Scouting Reports

Another possibility for conference honors is San Diego ; German Coach Hubert Vogelsinger's Sockers tied Tampa's 18-12 record last year. With the help of two Mexican strikers, Hugo Sanchez and Leonardo Cuellar, whom they hope to sign for arrival in June, the Sockers beat Moscow Dynamo last month 5-2, no small achievement. With the best American goalie, Alan Mayer, and U.S. National squad Midfielder Julie Veee, a top homegrown player, plus two Irishmen and a German or two, San Diego could contend.

San Jose , on the other hand, probably will not. The Earthquakes—who wound up 8-22 in '78, the second-worst record in the league—got rid of their coach and a raft of aging players. The new coach is ex- Los Angeles pilot Terry Fisher, and only four members of last year's squad are still around. Having acquired four Germans and two Danes, the Quakes may bear watching—if they surface at all.

Juan Michia, an Argentinian, and Kyle Rote Jr. are the only players of note who have signed with Houston . Hurricane Coach Timo Leokoski has been busy clinching first place in the MISL with his Summit Soccer team. He may not have the time or the resources to do much in the great out-of-doors, or, for that matter, in the great indoors of the Astrodome. The Edmonton team, which was bought from Oakland by World Hockey Association Oilers' owner Peter Pocklington for $2.5 million, has a fine Dutch coach in Hans Kraay and a nucleus of so-so players who made the trek to Edmonton. Kraay will need Pocklington's storied generosity to make the Drillers a contender come spring in Alberta.

Although they came on with a bang at the beginning of last season, the Philadelphia Fury, which has rock-music ownership, soon fell into disharmony. In point of dismal fact, they failed to score in 12 of their 30 games. The major blame for this ineptitude fell on English Forward Peter Osgood, who was hyped as a superstar but wasn't. Englishmen Alan Ball and David Robb, both loaners, won't arrive for a while, which may be too late for Yugoslavian Coach Marko Valock to warble a victory song.

The California team, which is based in Anaheim, looks bad. The Surf have Steve David, the 1977 NASL scoring champ, and Coach John Sewell hopes he can sweet-talk the moody Trinidadian into improving his play; he only scored five times in 11 games last season. But even that will not be enough.

The Memphis Rogues are out to lunch. And at the local diner at that. Operating on a budget that allows a toothpick and a glass of water and depending heavily on loan players from England, they will have to warm themselves with the memory of their surprise win over the Cosmos last season. English Coach Eddie McCreadie, who thrust Chelsea into the English First Division, deserves better.