What Formation To Use In FIFA 12

Most gamers that play FIFA 12 have realized that every team has that one formation that works best. And I believe it tends to be the same in real life. From Barcelona's 4-3-3 to Napoli's 3-4-3 FIFA 12 has a lot of different options to choose from. But which formations are the best and which one's work best at which times? Well, in most cases you have to know which team you're facing to choose a formation to counteract that particular formation. I will explain that all and much more in a minute as I break down some of the most popular formations in the game of FIFA and how you the gamer can use them to the fullest.


Setting Up the Squad
Before you even looking at the formations screen I highly suggest you take a deep look at your squad. Knowing where the strengths are within a team is extremely important and can be the deciding factor of winning or losing a game. For instance, if you have chosen a team that has 2 or 3 top class strikers then you would want to choose a formation that plays to their strengths. The same can be said about central midfielders(CM's) and center backs (CB's). But let's say you play with Manchester City or Barcelona. Both teams have a whole host of strikers. That's where being smart with who you decide to start and bench will come into play.

Knowing the Other Team
Another thing I suggest you do before a match - especially if you're in an offline mode like career mode - is to take a look at the other team. Take a look at their formation and players and make your decision based off that. For instance, if I was facing Barcelona and saw that Messi was playing at LW and I was Inter Milan I would put a fast RB (Maicon) on Messi's side so I could counter-act Messi's pace. You can also tell certain players to mark other players. For example, If I was playing with Arsenal and I was setting up my side to face Stoke City I would set my 6'6 center back (Mertesacker) to mark Stoke's 6'7 Crouch. Whereas If I wouldn't have set up that mark I could have a situation where Koscielny - who is only 6 foot - would try to challenge a 6'7 striker for a ball in the air. It's certainly something I would not want seeing as Crouch has 7 inches on my center back and would easily out-muscle and out-jump him for the ball.

So knowing which players are where and what their strengths are is an extremely important concept that you have to master if you hope to have a chance when facing the computer on a higher level difficulty setting.


Choosing the Formation
After you have taken look at your squad and the opposing squad it is now time to choose a formation. The most common one used in FIFA is a 4-4-2(or other variations like 4-1-2-1-2, or 4-2-2-2). This is most likely due to the fact that it incorporates 2 wingers and 2 strikers into the system, I highly suggest this formation to new gamers because it provides defensive cover as well as attacking prowess. The second most popular formation is the ever-present 4-3-3. If you have speedy wingers and full-backs in your side this is the formation for you. It really plays to their strengths and if you have creative Center Midfielders in the middle of the park you can just play lobbed through balls over the opposing defenses head all game. The only thing I would be aware of with this formation is that there is only one true striker and depending on who you have players can really get isolated up top. I generally like to have a pacy striker that also has good strength up top. Players like Cardoza, Llorente, Zigic, Ibrahimovic, or Crouch are often guys I stay away from because the slow down my gameplay. Stick with guys like Rooney, Sturridge, or Milito. Other than those 2 formations and their variants there's really not many other formations that work too well in FIFA 12.


Changing Formations
Lot's of times in games I'll find that my formations don't work the way I wanted them too. Sometimes it's because I didn't scout the other players too well or maybe I started the wrong guys in the wrong places. Generally when this happens I'll finish out the half and then at the intermission look at what needs to be fixed. Also another thing I'll do is if I'm in the 70th minute and I'm down a goal or two I'll change to 3 at the back and start pushing guys forward. This can be a really positive move and has gotten me a couple of late wins. Another thing I suggest you to do is make a crazy formation. What I mean by 'crazy formation' is something that will put the most people in the box and will score you some goals. I always have a formation saved in my custom formations that's absolutely insane and I'll have maybe 2 defenders, some midfielders and the rest strikers or high wingers. But be extremely careful about this formation, it can leave you very vulnerable at the back and I've conceded many a goals because of that.

*Extra: Choosing Kick Takers and Captains*
Another thing that's good to do while your setting up your team is to mill around on the kick takers screen. There you can toggle between which players you want taking free-kicks, corners, penalty kicks, and you can even change the captain on this screen too. When selecting the corner kick takers I generally will choose someone that has great curve and has a foot preference that is opposite the corner. Therefore, I can swing in a cross that my target guys will be able to rocket into the back of the net. Also, when selecting corner kick takers, choose the relatively small guys on your roster to take them, anyone below 5'10 is a good candidate. The reason I say this is because you want the tallest guys you have in the box so they can jump over and compete with their markers. It goes back to what I said earlier about Crouch and Koscielny.

