In my football life, I have seen my fair share of turncoats, Judases (what is the multiple form of Judas?), and traitors. As a Celtic supporter, perhaps the most famous turncoat of all time, Judas Johnstone *spits*, who ironically has some vague management job that apparently does not have much to do with football after his one stellar year of coaching (haw haw haw, Karma is certainly, as they say, a bitch.) at the Crew’s arch rival Toronto FC. I have also experienced the saga of Kenny Miller, who has suited up for Rangers, Celtic, and then Rangers again, in a game of “Naw, you take him!” between the Old Firm. But these players were by no means legends for Celtic or Rangers. Johnstone was apart of the Celtic team that dramatically won the league at Love Street on the last day of the league in 1986, but the outrage with Johnstone went past his play or abilities and into the messier side of the Celtic-Rangers rivalry that many are aware of and if you are not, it is not really worth getting into now. Kenny Miller is a useless bawbag that I am quite frankly glad is over at Rangers rather than still with Celtic. However, Crew fans were presented with last summer is one different than the cases of Mo Johnstone and Kenny Miller. What happens, when a legend for the Crew comes back from a good stint at Team America in the EPL, signs with the team that has been a thorn in the side of the Black and Gold since they came into the MLS? What happens when Brian McBride, Crew legend, signs with the hated Chicago Fire?

Let me first preface that of the Crew’s three “rivals” in MLS, I dislike Chicago the least. The Toronto rivalry does not have to be explained after the last two years (a rivalry in which one team has yet to earn a victory yet…hee hee) and DC has ended the Crew’s season too many times (although it was nice to end their season last year). Along with that, Chicago contains two of my soon to be alma mater, the University of Dayton, alumni. Chris Rolfe and Dasan Robinson have been representing the red and blue well, especially with Rolfe having a breakout year last year. I hope that Rolfe and Robinson do well, of course not at the expense of the Crew though.

With that being said, when McBride came back to the MLS and found his way back to his hometown of Chicago to finish his career, there were two schools of thought from Crew fandom. First, some Crew fans believed that Mr. Brian McBride would be forever etched in the folklore of Columbus soccer history, as one of the best players to ever suit up for the black and gold. Not only does he hold a sacred place in Crew history, but in US soccer history as a crucial member of the United States National Team and a great representation for American soccer in Europe as a member of Fulham. To these members of Crew nation, McBride has earned the right to suit up wherever he wants, Chicago is his hometown, and he deserves to be able to end his career wherever he (or his wife *rimshot*) want.

There is, of course, an alternative view from this thought. The hang ‘em high bunch of the Crew support see McBride on equal footing as Osama bin Laden. They see this transgression as sullying McBride’s legacy with the Crew to the point where they no longer acknowledge his past successes in Columbus. They wonder how McBride performed so well in the EPL with his wife having a leash on McBride’s neck, as reports were that Mrs. McBride wanted to go back home to Chicago. The banner above is a pretty good representation of their feelings towards McBride.

So what happened the last (and only) time McBride was back in Columbus Crew Stadium in Chicago Red? Well, he was noticeably booed and jeered every time he touched the ball. But to be fair, that was paired with a Eastern Conference Finals, with a trip to the MLS Cup on the line. Tensions were high. The vitrol did not seem to affect McBride, as he got Chicago’s only goal of the day. However, the Soccer Gods served justice as rising Crew superstar Chad Marshall got his head on a ball over McBride to net the Crew the game winner. This moment in Crew history is captured currently on the side of Crew stadium and greeting cars on I-71 going past Crew Stadium, as it can be seen here (look at McBride’s face…HAW HAW HAW!)

So what does Joe Crew fan really feel about McBride? For me, I am disappointed that he is with the Fire, but I am sympathetic to his reason why he is there. It is nice to be home with the kids and playing some football for a paycheck, not to mention, hell has no fury like an angry wife. Will that stop me from chirping McBride about the leash that his wife has him on this Saturday? Of course not. As a career US Nat player, it must be strange for McBride to be on the same team as the Hunchback of Mexico. After so many fierce battles with Blanco, I can’t believe the two are good pals, but whatever puts the ball into the net.

Brian McBride is definitely not on the same line as Mo Johnstone (what a wanker, what a wanker) with me. However, it is a bit disappointing that McBride chose to end his career this way. It would have been nice to end his career where it began. For many, you are the company you keep, and for both Crew fans and US National Team fans, McBride is keeping company with a Mexican cheap shot dive artist. However, this fact cannot tarnish the legacy of Brian McBride in the black and gold and what he has meant to the Crew.

Sigi was asked if any of the players had any funny superstitions or rituals they followed before each game. Brian Bliss pointed at Sigi and mouthed “He does. He does.”

