Columbus Crew

[BuckTwenty]

The Crew lost Brad Evans in the Seattle Sounders Expansion Draft this afternoon. Kinda surprised they didn't go with Gaven or Noonan, but out of those three, I think Evans was the easiest to part with. Would not be surprised to see Adam Moffat or Noonan fill in at the center mid spot that Evans occupied between Schelotto and Carroll.

Players picked by Seattle in the Expansion Draft:
Brad Evans (Columbus Crew)
Nate Jaqua (Houston Dynamo)
Nathan Sturgis (Real Salt Lake)
Jeff Parke (New York Red Bulls)
Jarrod Smith (Toronto FC)
Khano Smith (New England Revolution)
Peter Vagenas (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Tyson Wahl (Kansas City Wizards)
James Riley (New England Revolution)
Stephen King (Chicago Fire)

Pretty underwhelmed by their draft. Shocked that Marco Velez (Toronto FC) didn't get picked. He's a future all-star defender in this league and he's still young.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Soccer
Crew gives up Evans to Sounders; is Schmid next?

Thursday, November 27, 2008 3:12 AM
By Shawn Mitchell


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Brad Evans


The Crew lost midfielder Brad Evans to the Seattle Sounders in yesterday's Major League Soccer expansion draft, opening the door for Adam Moffat to reclaim his starting spot next season.



Evans, 23, took over for Moffat last spring when the Scotsman suffered a season-ending knee injury. The 2007 second-round SuperDraft pick struggled through his first few games as a starter before clicking with the rest of the midfield during the summer.
He scored five goals -- including the winners in three one-goal victories -- and had one assist in 26 games.

Continued..............

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Michael Arace commentary: If Schmid moves on, Crew can kick itself

Saturday, November 29, 2008 3:04 AM
By Michael Arace


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Barring a radical change in the status quo, Sigi Schmid is leaving Columbus to coach elsewhere, probably in Seattle. Why is he leaving? The answer is complicated, but the simplest way to put it is that Crew management let him get away.
At the start of the Major League Soccer season, general manager Mark McCullers was thinking more about when to fire Schmid. The Crew was coming off three playoff-less seasons and its season-ticket base was being threatened. Word was the coach had a 10-game window to keep his job.
By midsummer, Schmid had his players thinking about the conference title, the Supporters' Shield, even the MLS Cup. Also by then, Schmid had done a hands-on job of strengthening the bonds between the denizens of the Nordecke and the team. On the field and in the stands, the Crew was being revived -- looking better than ever -- and Schmid was the primary resuscitator.

Continued.............

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

CrewAnalysis
No news yet on status of three key parts

Sunday, November 30, 2008 3:38 AM
By Shawn Mitchell


The Columbus Dispatch

The business of Major League Soccer waits for no one, not even its champion. Only a week after winning its MLS Cup, the Crew is back to work, facing a tall task of retaining a trio of men at the heart of the best season in club history. Where it stands with each:
Coach Sigi Schmid

The contract of Schmid, the MLS coach of the year, expires today.
He jumped at none of the offers made by the Crew to re-sign him and will explore his options, most notably those provided by the Seattle Sounders, who begin play next season, and an expansion team in Philadelphia that will join the league in 2010.
He has maintained that returning to the Crew remains an option, and he would enjoy the challenge of attempting to repeat as MLS champion and competing in the CONCACAF Champions League.

Continued................

[BuckTwenty]

MLSnet.com

Crew re-signed reigning league and MLScup MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto to an option year. We're using our Designated Player option on him, making him the Crew's first DP.

1 down (Schelotto), 2 to go (Schmid, Marshall).

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Crew notebook: Schelotto will stay -- at a stiff price

Wednesday, December 3, 2008 2:59 AM
By Shawn Mitchell


The Columbus Dispatch

The Major League Soccer MVP will remain in Columbus for another season, the Crew announced yesterday.
The Crew exercised the option year of the contract of playmaking midfielder Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who will become the club's first designated player.

Continued............

