Sounders lose their first game after Keller gets carded...

So, at the game last night Kasey Keller went sliding for a ball and ended up outside of the box and red carded. I thought that a yellow card and and indirect kick would have been more appropriate, but, hey I'm kind of biased. Here's a short summary...

http://www.seattlepi.com/soccer/405069_sounders12.html

As much as I'm enjoying the passion and intensity of soccer here, I'm yearning for a better product. I wish hat some coaches would create better spacing and play more one touch ball more like the style of South America or Mexico. I'm not a big fan of the 4-4-2 formation...especially when players get bunched up and have poor spacing. I wish some of the MLS coaches would ask for better spacing and more one touch ball. I'd love to see the US National Team move in that direction too. In my opinion, it's more a matter of coaching than talent that is separating US men's soccer from the better countries... The WPS teams also have better spacing than the MLS right now...

athleticjames wrote:I thought that a yellow card and and indirect kick would have been more appropriate, but, hey I'm kind of biased.

I was at the game too last night... If the goalkeeper handles it outside of the box on a breakaway it's an automatic red, not really a judgment call, that's just the rule.

Even playing a man down for the last 70 minutes the Sounders dominated play and created a lot of great scoring chances, but as with any time you play down, the were susceptible to the counterattack, which ended up being their downfall. Honestly I think their spacing would have been pretty good had they not been a man down, they did a pretty good job of spreading the field and used lots of overlapping runs and give and goes (Nate Jaqua was stellar creating opportunities with those.) Bottom line is they have to finish and Keller is in a game that goal doesn't happen (haha that play would have been shut down before the shot went off)

Yeah, maybe I'm asking for too much too soon as far as the spacing goes. It's frustrating watching Cruz Azul play Morelia and see nice spacing in Liga Mexicana, but, then attend a game later on the same day and see something else. I think that the MLS is a physical league, but, I wish the coaches would try to space the field a little better, especially when playing with 11 guys. (I understand that it became a matter of survival in the second half though...) Some coach has to take a risk and say I'm going to ask my guys to spread out and play one touch soccer even if we lose the game. I don't see Sigi doing that though; he's smart enough to want job stability (and I don't blame him for that).