCACAF Champions League is a month away. Looking at what we have this month, we have a couple of big road matches. Tomorrow at Real Salt Lake and one on the 15th against the New York Red Bulls. We also have two games this month against the Colorado Rapids and of course the U.S. Open Cup semifinal next Wednesday against Chivas USA.

Upcoming schedule

July 4 @ Real Salt Lake, 7:00pm (KING 5)
July 7 vs Colorado Rapids, 8:00pm (NBC Sports Network)
July 11 vs Chivas USA, 7:00pm (soundersfc.com)*
July 15 @ New York Red Bulls, 1:00pm (ESPN)
July 18 vs Chelsea FC, 6:30pm (TBD)^
July 28 @ Colorado Rapids, 6:00pm (KONG TV)

Note 1: * - U.S. Open Cup match
Note 2: ^ - Friendly match

Sounders show up unprepared and get hit hard against Montreal

By Money Mike


Coming off a much needed break, the Seattle Sounders were expected to come out with high energy and a lot of confidence following their two Open Cup victories. Instead, they show up like they weren't even ready for this match and end up losing 4-1 to the Montreal Impact in their Stade Saputo opener. The Sounders winless run now sits at five games, which now begins to raise a few questions and concerns about this team leading up to the Summer Transfer Period next Wednesday. The Sounders need to find an answer in their next match at home this Wednesday against Sporting Kansas City.

Not much action in the first quarter of an hour of the game, but in the 18th minute the Impact got things going. Patrice Bernier was spotted down the right hand side. The veteran decided to have a go against Zach Scott instead of chipping the ball into the penalty area as he maneuvered around Scott and poked the ball to the top of the area for Felipe Martins who curled a shot to the far post and there was nothing Bryan Meredith could do about that one as Felipe bagged his second of the season and the first at Saputo Stadium to give the Impact a 1-0 lead.

The Sounders began to show signs of life in the first half and they nearly got the equalizer in the 39th minute as Mauro Rosales took the corner kick for the Sounders. The ball was flicked towards goal by Eddie Johnson where Fredy Montero was waiting, but Donovan Ricketts denied any opportunity of Montero getting to the end of that.

In the 50th minute, the Impact would double their advantage. It was Patrice Bernier setting up another goal for Montreal, this time to Justin Mapp as he made a great run past Zach Scoot, who had a terrible game, and slid the ball inside the left post to make it 2-0 to the Impact.

Seven minutes later, things just went from bad to worse for the Seattle Sounders. Defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado looked like he was reaching for the ball and he tripped up Collen Warner for the foul. Now normally this would be a yellow card, but for some reason referee Mark Geiger went to his back pocket and pulled out a red card. I don't understand this one, his studs were not exposed, he was trying to play the ball. Terrible decision by the referee. Another thing was the Sounders had 24 hours to appeal the red card on Hurtado and they didn't appeal, so Hurtado will be suspended for the home match on Wednesday against Kansas City.

Shortly after, Montreal started to run away with this game and once again it was Patrice Bernier setting up the third goal. Bernier flicked the ball over his shoulder and slotted the ball through to the no. 1 draft pick Andrew Wenger and the 2011 Hermann Trophy winner struck in first time inside the near post for his third goal of the season, to put the match out of reach. I think this was a shot that Bryan Meredith probably should've stopped. I tell you what, this guy has stuggled over the last couple of games making saves, communicating with his defenders, etc. Which begins to raise more questions if they should keep him in net or turn to Andrew Weber or Josh Ford until Michael Gspurning is fully recovered. Gspurning was targeting a June 16th return but he had a bit of a setback and probably won't be ready until June 30th, if not July 4th.

Three minutes later, the Sounders would pull one back. Fredy Montero slid the ball through to Eddie Johnson who beat Jeb Brovsky to the ball and chipped the ball over Donovan Ricketts and into the back of the net for his fourth goal in 2012.

