Bon Voyage Le Toux

Well hell. Of all the players that Philly could have took and they selected Le Toux! From his USL days to his US Open cup performances as a MLS Sounder he was class, hustle and determination.

I am guessing that one of the reasons he was allowed to go unprotected was that he was signed by the MLS Sounders before Sigi was hired. Le Toux probably didn't fit into Sigi's system but was already under contract so Sigi had to fit him in where he could. Le Toux had always been a forward for the USL Sounders. Scoring 24 goals in 54 appearances, he was always an opportunistic goal scorer creating many of his goals from sheer hustle. I think many of us remember watching him hassle defenders when he could have easily jogged back up the pitch. Playing midfield this year allowed him even more room to run but it was obvious that it wasn't his position.

The New York Times, commenting about the draft said that "...Although the league prominently featured the selections of striker Alejandro Moreno (Columbus) and defender Shavar Thomas (Chivas USA) in its news release, perhaps the most savvy pick by Union Coach Peter Nowak was Sebastien Le Toux. The French midfielder/forward, who coincidentally was the first player signed by Seattle before it began play in M.L.S. in 2009, is a skillful and tireless runner who played in 28 regular-season matches for the Sounders."

So it seems that others have valued LeToux as much as we (the fans) have. It's too bad that he didn't fit into Sigi's system and I am hoping that he gets a chance to showcase in Philadelphia what he did for the USL Sounders. Lets find out what number Le Toux will be wearing on opening day and offer up our tribute. I suspect that the Brougham End will show their support as well.

Le Toux Croux

It's a crappy photo since it was getting dark and I didn't use the flash.  But here is Le Toux drawing up a play in the corner with Zakuani.

You can argue that a backup midfielder can be found, and I'm sure that's true.  But I think we have a worse team today than we did yesterday.  He was clutch in the open cup, and I still think he would shine if given more minutes at forward.  Hopefully, he'll get that chance in Philly.

My favorite memory is of him signing autographs and posing for photos while we watched the US vs Brazil on the jumbotron.  The second half was delayed until after the Sounders game, and he stayed on the field slowly working his way around the stadium the entire time.

Should have made the Le Toux Croux sign when I had the chance.

Adieu LeToux

This one hurts...think LeToux was the only thing from France that I liked, well, except for French Fries but aren't they from Belgium or something? And maybe the wine...and bread and cheese... Anyway, I digress. This is a very sad occasion for any Sounders fan, particularly those of us familiar with the team in the USL days. I will never forget Seba's all around efforts and tremendous work rate. While he seemed to fade as the year went, he excelled in the Open Cup run. My best Seba memory is the Open Cup match against Dynamo at Starfire. There was a group of us at the corner where Seba and Zak literally drew up a "give and go" that was right out of the playground...those of you who were there will know exactly the play I'm talking about. It was a thing of beauty.

Thinking about it, he will probably do really well in Philly. He seemed to defer to Freddie almost to a fault so coming into a club where he will be expected to carry more responsibility may bring out the best in him. Here's hoping he gets a better contract there. I know that he will be the one Philly player that I will actually cheer for on opening day next year.

I'm Gonna Block That Strategy

Given the chance to raid other teams' leftovers, here would be my picks...
Chicago: Chris Rolfe F (95k)
Colorado: Jordan Harvey D (50k)
Columbus: Emilio Renteria F (90k) and I would love, love, love to see him in Rave Green
DC: Devon McTavish M/D (50k)
Houston: Michael Chabala D (34k)
Kansas City: Kevin Hartman K (165k)
LA: Todd Dunivant D (109k)
RSL: Andy Williams M (84k)
San Jose: Bobby Convey M (222k)
Seattle: Tyson Wahl D (34k)

Grand total 933k, but I had to pass on Amado Guevera and Dave Van Den Bergh both of whom tempted me.

Chances are most will be wrong, but given one mulligan I'd swap Fatboy Slim Hartman for Matt Besler (D - KC, 36k). It's impossible to know how many handshake deals are in place where Philly will NOT pick so-and-so in return for God-knows-what. But these are my picks.

If I were Philadelphia...

As covered on our podcast, Troy and I listed who we would choose in the Expansion Draft tomorrow. Here is my list:

Chicago: Chris Wolfe (100k)
Chivas: Sasha Victorine (135k)
Columbus: Geno Padula (175k)
Houston: Michael Chabala (34k)
Kansas City: Aaron Hohlbein (35k)
Los Angeles: Jovan Kirovski (80k)
New England: Chris Albright (176k)
Salt Lake: Andy Williams (84k)
Seattle: James Riley (73k)
Toronto: Amado Guevara (324k)

Total salary 1.22 million

Seeing as we don't know what the salary cap actually is, that could leave me either seriously depleted or in fine shape moving forward.

I did check on Victorine's injury and as it is a concussion, I am confident I would then take him over Burpo.

