Seattle Sounders

[Louis]

Interesting to see that they have secured a 67,000 capacity stadium (home of the Seattle Seahawks) for their first season in the MLS but have agreed to limit spectators to 24,000 for now. They've sold 16,500 season tickets already despite their first league game won't be until 2009.

 

They have a larger shirt sponsorship deal than most Premier League teams (including Everton) and have managed to attract adidas into manufacturing their kits.

 

They're also setting up their own supporters club in a similar way to Barcelona

 

It's back by the co-founder of Microsoft Paul Allen - they could be a real power force in the game at this rate.

 

Most importantly Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) of cheers and erm.. Frasier is already a fan.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Sounders_FC

[troy8]

certainly done very well for themselves already. will be a real test though how they perform on the field, i hope for their sake they go well

[MikeO]

certainly done very well for themselves already. will be a real test though how they perform on the field, i hope for their sake they go well

 

Well I wouldn't hold out too much hope for their future personally .

 

>>Unstable Link<<

[aaron]

Interesting to see that they have secured a 67,000 capacity stadium (home of the Seattle Seahawks) for their first season in the MLS but have agreed to limit spectators to 24,000 for now. They've sold 16,500 season tickets already despite their first league game won't be until 2009.

 

They have a larger shirt sponsorship deal than most Premier League teams (including Everton) and have managed to attract adidas into manufacturing their kits.

 

They're also setting up their own supporters club in a similar way to Barcelona

 

It's back by the co-founder of Microsoft Paul Allen - they could be a real power force in the game at this rate.

Most importantly Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) of cheers and erm.. Frasier is already a fan.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Sounders_FC

alsi the voice of side-show bob in the simpsons

[zequist]

The whole Pacific Northwest area has always been a major hotbed for the sport in the US and Canada, even in the years when there was no major professional league, so it doesn't surprise me at all that the response to the new club has been so positive. Even to the point of staging a successful fan revolt when the vote for the team's name didn't include "Sounders," which was what most of the fans up there wanted. You couldn't buy that kind of natural enthusiasm if you brought twenty Beckhams into MLS. Portland and Vancouver are both actively lobbying for MLS clubs in their cities too, and while I don't think they'll get them in the next few years, it almost has to happen eventually. There are too many untapped fans up there for the league to ignore.

[Louis]

Freddy Ljungberg has signed for them.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/7696244.stm

[dark]

Just been on thier Wiki page, according to that they have only four players? Must be missing something, unless thier at the start of getting a team. At the moment they have Ljunberg, Keller and two other players which arn't famous round England.

 

Wish them luck, they never know what success they could have in the MLS. It seems like a growing sport American Soccer I just hope that they can start to give it a more sensible name

[aaron]

they get players through the draft.

[zequist]

Here's a good article (written shortly before Ljungberg signed) explaining how Seattle will go about filling out their roster. Once again, us crazy Americans have a totally different way of doing things than y'all do.

 

http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/story/518391.html

[Louis]

I thought they would have just promoted the players from the USL team, it seems a bit of a mess having 10 new signings who can't get into the other teams.

[zequist]

Oh, you can still get a few serviceable players in an expansion draft...teams will leave players unprotected for all kinds of reasons. Maybe they're stacked at one position and can't protect them all. Maybe they wouldn't mind getting a guy's salary off the books, or they might gamble that the expansion team won't take him even if he is a good player because he makes too much money (sometimes they're right about that, sometimes not). Sometimes teams will even work out deals in advance - like the expansion team might agree to a deal where they promise to draft a particular player from a team and then trade him right back to that team in exchange for cash and/or an extra pick in the college draft. That's been done before.

 

And actually, Louis, they will also be allowed to promote any players that they choose from the USL team, as long as his rights aren't already controlled by another club. So that will be one more source of players for them, on top of the two drafts and any transfers they can wrangle.

[dark]

Squad Profiles for us folks in England that are following Seattle's progress.

 

Sebastien Le Toux

 

Le Toux, in his rookie season led the United Soccer League (USL) Sounders in scoring with 22 points in 2007 and was named the USL First Division MVP in his first year in the USL. Le Toux also scored five goals in the U.S Open Cup, leading USL Sounders to the semifinals with two wins over MLS teams along the way. First seen by the USL Sounders at a combine held in correlation with MLS Cup 2006, Le Toux has played for F.C. Lorient in the French League 2 and Stade Renais Football Club in the French First Division.

