it just means suspending the season during the two periods of roughly six weeks when international competitions are to be held. For example, most South American countries begin their seasons in February or so and end in December. But, as that's south of the Equator, that also means an autumn start and spring finish -- and a midwinter break in June and July for things like the World Cup and Copa America).
Morrow said he doesn't necessarily advocate a shift to the fall-winter-spring calendar. He just believes dialogue on the subject could be productive. Galaxy manager Frank Yallop agrees. He discussed the club vs. country conundrum minutes before his team, minus attacking chief Landon Donovan, went down gently against FC Dallas, 3-1.
He finds it distasteful that so many matches plow forth without the best talent.
"It just seems that, too often, circumstances dictate results more than performance," Yallop said.
BY THE NUMBERS: Goals down. PKs down. Hmmm. Goals are being scored at essentially the same rate this season as last. At 2.63 per match, that's a statistically insignificant difference from last season's 2.62 average.
Of course, last year's 2.62 rate was the second lowest ever for the league, topping only the 2.61 in 2004. Somewhere, world dean of defense Paulo Maldini is smiling.
Scoring in MLS peaked in 1998 at 3.57 a game. It climbed and fell a bit - with no particular pattern - but generally remained above or near 3.0 a match until the 2004 season.
The 2004 season saw the beginning of a considerable decline with the previously mentioned 2.61 per match average. Scoring in subsequent years improved only slightly, at 2.87 in '05, then the 2.62 last season and this year's 2.63.
Reason for the reduction? There are probably several - and two fellows sitting at a soccer-friendly pub in D.C. are probably arguing about it right now.
Statistically, one sure factor in the dwindling strike rate is a steady reduction in penalty kicks called during MLS matches. The decline in spot kicks awarded roughly parallels the recent decline in scoring.
From 2000-2004, penalty kicks calls ranged from one every 2.59 matches at the most, to every 3.04 matches at the least.
In 2005, that average fell marginally to one in every 3.25 matches. Then came a more significant drop: In 2006, referees called a penalty kick only once every 4.36 matches. This year it's just a little better, although still low by historic standards at once every 4.06 matches.
Either defenders have gotten a lot better or MLS referees simply aren't as willing to point to the spot.
FRESH AIR IN L.A.: No one in Los Angeles - well, unless they are wearing a Chivas USA scarf -- can relish the Galaxy's alarming attrition. Injuries, international commitments and late arrivals have bit a huge chunk from the Galaxy personnel power.
One minor dividend: Kyle Martino is certainly getting his chances after 4-1/2 modest seasons in Columbus and nine similarly unimposing games in Los Angeles last year. It's not that Martino was poor on the field. The performance just never seemed to reflect the level of potential.
Manager Frank Yallop has seen signs of a rededicated young player this year, as Martino first embraced a wide midfield role. Last week Yallop moved him inside, closer to the position where Martino had once branded himself as an exciting up-and-comer in the U.S. youth international scene.
Yallop knows his team needs more offense, chugging along at 1.00 goals per match. So he's giving Martino a chance to show off some of the inventiveness that can't come out when he's diligently hammering out lunch-pail duty along the flank.
"And maybe it's helping him to come here, where he's just one of the guys on the team," Yallop said. "Here, he doesn't have to be The Man. That's a hard thing to be sometime."
BUSY TIMES FOR DISCIPLINE: The MLS Disciplinary Committee has been busy lately. It's latest significant action: Defender Tyrone Marshall was suspended Wednesday for three matches and fined $1,500 for his red card tackle on Dallas' Kenny Cooper over the weekend. (In some sort of double high irony, Marshall was traded Wednesday to Toronto. Toronto will play FC Dallas on Sunday. But since Marshall is suspended, he won't get to play in that match.)
On April 25, the Disciplinary Committee fined Columbus forward Andy Herron $3,000 and suspended him four games for violent conduct (for a nasty off-the-ball elbow to the face of Revolution defender Jay Heaps.)
That same day Revolution midfielder Shalrie Joseph was fined $500 for lack of respect for the game, and Chivas USA defender Sacha Kljestan was assessed two games and fined $1,000 for a bad foul that injured Real Salt Lake's Andy Williams.
WINS THIN IN THIN AIR: When is a loss in a friendly a little more concerning than others? When the setback occurs at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, where Colorado has overwhelmed pretty much everyone with the sight of its nifty new grounds, but has not really overwhelmed anyone on that huge Kentucky bluegrass field.
The Rapids have just two wins in six home matches at their new $71 million Commerce City home. By comparison, they have two road wins in just five tries away from home, which isn't too bad at all.
Clavijo's team lost 1-0 to the Chinese national team last Sunday in a friendly that leaned decidedly toward the "unfriendly" and physical side toward match's end. True, Clavijo didn't use many regulars in the contest. But neither did Real Salt Lake use many front-liners as it squeezed past China a few nights earlier, 1-0.
Of course, the Rapids aren't the first team to struggle while acclimating to new grounds. Chicago went 3-3-3 in its first spins of the Toyota Park wheel last season. FC Dallas shrunk beneath the weight of a ghastly 0-3-2 start as Pizza Hut Park debuted in 2005.
Clavijo said the pattern isn't difficult to dissect: everyone is excited about the new park, media reports stir up big interest in the debut and talk up the impending crowds, all of which gets the players feeling compelled to lay out a good show.
"There can be too much emphasis on winning at home in a new place," he said. "There really is way too much pressure on an organization to win at home in a new stadium."
Steve Davis is a freelance writer who has covered Major League Soccer since its inception. Steve can be reached at BigTexSoccer@yahoo.com. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
