Leave it to New York to surprise us all. Of the names mentioned as a potential head coach of the Red Bulls, that of Hans Backe was one that garnered little (or no) attention. The 57-year-old Swede, who recently quit as manager of Notts County after just seven weeks, has been charged with turning around the fortunes of a franchise that, save for an unlikely run to the MLS Cup in 2008, has consistently flattered to deceive.
While the hire of Backe was New York's most stunning move of the week, the retention of Richie Williams was the shrewdest. Williams impressed as interim head coach in the latter part of last season, and his knowledge of MLS will be invaluable to Backe and Erik Soler, the Red Bulls' new general manager.
Meanwhile, Chicago and D.C. United have also finalized their new men in charge. Carlos de los Cobos has reportedly been hired by the Fire, while D.C., having been rejected by its first choice, Caleb Porter, has recruited former Kansas City coach Curt Onalfo.
De los Cobos did a fine job to qualify El Salvador for the final round of CONCACAF qualifying for this year's World Cup but will be well aware that international coaching is vastly different from the day-to-day demands of running a club, especially in the unique world of MLS. The presence of Frank Klopas as Fire technical director will help smooth the transition.
Onalfo, of course, has previous experience as a head coach in the league as well as with D.C. United, where he served as an assistant a decade ago, having previously won championships as a player. His time in Kansas City was mixed, as consecutive playoff appearances were followed by an underachieving start to 2009, which led to his firing last August. Despite that setback, his credentials, which include a keen eye for young talent, remain solid.
All of which means that, with Peter Nowak leading Philadelphia, Preki taking over in Toronto and Peter Vermes having had the "interim" part of his title removed in Kansas City, six of the Eastern Conference's eight teams are employing first-year coaches in 2010.
In that company, Robert Warzycha seems like an old hand as he enters his second season with Columbus, not that he has anything on the veteran status of Steve Nicol, who has been in charge of New England since 2002.
CBA agreement looks no closer
As if the challenges facing those new coaches were not hard enough, the uncertainty over the immediate future of MLS makes their lives even less straightforward. As the Jan. 31 deadline for signing a new collective bargaining agreement gets ever closer, the two sides in the discussion continue to be far apart, with the rhetoric from both indicating that neither is set to back down imminently.
Thus, it is a somewhat odd time to be involved with professional soccer in this country. While fans simply hope their teams will be playing in late-March, coaches on scouting trips are unable to offer guarantees about the season ahead to potential signings, which means their targets are harder to secure, especially if they have competing offers that offer greater security.
Meanwhile, spare a thought for the young men headed to Florida this weekend for the annual player combine. With the draft set to take place next Thursday, the next few days could make or break their dreams of a pro career. However, even if they impress and hear their name called in Philadelphia, what happens next?
Usually, rookies would spend the following weeks frantically packing and moving to their new home ahead of the start of preseason in early February. This year, there may not be as great a need to rush.
Good luck, No. 9
Weather permitting, Landon Donovan looks set to make his Everton debut at Arsenal on Saturday. It will be a baptism of fire for the American against one of the Premier League's in-form teams, which has won 14 of the its last 17 home games against the Toffees.
Everton manager David Moyes has had some good things to say about his on-loan recruit this week, and a further sign of that confidence was seen when he handed Donovan the club's No. 9 shirt, worn previously by such Goodison Park idols as Dixie Dean, Tommy Lawton, Joe Royle, Bob Latchford, Graham Sharp and Andy Gray.
More recently, No. 9 was worn by Duncan Ferguson, the uncompromising Scottish forward whose style made him a terrace favorite and inspired this cracking chant:
Duncan is our hero
He wears the number nine
He wears his shirt with pride
He wears it all the time
He wears it in the shower
He wears it on the nest
Duncan is our hero
He is the f------ best!