In 2012 Chivas USA appears to have come full circle, meaning they are no further ahead today in securing a decent fan base and a club identity than they were in 2005, the year they began play in MLS.

Not surprisingly then, the discussion has shifted from how can the experiment work, to what form should Chivas USA — or a second LA-based MLS team — take in the future.

Significantly, the debate is taking place without the participation so far of the MLS suits or the team’s AWOL ownership.

So I spent my Sunday afternoon with loyal Chivas USA fan group Black Army 1850, which prefers to wear black instead of red and emphasize their LA roots rather than any affiliation with Chivas Guadalajara or the team’s Mexican heritage.

The long-suffering Chivas USA fan base deserve way more than they get from this club.

Yet I found fans who have not given up on the club despite the constant missteps of a front office that rarely communicates with their paying customers.

Moreover, the group I talked to were united about what was needed, which is why the column quotes just one member of the Black Army. Other members of the group listened to the interview as it was conducted and pretty much agreed with what was said.

Read the column here and leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

Is it just me or is this ad a little creepy?

The ad is part of a larger advertising campaign touting the biggest overhaul of the fast food chain’s menu in years.

Silly Mario: Manchester City’s Mario Balotelli, seen here laying down on the job in a Boxing Day game, provided Southern California soccer fans with one of the year’s funnier moments (Photo Ian Kington/AFP Photo/Getty Images).

The year’s final column riffs on those endless end of year lists sports writers with nothing better to do (ahem) quickly write to keep the boss happy.

I’m no different. But let’s at least have a little fun, huh?

How about three stupid soccer tricks CoCal style: Worst message to send an American soccer player, Worst trade/player acquisition of the year and Dumbest play of the year.

Read the column here.

Thanks for reading and join me again next year.

Yeah, I though the city of Carson logo was apt for this blog post.

The U.S. Men’s National Team camp is under way in Carson although Clint Dempsey is absent for Friday’s game, Jonathan Spector and Chris Pontius have replaced the injured Zach Loyd and Heath Pearce and newcomer Fabian Johnson is as yet ineligible to play for the U.S.

Staff Writer Phil Collin was among a handful of journalists granted a Monday audience with Herr Klinsmann and given a crash course (I’m told the 90-minute event was more monologue than Q&A) in the Klinsmann philosophy.

Meanwhile, he’s my take on what we learned from the Mexico game and what we should see over the next nine days at the USMNT camp.

It could be a mess out there this weekend for fans heading to the Galaxy-Real Madrid game at the Rose Bowl Coliseum.

More on the freeway closure is here.

Real Madrid arrived in Southern California Monday.

Me, I’ll be heading the short half dozen miles or so to Home Depot Center (I take surface streets anyway) to watch Thierry Henry and the Red Bulls against Chivas USA.

Incidentally, I neglected to mention in the column there’s a second international soccer game in the area this weekend: the PDL Ventura County Fusion host the EPL’s West Bromwich Albion Sunday in Oxnard.

So to answer one reader’s tongue in cheek (I think) suggestion: No, I have no intention of carpooling with you from the South Bay to Ventura County for the game.

If you intend to make the attempt, well, good luck with that.

The author (inexplicably wearing a D.C. United t-shirt) and younger brother, Daniel.

Regular readers of my weekly Tuesday soccer column and this blog know that both have been on hold for a couple of weeks now as I deal with family issues, specifically the unexpected death of my younger brother and last surviving sibling.

Frankly, I have had neither the time nor motivation to write recently during what has been the most difficult period I have ever experienced in my life.

I’d like to thank readers who suspected something serious was up, friends in soccer who contacted me via email and Facebook and all those who knew Dan for your expressions of support. Your words meant a great deal.

I’ve never known a life without Daniel. I’ve never known a life without soccer. I’m hoping my passion for the latter will help overcome the loss of my brother.

This week’s column is my tribute to a huge soccer fan and great person, my brother Daniel.

Regular programming will resume shortly. Thanks for reading.

And the blog is on indefinite hiatus, too, while I deal with some difficult family issues.

Thank you for your patience.

The Galaxy’s Landon Donovan shows the pressure Saturday against San Jose (AP Photo).

In this week’s column I took a look at the cooling off of the previously red hot Galaxy.

A couple of things I didn’t have the space to touch on in the column:

*The Galaxy have a relatively easy regular season run-in. Seven of their last nine games are at Home Depot Center including a home game against Eastern Conference bottom dwellers D.C. United and an “away” game at Chivas USA, similarly scraping along the bottom of the Western Conference.

*Supposedly David Beckham will return from injury to provide the team some sort of boost, although I’m not sure what, which is why I didn’t bother to mention him in the column. Beckham seems so 2007 and it remains to be seen whether he is any sort of force in 2010.

Also, the U.S. Women’s National Team has announced two games against China Oct. 2 and 6 on the East Coast, the final two games before CONCACAF World Cup qualifying begins.