In the 87th minute, Montreal would add a fourth and it the former Sounder Lamar Neagle. Neagle sprinted away from Jeff Parke into the penalty area and either Brad Evans and Marc Burch were supposed the clear the ball. Instead, there was some miscommunication and Lamar Neagle slammed the ball into the net and slammed the door in this game as the Impact walked away with a 4-1 win.


Scoring summary:

Montreal Impact - Felipe Martins 2 (Patrice Bernier 2) 18'

Montreal Impact - Justin Mapp 2 (Patrice Bernier 3) 51'

Montreal Impact - Andrew Wenger 3 (Patrice Bernier 4) 58'

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson 4 (Fredy Montero 4) 61'

Montreal Impact - Lamar Neagle 1 (unassisted) 87'


Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - Jeff Parke (caution; foul) 22'

Seattle Sounders FC - Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (ejection; foul) 56'

Seattle Sounders FC - Eddie Johnson (caution; foul) 70'

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero (caution; foul) 76'

Montreal Impact - Shavar Thomas (caution; foul) 79'

Montreal Impact - Nelson Rivas (caution; foul) 85'


Lineup:

Seattle Sounders FC - Bryan Meredith; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Marc Burch; Mauro Rosales (Cordell Cato 71'), Andy Rose, Brad Evans, Alvaro Fernandez (Alex Caskey 62'); Eddie Johnson (Servando Carrasco 82'), Fredy Montero

Montreal Impact - Donovan Ricketts; Zarek Valentin, Nelson Rivas, Matteo Ferrari (Shavar Thomas 33'), Jeb Brovsky; Davy Arnaud, Collen Warner, Patrice Bernier (Bernardo Corradi 77'), Felipe Martins, Justin Mapp (Lamar Neagle 62'); Andrew Wenger

Sounders make a suprise move: Acquire Eddie Johnson from Montreal for Mike Fucito and Lamar Neagle

By Money Mike

Well I don't think this was in anybodys mind. We already knew this guy signed with MLS, but none of us tought that he would end up here in Seattle, but it turns out to be the case. Earlier this afternoon, the Seattle Sounders have acquired U.S. veteran Eddie Johnson from the Montreal Impact. In exchange, the Sounders have traded Mike Fucito and Lamar Neagle to the Expansion Side. This move was made about an hour after Johnson was acquired by the Montreal Impact through the Allocation process. Johnson joins the Rave Green shortly after his contract with Mexican club Puebla was cancelled due to his low fitness levels.

Johnson began his professional career with the Dallas Burn (now FC Dallas) in 2001 and he was inconsistant at the start of his career, scoring only seven goals in 43 matches. In 2004, he had a breakout year making 26 appearances for Dallas, scoring 12 goals and setting up three others. In 2005 however, Eddie Johnson suffered a foot injury and he didn't make much of an impact with Dallas since then. In 2006, Johnson was traded to the Kansas City Wizards and it didn't start out the way he would've wanted to, scoring only twice in 19 appearances. In 2007, Johnson returned to form and had a career year, scoring 15 goals in 24 appearances with the Wizards. In 2008, Johnson left Kansas City to join Premier League club Fulham and since then, this guy has basically disappeared. His time with Fulham has been unsuccessful, he was loaned out to three clubs and had unsuccessful stints with them. In order, 18 appearances and no goals with Fulham, 30 appearances and two goals with Cardiff City, 16 appearances and five goals with Aris Thessaloniki and 16 appearances and no goals for Preston North End. On December 22, 2011, Johnson agreed to join fellow American teammate DaMarcus Beasley at Puebla F.C. However, Johnson was released just days after signing with the club.

