Who Will Be The Third? It's Sheffield United

Last week we didn't know who the third team in the Premiership would be to be relegated. Watford and Charlton were already relegated. Things did not look good for Wigan. They hadn't won in their last 8 games. And they only had 35 points to West Ham and Sheffield United's 38 points. Today Wigan travelled to Sheffield United's home, Brammal Lane. Anything less than a win and they were relegated. Sheffield United on the other hand were 10 points clear of the relegation fight just a few months ago. But they had slipped down back into it but were again in the driver's seat with a 3-0 win over West Ham back on April 14th. They only needed a tie at home against Wigan today to guarantee their own safety. It didn't go Sheffield United's way today. They hit the woodwork twice and lost to Wigan 2-1. That wouldn't have relegated them had Manchester United beat West Ham at Old Trafford. But West Ham won 1-0 and it's likely many in the crowd if not on the pitch new that result as regular time ended and the 5 minutes of added time were indicated for the match. Warnock's team needed only a goal to tie things up and ensure safety but didn't get it done. Unless the court's intervene in regards to West Ham (they weren't deducted points for playing ineligible players; something that had been done in the past as a penalty for other teams), the Sheffield United is relegated from the premiership along with Charlton and Watford.

Bocanegra Makes 10 Worst Buys List

Norman Hubbard at Soccernet has a column up on the 10 worst buys in the Premiership for this year and Carlos Bocanegra made it on the list. But it's not in that way. Boca's been at Fulham for a few years. This list is only of players who were newly purchased by their club for 06-07. Boca is on this list as a comparison for the number one (that is, the single worst) on Hubbard's list. Congrats to Carlos on outscoring Shevchenko!

1. Andriy Shevchenko (Chelsea, £30.7 million)

Carlos Bocanegra 5, Andriy Shevchenko 4. The West London shootout is being won by Fulham's American defender who, though not even a set-piece specialist, is outscoring Britain's costliest player in the Premiership. At Chelsea, the callow Salomon Kalou has struck almost twice as often. Shevchenko's occasional high-class finishes - such as his FA Cup goal against Tottenham - only heighten the exasperation with a player of undoubted quality. Sublime in Serie A, he has been poor in the Premiership. Missing the Champions League semi-final second leg, exactly the sort of match he was signed for, hardly helped but when Jose Mourinho referred, in his indictment of the players who had cost Chelsea a third successive title, of those who would fail to garner a single vote in the club's Player of the Year voting, he surely had their biggest buy in mind

Sophomore Player Of The Year

Last year with help from the folks at From College To Pros, I took a look at who should be the 2006 MLS Sophomore Player of the Year. It's a new season and time to start looking at which rookies from last year are stepping up and putting in the performances to get them talked about for 2007. Ones that I've been watching so far are : Chicago Fire Calan Carr Floyd Franks Brian Plotkin Dasan Robinson Chivas USA Jonathan Bornstein Sasha Kljestan Lawson Vaughn Colorado Rapids Colin Clarke Jacob Peterson Daniel Wasson Columbus Crew Jason Garey Andy Gruenebaum Will Hesmer Kei Kamara Brandon Moss DC United Mark Burch Jeff Carroll Stephen deRoux Rod Dyachenko Devon McTavish Justin Moose FC Dallas Kenny Cooper Dax McCarthy Dominic Oduro Houston Stuart Holden Patrick Ianni Kansas City Wizards Matt Groenwald Amir Lowery Yura Movsisyan Tyson Wahl Lance Watson Los Angeles Quavas Kirk Nathan Sturgis Kyle Veris New England Revolution none New York Red Bulls Jozy Altidore Blake Camp Elie Angku Jerrod Laventure Joe Vide Real Salt Lake Kyle Brown Willis Forko Attiba Harris Medhi Ballouchy Toronto FC Abbe Ibrahim Marvel Wynne If I've missed anyone, please let me know. Some like Kenny Cooper played professionally in England. Because of this I wouldn't have had him in the running for rookie of the year. The same applies for sophomore player of the year. My shortlist of players to keep an eye on are : Jozy Altidore (NYRB), Medhi Ballouchy (RSL), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Willis Forko (RSL), Andy Gruenebaum (Columbus), Sasha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Dax McCarthy (FCD), Justin Moose (DCU), Dominic Oduo (FCD), Jacob Peterson (Colorado), Dasan Robinson (Chicago), Nathan Sturgis (LAG), Marvel Wynne (Toronto FC)

Major League Soccer Rookies

If you follow the MLS and feel you've seen a rookie playing well, make sure to swing by From College to Pros and let them now. Each week FCTP looks at how they played that week and picks a rookie of the week. Their week 5 picks can be seen here.

Questions For MLS Commish, Don Garber

Why does the MLSnet.com web site not list US Open Cup games on the right side? If all owner-investors also own part of the league why would they not want to fully promote all the games (non-friendlies) that get played? Is this a result of some of the budget cutbacks that have us using the same software for MLS.tv for a 2nd year with a yet a 2nd year of being able to do basic tasks like setting your own password? When will you admit the Designated Player rule was a way to make the salary cap a bit harder? When will the MLS start selling clothing and trinkets for toddlers and babies? Why hasn't the league reviewed the video and given Eddie Robinson a fine and suspension for striking Roberto "El Bombardo" Brown? Why isn't the 1996 MLS Cup Final available for sale on DVD? With all the population growth in Florida and the Southeast, why is the not an MLS team there? And if it's a matter of finding an investor, why hasn't the MLS found one? Surely a league with so much promise could attract one or two. When will the league do something to ensure referees don't gift RSL points at Rice-Eccles? It happened a couple times last year. And it started this year with refs gifting them 2 goals in the last few minutes of the game. How long does Houston have before it has to get a new stadium? What about KC? Will we ever be told if Joey Franchino violated the league's substance policies and that he was actually suspended?