 

Kasey Keller

 

Keller is a four-time World Cup participant and one of the first American goalkeepers to become a regular in the English Premier League. He was named U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year an unprecedented three times (1997, 1999 and 2005). “Kasey is arguably the top goalkeeper that the United States has ever produced,” said General Manager Adrian Hanauer. “He is a natural leader and those leadership qualities should be of enormous value to Sounders FC.”

 

Sanna Nyassi

 

Seattle is Nyassi’s second professional club. He originally signed with Gambia Ports Authority FC in 2004, playing with the club in the capital city of Banjul until this year. He scored the game-winning goal in the 2007 national cup final. Ports Authority won the 2006 League 1 championship. “Sanna is a very technical player, strikes the ball well with both feet, and he has lightning quickness,” said Hanauer. “He has enormous potential and if he works extremely hard, he could have a very long an successful career in MLS.”

 

Freddie Ljunberg

 

The Seattle Sounders FC has signed midfielder Freddie Ljungberg to a multi-year contract, the team announced today. Ljungberg starred for 10 seasons in the English Premier League and served as captain of Sweden during this past summer’s European Championships.

 

Freddie Ljungberg, 31, becomes the seventh Designated Player in Major League Soccer. The Designated Player rule, adopted prior to the 2007 season, allows teams to sign a player that would not count against the salary cap. Ljungberg (pronounced LOON-berg) was a free agent, having last played for England’s West Ham United in 2007-08. Representing Ljungberg is CAA Sports, a division of Creative Artists Agency.

[zequist]

Filling out the roster:

 

Alonso, Osvaldo Midfielder 23 (11/11/85) San Cristóbal, Cuba 5-11 / 165 Charleston Battery USL

Evans, Brad Midfielder 23 (4/20/85) Phoenix, Ariz. 6-1 / 160 Columbus Crew

Eylander, Chris Goalkeeper 24 (3/14/84) Tacoma, Wash. 6-1 / 185 Seattle Sounders USL

Graham, Taylor Defender 28 (6/3/80) Fair Oaks, Calif. 6-4 / 190 Seattle Sounders USL

Jaqua, Nate Forward 27 (10/28/81) Eugene, Ore. 6-4 / 205 Houston Dynamo

Keller, Kasey Goalkeeper 39 (11/9/69) Olympia, Wash. 6-2 / 190 Fullham

King, Stephen Midfielder 22 (3/6/86) Medford, N.J. 5-8 / 153 Chicago Fire

Le Toux, Sebastien Forward 24 (1/10/84) Rennes, France 6-0 / 155 Seattle Sounders USL

Ljungberg, Freddie Midfielder 31 (4/17/77) Vittsjo, Sweden 5-9 / 162 West Ham United

Nyassi, Sanna Midfielder 19 (1/31/89) Bwiam, Gambia 5-8 / 145 Gambia Ports Authority

Parke, Jeff Defender 26 (3/23/82) Downington, Pa. 6-1 / 185 New York Red Bulls

Riley, James Defender 26 (10/26/82) Colorado Springs, Colo. 5-10 / 150 San Jose Earthquakes

Smith, Jarrod Forward 24 (6/20/84) Havelock, New Zealand 6-1 / 180 Toronto FC

Smith, Khano Midfielder 27 (1/10/82) Warwick, Bermuda 6-3 / 190 New England Revolution

Sturgis, Nathan Midfielder 21 (7/6/87) St. Augustine, Fla. 5-10 / 150 Real Salt Lake

Vagenas, Peter Midfielder 30 (2/6/78) Pasadena, Calif. 5-8 / 157 L.A. Galaxy

Wahl, Tyson Defender 24 (2/23/84) Newport Beach, Calif. 6-2 / 185 Kansas City Wizards

Zakuani, Steve Forward 20 (2/9/88) United Kingdom 6-0 / 160 University of Akron

 

Two new names of particular interest here, because both could end up becoming key players for them.

* Brad Evans started 18 games in midfield for the MLS Champions Columbus Crew last year and chipped in five goals. He's only 23, so he should get even better.

* Steve Zakuani, who was the first overall pick in this year's amateur draft, used to play on Arsenal's youth team and turned down a contract offer from Preston to stay in the MLS draft and be picked by Seattle (who everyone knew was going to claim him).

 

Also, Sigi Schmid, who managed Columbus to the league title last year and LA Galaxy to the title in 2002, has taken over as Seattle's first manager. He might be the most important person they've signed, including all the players.