Ah, my first Harry Potter headline...(cough..cough...nerd!...cough).
Last night’s MLS Primetime match-up suggested at least one thing about the Eastern Conference race: the New England Revolution holds the better hand. Add a win on Saturday/Sunday (forgive the vagueness; I’m forcing myself to go on memory) against DC United and the Revs look a lot like the early favorite for the Eastern title.
Good Lord...do we have to endure another Houston Dynamo/New England MLS Cup. Ugh...chasing that chilling vision of the future from my head...gimme a minute...
Like it or not, the Revs looked good and solid last night (and I’m OK with that). Even if one believes (as I do) that the visiting Kansas City Wizards had the better of the first half, the Revs’ back-three-plus-Matt-Reis limited them to long-range shots on goal; a corner or four or five got the ball in the area, but there wasn’t a lot of penetration. More impressive, though, was the reappearance of New England’s oft-forgotten “passing game”: for the first time in a while, the Revs managed the ball well and with some measure of patience.
But it was the inability of the Wizards to defend as high as they normally do, particularly as the game went on, that defined this game; Shalrie Joseph picking up the ball, turning unimpeded, and abruptly keying the Revs from defense to offense serves as the relevant image. ESPN’s on-air crew noted another piece: the frequency with which either Steve Ralston or Khano Smith enjoyed wide-open spaces on either flank. By the end of the game, “Here come the Revolution” sounded every minute or so, speaking to the siege of KC’s defensive third.
The Wizards, however, retained the aspect of a valid challenger: the Revs held only a one-goal lead for most the game and, in spite of their general attacking advantage, they didn’t put produce that many clear-cut chances. In the earlier part of the game, KC bunkered New England in their end; that’s something, even if they couldn’t break them down. By the second half, the Revs - led by Michael Parkhurst and Jeff Larentowicz - either disrupted the majority of chances before the second pass, or forced defenders to charge far upfield in search of new openings, but the Wizards had enough chances - not to mention one near-miss I mistook for a goal - to pick up a result. They’re good enough for the post-season, no question - unless they don’t keep their heads.
And so it goes: the Revs continue as a contender thanks to the combination of being hard to beat while possessing the personnel to capitalize on a few openings. A great example of this comes in the person of Ralston: at the tail end of one of his worst games I can recall, he plays a perfect ball to Adam Christman, Revs score, game over. At their best, the Revs are just lethal like that.
Some other more specific, yet random observations:
- Michael Parkhurst really does kick ass. So smart, so unflappable, so capable...more on this later.
- I’m finally getting Jeff Larentowicz: even if he’s a little limited going the other way, he’s a fairly capable destroyer.
- That KC was limited to outside shots wouldn’t have mattered so much if more of them looked like Jack Jewsbury’s slicing shot, the one time I thought the Wizards had actually scored. Unfortunately, most the Wizards’ shots went stratospheric.
- What has happened to Carlos Marinelli? He’s like a magician whose deck of cards spilled out of his sleeve. Here I thought he was going to be huge for the Wizards. He may yet, of course, but the Revs sure as hell had him figured.
- Eddie Johnson, Eddie Johnson, Eddie Johnson...what the hell to think, right? Early in the game, he pops the ball to an opening and lashes a quality shot past Avery John; the rest of the game, he gets stood up and....that’s it. He either dropped the ball miles back to a KC defender, or got the ball picked off in making the attempt. Makes one think it’s too easy to get into his head and frustrate him. Johnson needs to correct that.
- Speaking of forwards, Pat Noonan: dang, I like that cat. I like the subtle difference to his game, that little thing that sets him apart from other strikers. Now that he's fit again, I'd really like to see him in the National Team pool to see whether his schtick works in the Bigs.
- When Khano Smith is on, he’s pretty damned fun to watch. I’m tempted to call that 70-yard breakout run, which ended with a great shot on goal and a solid save by KC ‘keep Kevin Hartman as the game’s turning point.
- Speaking of Hartman, LA was friggin’ dumb to let him go. He played a great one last night. Near as I can tell, he gifts the opposition about two goals per season, but is otherwise remains one of the league’s best.
Showing posts with label Major League Soccer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Major League Soccer. Show all posts
NE Stadium Talk: Pull the Trigger, Bob
A lot of people have flagged talk of the New England Revolution getting a new, soccer-specifc home, but I've got a thing or two to add. The location, the “bedroom community” of Somerville, strikes me as a great one, especially given that they’re talking of placing it on the Charlestown-side of Somerville 'cause, if I'm not mistaken, that makes it more central still to Boston-proper. Not only that, but, unless it’s quite a ways north of the T's Red Line, it shouldn’t be bad for mass transit (I can’t speak to driving because, in all my years in Boston, I never once owned a car).
There’s also a kicker to consider: I can’t think of shittier stadium experiences than my several trips to Foxboro. There is no worse soccer venue, or sporting venue in general, that sucks worse, harder, or to less pleasurable effect. Depressing as driving past the last restaurant several miles before the stadium proved to be, it didn’t hold a candle to stepping out of the car in a gigantic parking lot in the middle of the fallow fields of bum-fuck New England. People bashing the proposed stadium in Hillsboro, Oregon have no friggin’ clue how much worse it could be. (For you Portland-metro people out there, I’d put Foxboro on par with building a Portland team’s stadium dead-center between Gaston and Carlton.)
Add the omnipresent stadium security - whose attentions somewhat amazingly detected a guy pouring an airport bottle of booze into his gigantic, over-priced Coke - and you have a completely oppressive atmosphere under a mid-summer sun with 90% humidity. The entire experience featured a long car ride to what amounts to a fucking awful theme park with one ride - and on the days the Revs didn’t play well, the ride fucking sucked. Nothing else to see, nothing else to do - just go there, tail-gate if you’re lucky, catch the game and go home. And the mascots for the damn park are anal-retentive security guards. Rah, rah.
All in all, barring something totally squirrelly about access - and we’re talking totally - a stadium in Somerville would not only vastly improve on Gillette, it could very well be one of the more successful facilities in Major League Soccer.
Pull the trigger, Bob.
(########)
There’s also a kicker to consider: I can’t think of shittier stadium experiences than my several trips to Foxboro. There is no worse soccer venue, or sporting venue in general, that sucks worse, harder, or to less pleasurable effect. Depressing as driving past the last restaurant several miles before the stadium proved to be, it didn’t hold a candle to stepping out of the car in a gigantic parking lot in the middle of the fallow fields of bum-fuck New England. People bashing the proposed stadium in Hillsboro, Oregon have no friggin’ clue how much worse it could be. (For you Portland-metro people out there, I’d put Foxboro on par with building a Portland team’s stadium dead-center between Gaston and Carlton.)
Add the omnipresent stadium security - whose attentions somewhat amazingly detected a guy pouring an airport bottle of booze into his gigantic, over-priced Coke - and you have a completely oppressive atmosphere under a mid-summer sun with 90% humidity. The entire experience featured a long car ride to what amounts to a fucking awful theme park with one ride - and on the days the Revs didn’t play well, the ride fucking sucked. Nothing else to see, nothing else to do - just go there, tail-gate if you’re lucky, catch the game and go home. And the mascots for the damn park are anal-retentive security guards. Rah, rah.
All in all, barring something totally squirrelly about access - and we’re talking totally - a stadium in Somerville would not only vastly improve on Gillette, it could very well be one of the more successful facilities in Major League Soccer.
Pull the trigger, Bob.
(########)
US @ Azteca: The Right Kind of Friendly
Hallelujah. We're finally playing Mexico in Mexico.
As much as I appreciate all the money we (or rather Soccer United Marketing (SUM) and the anointed venue) pick up by playing them States-side, I think we all know by now what happens when the U.S. plays Mexico on U.S. soil (let's just say two goals seem to get scored by one team).
To take this one step further, I want Mexico to host next year's Superliga. Hell, alternate the thing. I'm sure SUM can arrange the situation to see they keep getting their slice. Ditto with the CONCACAF Gold Cup: rotate that thing around the region to any country that can so much as sorta support the event. It gives the host country something to go nuts about and, judging by the stadium in a place like Puntarenas, it'll be pretty damned exotic in the right climes.
Here's the thing: it may be true that there are "no home games" for the U.S. Men's team (Yanquis) - and, it's possible that even Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs aren't the focus of adulation during the Superliga (can't say; haven't seen a friggin' game yet) - but the permanent home-field thing the Yanquis and MLS clubs have enjoyed in recent years won't make our players any tougher or better. Consider the, um, "challenging locales" in which we'll wind up playing as "quality multipliers" for our CONCACAF opposition; the sterner competition now won't hurt us later in any case.
And there's nothing wrong with sharing the wealth either...
(########)
As much as I appreciate all the money we (or rather Soccer United Marketing (SUM) and the anointed venue) pick up by playing them States-side, I think we all know by now what happens when the U.S. plays Mexico on U.S. soil (let's just say two goals seem to get scored by one team).
To take this one step further, I want Mexico to host next year's Superliga. Hell, alternate the thing. I'm sure SUM can arrange the situation to see they keep getting their slice. Ditto with the CONCACAF Gold Cup: rotate that thing around the region to any country that can so much as sorta support the event. It gives the host country something to go nuts about and, judging by the stadium in a place like Puntarenas, it'll be pretty damned exotic in the right climes.
Here's the thing: it may be true that there are "no home games" for the U.S. Men's team (Yanquis) - and, it's possible that even Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs aren't the focus of adulation during the Superliga (can't say; haven't seen a friggin' game yet) - but the permanent home-field thing the Yanquis and MLS clubs have enjoyed in recent years won't make our players any tougher or better. Consider the, um, "challenging locales" in which we'll wind up playing as "quality multipliers" for our CONCACAF opposition; the sterner competition now won't hurt us later in any case.
And there's nothing wrong with sharing the wealth either...
(########)
MLS: Week 17 to the Playoffs!
Help! I’ve tripped and fallen off the MLS info-treadmill! I'm working on getting back on, but it turns out one little weekend away may as well be a month. Maybe that’s what has me feeling all Big-Picture-y right now - e.g. thinking about future prospects more than past results, hence the semi-predictive post. I’ll get to that below, but would feel like a total hack if I didn’t acknowledge the power rankings and power tools of the pundits who didn’t take off Week 17.
ESPN
My Soccer Blog
MLS Underground (reporting from new digs)
WVHooligan
So, there’s some substance for you. Now for the Crystal Ball Fluff: what follows is my sense of which MLS teams are headed up or down in the standings and which will hold their current position, good or bad.
For the record, I tried to copy/paste the standings from MLSnet.com and, good Lord, can that be dubbed a failed experiment. Still, I’ll take the teams in the order in which they appear, with East going before West.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
1) New England - HOLDING HIGH: The win over Real Salt Lake was borderline unwatchable, but with each returning starter, or each starter returning to health, the Revs will improve just that little bit.
2) Kansas City - A WOBBLING HOLD: I think the Wizards will improve their defense. If it doesn’t - and I say this as an admirer for what he’s trying to do - it’s on Kurt Onalfo for failing to adjust. Could really go either way.
3) Red Bull - DOWN: Unless talk of reinforcements come true, I think these cats’ best days are behind them. Blame this walk through the Valley of Mediocrity on a slow, old midfield. With how tight things are in the East, missing the playoffs could happen.
4) Columbus Crew - HOLD/INCH UP: I think Columbus will not only make the playoffs, but they’ll do so before the final weekend of the season.
5) DC United - UP: Starting to sputter again after that May/June resurrection; a good, solid team, but not a complete one. Still a smart bet for the playoffs, but I can’t see them going deep when things get serious.
6) Chicago Fire - UP: I’m sold on the “attacking triangle” of Blanco, Wanchope, and the Return of Chris Rolfe (in the link, see the second blurb after the main article). Speaking of Blanco, I haven’t heard or seen a bad thing; in fact, I’m reading superlatives.
7) Toronto FC - HOLD: And that’s bad. TFC has enjoyed a proud start to franchise history and I hope like hell they keep it up. But, the playoffs? Not this season.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1) Houston Dynamo - HOLDING HIGH: I’m really hoping against a repeat of last year’s MLS Cup...and I’m a New England fan. But Houston just looks rock-friggin’-solid, so I won't mind if they make it.
2) FC Dallas - HOLDING HIGH: I’m sold. Damn them. I’m sold. In spite of showing continued vulnerability at the back, FCD is better than your average MLS team. And I think they’re going to keep improving at the back - to the extent they become a title threat.
3) Chivas USA - DOWN: Even as they are the fifth best team in the league, something about these guys feels thin. At the same time, I view this as the call I’m most likely to get wrong.
4) Colorado Rapids - DROP: Even with hints of the “thug act” returning - even Mehdi Ballouchy is trying to fit in with the new guys, however badly - this team looks like crap. Retaining head coach Fernando Clavijo is insulting at this point, so much that I’m going with calling them the Colorado Stupids, a name I love for its juvenile tone.
5) Los Angeles Galaxy - UP: Ignore the 14-point gap separating them from Chivas USA and focus on the 12-point gap between them and Columbus. Between their 4-6 games-in-hand camouflage and the gridlock in the East, count LA the team most likely to force an even split between the conferences come playoff time. An implosion is definitely possible, but I wouldn’t count on it....even as I pray for it and Alexi Lalas’ resultant unemployment...
6) Real Salt Lake - HOLDING IN HELL: Climbing the Ladder put it brilliantly in a post about all-time streaks of various kinds: “RSL + futility = BFF.” I read their on the verge of signing a lot of players, but I also think they’re good candidates for worst in league history.
So...when the playoffs roll around, who do I think will make it and where?
Eastern Top Two: New England Revolution, Kansas City Wizards
Western Top Two: Houston Dynamo, FC Dallas
The Rest: Columbus Crew, Chivas USA, DC United...and, to go miles out on a limb, let's say the Los Angeles Galaxy dukes it out with the Chicago Fire for the last spot. And, with Steve Davis' caveat about LA's schedule acknowledged (something about 14 of the remaining 18 on the road, with lots of Thursday/weekend turn-arounds; but is that correct? not based on the schedule on MLSnet.com, where I'm counting 11), LA gets more games against the West's, um, "lesser lights." Given that, and with an eye on Chicago's East-heavy schedule, it says here, from way, way out here on the thinnest tip of the loneliest limb, LA makes the playoffs. And they do it by beating the Fire on the final day of the season. Nice.