The End Of An Era

Well, what a whirlwind couple of weeks it has been for me, especially in the blogging department. I have some exciting news for everyone and it may seem abrupt but I have decided to join forces with The Daily Wiz and become a senior writer there. Along with Justin Mayhugh (founder of TDW) I will be covering all aspects of SKC as I did on this blog.

Only difference is, TDW and SB Nation provide me with a much better platform than this site does to express my views on Sporting and will get my news out to a larger audience. Being part of it was something I could simply not pass up.

As for this blog, well, I don't quite know it's future, maybe it'll die and be forgotten, maybe I'll change it into a Ea Sports FIFA blog, or maybe I'll continue writing about SKC on it, but at a much lower level. I don't know exactly what will happen with it but I can say I've had a great time with it this past half a year and I thank you for all your views and comments, they mean a lot. If you have an idea for the blog tell me in the comment section below. I hope and trust you will continue to follow me at The Daily Wiz and enjoy all the content I will be providing over there.

I'd just like to thank a few people who have helped me on my journey this far and will continue to be great colleagues and mentors with me into the next step of my blogging career.

Isaac Knopf - Founder of Footy Chronicles
Christian Sinclair - Founder of Ad Astra SKC
Thad Bell - Founder of The Backpost
Mike Kuhn - Founder of Down The Byline
James Starrit  - Founder of Sporting Times

Thanks guys.

Daneil Cyrus On T&T's U-23 Olympic Qualifying Team

Sporting Kc's youngest center back Daneil Cyrus will be apart of Olympic Qualifying this spring with his country Trindidad and Tobago. Daneil Cyrus will join a U-23 side with a familiar face in Sheldon Bateau who was a former trialist with KC.

Cyrus spent most of 2011 out of both his club and international squad with an injury but has slowly made his way back to match fitness and will join the Soca Warriors in their quest to qualify for the 2012 Olympic games in London.

Sporting Kansas City has told me that Cyrus will be around in 2012 meaning that the T&T defender will most likely miss some games in late March and possibly early April for Sporting because of the tournament.

Cyrus would most likely face up against Teal Bunbury if his team progresses out of the group stage to face the USA and we could see that match-up at LSP.

Jeferson Signs With Bahia

News broke today that Bahia have signed former Sporting Kansas City designated player Jeferson. Jeferson only  made 9 appearances in the MLS with KC - most of which were as a sub - and recorded zero goals. Although Sporting receives no money for this it's nice to know that his future has finally been settled as he was on loan to various clubs for the past couple of seasons.

I believe Jeferson will get some decent playing time with Bahia. He didn't show much in MLS but I believe football in Brasil will fit his playing-style a lot better. Although Bahia is in the top division in Brasil they finished 14th last year and were lucky not to be relegated.

The signing should come as no surprise since TheDailyWiz posted a couple days ago that 2 clubs were interested in Jeferson, one of them happened to be Bahia.

I know most of you guys don't really care much for past Sporting players - especially ones that fail to make any impact with KC - but I just thought it'd be good to get the word out.

I speculate KC will be making some signings soon, so keep your eyes open for any news.

Former Junior's Update

So I am going to try and get a new segment started here on the blog called the Former Junior's Update. Now I realize the Junior's Blog does the same thing but they update every month and don't follow proffesional graduates like Ellis or Kempin. I'm going to try and follow both collegiate players and juniors that are now pro's and get an update out weekly. Basically it'll just be a look at all the former junior players of Sporting Kc's youth academy that have gone on to college and beyond. It is similar to downthebyline's recurring segment of Former SKC Wizards Update and that's where I got the idea from.

I will try to get out one each week. There will be a set day where I will be releasing them further down the road when I get a good grip on these posts.

