Friday Footie Link List

Earlier this week we had some points of contention with Du Nord, so let's pick right up where we left off, shall we? Except, this isn't so much a point of contention but more a point of confusion. The site introduced something today called "The Designated Players," which appears to be some kind of blogging quintet featuring Ives, This is American Soccer, The Original Winger and The Offside Rules. Du Nord doesn't say what the partnership means, except that the other four are his "brothers in arms." I expect further clarifications to be forthcoming. Or maybe not. Don't get me wrong, I think it's cool and all, though I do have a bit of an issue with the (I assume rhetorical) question posed by Du Nord; "Do you really need to go anywhere else for your soccer news?" (Yes you do. Blogs are great and all but sometimes you need properly written, edited and fact-checked news stories if your society isn't going to degenerate into a type of gossip mongering parody of itself. Not that that could ever happen in America of course).

Sadly, actual soccer reporters are fast becoming an endangered species. Earlier this week we had a bit on longtime Boston Globe soccer writer Frank Dell'Apa being reassigned to cover the Celtics. Now, Sideline Views tells us about the OC Register axing its Galaxy coverage. Somebody else told me about The Metrowest Daily News disposing with Mike Biglin, their soccer writer. Where will this all end, yo, I don't know.

WVHooligan asks its readers if it is time for New York Red Bulls constantly oft-injured midfielder Claudio Reyna to go. American Soccer News asked the same question a week ago (the result, so far, is pretty telling). In case you didn't know this, Reyna played in a charity game in New York's Chinatown this week, while his team was out west. The aforementioned Ives criticized him for this, calling it a slight to Red Bulls fans. Who Ate All the Cupcakes was right behind him, arguing that somebody as injury prone as Reyna should not be putting himself at risk in a charity game. I tend to agree with them and would jump onboard with some choice words of my own, except I am so tired of criticizing the Red Bulls in general and Reyna in particular. Which is not to say they don't deserve it. I'm just tired of it. This season is shaping up to be a typical RB/Metro campaign; glimpses of hope interspersed with sustained periods of disappointment and a few hopelessly embarrassing events thrown in for good measure. All of which will culminate with another first round exit from the playoffs. What's different this year is that there really, truly is light at the end of the tunnel--and it ain't an oncoming train, neither! Reyna's contract is up at the end of the season and sometime (probably late) next year the team moves into its shiny new digs in Harrison, N.J. But for the immediate future the franchise is just treading water, which admittedly isn't pretty.