I know its early but a month out seems late enough. Pick your five from each conference you think will go. (bold i think are locks) West: In LA SEATTLE RSL Portland FCD Out: Colorado- C. Casey Injuries change of style CD CHIVAS USA- completely depends on how the foreign signings do Vancouver- Darkhorse if they can pull on semblance of a defense San Jose-..... East: SPORKS NYRB CHICAGO FIRE- hottest team down the stretch and they haven't lost anybody key so far as I know this offseason Crew- somehow has managed to field a competitive squad after becoming salary cap victims the past two offseasons Houston- east is wide open and I think it would be really stupid to not put the runner up last year in their 1st year of playing in their own digs in my 5 from the east Out: DCU- defense still sucks though they'll score near the top NER- Toronto- could easily make the playoffs just couldn't justify putting them in over the 5 above Montreal - expansion side Philly- wouldn't be surprised if they made it, but you can't lose all of your veteran leadership sans caroll and expect to make the playoffs.
It took me about 10 seconds to figure out who the "Sporks" were, but I pretty much agree with your list. Your comments about New England speak volumes by their absence. As much as I dislike the Revs, I am a bit saddened at how far they have fallen.
LA Seattle RSL Portland Dallas Kansas City Chicago New York Columbus DC LA, Sea, RSL, KC, and Chicago are locks for me. Portland and Dallas should be able to make it but I wouldn't be too surprised to see Colorado knock them off. Just depends on whether or not Backe is aware of relevant competitions in NY, Columbus and DC look like strong resurgent sides, but I could easily see Houston, Philly, Toronto, or even Montreal pushing for a spot here. Very volatile on the bottom of the East standings. I'm picking New England for the wooden spoon.
I agree that the change of style may cause us to take a step back this year, but Casey's injuries shouldn't be a big issues, he's expected back by the end of March.
East: Red Bulls SKC Dynamo (if in East, although i thought they were going back to the west) Fire DCU West: LA Sounders RSL 'Caps Timbers
West: LA Galaxy *SS Winners - The best got better.......Scary. Full year of Robbie Keane = Golden Boot. Will CCL run dent their shield aspirations? Seattle Sounders FC - Improved from last season. Can they get consistent top shelf output from Montero? FC Dallas - Getting Ferreira back will be huge, plus they are deep. Real Salt Lake - Older, loss of Russell will hurt. Teams around them have improved more, still a threat though. Vancouver Whitecaps FC - Wild Card. Big improvements this season. Portland Timbers FC - Could trump Vancouver. Can they Improve their road form? Chivas USA - Much Improved, will fall short though San Jose Earthquakes - Improved, but still not quite there yet Colorado Rapids - New Coach, new style, will take time to adapt, will be tough at end of the season East Sporting Kansas City - 1st in Conference - Can they consistently finish out games? If they can, could challenge for the Shield. Philadelphia Union - Very Young, but will surprise. Losses of LeToux and Mondragon not as big as everyone believes. Very deep, and has #2 defense intact (#1 in shots allowed), IF the kids at striker step up, look out. Red Bull New York - Improving, but getting older - Can they stay healthy? If so they'll challenge for the top of the East. Chicago Fire - Finished 2011 strong, and improved squad in the off season. Can Oduro continue his improvement? Can they turn some of those record number of draws to W's this season? DC United - Wild Card Big questions on Defense, but they will score a lot of goals Toronto FC - Could snag a playoff spot if their Defense improves, offensively they will be tough to stop. Can Fringes and Kouvermans stay healthy? Houston Dynamo - Could snag the wild card spot, but who is going to score goals? Even if they get Ching back, could be a struggle. New Stadium will be a boost. Columbus Crew - Contention for playoffs but will fall short, who will score goals? Can Duka take the next step? Montreal Impact FC - Expansion team, will be inconsistent. Most likely will struggle on the road. New England Revolution - Lots of holes still, if they are still in contention for a playoff spot when September 1 rolls around Heaps will be coach of the century for pulling that rabbit out of his hat.
[homer goggles]Kind of surprised to see Dallas so low on these lists/not on the lists at all. If 2010 MVP David Ferreira is back to this pre-injury self we should most definitely be competitive and a lock for the playoffs.[/homer goggles] My list, in nor particular order: West: LA, Seattle, Dallas, RSL, Portland, with Colorado nipping at the heels. East: SKC, Houston, NYRB, Philly, and, uh, DC? I actually am not confident with my Eastern picks.
