“Now we need to patch things together as best we can with a team that is struggling. We need to look for small pieces of success throughout the rest of the season and build on that.”
- Timbers Coach, Chris Agnello, after Saturday’s 3-1 loss to the Seattle Sounders
Some phrasing can be simultaneously subtle and blunt. Translated to English, Portland Timbers' head coach Chris Agnello just admitted to the dreaded "year of transition." Saturday's loss, when combined with a loss to the same Seattle Sounders at home the night before, spells "d-o-o" for the Timbers' season; all that's missing now is the final "m." Then again, it could be that I’m reading my own pessimism into Agnello’s comments...yeah...right.
As the Portland Tribune pointed out, the math is getting ugly:
"Puerto Rico and Atlanta not only are five points ahead of Portland, but they also have played four fewer games. Seattle also is five points ahead of the Timbers and has played one fewer game. Virginia Beach has a one-point edge on Portland and has four more games remaining than the Timbers."
And that doesn’t even get into form, as in a six-game losing streak with fewer plausible excuses to answer for them. I still hope to make a few of the final games of the season – perhaps looking for the same thing Agnello hopes to see – but visions of the playoffs, never mind success in them, will take a definite back seat to salvaging the best out of a season now limping to a quiet demise.
On the evidence, my A-League season is over. Sadly, the same seems to apply to the season of my MLS team: the New England Revolution. After going up on a sloppy (own) goal, they slipped (again) to a(nother) useless draw. Sigh. Tell me again why I watch sports? It’s sure as hell not for the my simple pleasure. OR maybe it is... :)
With few exceptions, though, Week 17 wasn’t much about pleasure. This weekend, and the few weekdays that preceded it, was all about ties – I suppose a league-wide holding pattern fits as an analogy. That’s not to say no team has cause to smile through practice this week, but that outright joy should be in short supply.
With the exception of Red Bull New York’s continuing, baffling, winning streak (three wins in a row? Red Bull?! That Red Bull?!?) – for the record, they beat Kansas City on the back of Mike Magee’s crafty little goal – only the Chicago Fire and the Columbus Crew snatched anything of note from the jaws of defeat. But given that these were draws at home in both cases – versus DC United and the LA Galaxy, respectively – we’re talking something well below bragging rights.
After that, it’s all disappointment, major-to-minor in scale. As noted above, New England’s fitful season plods on, which should make the Houston Dynamo rue to failed opportunity to put them away; given “The Streak,” Chicago’s draw was DC’s stumble, and so on. Of all the draws, only Columbus’ seems noteworthy – when you suck, and Columbus does at this point, one point can seems like a lot.
One game did play “to form” – FC Dallas’ win over Real Salt Lake – but, I dunno, the expected is, by definition, expected.
That’s not to say there’s nothing to see among this weekend’s highlights. For instance, as frustrated as DC United may be with the draw to an inconsistent Chicago, Alecko Eskadarian has got to be thrilled with his goal in that effort; seriously, watch the tape (again, Sights & Sounds) because it’s a thing of beauty...we’re talking national-team-caliber thing of beauty. After that, “The Thing” to see is Colorado’s third goal against Chivas USA; Terry Cooke’s over-head flick on the right flank stands as one of the highlights of this season. And, OK, I like Eddie Gaven’s header against LA, but that’s more to do with wanting Eddie Gaven to reach the heights than being particularly impressed with the goal itself.
All in all, it was a lackluster week in MLS. That beats what happened in the A-League, I suppose, which, from my perspective sucks on bloody ice cubes.
To crib a concept from Kyle McCarthy’s Monday column (check the bottom to see what I’m talking about), there are some questions begging answers as MLS drags through the traditional late-July/early-August muddle:
1) What the hell is wrong in Kansas City? When off-field distractions ruin a season to the extent they have in Kansas City, it reaches a point when some heretofore solid players are looking at soiled resumes.
2) Can New England turn their season around? I’m thinking no. But don’t listen to me; I’m pissed off.
3) Again, what the fuck is going on with Red Bull? I want to write them off – more to keep the math simple than out of any hostility – so, y’know, what gives with the winning?
4) How low can Real Salt Lake go? How about Columbus? And welcome to the whipping post, Columbus? Red Bull warmed up your spot.
5) Of all the question begging answers, is FC Dallas for real? DC United’s form is what it is; they’ll either hold it together in the playoffs or they won’t. But FC Dallas is something else. Have they taken the next step?
6) Of all teams in MLS, at this point two have the greatest wild card potential – i.e. there are two teams I can see pulling it together and winning MLS Cup out of the blue: the Houston Dynamo and the LA Galaxy. Basically, and prior to the (ridiculous) All-Star Break, I see the championship as a four-horse race: the Dynamo, the Galaxy, FC Dallas, and, the obvious favorites, DC United.
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