Two things happened in the past few days that made me warrant this thread, so lets start.

Adrian Hanauer was retained as GM per the fan vote.

Fredy Montero has been loaned to Millonarios of Colombia for the 2013 season, with a potential option to buy. This is rumored to have opened up a DP slot that could be used on Joan Verdu of La Liga.

The Sounders also signed DeAndre Yedlin to a homegrown player contract. The 19 year old right back plays for Akron.

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As always, thanks for the updates Smurf!

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...and with one kiss of his bicep he proved, without a shadow of doubt, that he was every bit as much of a DBag as his coach, and most of his team's fanbase. Finally, he could call himself a Niner!

Millionairos? Not exactly Europe... Monteros chances of playing meaningful football overseas took a massive blow there.

Watch out for Eric Miller in the next few years. Woodbury, MN product playing right back for Creighton and a member of the Timbers Reserves (and US U-21s)..... if he's not starting at Portland by 2014 he is playing in England or Holland. He's that good

Three possibilities with this move.

He will either blow up that league and be transferred to a bigger club in europe (less likely)

He will stay the year there, and return as a DP in 2014 after Mauro Rosales departs (fairly likely)

He will be bought and stay in Colombia (also fairly likely).


We made this move to free up the DP slot so we can bring in another big name player. Same reason we tried to loan out Fernandez last season before eventually trading him to Chicago.

Joan Verdu would be my guess.

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Everything I've read makes it sound like Montero isn't looking back to Seattle. He left a goodbye and thank you tweet to Sounders fans. And his agent to Colombian press spoke of him moving on from the MLS.

I don't follow this stuff nearly as close as you guys do. But I also read some rumors about some foreign team being interested in Rosales now. Hanauer spoke of the team making big changes after getting bounced from the playoffs. Two new DP's would def be that.

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what are the views of those selected in the draft?

Really interested to see how our draft picks work out.

Eriq Zavaleta really interests me. He's a forward/defender. The club sees him more as a CB at this point, but from what I've seen he has some talent in front of goal.

DeAndre Yedlin (our first home grown signing) is a player who can make a difference on this team. He is a outside back and could push for time. He's only 19 and seems ready for the big time.

Dylan Remick is an interesting pick up, another outside back who could see some time potentially in the center of defense too. I doubt we will see much from him this season.


and big news today is that the Sounders have traded for home town hero Lamar Neagle. So the Federal Way native is coming home. They only gave up an international roster spot to get him...so essentially we got Eddie Johnson for an international roster spot, Mike Fucito, and a year long loan of Neagle. Stoked to have him back.

Very curious to see how this team shapes up. Here is the roster as it stands right now:



Forwards:
Eddie Johnson
David Estrada
Sammy Ochoa
Cordell Cato
Babayele Sodade
Eriq Savaleta

Outside mid:
Steve Zakuani
Mauro Rosales
Mario Martinez
Lamar Neagle
Brad Evans
Christian Tiffert
Cordell Cato
Alex Caskey

Central mid:
Osvaldo Alonso
Brad Evans
Christian Tiffert
Andy Rose
Alex Caskey
Servando Carrasco

Outside backs:
Adam Johansson
Leo Gonzales
Marc Burch
DeAndre Yedlin
Zach Scott
Dylan Remick

Center backs:
Jhon Kennedy Hurtado
Patrick Ianni
Zach Scott
Andrew Duran
Dylan Remick
Eriq Zavaleta


Keepers:
Michael Gspurning
Marcus Hahnemann
Josh Ford

I'd like to see us add another striker and at least another quality center back. Midfield is really tight for space...Could we see more 4-5-1's? or a 4-3-3?

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Pretty worried about the Sounders this year. With the current squad I think we'll scrape the playoffs at best.

I was happy to let Montero go if we brought in a decent replacement. We haven't signed anyone up front though. Johnson is the only proven striker we have at the moment and if he gets injured, suspended or loses form there could be trouble. Estrada can be injury prone and hasn't really been consistent. In defence we haven't really replaced Parke. I never thought he was a great player but better than Hurtado who is a liability and Scott who is a squad player but not a starter. Ianni is fine when he plays but injury prone. Zavaleta is completely unproven. I'm assuming the Sounders FO are waiting until the summer to get a better deal on players but it is completely risky, especially as players from Europe at that point will not be up to speed. Especially as Portland and Vancouver might actually be good this year and LA are bound to get a replacement for Beckham, my bets on Lampard.

At the end of last season the Sounders needed a dominant center half, a consistent striker to partner Johnson (or a formula that stopped Montero being so streaky and disappearing in the play offs), a back up left back to cover for Gonzalez and quite honestly a new coach after the LA game debacle.

