Beyond POV-FS – Mailbag & How You Doin'? New York at Waking the Red

A couple more posts up over at Waking the Red this week to note, including the introduction to another new feature: the mailbag.

In the Mailbag, myself and the rest of the WTR staff will be fielded questions from the audience and doing our best to respond to whatever topics may arise. Think of it as a sort of open forum, where staff and readers alike can mingle and discuss whatever issues arise throughout the course of the season.

The first one has gone rather well so far – check it out

As well, with the first game of the season set to kickoff in less than an hour, WTR also sees the return of the How You Doin'? Feature, where questions are exchanged with a sister-SB Nation site.

This week it was Jason Iapicco of Once a Metro who let us know just how the Red Bulls are doing ahead of Sunday's opener. Huge thanks to Jason for his help.

Check it out - as well as WTR's responses at OAM

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: New York Red Bulls – Meeting the First at Waking the Red

Preview of tonight's match between Toronto FC and the New York Red Bulls is up over at Waking the Red.

Part One looks over the Red Bulls lineup and form, while Part Two hits the game film for strengths and weaknesses.

Check them out

Beyond POV-FS – MLS Week in Review – Playoffs: Conference Finals First Legs at Canadian Soccer News

The review of the first legs of the MLS Conference Finals is up over at Canadian Soccer News, covering all the action from the two weekend matches – check it out.

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: New York Red Bulls – Meeting the Third at Waking the Red

Preview of tonight’s match between Toronto FC and the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena is up over at Waking the Red

Check it out

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: NY Red Bull – Meeting the Second at Waking the Red

    The usual thorough expose of Toronto FC’s upcoming opponent, New York Red Bull, is up over at Waking the Red.

    Check it out

Beyond POV-FS – MLS Week in Review: Playoff Edition – Conference Semifinals, First and Seconds Legs at Canadian Soccer News

    Full recaps of the four conference semifinals are up over at Canadian Soccer News.

    Thus far the playoff have been a rollercoaster with the first two rounds packed into a compressed time span while the upcoming international dates are set to distance the two legs of the conference finals by a full two weeks.

    Hardly an ideal situation; the lack of breathing space has been a combination of exhilarating and overwhelming.

    Like a fine wine, sometimes it is better to let a series simmer and there is some fear that the large gaps between rounds will cause the attention to dwindle.

    Anyways, the reviews – First Legs & Second Legs

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: New York Red Bull(s) – Meeting the Third at Waking the Red

    Preview of Toronto FC’s upcoming match against New York at Red Bull Arena is up over at Waking the Red.

    Check it out

POV-FS Out Loud – Talking the State of All Things Toronto FC on NextSportStar.com’s Red Card with Anthony Totera

    Anthony was kind enough to have me on Monday night to discuss the on-goings at TFC, touching on subjects from Ashtone Morgan, Matias Laba, the pitch at BMO Field, the rumoured arrival of Diego Forlan and much more.

    It was a jam-packed show, featuring a trio of players - Eric Avila, Robert Earnshaw, and Dax McCarty – Paul Attfield of The Globe & Mail, and myself, clearly bringing it all together at the end of the show as the key interview.

    Be sure to check it out, follow Anthony and the network, NextSportStar, on twitter, and keep an eye out for the show every weeknight at 7 pm EST.

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: New York Red Bull at Waking the Red

    Preview of this afternoon’s match between Toronto FC and New York Red Bulls at BMO Field is up over at Waking the Red.

    Check it out.

Are Late Allowances Solely a TFC problem?

    Having looked at the nine goals Toronto FC has allowed in the final quarter of an hour, if only superficially, yesterday – further investigation is definitely warranted, perhaps there will be time next week – today the question is whether this is a TFC problem alone or an affliction of MLS?

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: New York Red Bull – Parts One & Two

    Preview of this afternoon’s match between Toronto FC and New York is up over at Waking the Red.

    Check them out – One & Two

MLS 2013 Preview – The Big Questions: Eastern Conference

    While most folks are busy foretelling and projecting just how this season will play out, we – the royal we – here at POV-FS prefer to offer you questions.

    Each offseason MLS clubs undergo radical player overhauls, in part necessitated by the restrictions of the salary cap and roster spots.

    As such, sometimes it can take weeks - or months - before a club’s true nature presents itself. Some clubs will not have their rosters sorted until the midway point and with the nature of playoffs being what they are, it may not matter how things began, only how they end.

    Remember, prediction makes fools of us all; so, on with the questions.

    In this installment: the Eastern Conference.

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: New York Red Bulls – Meeting the Second

    Preview of tonight’s match between Toronto FC and the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena is up over at Waking the Red.

    Check it out.

Foresight – MLS Round 23 Weekend Preview

    Four questions to be answered in this the twenty-third round proper of MLS weekend action.

Foresight – MLS Round 22 Weekend Preview

    Four questions to be answered in this the twenty-second round proper of MLS weekend action.

Foresight - MLS Round 21 Weekend Preview

    Four questions to be answered in this the twenty-first round proper of MLS weekend action.

The One that Got Away – And a Few Others

    Well, he’s been off the pitch for some time now, but Carl Robinson has officially announced his retirement. Having last graced the surface of Red Bull Arena, as a substitute for Teemu Tainio at the start of the second half when New York hosted Kansas City on April 30th last season – they won 1-0, by the way, with Robbo helping to hold at lead for the remainder of the match.

First Person View – Carl Robinson Retires. Wait, What?

    A few months ago I wrote about Montreal Impact trying to steal the spotlight away from the finale of the Voyageur’s Cup between the other two Canadian MLS Clubs – Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps – by announcing the acquisition of Marco Di Vaio the very morning after the match in Toronto, choking the airways, not with talk of the match, but of the Italian striker.

Foresight – MLS Round 18 Weekend Preview

    Four questions to be answered in this the eighteenth weekend round proper of MLS action.

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: New York Red Bull – Meeting the First at Waking the Red

    A slightly abridged preview of Saturday’s match between Toronto FC and New York Red Bull at BMO Field went up at Waking the Red a few hours before kickoff.