Another reprehensible evening for Bob Bradley and the U.S. national team at the New Meadowlands Stadium. Not as bad as last year's feeble surrender to Brazil, but bad enough.

American owners of English soccer clubs, it seems to me, walk a rather delicate line between being welcomed for their money, and condemned for -- well, for being American.

We're just about a week into the MLS season now -- we've seen all 18 teams at least once, so in the dodgy tradition of instant experts, I feel perfectly justified in making at least one assertion. To wit: that Commissioner Don Garber's plea for a more offensive game and his appeal to referees to be harsher in punishing certain defensive fouls has had no effect whatsoever.

This is actually quite funny -- assuming that you like wry jokes. The English FA has finally had enough of Alex Ferguson's antics, with his repeated aspersions directed at referees who don't officiate games in a way that he likes. So the FA has fined Ferguson $48,000 and suspended him for three games -- which becomes five games because two games left hanging from a previous offence are now activated.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber has recently had some pretty sensible things to say about the state of soccer within his league. He wants to encourage attacking play and he believes that some changes in the attitudes and actions of referees will help bring that about.

It's a sickening state of affairs for soccer when, within the space of a few days, two of the sport's top coaches brazenly advertise the fact that they are appallingly bad losers.

Last year ought to have been the Red Bulls breakout season. A glittering new stadium, a couple of world-class signings in Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez, a new coach in Hans Backe and, well what more do you want? In fact, given the MLS salary cap regulations, what more can you expect?

The farcical anachronism that goes under the name of the International Football Association Board -- IFAB -- is having its annual meeting tomorrow. Somewhere in Wales.