So, here's the first one:


Collegiate 

Name - College - Update

Tom Adams - Oral Roberts - Played 14 games and scored 3 goals in first season with Oral Roberts in 2011
Christian Duke - San Diego - Played and started in all 18 games for Toreros in 2011
Patrick Foglio - William Jewell - Can't find info
Brandon Fricke - Butler - Played 16 games for the Bulldogs in 2011
Laeth Hamil - Baker - Played in 21 games in 2011
Asher Herbert - Long Island - Played in 16 games in 2011
Eric Hymer - Fort Hayes St. - Can't find info
Konnor Knoll - UMKC - Played in 16 games and scored 1 goal for the Kangaroos in 2011
Raymond Lee - St. Louis - Played in 17 goals and scored 4 goals in 2011
Marques Mayoras - Ohio State - Played in 4 games for the Buckeyes in 2011
Kyle Miller - Rockhurst - Started and played in 20 games and scored 1 goal in 2011
Eric Moore - Rockhurst - Can't find information/didn't play in 2011 season?
Michael Oakley - UMKC - Played in 15 games for the Kangaroos in 2011
Paul Oliver - Oral Roberts - Played in 16 games and scored 2 goals in 2011
Peter O'Neill - Northwestern - Played in 21 games and scored 2 goals in 2011
Jordan Rideout - UMKC - Played in 16 games and scored 7 goals for the Kangaroos in 2011
Jimmy Simon - UMKC - Played in 16 games and scored 1 goal for the Kangaroos in 2011
Alex Sweetin - St. Louis - Couldn't find info
Taylor Vinnage - Rockhurst - Didn't play in the 2011 season
Will Witherspoon - Virginia Tech - Played in 18 games but only started 3 of those in 2011

Professional or Semi-Pro


Name - Club - Update

Kevin Ellis - Sporting KC - Recorded zero minutes in MLS, played in all 10 of Sporting Kc's reserve matches, starting 9
Jon Kempin - Sporting KC - Recorded zero minutes in MLS, started 1 game for the reserves.

Omar Bravo Signed With Cruz Azul For Three Years

I know it's a little bit of a touchy subject for a lot of you guys out there but I just wanted to let you know that Omar Bravo has signed a three year deal with Mexican side Cruz Azul.

Well the fact that he had signed with them was old old news. But none of us really knew how long his stint with Cruz Azul would be. But multiple reports from across Mexico have said his contract is worth 3 years. Some of the reports have been out for a week or so so it's not breaking news, still thought I should share it with you guys though. Here's a list of all the sources I could find saying his deal with Cruz is worth three years:

Blue Cross reinforcement training with his new Omar Bravo

'I come to break my mother!': Omar Bravo*

Omar Bravo aims to become the benchmark for Blue Cross

*Translating from Spanish to English sometimes gives you weird phrases

As is team policy, Sporting did not release information on the deal with Cruz, so all we could do was guess. Many of us thought his contract would only be a year or two. In-fact I had reported to you guys on twitter that a source close to Sporting had told me that it was Omar Bravo's choice after the Mexican season to either come back to KC or stay on with Cruz Azul. Which could still be the case, but at least now we know how long his contract is.

Also, if you look at the reports, Omar Bravo seems quite happy with Cruz and is very excited for their upcoming season. So I'm going to go ahead and assume he won't ever be back to KC in Sporting blue.

Other Omar Bravo News
Omar missed a penalty in his first match with Azul, but still managed to beat "The Whales" 2-1.
Omar scored 2 times in his club's 3rd friendly ahead of the 2012 season against Lobos BUAP

Daneil Cyrus Back For 2012

21 year old defender Daneil Cyrus will be back for the 2012 season. Sporting Kansas City has told me that as of right now, the Trinidad and Tobago international will be reporting to KC along with the rest of the team for the 2012 pre-season.



This was a very fuzzy area for many of the Sporting Kansas City fans seeing as Sporting's press release from July did not state whether or not Daneil would go back to FC Santa Rosa or stay on with Sporting. A source close to Sporting Kansas City has told me that he will stay.

This does however also contradict FC Santa Rosa's press release that says that the Trinidadian would be back to FCSR at "the end of 2011". But obviously the two clubs have hammered out something.

Keeping Cyrus is a huge boost for SKC due to their lack of depth at the center back position, which as of right now, consists of 2 players. I have not heard if Daneil has been bought from FCSR or if his loan deal has been extended, but I would think it's the latter.