WEST 1 - Los Angeles 2 - Salt Lake 3 - Dallas 4 - Seattle 5 - Portland ------------- 6 - Colorado 7 - Vancouver 8 - San Jose 9 - Chivas USA EAST 1 - New York 2 - Kansas City 3 - Toronto 4 - Houston 5 - Philadelphia ------------ 6 - Columbus 7 - Chicago 8 - DC 9 - Montreal 10 - New England
WEST Top Five RSL - Deep team, quality team, looking to take top dog status from L.A. Expect a DP signing this summer to bolster the roster for when it starts the CCL group stages. L.A. Galaxy - Probably going to rest some stars for CCL games early in the season. Might even win the CCL, but will have a slight hangover afterward. That, some older players on the roster, and Keane's time off to play in Euro 2012 will be enough to cost the team the Shield. Still a playoff lock. FCD - Another loaded team, though could lose Brek Shea and George John this summer. Seattle Sounders - Good, solid team. Makes the playoffs for sure, but a notch below the top teams in the west. Vancouver Whitecaps - Martin Rennie hits the ground running. Won't be easy, but this team will squeak in. Out of the Playoffs Chivas USA - Going to the wire with Vancouver for that last spot. Good enough to nick one of the top four if any of those teams slump. Unfortunately for Chivas, MLS has become a solid league and good teams are going to miss the playoffs. San Jose Earthquakes - Love the offseason they had, but it's going to take a little while for the team to come together. Portland Timbers - Young players aren't quite ready to thrive against this level of talent. Colorado Rapids - The 2010 MLS Cup is going to seem like a long time ago. EAST Top Five Philadelphia Union - Loaded with options, including some real nice grabs from central America. Serious contender for the Shield. Columbus Crew - Overlooked team, one that deserves more supporters in the stands. Ready to grind out points week after week. Sporting KC - This season is going to be a harder ride (and Bobby Convey is a monkey's paw). Yet at least one younger player is taking a star turn on this team. I'll guess C.J. Sapong. D.C. United - Questionable back line, but talent all over the rest of the field. Bill Hamid takes a star turn and puts the team in the playoffs (then goes to Europe after the season). Toronto FC - Invested in much-needed defenders and ready to make a run for the playoffs. A little too reliant on Danny Koevermans to score goals, but I expect some summertime reinforcements on the front line to help put the team over the top. Out of the Playoffs Houston Dynamo - Great coach, new stadium and established pros on the roster should be enough to make the playoffs. Yet Brad Davis is not going to duplicate his 2011 season (when he was amazing) and this franchise had a complacent winter while the rest of the conference has imported a ton of talent. Geoff Cameron is also going to be a prime candidate to head overseas this summer. New York Red Bulls - Plenty of talent, but the pieces don't fit exactly and drama will swallow this team at some point. Montreal Impact - Better than your average expansion team, especially on the back line and in the net. A bit short in the midfield. Chicago Fire - Nice run at the end of last season, but too old and not very deep. Inevitable breakdowns cause the team to fall off the pace in a conference that has gotten a lot better this winter. New England Revolution - Somehow managing to get worse in a league full of rapidly improving teams.
I suck at these, but here we go: West: LA: I suspect the only thing between them and the Supporters Shield is the fact that they are in the Western Conference and will need to beat up on some very good teams. The order here isn't important as I don't think there is a big difference between the next three teams. Sounders: The only major loss was Keller, but it sounds like Gspurning isn't that big a dropoff and the improvement at RB with Johansson replacing Riley and Hurtado another year from his ACL injury should cut down the shots on goal. RSL: A good team with no reason why they shouldn't do well this year, barring injuries, of course FCD: Another good team and with the lack of CCL, they shouldn't suffer from the end of season swoon they had last season. Take your pick: Rapids: They'll be contenders this season and could easily end up in the playoffs, but a new coach and system could create issues at the start of the season that leave them fighting for a play-in spot Timbers: Another year together and without the distraction of Cooper should put them into the thick of the playoff race. Their DP looks to be a scoring machine, but will the rest of the team give him the proper service? On the outside looking in: Earthquakes: They seem to be spinning their wheels for another season. If everything falls together at the right time, they could make a run for the playoffs, but more than likely they end the season barely missing the cut. Chivas: Eh. I don't know much about the ins and outs of this team, but it doesn't sound too positive down there in regards to making the playoffs. Whitecaps: The Whitecaps are the true wildcard in the West. The new coach and a lot of new players could make them a very interesting team to watch. The addition of Le Toux to Camilo and Hassli could turn them into a goal scoring machine and the addition of Lee to Rochat and DeMerit should shore up their defense quite a bit. East: SKC: I think they have a very good chance at getting SS. LA is the better team on paper, but playing in the "weaker" East could really benefit SKC and give them more wins than the Galaxy will be able to get in the "tougher" West. A step down, but not much: Red Bulls: Another season where the Red Bulls are a good team on paper. The loss of Ream and the move of Marquez to CDM really leaves them with a shaky CB situation that could be their downfall. The addition of Cooper up top just makes you scratch your head as he doesn't seem like a good fit and would push better players off the starting XI and onto the bench. Another step back, but order doesn't matter: Fire: They were hot at the end of the season and didn't lose anyone major, so they very well could be the best of the rest, but they'll have some stiff competition for that. Crew: Did they make any major changes outside of sending Rogers down the road? If not, that doesn't bode well for them, but they are still a solid team so they should compete with the Fire for the best of the rest. Toronto: Another year into the salad shooter for TFC's starting rotation. I like the direction they were heading at the end of last season and Winter seems to be getting the hang of things, so who knows. They could be good, or they could suck. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt and going with good. Take your pick: Dynamo: Their big DP signing gets swiped by Portland and they are forced to run to Montreal and try and get Ching back. That just doesn't seem like a winning formula. However, most of the team for the MLS Cup runners-ups are still in place, so last season should be a pretty good indicator for this season. Philadelphia Union: Their offseason hasn't made any sense to me. Mondragon, Mapp and Le Toux gone seem to make them a bottom feeding team in rebuilding mode again and I'm not too impressed with the players they brought in to replace them. It could be a very difficult season for the Union. DCU: At least they'll have De Rosario for the entire season, assuming they get the price negotiated, but their additions don't strike too much confidence, so it could be a nail biter for the fans. Wooden spoon: Montreal: They seem to have the defense portion down, but you have to be able to score goals to win games and their offense is currently shaky. Still a few weeks left to get that offensive DP in camp and it sounds like they are close, so depending on who it is, they could move up. Revolution: Ouch. Good luck, Heaps. You'll need a metric ton of it.