Sigi drew some laughs, saying that he rejected the term ritual, instead “It is really just consistent preparation.” He explained that each player does what he needs to in order to be mentally and physically ready for the game. Sigi said that some players listen to their favorite songs, some pay a visit to the trainers, some sit quietly, and several take care of “nutrition:” food, supplements, shakes, health drinks, etc. He singled out Frankie Hejduk for having a locker overflowing with vitamins and supplements which he mixes in complex, exotic formulas before each match. Sigi said that “you need a chemistry degree to follow what Frankie does.”

It was a very open and entertaining discussion. Also before that game I saw el Mellizo’s twin brother and his family enjoying a visit to Columbus. Gustavo Barros Schelotto was on the plaza snapping a photo of his young kids with Stinger, the Blue Jackets’ mascot. I hope they enjoyed themselves.

I wonder how he’d look in black & gold?

–

This past Sunday was the Crew Summer Picnic at the Fort Rapids indoor waterpark, also a perk for season ticket holders. A few hundred fans turned up to meet and hang out with Crew players, coaches and fans in a fun setting. Most of the players were there. The older married guys were doing the family thing and the younger guys mostly hit the waterslides and the buffet.

I didn’t approach any of the players or coaches. Instead the kids and I tried to ring all the fun we could out of the last Sunday before school started. It’s hard to do better than a free waterpark.

But then Adam Moffat approached me. As I climbed the stairs with my six year old, Oor Wullie stopped me, “How’s it going? Are you having fun?”

I said, “Yeah, I am.” and quickly stepped aside. Stefani Miglioranzi was one level up with a bucket full of water ready to dump on the head of whoever Rab C. Nesbitt could stop at the top of the stairs. I kinda wish I would have played along. It’s funny for a middle-aged dad to have a footballer take the piss out of him, but I had seen Hen Broon do it to someone else minutes before.

A cute brunette in a bikini climbed that first flight of stairs and was stopped by a charming, athletic Scotsman in swim trunks. Sean Connery, 1962. Maybe she’d be Ursula Andress… She gives a head tilt… a hair flick… laughs… Bam! Migs dumps 3 gallons of cold water right on her head. They talk another minute, and she walks off. She looked more amused than upset. I was out of earshot, but it seemed like good fun.

It just proves that you can take the schemie off the estate, but you can’t take the Glesga out of the Ned. I just couldn’t believe he was out of his trackies. Next time I see him, I’ll buy a Merrydown for him and his senga. Maybe I’ll get to pet his dug.

Cheers Moffat. I can’t wait til you’re back in form, not just a bampot in baffies.

“At this point he’s probably more inclined to play wide midfield for us while Robbie and Ekpo are gone,” [Sigi] said. “He can play Alejandro’s position in a pinch. He can play Guillermo’s position and he can certainly play both flank positions. He helps us with his versatility and at the end of the day it’s going to be competition and who’s playing best will be out there.”

The Crew traded a first round draft pick and swapping allocation table slots with New England. New England moves to third in the allocation table, Columbus to tenth. There’s a lot of talk about whether it was a good deal, especially trying to value the allocation swap. Allocation awarded McBride to Toronto, but they didn’t end up with McBride. Chad Barrett’s a nice consolation prize, but I think it shows the relatively weak value of the allocation spot.

Whether or not New England did us a solid probably depends on what you think Pat Noonan is worth. The Revolution have a solid offense that Noonan wouldn’t break into any time soon. And, there are some concerns with his ability to stay healthy. It looks to me like his injury risk isn’t any higher than any other 28-year-old.

To assess his potential value to the Crew I reviewed his overall MLS stats. I chose 15 forwards currently playing around the league to compare with Noonan. This will be his sixth season playing in MLS. I chose forwards with as few as 3 seasons and as many as 13. I chose mostly impact players, but there are no DPs. This is a good sampling of experienced league forwards in MLS. Noonan compares favorable with the forwards finding success in MLS this year.

I pulled the regular season stats for each player in the sample from this MLS site.
Finally, I compiled them in a spreadsheet I’ve published here. (The number after each name is years in MLS.)

Here’s how Noonan stacks up in goals per game:

Assists per game:

Shots on Goal per game:

So there it is, ahead of Dwayne De Rosario in goals, third in assists with only Jaime Moreno and Landon Donovan ahead. He’s right in the running in shots on goal as well.

This last table gives an idea of the overall strength of the acquisition. I used the point system from MLS Fantasy Challenge to give a strength rating. Fantasy rules give 10 points per goal, 5 points per assist, and 2 points per shot on goal. I did the multiplication and got this career points per game rating.

Between Kenny Cooper and Edson Buddle. Better than Barrett, De Rosario, Jaqua, and our beloved Ale Moreno. I think that’s a pretty solid pick up.