Also, just to humor the FO of Sporting Kansas City, they had originally said Cyrus was 6'3 but apparently he has shrunk 2 inches.

Where Sporting Kc Stacked Up Against MLS Clubs In 2011

I haven't really seen anyone do this so I decided I'd give it a try. I've gathered a series of data points for Sporting Kc  from the MLS website and will be posting them below. I know it's pretty basic and almost anyone could do it but I just haven't seen it done in KC yet. Plus, I want to do it so fans can easily look down here and break down some of Sporting Kc's season themselves.

So here are the stats:

Category: Ranking in MLS out of 18 teams - Number of "points" in that category

Goals: 2nd - 50
Assists*: 14th - 35
Shots: 1st - 488
Shots on Goal: 2nd - 159
Fouls Conceded: 5th - 425
Fouls Suffered: 8th - 416
Offsides: 16th - 71
Corners: 8th - 161
Penalty Kick Goals: 9th - 4

*assists may seem inflated for some teams but MLS counts "secondary assists"
If you want to FULLY break down the rest of the MLS then you can go here. 

So as you can see Sporting Kc were quite easily one of the best attacking teams in the MLS all season. Recording 488 shots on goal throughout the 2011 campaign, a league best. One of their lowest indicators however was their offside's calls. Sporting Kc were only called offside 71 times, one of the leagues lowest at 16th. But it's actually a good thing seeing as it indicates that our front line is calm and composed. Besides, I'm fairly certain Bravo had about half of those.

Sporting Kansas City To Spend 2 Weeks of Pre-Season In Tuscon

Earlier today it was confirmed by Tuscon Sentinel that Sporting Kansas City would indeed spend part of their pre-season in one of the most premier soccer facilities in the country - Kino Sports Complex.


Sporting will spend a total of 2 weeks in Arizona starting on February 1st but will miss out on the not-so-important chance to reclaim their Desert Cup title - of which is displayed proudly in the trophy case at Sporting's head offices - to go to the Disney Pro Classic at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando Florida.

The Cup last year saw them pitted against the New York Red Bulls and drew record attendance numbers for the final as two of the most prominent figures of Mexican football  - Rafa Marquez and Omar Bravo -  battled it out for the Desert Cup.

As part of the pre-season experience Sporting Kansas City will face the San Jose Earthquakes on February the  2nd and the Vancouver Whitecaps on the 4th in a closed scrimmage session. This will most likely be where we will finally get wind of some of the new trialists and draft picks.

Sporting Kansas City After Local Midfielder?

As I'm sure many of you have already heard from different sources including SportingTimes.net and downthebyline.com Sporting Kansas City are reportedly after a local kid called Michael Thomas who has had a few stints in Europe since leaving the US after he was drafted by San Jose in 2010.

This comes off the back of my story about a month and a half ago where I linked the midfielder with Sporting Kansas City after he played in a reserve league encounter with FC Dallas and photos were released onto the internet.

However at that point I did not know the trialists name and was merely guessing at his bio. Judging on the pictures I guessed that he was 5'10 and a midfielder, both remain true. When he played in the reserve league game he wore #44 and scored for the Rangers on the stroke of halftime.

Michael Thomas, 23, has played for the Kansas City Brass and Notre Dame from 2006-2009. He has connections with Matt Besler (Notre Dame) and Seth Sinovic (youth club).

I think Michael would be a decent signing for Sporting but since he is still contractually tied to Ljungskile SK we would have to pay a transfer fee for him which would mean we would lose some of the allocation money we have received from the various trades of Jack Jewsbury, Davy Arnaud, and Omar Bravo.

Is this really the best way to spend our money? I don't know but we will soon learn whether or not as the January transfer window inches closer and closer.

Omar Bravo Leaves Sporting Kansas City

Omar Bravo with the captain's armband

Well, the Omar Bravo experience is over. Earlier this afternoon Sporting Kansas City announced that the team's joint top scorer Omar Bravo has left Sporting in favor of a move south of the border to Mexican side Cruz Azul. Omar, 31, released a statement following the announcement saying that he was quote, "very grateful to have received the opportunity to play in MLS, a league to which I respect and admire, as well as Sporting KC as it gave me the opportunity to experience challenges and fulfill dreams in this city both personal and professional, which All I take from Kansas City are good things to my teammates, fans who always supported me in my time" 


Omar is believed to have left due to being offered a better contract, more money, and more playing time in his home country of Mexico. Cruz Azul had been linked with Sporting Kc's Designated Player since the season ended in mid-November and it was no surprise when he left amid a whole host of transfer rumors and speculation.