ESPN
My Soccer Blog
MLS Underground (reporting from new digs)
WVHooligan
So, there’s some substance for you. Now for the Crystal Ball Fluff: what follows is my sense of which MLS teams are headed up or down in the standings and which will hold their current position, good or bad.
For the record, I tried to copy/paste the standings from MLSnet.com and, good Lord, can that be dubbed a failed experiment. Still, I’ll take the teams in the order in which they appear, with East going before West.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
1) New England - HOLDING HIGH: The win over Real Salt Lake was borderline unwatchable, but with each returning starter, or each starter returning to health, the Revs will improve just that little bit.
2) Kansas City - A WOBBLING HOLD: I think the Wizards will improve their defense. If it doesn’t - and I say this as an admirer for what he’s trying to do - it’s on Kurt Onalfo for failing to adjust. Could really go either way.
3) Red Bull - DOWN: Unless talk of reinforcements come true, I think these cats’ best days are behind them. Blame this walk through the Valley of Mediocrity on a slow, old midfield. With how tight things are in the East, missing the playoffs could happen.
4) Columbus Crew - HOLD/INCH UP: I think Columbus will not only make the playoffs, but they’ll do so before the final weekend of the season.
5) DC United - UP: Starting to sputter again after that May/June resurrection; a good, solid team, but not a complete one. Still a smart bet for the playoffs, but I can’t see them going deep when things get serious.
6) Chicago Fire - UP: I’m sold on the “attacking triangle” of Blanco, Wanchope, and the Return of Chris Rolfe (in the link, see the second blurb after the main article). Speaking of Blanco, I haven’t heard or seen a bad thing; in fact, I’m reading superlatives.
7) Toronto FC - HOLD: And that’s bad. TFC has enjoyed a proud start to franchise history and I hope like hell they keep it up. But, the playoffs? Not this season.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1) Houston Dynamo - HOLDING HIGH: I’m really hoping against a repeat of last year’s MLS Cup...and I’m a New England fan. But Houston just looks rock-friggin’-solid, so I won't mind if they make it.
2) FC Dallas - HOLDING HIGH: I’m sold. Damn them. I’m sold. In spite of showing continued vulnerability at the back, FCD is better than your average MLS team. And I think they’re going to keep improving at the back - to the extent they become a title threat.
3) Chivas USA - DOWN: Even as they are the fifth best team in the league, something about these guys feels thin. At the same time, I view this as the call I’m most likely to get wrong.
4) Colorado Rapids - DROP: Even with hints of the “thug act” returning - even Mehdi Ballouchy is trying to fit in with the new guys, however badly - this team looks like crap. Retaining head coach Fernando Clavijo is insulting at this point, so much that I’m going with calling them the Colorado Stupids, a name I love for its juvenile tone.
5) Los Angeles Galaxy - UP: Ignore the 14-point gap separating them from Chivas USA and focus on the 12-point gap between them and Columbus. Between their 4-6 games-in-hand camouflage and the gridlock in the East, count LA the team most likely to force an even split between the conferences come playoff time. An implosion is definitely possible, but I wouldn’t count on it....even as I pray for it and Alexi Lalas’ resultant unemployment...
6) Real Salt Lake - HOLDING IN HELL: Climbing the Ladder put it brilliantly in a post about all-time streaks of various kinds: “RSL + futility = BFF.” I read their on the verge of signing a lot of players, but I also think they’re good candidates for worst in league history.
So...when the playoffs roll around, who do I think will make it and where?
Eastern Top Two: New England Revolution, Kansas City Wizards
Western Top Two: Houston Dynamo, FC Dallas
The Rest: Columbus Crew, Chivas USA, DC United...and, to go miles out on a limb, let's say the Los Angeles Galaxy dukes it out with the Chicago Fire for the last spot. And, with Steve Davis' caveat about LA's schedule acknowledged (something about 14 of the remaining 18 on the road, with lots of Thursday/weekend turn-arounds; but is that correct? not based on the schedule on MLSnet.com, where I'm counting 11), LA gets more games against the West's, um, "lesser lights." Given that, and with an eye on Chicago's East-heavy schedule, it says here, from way, way out here on the thinnest tip of the loneliest limb, LA makes the playoffs. And they do it by beating the Fire on the final day of the season. Nice.
MLS to PDX: Update...kinda
Just to follow up on yesterday's anguished post, I thought I'd chuck the latest word on Major League Soccer (MLS) expansion to the Portland area. It ran in this morning's edition of The Oregonian.
Some highlights and curiosities:
- Merritt Paulson, the current owner of the USL-1 Portland Timbers (who I'm going to go see tonight!), sounds like he's fairly separate from the relevant transactions. He says he "thinks about it (e.g. MLS expansion to Portland) a lot," but this one line tells me something else:
I'm just saying, note the passive voice.
- The chatter of the "players" involved isn't all that reassuring either. Here's the paragraph on the most high-profile "player":
Having recently visited the site, I think it's going to take quite a bit more than that, especially where parking and access is concerned. If, on the other hand, they try to do this on the cheap, getting in and out of that stadium will friggin' suck. I also have to admit that I'm far from an expert on stadium construction and infrastructure, so we're dealing with a laymen's view here.
Still...
That's where things are today, anyway. About where they were before, but with a rumor tickling our toes.
(########)
Some highlights and curiosities:
- Merritt Paulson, the current owner of the USL-1 Portland Timbers (who I'm going to go see tonight!), sounds like he's fairly separate from the relevant transactions. He says he "thinks about it (e.g. MLS expansion to Portland) a lot," but this one line tells me something else:
"The bottom line is that it's no shock MLS is interested in Portland," said Paulson, who planned to attend the MLS All-Star game in Colorado today. "And I'd certainly be very excited about being a part of it at PGE Park if that makes sense. And I think it would."
I'm just saying, note the passive voice.
- The chatter of the "players" involved isn't all that reassuring either. Here's the paragraph on the most high-profile "player":
"James Keston said this week that upgrading Hillsboro Stadium into a facility suited specifically for soccer "looks far more feasible." A makeover would more than double the 7,000-seat facility, add space for more concessions, restrooms and parking, and replace four softball fields that currently surround the stadium with amateur soccer fields."
Having recently visited the site, I think it's going to take quite a bit more than that, especially where parking and access is concerned. If, on the other hand, they try to do this on the cheap, getting in and out of that stadium will friggin' suck. I also have to admit that I'm far from an expert on stadium construction and infrastructure, so we're dealing with a laymen's view here.
Still...
That's where things are today, anyway. About where they were before, but with a rumor tickling our toes.
(########)
Eight Team Enter, Three Teams Leave - WTF?!
In case you haven't heard, the USL collected a fifth scalp last night when the Seattle Sounders dumped Chivas USA out of the U.S. Open Cup - and by a lopsided score. For those interested in a closer look at this freeway pile-up, I recommend Luis Bueno's near-rant.
Well, thank god the third round is over. The embarrassment was becoming too much. Wait, hold the phone. The Sounders get the Colorado Rapids in the next round. Dang. Looks like Major League Soccer (MLS) - that's America's top-flight, by the way - better practice concealing the blushes.
I think I've already hammered my disappointment with MLS's run in this year's Open Cup into the ground, so I'll leave it to Dan Loney to look ahead and MLS's less-than-ideal chances in the coming rounds. For a discussion of a related subject, Bill Urban took a wider view at a subject I've already examined narrowly (should be the second link in this paragraph), by wondering whether the current reserve set-up will ever produce an MLS-bench side capable of beating a USL side.
Good question. And I'm afraid we have our answer.
(#########)
Well, thank god the third round is over. The embarrassment was becoming too much. Wait, hold the phone. The Sounders get the Colorado Rapids in the next round. Dang. Looks like Major League Soccer (MLS) - that's America's top-flight, by the way - better practice concealing the blushes.
I think I've already hammered my disappointment with MLS's run in this year's Open Cup into the ground, so I'll leave it to Dan Loney to look ahead and MLS's less-than-ideal chances in the coming rounds. For a discussion of a related subject, Bill Urban took a wider view at a subject I've already examined narrowly (should be the second link in this paragraph), by wondering whether the current reserve set-up will ever produce an MLS-bench side capable of beating a USL side.
Good question. And I'm afraid we have our answer.
(#########)
MLS Week 15: Collective Rankings/Commentary
The Semi-Detached Pundit Collective (SDPC) shrank a little in Week 15: Sports Illustrated’s Ryan Hunt’s rankings weren’t up at the time of calculation and, thus, are not included. On Soccer hasn’t posted Scariness ratings for Week 15 either, so I’ll have to axe those this week. This isn’t a crisis, of course: a fella has a life before a blog and the other probably has deadlines or was roped into reporting on the MLS Fiesta del Horseshit (All-Star Game...that’s my shorthand).
UPDATE: Ryan Hunt's ratings are up, along with some chatter and commentary from the MLS Commish Don Garber's State of League address, some midseason honors for players (Adam Cristman, best rookie (yay.); but the "biggest surprise" is my favorite: Ned Grabavoy). It's a good read.
On the plus side of the ledger, The DCenters posted their Freezer and Who Ate All the Cupcakes got back to the by-conference rankings this week. All these combine to make us smarter...or collectively dumber. But I’m not about to do the math on that. And, as always, I’ll wrap this up with the little wrinkles in the numbers that interest me.
Here are the sources for this week’s SPDC rankings. I always forget to say this, but I'd encourage people to read the commentary; it tells you a lot about the author:
It’s a Simple Game
Sideline Views (Luis Bueno)
Sideline Views (Andrea Canales)
WVHooligan
My Soccer Blog
MLS Underground
ESPN
Fox Soccer Channel
Now, on to the numbers:
1. Houston Dynamo, 1.0 (last week: 1st - 1.0)
2. FC Dallas, 2.6 (3rd - 3.3)
3. New England Revolution, 3.1 (4th - 4.0)
4. DC United, 4.0 (2nd - 2.8)
5. Kansas City Wizards, 5.4 (6th - 6.6)
6. Chivas USA, 5.9 (8th - 7.4)
7. Red Bull New York, 7.1 (5th - 4.7)
8. Columbus Crew, 7.4 (7th - 6.9)
9. Toronto FC, 8.5 (9th - 9.2)
10. Los Angeles Galaxy, 10.0 (10th - 10.0)
11. Colorado Rapids, 11.0 (11th - 10.8)
12. Chicago Fire, 12.1 (12th - 11.8)
13. Real Salt Lake, 12.9 (13th - 13.0)
- Top and bottom stay the same - the Dynamo is still the undisputed #1, while Real Salt Lake is a nearly unanimous #13. In spite of a little internal shuffling, it strikes me as fair to judge the Top 4 static. Put in other terms, how strongly will anyone argue that Dallas is better than New England, or New England better than DC? Seems pretty academic to me.
- Within that Top 4, however, DC got hit pretty hard for that psychological loss to FC Dallas; New England also got a nice little hiccup from their win over Red Bull.
- The most significant shifting - both in terms of ranking and average score - comes with #’s 5-7, with the biggest swing hitting Red Bull; and rightly so.
- In fact, it’s only the size of the drop and the fact that the collective seems to view Columbus as breathing down their necks that makes Red Bull’s ranking add up. All I’m saying is the Bulls look pretty bad right now and I’m not seeing how they’re going to improve.
- I don’t get KC’s rise in the standings. This week’s accomplishment: creating and spurning many, many chances, much like in past weeks, and edging what is almost universally judged the worst team in MLS. (Or, as Luis Bueno rather wonderfully phrased it, “Disturbingly awful side.”) That merits a bump? (Wait...did I inch them up as well?)
- Chivas' climb seems a bit weird to me, too.
- The bottom four looks to be solidifying - bad news for the teams down that-a-way.
- Oh, if you’re looking for the guy who “improved” Real Salt Lake, that’d be me. Between the Beckerman trade and the fact the Chicago Fire is statistically worse than RSL (more goals allowed, worse differential - and in fewer games), flipping those teams seemed justified.
- Let’s here it for the so-called “perfect teams,” those whose collective rankings speak to a kind of unanimity on where they stand: the Dynamo at 1st; DC United at 4th; the Galaxy at 10th; the Rapids at 11th. Congrats, guys. You’ve found your niche!
- Turning to the pundits’ performances, WVHooligan’s rankings perfectly matched the collective mind for the second week running. That’s getting creepy.
- With that stellar repeat performance acknowledged, let’s look at the various “outlier” calls from the rest of us:
It’s a Simple Game: After the bold RSL call, there’s also my Red Bull hate.
My Soccer Blog: Hates KC; loves Red Bull and TFC.
Luis Bueno: He rates Chivas over both the Revs and DC.
Andrea Canales: Shares Bueno’s thing about DC; must be a Cali thing.
UPDATE: Ryan Hunt's ratings are up, along with some chatter and commentary from the MLS Commish Don Garber's State of League address, some midseason honors for players (Adam Cristman, best rookie (yay.); but the "biggest surprise" is my favorite: Ned Grabavoy). It's a good read.
On the plus side of the ledger, The DCenters posted their Freezer and Who Ate All the Cupcakes got back to the by-conference rankings this week. All these combine to make us smarter...or collectively dumber. But I’m not about to do the math on that. And, as always, I’ll wrap this up with the little wrinkles in the numbers that interest me.
