Fulham drops Carlos Bocanegra

Fulham has reduced their American contingency by one as they dropped Carlos Bocanegra today. It is no big surprise that Bocanegra got the boot as manager Roy Hodgson had pretty much benched him for the last three months.

Bocanegra, who will likely be a starter for the US against England on Wednesday, is now looking for a new home. PSV Eindhoven has been mentioned as a possible landing spot. PSV was a good spot for DaMarcus Beasley as few years back and might be the change Bocanegra needs. If it works out, he might even get some Champions League action.

This move is a big one for Bocanegra as he needs to find playing time or else his spot on the national team will be less then assured.

Fulham also let go of Jari Litmanen, Philippe Christanval, Simon Elliott, Ian Pearce, Michael Timlin, Ismael Ehui, and Bjorn Runstrom. Looks like Eddie Johnson will get a little more time to make his mark.

Now the question is will Kasey Keller stick around?

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[Source: My Soccer Blog]

Trinidad and Tobago finally paid for 2006 World Cup

CONCACAF president and FIFA vice president Jack Warner tried to keep the players of Trinidad and Tobago's 2006 World Cup squad from their rightful payday, but in the end a London arbitrator, like most judges do, ruled against Warner.

At issue was the complete disregarded for law that the T&T FA and Warner showed for the players. In a contract signed before the 2006 World Cup and negotiated in part by Warner, the players were to get a 50-50 split on all money from licensing and endorsement deals made with the federation. In the end, the FA received $28 million in gross profit from the World Cup, but each of the 23 players only collect $5,000. Somebody's calculator is broken.

Although the judge ruled in the players' favor, the exact amount each one will get will not be known till June, presumably after England plays their 'hay, why not vote for us to host the 2018 World Cup' match in T&T on June 1.

Warner has said that if the T&T FA disagrees with the ruling, they will pursue justice in some other way. Any guess as to what that way will be.

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[Source: My Soccer Blog]

After 5-1 defeat to LA, FC Dallas fire Morrow

Less then 48-hours after one of the worst results in club history, FC Dallas have sacked head coach Steve Morrow. Morrow took over Dallas after the team fired Colin Clarke in 2006. His MLS record stands at 15-17-8.

Assistant coach Marco Feruzzi will take over till a perminant replacement is found.

Although Dallas got off to a decent start during the first couple weeks of their 2008 campaign, they have only managed 1 point from their last four matches. Combine that with the bad taste from 2007 (including the Denilson debacle, even though that was more of managements design) and you have all the reasons Morrow is looking for a new job.

During his year and a half in change, Morrow never really figured out the FC Dallas back line problem. Also, even though he showed some strength in benching Ruiz for parts of last season, he never seemed to be in control of the club.

As far as replacements, SMU coach Schellas Hyndman will be in the mix, like he always is whenever Dallas looks for a new manager, but he probably will not bit yet again. That should open things up. My guess is it will be someone with limited to little head coaching history.

As far as Morrow, maybe he can still get the job at Walsall.

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[Source: My Soccer Blog]

Australia hopes 2009 & 2010 Club World Cup will lead to 2018 World Cup

Australia hopes their bid for the 2009 & 2010 Club World Cup will help them land the 2018 World Cup.

Their football association's chief executive Ben Buckley said:

"We want to be a strong and positive contributor to the world of football in as many ways as possible," he added.

"Next week's FIFA Congress is part of that strategy, as is the 2015 Asian Cup, bidding for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and also the 2009 and 2010 Club World Cup."

With FIFA meeting in Sydney next week to make the decision on the Club World Cup, chances are very strong Australia will get the nod, but will this actually give them a strong chance at landing the big prize in 2018?

With Europe all but a lock on 2018, and England the obvious front-runner, hosting a relatively small event such as this probably will not change the balance. However, if they can combine this event with a successful 2015 Asian Cup (which has yet to be awarded) and a solid 2018 bid, they might actually position themselves well for 2022.

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[Source: My Soccer Blog]

MLS Expansion - Is Vancouver's MLS dream over?

MLS Commissioner Don Garber has made it clear, if Vancouver wants to be the second Canadian team in the league, they need a stadium. Greg Kerfoot, owner of the Vancouver Whitecaps, has been trying to make it happen for five years, but no it looks like he has given up as the soccer club will permanently move into the 60,000-seat BC Place in 2011.

BC Place will host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympic games. After the games, the air-supported roof will be removed and replaced with a retractable roof. Once that is done, the Whitecaps will move in.

If this is indeed a permanent move, it looks like MLS will not be in Vancouver anytime soon. However, the team is still negotiation with officials regarding the stadium, so who knows, the dream might still become reality.

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[Source: My Soccer Blog]

Houston's John Spencer doesn't regret passing Chicago Fire coaching job

Back in January, John Spencer was a few thousand dollars in salary away from accepting the top job in Chicago, but it was not to be. Instead he returned to Houston to spend another season with the MLS Champions.

This Saturday, Spencer returns to Chicago for the first time since he rejected the job however it is Chicago that is looking like the champions. So does Spencer have any hard feelings over his choice?

"I don't regret it," Spencer said this week as his team prepared for Saturday's visit to Toyota Park.

At the time, many people, myself included, thought the Fire's lack of interest in spending money on a coach was the sign of bad things to come, however, so far we have been wrong. The Fire currently sit two points behind Columbus for top spot in the league while Houston only achieved their first victory this past weekend. All in all, the front office in Fire land must be happy with their loss.

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[Source: My Soccer Blog]

US World Cup Qualifying tickets go on sale Sunday; Brazil-Venezuela tickets tomorrow

Tickets for the US Men's first 2010 World Cup Qualifier go on sale this Sunday (happy Mother's day) at 3pm ET/12pm PT. The red, white and blue start their race to South Africa on 15 June at the The Home Depot Center in Carson, Ca. against Barbados.

Tickets prices range from $18 to $65 and can be purchased at ussoccer.com, by phone (213-480-3232 in L.A.; 714-740-2000 in Orange County; 619-220-8497 in San Diego), and at all Ticketmaster ticket centers throughout Southern California (including Macys, Wherehouse Music, FYE and Ritmo Latino).

This match represents the first ever World Cup Qualifier at the Home Depot Center, so hopefully a full house will come out.

On the other side of the country, tickets for the Brazil-Venezuela friendly on 6 June go on sale tomorrow (9 May). The game is a doubleheader with the New England Revolution and FC Dallas facing off in the second match.

Tickets for the two games rage from $30 to $110 and can be purchased by calling 1-877-GET-REVS or Ticketmaster at (617) 931-2222.

Two great nights of soccer on the coasts.

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[Source: My Soccer Blog]