The long-awaited but barely anticipated 15th episode of Four At The Back is available now, in which Dan Loney and I talk about the USA/Mexico game, Don Garber‘s decade as Commissioner of Major League Soccer, the just-completed “Summer of Soccer” and the future of our little show.

Who knew Landon Donovan had Swine Flu? Not Dan when we did the show and not me when I took him to task for a poor finish against Mexico. Get well, Landon. And watch out, Grant, that stuff’s contagious.

Four At The Back is taking some time off.

So is David Beckham really a bad captain and teammate? And what will happen now that he’s due back in the States soon and will return to his contractually-obligated, short-term-stint MLS career next week against the Red Bulls in New York? Dan Loney and I will discuss that and other topics in the latest episode of Four At The Back.

So Landon Donovan called Becks out, then said he wished he hadn’t. Dan’s uncomfortable being in the middle because he likes them both and he has to hear it from both sides and he’s just…so over it already.

The USA’s performance to this point in the Gold Cup, the upcoming semifinals of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup and the future of SuperLiga are also on the agenda for our 14th episode, which you can download here.

Keep those emails and iTunes reviews and ratings coming, folks. Or leave a comment below. Thanks to those of you who have subscribed lo these many weeks and to those of you who have just discovered the show.

Back after a week’s vacation, Dan Loney and I pick up with Episode 13 of Four At the Back by looking at the US Nats’ shocking run to the Confederations Cup final, the potential demise of the Xtreme Soccer League and third-round results in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, plus we talk to soccer historian and author Roger Allaway about his new book, Corner Offices & Corner Kicks.

The XSL’s death (they’re calling it a “one-year hiatus”) would consign it to the indoor soccer mortuary along with the original MISL, the NPSL, the CISL, the EISL, the WISL, the second MISL and the AISL. Fear not, we will still have the NISL and the PASL. What will happen to the XSL teams (including the longest-running pro team in America, the Milwaukee Wave) is stil to be seen.

Allaway’s book looks at the similarities between two American soccer dynasties of very different eras: the New York Cosmos of 1971-84 and Bethlehem Steel FC of 1911-1930. No doubt you’ve heard of the Cosmos, but if you don’t know the story of Bethlehem Steel, you’re missing out on a fascinating chapter of our country’s soccer history. You can order the book through Amazon.com.

Here’s where to download the show, subscribe (and rate and review, if you would) the show on iTunes and send us your feedback (either in an email or in the comments below).

Even if you heard the original show, you will want to listen to this one. Did you know the Cosmos went on strike in 1976? Did you know Shep’s book could one day be a movie? Did you ever hear the story about match-fixing in the NASL? It’s all here. Give it a listen.

Thanks to all of you who have found our little show since we started it three months ago. Our audience is small, but apparently none too bright (kidding, we love you). We’ll be back next week. Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to subscribe on iTunes and/or give us a rating or a review. We appreciate it. Keep those cards and letters coming.

The plight of the National Team, branding Giuseppe Rossi a traitor, the top team in USL-1 and Mount Rushmore redux are the topics on this week’s episode of Four At The Back.

Dan Loney and I look at the first two games of the Confederations Cup for the US and ask “What’s next?” Also, Andrew Bell of the Charleston Battery and Fox Soccer Channel’s USL-1 broadcasts stops by to talk about his top-of-the-table team and its upcoming US Open Cup challenge. And we look at reaction to last week‘s question, “Who would you put on the Mount Rushmore of American soccer?”

Download the show, subscribe (and rate and review, if you would) the show on iTunes and send us your feedback (either in an email or in the comments below).

EDIT: Between the time we recorded Andrew Bell’s interview and this show dropped, Charleston did suffer its first loss, 1-0 at Puerto Rico, on Thursday night. They still lead USL-1 by a point over Carolina, who has a game in hand.

