especially one such as Mullan, whose entire game depends on fitness, grit and industry -- little illnesses produce a greater point of stress.
Corey Ashe replaced a tired Mullan at halftime Wednesday. Kinnear said his veteran midfielder not only offered little resistance to the halftime change, he said Mullan all but suggested the move.
"And he never does that," Kinnear said.
On the other hand, Ashe is developing, slowly but surely. Don't think for a second that the rest of the league didn't notice something unusual about Ashe's critical cross on the late equalizer: it came off his right boot. Ashe is one of those guys whose right foot is usually just for driving.
3. Beckham's bright performance is good and bad for MLS: David Beckham looked good in Wednesday's Wembley friendly, if only for his ability to serve dead balls. His slowing pace might be a fat target for critics abroad, but most admit that his proficiency at free kicks and corner kicks leaves him a step ahead of other England candidates for the spot.
All of which helps make MLS look good. On the other hand, it's may mean more time away from MLS for England's ball striker extraordinaire.
Beckham's service into John Terry created England's first goal. And until he gets a rival on the England side for delivering precision dead balls, he'll be tough to ignore once Fabio Capello gets down to the serious business of selections for critical, upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
England's first qualifier is Sept. 6 in Andorra, followed four days later by a big match in Croatia. (It was a Croatian victory at Wembley that bounced England from the Euro 2008 field, remember.) Beckham's selection would mean missing a Sept. 6 MLS match in L.A. against Real Salt Lake. And he might be hard-pressed to be fresh on Sept. 13 in Kansas City. Galaxy manager Ruud Gullit will surely be cautious against the overuse that bit Beckham in his debut MLS season.
England has another pair of qualifiers on Oct. 11 and 15, which could eliminate his chances of MLS participation at home against Colorado and perhaps for a match at Houston.
4. Fortifying matters at RFK: D.C. United have a win at home and a draw on the road in their last two matches. If Tom Soehn's team can do that, at least most of the time, the rest of the year, all will be swell in the nation's capital.
But something may have been lost in the fog of the tough times so far this year at D.C.: Bryan Namoff has been as solid as any right back in MLS.
The Bradley University man, 29, has held down his side game in, game out. And he's getting forward with regularity, even on the road, as in Thursday's 2-2 draw in New England.
Steve Cherundolo has a stranglehold on the U.S. right side of defense. And Columbus standout Frankie Hejduk still has something to offer internationally. But Namoff will certainly be a name that Bob Bradley continues to watch.
5. The little five:
• Yes, the Sunday and Thursday stand-alone MLS matches can be tough on the gate count. On the other hand, having the matches on TV sure can be a good thing, especially lately, when most of the matches have been quite entertaining. The last three weeks of matches on Telefutura and ESPN2 have produced 24 goals, or four a game on average.
• Matt Reis has been typically heroic for New England, and if anybody sees a player working harder right now than Shalrie Joseph, they will have to point 'em out for me. On the other hand, communication in the back just doesn't look the same right now and Michael Parkhurst isn't having his best season.
• In case you're wondering, Toronto holds Brian McBride's allocation rights.
• There's a red card issue in Texas, where the Hoops have had a player tossed out in three consecutive matches. And if it's Dallas-Houston meeting up, an ejection must be lurking nearby: three of the last five matches have included a red card. Eddie Robinson, by the way, has been issued six cautions in his last six matches in the I-45 series.
• The mean season is here for international absences: Players leaving club for country this weekend include: TFC's Carl Robinson, Greg Sutton and Amado Guevara, Houston's Dwayne De Rosario and Pat Onstad, San Jose's Ivan Guerrero, Colorado's Bouna Coundoul and Dallas' Adrian Serioux.
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.