Here are the sources for this week’s SPDC rankings. I always forget to say this, but I'd encourage people to read the commentary; it tells you a lot about the author:
It’s a Simple Game
Sideline Views (Luis Bueno)
Sideline Views (Andrea Canales)
WVHooligan
My Soccer Blog
MLS Underground
ESPN
Fox Soccer Channel
Now, on to the numbers:
1. Houston Dynamo, 1.0 (last week: 1st - 1.0)
2. FC Dallas, 2.6 (3rd - 3.3)
3. New England Revolution, 3.1 (4th - 4.0)
4. DC United, 4.0 (2nd - 2.8)
5. Kansas City Wizards, 5.4 (6th - 6.6)
6. Chivas USA, 5.9 (8th - 7.4)
7. Red Bull New York, 7.1 (5th - 4.7)
8. Columbus Crew, 7.4 (7th - 6.9)
9. Toronto FC, 8.5 (9th - 9.2)
10. Los Angeles Galaxy, 10.0 (10th - 10.0)
11. Colorado Rapids, 11.0 (11th - 10.8)
12. Chicago Fire, 12.1 (12th - 11.8)
13. Real Salt Lake, 12.9 (13th - 13.0)
- Top and bottom stay the same - the Dynamo is still the undisputed #1, while Real Salt Lake is a nearly unanimous #13. In spite of a little internal shuffling, it strikes me as fair to judge the Top 4 static. Put in other terms, how strongly will anyone argue that Dallas is better than New England, or New England better than DC? Seems pretty academic to me.
- Within that Top 4, however, DC got hit pretty hard for that psychological loss to FC Dallas; New England also got a nice little hiccup from their win over Red Bull.
- The most significant shifting - both in terms of ranking and average score - comes with #’s 5-7, with the biggest swing hitting Red Bull; and rightly so.
- In fact, it’s only the size of the drop and the fact that the collective seems to view Columbus as breathing down their necks that makes Red Bull’s ranking add up. All I’m saying is the Bulls look pretty bad right now and I’m not seeing how they’re going to improve.
- I don’t get KC’s rise in the standings. This week’s accomplishment: creating and spurning many, many chances, much like in past weeks, and edging what is almost universally judged the worst team in MLS. (Or, as Luis Bueno rather wonderfully phrased it, “Disturbingly awful side.”) That merits a bump? (Wait...did I inch them up as well?)
- Chivas' climb seems a bit weird to me, too.
- The bottom four looks to be solidifying - bad news for the teams down that-a-way.
- Oh, if you’re looking for the guy who “improved” Real Salt Lake, that’d be me. Between the Beckerman trade and the fact the Chicago Fire is statistically worse than RSL (more goals allowed, worse differential - and in fewer games), flipping those teams seemed justified.
- Let’s here it for the so-called “perfect teams,” those whose collective rankings speak to a kind of unanimity on where they stand: the Dynamo at 1st; DC United at 4th; the Galaxy at 10th; the Rapids at 11th. Congrats, guys. You’ve found your niche!
- Turning to the pundits’ performances, WVHooligan’s rankings perfectly matched the collective mind for the second week running. That’s getting creepy.
- With that stellar repeat performance acknowledged, let’s look at the various “outlier” calls from the rest of us:
It’s a Simple Game: After the bold RSL call, there’s also my Red Bull hate.
My Soccer Blog: Hates KC; loves Red Bull and TFC.
Luis Bueno: He rates Chivas over both the Revs and DC.
Andrea Canales: Shares Bueno’s thing about DC; must be a Cali thing.
MLS to PDX: This Is Driving Me Nucking Futs!!
So, MLS Rumors, some site I found while wading through BigSoccer, in the depths of what can only be described as profound desperation, reports that:
Is this true? I'm ripping out my fucking hair (I'm bald) waiting for the transcript for MLS Commish Don Garber's speech to show (because I will not watch the goddamn video; I can skim faster than I can watch him pause for applause, godddamit!). So, I saw the announcement on San Jose (swell), but GIMME MY FUCKING Banana bread recipe, DAMMIT!!"
"Ahead of tomorrow's State of The League address by MLS Commissioner Don Garber, MLSR has learned from a trusted source that the next three cities for expansion will be San Jose (which will be announced), Portland and New York City for the 2010 season."
Is this true? I'm ripping out my fucking hair (I'm bald) waiting for the transcript for MLS Commish Don Garber's speech to show (because I will not watch the goddamn video; I can skim faster than I can watch him pause for applause, godddamit!). So, I saw the announcement on San Jose (swell), but GIMME MY FUCKING Banana bread recipe, DAMMIT!!"
Week 15 Power Rankings & Standings
Feels like I haven’t done one of these in ages. As it turns out, though, I just tweaked the format a bit last week. No matter. Back to the old schtick this week: last week’s ranking appears in parentheses immediately after this week’s ranking. So as to not misrepresent my judgment as entirely first-hand, here’s a key for my viewing: “@” means I watched a given team’s most recent performance in its entirety; “$” means I caught it through Quick Kicks, which provides extended highlights; “%” means I watched only the rump highlights available through MLSnet.com.
If you pay attention to the symbols, you may notice that I didn’t watch all that closely this week. So, take what comes below with however much salt you think you need.
1. (1) Houston Dynamo (1/2 of @ + nada)
Sure, they were stymied at home by Toronto, but that’s looking like Houston’s version of an off-game. The only question - it is was posed by Shep Messing, so, y’know, there’s the source to consider - is whether this team has peaked too early. Personally, I doubt it.
2. (2) New England Revolution (@)
I’m officially waiting for this team - my team, for Crissakes! - to start losing, so they can end the Steve Nicol Era. SO hard to watch: ugly function, zero flair. The wins are nice, but...wake me up when it’s over. Nice goal by Dorman, however, and the win over Red Bull was as important as it was dull.
3. (4) FC Dallas (@)
Damn these guys. They have me believing they’ve grown out of their crippling anxieties about success. That rally was about as fun as anything I’ve seen this year and, between Juan Toja, Arturo Alvarez, Dario “Lurch” Sala, and that cardiac-watch defense, they’re fun to watch. Can I adopt this team? Please?
4. (3) DC United (@)
By the end of the first half against FC Dallas - when they were finishing counters as if they were lay-ups - I had lifted the Black-and-Red to 2nd in the rankings in my head. Thing was, Dallas always looked in the game; they had the better of it even. And that’s the rub: the more exposed DC’s back-line became, the more the whole team suddenly looked weak and uncertain. They're better than the bunch below, however.
5. (5) Kansas City Wizards (%)
Nice finish by Johnson, and nice edge in shots on goal, but that counts as the least inspiring win of the season (wait; withdrawn; there’s New England’s to consider). That was RSL, guys.
6. (7) Columbus Crew (nada)
The reports on this game led me to give the Crew the benefit of the doubt. This sounded like a fluky loss to MLS’s best home team (best on paper, anyway). This weekend’s game against Toronto looms large, though.
7. (6) Chivas USA (nada)
They have a formula - win at home - and that’s working OK for them, but it won’t secure them home-field advantage in the post-season. Based on the formula, that's soemthing they'll require to make much noise. And relying on an own goal to top a team like the Crew doesn’t paint a solid picture.
8. (10) Toronto FC (nada)
If this isn’t the highest I’ve rated Toronto, it’s close. But this team has something lacking in those that follow: shit-kicking moxie. They fight. And last weekend’s draw at Houston suggests they may be savvy as well.
9. (8) Red Bull New York (@)
I know, I know: no one else rates Red Bull this low. And we all know about the defense. What I want to know is where these cats will find offense: Claudio Reyna, who is aging before my eyes? The doddering duo of Dave Van Den Bergh and Markus Schopp? (Wait, the latter is on the bench again, right?). They’ll probably right the ship, but, after enduring their game against New England, I can’t see how.
10. (9) Los Angeles Galaxy (idle)
The match report on the Galaxy’s loss to Tigres UNAL tells you everything you need to know. It’s bad. Writing as one of the (former) majority who expected LA to improve in the second half, suddenly I’m wondering about that.
11. (11) Colorado Rapids (idle)
Fire Fernando Clavijo, you dickheads. Not only does the team eat shit often as they play, but I’m hearing chatter to suggest Clavijo does a passable Dick Nixon. Look, you front office types, if you need someone to shit on your brand new stadium, hell, I’ll do it. Seeing as you dumped money into that thing, you shouldn’t be the ones doing it. For more, see what I’ve got to say about Chicago.
12. (13) Real Salt Lake (%)
Adding Kyle Beckerman should help this bunch. Not a lot, but I think he’ll help. They left their permanent dwelling in the shelter for that reason alone; at least they did something.
13. (12) Chicago Fire (1/2 of @)
Because I saw flashes of a competent team in the (horrible) loss to Houston, I tried - I mean, I really tried - to move these guys higher than Colorado; at least they had the wontons (brains? maybe...) to fire their coach. I still think they’ll improve, but, points collected excepted, they are statistically worse than Real Salt Lake; and that’s with RSL having a game in hand. Unbelievable.
God. Typing those last five entries was depressing. With #9 excepted, things don’t look much better in the current standings (here are the official ones):
Eastern Conference
1. N.E. Revs: 26 pts. (7-3-5: 26 GF, 17 GA, +9; home, 3-1-3; away, 4-2-2)
2. KC Wizards: 25 pts. (7-5-4: 27 GF, 22 GA, +4; home, 4-3-1; away, 3-2-3)
3. DC United: 24 pts. (7-5-3: 26 GF, 21 GA, +5; home, 4-1-2; away, 2-4-1)
4. Red Bull NY: 24 pts. (7-6-3: 25 GF, 21 GA, +4; home, 4-2-1; away, 3-4-2)
5. C’bus Crew: 22 pts. (5-5-7: 21 GF, 23 GA, -2; home, 4-1-4; away, 1-4-3)
6. Toronto FC: 19 pts. (5-7-4: 18 GF, 24 GA, -6; home, 4-3-0; away, 1-4-4)
7. Chicago Fire: 16 pts. (4-8-4: 13 GF, 26 GA, -13; home, 3-3-3; away, 1-5-1)
Western Conference
1. H'ton Dynamo: 33 pts. (10-5-3: 25 GF, 10 GA, +15; home, 4-2-1; away, 5-4-2)
2. FC Dallas: 30 pts. (9-6-3: 24 GF, 24 GA, 0; home, 4-2-1; away, 5-4-2)
3. Chivas USA: 24 pts. (7-5-3: 20 GF, 16 GA; +4; home, 6-0-1; away, 1-5-2)
4. Colo Rapids: 17 pts. (4-8-5: 14 GF, 22 GA, -8; home 2-3-4; away, 2-5-1)
5. LA Galaxy: 13 pts. (3-5-4: 17 GF, 18 GA, -1; home, 3-3-2; away, 0-2-2)
6. Real Salt Lake: 9 pts. (1-8-6: 12 GF, 24 GA, -12; home, 1-2-3; away, 0-3-3)
If you pay attention to the symbols, you may notice that I didn’t watch all that closely this week. So, take what comes below with however much salt you think you need.
1. (1) Houston Dynamo (1/2 of @ + nada)
Sure, they were stymied at home by Toronto, but that’s looking like Houston’s version of an off-game. The only question - it is was posed by Shep Messing, so, y’know, there’s the source to consider - is whether this team has peaked too early. Personally, I doubt it.
2. (2) New England Revolution (@)
I’m officially waiting for this team - my team, for Crissakes! - to start losing, so they can end the Steve Nicol Era. SO hard to watch: ugly function, zero flair. The wins are nice, but...wake me up when it’s over. Nice goal by Dorman, however, and the win over Red Bull was as important as it was dull.
3. (4) FC Dallas (@)
Damn these guys. They have me believing they’ve grown out of their crippling anxieties about success. That rally was about as fun as anything I’ve seen this year and, between Juan Toja, Arturo Alvarez, Dario “Lurch” Sala, and that cardiac-watch defense, they’re fun to watch. Can I adopt this team? Please?
4. (3) DC United (@)
By the end of the first half against FC Dallas - when they were finishing counters as if they were lay-ups - I had lifted the Black-and-Red to 2nd in the rankings in my head. Thing was, Dallas always looked in the game; they had the better of it even. And that’s the rub: the more exposed DC’s back-line became, the more the whole team suddenly looked weak and uncertain. They're better than the bunch below, however.
5. (5) Kansas City Wizards (%)
Nice finish by Johnson, and nice edge in shots on goal, but that counts as the least inspiring win of the season (wait; withdrawn; there’s New England’s to consider). That was RSL, guys.
6. (7) Columbus Crew (nada)
The reports on this game led me to give the Crew the benefit of the doubt. This sounded like a fluky loss to MLS’s best home team (best on paper, anyway). This weekend’s game against Toronto looms large, though.
7. (6) Chivas USA (nada)
They have a formula - win at home - and that’s working OK for them, but it won’t secure them home-field advantage in the post-season. Based on the formula, that's soemthing they'll require to make much noise. And relying on an own goal to top a team like the Crew doesn’t paint a solid picture.
8. (10) Toronto FC (nada)
If this isn’t the highest I’ve rated Toronto, it’s close. But this team has something lacking in those that follow: shit-kicking moxie. They fight. And last weekend’s draw at Houston suggests they may be savvy as well.
9. (8) Red Bull New York (@)
I know, I know: no one else rates Red Bull this low. And we all know about the defense. What I want to know is where these cats will find offense: Claudio Reyna, who is aging before my eyes? The doddering duo of Dave Van Den Bergh and Markus Schopp? (Wait, the latter is on the bench again, right?). They’ll probably right the ship, but, after enduring their game against New England, I can’t see how.
10. (9) Los Angeles Galaxy (idle)
The match report on the Galaxy’s loss to Tigres UNAL tells you everything you need to know. It’s bad. Writing as one of the (former) majority who expected LA to improve in the second half, suddenly I’m wondering about that.
11. (11) Colorado Rapids (idle)
Fire Fernando Clavijo, you dickheads. Not only does the team eat shit often as they play, but I’m hearing chatter to suggest Clavijo does a passable Dick Nixon. Look, you front office types, if you need someone to shit on your brand new stadium, hell, I’ll do it. Seeing as you dumped money into that thing, you shouldn’t be the ones doing it. For more, see what I’ve got to say about Chicago.
12. (13) Real Salt Lake (%)
Adding Kyle Beckerman should help this bunch. Not a lot, but I think he’ll help. They left their permanent dwelling in the shelter for that reason alone; at least they did something.
13. (12) Chicago Fire (1/2 of @)
Because I saw flashes of a competent team in the (horrible) loss to Houston, I tried - I mean, I really tried - to move these guys higher than Colorado; at least they had the wontons (brains? maybe...) to fire their coach. I still think they’ll improve, but, points collected excepted, they are statistically worse than Real Salt Lake; and that’s with RSL having a game in hand. Unbelievable.
