What now for the City Stars? (Part I)

I would venture a guess that most people that read this blog know by now that Cleveland City are (supposedly) moving up to the USL First Division for next season. GOALSeattle reported this first on Saturday until the league made them remove the post. The information came from the Seattle Wolves delegation who were in the USL-2 League meeting. Canada.com and Devo's Direct Kicks (soccer blog from Rochester) have also reported that we're moving up.

If we do move up, it will definitely be an exciting season. I think that we've got enough talent to be able to compete, assuming most of our team from last season returns. Also, MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced that MLS rosters will be smaller and that the reserve league has been cut. That should also increase the talent pool for USL. There will be more talented players available and willing to play in the First Division.

With that being said, here's who I would like to see return for next season:

Goalkeepers
Eric Reed

Defenders
Mark Schulte
Anthony Stovall
Jeremy Tolleson
Musa Otieno

Midfielders
Godfrey Tenoff
Floyd Franks
Derek Potteiger
Ryan Stewart
Adriano Sella

Forwards
Sallieu Bundu
Luke Williams
Adam Ruud
Jason Hotchkins

With that being said, who would YOU like to see come back next season?

If you haven't seen this video, watch it now

The Success of Cleveland City!

Yet again the video guys for the team put together a class video.  And, Sallieu's goal is probably the best (and most important) goal he scored all season.

Getting back into the swing of things

This blog may seem dead, but I'm bringing it back.  I'll start doing some off-season musings in the next couple of days. 

Cleveland vs. Bermuda post-game reaction

Like the picture? I think it's funny. Sallieu had a great game against Bermuda this past weekend, netting two goals. We ended up winning 5-1. Despite this, it was not our best performance of the season. The boys looked really lackadaisical during the first half, especially after they went up 2-0. Now, I know they said differently on the telecast, but at the game, it seemed like we just sat back and let Bermuda control possession. Our marking was absolutely horrid on their goal. There were two men left unguarded in the box. That's unacceptable. Maybe it was the new defensive set up. I wonder why they made the decision to put Stovy at right back and JT at left back. I personally would've switched them; kept Stovy at left and moved JT to right. It makes sense to start Musa and Schulte in the center. They're easily the two best central defenders in the league. Musa also netted his first ever goal from the team, a nice header to put us up 4-1.

The re-arrangement of the defense also had a positive effect on Godfrey. Godfrey looked out of position all season at right back. He's naturally a midfielder and he finally got to play that position against Bermuda. He looked like a good player. He wasn't constantly getting beat. He worked well and put in a beautiful ball to Sallieu on the first goal. It was a great little chip over a defender that Sallieu put away with a "bullet header," as Glen Duerr said on the telecast.

One final note, it's about the telecast. I'm glad they started showing more of the Green Army. We made a lot of noise on Saturday night, especially in the second half. The ref was horrid; he even stared us down after we gave him a ripping for yet another horrendous call. He also missed a blatant red card in the second half. But, there were more shots of us on TV, which was nice. Maybe getting us on the air more will help recruit members. I also liked Glen's comment about us singing "7 Nation Army." I thought it sounded pretty good.

I hope he's not drunk

Check out who's refereeing my game against Gimnastic in the Champions League. Someone better keep him away from the vodka.

7/26 Cleveland vs. Bermuda Match Preview

We face off against Bermuda tomorrow, well, today technically. This is a game we should win easily. Bermuda has scored something like 12 goals all season and conceded over 30. Our misfiring offense should be able to put a couple past them. Still, we face an tough battle to finish 3rd, let alone 2nd. It all depends on how Crystal Palace does. It is still possible for us to finish in the top two, but we really need to win out.

I'd really prefer if Martin would just decide on one goalkeeper. I think that Reed is a little better than Hunter and I'd just stick with Eric. But, that's just my humble opinion. What do YOU think?

I'm disappointed

So, some of you may not know that I'm a huge fan of Polish soccer. I've been following the Ekstraklasa and the lower leagues for awhile; I support Wisla Krakow and Lechia Gdansk, and to a lesser extent, Slask Wroclaw. Anyway, that's my boy Patryk Malecki of Wisla sporting the team's new away kit. He's got a little bit of sass in that picture and I also like how he's throwing in a thumbs up, just like I do in many pictures.

But, today was the day the league was supposed to start. Note that I say supposed to start. Unfortunately, league play did not begin today because of the HUGE corruption problems in Polish soccer. PZPN (the Polish FA) illegally relegated clubs for corruption. It's not that the clubs weren't corrupt, it's just that PZPN is so corrupt that they don't even do things they right way. Back on topic, it's still not totally clear which teams will all compete in the top flight. The 2nd match day will now become the first, which will be made up in late October.

Off-topic now, I just got home from work half an hour ago. There was no producer today in the sports department, so that just made things a little more difficult. On the bright side, it meant that I got to do some more work. Yes, I am actually glad that I got to do more. It made things a little more interesting than usual. Not that I get bored, I just liked the additional responsibilities. I don't know many other interns who get to do as much as I do.