I’m sorry that it has taken quite some time after the game to post something, but I have actually been quit pissed off and in a bad mood after the game and wanted to think things through before I said anything.

The whole team is of course extremely disappointed about getting knocked out but it was a great atmosphere in Houston and I personally also thought it was really cool that President George Bush was in the stands.

The game itself was more of a brawl then a nice game to watch I guess. Being on the pitch it clearly felt that it was going to be someones mistake or luck/bad luck that would be the decider of the game in the end. Unfortunately that was the case as the goal was discussed after the game and they say it is quite clear from the TV pictures that it was a handball.

But with that said I don’t want to take anything away from Dynamo as they are a very good team and I wish them all the best for the rest of the playoffs!

To arrive back in Seattle one and a half hour delayed on a rainy Sunday evening and being greeted at the airport by cheering Sounders fans is an amazing feeling after having been knocked out of the playoffs. I really want to thank all of you who did this and tell you that it really warmed our hearts!

For me personally it has truly been an a fantastic season and I have learnt so much by moving and playing here and sends a big thanks to all of you guys out there for the support you have been giving me.

// F

Arrived in Houston and have just been training at the stadium and noticed that they have the American football lines on the pitch.

I think it is an absolute disgrace that the League allows this!

They had it once before in New England and I didn’t have a clue where I was because you use the line and midfield line to know where you are on the pitch. When lines is everywhere you don’t know when to shot or do anything, -it is a massive problem!

Anyway, great weather down here and not as hot as last time and they think it will stay around 75 for the game. When we played here during the regular season it was over a 100. Heard that the game is sold out at around 27,000 and that a lot of Sounders fans is supposed to have traveled down here, so I am really excited to see what kind of atmosphere you guys will be able to create.

Houston defended well in the last game but will for sure be coming out being more offensive in this game which will open up a lot of chances for us. We have played well down here before and should have won with a couple of goals but missed a lot, like an open goal chance, so this time we need to play a lot better with more speed in our passes as it is a smaller pitch and get better results on all our chances. If we do this the game will be ours.

I feel great and the whole team is geared up and positive so I hope it will be enjoyable to watch.

// F

Photo: Sounders.com

Woke up Friday feeling really disappointed after the game as it unfortunately developed as I predicted.

The rules here in the MLS motivates the away team in the first leg to play for a draw and not to play an offensive game which of course is not at all entertaining to watch. But that’s the rules we have to accept and hopefully we can offer a better game in Houston.

Anyway, we had a lot of chances to win the game with crossbar shots and goal line saves by the Houston goalie that we should have scored on but this was a real tight and typical playoff game and how football is sometimes.

There has been a lot of discussions and complaints about the refereeing after the game. I am just going to leave it as it is for now, but I am sure of that the people dealing with these kind of issues will do so in this case.

Looking forward to Houston!

//Freddie

Its time for the quarterfinal tomorrow and its going to be a great occasion!

We played very well against Houston in the past and I think we have two wins and a draw, and in the draw we missed a lot of chances. They are a very very good side and probably dominated the Conference in the past which we want to change.

Houston always try to play some good football on the floor and that is always positive so I hope its going to be an enjoyable game to watch, but at the same time the playoffs in America is not played like in Europe where we have the Champions League and away goals count extra why Houston might sit back a bit and don’t see any point in going forward. We will see tomorrow how it develops.

For any Europeans out there reading this it might be of value to know exactly how the Playoffs work so check out “The MLS Cup Playoffs”. As you know the 2009 final will be played right here in Seattle.

I heard we sold 37 000 tickets in 30 minutes or so, which again shows what amazing fans the Sounders have.

//Freddie