Jordan Rhodes signs with Blackburn: Venky's trying to make amends

There is no denying that the last 18 months for Blackburn Rovers under the stewardship of Indian poultry giants Venky's have been trying for Rovers supporters. Actually, to merely brand these recent times as only trying is perhaps casting them in a positive light that is quite euphemistic and trivializing in nature, for the proud "little engine that could" of Lancashire has gone from being a stable Premier League club doing a lot with a little to being relegated after a woeful season that saw mysterious player exclusions, an embarrasingly leaky defense, the sales of vital cogs in the machine such as Chris Samba, a worrying silence from anybody associated with the ownership, and the continued employment of a manager whose overall record in his time at Ewood is laughable and cringeworthy at best. 

In blunt terms, there has been every indication over the last year and a half that the Rao family (proprietors of Venky's) had no clue about how to run a club playing in England's highest level--never mind the rumors that they had no understanding of the idea of relegation, as that's a different conversation for a different day entirely.

Portland names Caleb Porter head coach...for next season

With Gavin Wilkinson assuming the reigns of the Timbers on an interim basis following the dismissal of John Spencer earlier this season, the safe money, barring a remarkable turn of fortunes under Wilkinson, was always going to be on another candidate for the job emerging, whether from MLS coaching circles, MLS alumni, or abroad. As it turned out, the eventual winner of the Portland lottery was to come from none of these sources.

In naming Akron's Caleb Porter as their coach for the 2013 season earlier today, Portland is taking a bit of a gamble in going with a manger who, while enjoying remarkable success in his time at Akron with the likes of Steve Zakuani and Portland's Darlington Nagbe amongst his former players, has no experience in managing at the professional level where egos can be front and center and players are no longer happy to simply have a chance to play when not going to classes. 

Luckily for Porter, there is at least one manager in the league who has made the transition from running a successful college program in recent times to enjoy some degree of success in MLS (Schellas Hyndman, who coached SMU from 1984-2008). Porter would be wise to phone him up if he hasn't already in order to pick his brain for any nuggets of wisdom that might be of use during his transition from Akron to Portland. Additionally, any assistance Porter can gain from the front office has he surveys the lay of the land in MLS will be absolutely paramount.

Yes, it probably is a gamble for Portland to go with Caleb Porter, but given the doldrums the Timbers have found themselves in, one can hardly begrudge them for going with a reputable name in US Soccer, even if his reputation has been developed at a lower level. There are some decent pieces already in place in Portland, so maybe, just maybe, Porter can put it all together and really bring the Timbers Army to their collective feet. Merritt Paulson will hope so.

The Ryan Martin Show, 8/27/12

The hot topics in yesterday's show included Rooney's injury, Maurice Edu's move to Stoke, and why Vancouver's summer moves just might be backfiring on them.

Unpacking his bags: Hendry Thomas signs with Colorado

In a move that was rumored to be in the works for the last week or so, Honduran international Hendry Thomas, who should certainly be familiar to those of us here in CONCACAF, finalized his move from Wigan and the sometimes overcast Northwest of England to the crisp air and high skies of the Denver area. Perhaps that's not too bad of a trade, climatologically speaking.

With Colorado currently eleven points adrift of the playoff positions out west, one would hardly be off the mark in saying that this move, much like some of the other ones we've seen around the league in recent weeks, is being made with an eye on next year as opposed to this term. The benefit in that, of course, is that Thomas will be able to get his feet on the ground here in MLS without having to deal with the rigors of a team making a playoff push at this stage of the season. Ergo, he'll be able to start 2013 with a fantastic understanding of the league, its teams, and the often underestimated toll of the cross-continental flights that away matches often entail. Hopping on a bus from Wigan to Bolton is no longer an option.

For Colorado fans, the massive void left by Pablo Mastroeni as a result of his concussion problems will at least begin to be filled, and at a mere 27 years old, his acclimatization to the league could certainly spell a good few years of providing the Rapids with the bite in midfield they've lacked in Mastroeni's absence. Yes, Colorado still needs to bolster other departments of the team in advance of next season if they are to get back into the postseason, but this signing, that of a still young and capable player with fantastic experience on his CV, is very much a step in the right direction. Whether Oscar Pareja will still be around to work with Thomas further obviously remains to be seen.

The Ryan Martin Show, 8/20/12

Today's show naturally featured the opening weekend of the Premier League, but a look back at the USA's win v. Mexico and MLS talk also shared the stage.

Dempsey transfer saga: Sell now, Fulham

Perhaps it's a sign of progress of the game in this country when one of our leading countrymen finds himself embroiled in a transfer battle like those that we have seen grace the back pages on newspaper throughout Europe for years and years now, and like all of those drawn out, protracted battles between players and clubs that have preceded this one, it would certainly be easy to take sides after Dempsey apparently ruled himself out of Fulham's 5-0 siege of Norwich at Craven Cottage. 

While some Fulham fans may be burning their Dempsey shirts in disgust as we speak, it would be quite myopic and naive to direct all of the consternation solely towards him.

Show and blog update: new season, new things

With the summer out of the way and a return to a more normal routine, the time is certainly now to kick things up a bit with the show and the blog in order to provide all of you with more of the insights and opinions that the well-studied soccer fan unquestionably deserves. These first few months of the show (my first foray into soccer media) have marked an evolution of the show itself, and with that said, this short time on the air has offered me more valuable experience for getting my voice out there so that I may, however directly or indirectly, chat with all of you about this game that connects us in so many different ways.

As it is, my schedule is actually a bit more clogged up this fall than it was over the summer, due largely to me taking on the responsibilities that go along with providing live radio commentary for Auburn University's women's soccer team this upcoming season, but I am dead set on returning to blogging on a more regular basis in order to use the blog as more of a supplement to my Monday morning show rather than a separate entity entirely.

What does this all mean, then? It means that you can expect a lot more content here on the blog, because the reality is that being on the air once a week hardly suffices when the world of soccer pauses for no one. Additionally, the podcasts of the show will also be returning, so if you aren't able to catch the show live, fear not. It will be there for you whenever you can get to it.

With two Auburn games, a full slate of MLS games, as well as the opening weekends in England and Spain to garner my attention, it's going to be a busy weekend indeed, but what else could you possibly want to be so occupied with other than soccer? I can't think of many things that would be preferable by comparison.

With Autumn upon us, look forward to that much more to come. It's an exciting time for me professionally, and I'm glad to have you guys along for the ride.

Ryan