God. Typing those last five entries was depressing. With #9 excepted, things don’t look much better in the current standings (here are the official ones):
Eastern Conference
1. N.E. Revs: 26 pts. (7-3-5: 26 GF, 17 GA, +9; home, 3-1-3; away, 4-2-2)
2. KC Wizards: 25 pts. (7-5-4: 27 GF, 22 GA, +4; home, 4-3-1; away, 3-2-3)
3. DC United: 24 pts. (7-5-3: 26 GF, 21 GA, +5; home, 4-1-2; away, 2-4-1)
4. Red Bull NY: 24 pts. (7-6-3: 25 GF, 21 GA, +4; home, 4-2-1; away, 3-4-2)
5. C’bus Crew: 22 pts. (5-5-7: 21 GF, 23 GA, -2; home, 4-1-4; away, 1-4-3)
6. Toronto FC: 19 pts. (5-7-4: 18 GF, 24 GA, -6; home, 4-3-0; away, 1-4-4)
7. Chicago Fire: 16 pts. (4-8-4: 13 GF, 26 GA, -13; home, 3-3-3; away, 1-5-1)
Western Conference
1. H'ton Dynamo: 33 pts. (10-5-3: 25 GF, 10 GA, +15; home, 4-2-1; away, 5-4-2)
2. FC Dallas: 30 pts. (9-6-3: 24 GF, 24 GA, 0; home, 4-2-1; away, 5-4-2)
3. Chivas USA: 24 pts. (7-5-3: 20 GF, 16 GA; +4; home, 6-0-1; away, 1-5-2)
4. Colo Rapids: 17 pts. (4-8-5: 14 GF, 22 GA, -8; home 2-3-4; away, 2-5-1)
5. LA Galaxy: 13 pts. (3-5-4: 17 GF, 18 GA, -1; home, 3-3-2; away, 0-2-2)
6. Real Salt Lake: 9 pts. (1-8-6: 12 GF, 24 GA, -12; home, 1-2-3; away, 0-3-3)
Of Ballouchy, Of Beckerman
MLSUnderground broke the story yesterday (at least for my little corner of the world) and, in spite of the absence of "official word" (whoops, went official while I was typing), the mainsteam media reported on it today (out of Utah, the Deseret News and the Salt Lake Tribune; from Colorado, The Denver Post (sort of; can you spell blurb?) and Rocky Mountain News).
The news: Real Salt Lake (RSL) traded midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy to the Colorado Rapids for Kyle Beckerman. Naturally, it was down to the blogs to tell us what to think about it.
Curiously, the emotions I'm seeing run from curious to happy regardless of the team they support. The Real Salt Lake Offside begins his post with a stirring, "I do not disagree with this trade." Nearly all the papers that posted more than a blurb mentioned Beckerman's stormy past with RSL's fans, so I had expected talk anticipating a tack or two on Beckerman's locker-room seat, but...nope; it's pretty polite. And the only hostility apparent on The Rapids Offside is directed at Beckerman, who Clint figures will make the worst team in MLS (that's RSL; I know; it's close) "become even worse" - go figure.
Naturally, these could be individual fan views and Beckerman, for his past sins, may yet have to endure some kind of fan-directed spanking tunnel (y'know...when a kid has to crawl through the legs of a bunch of other kids who spank him on his way through? no?). Then again, maybe not.
Turning to more neutral venues, USSoccerplayers.com's Ian Plenderleith, dubs this a good move for Real; going the other way, FC Rocky, who makes up for the Rocky Mountain News' disinterest in soccer, seems surprisingly excited about the young Ballouchy's arrival. Given all that, it's hard to say who won. Maybe they both did (though one commenter on MLS Underground's original post viewed this as both teams, essentially standing pat). Ives Galarcep did a fair job of a both glasses half-full approach on his blog; he's also got good stuff in there on both teams' needs, "The Clavijo Situation" (which is sure to depress Rapids fans), and what this means for Freddy Adu.
So after reading all that, and doing a little thinking, here's what I've got: on a player-to-player level, RSL probably did better; put another way, I rate Beckerman's overall game higher than Ballouchy's - though, I also think Ballouchy has a bigger potential upside, with the stress on the word "potential." In terms of needs met now, again, I'd go with RSL: I would love to be proved wrong here because I see hints here and there that Ballouchy can be the kind of player I like watching, but Colorado needs goal-scorers and that Ballouchy ain't that. Beckerman should help RSL with building the standard model MLS team: e.g. one that's hard to beat, which is something RSL can definitely use; in spite of a stretch of draws in May, RSL went back to losing ways thereafter.
Given all that, advantage RSL - even if it's not much of an advantage. The sad thing is, you have to wonder what someone like Ballouchy can do in the right environment - hardly an apt description for Colorado circa 2007. You have to wonder if he'll get a chance.
The news: Real Salt Lake (RSL) traded midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy to the Colorado Rapids for Kyle Beckerman. Naturally, it was down to the blogs to tell us what to think about it.
Curiously, the emotions I'm seeing run from curious to happy regardless of the team they support. The Real Salt Lake Offside begins his post with a stirring, "I do not disagree with this trade." Nearly all the papers that posted more than a blurb mentioned Beckerman's stormy past with RSL's fans, so I had expected talk anticipating a tack or two on Beckerman's locker-room seat, but...nope; it's pretty polite. And the only hostility apparent on The Rapids Offside is directed at Beckerman, who Clint figures will make the worst team in MLS (that's RSL; I know; it's close) "become even worse" - go figure.
Naturally, these could be individual fan views and Beckerman, for his past sins, may yet have to endure some kind of fan-directed spanking tunnel (y'know...when a kid has to crawl through the legs of a bunch of other kids who spank him on his way through? no?). Then again, maybe not.
Turning to more neutral venues, USSoccerplayers.com's Ian Plenderleith, dubs this a good move for Real; going the other way, FC Rocky, who makes up for the Rocky Mountain News' disinterest in soccer, seems surprisingly excited about the young Ballouchy's arrival. Given all that, it's hard to say who won. Maybe they both did (though one commenter on MLS Underground's original post viewed this as both teams, essentially standing pat). Ives Galarcep did a fair job of a both glasses half-full approach on his blog; he's also got good stuff in there on both teams' needs, "The Clavijo Situation" (which is sure to depress Rapids fans), and what this means for Freddy Adu.
So after reading all that, and doing a little thinking, here's what I've got: on a player-to-player level, RSL probably did better; put another way, I rate Beckerman's overall game higher than Ballouchy's - though, I also think Ballouchy has a bigger potential upside, with the stress on the word "potential." In terms of needs met now, again, I'd go with RSL: I would love to be proved wrong here because I see hints here and there that Ballouchy can be the kind of player I like watching, but Colorado needs goal-scorers and that Ballouchy ain't that. Beckerman should help RSL with building the standard model MLS team: e.g. one that's hard to beat, which is something RSL can definitely use; in spite of a stretch of draws in May, RSL went back to losing ways thereafter.
Given all that, advantage RSL - even if it's not much of an advantage. The sad thing is, you have to wonder what someone like Ballouchy can do in the right environment - hardly an apt description for Colorado circa 2007. You have to wonder if he'll get a chance.
Schedule-Bashing Fun (+ a silver-plated lining)
The USSoccerplayers.com Writers Roundtable had a well-justified field-day with what the two-headed Major League Soccer (MLS)/Soccer United Marketing (SUM*) beast has done with the regular season schedule. Some choice outtakes:
So sad and, yet, all true. It's amazing how a good concept - and I count the Superliga, in spite of being (fucking) outraged about the lack of TV availability while we're choking on the inanity of the World Series of Football, a good one (if I had the balls and less free-time watching small children, oh yes, I'd boycott it...especially if there was anything else on Saturday) - can mask over the damage that each writer describes. At this point, the dignity of MLS's regular season, arguably even the U.S. Open Cup, almost requires a split season; either that, or give up and turn the damn league into a dog-and-pony show that will outright undermine player development.
That's fairly depressing stuff, if you ask me, though it's rescued by something else Ian Plenderleith says - and I happen to agree with the second half of what he says here as well:
Between the topsy-turvy starts of DC United and the Houston Dynamo versus bolts from the gate by Red Bull New York and the Chicago Fire, I liked the early season plenty - but I'm also thinking the end-game will be even better.
(*I'm assuming I've got the pieces of the acronym correct, but don't care to look it up.)
(#########)
(Bill Urban)"Silly me, I forgot, the league schedule is an inconvenience, a provincial backwater competition amid the roundelay of “prestige” friendlies and SUM-sponsored tournaments."
(Urban)"I find it hard to care [about the Superliga] beyond the journalistic necessity to do so about a tournament so clearly set up to sell tickets for SUM. There’s no other point, and the havoc wrought on the league schedule by the SuperLiga makes the regular season more of a joke than usual."
(Ian Plenderleith)"I like properly organized international club tournaments, but Superliga feels like it's been rammed into the schedule. There's been so much going on with Copa, the Gold Cup, the U-20s and The Dave Craze, that we've lost sight of MLS, which has been gamefully struggling for weeks on the sidelines to maintain our attention with threadbare rosters. It deserves to be our priority from now on, but we still have to wait for another three weeks before we can focus again on what is now the centric pillar of pro soccer in this country. I accept that it’s very tough to plan a league schedule in this country, but I can't accept the mess that’s been made of this year by the league, the Fed and CONCACAF."
So sad and, yet, all true. It's amazing how a good concept - and I count the Superliga, in spite of being (fucking) outraged about the lack of TV availability while we're choking on the inanity of the World Series of Football, a good one (if I had the balls and less free-time watching small children, oh yes, I'd boycott it...especially if there was anything else on Saturday) - can mask over the damage that each writer describes. At this point, the dignity of MLS's regular season, arguably even the U.S. Open Cup, almost requires a split season; either that, or give up and turn the damn league into a dog-and-pony show that will outright undermine player development.
That's fairly depressing stuff, if you ask me, though it's rescued by something else Ian Plenderleith says - and I happen to agree with the second half of what he says here as well:
"It's not been a stunning season so far, by any means, but I think the playoff run-in will be one of the most intriguing we've had for years once we get all this All-Star, exhibition and Superliga brouhaha out the way."
Between the topsy-turvy starts of DC United and the Houston Dynamo versus bolts from the gate by Red Bull New York and the Chicago Fire, I liked the early season plenty - but I'm also thinking the end-game will be even better.
(*I'm assuming I've got the pieces of the acronym correct, but don't care to look it up.)
(#########)
Week 15: The Games I Caught (+)
I managed two games this weekend: New England’s win over Red Bull New York and that tantalizing ripper of a draw between DC United and FC Dallas; for the rest of the games, I clocked the result and that’s about it. Looks like I’ve got some reading to do...
But, if you’ve got fifteen minutes to spend on the can this morning, below are some thoughts that came to me out of those two games I caught.
Red Bull New York 0-1 New England Revolution
- Shockingly decent crowd for New York, no? Actually, it is no. Only 13,819. Well, good job to the camera crew ‘cause it looked better than that.
- Sadly, the camera crew couldn’t save the game, a dull affair highlighted primarily by the through-ball that sent an inexcusably open Andy Dorman in to score for New England and Red Bull forward Juan Pablo Angel’s long-simmering madness. I loved the look on his face when he got sent off.
- Having mentioned Dorman, I may as well dub him man of the match. He scored one, and nearly had another, on a day when no one else looked terribly interested.
- OK, that’s a bit harsh. Red Bull started pretty well, going closest (by my recollection) when Clint Mathis hit the post and almost nabbed the rebound in the same sequence. When things dried up for Red Bull, however, things dried up generally.
- And that’s New England’s fault. They never managed a whole lot on offense. On the upside, their possession passing was better than I’d seen it in and Steve Ralston ably played the part of the wily veteran. But the essential absence of Taylor Twellman and, to a still greater extent, Pat Noonan, meant the Revs didn’t threaten enough to produce a rout - and, given Red Bull’s play, that would have been the only way to keep things interesting.
- Then again, when James Riley is on the field, things tend to be interesting.
- So, what ails the Red Bulls? Where Juan Pablo is concerned, profligate finishing; he missed at least one, and likely two, chances that a player of his reputation should have buried. Mathis had his chances and, if memory serves, he looked the most aggressive Bull on the field so long as he was out there. Claudio Reyna, god bless ‘im, looks tired out there - maybe that $1 million wasn’t so swell - and Dane Richards didn’t offer much more than energy on the right. Given all that, I’d say the Red Bulls suffer from an inability to impose themselves on a game, coupled with deadly problems with capitalizing on the few chances they create. This should look very familiar to The Bruce.
- All in all, not much of a game to watch. It was the kind the makes you drink to ease the boredom, only to have the drink inadvertently lull you to sleep.
- Oh yeah, I just noticed that MLSnet.com is celebrating Ralston’s 115th assist; given this was a secondary assist - Shalrie Joseph actually played Dorman in - this only makes me wonder how many of Ralston’s other 115 assists deserve asterisks. Don’t get me wrong: Ralston is not only one of my favorites - a consummate pro and a talented guy all round - and he absolutely deserves the praise, but...secondary assists are kinda silly.
DC United 3-3 FC Dallas
- This Sunday game on the other hand, this is the kind of game we should all sit prospective converts in front of in the effort to spread the faith. There was enough space on RFK’s field that one would think they could build the soccer-specific stadium in there.
- But DC fans have to be worried about what can only be described as a defensive collapse, one abetted by something like a Shrinking Violet Syndrome. FC Dallas, on the other hand, should be heartened by their team’s fight. Those of us not so fond of DC, well...let’s just say I had fun watching the second half...
- One last thing here: if Dallas had Kenny Cooper available, DC would have lost. They played down the flanks so much in the early going and only lacked someone powerful enough to get on the end of those crosses.
- Man of the match for me: again, it’s Arturo Alvarez. Toja had those inspiring goals and he brings so much all over the field, but Alvarez has that penchant for running at, and unsettling, defenses; it keeps ‘em honest. Dominic Oduro is pretty useful as well, though his lack of polish showed badly when, after being gifted the ball deep on United’s left, he almost miraculously failed to score.