We've signed an untested defender striker in Zavaleta, Yedlin looks promising but again untested. I like Neagle but I don't think we necessarily needed him considering our midfield is arguably the strongest part of the team. Djimi Traore on trial is an absolute facepalm, arguably the worst player to ever win the Champions League and that was a long time ago.

We need a CB for sure. We have been linked to a couple guys thus far. Nothing really to report.


As for needing another striker, I'm not sure we really need one. Estrada can do the job, so can Ochoa. With the depth we have in the midfield I could see us using a 4-5-1 more often, or 4-3-3.

Also don't forget we are getting Zakuani back healthy at the start of the year. It's much like a brand new signing.


I could see us going with something like this:


Zakuani-------Johnson---------Rosales


Evans-------------------------Tiffert
-------------Alonso-----------------


Burch---Ianni------Hurtado---Johansson
------------Gspurning----------------


Then obviously you have Martinez and Neagle who are both talented and will get time.

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I worry about Ochoa's fitness. He looked pretty chunky against Portland and has struggled with fitness in the past. Estrada is good at chipping in the odd goal but I don't think he can do it consistently.

I expect a great season from Zakuani, especially with a pre season under his belt. Lots of competition for places in midfield with Neagle, Evans, Zakuani and Martinez for the left hand side. As disappointing as he was last year, I would like to see Tiffert play in the middle beside Alonso instead of Evans.

The middle of defence worries me. Apparently Ianni's injury is worse than expected and Hurtado really does give me the fear.

Any other rumors of what DP Sounders are likely to bring in?

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Probably none until the summer but no one really knows. I wouldn't expect a big name though.

The rumors are we are looking at CB's right now. We were linked to Metzelder for a bit and we had a bid for Valencia's Nelson Valdez rejected.

We were also linked to a U-20 Brazilian Centerback. Nothing has really stuck as of yet, but it sounds like they are out there working on some names.


The MLS transfer window is NOT closed like the big leagues. We can still pay for talent, and European clubs can still sell to us.

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http://seattletimes.com/html/soundersfc ... green.html

New Sounders top leaked. I really really like it. Hate the bra strap looking things on last seasons top.

And another name enters the DP Rumor Mill for Seattle.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2 ... ers-summer

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You are absolutely entitled to state your opinion whenever you wish, and I am absolutely entitled to point out the stupidity of that opinion with the same frequency.

Sounders today acquired mid fielder Shalrie Joseph from chivas USA. Joseph will occupy a DP spot.

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Why another mid?

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I am a firm believer in luck, and I found that the harder I work the more I have of it.

Don't they see Joseph more as a defensive back rather than midfield? I thought he was auditioning for the defensive centerback position. I could be wrong on that. Also, I thought they released him after his tryout stating that he wasn't in shape or fit....something along those lines. I guess that was just coachspeak to lower the price for him.

Sigi said today he sees him more of a midfielder. There is strong rumors that Tiffert will be leaving. Otherwise a completely pointless signing and waste of a DP spot.

Yikes. Losing Tiffert is not good.

The Sounders Blog at the Seattle Times said that Tiffert is currently in Seattle recuperating from an injury and not training with the club in Arizona and the team might buy out his contract.

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You are absolutely entitled to state your opinion whenever you wish, and I am absolutely entitled to point out the stupidity of that opinion with the same frequency.

Tiffert won't be a Sounder anymore by the start of the season. I am fairly certain of that. His absence from Training Camp, the Joseph trade, and our repeated rumors to DP Caliber Strikers means that something has to give...I think we will pay tiffert the $700k we owe him and buy out his contract...that or try and trade him.

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Sounders reportedly have come to an agreement on a transfer fee with Levante for Striker Obafemi Martins. The deal is reportedly worth 4 million. He would most definitely be a DP. The Nigerian striker is 28 years old and has played for clubs like: Inter Milan (28 goals in 88 games), New Castle United (28 goals in 88 games), Wolfsburg (6 goals in 16 games), Rubin Kazan (3 goals in 20 games) and he has 7 goals in 19 games this season for Lavante.

The Sounders have sent a representative to Spain to undergo contract negotiations with the player.


I think he and EJ will pair REALLY REALLY well up top.

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Has been a solid player in the past... however, oft transferred as well, which makes you wonder. If i recall, a litany of injuries in his past... but a solid European top league player with a goal scoring flair. A more consistent finisher than Montero. I wonder what he actually has left.

Awesome news with the DP rumor. As uneven as our DP history has been, I'm just looking for a good spurt of productivity from him. Anything beyond that is just gravy for Sounders fans. Hope he's dynamite this year, but it's going to take me awhile to nail down the name.

