A few things...

Here I was feeling bad this AFT took me so long until I realized we'd made about 312 posts in the last two days...

#1 - Working on the presumption that Davide Beccemano will play past the age of 40, The Mirror names an all over-40 XI with two MLS players in the team - complete with some lovely Spice Boy time lapse photshop work, as seen above. Ouch!

Who guessed the other MLS star on the list before clicking the link?

#2 - I was able to get a word with Aston Villa right back prospect FA Reserve League champion Eric Lichaj before he hopped a whirlwind over to USMNT camp in Miami. He's rather stunned, pretty excited and eager to learn from... oh dear sweet Christmas, from The Dude!

#3 - The U.S. ladies, meanwhile, mopped up the floor with Canada last night in Toronto. I'm waiting (hoping?) for a highlight clip to appear, and will drop it here when (if?) it does.

#4 - I meant to get this up a couple of days ago, but so much was going on and there was nowhere to put it 'til now: a great video interview with suspended Hammarby forward Charlie Davies on a show with a great lead-in theme song. Has he played his last match for Bajen?

#5 - ESPN's Ives Galarcep talks with three young MLS standouts about their international status/leanings, and the possibility of them ending up in Red, White & Blue: exciting Toronto FC keeper Stefan Frei (Switzerland), slippery New York striker Mac Kandji (Senegal) and D.C. United wing terror Rodney Wallace (Costa Rica).

#6 - The T&T press reports that Chris Birchall is close to a four-year deal with L.A. I'm tellin' ya, this is a great move for them.

UPDATE: S365 colleague Shaun Fuentes reports that the Birchall pre-deal is done.

#7 - I almost forgot! AN NSC reader wrote to suggest I should have given props to technical staff Americans Abroad when I named my player eleven for the season, and I fully agree. So with no further adieu, here are Sevin's verbatim additions to my list:

GM - Mr. Alex Pama (Washingtonian @ SC Cambuur, Dutch Eerste Divisie, last season club finished 17 out of 20, this year in the playoffs for promotion after finishing 3rd, currently 2nd round)

Techincal Director - Mr. Earnie Stewart (@ NAC Breda, Dutch Eredivisie, at times led the league and now competing for a spot in European competition)

Coach - Nick Theshof (@ Bayern, well was before Luis van Gaal)

Good work, Sevin.

#8 - Surprised Gordon Strachan quit Celtic? Well, get this: he had already been planning to resign in winter. I wonder what that means for new Hoops keeper Dominic Cervi and longtime transfer target Sacha Kljestan...

#9 - Speaking of coaching changes, my beloved Ajax have hired Martin Jol away from Hamburg. I'm not yet sure how I feel about it, but it doesn't seem too bad. Plus, there is the benefit of annoying the hell out of ADO Den Haag supporters (Jol was an ace midfielder there for about 300 matches over two stints that opened and closed his playing career).

#10 - It seems Colombia coach Edmundo Lara has included Seattle strike sensation Fredy Montero in his provisional squad for upcoming CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers.

#11 - From the LMAO files (and sorry if I'm video-ing you all to death lately): I had completely forgotten about this cut, a bizarre yet charming tribute to the mighty Gooch until it popped up on BigSoccer today. Fair warning: there is one written F-bomb in the clip.





- Greg Seltzer