- Speaking of playmakers, what’s up with Gomez? I didn’t see much out of him yesterday. I’d say United got more out of Ben Olsen. And a surprisingly spring-chicken-esque Jaime Moreno; was his hamstring pull the turning point?
- I’ll leave this one to DC fans, ‘cause I wasn’t paying enough attention, but who was the weakest link on defense? DC defenders got bowled over for (at least) two Dallas goals, and out-muscled on the other (hmmm...leaning back to Toja for man of the match...), but, damn, were those doughy goals.
- Going the other way, however, DC sure as hell had Dallas’ back-four at their mercy for the opening 50 minutes. Having only watched the game once, I thought they suffered from defending too far up field; watching them retreat toward goal approximated, substituting soccer for war, what would happen when a pike-push turned wrong on medieval battlefields. Just frickin’ carnage all ‘round. I’m guessing Steve Morrow made adjustments at half time - and those helped - but Dallas gave up their share of chances up to the 60th, 65th minute.
- Still, great game to watch. I would have enjoyed it just as much had Dallas lost 3-2, or won 4-3 (OK, that’s a lie; I would have loved a 4-3 Dallas win).
Moving on to the ones I didn’t see...
Chicago Fire 0-4 Houston Dynamo
I already wrote up this one; scary game from the rest of the league’s perspective.
Kansas City Wizards 1-0 Real Salt Lake (whoops, saw highlights)
- Wow...kinda thought they’d do better against RSL at home.
- Suddenly the mystery behind the high ratio between KC’s shots and goals adds up: hey guys, you can play the ball closer; you don’t have to shoot from over 20 yards for it to count. Seriously, these guys need to work on breaking down defenses.
- Speaking of which, I want to know where KC keeps the Eddie Johnson I saw in this game because they sure as hell didn’t send the same guy to the Gold Cup or the Copa America. Seriously, guys, if you’re just going to pretend to send EJ and keep this real (or is this the evil twin?) locked in a closet at Arrowhead, you may as well play him.
- Having just read the headline to the MLSnet.com match report (link under the score), can one really say KC ended their "slide" when RSL was the opponent? For the record, I'm still waiting for Toronto FC's first road win.
Chivas USA 2-1 Columbus Crew
- I’ll have to watch the highlights for this one; very intriguing result. Whoops...they don't exist...damn...
- Good for the Crew for scoring one on the road; that’s only two against Chivas at home this year. Actually, I see by the stats sheet they scored two goals; damn shame Eddie Gaven gave the game-winner to Chivas....well, unless you’re a Chivas fan.
- Good result for Chivas, whatever happened.
Houston Dynamo 0-0 Toronto FC
- There are times when I want to witness records being set or broken; this isn’t one of them.
- I wonder if Toronto has Houston’s number. Or maybe they’ve just got the “draw-on-the-road” thing down.
Right. I’m off to do some reading; I’ll need to know more before compiling power rankings. Interesting week, though...
But, if you’ve got fifteen minutes to spend on the can this morning, below are some thoughts that came to me out of those two games I caught.
Red Bull New York 0-1 New England Revolution
- Shockingly decent crowd for New York, no? Actually, it is no. Only 13,819. Well, good job to the camera crew ‘cause it looked better than that.
- Sadly, the camera crew couldn’t save the game, a dull affair highlighted primarily by the through-ball that sent an inexcusably open Andy Dorman in to score for New England and Red Bull forward Juan Pablo Angel’s long-simmering madness. I loved the look on his face when he got sent off.
- Having mentioned Dorman, I may as well dub him man of the match. He scored one, and nearly had another, on a day when no one else looked terribly interested.
- OK, that’s a bit harsh. Red Bull started pretty well, going closest (by my recollection) when Clint Mathis hit the post and almost nabbed the rebound in the same sequence. When things dried up for Red Bull, however, things dried up generally.
- And that’s New England’s fault. They never managed a whole lot on offense. On the upside, their possession passing was better than I’d seen it in and Steve Ralston ably played the part of the wily veteran. But the essential absence of Taylor Twellman and, to a still greater extent, Pat Noonan, meant the Revs didn’t threaten enough to produce a rout - and, given Red Bull’s play, that would have been the only way to keep things interesting.
- Then again, when James Riley is on the field, things tend to be interesting.
- So, what ails the Red Bulls? Where Juan Pablo is concerned, profligate finishing; he missed at least one, and likely two, chances that a player of his reputation should have buried. Mathis had his chances and, if memory serves, he looked the most aggressive Bull on the field so long as he was out there. Claudio Reyna, god bless ‘im, looks tired out there - maybe that $1 million wasn’t so swell - and Dane Richards didn’t offer much more than energy on the right. Given all that, I’d say the Red Bulls suffer from an inability to impose themselves on a game, coupled with deadly problems with capitalizing on the few chances they create. This should look very familiar to The Bruce.
- All in all, not much of a game to watch. It was the kind the makes you drink to ease the boredom, only to have the drink inadvertently lull you to sleep.
- Oh yeah, I just noticed that MLSnet.com is celebrating Ralston’s 115th assist; given this was a secondary assist - Shalrie Joseph actually played Dorman in - this only makes me wonder how many of Ralston’s other 115 assists deserve asterisks. Don’t get me wrong: Ralston is not only one of my favorites - a consummate pro and a talented guy all round - and he absolutely deserves the praise, but...secondary assists are kinda silly.
DC United 3-3 FC Dallas
- This Sunday game on the other hand, this is the kind of game we should all sit prospective converts in front of in the effort to spread the faith. There was enough space on RFK’s field that one would think they could build the soccer-specific stadium in there.
- But DC fans have to be worried about what can only be described as a defensive collapse, one abetted by something like a Shrinking Violet Syndrome. FC Dallas, on the other hand, should be heartened by their team’s fight. Those of us not so fond of DC, well...let’s just say I had fun watching the second half...
- One last thing here: if Dallas had Kenny Cooper available, DC would have lost. They played down the flanks so much in the early going and only lacked someone powerful enough to get on the end of those crosses.
- Man of the match for me: again, it’s Arturo Alvarez. Toja had those inspiring goals and he brings so much all over the field, but Alvarez has that penchant for running at, and unsettling, defenses; it keeps ‘em honest. Dominic Oduro is pretty useful as well, though his lack of polish showed badly when, after being gifted the ball deep on United’s left, he almost miraculously failed to score.
- Speaking of playmakers, what’s up with Gomez? I didn’t see much out of him yesterday. I’d say United got more out of Ben Olsen. And a surprisingly spring-chicken-esque Jaime Moreno; was his hamstring pull the turning point?
- I’ll leave this one to DC fans, ‘cause I wasn’t paying enough attention, but who was the weakest link on defense? DC defenders got bowled over for (at least) two Dallas goals, and out-muscled on the other (hmmm...leaning back to Toja for man of the match...), but, damn, were those doughy goals.
- Going the other way, however, DC sure as hell had Dallas’ back-four at their mercy for the opening 50 minutes. Having only watched the game once, I thought they suffered from defending too far up field; watching them retreat toward goal approximated, substituting soccer for war, what would happen when a pike-push turned wrong on medieval battlefields. Just frickin’ carnage all ‘round. I’m guessing Steve Morrow made adjustments at half time - and those helped - but Dallas gave up their share of chances up to the 60th, 65th minute.
- Still, great game to watch. I would have enjoyed it just as much had Dallas lost 3-2, or won 4-3 (OK, that’s a lie; I would have loved a 4-3 Dallas win).
Moving on to the ones I didn’t see...
Chicago Fire 0-4 Houston Dynamo
I already wrote up this one; scary game from the rest of the league’s perspective.
Kansas City Wizards 1-0 Real Salt Lake (whoops, saw highlights)
- Wow...kinda thought they’d do better against RSL at home.
- Suddenly the mystery behind the high ratio between KC’s shots and goals adds up: hey guys, you can play the ball closer; you don’t have to shoot from over 20 yards for it to count. Seriously, these guys need to work on breaking down defenses.
- Speaking of which, I want to know where KC keeps the Eddie Johnson I saw in this game because they sure as hell didn’t send the same guy to the Gold Cup or the Copa America. Seriously, guys, if you’re just going to pretend to send EJ and keep this real (or is this the evil twin?) locked in a closet at Arrowhead, you may as well play him.
- Having just read the headline to the MLSnet.com match report (link under the score), can one really say KC ended their "slide" when RSL was the opponent? For the record, I'm still waiting for Toronto FC's first road win.
Chivas USA 2-1 Columbus Crew
- I’ll have to watch the highlights for this one; very intriguing result. Whoops...they don't exist...damn...
- Good for the Crew for scoring one on the road; that’s only two against Chivas at home this year. Actually, I see by the stats sheet they scored two goals; damn shame Eddie Gaven gave the game-winner to Chivas....well, unless you’re a Chivas fan.
- Good result for Chivas, whatever happened.
Houston Dynamo 0-0 Toronto FC
- There are times when I want to witness records being set or broken; this isn’t one of them.
- I wonder if Toronto has Houston’s number. Or maybe they’ve just got the “draw-on-the-road” thing down.
Right. I’m off to do some reading; I’ll need to know more before compiling power rankings. Interesting week, though...
Ditching Single-Entity: Here's How!!*
* OK, the truth: I've barely thought this through. But...here goes...
I've never been a fan of the single-entity structure of Major League Soccer (MLS) - and that's even as I understand why the league went that way. It's probably the theoretical libertarian in me that chafes at centralized authority (I say "theoretical libertarian" because, like communism, libertarianism looks swell till you introduce actual human beings into the machinery....anyway...).
As it turns out, no lesser figure than Pele - that's right: The Big Man - sees it my way, as revealed in an interview USSoccerplayers.com was dogged (or lucky) enough to score:
Now, I confess to parting company with The Big Man when it comes to MLS clubs "[going] out and [buying] five great players" - the league can't swing that and probably won't be able to for years. That said, all the clubs should not have to wait for the Central Authority to hold their dicks before they pee.
Here's my off-the-top-of-my-head re-structuring plan: ditch the designated player rule and set a hard salary cap about twice the current one of $2.2-$2.6 million (or whatever the hell it is); this applies only to money being paid out directly by the club. In order to sweeten the pot to lure harder-to-get players, allow the clubs to arrange sponsorship deals for the players in order to pad their pay. Naturally, the big market teams will enjoy an edge at this point, so you balance that by giving more of the TV revenue to help the smaller market teams get decent players; obviously, such a plan assumes sports networks will continue to buy TV rights; I think getting more, higher-caliber players ought to help make that pencil out.
Will this work? Oh good Lord, no! Or, rather, it probably won't...or hell, I don't know. But I like the Big Picture piece: set guidelines that will keep things tight and let the teams run themselves. It's just a thought.
I've never been a fan of the single-entity structure of Major League Soccer (MLS) - and that's even as I understand why the league went that way. It's probably the theoretical libertarian in me that chafes at centralized authority (I say "theoretical libertarian" because, like communism, libertarianism looks swell till you introduce actual human beings into the machinery....anyway...).
As it turns out, no lesser figure than Pele - that's right: The Big Man - sees it my way, as revealed in an interview USSoccerplayers.com was dogged (or lucky) enough to score:
"USSoccerPlayers: What is the difference between the NASL and MLS, and what needs to be done to make soccer even more mainstream in this country?"
"Pelé: The way [MLS] is now is too controlling. If you want to sign a big player, you can’t because you are controlled. A team can’t go out and buy five great players because there are too many controls put on them. This will have to change in the future. In Europe, teams can buy whatever players they want."
Now, I confess to parting company with The Big Man when it comes to MLS clubs "[going] out and [buying] five great players" - the league can't swing that and probably won't be able to for years. That said, all the clubs should not have to wait for the Central Authority to hold their dicks before they pee.
Here's my off-the-top-of-my-head re-structuring plan: ditch the designated player rule and set a hard salary cap about twice the current one of $2.2-$2.6 million (or whatever the hell it is); this applies only to money being paid out directly by the club. In order to sweeten the pot to lure harder-to-get players, allow the clubs to arrange sponsorship deals for the players in order to pad their pay. Naturally, the big market teams will enjoy an edge at this point, so you balance that by giving more of the TV revenue to help the smaller market teams get decent players; obviously, such a plan assumes sports networks will continue to buy TV rights; I think getting more, higher-caliber players ought to help make that pencil out.
Will this work? Oh good Lord, no! Or, rather, it probably won't...or hell, I don't know. But I like the Big Picture piece: set guidelines that will keep things tight and let the teams run themselves. It's just a thought.
The All-Star Game & MLS to Pac NW
In a attempt to discover whether Major League Soccer (MLS) would make an announcement on expanding the league during next week's MLS All-Star Game, I did one of the feeblest things an information whore can do in the 21st century: a google search (doubling down, I did so under both "News" and "Web" categories).
I am ashamed. And lazy.
But if you look at the (let's see...one, two, three...) fourth item in the Web search list, you'll see why I'm interested in such things: when real estate investor James Reston was awarded exclusive rights (e.g. first crack) at expanding MLS into the Pacific Northwest, I remember hearing something about an announcement on that coming "within a month" or "by the end of the month" - I can't remember which. And the All-Star Game seems to fit neatly within that time-frame.
Given that I slip into a drool-inducing doze when the words "all-star" and "game" are combined in a sentence (I'm lukewarm on exhibitions generally and, Lord, do I hate all-star games; looking forward to a peaceful Thursday evening next week), has anyone out there heard any rumors about expansion announcements during the All-Star Game?
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I am ashamed. And lazy.
But if you look at the (let's see...one, two, three...) fourth item in the Web search list, you'll see why I'm interested in such things: when real estate investor James Reston was awarded exclusive rights (e.g. first crack) at expanding MLS into the Pacific Northwest, I remember hearing something about an announcement on that coming "within a month" or "by the end of the month" - I can't remember which. And the All-Star Game seems to fit neatly within that time-frame.
Given that I slip into a drool-inducing doze when the words "all-star" and "game" are combined in a sentence (I'm lukewarm on exhibitions generally and, Lord, do I hate all-star games; looking forward to a peaceful Thursday evening next week), has anyone out there heard any rumors about expansion announcements during the All-Star Game?
