DEFEND COLUMBUS

A wise man once said:

"We are the masters of disaster. We are the Terror Lords of MLS. We are the #1 Hooligans. We are the "Novios de las Vacas". The NLV will defend our house against all comers. We will sell you used office furniture against your will. You will learn to fear the yellow and black as you have learned to fear the greasy ringlets of Frankie Hejduk."

I vote we change "Americas Hardest Working Team" to that :)

What happened in Columbus would happen anywhere else where the fans are passionate about their team and the visitors are trying to stir up trouble. I would expect no less of DC or Toronto. We protected our house just like anyone else would. There is no shame for Columbus in this act.

WE LOVE YOU WE LOVE YOU WE LOVE YOU

CAUSE WE SUPPORT COLUMBUS COLUMBUS COLUMBUS!

Rogers Selected to US Olympic Team; McBride selected as Overage Player

Columbus midfielder Robbie Rogers was selected to represent the United States at the upcoming Beijing Olympics. Rogers hopes to parlay his strong league form into a successful Olympic experience. Former Columbus Hitman/Legend/Superhero Brian McBride was also named to the roster as an Overage Player. I am extremely happy to see McBride on the roster for one last hurrah which will hopefully end on the podium in Athens. McBride leads the roster with 95 caps and 30 goals, which ranks only behind Landon Donovan and Eric Wynalda on the all-time list for the US. He also leads the US in alltime cuts and abrasions to the face. The Olympic roster is strong on MLS talent in the ranks. The Roster is as follows:

Goalkeepers:

Brad Guzan (Chivas USA/Aston Villa)

Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake)

Defenders:

 Patrick Ianni (Houston Dynamo)

Michael Orozco (San Luis-Mexico)

Michael Parkhurst (New England)

Nathan Sturgis (Real Salt Lake)

Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)

Midfielders:

Freddy Adu (Benfica-Portugal)

Michael Bradley (Heerenveen-Holland)

Maurice Edu (Toronto FC)

Benny Feilhaber (Derby County-England)

Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo)

Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA)

Danny Szetela (Brescia)

Forwards:

ROBBIE ROGERS (COLUMBUS)

BRIAN MCBRIDE (FREE AGENT)

Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF-Sweden)

Jozy Altidore (Villareal-Spain)

Overall 10 of the 18 players are in Major League Soccer and all but Feilhaber, Davies, and Orozco are former MLS players. McBride is joined by Michael Parkhurst of New England and Brad Guzan of Aston Villa as the overage players on the US roster.

The lineup I would like to see:

Altidore McBride

Adu

Rogers Kljestan

Bradley

Ianni Parkhurst Orozco Wynne

Guzan

From my perspective, this line up gives the US the best options going forward. Overall this looks like a very strong lineup for the US and hopefully can get on the medal podium once the competition starts. The US will start with Japan August 7, followed by The Netherlands on August 10, and ending with Nigeria on August 13.

Supporters Summit Brings Groups Together

After tonight's Supporters Summit at The CCS, a new optimism for the Nordecke is spreading throughout the three main Crew supporters' groups. Supporters from Crew Supporters Union, Hudson Street Hooligans were present in the Huntington Club to listen to coach Sigi Schmid, Chris Keeney, Assistant Coach and Spanish Radio Broadcaster Eddie Carvacho, and assorted players including Frankie Hejduk, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Danny O'Rourke, and Alejandro Moreno. The main message of all of the Crew representatives was to reiterate the importance of the Nordecke to the team morale and the overall Stadium atmosphere at The CCS. Alternating between English and Spanish, Crew Frontman Alejandro Moreno stressed the importance of unity in the Supporters Groups. Moreno wanted to stress that rather than worrying about which group you are a part of, it is more important to remember that you are all cheering for the same team and the same goals. To quote "Malibu's Most Wanted" character Gov. Bill Gluckman's campaign ad, 'Instead of worrying what sect your in, or what crew your rollin' with, why can't you just be brothers?"

Coach Sigi Schmid told stories of his youth attending games in the Bundesliga and how the supporters of the club form the backbone of the crowd and how important it is to have a vocal cheering section in the home ground. Coach Schmid also said that the current atmosphere in The CCS is by far the strongest and most supportive since he has been coming to games in Columbus as far back as 1999. Schmid wants the Supporter's Groups to know that the unity in the section created by the building of the infamous stage in the North End has made a huge difference in the intensity and the overall noise level of The CCS.