Josh Hakala from usopencup.com and Rob Penner from WPS are our guests on Episode #11 of Four At The Back. We also talk about the US Men’s National Team’s qualifier against Honduras and their prospects in the upcoming Confederations Cup, and, just for fun, ask “Who’s on your Mount Rushmore of American soccer?”

Download the show, subscribe (and rate and review, if you would) the show on iTunes and send us your feedback (either in an email or in the comments below).

Falling between World Cup qualifiers, episode #10 of Four At The Back features discussion of the US Nats’ loss in Costa Rica and a look ahead to the game with Honduras. Also, the best subbuteo player in the country, Zach Walker, is our guest (visit the American Subbuteo Association to find out more about this fun game). We’ll also talk about Toronto FC’s upcoming friendly with Real Madrid and Dan gets his David Beckham hate on.

Download the show, subscribe (and rate and review, if you would) the show on iTunes and send us your feedback (either in an email or in the comments below).

Also, many thanks to Brian Lewis of the New York Post for giving us some love in his soccer blog about last week’s interview with Shep Messing.

Shep Messing is our guest on the latest episode of Four At The Back (sorry it took an extra day to get it online – but, hey, you’re not paying for it, so simmer down). We also discuss the US National Team’s upcoming busy summer and ask what can be done about the US Open Cup?

Shep shares his insight on this year’s New York Red Bulls team, the sad history of MLS’ New Jersey/New York franchise and the glory days of the Cosmos in Episode 9.

We have well over 100 subscribers on iTunes now, and if you haven’t subscribed, please do so. Also, send us your feedback -either on the show itself or a topic we’ve covered or a suggestion or just a rant.

The Steven Cohen affair, ties in Major League Soccer, proFANity in the stands and an NASL reunion are the topics Dan Loney and I cover on the 8th episode of Four At The Back.

In honor of the season finale of American Idol, we even ran a little long this week. Sorry about that.

Notes to amplify the topics, and a place to leave your comments follow after the jump.

Here’s where to find more information on the topics we discussed on Episode 8 of Four At The Back.

TOPIC 1: Steven Cohen‘s remarks on the Hillsborough tragedy of 1989 and the resulting fallout:

• The events of 15 April 1989 recounted, 20 years later.
• Steven Cohen’s comments on World Soccer Daily leading up to the 20th anniversary of the tragedy. (More videos are here.)
• Liverpool FC New York Supporters Club, which has led a boycott campaign against Cohen’s radio and television shows.
• Another boycott site.
• World Soccer Daily site.
• A petition in support of World Soccer Daily.
• Cohen’s apology, read on the air a month later. (Text here.)
• LFCNY rejects said apology.
• The Taylor Report (.zip file)
• Liverpool FC itself condemns Cohen on its official website.
• Dan Loney’s blog post on the situation.

TOPIC 2: Draws in Major League Soccer:

• MLS Standings
• Dan blogs about the draws.
• Percentage of games drawn in Major League Soccer since 2002 (through games of 5/17/09):
  YEAR GAMES DRAWS PCT. 2009 68 28 41.2% 2008 210 57 27.1% 2007 195 50 25.6% 2006 192 56 29.2% 2005 192 44 22.9% 2004 150 46 #30.7% 2003 150 41 &27.3% 2002 158 28 &17.7% #=League record | &=MLS used overtime

TOPIC 3: Fan Behavior:

• The original email exchange, from The Oregonian.
• The Timbers Army responds.

TOPIC 4: San Jose Earthquakes 35th Anniversary NASL Reunion:

• Bigsoccer thread on the reunion.
• Contact Ron Gilmore here for more information.
• NASL Heritage Cup.

Thanks for listening. If you’ve not subscribed on iTunes yet (over 100 of you have – thank you!), please do. If you can add some technical expertise (in terms of other ways for you to easily get the show, artwork, etc.) or if you just want to comment on the show, send us an email. Send us an .mp3 file, we’ll use it on the show.