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Week 14 Collective Rankings (& Fronting)
The Semi-Detached Pundit Collective (SDPC) returns after a week off; I think we’re all catching up after the Week 14 Cluster-fuck. We’re holding steady at nine power-ranking pundits (PPPs?) and, of course, On Soccer’s Scariness ratings (both Week 13 and 14) show up again introducing an element of predictive science - the impact of form on rankings - to the proceedings. I’ll link, as always, to The DCenters Freezer, despite the risk posed by introducing “anti-rankings” to the rest of the rankings.
Some things that occur to me appear after the numbers - and there are some interesting elements in here.
Here are the sources for this week’s SPDC rankings. I always forget to say this, but I'd encourage people to read the commentary; it tells you a lot about the author:
It’s a Simple Game
Sideline Views (Luis Bueno)
Sideline Views (Andrea Canales)
WVHooligan
My Soccer Blog
MLS Underground
ESPN
SI - Ryan Hunt
Fox Soccer Channel
Now, on to the numbers:
1. Houston Dynamo, 1.0 (last week: 2/3 - 2.4; SR: 1)
2. DC United, 2.8 (6th - 5.1; SR: 4)
3. FC Dallas, 3.3 (5th - 4.9; SR: 3)
4. New England Revolution, 4.0 (1st - 2.3; SR: 7)
5. Red Bull New York, 4.7 (2/3 - 2.4; SR: 10)
6. Kansas City Wizards, 6.6 (4th - 4.4; SR: 9)
7. Columbus Crew, 6.9 (8th - 8.0; SR: 2)
8. Chivas USA, 7.4 (7th - 7.4; SR: 8)
9. Toronto FC, 9.2 (9th - 8.4; SR: 5)
10. Los Angeles Galaxy, 10.0 (13th - 12.3; SR: 6)
11. Colorado Rapids, 10.8 (10th - 10.0; SR: 12)
12. Chicago Fire, 11.8 (11th - 11.7; SR: 13)
13. Real Salt Lake, 13.0 (12th - 12.0; SR: 11)
- Houston is the new, and undisputed, #1 - no shock there.
- Speaking of new and undisputed, Real Salt Lake racked up perfect “13s” for the first time in a while...congratulations, Mr. Kreis. And as ESPN pointed out, Kreis earned a contract extension for this. Um, wow.
- And, somehow, between today’s SPDC rankings and Week 12’s, LA climbed rather abruptly out of the basement...and I think they owe Brian Hall big for this.
- Opinion is split on a couple teams - KC and New England to name a couple - but no team has divided the punditry like Red Bull New York. They rank as high as #2 (Canales) and as low as #8 (me). (I suppose here’s where I should mention the Revs are nearly as baffling: I’ve got them at #2 while Bueno plugs them in at #7...in any case...) I think the scariness figure for Red Bull says a lot about their recent, very bad form; not to start an argument, but I’m wondering if people are clinging to early season memories when rating the New York franchise. Another possibility would be that I’m the outlier.
- By the way, anyone else see the pattern in the above-named teams? Yep. All three are Eastern Conference teams.
- The past two weeks’ big movers? Crap. Take yer pick and note they go both ways. That said, TFC's slip is a little surprising given they've finally showed a spark on the road.
- Except on the bottom: six of the nine pundits in the survey view rank the Rapids, the Fire and RSL, 11, 12, and 13, respectively (and I’m one! Yeah, me!). None of these teams moved a whole lot, which kind of confirms the suckiness.
- Since I started the bastardry above with the comments about New York, below are the weirdest choices made in the other pundits’ work, as judged by me (and, for those named, please feel free to stick up for your choice; it will make us all smarter):
Me, first: The implied homerism of my Revs’ pick; the Red Bull pick.
WVHooligan: Holy shit. He matches the collective exactly. Read him.
SI: Also pretty sane...the asshole.
Fox Soccer: KC at #8 and Columbus at #5, the latter is particularly odd.
Bueno: New England at #7? Red Bull at #3?
Canales: Red Bull at #2? Arguably, DC at #5?
ESPN: Red Bull over Dallas throws me a little...
My Soccer Blog: This man loves TFC (#7) and doesn’t think much of KC (#9).
MLS Underground: Not exact, but matches the collective closely.
I'll start the defenses: I think Red Bull's dive is real - e.g. that there's something wrong. The Revs, on the other hand, will do fine...and I kinda hate them for it. That is all.
Some things that occur to me appear after the numbers - and there are some interesting elements in here.
Here are the sources for this week’s SPDC rankings. I always forget to say this, but I'd encourage people to read the commentary; it tells you a lot about the author:
It’s a Simple Game
Sideline Views (Luis Bueno)
Sideline Views (Andrea Canales)
WVHooligan
My Soccer Blog
MLS Underground
ESPN
SI - Ryan Hunt
Fox Soccer Channel
Now, on to the numbers:
1. Houston Dynamo, 1.0 (last week: 2/3 - 2.4; SR: 1)
2. DC United, 2.8 (6th - 5.1; SR: 4)
3. FC Dallas, 3.3 (5th - 4.9; SR: 3)
4. New England Revolution, 4.0 (1st - 2.3; SR: 7)
5. Red Bull New York, 4.7 (2/3 - 2.4; SR: 10)
6. Kansas City Wizards, 6.6 (4th - 4.4; SR: 9)
7. Columbus Crew, 6.9 (8th - 8.0; SR: 2)
8. Chivas USA, 7.4 (7th - 7.4; SR: 8)
9. Toronto FC, 9.2 (9th - 8.4; SR: 5)
10. Los Angeles Galaxy, 10.0 (13th - 12.3; SR: 6)
11. Colorado Rapids, 10.8 (10th - 10.0; SR: 12)
12. Chicago Fire, 11.8 (11th - 11.7; SR: 13)
13. Real Salt Lake, 13.0 (12th - 12.0; SR: 11)
- Houston is the new, and undisputed, #1 - no shock there.
- Speaking of new and undisputed, Real Salt Lake racked up perfect “13s” for the first time in a while...congratulations, Mr. Kreis. And as ESPN pointed out, Kreis earned a contract extension for this. Um, wow.
- And, somehow, between today’s SPDC rankings and Week 12’s, LA climbed rather abruptly out of the basement...and I think they owe Brian Hall big for this.
- Opinion is split on a couple teams - KC and New England to name a couple - but no team has divided the punditry like Red Bull New York. They rank as high as #2 (Canales) and as low as #8 (me). (I suppose here’s where I should mention the Revs are nearly as baffling: I’ve got them at #2 while Bueno plugs them in at #7...in any case...) I think the scariness figure for Red Bull says a lot about their recent, very bad form; not to start an argument, but I’m wondering if people are clinging to early season memories when rating the New York franchise. Another possibility would be that I’m the outlier.
- By the way, anyone else see the pattern in the above-named teams? Yep. All three are Eastern Conference teams.
- The past two weeks’ big movers? Crap. Take yer pick and note they go both ways. That said, TFC's slip is a little surprising given they've finally showed a spark on the road.
- Except on the bottom: six of the nine pundits in the survey view rank the Rapids, the Fire and RSL, 11, 12, and 13, respectively (and I’m one! Yeah, me!). None of these teams moved a whole lot, which kind of confirms the suckiness.
- Since I started the bastardry above with the comments about New York, below are the weirdest choices made in the other pundits’ work, as judged by me (and, for those named, please feel free to stick up for your choice; it will make us all smarter):
Me, first: The implied homerism of my Revs’ pick; the Red Bull pick.
WVHooligan: Holy shit. He matches the collective exactly. Read him.
SI: Also pretty sane...the asshole.
Fox Soccer: KC at #8 and Columbus at #5, the latter is particularly odd.
Bueno: New England at #7? Red Bull at #3?
Canales: Red Bull at #2? Arguably, DC at #5?
ESPN: Red Bull over Dallas throws me a little...
My Soccer Blog: This man loves TFC (#7) and doesn’t think much of KC (#9).
MLS Underground: Not exact, but matches the collective closely.
I'll start the defenses: I think Red Bull's dive is real - e.g. that there's something wrong. The Revs, on the other hand, will do fine...and I kinda hate them for it. That is all.
Steve Davis Is Mad (Concise) Genius
This is mainly a shout-out/ass-kisser, so bear with me.
There aren't a lot of must-reads out there when it comes to weekly wraps of Major League Soccer (MLS) action. If I had to name one, though, I'd name Steve Davis' weekend in review wraps for MLSnet.com in a heartbeat. That man stuffs more insight into personnel and tactics into single paragraphs than anyone out there.
It's just one man's opinion, but that Davis fella, you don't talk to Davis. You listen to him. He makes me see things -- things, you know. He expanded my mind. (All right, all right, so I lifted that from Apocalypse Now)
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There aren't a lot of must-reads out there when it comes to weekly wraps of Major League Soccer (MLS) action. If I had to name one, though, I'd name Steve Davis' weekend in review wraps for MLSnet.com in a heartbeat. That man stuffs more insight into personnel and tactics into single paragraphs than anyone out there.
It's just one man's opinion, but that Davis fella, you don't talk to Davis. You listen to him. He makes me see things -- things, you know. He expanded my mind. (All right, all right, so I lifted that from Apocalypse Now)
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Beckham Watch and Self-Esteem
This won't make sense to future visitors to this site, but, if you're read this within 3 days, 17 hours, 31 minutes, and 26...wait, 25....24 seconds of me posting this, you'll see the "Countdown to David Beckham's Arrival" on MLSnet.com.
I have to say that the whole Beckham-Watch thing depresses me a little. 11 years of history ain't a lot, but it's something. It's not like we were all sitting here in the corner waiting till the cute boy noticed us. Are we teenage girls? Teenage girls who just cleared up a wicked acne problem and finally got the boobs the rest of our peers picked up in 8th grade?*
No, dammit! We're attractive, intelligent young women with plenty to offer any guy smart enough notice. So let's start acting like it....dammit!
(* Look, if you're offended by the gender thing - and I don't think anyone will be, but...anyway - I went that way 'cause Beckham's a guy and all that. The boy's version would be something like, "Pizza-faced teenage boys with a sunken chest, bucked-teeth, one undescended testicle, and patchy facial hair alarmingly at odds with a pubic region that looks like the Wilds of the Amazon.")
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I have to say that the whole Beckham-Watch thing depresses me a little. 11 years of history ain't a lot, but it's something. It's not like we were all sitting here in the corner waiting till the cute boy noticed us. Are we teenage girls? Teenage girls who just cleared up a wicked acne problem and finally got the boobs the rest of our peers picked up in 8th grade?*
No, dammit! We're attractive, intelligent young women with plenty to offer any guy smart enough notice. So let's start acting like it....dammit!
(* Look, if you're offended by the gender thing - and I don't think anyone will be, but...anyway - I went that way 'cause Beckham's a guy and all that. The boy's version would be something like, "Pizza-faced teenage boys with a sunken chest, bucked-teeth, one undescended testicle, and patchy facial hair alarmingly at odds with a pubic region that looks like the Wilds of the Amazon.")
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Top 5, 07.09: Ride ESPN, Adu Man-Crushes, Clavijo Watch
Since everyone else hit 'em hard, I figured I may as well hit 'em late.
- Want to see the United States' U-20s Round of 16 tilt against Old South American power Uruguay? Then join the campaign to, um, enlighten ESPN as to their self-interest in airing this game. Seeing as they finally invested in soccer broadcast rights, why not show off the young bucks on their way into the system (maybe...I know some will bolt to Europe - the good ones, especially - but we don't need to mention that...wait...shit! I just did!). Hat-tip to the LA Galaxy Offside for introducing me to this opportunity to harass a major broadcast corporation.
And if you're interesting in seeing who joined the U.S. U-20s in the Round of 16, Ives Galarcep obliges by listing the pairings. There are some good ones in there.
- Speaking of the U-20s, the man-crushes on Freddy Adu, as well as an apology or two, are coming in. Nice work, young man. Now, show them Sky Blue bitches how we play this game!! (Wow....don't know where that came from...).
- Dwayne DeRosario finally got his MLS pay-day. Naturally, us fans don't need to know the financial details...it would just worry our pretty heads. Anywhoo, good luck to you, Dwayne. In other news, the prospect of a re-awakened DeRo adding momentum to the Dynamo revival has some fans and players from the opposition a little worried...or it ought to...
- There's a fun parlor game well underway around the soccer-sphere: which hill-cresting foreign star will join Real Salt Lake and save them from the coming, pee-stained humiliation that has been 2007 (well, and 2005...arguably 2006)? RSLFM reports in a damned fine spread that Nigeria's Jay Jay Okocha is on his way. Meanwhile, The Other Football cites a report on Portugal's Luis Figo joining up. Not that I get a vote, but I'm pulling for Okocha. That cat is a hoot on his day.
- Let's wrap this up with the latest in the weird, sad tale of Fernando Clavijo. This ran in Steve Goff's Soccer Insider:
Wow. Too cheap to pull the trigger. That's something of a new low in leadership. If I were a Rapids fan, flaming bags would be appearing on the front steps of Rapids' corporate.
(##########)
- Want to see the United States' U-20s Round of 16 tilt against Old South American power Uruguay? Then join the campaign to, um, enlighten ESPN as to their self-interest in airing this game. Seeing as they finally invested in soccer broadcast rights, why not show off the young bucks on their way into the system (maybe...I know some will bolt to Europe - the good ones, especially - but we don't need to mention that...wait...shit! I just did!). Hat-tip to the LA Galaxy Offside for introducing me to this opportunity to harass a major broadcast corporation.
And if you're interesting in seeing who joined the U.S. U-20s in the Round of 16, Ives Galarcep obliges by listing the pairings. There are some good ones in there.
- Speaking of the U-20s, the man-crushes on Freddy Adu, as well as an apology or two, are coming in. Nice work, young man. Now, show them Sky Blue bitches how we play this game!! (Wow....don't know where that came from...).
