Clan-Members » ast weeks last-gasp 1-1 dra

Seattle Sounders forward Clint Dempsey says the MLS has come a long way since he began his career in America 12 years ago. The United States international started out at New England Revolution in 2004, before spending six years in the Premier League with Fulham and Tottenham.He returned to his home country in August 2013 to join Seattle Sounders, and believes the MLS has come a long way since his first spell in the league. There are more soccer specific stadiums, there are more franchises, bigger player contracts, bigger names and just better quality in the league, Dempsey told Sky Sports.The attendances have also improved. In Seattle we get 44,000 for every home game - thats pretty remarkable. Growing up as a kid in Texas, I never thought Id see the day that I was playing in packed stadiums in the US.Its definitely come a long way and hopefully it can keep going in that direction. Dempsey joined Seattle Sounders in August 2013, scoring 26 goals in 55 appearances for the club so far Football - or soccer - was catapulted into the American spotlight with the USAs impressive performance at the 2014 World Cup, where they were knocked out on penalties by Belgium in the last 16.Dempsey said: People can understand the sport a little bit better. I think having major competitions and the US team doing better in the World Cup brings fans to the TVs and to the bars to watch the games.Once you get around that atmosphere and watch the game you start getting interested, thats whats propelled the game onto the major networks which allows anyone to watch. Thats what grows the game. The more games that are shown on Sky Sports and having more players that played in the Premier League has attracted more people to watch. I think they can see that the quality is growing and hopefully it will continue to get better and better. Dempsey captained the US mens team at the 2014 World Cup Despite the growing popularity of the MLS, there are still only a small number of American players who have made the move to the Premier League - with Landon Donovan, Tim Howard and Brad Friedel a few of the names.But Dempsey believes his compatriots are good enough to compete in the English top flight and credits the MLS for giving him the opportunity to do so.The American players are good enough but you have to get in the right situation, the right coach to believe in you and you have to fit the system of play, he said.It is a grind and when you are going over [and] theres a lot more competition. If you start somewhere and are successful and then you move to another country you are starting from scratch. Seattle Sounders attract the most fans in the league For me, MLS gave me my opportunity to be a pro and to play under Steve Nicol and Paul Marriner, they taught me so much and gave me confidence.They gave me the opportunity to get regular first team action and thats what allowed me to break into the national team. Without breaking into the national team and playing in the World Cup, I might not have had the opportunity to go the Premier League.Seattle Sounders kick off their 2016 season against Sporting Kansas City on Sunday - midnight on Monday in the UK - and Dempsey is hoping previous titles can help them lift the MLS Cup.Weve got to be more consistent through the year. We had too many injuries last year and with the international call-ups for some of our players there was a little bit of a lull in the summer period. The 2016 MLS season kicks off this Sunday with Chicago Fire v New York City and Portland Timbers v Columbus Crew live on Sky Sports 1 from 7:05pm To win the MLS Cup I feel the trick is to have as high a seed as possible in the table because you get home advantage in the play-offs and having that advantage puts you in a better position to win.If we are consistent through the year to finish as high as possible in the table, well have a good opportunity to win MLS Cup.To win the cup would mean me coming back to the MLS paid off. I was brought here to try and help the club win an MLS Cup and it would be something I would be very proud of.Hopefully I have the opportunity to do that because we won the Supporters Shield and the US Open Cup. Now we have to win the MLS Cup. Thats the only thing we are missing.MLS returns to Sky Sports on Sunday March 6 when Chicago Fire face New York City FC from 7pm and Portland Timbers host Colombus. You can watch both match live on Sky Sports 1 HD. Also See: Who are MLS favourites? Players desperate to join MLS 10 MLS stars to watch Kaka held Beckham talks on MLS Bryan Trottier Jersey . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. Mathew Barzal Jersey . The veteran safety was a starter for the Bengals from 2008-2012. He totaled 41 tackles and three interceptions while starting all but four of the 13 games he played last season. http://www.islanderssale.com/authentic-casey-cizikas-islanders-jersey/ . -- The boos poured down on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at the end of a horrible first half. Josh Bailey Jersey .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team. Adam Pelech Jersey . Ancelotti says Ronaldo has recovered from a hamstring injury but "but he doesnt feel comfortable yet so we wont risk him." Madrid is third in the Spanish league, six points behind leader Barcelona, going into Saturdays game against Valladolid. Its been an up-and-down first season at the helm of Southampton for manager Claude Puel.The former Ligue 1 boss, who guided Nice to a Champions League berth last season, has come to realise how challenging it can be to achieve consistent results in the Premier League. After failing to win any of their four opening fixtures, the Saints rallied with two consecutive clean-sheet victories, which spurred a five-match unbeaten run from mid-September through mid-October.But Southampton (3-5-4) again find themselves searching for form as they head into Sundays home date with Everton winless in four across all competitions.The Saints followed losses to Chelsea and Hull City with an admirable scoreless draw with Liverpool and Thursdays 1-0 setback against Sparta Prague in Europa League play.Southampton carried the play for stretches against Liverpool and created some quality chances but were never really close to getting one in.Midweek Europa trips are always difficult, and Thursday was no exception for the Saints, who gave a valiant effort in Prague but were done in by an 11th-minute strike from Costa Nhamoinesu.Southampton were missing two key pieces against the Czech side as Dusan Tadic and Jose Fonte were both unavailable. Puel has hope that at least one of the two will be available Sunday. Fonte missed Thursday with a foot issue, while Tadic is recovering from a broken nose.Tadic we are going to see if he can train, said Puel. Normally I think that it is not possible, because his injury was a bad injury and its a problem for us. Jose we will see this afternoon if he can participate on Sunday.Jose I believe can play, but Dusan no. Now hes two weeks without a training session and at the moment it is difficult for him.dddddddddddd.Everton (5-4-3) will also be looking to get back to their winning ways as Ronald Koemans lads come into this match after a 5-0 thrashing by Chelsea and last weeks last-gasp 1-1 draw with Swansea City at Goodison Park.Everton may have the advantage on Sunday, considering Koeman managed the Saints for two seasons before making the move to Merseyside this summer.I worked two seasons with them, Koeman said. They have brought in new players this summer but it is not difficult to analyse Southampton because I know the players, their strengths and weaknesses. I hope it all helps because that will make it positive to try and get a result. But everyone knows its about the decisions the players make inside the white lines.During his tenure on the south coast, Koeman recruited six of the 11 players that started against Liverpool, including goalkeeper Fraser Forster, striker Charlie Austin and defender Ryan BertrandIt will be special because we had two seasons at Southampton but I am now the Everton manager, added Koeman. We will do everything to win the game. They need a win, we need a win and that makes it really interesting for this Sunday.Everton won 3-0 on their last league visit to St. Marys -- their biggest away win over Southampton since October 1987 (4-0).Toffees striker Romelu Lukaku has scored three and assisted one in four Premier League appearances at St. Marys, including a brace for the Everton in this exact fixture last season. Lukaku has scored in just four of his last 17 appearances away from Goodison Park in the Premier League. ' ' '