The interview

Also, it looks like over the weekend, Eddie Gaven gave the U-23 men’s national team the game winner over Honduras. The goal came in the 95th minute of the game (better late than never!) and was scored off of a penalty kick. That put the US in the top spot in the group and qualified them for the Semi-Finals. They play Canada tomorrow at 8pm in Nashville. Canada had a fantastic game out against Guatemala by defeating them 5:0 eh? Honduras will play Guatemala. Good Luck Guys!!

According to Seattlepi.com, the Crew are pursuing Gino Padula for the Left Back Position. The article says that Pedula has most recently played for Montpellier of the French Second Division. Sigi thinks it will “plug a hole” in the Crew back line.

As is noted by “Kenny” in the comments to yesterday’s post (scooped by the commenters…dang…), MLS Underground posted something this morning suggesting the Crew is close (very close?) to signing a midfielder from Boca Juniors named Guillermo Barros Schelotto. And don’t that make you feel all grown-up? A Major League Soccer club signing a player from Boca Juniors? I thought only Europeans got a crack at that. Schelotto will apparently count as the Crew’s designated player, their very own David Beckham if you will (he’ll probably be better…tee hee hee).

The rumor/reality is intriguing enough all on its own, but it gets all the more sweet with a comment that appeared on my Week One Wrap post. This came from “juan” (who has a blogger ID, but no blog that I can readily find; but credit him for all that follows) who volunteered some well considered scouting of the Crew’s first coup since bringing Sigi Schmid on board:

“I’m a 23y.o. Boca Juniors hardcore fan, seasonal ticket holder since i was 6 and i can’t believe guillermo barros schelotto is gonna quit boca after 10 years for columbus.. he is the best player who ever wore boca’s shirt.. i honestly don’t know if the american fans will be able to stand his behaviour on the pitch… he talks a lot to the refs and opposite players, has an intense body language but he is never disrespectful.. He is the most educated player of South America. Having spent my holidays in DC, went to see DC United vs Olimpia.. i have no doubts Guillermo won’t have any trouble adjusting to the kind of football you guys play.. but the question is, will the fans be able to adjust to him? i don’t know.. i just hope he will stay in Boca.”

“All the best for Guillermo…All the best for Columbus Crew then.”

OK, I’d be remiss if I disregarded juan’s postscript; he’s certainly earned it for passing on inside dish (caps in the original):

“PS! OH, TRY TO WATCH THE SUPERCLASICO THIS SUNDAY.. BOCA-RIVER… PLACED NUMBER ONE SPORT EVENT A SPORTS HARDCORE FAN SHOULD ATTEND BEFORE PASSING AWAY ACCORDING TO THE GUARDIAN!”

Thanks again, Juan. I feel for you on this. OK, Columbus; here’s a look at (who looks a lot like ) your new man.

(And now it hits me. Holy crap! I’ve seen that dude play. If there’s one league I still enjoy catching at random internationally, it’s the Argentine league; I’ve seen this guy around and he did look a bit all right. Thanks again to both juan and Kenny; y’all made my work easy this morning. But I’ll be good and dig up more as I find it.)

I walked away from the Columbus Dispatch’s feature on Rogers’ with half a notion in my head that his head wasn’t in central Ohio, as opposed to, say, his native Southern California. And it was passages like those below that caused the confusion:

“For now, Rogers, a winger from California, is content to be with the Crew with a chance to show what he can do to big-city audiences…’I'm a lot happier here,’ he said. ‘I thought I should give (Europe) a shot, and maybe I made the wrong decision. But I’m still young, and I’m here now.’”

No disrespect to Shawn Mitchell, who follows the Crew for the Dispatch, but USSoccerplayers.com’s Marc Connolly explained Rogers’ state of mind a bit more clearly in his big write-up. There’s a lot in there about Rogers’ long-time relationship to Crew coach Sigi Schmid, his familiarity with some of the players, and his upside as a player. For all that, though, there’s also an inkling that he’s not where he wants to be, that his mind might be with the next club.

As someone who predicted good things for the Crew – and as someone who has to watch them 30 times this year at least - I certainly hope his head is with his current club in the here and now. Still, this is something to watch.

Oh, that second link reveals another potential, and intriguing, team note: Richie Kotschau is back training with the team. He’s apparently recovering from a broken leg, but, if he can get back to “whole” I’d argue the Crew would be wise to pick him up. Kotschau’s no God of the Game, but he is solid and experienced. And who could forget that killer goal he scored (don’t worry; it’s the first one):

Elsewhere, there’s some educated speculation as to who Red Bull New York will line up against the Crew on opening night and both come from different places. MLS Underground referred to some weekly game notes for their version of the roster, while Ives Galarcep based his stab at the starting eleven on what he saw in practice. If you check the links, you’ll see two very different looks.

If I were a Crew fan – though I can only claim to be an interested observer, as I see it – I’d hope MLS Underground has the right one.