- Dwayne DeRosario finally got his MLS pay-day. Naturally, us fans don't need to know the financial details...it would just worry our pretty heads. Anywhoo, good luck to you, Dwayne. In other news, the prospect of a re-awakened DeRo adding momentum to the Dynamo revival has some fans and players from the opposition a little worried...or it ought to...
- There's a fun parlor game well underway around the soccer-sphere: which hill-cresting foreign star will join Real Salt Lake and save them from the coming, pee-stained humiliation that has been 2007 (well, and 2005...arguably 2006)? RSLFM reports in a damned fine spread that Nigeria's Jay Jay Okocha is on his way. Meanwhile, The Other Football cites a report on Portugal's Luis Figo joining up. Not that I get a vote, but I'm pulling for Okocha. That cat is a hoot on his day.
- Let's wrap this up with the latest in the weird, sad tale of Fernando Clavijo. This ran in Steve Goff's Soccer Insider:
"-- I am hearing that Colorado's front office has had enough of Coach Fernando Clavijo, who has not won since late May, but that upper management really wants to avoid paying two coaches the rest of the calendar year. The way things are going for the Rapids, though, they might have to bite the bullet soon and make a move."
Wow. Too cheap to pull the trigger. That's something of a new low in leadership. If I were a Rapids fan, flaming bags would be appearing on the front steps of Rapids' corporate.
(##########)
MLS Week 14: Power Rankings and Progress Report
Week 14 was a hell of a thing, wasn’t it? Considering the crush of games between last Wednesday and yesterday afternoon en masse seems like trying to eat a Big Mac in one bite, something the Surgeon General would recommend against, no doubt. The weight of those games feels almost like a pivot point, a time to take stock of what came before and to study the prospects for the future.
As such, an expanded, context-free edition of this site’s power rankings seems in order. Rather than look back at past week’s rating, what comes below takes a step back for a shot at The Big Picture: impressions from the season’s frenetic, surprising opening games to the wilting pace of the recent, hot weeks, as well as signs of things to come will determine who goes where in this table; expect some personal blind-spots to misshape these standings as well (see: Galaxy, Los Angeles). Moreover, the rankings will bow to the playoff format: the top two teams from each conference will make up the top four, while the four teams that follow from there are the teams I expect to make the post-season.
In other words, an attempt will be made here to be both current and predictive...with the expectation that the distance between my estimation of things and reality should be amusingly vast.
Here goes...
1) Houston Dynamo
The Dynamo is, without question, the best team in Major League Soccer (MLS) right now. With them firing on all cylinders - and on both sides of the ball - I’m to a point where I’ll accept the vilest of food dares about this team making the playoffs (I’m open to drinking dares on them winning the West). Brad Davis’ injury upset the offensive balance a little, but Brian Ching/Joseph Ngwenya looks surprisingly effective and Stuart Holden looks like sufficient cover for DeRosario’s so-far sub-par 2007. With MLS’s (by far) sturdiest defense behind them, the Canadian Wonder only needs to wake up (or stops thinking about what tight bastards league honchos are midway through a dribble), for these guys will romp to a repeat.
What Might Kill ‘Em: Their brick-shithouse defense will carry them to the post-season, but they’ll need their offense to get them out of it smiling. A return of the early-season goals drought seems the likeliest pitfall. This matters because, among the rarefied breed of actual contenders, the question isn’t making the playoffs, but winning the league.
2) New England Revolution
When some people look at New England, they see a glass half-full; when I look at them, I see a glass three-quarters empty. Why am I hardest on the ones I love? That’s a big question with a tough love answer: the Revolution will grab the top spot in the East because they’re one of the rare teams in MLS without significant holes somewhere on the field - e.g. they’ll make it by default. Solid and unspectacular, they’re hard to beat and possess the firepower to punish most teams. New England takes the field with two missions, the second subordinate to the first: Mission 1: Stop the other team from scoring; Mission 2: score as many goals as possible without in any way compromising Mission 1. For what it’s worth, those adjectives - “solid and unspectacular” - get at why they make the finals, but don’t win them. The only question left is, why do I like this team?
What Might Kill ‘Em: Given the thin (certainly cheap, possibly cynical) calculus on which this team operates, they seem one prolonged slip in attentiveness or confidence away from contender, or even meaningful, post-season, status. It’s possible this is happening now, but I’ve waited a while for this slip to come, Steve Nicol to get fired, etc. Even through several series of rookie classes, it never has. What can I say? The man has a system and it works - even if it’s too often uninspiring.
3) DC United
In all honesty, DC is the only team in this mix I can see failing to make the playoffs. But I’ll also admit upfront I don’t know how they do what they do, but the fact remains that they do (got that? Good). Judging by form and appearances, Coach Tom Soehn has figured out how to make the pieces of his mysteriously effective machine work. Christian Gomez doesn’t seem the threat he was in 2006 and both their big-shit new signings still seem to be finding their feet....and, yet, the team from DC keeps making progress; maybe Troy Perkins rediscovering confidence played the key role there. Their middling scores in the significant statistical categories (goals for/against) come from their early season nightmare; the fact they’ve attained respectability speaks up the team’s recovery.
What Might Kill ‘Em: Placing DC so high relies on two suppositions: first, that there’s no shame to losing to Houston on the road and, second, dubbing the loss to Real Salt Lake an anomalous hiccup. The long and the short is that, because DC is a model organization - good fans, plugged-in front office - signs of progress seem reliable. Says here, they’ll make the playoffs.
4) FC Dallas
Call me crazy (cue chorus: “You’re crazy!”), but Dallas’ recent defensive solidity - along with the introduction of some leadership in Adrian Serioux - has me viewing them as 2007’s dark-horse contender; I give tons of credit for that turn-around to Dario Sala, but the rest of the pieces are shaping up as well. Add a return to health for Kenny Cooper into the mix, the likelihood of Carlos Ruiz, at last, slimming down to fighting weight, a great pair of recent additions in Juan Toja and Pablo Ricchetti, and - gasp - useful threats like Arturo Alvarez and Ramon Nunez lurking in the wings, and Dallas looks like a decent candidate for making some noise. There was something curiously inspiring - at least from the point of view of Dallas fans - to that draw with Houston a couple weeks back, ugly as it was. The knock on Dallas has always been fragility, so the sight of them kicking and scrapping walks that one back a bit.
What Might Kill ‘Em: When you’re cursed, you’re cursed. Dallas has to exercise their demons, establish a sense of belief they can win the big ones...whoops, the verb ought to be “exorcise.” It’s Ruiz they need to exercise...
5) Kansas City Wizards
This team can score; assuming Eddie Johnson doesn’t bring his Copa America form home with him, they should score even more. Wayward finishing has hurt them lately, but the chances are coming by, literally, the score. The Wizards are fast, pretty, and fun to watch. The fruits they derive from pressuring teams all over the field showed as recently as this past weekend against LA. The highly relevant question is whether that same pressuring game is what leaves them so vulnerable at the back. If you accept that statement that Dallas sets a Gold Standard (of sorts) for Dodgy Defending, what does the fact that KC has allowed one more goal in the season so far say? (And, it should be noted, in two fewer games.) The hard reality is that KC’s defensive performance ranks with Chicago’s and RSL’s - not good company. Sort out the defense and KC suddenly becomes a contender; but will sorting out the defense take away from the flash offense? That’s the question of KC’s season.
What Might Kill ‘Em: The defense, without question; teams that can shut up shop against these guys will find a way past them eventually.
6) Chivas USA
This constitutes one of my “wacky” pick (OK, the third, perhaps fourth), but I think I’ve got the general picture right, even if I louse up the details: i.e. the post-season will feature a 5-3 split, favoring the Eastern Conference. I’m feel comfortable, though not quite confident, about that call. Where I don’t feel so good is picking Chivas as that team. There’s enough to like about them - beginning with that c-rrazzzy home record (5-0-1, 1 goal conceded) - and, in general, they strike me as a team built essentially right for MLS: solid in terms of shape and equipped with enough lethality to win close ones. On the downside, their 8th in the league for scoring and, at times, it seems like Maykel Galindo is the all the offense they have. Then there’s that road form issue: 1-5-2...ouch. Still, a win or two - or as many ties as possible - in their seven remaining road games and the Goats control their destiny. Not too shabby.
What Might Kill ‘Em: So many different threats: a resurgence from LA; Colorado waking up and realizing they can win, etc. Combine any of these with Chivas’ struggles on the road and they’re one of the three Western Conference teams hitting the links early. For what it’s worth, I count LA getting their shit together the biggest threat.
7) Columbus Crew
I don’t view this as wacky; Columbus, making the playoffs, that is; placing them over New York? Maybe. The thing is, Columbus has as much depth as any team in the league - not quality of depth, but simple depth in the sense of players familiar with and available for familiar with positions. That amounts to guys playing where they’re comfortable, which should spare them the Personnel Hell Red Bull has endured. The Crew’s offense started showing signs of life with the deal that brought in Alejandro Moreno; Guillermo Schelotto has taken care of the running the show. The offense’s stir coincided with another happy event: the up-and-down defense hitting an up in the form of three consecutive clean-sheets and only six goals allowed in their last six games; mixed in all that were seven points of nine against higher-placed Eastern Conference rivals. In general, the trends are good; so long as the Crew keeps guys like Chad Marshall and Schelotto fit and productive they’re a plausible playoff team.
What Might Kill ‘Em: Injuries...or the possibility they'll wake up and remember they're Columbus. I kid, I kid. They’ve got great depth - in midfield in particular, even if it’s a bit green - but not a defense or forward. Take a hit there and this call goes pear-shaped fast.
8) Red Bull New York
Week 4 - y’know, back when no one could score on Red Bull and Dane Richards and Clint Mathis looked like God out there - well, that seems like ten seasons ago with the way Red Bull looks lately. A funny thing about that: it’s not so much that Red Bull simply sucks, but it appears they may just suck on the road - against competent teams, at least. The stretch of June and July games, in which Red Bull allowed 16 and scored only 10, featured six road games out of seven; the two wins they managed came against Colorado and a lucky one against Toronto. Seeing as they stay at home till the middle of August, we should all know a little more about New York by then. In the here and now, the injury-plagued defense draws a lot of commentary - and that is a problem - but there’s plenty more wrong with the Red Bulls, some related to aging Europeans fizzling on the wings. For all that, I get the sense that what’s becoming an annual struggle between Kansas City and New York will recur in 2007, only with a bigger potential prize: whichever team that gets things right soonest could easily bump New England or DC.
What Might Kill ‘Em: The comphrensive funk they’re now in could prove lethal. A lack of depth in defense is the chief structural problem, but they haven’t looked good much of anywhere. Could this be Arena’s first outright, no-safety failure? Will the New York market destroy another reputation? I'd pay to see that (because I'm a horrible, little man).
OK, since I don’t think the rest of these cats will make it, I’ll write shorter pieces for them. And do note the subtle difference in language: it’s no longer “what might kill ‘em,” but “What Might Let ‘Em In.”
9) Los Angeles Galaxy
If there's a fly in the ointment, it lives in LA. I thought they looked pretty good against KC - though that could be down to the Wizards approach buying them crazy amounts of space. Still, the difference between this game and how appallingly horrible they looked in losses to Colorado, Dallas, and the Crew recommends keeping an eye on this bunch. Unlike a number of teams below, LA has made trades to improve - or attempt to improve, anyway. They’re schedule might kill them in the end, but at least the cavalry has arrived.
What Might Let ‘Em In: It won’t take more than “good enough” form, a slip by Chivas, and continued horrible play from Colorado. Way stranger things have happened.
10) Toronto FC
I start the no-hopers list with the team most likely to defy the label. At least Toronto meets losses with determination, even anger; the rest of the remaining teams look flustered and harried. They’ve got the fight, but need to learn to win on the road. And, just to pass on a bit of advice: I don’t think playing both Colin Samuel and Danny Dichio is the answer.
What Might Let ‘Em In: A couple road wins would probably do it - especially if they come against the more vulnerable Eastern teams. Translation: they really needed to beat Chicago this past weekend.
11) Colorado Rapids...
....are in free-fall. Fire Fernando, dudes, your team hasn’t won since May. (Where’s Real Salt Lake when you need them?) On the upside, the main problem looks like offense: the wait for their last two-goal game goes back further still to April. At this point, it’s almost not a question that Clavijo is to blame: the man who excels at getting the most out of human reclamation projects has now built a team of them - and it shows.
What Might Let ‘Em In: The return of that mysterious Rapids/Raiders swagger. When they get in that “us-versus-them” mode, Colorado starts winning - ugly, yes, but winning all the same.
12) Chicago Fire
I don’t know anything about the Fire’s new coach, but I believe one thing to be true: Sir Alex Ferguson couldn’t make winners of this bunch. I kid, I kid. In truth, last weekend’s game against Toronto showed a lot about this Fire team: individual players found ways around the TFC defense, they played in beautiful balls to...to...no one. In one particular memorable (and sad) moment, Chris Armas capped a promising Fire move with a nearly perfect run into the area, but no one followed him, and no one was there to knock in an enticing, yet blind, cross. The thing is, that game was theirs for the taking.
What Might Let ‘Em In: Armas’ run wasn’t the only instance of good play going nowhere. Maybe Osorio will get the Fire’s attackers on the same page. There are useful players, but they’re misfiring to a degree where I want to hide the children.
13) Real Salt Lake
The odds would have to be biblical to make a bet on these guys to make the playoffs worth taking. The smarter bet might be on them beating Chivas’ worst-ever season. Bad, and unlikely to get better.
What Might Let ‘Em In: The Earth opening up and swallowing three teams from each conference. Points deduction for match-fixing among the teams above them. Perhaps a massive bribe to bring Jack Warner into the picture. In other words, it ain’t gonna happen.
As such, an expanded, context-free edition of this site’s power rankings seems in order. Rather than look back at past week’s rating, what comes below takes a step back for a shot at The Big Picture: impressions from the season’s frenetic, surprising opening games to the wilting pace of the recent, hot weeks, as well as signs of things to come will determine who goes where in this table; expect some personal blind-spots to misshape these standings as well (see: Galaxy, Los Angeles). Moreover, the rankings will bow to the playoff format: the top two teams from each conference will make up the top four, while the four teams that follow from there are the teams I expect to make the post-season.
