A Schmetzer Christmas for all

Longtime fans of the USL Sounders recieved a double early Christmas present at the start of this week. The first was a bit of a slip by new coach Sigi Schmid, with him mentioning that Chris Eylander would be playing understudy keeper to Kasey Keller. Eylander, both a Sounders fan favorite and one of the teams best players, had been considered a must-sign. If all goes well, he should be ready to take over between the pipes in two or three years time.

The second gift, however, was even better. USL Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer was given an assistant coach spot in the new Sounders regime. He led the Sounders to two USL titles, which nicely parallels the two Schmid has won in MLS. He also was the man many USL Sounders supporters strongly wanted for the Sounders FC head coaching job, but this way makes more sense. He needs to learn the ins and outs of MLS, an extremely complex and unusual league. Plus, as I suggested earlier, Schmetzer will immediatly become the heir to the Sounders FC coaching throne, should Schmid leave in two years or five.

So the longtime fans have been duly rewarded. Could any other former USL Sounders make the jump up - Taylor Graham? Kevin Sakuda? Kenji Treschuk? With only 10 roster spots left, and five probably tabbed for young prospects, the chances are slim. I'll take a look at that on Monday. Until then, happy holidays, and may you all recieve something rave green.

*CHRISTMAS EDIT* Holy crap do the new jerseys look awesome in real life