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Tall men come down to my height when I hit 'em in the body.

Jack Dempsey

He's goes by Oba Oba. That's pretty easy to remember.

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I'm excited for what he could potentially bring to the club. We'll see how he fairs.

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As someone from S@H posted--does this mean that La Liga is a feeder league for the MLS now?

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...and with one kiss of his bicep he proved, without a shadow of doubt, that he was every bit as much of a DBag as his coach, and most of his team's fanbase. Finally, he could call himself a Niner!

Obafemi Martins has reportedly agreed to terms with the Sounders...

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New Kits are out. Love em.

http://assets.soundersfc.com/2013/takeo ... index.html

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One request for Eddie Johnson.....please just first touch and shoot. Stop holding on to the ball and pussyfooting around so much. He blew two great opportunities tonight by trying to be cute and not taking quick shots.

He put one off the top of the frame with a quick shot. The Sounders offense was just snake-bitten tonight.

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I am a firm believer in luck, and I found that the harder I work the more I have of it.

I was impressed by the new kid, DeAndre Yedlin. He shows a lot of promise for a 19-year old. Other than that, though, the middle of the back line continues to suck balls, Mauro Rosales is out of position at forward, and nobody was able to make an accurate pass into the box. Seattle will continue to struggle until those things are addressed.

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You are absolutely entitled to state your opinion whenever you wish, and I am absolutely entitled to point out the stupidity of that opinion with the same frequency.

I think its going to be a long season.

You determined that from one game without a full roster and some bad luck? Genius!

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I am a firm believer in luck, and I found that the harder I work the more I have of it.

If we get the Martins deal complete and if he meshes with EJ, I'm pretty confident in this year. That's a lot of "If"s.

That said, MAN were they sloppy Saturday night!

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...and with one kiss of his bicep he proved, without a shadow of doubt, that he was every bit as much of a DBag as his coach, and most of his team's fanbase. Finally, he could call himself a Niner!

center of the park was a disaster last night. EJ, Rose, and the CB's has just horrible games. We were instantly more effective when Caskey came in for Rose.


That said, I am not concerned about this team at all. Regardless of if we actually sign Martins or not. Our team is built right now to player a 4-2-3-1 and we saw a glimpse of it yesterday.

EJ up top with Mauro, Martinez and Zakuani behind him. Those three should be free to rotate as play forms (and they did last night, especially Mauro and Martinez). Martinez became the new Montero last night. He drifted into space, picked the ball up deep, and was our major creative presence. He was the second best player in rave green the other night.

EJ seemed super tentative to do anything, and had a hard time staying centralized. There is a big difference in targeting EJ with a cross and targeting Mauro.

Ozzie comes back next game, and Traore should be match fit in a game or two, and Joseph a little bit after that. I would expect us to be using this lineup after a few weeks.


----------------EJ---------------------
Zakuani---------Mauro----------Martinez

----------Alonso--------Joseph----------
Leo---------------------------------Yedlin
----------Hurtado--------Traore----------
-----------------Gspurning----------------



Yedlin is absolutely fantastic btw. Best player in rave green on saturday. I think he's got the talent to play in the EPL in a few years.

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Missed Alonso big time in central midfield will be happy to see him return. We need another option to go beside Johnson as we were so one dimensional and playing Rosales further up didn't work. Our central defence sucks. Yedlin looks a cracking prospect.

I am an avid football (soccer) fan. I am world ranked (around 50th in the world) in FIFA Be-A-Pro mode at ST and have been playing since FIFA 08. With that said the Sounders and the MLS in general still have a long and I mean long way to go to compete regionally, much less on the world stage. The cap has to be increased or allow more DP's on the roster. The fan base is becoming bigger and bigger in the US, I'd say from a mix of T.V. and the FIFA video game series. I didn't give a flying F about soccer until I started playing the video game, now it's easily my favorite sport aside from the Hawks playing. The Sounders have some pretty good players, what we need though are some mids that can posses the ball and make great passes, and a second ST is a must to pair up with E.J., because well quite frankly E.J. is a beast. From the match yesterday the RB Scott has to go, horrible positioning and doesn't have skills on D to be anything but a sub or reserve which means he's basically useless. Traore and JKH at CB are going to be very strong and Leo at LB if he can stay healthy is still very effective. If Joseph can show and be 70-80% of the player he was a couple of years ago in New England then he will be a pleasant surprise in the middle of the midfield with Alonso.

Does anyone know if Martins can be put on the roster or signed before the summer transfer window or do we have to wait until July to see him play? Either way I hope this year the Sounders can make some noise and win an MLS Cup, but that wont happen with a 2nd ST and some luck health wise.