In other words, an attempt will be made here to be both current and predictive...with the expectation that the distance between my estimation of things and reality should be amusingly vast.
Here goes...
1) Houston Dynamo
The Dynamo is, without question, the best team in Major League Soccer (MLS) right now. With them firing on all cylinders - and on both sides of the ball - I’m to a point where I’ll accept the vilest of food dares about this team making the playoffs (I’m open to drinking dares on them winning the West). Brad Davis’ injury upset the offensive balance a little, but Brian Ching/Joseph Ngwenya looks surprisingly effective and Stuart Holden looks like sufficient cover for DeRosario’s so-far sub-par 2007. With MLS’s (by far) sturdiest defense behind them, the Canadian Wonder only needs to wake up (or stops thinking about what tight bastards league honchos are midway through a dribble), for these guys will romp to a repeat.
What Might Kill ‘Em: Their brick-shithouse defense will carry them to the post-season, but they’ll need their offense to get them out of it smiling. A return of the early-season goals drought seems the likeliest pitfall. This matters because, among the rarefied breed of actual contenders, the question isn’t making the playoffs, but winning the league.
2) New England Revolution
When some people look at New England, they see a glass half-full; when I look at them, I see a glass three-quarters empty. Why am I hardest on the ones I love? That’s a big question with a tough love answer: the Revolution will grab the top spot in the East because they’re one of the rare teams in MLS without significant holes somewhere on the field - e.g. they’ll make it by default. Solid and unspectacular, they’re hard to beat and possess the firepower to punish most teams. New England takes the field with two missions, the second subordinate to the first: Mission 1: Stop the other team from scoring; Mission 2: score as many goals as possible without in any way compromising Mission 1. For what it’s worth, those adjectives - “solid and unspectacular” - get at why they make the finals, but don’t win them. The only question left is, why do I like this team?
What Might Kill ‘Em: Given the thin (certainly cheap, possibly cynical) calculus on which this team operates, they seem one prolonged slip in attentiveness or confidence away from contender, or even meaningful, post-season, status. It’s possible this is happening now, but I’ve waited a while for this slip to come, Steve Nicol to get fired, etc. Even through several series of rookie classes, it never has. What can I say? The man has a system and it works - even if it’s too often uninspiring.
3) DC United
In all honesty, DC is the only team in this mix I can see failing to make the playoffs. But I’ll also admit upfront I don’t know how they do what they do, but the fact remains that they do (got that? Good). Judging by form and appearances, Coach Tom Soehn has figured out how to make the pieces of his mysteriously effective machine work. Christian Gomez doesn’t seem the threat he was in 2006 and both their big-shit new signings still seem to be finding their feet....and, yet, the team from DC keeps making progress; maybe Troy Perkins rediscovering confidence played the key role there. Their middling scores in the significant statistical categories (goals for/against) come from their early season nightmare; the fact they’ve attained respectability speaks up the team’s recovery.
What Might Kill ‘Em: Placing DC so high relies on two suppositions: first, that there’s no shame to losing to Houston on the road and, second, dubbing the loss to Real Salt Lake an anomalous hiccup. The long and the short is that, because DC is a model organization - good fans, plugged-in front office - signs of progress seem reliable. Says here, they’ll make the playoffs.
4) FC Dallas
Call me crazy (cue chorus: “You’re crazy!”), but Dallas’ recent defensive solidity - along with the introduction of some leadership in Adrian Serioux - has me viewing them as 2007’s dark-horse contender; I give tons of credit for that turn-around to Dario Sala, but the rest of the pieces are shaping up as well. Add a return to health for Kenny Cooper into the mix, the likelihood of Carlos Ruiz, at last, slimming down to fighting weight, a great pair of recent additions in Juan Toja and Pablo Ricchetti, and - gasp - useful threats like Arturo Alvarez and Ramon Nunez lurking in the wings, and Dallas looks like a decent candidate for making some noise. There was something curiously inspiring - at least from the point of view of Dallas fans - to that draw with Houston a couple weeks back, ugly as it was. The knock on Dallas has always been fragility, so the sight of them kicking and scrapping walks that one back a bit.
What Might Kill ‘Em: When you’re cursed, you’re cursed. Dallas has to exercise their demons, establish a sense of belief they can win the big ones...whoops, the verb ought to be “exorcise.” It’s Ruiz they need to exercise...
5) Kansas City Wizards
This team can score; assuming Eddie Johnson doesn’t bring his Copa America form home with him, they should score even more. Wayward finishing has hurt them lately, but the chances are coming by, literally, the score. The Wizards are fast, pretty, and fun to watch. The fruits they derive from pressuring teams all over the field showed as recently as this past weekend against LA. The highly relevant question is whether that same pressuring game is what leaves them so vulnerable at the back. If you accept that statement that Dallas sets a Gold Standard (of sorts) for Dodgy Defending, what does the fact that KC has allowed one more goal in the season so far say? (And, it should be noted, in two fewer games.) The hard reality is that KC’s defensive performance ranks with Chicago’s and RSL’s - not good company. Sort out the defense and KC suddenly becomes a contender; but will sorting out the defense take away from the flash offense? That’s the question of KC’s season.
What Might Kill ‘Em: The defense, without question; teams that can shut up shop against these guys will find a way past them eventually.
6) Chivas USA
This constitutes one of my “wacky” pick (OK, the third, perhaps fourth), but I think I’ve got the general picture right, even if I louse up the details: i.e. the post-season will feature a 5-3 split, favoring the Eastern Conference. I’m feel comfortable, though not quite confident, about that call. Where I don’t feel so good is picking Chivas as that team. There’s enough to like about them - beginning with that c-rrazzzy home record (5-0-1, 1 goal conceded) - and, in general, they strike me as a team built essentially right for MLS: solid in terms of shape and equipped with enough lethality to win close ones. On the downside, their 8th in the league for scoring and, at times, it seems like Maykel Galindo is the all the offense they have. Then there’s that road form issue: 1-5-2...ouch. Still, a win or two - or as many ties as possible - in their seven remaining road games and the Goats control their destiny. Not too shabby.
What Might Kill ‘Em: So many different threats: a resurgence from LA; Colorado waking up and realizing they can win, etc. Combine any of these with Chivas’ struggles on the road and they’re one of the three Western Conference teams hitting the links early. For what it’s worth, I count LA getting their shit together the biggest threat.
7) Columbus Crew
I don’t view this as wacky; Columbus, making the playoffs, that is; placing them over New York? Maybe. The thing is, Columbus has as much depth as any team in the league - not quality of depth, but simple depth in the sense of players familiar with and available for familiar with positions. That amounts to guys playing where they’re comfortable, which should spare them the Personnel Hell Red Bull has endured. The Crew’s offense started showing signs of life with the deal that brought in Alejandro Moreno; Guillermo Schelotto has taken care of the running the show. The offense’s stir coincided with another happy event: the up-and-down defense hitting an up in the form of three consecutive clean-sheets and only six goals allowed in their last six games; mixed in all that were seven points of nine against higher-placed Eastern Conference rivals. In general, the trends are good; so long as the Crew keeps guys like Chad Marshall and Schelotto fit and productive they’re a plausible playoff team.
What Might Kill ‘Em: Injuries...or the possibility they'll wake up and remember they're Columbus. I kid, I kid. They’ve got great depth - in midfield in particular, even if it’s a bit green - but not a defense or forward. Take a hit there and this call goes pear-shaped fast.
8) Red Bull New York
Week 4 - y’know, back when no one could score on Red Bull and Dane Richards and Clint Mathis looked like God out there - well, that seems like ten seasons ago with the way Red Bull looks lately. A funny thing about that: it’s not so much that Red Bull simply sucks, but it appears they may just suck on the road - against competent teams, at least. The stretch of June and July games, in which Red Bull allowed 16 and scored only 10, featured six road games out of seven; the two wins they managed came against Colorado and a lucky one against Toronto. Seeing as they stay at home till the middle of August, we should all know a little more about New York by then. In the here and now, the injury-plagued defense draws a lot of commentary - and that is a problem - but there’s plenty more wrong with the Red Bulls, some related to aging Europeans fizzling on the wings. For all that, I get the sense that what’s becoming an annual struggle between Kansas City and New York will recur in 2007, only with a bigger potential prize: whichever team that gets things right soonest could easily bump New England or DC.
What Might Kill ‘Em: The comphrensive funk they’re now in could prove lethal. A lack of depth in defense is the chief structural problem, but they haven’t looked good much of anywhere. Could this be Arena’s first outright, no-safety failure? Will the New York market destroy another reputation? I'd pay to see that (because I'm a horrible, little man).
OK, since I don’t think the rest of these cats will make it, I’ll write shorter pieces for them. And do note the subtle difference in language: it’s no longer “what might kill ‘em,” but “What Might Let ‘Em In.”
9) Los Angeles Galaxy
If there's a fly in the ointment, it lives in LA. I thought they looked pretty good against KC - though that could be down to the Wizards approach buying them crazy amounts of space. Still, the difference between this game and how appallingly horrible they looked in losses to Colorado, Dallas, and the Crew recommends keeping an eye on this bunch. Unlike a number of teams below, LA has made trades to improve - or attempt to improve, anyway. They’re schedule might kill them in the end, but at least the cavalry has arrived.
What Might Let ‘Em In: It won’t take more than “good enough” form, a slip by Chivas, and continued horrible play from Colorado. Way stranger things have happened.
10) Toronto FC
I start the no-hopers list with the team most likely to defy the label. At least Toronto meets losses with determination, even anger; the rest of the remaining teams look flustered and harried. They’ve got the fight, but need to learn to win on the road. And, just to pass on a bit of advice: I don’t think playing both Colin Samuel and Danny Dichio is the answer.
What Might Let ‘Em In: A couple road wins would probably do it - especially if they come against the more vulnerable Eastern teams. Translation: they really needed to beat Chicago this past weekend.
11) Colorado Rapids...
....are in free-fall. Fire Fernando, dudes, your team hasn’t won since May. (Where’s Real Salt Lake when you need them?) On the upside, the main problem looks like offense: the wait for their last two-goal game goes back further still to April. At this point, it’s almost not a question that Clavijo is to blame: the man who excels at getting the most out of human reclamation projects has now built a team of them - and it shows.
What Might Let ‘Em In: The return of that mysterious Rapids/Raiders swagger. When they get in that “us-versus-them” mode, Colorado starts winning - ugly, yes, but winning all the same.
12) Chicago Fire
I don’t know anything about the Fire’s new coach, but I believe one thing to be true: Sir Alex Ferguson couldn’t make winners of this bunch. I kid, I kid. In truth, last weekend’s game against Toronto showed a lot about this Fire team: individual players found ways around the TFC defense, they played in beautiful balls to...to...no one. In one particular memorable (and sad) moment, Chris Armas capped a promising Fire move with a nearly perfect run into the area, but no one followed him, and no one was there to knock in an enticing, yet blind, cross. The thing is, that game was theirs for the taking.
What Might Let ‘Em In: Armas’ run wasn’t the only instance of good play going nowhere. Maybe Osorio will get the Fire’s attackers on the same page. There are useful players, but they’re misfiring to a degree where I want to hide the children.
13) Real Salt Lake
The odds would have to be biblical to make a bet on these guys to make the playoffs worth taking. The smarter bet might be on them beating Chivas’ worst-ever season. Bad, and unlikely to get better.
What Might Let ‘Em In: The Earth opening up and swallowing three teams from each conference. Points deduction for match-fixing among the teams above them. Perhaps a massive bribe to bring Jack Warner into the picture. In other words, it ain’t gonna happen.
"Phenom"-onology
Laurie, who keeps me so entertained with the Los Angeles Galaxy Offside, wrote something in the comments to a last-gasp, wise-crack post I wrote on Freddy Adu after his hat-trick against Poland. Here's her comment:
I wrote something different in response, but here's a more blunt version: Oh, hell yeah and on both counts.
There's something almost pervasively corrosive in the mania for crowning sporting "phenoms." I only say "almost" because, when it pans out, the child-star gets adulation, more money than God has, and a beautiful, if often failed, actress out of the bargain. But too often, especially here in the States where quality and temperament ain't what they are in the rest of the world, everyone loses in the wake of these public, semi-conscious/half-voluntary coronations: the player labors under a load of publicity and expectation too few seem willing (Landon Donovan) or able (Adu) to shoulder; fans get set up for glory, only to suffer disappointment that mutates into this a perverse form of bitterness they unload on the player - in other words, what amounts to a complete stranger becomes someone you kind of loathe for reasons that should be sort of embarrassing. The cycle ends with the player's paycheck shrinking along with their cache. Fans and pundits just wait around for the next kid's life to ruin.
So here's a new deal: let these kids play and let their achievements speak for their quality; let no one be "The Real Deal" till they prove it on the field and against grown-ups.
Is this even realistic? Of course not. If we weren't crowning the next savior, what the hell would we talk about all day?
(###########)
"Did you ever think that Adu should have been, simply, a U-20, rather than the great hope of American soccer? Do you think he would have been happier that way?"
I wrote something different in response, but here's a more blunt version: Oh, hell yeah and on both counts.
There's something almost pervasively corrosive in the mania for crowning sporting "phenoms." I only say "almost" because, when it pans out, the child-star gets adulation, more money than God has, and a beautiful, if often failed, actress out of the bargain. But too often, especially here in the States where quality and temperament ain't what they are in the rest of the world, everyone loses in the wake of these public, semi-conscious/half-voluntary coronations: the player labors under a load of publicity and expectation too few seem willing (Landon Donovan) or able (Adu) to shoulder; fans get set up for glory, only to suffer disappointment that mutates into this a perverse form of bitterness they unload on the player - in other words, what amounts to a complete stranger becomes someone you kind of loathe for reasons that should be sort of embarrassing. The cycle ends with the player's paycheck shrinking along with their cache. Fans and pundits just wait around for the next kid's life to ruin.
So here's a new deal: let these kids play and let their achievements speak for their quality; let no one be "The Real Deal" till they prove it on the field and against grown-ups.
Is this even realistic? Of course not. If we weren't crowning the next savior, what the hell would we talk about all day?
(###########)
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