Beyond POV-FS – MLS Week in Review and Extended Canadian Content at Canadian Soccer News

    The usual weekly posts are up over at Canadian Soccer News.

    The first is the MLS Week in Review, recapping all the action from the recent round of play, pointing out some of the controversies and highlighting some of the lighter moments from the weekend as well.

    The second is the extended Canadian Content section, focusing on the contributions of the Canadian players in MLS – strong weekends from Jonathan Osorio, Kyle Porter, and Russell Teibert, while Dejan Jakovic and Dwayne De Rosario return to the pitch.

    Check them out – Week in Review & Canadian Content

MLS Referee Watch – Round Four

    With the fourth weekend of MLS matches having passed, it’s time to check up on the continued development of the referees.

MLS Red Card Watch – Salazar and Chivas

    Last week POV-FS, alerted by a lack of red cards through two weeks, theorized that MLS had instructed its officials to be more lenient on the field and allow the Disciplinary Committee to handle any serious infractions in an effort to spare any mistakes from ruining matches.

    Finally, in the last match of Round Three on Sunday, the first red card of the 2013 season was shown by referee Ricardo Salazar to Chivas USA in their derby against the Los Angeles Galaxy.

    And, of course, it was controversial.

Beyond POV-FS – MLS Week in Review – Round 3 at Canadian Soccer News

    Review of all the matches from round three – rivalry week – of MLS is up over at Canadian Soccer News.

    Check it out.

The Lack of Red Cards Thus Far in MLS

    Over the course of the first two weeks of the 2013 MLS season an interesting trend has begun to develop: 17 matches have been played and yet, no – 0 – red cards have been issued.

Foresight – MLS Weekend Preview: Round One

    Four questions to be answered on the opening weekend of MLS action.

First Person View – When the Decision Goes Against & Moving On

    Much ink has been spilt over this controversy already, so rather than go over the whole story over again I thought it pertinent to take a look at a few of the parallels that have not yet been mentioned.

Upon First Glance – Toronto FC v Houston Dynamo

Some immediate (relatively) thoughts on the most recent TFC match:

Refereeing in CONCACAF

    With Canada in the midst of a World Cup Qualifying campaign it’s only a matter of time before the age-old complaints about the standards of refereeing begin to rear their heads.

Bringing the Game into Disrepute

    Martin Rennie’s post-match comments moments after last night’s second leg of the Voyageur’s Cup Final ended, those insinuating something sinister behind the selection of an Ontario-based referee for the match, were unseemly to say the least.

MLS Weekly Review – Midweek Round 8 – Of Faulty Penalty Kicks, Elbow Locations, and Canadian-Argentine Flicks.

    A single midweek match on Wednesday night saw Dallas welcome Salt Lake to their eponymous stadium in Frisco, Texas. Both sides returned to action on short rest, having lost on Saturday night to Vancouver and San Jose respectively.

Upon First Glance – Toronto FC v Columbus Crew

    Another disappointing loss – only 0-1 this time - for the remaining faithful at BMO Field to take in on a sunny, yet cool early spring afternoon. Symmetry was achieved as the reserves lost by the same score-line following the day's main event. 

MLS Weekend Review – Round 3 – Watch This Space – Part Two

    I know, I know... last week I promised I would get around to this, but there simply has not been time.

Upon First Glance – Oh, What a Night! Toronto FC v Santos Post-Match Reaction

    I’ll leave much of the analysis to next week’s preview of the second leg, but for now let’s take a closer look at some of the less-tangible aspects of the match played out last night.

MLS Weekend Review – Round 2 – Watch this Space

    Sadly, having spent much of that weekend riding the bus between Toronto and Montreal I have not been able to find the adequate time to catch up and put together a suitable review.

Eyes Outside

    Some stories from outside the footballing world – and one from within – that could help change the at times ancient mindset of the governing bodies.

Retrospecticus – Volume I

     Every so often a piece written long ago becomes pertinent once more. This retrospective will highlight some of the entries those that may have been missed, as well as some favourites.

Upon First Glance – CCL Edition: Tauro FC v Toronto FC

Some initial, post-match thoughts on tonight’s meeting:

MLS Weekly Review - Weekend Round 16 (Abridged) – Of New Club Debuts, Continued Good Form, & Refereeing Controversy in Utah.

     Another interesting weekend of MLS action in the books as eight matches saw twenty-one goals scored.

All’s Fair That Ends Fair

    There was a fair share of controversy in the second leg of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship – Voyageur’s Cup.