Welcome to the latest installment of Your Questions Answered. If you are stunned to see answers to the last Q&A coming about two weeks earlier than you would have expected, shame on you. Of course, the next batch of answers will probably come in September.

This set of answers will cover topics ranging from the U.S. right back position, to potential U.S. World Cup venues, to Americans Abroad who may come back home, to MLS promotion/relegation (okay, so my answer on that one is pretty short. Take a guess).

Here are some more of Your Questions Answered:

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RED DEVIL IN DC– Will Marcus Tracy get a chance to make the team for South Africa 2010? If not him are there any other "surprise" attacking players that might make the roster?

IVES– I have to believe Tracy will get a look at some point this year, and if not, certainly come January. He’s shown glimpses for Aalborg and is a nice prospect, but he has a long road to travel if he will challenge for one of the U.S. team’s 23 World Cup roster spots.

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DANIEL– What are some possible summer signings for the red bulls and do you see Freddy Adu coming back to America in the summer. Thanks for the site, I love all the local red bull news and US national team news, as well as the interesting stories! Keep it up!!

IVES– The Red Bulls could use a central defender and a left winger. The real question is whether the club has any more allocation money and cap space to fit one or both of these on the roster.

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SCHTEVE TOWN– Does the fact that MLS is a single-entity league make it easier to cover as a journalist? Given that all contracts are owned by the league, is it more important to have good contacts at league HQ in NY or do you like to nurture sources at each club?

IVES– I’d say single entity probably makes MLS as tough, if not tougher, to cover than other leagues because, as you say, single entity makes league HQ that much more important in trying to secure information, and I haven’t found league officials to be the most forthcoming with information (not that they should just be giving away info).

Does that mean you can’t get info from teams? Of course not, but it makes it a bit tougher when teams have to worry about

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MR. DERP– What's up Ives? Who do you think will be the next country to win the World Cup for the first time? Also, who will be the first non-European or South American country to lift the trophy?

IVES– I would say Spain is the favorite to be the next first-time champion, with Portugal also in that mix. As for first non-European/South American country to win the World Cup? That is a tough one. Not sure I see that happening in my lifetime, but I’d pick a country like Ghana or Senegal.

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GAUCHO– Website question: When I'm stuck in an airport, my only connection to SBI is my Blackberry. The load performance is not that great. Any plans to make the site more friendly to wireless devices?
Soccer question: Is this the year that the US wins in Azteca?

IVES– I’ll see what I can do about the load performance, though I must say my Blackberry Storm loads SBI pretty easily and quickly.

And yes, this very well could be the year the US wins in Azteca (assuming that game happens now, what with the Swine Flu problem).

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CACUZCATLAN– I've heard lots of rumors about clubs being interested in Kun Aguero of Athletico Madrid. So far they haven't sold and it got me to think, why doesn't Athletico keep Aguero and Forlan and build up the rest of the team and try to become a super club. They have some well known talent, some history, and a decent sized stadium. The only thing missing is regular trips to the Champions League. With some winning and some good marketing, it seems like its not out of the realm of possibility for them to build themselves up worldwide the way that Chelsea, Arsenal, Barca, Real Madrid, Juve, Milan, Inter, etc. have done.

IVES– That’s a reasonable enough theory but it must be said that the type of money being suggested for Aguero would make a significant impact on Atletico’s books. This means not only being able to go and buy more players, but also to help pay club expenses. In the end, all clubs are businesses so those businesses have to consider, and sometimes accept, huge offers for players. Clubs that are already sitting on big money, like Man U and Chelsea, don’t have that same pressure to sell because they aren’t as dependent on transfer revenue.

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BFBS– (1) How much FC New York coverage should we expect from SBI?
(2) What career options do you see Eddie Johnson having? What role would Cardiff's promotion play in that?

IVES– 1. You should expect plenty, with Dylan Butler spearheading the efforts. 2. Cardiff just missed out on the promotion fight, but it wouldn’t shock me if Cardiff bought him outright from Fulham.

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J1MBR0WN– What is your opinion on the quality of refs in the MLS? What can / is being done to improve consistancy and quality?

IVES– Early on in the season I do think that there has been some inconsistent officiating, and some bad major calls, but overall I’m not sure the officiating is so much worse than year’s past. Could it stand to be better? Certainly, but finding, training and developing high-level referees is easier said than done
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DARIUS– At the average RB game event, how many reporters are there? What about for a USNT event?

IVES– As far as regular beat writers? I’d say there are about a half-dozen of us. As for actual media at games, I’d say between 20-30, combining English and Spanish-languag media.

