I don't have much of an intro. I am eating a 3 egg omelet for breakfast.
Like I said, not much of an intro. Links!
Eye on Tactics: NYCFC dam breaks under DCU possession, crossing pressure. | Empire of Soccer
Coleman Larned is writing from the NYCFC perspective here, but there are some good visuals to show us how D.C. United took advantage of the expansion team's decision to drop their line of confrontation early and their willingness to live without the ball.
The bad news is that Chicago, Columbus, and whoever United will end up facing in the playoffs also saw this and understands that United hasn't done well against sustained pressure in 2015. The Black-and-Red may see Chicago take a similar approach, but if they're going anywhere in the postseason they have to figure out a way to cope with a high line ASAP.
Tuesday kickaround | Soccer Insider
There isn't much DCU news in Steve Goff's odds-and-ends piece - mostly just that San Diego Chargers kicker Josh Lambo was once on trial with United during his days as an MLS goalkeeper - but I can't resist noting that the tickets for next week's friendly between Ghana and Canada at RFK will cost fans either $60.90 or $107.35 when usurious gouging ticket fees are factored in to the already exorbitant price.
Across the pond: DC end winless run | SAFC.com
Someone at partner club Sunderland actually remembers that United exists!
USA U-23's vs. Panama: Final score 4-0, Second half onslaught keeps the U.S. perfect | Stars and Stripes FC
What if Andreas Herzog is a better coach than Jurgen Klinsmann? Wait, what am I saying? Of course he is. Anyway, the Olympic team has strolled through their qualifying group and will face either Honduras or Mexico for a spot in the 2016 summer games in Rio de Janeiro. Local products Gedion Zelalem and Maki Tall were on the field for the first half of this one.
Landon Donovan: 'Jurgen should be held to the same standards as his players' | Stars and Stripes FC
Staying with our network's USMNT blog, Landon Donovan points out that any other country would probably fire Klinsmann if he lost the CONCACAF Cup this weekend. I'll go one further: More federations would have fired him after the Gold Cup debacle than would not have. Sadly, I think we all know Klinsi is keeping the gig regardless of what happens because US Soccer handed him such a dumb contract.
Liverpool has big problems that a manager can't solve | SBNation.com
Conor Dowley thinks that the signing of Jurgen Klopp - seemingly certain to be announced today - is only going to fix some of what's wrong with Liverpool.
Pay-to-Play Damages USWNT Diversity | The Bent Musket
If you read any of these links, this is probably the one to read. Pay-to-play has helped create a WNT pool that doesn't really reflect the population of the US, which is a familiar problem throughout American soccer.