After listening to the various speakers praise diversity and unity for the Nordecke, members of the various Supporters Groups got to ask questions of the panel. Concerns of banner placement, safety of families in the Nordecke were discussed. Keeney told the group that additional uniformed security will be added to the Nordecke to make sure that everyone is able to enjoy a safe atmosphere at The CCS. On a slightly lighter question, a fan asked GBS how he keeps his sleeves rolled up. (Rubber Bands) It was also revealed that former Crewman Dante Washington will be joining the Hudson Street Hooligans at Ruby Tuesday's before thursdays game and will take part in the walk over to the stadium.

Questions were also asked about the overall Team Fitness. Sigi Schmid revealed that Eddie Gaven and Ezra Henderson are close to returning to action for The Crew. Gaven is unlikely to play until after West Ham, but by the way Sigi talked it sounded as if Ezra is closer to returning. There was no mention or question about the mystery Nigerian striker thought to be joining The Crew in the near future.

At the end of the proceedings, Chris Keeney rewarded the loyal fans who attended the summit with FREE TICKETS to the game on Thursday. Keeney also offered extra tickets to people as long as they promised the extra tickets would be used to add to the Nordecke. This generous gesture was definitely appreciated by the fans and allowed me to use my ticket money on a White Castle run :) Overall, the Supporters Summit helped CSU, HSH, and LTA come to a common ground. It doesn't matter what our different backgrounds and groups are, because we are all Columbus fans and that is what really matters. 

Columbus vs Real Salt Lake- Where Everything is Real except the field!

^^^^^^^^^

Maybe in 1975

Last night the Crew went down 2-0 to Real Salt Lake on goals by Javier Morales and Robbie Findley. The Crew looked really flat throughout the game and never really got going. I believe a large reason for the offensive struggles was the green concrete also known as astroturf that RSL plays on. Hopefully RSL gets their new stadium open as soon as possible so visiting teams no longer have to put up with that nonsense. The Crew seemed to be content with just packing it in and taking the loss from the tactical awareness we showed with our second half subs. In the second half we subbed out Junge (shouldnt have started), Schelotto (had the only legit chance of the game to that point) and Ekpo, who is always dangerous. Why didnt we sub out Junge for Lenhart or Jason Garey, instead of Miglioranzi? The move that really bothered me was when we subbed Ekpo for Duncan Oughton. Granted Ekpo wasn't having his best game, but Duncan Oughton has as much chance of scoring as Gilbert Godfried at the Playboy Mansion.We needed more offense, and Sigi decided to sub one of our attacking wingers for a defensive midfielder. Duncan Oughton works extremely hard, but he is not an offensive threat. 

Last night's game was honestly one of those "Worst Case Scenario" games for MLS on TV. From the empty stadium, to the football lines and the Astroturf, and the low level of play from both teams, this was a game I would rather put behind us as soon as possible. I think MLS should not allow National Broadcasts (ESPN Thursdays, FSC Saturday nights and so forth) in cities that have football lines and Astroturf for fields because it makes the league look like Garbage. The league would never do this because it would Eliminate the the Red Bulls from ever hosting games on TV, but I think it would do a lot for the aesthetic of the league to do away with National Broadcasts of Stadiums with Football lines and turf. Since these facilities tend to be Football Stadiums as well, even a decent crowd of 15k to 25 k looks like a complete joke in these stadiums. Teams such as Columbus, Chicago, Dallas, Colorado, LA/Chivas and Toronto should host the majority of the National broadcast games because they do not have Football lines on the field, and they have their own stadiums with a more intimate feel for MLS crowds. MLS is past having to look like a bush league pseudo-professional outfit on TV like we are the Major League Lacrosse or Pro Beach Soccer or some other nonsense.