[BuckTwenty]

Home openers for next year have been posted. The Crew's 1st 3 games next year:

March 21st, 2009 -- Columbus Crew vs Houston Dynamo, 8pm, Fox Soccer Channel
March 28th, 2009 -- Toronto FC vs Columbus Crew, 4pm
April 2nd, 2009 -- Columbus Crew vs Real Salt Lake, 9pm, ESPN2

[BuckTwenty]

No official word yet, but sounds like Sigi (Seattle Sounders FC) and Chad Marshall (FSV Mainz 05 [2nd division Bundesliga team?!]) are gone. Also, sounds as though Sigi might be taking some Crew players with him. Danny O'Rourke has been rumored as a player that might jump ship (which sucks, considering he was one that we protected from Seattle in the expansion draft).

On the bright side though, at least we still have Guillermo.

[BuckTwenty]

Now it's official. Should be formally announced here in the next 24 hours.

Dispatch

Schmid's tenure with Crew ends
MLS champion announces coach's departure

Wednesday, December 10, 2008 3:14 AM

By Shawn Mitchell


The Columbus Dispatch


Coach Sigi Schmid will not return to the Crew after leading Columbus to the Major League Soccer championship last month.
The team confirmed Schmid's departure in a statement released late last night.
"Sigi was the ideal person to turn around our competitive program and create a championship mentality within our club," the statement read in part. "As a result, we are well positioned moving forward and toward continued success. We respect his desire to seek the next challenge and wish him nothing but the best."
(continued...)

Sounds as though he had his mind made up even before the MLS Cup Final and there was nothing the Crew could do. Interesting stuff in the article though concerning clauses in his contract...

[BuckTwenty]

The Crew received cash and allocation money to let Sigi out of any contractual obligations to the contract that just recently expired (does that make sense?). Press conference at 2pm tomorrow in Seattle to announce that they are signing Sigi. On a side note, it has been found that Seattle indeed did NOT "tamper" with Sigi while still the Crew's head coach.

Whatever bridge we had with Sigi, we just burned it. Thanks, Mark McCullers. Real classy send-off for a coach that just brought you the biggest award in your team's history. And for what? The considerations they paid us are pennies in comparison to The Cup.

Sounds as though Seattle's new team might find the Crew a nice "rival" for them straight out of the gate... and I don't blame them one bit.

[BuckTwenty]

Also, from what I'm hearing, Chad Marshall is looking for a salary in the $500,000 range. Makes sense why he's looking overseas... because the Crew doesn't have that kind of money to spend... especially with the salary cap put in place by MLS. Heck, Schelotto is only making 100K more and we had to make him a designated player to afford him!

[BuckTwenty]

Heard conflicting reports about Columbus Crew Stadium hosting the World Cup qualifying game between the U.S. & Mexico. Most recent info suggests the game will be held here in Columbus, according to the Mexican National Team website. Haven't seen anything official yet published here in the States about it, but it's been officially released info in Mexico.

Columbus, Ohio Sera la Sede de Estados Unidos vs. Mexico -- Federacion Mexicana de Futbol Asociacion (note: written in Spanish)

As far as rivalies go in Latin & North American, the U.S. vs Mexico rivalry seems to be the most physical and entertaining in the soccer world (Brazil vs Argentina has it beat by a long shot in South America, though). Columbus is considered the ultimate home-field advantage against the Mexicans because of its centralized location in the Midwest, distance from Mexico, and freezing winter weather. In Texas, California, Florida, and even on the east coast (NY, Massachusetts, etc.), it is common to see more Mexicans in attendance than Americans. The opposite is true when Columbus hosts the game. It's why we hosted the very same qualifying game against Mexico 4 years ago.

If true, it's going to be one hell of a game. Buy your tickets early, bring your warmest winter clothes, warm up your vocal cords, and keep those tri-colors out of the stands!

[OHSportsFan9]

Sounds like it's official now.

The Official Site of U.S. Soccer - Men's National Team

GREAT NEWS!

I've been to the last couple Qualifiers against Mexico and I have to say that (Ohio State football games not included) it is THE best sports atmosphere I could imagine. I simply love international soccer and watching our Yanks beat the [censored] out of Mexico is as good as it gets.

So much pride for the country put on the line. The chants, the intensity, the cold...it's a wonderful thing to experience. I hope I can get in on a couple tickets to this years match.

USA! USA!

[BuckeyeMac]

I will for sure be buying tickets...we need to keep this thread up to date so we can figure out when the tickets are going on sale!!

[BuckTwenty]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeMac

I will for sure be buying tickets...we need to keep this thread up to date so we can figure out when the tickets are going on sale!!

Will do. I've got my ear to the ground, my friend.