Portland Timbers vs Chivas USA: Portland’s Poor Form Continues in 0-1 Loss

What to say about the recent form of the Portland Timbers?That it's no accident.There's a big, big secret that's not so big anymore. That is the midfield play, or lack thereof, of the Timbers. It's a weakness so glaring that it's simply affecting every facet of the team.The keeper, Troy Perkins, seemingly has no choice but to play the long ball every possession. The defense very rarely plays into to midfield, electing to try and kick it to the top two very lonely forwards—Perlaza and Cooper.On paper, at least, the Timbers should have a very stable midfield with Alhassan, Jewsbury, Nagbe and Chara (although Sal Zisso has been starting in place of Nagbe the last two games). The class of the midfield seems to be Jewsbury, who is outstanding at possession and set pieces, and Alhassan, a very nice playmaker with great pace.Nagbe did seem lost quite a few times and out of position, and it wasn't surprising that Zisso replaced him. Zisso did make some nice wing runs in the game against DC United.It's the play of Chara that has me concerned, and increasingly the play of Alhassan.Chara has, thus far, not earned his weight as their sole designated ...

LA Galaxy vs D.C. United: Defensive Galaxy Settle for Scoreless Draw

Oh, the two Donovans. How we miss you. For those of you not in the know (shame on you lot), I'm referring to Los Angeles Galaxy Landon Donovan and goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts.Josh Saunders did well in relief of the Jamaican international, but David Beckham was having a hard time dictating Bruce Arena's 4-4-2 diamond as they settled for a scoreless draw with D.C. United on Military Appreciation Night at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.With the result, LA improves to 8-2-6 (30 points), still good for best overall in the league. But that was little consolation for a clearly exhausted Galaxy side.“The only one good thing about tonight is that we lost these games at home last year," Arena told reporters after the match. "I gave the players three days off this week and it showed. Tonight’s performance was absolutely poor. "You have to give our opponent some credit, but it was poor. There was no quality to our game tonight. Passing was poor. Effort was just okay. We just didn’t get it done. There are no excuses—it was just a poor performance.”"Heavy legs, tired legs, we didn’t have a good performance," Galaxy defender Todd Dunivant said. "And properly ...

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. D.C. United: Live Blog, Play-by-Play Analysis, Reaction

Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy begin a month of June without the two Donovans: midfielder Landon Donovan and goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, who are off for CONCACAF Gold Cup duty. Their first assignment: rectify a 1-1 result on the road against Ben Olsen's D.C. United. Currently, Los Angeles are 8-2-5 (29 points) and are riding a four-game winning streak. D.C. United are 4-4-3 (15 points) and are on a four-game unbeaten streak as they sit in the middle of the MLS Eastern Conference. Keep it right here on Bleacher Report for continuing coverage of the 2011 Major League Soccer season.Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Los Angeles Galaxy Ins and Outs, June 3, 2011

Ricketts looking to bring glory to Reggae BoysLos Angeles Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, who plays for the Jamaican national team, believes that the "Reggae Boys" are due for success at this year's CONCACAF Gold Cup.“[Jamaicans are] just special people,” Ricketts told MLSSoccer.com's Luis Bueno. “We have a fighting spirit. Once we set our minds to something and we have the right focus, anything is possible.”Jamaica takes on Grenada at the Home Depot Center on June 6, 2011 to open Group B play. They will then take on Guatemala at Miami's Florida International University Stadium on June 10 before concluding group play against Honduras at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey on June 13.“Success for anyone would be winning the tournament and playing the best brand of football you can possibly play and seeing how far it takes you,” Ricketts said. “So hopefully we get to the final, if not semifinals.”However, lifting the Gold Cup is not the Reggae Boys' ultimate goal, Ricketts argues.“This tournament is for putting players together, seeing where the team is at and seeing if we can find some form of chemistry," Ricketts said. “Next year are the World Cup qualifiers. That’s our ultimate goal. We ...

2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup: The Non-US Players to Watch

Sure, you know U.S. midfielders Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey. You've seen U.S. forwards Jozy Altidore and Juan Agudelo.You can speak to differences between Maurice Edu and Freddy Adu in your sleep.Congratulations U.S. soccer aficionado. Now it's time to really step your game up in preparation for the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup.Here's the top 10 non-US players to watch in "The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association of Football."Yeah, CONCACAF sounds better.Begin Slideshow

MLS: Ranking Henry, Beckham, Marquez, and the Designated Players

Every team in the MLS is allowed to sign players outside it's salary cap. These players are called "designated players." There are currently 16 designated players in the MLS, out of whom only Landon Donovan is from the U.S. Here's a ranking of all the current designated players in the MLS.Begin Slideshow