Hello all, and welcome back to another update of our Seattle Sounders story! It’s been a turbulent 24 hours for our community, but we have to pick ourselves up and forge ahead with the game and stories we love! Many of you showed a great deal of support for Johnny and Darren yesterday, and while I’m new to the writing staff, it was encouraging to see such an outpouring. I’ll step off my soapbox now; let’s get down to what was a very, very interesting month of July.
Results:
First things first really, how we actually fared results wise! July is probably our toughest single month of football, and we were to face Los Angeles, FC Dallas, D.C. United, and Colorado, all of whom are quite talented teams. We’d thus far swept LA, United, and Colorado, but FC Dallas handed us our most recent loss way back in April. Considering our slump in form toward the end of June, I was genuinely worried that we’d be dropping points somewhere down this stretch.
Wow, three of our toughest matches and three of our best results! Once again, Los Angeles was dealing with several injuries and David Beckham was for some reason ineligible, and so the match was easier than it probably would’ve been (I’d really love to play a full strength LA side). I’d like you to take a look at the highlight video, and pay especially close attention to the final goal:
Seattle Sounders FC vs Los Angeles Galaxy
Following LA, we found ourselves up against Dallas. I was worried about this game, and Dallas is a strong squad with an excellent defense. They’d shut us down once before, but I was hoping our home field advantage would give us the edge we needed. The match was going brilliantly until the 63rd minute, when I received the worst possible notification that someone could receive:
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!
My heart quite literally plummeted at the sight of that news. Fredy Montero IS my team, and without him I’m convinced we don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of winning any hardware. I nervously rocked back and forth in my chair as we closed out the 2-0 win, and was terrified of clicking on my inbox. Was it a broken leg? Crap, he’d be done for the year if it was. Maybe he only sprained something, that would just be a few weeks. A blown knee? He’d never be the same player again. With one eye closed, I clicked the physio’s report:
Oh my goodness…
It took me about 15 seconds for me to comprehend what I was reading before a wave of combined relief and euphoria swept through me. Only three or four days! He’d miss the next game, but that was it! We’d had a very, very close call, and the tension was palpable as we awaited those medical results. Mercifully, life at the club will go on! My lads responded brilliantly in our first Montero-less match of the season against DC United, and my backup striker (35 year old Blaise Nkufo) made the most of his chance in scoring a brace alongside my current AML Danny Earls (more on that later).
Following the United game, we had a 10 day break before hosting the Colorado Rapids. We’d already beaten them twice in Colorado, and I was comfortably confident heading into our home game with them. Fredy Montero was back for this match, and the squad was rejuvenated after our break (the Rapids had only four days rest):
Yikes! That’s not exactly how it was supposed to pan out! Despite our greater shot total and higher possession time, Colorado was in control of the match from the opening whistle (their first shot on goal being registered 36 seconds into the match). We looked sluggish and complacent, and I could immediately tell the squad simply didn’t have any motivation for this match. Only a little bit of Montero magic prevented us from being shut out in this very once sided affair.
To close out the month of July, we had our Heritage Cup Derby match against San Jose. This Cup is played for by MLS teams who bear the same name as their NASL predecessors; currently only San Jose and Seattle participate, so it’s little more than a fancy trophy for a regular league game. San Jose isn’t the strongest of teams, and they’re currently sitting 7th in the Western Conference:
That pretty much was that. The game was actually a great deal closer than the final scoreline would reveal, but San Jose had no answer for Fredy Montero as he put away his first hat trick of the year. An ugly header by Jeff Parke in the waning seconds put the cherry on top of our Heritage Cup win!
Other News:
You perhaps might be wondering why this post is titled «July pillaging». In actuality, it has nothing to do with our results, but everything to do with me feeling like a small English village during a Viking raid. Since the start of the June transfer window, the large European clubs have been attempting to plunder me of all my talent (with a fair degree of success). If pictures are worth a thousand words (yay, cliche!), take a look at the following:
Closing Thoughts/Full Disclosure Part 2
You’ll recall in my last post that I mentioned I have been using FMRTE as a way of viewing a players true CA/PA, and for some limited scouting work when I felt like circumventing the «Player Attribute Masking» rule. I’ve always viewed the application as a relatively harmless tool (though I was aware of its cheating potential), but after recent events, I’ve decided the best course of action would be to simply uninstall it and never look back. With this being the age of the super shady internet folk, I decided to go ahead and put this little video together (also, I really wanted to make a video):
That’ll do it for this update! Next time out we’ll take a look at our August (and probably September) results, along with our success (or lack thereof) in the NACL! On a semi-related noted, do you guys have any interest in regular YouTube videos? I’ve been toying with the idea of creating a video summary (or even a live commentary) along with my written narrative, and am curious if there is any demand. Thanks for reading all, much love!
Sears
26 мая, 2011 at 23:50
Haha, that video was quite funny actually… :-p Your right though, FMRTE is the devil :-D
Shame really that half your squad is wanted… Btw, I really like your posts :-p I love how there written, very humorous, or maybe I have the worst sense of humor ever! :-D
Good luck!
Stromson
27 мая, 2011 at 13:06
Thanks Sears, that really means a lot. :) Glad you enjoyed the video, it was pretty fun to make!
Kevin
27 мая, 2011 at 00:30
Great post as usual and the video was most entertaining. I think you may have a knack for this and perhaps try another one? I’m gald to see your star player only had a dead leg so that’s a major worry avoided. Keep up the good work and by the way enjoy your Memorial Day!