Following the departure of Omar Bravo Sporting Kc's average age is now just 23. And Sporting Kc will most likely look to keep the trend of buying young and selling old in this January transfer window following speculation that the club has already secured a deal for a Spanish DP.

But one of the weirdest things about this deal is that there has been no official confirmation that Bravo has either been loaned or transferred to Cruz Azul due to the club's policy of not disclosing the deal information. So because of that policy we have no idea how much money we have to buy other players or how much money we have in the wage budget.

But we do know Omar's departure opens up a international roster spot - of which we have just 7 - and opens up a Designated Player spot - of which we have just 3. Now, the question becomes does Sporting Kc stick with an experienced MLSer in Bobby Convey or do they go for a younger in-experienced winger?

Omar earned many awards and honors in his short time at LSP. Including Latino of the Year, MLS All-Star, and was one of the faces of LIVESTRONG's fight against cancer in Mexico and the US.

Daneil Cyrus Could Participate In CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying

The youngest center back on Sporting Kc's roster Daneil Cyrus could participate in the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying tournament this spring with Trinidad and Tobago's U-23 side. The Soca Warriors have been drawn in Group B with the likes of Honduras, Mexico and Panama. T&T's U-23 coach Angus Eve said recently that he is keeping tabs on Daneil and that he is, "fit again from injury but is not match ready".

Cyrus had previously made 13 senior appearances for T&T but quite literally lost his foot-hold on the international scene after his season ending injury in the summer when he fractured his foot. But now it seems as if Daneil has his big opportunity to show Trinidad and Tobago's technical staff that he is back to his best again.

Should Cyrus participate in the tournament he could go up against fellow Sporting Kc teammate Teal Bunbury as Teal tries to lead the United States to the London 2012 Olympics. And it seems as if for both players this is a tournament that could kick-start their international careers again.

Omar Bravo to Veracruz?

Sporting Kc's only designated player Omar Bravo could be on his way out of KC, word out of Mexico is that a 2nd division side in the Liga de Ascenso is interested in securing the poacher's signature for a 3 year deal. Should Veracruz sign the 31 year old it would be quite an amazing deal seeing as they are a second division side and you would think Omar has way more talent than that. But if there's a lot of money involved then maybe Bravo could be persuaded. Should he join the Sharks Bravo would join former Philadelphia Union striker Carlos Ruiz and would make a very impressive front line.

Whether or not Omar joins the Sharks is yet to be seen. But as the January transfer window inches closer and closer, and the rift between Bravo and Sporting Kc gets bigger and bigger, one thing is becoming certain - Omar's days in KC are numbered.

Full article translated from Spanish to English:

Guzman confirms interest of Veracruz by Omar Bravo

Veracruz, Veracruz, on December 7, 2011 .- From somewhere in Europe (It is said that in Switzerland) Sharks coach Daniel Guzman Rojos de Veracruz Castañeda, confirmed the interest of the club for striker Omar Bravo Sinaloa , with whom I spoke to invite to your project.

Speaking to ESPN announced Guadalajara strategist who is on vacation in Europe and already thinking about the next tournament in Veracruz, a team he said, is in transition and seeking to consolidate a project led by young people.

The coach said he has talked shark with Omar Bravo to add it to Red Sharks of Veracruz, explaining that he has offered a three-year contract and the acquisition of rights by the club.

Guzman said the former striker Chivas, Tigres, La Coruna and Sporting recently the MLS Kansas City, asked for time to resolve outstanding, since no American team is detached, but added that the World Cup in 2006 will said he had other projects.

Soony Saad to Train With Lebanon?

Sporting Kc's youngest ever goal scorer Soony Saad has reportedly considered the chance to train with the Lebanese national team. Soony is of Lebanese decent and could join "The Cedars" in a push for World Cup qualification. While the reports haven't been confirmed Soony is the only player to have responded to the invitation. According to The Daily Star Soony tweeted that he would "consider coming to play". 

