Blue Links: Vermes Furious, Missed PKs, Kharlton Belmar, Tim Melia

Let’s get to those Sporting Kansas City stories and other bits from around the league and world.

Kansas City

(KC Star) Peter Vermes was less than pleased (understatement of the year) with a few players performances against the Houston Dynamo. PV thought a few players quit, though he didn’t name names. It will be interested to see who is (or isn’t) even in the 18 for SKC or potentially SPR in the coming weeks.

“They’re going to find themselves very, very, very, very, very far away from the team and trying to get back in,” he said. “They’re going to have to do some real proving.

“It’s not just my evaluation. It’s other players’ (evaluations) as well. Our team and our club is not built on that type of attitude. That won’t be tolerated.”

“At the end of the day, it’s disappointing that certain individuals gave up in the game. That’s not something that happens in this club — not for a long time. Like I said, I won’t tolerate it.”

Or stay on this site and read Vermes unhappy with effort of some players to get the full quotes from the same interview.

(Swope Park Rangers) It’s tough being a KC soccer team. The Rangers lost 4-0, though it was closer than that.

(SKC YouTube) Learn a bit about Kharlton Belmar’s love of photography.

(MLS YouTube) The #InstantReplay crew think both the Gerso and Salloi non-calls in the RBNY game were penalty kicks. Even without those calls, it feels like a game SKC should have found a way to win.

(SKC YouTube) Check out this interview with Tim Melia from before the Red Bulls game.

(MLS YouTube) Not that anyone asked, but here are the 20-minute highlights of the Sporting KC/New York Red Bulls game.

(MLS) Sporting KC drop to 7th in the Power Rankings, which based on recent form feels a bit high.

Around the World

(Once a Metro) Reports about the conditions at NWSL side Sky Blue FC are pretty grim and our sister site Once a Metro has the story.

(Goal) The Columbus Crew are reportedly on the verge of accepting a $3.9 million transfer fee for goalkeeper Zack Steffen to move to the English Championship side Bristol City.

(MLS) It sounds like it may not happen, but the Portland Timbers Sebastian Blanco is being linked to a move to Racing in Argentina. SKC would probably love to have a weaker Timbers team in the division.

(MLS) Speaking of Argentina and MLS, the Chicago Fire added a CB to help their ailing defense.

(MLS) Toronto FC will rematch Tigres UANL in the first Campeones Cup. It’s the first match of MLS Cup Champions versus Liga MX champs. Ironically the Reds look like anything but Champions as they sit near the bottom of the table.

(USWNT) The Tournament of Nations is upcoming for the United States Women’s National Team and the roster is out. Former FC Kansas City players Becky Sauerbrunn and Amy Rodriguez are among the women selected. The first two games are at Children’s Mercy Park.