Summary: As weekly events unfold in the Premier League, it is clear that only one team has proven to be consistent at the early stages of the season while the rest are left to battle a weekly push and pull between supporters and media, creating a volatile and often hostile reaction while the specter of a new reality inside American soccer appears on the horizon. In part one of this episode, digital media expert Doron Salomon helps us untangle the new reality inside the English game where the weekly grill and analysis has descended into a prisoner of the moment outcome that wants instant answers and casualties from clubs to managers to players. We examine the issues surrounding Arsene Wenger, Brendan Rodgers, Alan Pardew and others as the weekly evaluation has gone from the sublime to the outraged and try to calculate what impact it is having both in terms of perception and the ongoing parade of opinions that are fueling some high profile incidents between fans and club managers. We also examine the social media exploits of Mario Balotelli as well as the persistent questions surrounding Louis van Gaal at Manchester United involving his acclimation to the league as well as some crossed wires between the message he wants conveyed and what may lurk behind the scenes in terms of transfer strategy. In part two, Nico DiBenedetto joins the show to discuss the retirement of Landon Donovan as Major League Soccer turns the corner with massive questions face not only MLS as it seeks to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement, but also what its downstream effects may mean for the NASL and other important parts of the professional club structure in North America. We look at the key question of how the midlevel player often dictates the strength of the player pool inside a league and how market forces and the commodity price for talent will shape not only MLS but also the other leagues who have now begun to register a viable alternative as they seek to close the gap on two important fronts - the relative national footprint, TV rights deals and, of course, match day experience. This includes a look at national alignment of conferences as well as a very interesting battle inside the New York marketplace where expansion and the case of the Red Bulls will now begin to clash with the star power of the New York Cosmos as Raul arrives on the scene.