All 4 players that were asked to join Lebanon were of Lebanese decent. 2 playing in Scandinavia and the other in Australia. I don't think Soony is very likely to train with them though seeing as I believe that he has never been to Lebanon. But there is always a first and the exposure could gain Sporting Kc some international fans much like Chhetri did for the Wizards in 2010.

The best case scenario is that Soony trains for Lebanon, gets some good playing time, and comes back to the US ready for a new season a leg up on everyone else. The worst case scenario is that this situation could end up being like the Teal Bunbury situation we saw in 2010 when Teal controversially chose to play for the US over Canada after previously playing for Canada's U-20 and U-17 teams. 

Soony has played for the United States U-20 team once, scoring one goal. 

Teal Bunbury to Train With US U-23 Side and LSP News

Today Sporting Kc announced that striker Teal Bunbury will train with the US under 23 side at a camp in Lakewood Ranch Florida. Bunbury, 21, was chosen by his former coach of 2 years Caleb Porter. Maybe Teal's former coach at Akron wanted to give back to the striker that gave him so much. The striker scored 23 goals in 48 games for "The Zips" in the 2008 and 2009 seasons. 

Teal Bunbury had previously played with the United States National team almost a year ago when he was invited to the annual January camp that is generally used for young players that have potential of playing against the world's elite. But this time around Teal will be training with the under 23 side, which is basically a sub-team of the US Men's National Team, the only difference is that you have to be under the age of 23 to play.

Other notable players for the U-23 side include: Bill Hamid, Freddy Adu, Sean Johnson, and Zarek Valentin.

For a full list of all the participants of the U-23 December camp go here.

LSP News

The main reason of this particular U-23 camp is in preparation of next year's CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying tournament that will be held at various stadiums across America. LIVSESTRONG Sporting Park will be one of those stadiums and will host the semifinals and the finals of the tournament on March 31st and April 2nd. Which means Teal Bunbury could have the chance to score for both club and country at LSP, and would become the first player to do so. Nevertheless, the 2 finalists will win the right to go to London and be a part of the 2012 Summer Olympics. Which could see European nations put out weaker sides due to the UEFA Euro 2012 being held in Ukraine and Poland only 4 weeks before the opening games. Which in turn could make for an easier tournament for the US.

A New Era for Sporting Kc

When the Wizards sold veteran keeper Kevin Hartman in 2010 to FC Dallas for a 2012 superdraft pick some fans started to take notice. They had already began to realize that some of the more veteran players had been leaving the club in recent years(Jose Burciaga(07), Nick Garcia(07), Zavagnin(08)). Despite the loss of those long time Wizards - and even more in the 08-09 period - there was still hope that the new former Wizard turned manager Peter Vermes could turn the club's recent fortunes around.

Vermes had brought with him only 5 years worth of MLS playing experience when he joined the Wizards in the summer of 2009, when he replaced the exiting Curt Onalfo. During the last half of that 2009 season Vermes had tried to instill in KC the now infamous 4-3-3 attacking system but it failed to take immediate effect. In 2010 however, Vermes was able to have a full pre-season with the team and set the ball rolling from the first game of the season in March against DC United onward.

Multiple veteran MLS players were in the Starting 11 that day Jimmy Conrad, Davy Arnaud, Jack Jewsbury and Josh Wolff to name a few. Fast forward just 2 seasons and not a single one of those players can be found on Sporting Kc's roster. Jimmy Conrad left for Chivas USA in late 2010 via the Re-Entry draft. Josh Wolff followed suite and also left in 2010 to DC United via the Re-entry draft. Jack Jewsbury was sent to Portland in exchange for allocation money in 2010 and Davy Arnaud was traded to Montreal a few weeks ago, also in exchange for allocation money(and Seth Sinovic).

So now, heading into the 2012 season we find ourselves in a bitter sweet situation. Our longest tenured player Eric Kronberg has only been around since 2006 and has been used just 5 times in the league since. But while the Wizards were losing key players like Conrad, Jewsbury, and Zavagnin in past seasons there was something that began to shine through.......the youth.

The amount of young players that have received a decent amount of playing time over the past 3-4 years is incredible. The best part is knowing that Sporting Kc have molded them and made them into the players they are today. The next best part is knowing that this young team can only build off of the success it had last year. And maybe it was the fact that they were missing so many veteran MLS players that their playoff run did end at the Eastern Conference final.

