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MLS All-Stars vs. Manchester United: Your Running Commentary

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The MLS All-Star game is here, and Houston is ready to go. A sellout crowd will be on hand to watch as the All-Stars take on Manchester United (ESPN2, Telefutura).

In case you missed it, here is my earlier preview of tonight's game. In what is an exhibition where nothing hinges on the outcome, All-Star coach Bruce Arena will try to manage minutes and keep his side healthy, while Sir Alex Ferguson has a chance to scout his youngsters and decide who is ready to step up and contribute this season.

If you will be watching tonight's action, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action.

Comments

  1. I ws thrilled to have the match televised, however the moronic commentator who insisted on referring to Manchester United as “ManU” needs a lesson in civility. Maybe he was trying to make a nitch for himself thinking he could coin a new expression, WRONG. Anyone who follows footi, knows Manchester United in just that, Manchester United or if you are in the UK United. to differentiat from Manchester City. NO savvy footie watcher would every consider MANU. he obviously didn’t hear the other commentators remarks. had I allowed it, he could have spoiled the experience for me. GO Manchester United, a great match and some fab players on both teams. Was a delight.

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  2. A.S. said…

    Just reading the comment thread. I can’t believe the moronic chatter here.

    It. Was. An. All-Star. Game.

    It means absolutely NOTHING in terms of the quality of the league, the impression made on the Europeans or others watching, or anything else. It isn’t means to be a competitive game – it is meant to be pure entertainment. My goodness.
    —————-

    Yes, it’s a friendly and it’s entertainment (for that matter, all sports is entertainment) but this still didn’t look good for MLS. Every top athlete competes to win in whatever competition they are in and this was a rare opportunity for MLS to gauge its progress against some of the best talent in the world. Both sides were advertising their product and the MLS product simply did not look good last night. For those who care about the growth of US soccer and its domestic league, Major League Soccer, this was a setback. No, it’s certainly not the end of the world, but a poor effort like this on such a public stage against arguably the preeminent club side in the world isn’t positive.

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  3. There was more crap on the pitch last night than you’d find at the Fort Worth stockyards. Alston? Pearce? Marshall? Conde? Larentowicz? Convey? I wasn’t sure why Jaime Moreno was trotted out but the way he’s looking these days I think it was because they actually expected him to cut the grass.

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  4. Of course the one time ESPN puts MLS on its main page it’s to report this massacre.

    Bad, bad format that I’m sure will be re-evaluated by MLS after this. None of these guys seemed to communicate with each other defensively and 2 goals were especially soft (1st and 3rd) and the fifth was a missed offside. Despite being downplayed in the press I’m sure Man U was humiliated after losing to Kansas City and having a relatively tentative victory against the first year expansion Union and they seemed much faster and more focused here.

    Probably the biggest stage international MLS has ever had and they embarrassed themselves and the league. This will definitely derail some of the positive momentum the league’s had over the past several years.

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  5. Just reading the comment thread. I can’t believe the moronic chatter here.

    It. Was. An. All-Star. Game.

    It means absolutely NOTHING in terms of the quality of the league, the impression made on the Europeans or others watching, or anything else. It isn’t means to be a competitive game – it is meant to be pure entertainment. My goodness.

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  6. For all the waxing poetic about our players and our league by the Europeans…now we see the reality of soccer in this country….

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  7. You’re a complete idiot. Considering Joseph is one of our best players out there tonight your joke makes no sense. The man’s a million times better at soccer than you ever will be at anything and youre gonna make fun of him for smoking pot. please

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  8. The MLS Allstars are not a team that play together all the time. Also, they used 2nd string MLS players mostly. It would be better to do away with the MLS ALLstars and use a regular MLS club. Much like Kansas City Wizards. The cohesive play of a team shows among those who practice and play together all the time. The is game was not a true representation of the MLS.

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  9. And please, let us not overreact, they had the Welsh Wizard. Giggs was the best player on the field tonight and it really isn’t even close, even within tonight’s ManU squad. Henry is a huge step forward for this league, a player truly rated as international class. He will make everyone on that team better.

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  10. I hope someone reads this; anyhow, Heath Pearce was, for me, terrible. He looked completely flummoxed, a word I don’t resort to without consideration, every time he had the ball. MLS is vital to the future of US soccer, and I do enjoy many of the matches, but surely MLS will be considerably better when Heath Pearce is not a member of the All-Star team and Alex Gordon is out of the league. In fact, I think this is how I will end every post now, like Cato demanding the destruction of Carthage, I will finish with: “And Alex Gordon should be bounced from the MLS.”

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  11. That, I think, is the key. Those of us who follow MLS know the challenges brought about by this format. It is such a disaster, though, in terms of the league’s reputation among those who will see only the scoreline of a Man U “B” team destroying MLS’ best. Definite setback for at least our reputation.

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  12. C’mon, Seattle took the game seriously. You guys are just bitching to bitch.

    Seattle had a high energy game on Sunday night and another league game coming on Saturday and then only two days before a 7200 mile trip and back to Salvador.

    You simply have to make strategic adjustments to your roster. Nkufo isn’t fully fit yet, Lundberg is unavailable and wasting a valuable roster spot. Montero and Zakuani played a full 90.

    Sigi played it smart and tried to win by using FRESH players and holding back Zak and Montero to put in as super subs in the last 25 min or so, and the strategy worked to perfection.And Nyassi ran circles around the Metaplan defense. Only his still frustrating inability to finish chances kept this a close game.

    Bottom Line, Seattle took the game seriously, played the most available freshest players, and they won.

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  13. Just because you name yourself “England” does not give you credibility. Nobody thinks you are correct in your opinions just because your name is “England.” Actually, most people are thinking F*CK ENGLAND.
    Get over yourself.

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  14. Arena with 2 embarrassing defeats for US soccer on back to back nights….He crumbles under pressure.

    Where is SSFC Coverage? “All-Star” Montero with the match winner. Still were playing a lot of backups. When will MLS take CCL seriously?

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  15. Some people just don’t pay attention. This was a sub-par performance compared to other MLS All-Star teams because several teams’ players are basically unavailable due to other game commitments.

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