Going into the 2011 season, Fucito was recovering from a foot injury and Neagle, who didn't make a single appearances during his first stint with the Sounders in 2009, re-joined the club on trial after spending 2010 with USL club Charleston Battery and IFK Mariehamm in Finland. These two weren't expected to do much during the 2011 season, but after Steve Zakuani and O'Brian White suffered injuries that kept them out for the rest of the season, both Neagle and Fucito stepped up and made a huge impact. Fucito made 19 appearances and scored two goals and Lamar Neagle finished with 23 appearances and five goals including a hat-trick in a 6-2 beatdown of the Columbus Crew.

Thoughts on this move:

I'm really shocked about this move. I'm not going to tell you guys whether or not I think this is a good trade. Eddie Johnson's had his ups and downs during his career. Lately his fitness levels have been down. Adrian Hanauer and Chris Henderson must have a reason that we don't know about for acquiring Eddie Johnson. If Johnson stays healthy, I think he'll have a pretty good season. Right now, I'm just going to keep my opinion to myself and wait and see what happens.

Sounders lose James Riley in the Expansion Draft, trades Tyson Wahl

By Money Mike


The Expansion Draft took place today with the Montreal Impact joining Major League Soccer in 2012. The Seattle Sounders yet again lose a key player. As a matter of fact, they lose two key players. The Montreal Impact selected James Riley before trading him immediately to Chivas USA in exchange for Justin Braun and Gerson Mayen. The Impact also acquired left back Tyson Wahl from the Sounders for allocation money, which can be used to buy down player salaries in relation to the salary cap. Former Sounder midfielder Sanna Nyassi was also taken by Montreal in the Expansion Draft. If all the speculation is true, it looks like there is another trade involving the Sounders and the Montreal Impact with Miguel Montano heading to Montreal, but there is no information at this point.

Riley joined the Seattle Sounders in 2009 having been selected by them in the Expansion draft. In his three years here, Riley made a total of 84 league appearances and scored one goal and assisted on nine others. He was voted Defender of the Year for the club and was also voted the clubs Humanitarian of the Year the past two seasons for his contributions in the community. Riley became a fan favorite here in Seattle for all of his hard work not only on the pitch, but in the community as well. With him gone, the Sounders also lose that veteran approach that Riley brought to the team. Sounders GM Adrian Hanauer said that there are going to be some changes defensively, but I didn't see this being one of them nor did the rest of the Sounder nation here in Seattle.

Wahl was another Sounder selected in the Expansion draft prior to the 2009 season. He's received some critisism from fans about his work rate a few times during the 2011 season, but you can't deny the fact that he was the most improved player on this Sounders team during the 2011 season making 23 appearances, scoring one goal and two assists. He got more playing time in 2011 than he did in his first two seasons combined here in Seattle and he got more playing time here in Seattle than he did in his three seasons with the Kansas City Wizards. This guy emerged as a weapon with dangerous crosses on set pieces. Another huge loss defensively for the Sounders.


Thoughts on Riley and Wahl leaving/Who do you go after in the transfer window?

In all honesty, I'm upset about these two guys leaving the Sounders after all the hard work on the pitch. The positive sign is that these two had a combined salary of $150,000 in 2011, so the departure of these two should give the Sounders more money to spend during the offseason.

Now there have been a couple of questions regarding home-grown talent. If you want to look for a replacement at right back, draft DeAndre Yedlin who, of course, is a defender and obviously a big deal with the University of Akron. In case you guys haven't kept track of the Sounders FC Academy, Yedlin is a native of Seattle who spent a couple years in the Sounders youth system. Yes he's only a freshman at Akron, but how often do you see a freshman defender make 22 appearances with one goal and six assists? How often do you see stats like that. I think he should enter the 2012 MLS SuperDraft and I think the Sounders should draft him in the first round. If you want a find somebody at right back, get somebody who has been in you're youth system, who knows about the team, and has prooven himself that he's ready to take his game to the next level.

Now with Wahl gone as well, who do you replace at left back? There was a rumor a week ago about Joachim Thomassen signing with the club. He's listed as a midfielder, but he can also play left back. So with Tyson Wahl now with Montreal, maybe the Sounders should consider picking up Thomassen.