If you look at the roster for Sporting Kc you can start to put players into individual groups. And one of the most important groups next season and even for the next 3-5 seasons will be what I like to call the "Next Generation of Wizards". This list would include Myers, Espinoza, Harrington, Sinovic, Besler, Collin, and Zusi. And then there's the even more important group for down the road that I like to call, "The Next Wizards". Players in this group would include Bunbury, Sapong, Saad, Kempin, Ellis, Warzycha, Joseph and Cyrus. I look at these players as the future of the club.

If Peter Vermes can keep the large bulk of these players around for the next couple of seasons everything and anything could be ours. There is no doubt that this group can go far, and there is certainly no doubt that with the departure of club talisman Davy Arnaud this is the start of a new era. An era that could easily see Peter Vermes and company win league titles, Open Cups, and maybe even CCL titles. An era that will put the likes of Besler, Zusi, and their generation down into legendary status...The Sporting Era.

Some Stats On Bobby Convey

Following the signing of Bobby Convey I thought i'd dig a little deeper into his career and give you guys some interesting stats.

But first, here's what Vermes had to say on Convey:

Stats:

Minutes played in MLS - 13,691 = 228.2 hours = 9.5 days = 1.3 weeks

Goals in MLS - 11

Assists in MLS - 30

Games played in MLS - 164

Games started in MLS - 152

Games played as a sub in MLS - 12

Percent of games started in MLS career- 94%

Number of ejections in the past 3 years - 0

Number of ejections in MLS - 2

Number of yellows in MLS - 34

Average number of yellows per game in MLS - .2

Average number of goals per game in MLS - .07

Average number of assists per game in MLS - .2

Games played from 9/10/11 to 10/22/11 - 0

Games started in 2011 without being subbed off  - 19 out of 19 games 

Games subbed off for San Jose in past 2 seasons - Twice

Sporting Kc Trade International Roster Spot For Bobby Convey

Sporting Kansas City has announced that winger Bobby Convey has joined the club for at least the 2012 season. Bobby Convey is a left winger and can play at either the left back or left wing position, which fits right in with Sporting Kc's 4-3-3 formation. The most confusing part to me however is that Omar Bravo - the clubs only Designated Player - solidified his spot on the LW last season. Now, Omar Bravo can play at Attacking Mid but that doesn't make much sense seeing how Graham Zusi was tremendous there last season and Robb Heinemann has hinted at a Spanish midfielder coming to LIVESTRONG Sporting Park so it wouldn't make much sense to put Bravo there. And knowing Convey's pedigree it seems as if Bravo could potentially leave in the January transfer window. But that doesn't seem to make much sense either because a couple days ago Omar Bravo's agent Ruben Perez said that he was quote" happy, and has a contract with them(Sporting Kansas City) and has been well received."

As I stated earlier Bobby can also play at LB. But again, it doesn't make much sense for him to play there either because Sporting Kansas City gave up a nine year veteran in Davy Arnaud  to get back hometown hero and stalwart left back Seth Sinovic. And it would appear that Seth had placed his mark on the LB position last season with some stellar performances.

But maybe I'm over-thinking this, maybe Vermes really did bring Bobby Convey in just to have the extra depth. But maybe, just maybe there really was some substance in the rumor that there indeed was a 'rift' between Peter Vermes and Bravo. And so, atleast for now, the Bravo saga continues.

Jimmy Nielsen's New Contract Worth $276,00 Dollars

Danish paper Nordyske is reporting that Jimmy Nielsen's new contract with Sporting Kansas City is worth an estimated 1.53 million Krone, which ends up being roughly $276,000 dollars. His new contract is $76,000 dollars more than his base contract with Sporting was in 2011.

Jimmy had this to say on the matter,"I earn a good salary that is higher than the one I could get in the premiership. It means that I can support my family while I can put a little aside, so I should not complain at all. But I must be honest, the money is not the most important. It is that we are well, I am excited to come to training every day and that I play on a team with a promising future."


The pay jump should come as no surprise since he was voted as the team MVP for Sporting Kc and kept the Wizards in many games throughout the 2011 season. Nielsen's new contract will now go until 2013 but can also be extended for another year, which, according the article, will most likely be utilized.