Sick and Tired of Being Hassled by the Man

I got busted at the MLS Cup final. If you listen to the Public Address announcements you hear that smoking is permitted on the outside concourses. But not weed. I saw someone cited for just that. Fool. Of course that was not why I was in trouble. I was thrown out of Qwest Field (or The T as I call it) for carrying a sign with "hateful" language.

Despite my brush with the law, I thought the final was a good time. The game started out as a bore but livened up when RSL equalized. From there it picked up nicely, though unfortunatley took was too long to end. Overtime is not my first choice on a school night. Poor Debbie could live without the PKs anytime. Her anxiety aside, I thought it made for a thrilling finish.

Jon and I rolled into town plenty early to cruise through the tent-city that made for a festival-like atmosphere. While a band played, we swam through the crowd to see what was happening beneath the awnings. It wasn't bad. There was a video-game contest of some sort, give-aways, lines galore and some big-name players signing things. We saw Stuart Holden, but didn't get in line for an autograph. I always thought he looked young, but up close he looks even younger - about 14. Dwayne De Rosario was there, again we skipped. Same for Feddy Montero (too long a line) and a couple of people we didn't recognize. We did line up for Pete Vagenas.

His line was very, very short. Plus he's a Sounder, and we recognized him. And he was great. We didn't spend a lot of time chatting, but he agreed to take a prop-filled photo with us a my hateful sign, he even autographed it and gave us a description of playing against Portland. "It was crazy down there, with the chainsaw." Or something similar to that.

The first booth we stopped at let you paint a sign and advertise for Home Depot. I remembered Marty's idea from the opening match - a sign that said "I ALREADY HATE PORTLAND." Mort couldn't make the game so I made the sign in his honor. Carrying around wet paint you have to be pretty careful so I ended up holding it out in front of me. That also allowed people to read it. They loved it. I heard all kinds of laughs, was given a few high-fives, was snarled at by a couple of Portland backers and had my picture taken by quite a few. Including a TV camera. I did not expect so much recognition, but I should have known Portland-hatred runs deep.

It's not so popular with the security crew though. Just inside the stadium we were walking along the inside concourse receiving laughs and good-natured comments until a security gal walked toward us. She cocked her head obviously trying to read my poor penmanship (brushwork?) then told me I couldn't keep the sign because it contained "hateful language." Obviously. I didn't agree with her though, thanks to my problem with authority no-doubt. I think I countered her with the salient point of "You gotta be kidding?" This, surprisingly, didn't sway her.

We briefly debated semantics and she told me I had to throw it away or leave the building. Obviously she was on a power-trip. I wasn't about to toss it, just obstinate, so she escorted me to the door. On the way an RSL fan stopped us to take my photo - I just love that. While stopped she said something about how this shows what a problem the sign could cause. I countered with "Because people like it?" Again, she was unwilling to admit her defeat and we continued to the exit.

As I left the LA fans were marching by so I jumped in line and held the sign over my head. Again, people instantly loved it and many photos were taken. I really don't think the Timbers are going to be very popular in this league. The Galaxy fans entered The T en masse and I found myself alone. I was going back in, there was no doubt, but I had to crack security. I figured the gal would wait for me and jump me again. She had nothing better to do, I knew she was lurking. I saw a couple of options - go in a different door and hope not to run into her again, or go make another sign and hide the hateful one behind it. Then I realised the paint was still wet and it would get ruined if stacked. I didn't want to go back to the car because it was far away so I thought I was going to have to lose my now-beloved sign. Then providence stepped in, in the form of a Whitecaps fan. I ran into a friend and told him of my conundrum. He loved the sign and was parked nearby so we stashed it in his car. Ha!

Feh

While I may have failed to accurately assess the final score, I think all who watched the game will agree the better team won in Houston.

If the Sounders could've finished, well, they wouldn't be the Sounders now would they? We may have had Houston's number this season, but how often is a team as good as the Dynamo going to give you five in a row?

And from a referee's point of view, Riley's red card...no question. Thought he was gonna get sent-off as soon as he lost the ball and started coming into that challenge, the replay confirmed it for me.

Do I love my Sounders? Heck yeah. Am I proud of them? Heck yeah. Do we need to finish more of our chances? Heck yeah.

The Tribe 131 Sounders Pow Wow Podcast will continue through the playoffs, the MLS Cup and right on through until next season. If you haven't checked it out, we're getting better. And we'll actually be doing minutes of research for not only the expansion draft on November 25 but also the Superdraft (whenever that is).

Exchanging colors

When the Sounders flounder in Houston (and lose by three), I shall be changing my allegiances to Real Salt Lake. Why, you ask? Simple.

I can't support the team which knocked Seattle out of the play-offs.

While I like Preki, the Chivas style of play repulses me.

I despise L.A.

I will not back an Eastern Conference team in the finals (a true one that is).

So, expect to see me in Red and Blue on the 22nd.