Saw an article in the Seattle Times today. It seems that Martins has signed with the Sounders FC and his joining team is imminent. Good news if true. They definitely need some scoring and Martins should help in that dept.

Here's the link - http://seattletimes.com/html/sounders/2020537124_martins12.html

2nd half of their matchup with Tigres is tonight. Seattle needs to win by 2 goals to advance. I'm not optimistic they can pull it off.

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You are absolutely entitled to state your opinion whenever you wish, and I am absolutely entitled to point out the stupidity of that opinion with the same frequency.

Sounders 0 - Tigres 1 at the half. Seattle's now gone 225 minutes without scoring and the way they look they're not going to break that streak any time soon, even with a man advantage. They're getting completely outplayed at home by the Tigres B team.

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You are absolutely entitled to state your opinion whenever you wish, and I am absolutely entitled to point out the stupidity of that opinion with the same frequency.

You were wrong.

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I am a firm believer in luck, and I found that the harder I work the more I have of it.

Yes I was. For the first time this year Seattle started getting the bounces going their way in the second half.

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You are absolutely entitled to state your opinion whenever you wish, and I am absolutely entitled to point out the stupidity of that opinion with the same frequency.

They finished 3-1, but Seattle still missed a lot of opportunities. I never want to see Andy Rose in the box again, that's for sure. Way too cute with the ball.

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I am a firm believer in luck, and I found that the harder I work the more I have of it.

What a finish tonight by the boys...Gave me a heart attack for sure....pure Golazo's by Traore and Yedlin (how good is this kid going to be!).

And yes, Martins has arrived, officially. His old club in Spain has said he is coming, and he was on the sidelines with the Sounders last night. I believe he will be available for selection vs Portland this weekend.

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Why did Tigres bring such a reduced squad? is the Concacaf CL that unimportant to them? Did they have a big league fixture on the horizon? seemed strange...

Nice result for the Sounders. I wasnt super impressed by Yedlin, Smurf. Sure he had a goal, and some nice runs, but hes an outside back. would be great if he defended. Was at fault for the goal, was at fault for the toe poke that had to be saved, and left his mark on the corner that they nearly converted. Very naive, bit too many mistakes. I wouldnt call his goal a "golazo" (a term i think is ridiculous by the way) either. He hit a volley that ricocheted off a defender and bounced in. He's young though, and he can be special (I dont know about EPL special, that's a bit of a stretch).Traore's goal was a stunner though.

A little bit of history. I feel like they need 3 points this weekend though

According to the announcers, this was their 5th match in 14 days and their second in a row on the road and on artificial turf. They were worried about wear & tear on some of their big names as they try to hold on to 1st place in Liga MX.

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You are absolutely entitled to state your opinion whenever you wish, and I am absolutely entitled to point out the stupidity of that opinion with the same frequency.

Well first of all, CONCACAF CL isn't anywhere close to the UEFA CL in term of popularity, competition, or most importantly for Tigres money. The MX League is far and away more important and I'm sure there might have been a bit of arrogance from the Mexican side after what they did to the Sounders in the first leg.

Now when it comes to Yedlin, that goal he "gave up" wasn't his fault. It was a clear foul on the Tigres player when he pushed down Yedlin, sure he went down pretty easy, but most refs wont just let you shove a guy down in that situation with out blowing the whistle. In regards to his "golazo" you are right about the terminology it is ridiculous, but I think Smurf was using it as a middle finger to a Mexican team that disrespected us seeing it's what Spanish (mostly Mexican) commentators use when there is an amazing goal. With that said, that goal was amazing. Sure it hit a defender, but it was a volley from 30+ yards out. You have to realize that just because it was deflected, that doesn't discount how great of a goal it was. In the EPL and other big leagues around the world and Europe that goal would be considered quality. You just don't see a lot of volleys from that far out going on target much less finding the back of the net. Oh yeah btw he is only 19, we just have to hope the salary cap gets expanded greatly in the next 3-4 years or this kid will be in Europe.

Traore's shot was crazy/amazing too. Two goals of the year in one game from two new players, wow. In a game that means this much to Seattle and the MLS, shows that we are hopefully moving in the right direction. I just can't wait to see Martins paired upfront with EJ. I think this could be our year, regardless of the loss in week one of league play. I still can't believe that Seattle advanced, with the budget MLS teams are limited to.

I thought Eddie's goal was the best of the night. What a beautiful shot that was!

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...and with one kiss of his bicep he proved, without a shadow of doubt, that he was every bit as much of a DBag as his coach, and most of his team's fanbase. Finally, he could call himself a Niner!