Deja vu

US National Team stumbles their way through the prelims, winning the group despite never really gelling.  None of the other favorites are playing that well either.  Get a relatively easy opponent for the quarter finals.  The USMNT's Gold Cup experience to date seems to be following the same path as the USWNT did in the World Cup.  Hope it works out the same.  Like Jill Ellis, Klinsmann has made some personnel changes after the group play in hopes of finding a better formula.

They will play Cuba tonight at 5 pm (Fox 1); tonight's other quarter is Haiti-Jamaica (Fox 2).  Tomorrow has Trinidad (with Tobago)-Panama at 4:30(Fox 1) and Mexico-Costa Rica at 7:30 (Fox 1).  Trinidad has looked perhaps the best so far.  Mexico-Costa Rica is a match you might have expected in the semis or even the final but neither have impressed so far.  If US advance, they will play the winner of Haiti-Jamaica (a side that has looked decent) on Wednesday at 6, with the other semi at 9.


Up the Union Escalator

Outstanding performance by the Union in a 3-0 win against Portland last week.  Andrew Wenger got his first of the year and Vincent Noguiera added two of his own;  Maidana assisted on all three.  Though it doesn't feel like it, the side is 7-3-1 in last 11 matches.  To all this good news I must add the wet blanket; the Union still have the second worst points per game in all of MLS.  Big match this afternoon in Toronto (4 pm Comcast Sports Net), who will have Altidore back (he was dumped by Klinsmann after group play) but not Michael Bradley.

Next week sees a rare mid-week match vs the Red Bulls in Harrison, NJ for the Open Cup, then a Saturday match at RFK vs DC United on Sunday.  Speaking of the Red Bulls, they looked good thrashing the Revolution 4-1 last week and now sit in third in the East, with several fewer matches played.


Silly Season Marches On

Nothing concrete since the Wijnaldum transfer but lots of chatter about two very big signi...WAIT - as I write I'm seeing Aleksandar Mitrovic (left) confirming on Facebook that he is moving to Newcastle.  This is very good news as he looks to be a top level striker.  The second potential big signing is center defender Chancel Mbemba, from the same Belgium club - Anderlecht - as Mitrovic.  Everything I read suggests he would be an important signing.  The Charlie Austin saga continues, with Newcastle seeming to have it in the bag and then not happening, then on again.  Personally, if Mitrovic is in, I'd rather see the focus shift to center back.

The news in Birminghan isn't quite so good, unless you are the club's investment portfolio manager.  Fabian Delph is now confirmed to be heading to Manchester City and Benteke looks to be moving to Liverpool.  The £40+ million, if spent (wisely), could minimize, or even turn these losses into gains.  The signing of left-back Jordan Amavi, for example, could be an improvement at a revolving door position for the Villans.

Haven't really processed these transfers yet, but I can't say I'm all that surprised.  Benteke was clearly never going to be around for the long haul as 17th place and FA cup runners up is not a satisfactory place for someone of his enormous, though still inconsistent, talent.  I had the faintest hopes that Delph would stick around and am especially disappointed in his departure given his definitive statement last week.  I realize that all public statements can be smoke screens or just nonsense (see every "Vote of Confidence" given to a coach), but it still stings.  Especially since I have no idea how much he'll even play at Manchester City - seeing him languish on the bench there would be extra painful.  Villa are supposedly targeting Anthony Martial from Monaco or Emmanuel Adebayor from Spurs.  Don't know anything about the former except that he is 19, which makes him my preferred choice over the seemingly ancient Adebayor.  Signing a bunch of "veterans" to see the season out sounds like a miserable slog to watch and I'd rather see the higher risk, higher reward strategy of building through younger talent.  In either case, Sherwood will really be put to the test this season.


And this is the "slow" part of the year...