The 2009 season was by allany account the worst season in the history of New York's Major League Soccer franchise. It was a year with many lowlights, none of which are worth reliving at this point (the masochists among you can consult ASN's midseason review piece if you really want to go there). Suffice it to say 2009 was bad. But 2009 is over. Here are five things the team should do to make 2010 the rousing success its fans have been waiting (and waiting) for.

U.S. U-20 national team midfielder Jared Jeffrey has signed with Bundesliga club FSV Mainz 05, according to German media reports. The 19-year old Richardson, Tex., native was previously with Club Brugge, but was seeing little action for the Belgian first division side.

Read about it on ASN's 'Over There' page.

Houston Dynamo and U.S. Men's National Team midfielder Ricardo Clark appears headed for the British isles. The 26-year old, whose Major League Soccer contract expires Dec. 31, is being sought by Burnley and Celtic, according to a report out of the U.K.

Read the full story at ASN's 'Over There' page

It’s been three weeks since our first look at the number of followers each Major League Soccer team has through its ASN Twitter account. With the onset of the Christmas to New Year’s week, and its corresponding dearth of real news activity, we figured now would be a good a time as any to revisit the standings. Here they are:

1. (1). LA Galaxy: 771 followers (41 more than on Dec. 2)
2. (2). Seattle Sounders FC: 525 (+17)
3. (3). New York Red Bulls: 398 (+45)
4. (4). Chicago Fire: 321 (+8)
5. (5). Houston Dynamo : 317 (+24)
6. (6). Chivas USA: 288 (+25)
7. (7). Toronto FC: 282 (+20)
8. (8). New England Revolution: 258 (+12)
9. (9). DC United: 257 (+20)
10 (10). Real Salt Lake: 238 (+8)
11. (13). Columbus Crew: 213 (+22)
12. (11). San Jose Earthquakes: 204 (+1)
12. (12). FC Dallas:204 (+5)
14. (14). Kansas City Wizards: 142 (+13)
15. (16). Philadelphia Union: 129 (+35)
16. (15). Colorado Rapids: 126 (+3)

The rich get richer, as the first-placed LA Galaxy increased their follower count by 41, to expand their lead over second-placed Seattle Sounders. The Galaxy’s 41 new followers were second only to the New York Red Bulls’ 45, who put some distance between themselves and fourth-placed Chicago (just eight new followers).

At the bottom of the table, the expansion Philadelphia Union escaped the cellar with 35 new followers. They are now within sight of the 14th-placed Kansas City Wizards. The Colorado Rapids are the new last-placed team, which makes sense only because there has been less news coverage–from local, national and Web outlets alike–about the Rapids than anybody else (the San Jose Earthquakes are not far behind). But of course many other factors also play a role.

Do you like this table? Should we keep publishing it? Post your thoughts via comments below.

In the second annual installment of an interview with three FC Dallas players, I (with the help of my two kids) came up with 20 questions not really related to soccer to get to know them a little better. It seems to be fun for them and is certainly a blast for me. This version was done back on July 3 but I decided to wait until the off season started for FCD to keep the north Texas boys in the news a little longer. I picked three of more popular ones at the time in Dax McCarty, Dave van den Bergh and Drew Moor. The Drew Moor interview was posted Oct. 31, the McCarty piece last week. Third up is Dave van den Bergh, who joined the team from the New York Red Bulls last offseason.

Read the interview at ASN's FC Dallas page.

ASN Philly is going to be at the MLS SuperDraft in mid-January so we figured we'd begin our coverage with several informal "sit-downs" with local MLS combine participants.

Penn State's Jason Yeisley has overcome and learned a lot in his years as a Nittany Lion. Now, only three weeks away, he looks to take on the Combine and segue into a professional career. ASN's Philadelphia Union page has the full interview.

It has now been 12 weeks since the free-agency deadline for WPS kicked in and its collective general managers booted half their players to the curb. Included among them was Chicago Red Stars forward Cristiane, one of this year’s finalists for the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year Award. And while the Red Stars and Cristiane both profess a burning desire to be reunited for the 2010 season, it appears evident that Cristiane’s agent has yet to receive the memo.

Read the story at ASN's WPS site.

It has been nearly a month since the Chicago Fire parted ways with Denis Hamlett, but the Fire are in no rush to fill his vacancy until they find the right candidate.

Those with knowledge of the Fire’s search for the new head coach confirmed today that the team is not down to only two candidates which were previously reported by Soccer America as former Fire players Tom Soehn and Jesse Marsch. Although specific names were not disclosed, candidates within and outside of Major League Soccer are being considered.

Full article at ASN’s Chicago Fire page.

German Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin have terminated their contract with Bryan Arguez. The decision was made by "mutual understanding," according to Focus.de. The former first-round SuperDraft selection of DC United is now back in his native Miami.

Read on at ASN's 'Over There' page.

Major League Soccer and the LA Galaxy will retain Landon Donovan's rights for four more years. The club and player announced the deal at a press conference in Los Angeles Wednesday, Dec. 16. Is this the best move for Donovan as a player? Will playing in MLS prevent him from honing the skills necessary to compete at the highest level? Vote in our poll and discuss further.