Stromson
27 мая, 2011 at 13:12
Thanks Kevin! It was a huge relief that Montero didn’t suffer a more serious injury, and I’m glad we won’t be without him for the remainder of the season. I think I’ll probably do another video, but I haven’t decided the format yet.
CsAtlantis
27 мая, 2011 at 05:29
That was a lucky break (no pun intended) with Montero there, dead leg is probably the simplest injury you can get in a game
Looks like your two best players Alvaro and Montero are in high demand, I suppose you need to rely on drafts/free transfers to rebuild your team soon with the amount of offers you are getting
Stromson
27 мая, 2011 at 13:15
Lucky break indeed, that was an uncomfortably close encounter with disaster. I’m going to have to do quite a lot of off-season work if we’re going to have any prayer of success next season, it should be interesting!
Johnny Karp
27 мая, 2011 at 05:46
Brilliant update Stromson, I enjoyed every word of it (including the video)! Now about your players, it’s natural for them to be the target of some European clubs but I’m sure that you can make the club even stronger after this. Some might leave, some might come, but the manager will still be there ;)
Stromson
27 мая, 2011 at 13:30
Thanks for the support Johnny! I agree, I’m not unfamiliar with my players being poached (happens all the time in the lower leagues where I usually dwell), but the MLS setup is so off the wall it’ll be difficult to recover. No decisions made yet though!
vaibhavc
27 мая, 2011 at 07:54
Hey Stromson
That was a pretty good set of results there, if you take away the draw against Colorado. A lot of clubs are trying to take away your players, including Fredy Montiero. His free-kick goal was amazing! And about the video, my friend also uses the word «shannegans,».
Stromson
27 мая, 2011 at 13:33
Yeah, the loss against Colorado was a bummer, but I don’t mind losing when we can learn from our mistakes. I’ll be shocked if I’m able to hold onto Montero until the end of the year, but I’m going to try. Shenanigans = my favorite word. :)
Sibo
27 мая, 2011 at 08:11
Hey Jon,
Well done on a great update, I can’t wait to see the video when I am home tonight as my school has blocked me from watching it (stupid filters!)
Unlucky about all the interest, however your board seem very good as they don’t seem to be accepting anything on your behalf so you might still be able to battle it out! I think you should stay, as you will get some money from the transfers I would hope, and that will allow you to bring in some quality players and allow Seattle to dominate the MLS.
Anyway, up to you but good luck! :D
Stromson
27 мая, 2011 at 13:46
Thanks Sibo, really appreciate it! I’m pretty sure my board can’t overrule me, since all of our players are contracted to the MLS and not Seattle. Unfortunately that also means there is a 67% sell on clause automatically built into every contract, so I’ll only see a fraction of the transfer fee (and nowhere near enough to bring in a player of equal quality).
Callum
27 мая, 2011 at 11:32
Really am enjoying this story usually don’t like MLS stories because i don’t find it exciting. You do make it exciting though really am loving the injury bit. You made it into a proper drama. Good luck with the league and player sales i think you will be fine. Just closing i admire your honesty in uninstalling FMRTE and was a great video, you should do another adds more interest rather than a long read :D
Stromson
27 мая, 2011 at 13:57
Thanks Callum, I’m glad you’re enjoying it! I appreciate the support, and I’m glad you enjoyed the video. I’m thinking I might do a video summary at the end of every post, but we’ll see!
Darren Smith
27 мая, 2011 at 12:05
Well done on some great form Jon, very impressive results there. Such a shame when the bigger clubs poach your key players. Problem is you’ll not receive enough to replace them either. I would not be against you moving clubs after winning in America, I know how frustrating it can be. As for adding videos and commentary its upto you really, your writing is excellent and doesn’t need adding too, but you could try it for a post and see the reaction. Great stuff yet again mate, enjoying your story
Stromson
27 мая, 2011 at 14:10
Thanks Darren, I’m glad you like it! The poaching is really frustrating, and we might be able to recover but I have my doubts. I really appreciate your continued support for whatever decision I make, and it certainly makes these choices that much easier. :)
Laxeyman
27 мая, 2011 at 17:00
Great read again Stromson, and a great set of results too, well done! Hopefully the wonderful form can continue and nice video too :)
vikingmarius
27 мая, 2011 at 23:04
Great keeping the club together despite all the interest, I am suprised there weren’t more bids for Montero he is a beast and you were lucky with his only minor injury. Plus you are still doing fantastically well in the league and good luck against Joe Public which is a great team name :P
Ana Garcia
27 мая, 2011 at 23:04
Wow, the vultures are circling!
Am really hoping you can keep a hold of Montero, he will be very difficult to replace. Fingers crossed that the decision to sell him wont be taken out of your hands!
Good luck in the NACL (I have already won it! :)) american teams didnt too well when I played, but I didnt select the MLS so that may have been a factor.
Good luck!! :)
Excessive
29 мая, 2011 at 11:16
Haha, Stromo. I did chuckle watching that vid.
‘FMRTE is the Devil’! If you would have been a woman, you’d have sounded like that mother in Waterboy.
Anyway, brilliant update as usual mate. Montero will be tough to hold onto by the looks of it but you still have a brilliant setup at Sounders so I dont think it would affect you too much.
Good luck in the NACL, hope you can win that and go onto bigger and better things after the shenanigans happening in Seattle at the moment.