The Fire Fall to Toronto 4-1 But I Have to Admit, They're Looking Better! Plus, Arsenal News...

Players were actually running around on the pitch! I could not believe my eyes. Okay, so I only saw the last half of the match and in that span the other team scored three times, but hey...players were running! The game was held at a no longer used exhibition baseball field in Ontario (how far is that from Toronto?). The players were sitting in coarse dugouts and the stands were aluminum benches. Not even close to the EPL or even the new stadium of the New York Red Bulls. It was cold and windy, but both teams were invested. Did I mention they were running?

Collins John did not start the game but was subbed in at the 35th minute for Peter Lowry. I'm not sure that such an early substitution was because of injury or poor performance. I can't see it being for strategy, but of course I'm used to Le Boss refusing to sub before the 70th minute, so who knows? Our one goal was made by midfielder Logan Pause who let it fly from 35 yards out or so. He ended up winning the MLS Goal of the Week. I tuned into the match after his goal but found the YouTube version. Take a peek. What I saw of John-John I liked. He made nice runs, good passes and crosses to teammates and seemed overall involved in the play. He also was not too shy to shoot. I thought personally he could have gotten back faster on defense - as all the players could especially the central defenders. I know the Arsenal defense is under attack for being soft and conceding to many goals, but Wilman Conde got schooled twice on counter attacks by Toronto (ex-Chicago player) forward Chad Barrett. I've seen Conde play two other matches and he has handled himself reasonably well - winning headers and tackling hard - but I think Barrett's pace did him in. It may be too early to draw conclusions, but I feel happy that I care enough to have one! The Fire's next game is against the Kansas City Wizards in Chicago. It's being shown at 8:30 EST on Fox Soccer Channel or Fox Sports en Espanol.


Onto a bit of Arsenal news. According to the Sun, Wenger has let slip that Theo has made the cut past the provisional English squad and onto the official squad for the World Cup. The official Arsenal site only lists the players who made their nation's 30 man provisional squads and does not mention final selections. Also, I can't find it in any of the other tabloids. Capello is not suppose to announce his final selection until June 1st so I highly doubt The Sun's validity. But, thought I would mention it.

Also, we are supposedly interested in: Everton's Arteta and Barcelona's Yaya. The YaYa rumor was actually on Arsenal.com which shocked me! I guess the official site is delving into transfer rumors. On the one hand, it makes my news gathering easier, but on the other, I depend on that site for "official" news. This is just one more way to get me confused. As if I need another.

Lastly. Arsenal legend Tony Adams has taken on the managing position at...Gabala FC? Gabala are a team in the Azerbaijan Premier League located in in Southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Russia, with a small European portion north of the Caucasus range. There are six teams in this tier and Tony's is sitting at the dead bottom. He says he wants a challenge. Looks like he's found one.

Finally (I know, I know, I already said "lastly"), kudos to Fulham for fighting to the end. Unforutately they lost 2-1 to Atletico in the 116th minute. It sounds hard fought and I'm sure hearts are breaking all over.

See you tomorrow where I will be writing about those statistics from the 2009-2010 campaign that I've been promising. Until then my fellow Gooners...