On the bright side, the game was only one of 30 in a long season. The Crew can put all of this behind them with a win on the "Worldwide Leader" on Thursday. A few positives I can take from the match is Steven Lenhart looked very composed on the ball and did a good job holding up the ball for the offense to get into the attack. In the future I would like to see a Lineup such as this for the Crew:

Moreno Lenhart

GBS

Rogers Ekpo

Carroll

Danny O Marshall Iro Hejduk

I think another striker will add to the offense and Brad Evans no longer needs to be starting as an attacking midfielder until he can score a goal or at least look like a threat to score. Overall, this was a night to forget for Columbus, but Columbus still has the 2nd best record in the league and a National TV appearance on Thursday. Hopefully Columbus shows more offensive knowhow and ability in the confines of The CCS

Hejduk and Rogers to represent Columbus in MLS All-Star Game First XI; Toronto FC snubbed

Captain Frankie Hejduk and Midfielder Robbie Rogers were named to the MLS First XI today that will take on West Ham United in the annual All-Star game at BMO Field in Toronto on July 24. While the First XI will not necessarily be the starting lineup against West Ham, the honor of being recognized as one of the eleven best of the first half of the season is a worthwhile achievement. Most likely, Robbie Rogers will miss the game due to Olympic duties, but Hejduk most likely will be in the starting lineup for the game. The rest of the First XI are as follows:

Forwards: 

Kenny Cooper-FC Dallas

Landon Donovan-Los Angeles Galaxy

Midfielders:

Robbie Rogers-Columbus Crew

David Beckham-LA Galaxy

Sacha Kljestan-Chivas USA

Cuauhtemoc Blanco-Chicago Fire

Shalrie Joseph-New England Revolution

Defenders:

Frankie Hejduk-Columbus Crew

Michael Parkhurst-New England

Jimmy  Conrad-Kansas City Wizards

Goalkeeper:

Matt Reis-New England Revolution

I dont have many qualms with these selections, but I would have liked to have seen Chad Marshall make the First XI over Conrad. I think Conrad has lost a step and Chad Marshall has been a rock defensively all season for the Crew. I also could see an argument for Guillermo Barros Schelotto in the First XI, but all of the midfielders on the list have had solid seasons and deserve to be recognized for their play so far. The Bench has not been released yet, but according to Soccer by Ives a bench could look like this.

The Bench

Jon Busch-Chicago Fire-GK

Gonzalo Segares-Chicago Fire-D

Dwayne DeRosario-Houston Dynamo-M

Steve Ralston-New England-M

Luciano Emilio-DC United-F

Commissioners Picks

Guillermo Barros Schelotto-Columbus Crew

Jim Brennan-Toronto FC

Overall, 2 Crew players make the lineup, with the only player getting snubbed being Chad Marshall.New England Revolution and LA Galaxy also have 2 members of the First XI.

 In a cruel twist of fate, Toronto FC, the host club, has no picks as of now. I would expect a Commissioners Pick to be a notable TFC player such as Jim Brennan or Maurice Edu. 

From this group of players, my lineup would be this:

                 Cooper----------Donovan

Rogers Blanco Joseph Beckham

Segares Parkhurst Conrad Hejduk

That is a really strong lineup and should be a good match up against West Ham United.

MASSIVE vs Independiente

Despite constant bizarre trash talk online (cheering on the Soviet Union and Saddam Hussein, 9/11, and referring to me as a N*****) Independiente was dispatched 2-1 on goals by Jason Garey and Robbie Rogers in the second half. Maybe we won't need Pat Noonan if Jason Garey can translate this form to goalscoring for the senior team. If Moreno and Steven "The Equalizer" Lenhart can continue their goalscoring ways and Jason Garey can contribute to the Crew Frontline, suddenly Columbus has a servicable frontline. I was not in attendance for this game because I did not feel like paying an inflated ticket price to watch essentially a reserve match, but I can tell you I wore my home-made C-BUS 614 Crew shirt around the house. (Thank you to Roush Sporting Goods in Westerville!) Independiente did not have many of the regulars and their manager was not at the match. Overall, this game does not really mean a whole lot, but it is always to win at home against a somewhat respectable opponent, even if their fanbase are a bunch of internet retards that dont realize the USA did NOT fight Argentina in the Falkland War, the Soviet Union has collapsed, and Saddam Hussein is dead. The lesson for Independiente and  their supporters is: Talk shit, Get Hit