Entire article translated from Danish to English


"1.53 million dollars. So much will the former AaB goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen to serve a year after his Tuesday signed a new two-year football contract with the U.S. Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City. goalkeeper will not know that it The many zeros on the payslip, which has brought Americans his signature. - I earn a good salary that is higher than the one I could get in the premiership. It means that I can support my family while I can put a little aside, so I should not complain at all. But I must be honest, the money is not the most important. It is that we are well, I am excited to come to training every day and that I play on a team with a promising future, says Jimmy Nielsen. Sporting Kansas City came into this season all the way to the semifinals in the Major Soccer League and "the white mountain lion," which Jimmy Nielsen is called, has seen a chance to reach another title in his career. - We have a very young team that is first fed through now, so I think we have the right squad to succeed in the championship match, and it would surely be a dream to reach a championship more before that his career ends. With the Jimmy Nielsen's new contract is an option on one-year extension, and immediately sees the blonde goalkeeper fine possibility that it may be utilized. - Of course I know that I do not play 10-15 more years, but on the other hand, I'm not thinking that his career is coming to an end, says Jimmy Nielsen as in the just ended season was named his team's most valuable player."

Omar Bravo Will NOT Play In Mexico During the MLS Break

Earlier today Omar Bravo's agent told ESPN Deportes that Omar Bravo will NOT play in Mexico over the MLS break. Following the MLS expansion draft there was a buzz that Omar Bravo could go to a variety of different clubs in Mexico. But mainly Tecos and Atlas. According to the article Tecos came the closest to signing Bravo and that, "more than one approach was an informal chat to see the possibilities and options." But in the end Tecos would have only been able to acquire the services of the Mexican poacher for just 7 games and the deal inevitably fell through.

Omar Bravo's agent Ruben Perez also says that Omar is enjoying his vacation off from a very successful season and went on to state that , "he is in Kansas and is happy, period". 

This comes after major speculation that Omar Bravo would indeed join a Mexican side for the 2-3 month off-season break for the MLS. But this article is pointing to the fact that Omar will not go out on loan to a Mexican side this winter. 

Entire article translated from Spanish to English:

MEXICO CITY - The Kansas City Sporting striker Omar Bravo, could run out to fulfill his desire to participate in Mexican soccer in the stage of the MLS break, but it certainly is something that does not care much, as their representative Ruben Perez left the player will see a long life with the Americans.

Input, Ruben Perez said: "became a buzz that the expansion draft list and all that, but he is in Kansas City and asked the directive in which case there was a team that would like to use two or three months, which lasted a recess in the U.S. league and if they knew something, then give him the facilities, was that, nothing more. "

He said that at no time has been approached with Atlas and "Tecos looked for some time, before this tournament, is notice to the policy that was for a few games while the league began in the United States, more than one approach was an informal chat to see the possibilities and options ", but ultimately there was no agreement because students did not want to hire only seven games.

He said: "I only tell you of Omar Bravo is that he is in Kansas and is happy, period."

For if you currently have an offer for next season in Mexican soccer, responded that "there has been nothing official," and finally emerged on whether a proposal for any team, said "they would have to come to the board of Kansas" .

YEAR OF SUCCESS

After mentioning that Bravo is on vacation and the only thing to do is just "relax, enjoy your vacation and training," Perez pointed to the player's experience in his first season with Kansas City, which led to was recently named Player of the Year at the Latin league.

"For him it was a great season, full of challenges and achievements, very happy with the MLS, happy for the support of the fans, for the appointment to the Latino of the Year, happy to be leading the city: that is, a success On the professional side to him. "

He said that "Omar has been a challenging year and he is happy."

Whether in the future could return to Mexican soccer, said: "For now have a contract in the league of the United States and that will last a while yet. Any other situation that is said, is mere speculation and that creates misunderstandings. So I repeat: he has a contract there has been very well received by all Americans and Latinos, then, he is a very happy person in the United States. "

Confidential subject

Finally, Ruben Perez refused to tell exactly how long Omar Bravo has a contract with Sporting Kansas City, by stating that "agreements are confidential."

Mochiteco home striker signed with Kansas City in mid-2010 and was released in November of that year, but continued to play with Chivas de Guadalajara, to join his new team until the start of 2011.