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RS– MLS Cup Question: Is there any consideration being given to having the MLS Cup played at the better seed as opposed to neutral sites?

IVES– I’ve heard of that being considered, but don’t think it’s THAT close to actually being implemented.

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STEVE– Which US players do you expect to come MLS during the next transfer window, subjecting themselves to the allocation system? Would any of them likely pull a McBride and demand a certain team?
As an FCD fan, this is particularly important.
Do you think Beasley will come back, and, if so, might he be open to player LB for a club in light in light of Bradley using him there for the NT?

IVES– I don’t see Beasley coming back. Nor do I see Adu coming back. I think Heath Pearce is probably the safest bet to come back. Marcus Hahnemann is also someone worth considering as a possibility to return to the United States to play in MLS.

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JP– Do you ever see an MLS second division similar to the USL-1 and USL-2? This would allow the possibility of promotion and relegation.

IVES– No.

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MB– What 12 US stadiums (current or planned) would you choose for the World Cup and briefly why?

IVES– I won’t get into the whys, but here are the 12 stadiums I would pick

New York- Giants Stadium,
Boston- Gillette Stadium,
Philadelphia- Lincoln Financial Field
Washington DC- Fed Ex Field
Miami- Dolphin Stadium
Chicago- Soldier Field
Dallas- Cowboys Stadium,
Houston- Reliant Stadium
Denver- Invesco Field
Los Angeles- LA Coliseum Rose Bowl (my fault folks, must have thought it was the 80s)
San Diego- Qualcomm
Seattle- Qwest Field

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JOHN in ATL– If 'Gladbach get relegated, what teams do you see being able to sign Michael Bradley? Hopefully teams that will play him of course.

IVES– I would have said Everton but now that the Toffees have Anton Pederlin it’s not as much of a need (kidding folks, kidding). I can see Bradley staying in Germany at this point, though a move to England is certainly still a possibility.

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JEFF– It seems that every summer there are high-power friendlies between top European clubs in the US. Do you ever see a time where these clubs will be playing MLS teams instead of each other? Perhaps create a mini-tournament with the best MLS teams and those Euro teams? I'm asking because I think it would be a great way to show a lot of casual fans how MLS compares to the world (favorable or unfavorably).

IVES– I’ve often wondered where there’s so much seeming hesitation for European clubs to come here and play MLS teams. To be fair, there have been MLS-Euro power matches in the past, such as Chicago-AC Milan, D.C. United-Chelsea, and this summer we will see Galaxy-Milan, but I can’t help but wonder if those decision are ticket sales driven or if European managers feel they are better served having their pre-season teams facing other teams in pre-season.

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FELIX– What is your opinion why USL clubs outperformed MLS clubs in the CONCACAF Champions League this season? Also, do you think the MLS' dismal showing in contrast to the success of USL clubs will spurn MLS teams to put more of an emphasis on the competition?

IVES– I think Puerto Rico and Montreal put together some good teams and took the tournament more seriously than not only MLS teams, but other teams in the competition. I wouldn’t put too much stock into one year’s worth of results. When USL puts up results superior to MLS for a few years then we can start talking about a real trend and about USL being equal to MLS, which it isn’t. That said, the gap is smaller than people realize.

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STRIDER– While Seattle has been a great success so far, is MLS pushing too fast on expansion? I am concerned that the player pool will be stretched too thin after the Philly team starts playing in 2010. Also, does MLS realize that a 20-team league begins to get pretty awkward in terms of scheduling?

IVES– I’m a firm believer that MLS should stop at 18 until about 2014. That’s five years from now, hopefully enough time to allow current MLS teams to start working with and tapping talent from their youth academy programs.

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JASON– I was just wondering what ever happened to the samuel kuffour link to the chicago fire? I know there were rumors of it

IVES– To borrow from Ray Hudson, Chicago needs Sammy Kuffour like a fish needs a bicycle. Never saw the Kuffour thing happening, but you never know where these alleged connections come from.

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JOE– What's your take on the depth-at-Right-back question. There seems to be the conventional wisdom that it's Dolo, Hedjuk, Wynne, then everyone else. What MLS RB's do you see getting a look during Gold/Confed cup since Dolo's going to be recovering from surgery?

IVES– I’d say that John Thorrington, who Bob Bradley has looked at for right back, and Chris Wingert, who can play both right and left back, are two players who should be looked at after the obvious picks of Frankie Hejduk and Marvell Wynne. I also can’t help but wondering if Bradley will give Frank Simek a look for the Gold Cup.

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