Very tough to pick this year. Out of 18 teams from last year, about 16-17 have made significant improvements, at least on paper. Who knows how much for each team. West: LA Seattle RSL Vancouver (I'll be a believer in the Rennie Revolution, at least to start out with) Dallas (if Ferreira is back healthy by the end of April/mid-May) If Ferreira doesn't make it back near 100%: Colorado (Pareja is ultimately going to do wonders up there) San Jose, Chivas and Portland won't be slouches, however, and could easily sneak in. East: Very hard to pick in the East. 8 teams with a good chance at playoffs. I'll go with: SKC Union TFC NYRB Chicago w/DC, Columbus and Houston just barely missing out, Montreal and New England battling for Wooden Spoon.
Tougher than starting out on a 10 game road trip and being last in the league and working their way to first?
Yep. The east was cushy soft last year (along with a few teams in the west). It won't be this season. Once SKC got done that road trip last year, it was a fairly easy glide to the top of the conference. It took SKC all of three games after that 10-game road trip to leapfrog Chicago, NE, TFC and Vancouver. Another three games and it had overtaken DCU, Houston, Portland and Chivas. The 10-game road trip was a big hump to get over, but the 34-game haul this season is going to be a bigger challenge.
In a league with this much parity, there is no such thing as cushy soft. Outside of Seattle and LA, the entire middle of the league was packed in like sardines. Fairly easy glide? Going from last to first is not an easy glide. It took a 12 game unbeaten streak to get there and then fight until the final game to secure it. I think you are downplaying last season drastically. They will have back almost all of their starters, more depth, all the young players are a year older and most of the East teams are about the same as they were last season with Philly taking a nose dive.
You saw the east last year. It sucked. The Revs, DCU, TFC and pre-Omar-Bravo Chicago were lousy. Toss in two expansion teams from the west, a disaster season from San Jose and another stumbling effort from Chivas and there was plenty of softness to go around in 2011. Most of those teams have gotten a lot better for 2012. SKC is a good team. I picked it for the playoffs for crying out loud. It played well last season and deserves plenty of credit for overcoming that season-opening road trip. That said, last season was ready-made for a good team like SKC to overcome something like that. If SKC had the same schedule this season, it would be a much more daunting task. Over the long haul of the season, I think it's going to have to work harder for its points. Things like a 12-game unbeaten streak won't be as easy to come by. Most of the teams in the east have made a lot of moves. Good moves in most cases. No one sat on their hands. Personally I love the moves Philly made. Did a good job of not getting romantic about last year's model and put together a better model for 2012. We'll see. So, bigger challenge for SKC and I think the team will ultimately adjust and be up to the task.
1) SEATTLE 2) LOS ANGELES 3) SALT LAKE 4) VANCOUVER 5) PORTLAND 1) RED BULL 2) SPORTING KANSAS CITY 3) TORONTO FC 4) DC UNITED 5) CHICAGO That's what I see with the rosters as they stand today, but of course none of the rosters are fully set until our window closes. In the end parity will most likely reign and I don't see anyone doing what LA did last year. There will be nobody running away from the pack and no unbeaten home records.
Yeah, it looks to me that Houston, Philly and Columbus have all taken a step back this offseason leaving the East wide open for the likes of TFC, DC and Chicago to profit.
It is interesting that people have such a bearish outlook on Houston this year. They have not made a splash in the transfer market, but I don't think they had intentions to do much beyond add two pieces. Admittedly they have not done that yet, but when the season starts they look poised to start the same lineup that helped them to a 10 game unbeaten streak and an MLS Cup final. Their current starting 11 is good enough to get into the playoffs. If they are able to add a RW and potentially starting forward, they will be competitive for another Cup run. My ten: 1) SEATTLE 2) LOS ANGELES 3) SALT LAKE 4) DALLAS 5) PORTLAND 1) SPORTING KANSAS CITY 2) NEW YORK 3) HOUSTON 4) DC UNITED 5) CHICAGO
Disagree. They have lost key pieces in Ching, Cruz and Costly. They also lost some of the veteran locker room presences of Freeman and Robinson. They lost Garey too, admittedly a fringe player. The only player they've added is Sturgis, and a draft pick. That's very firm in the negative column. Now I know maybe Dom has a big acquisition up his sleeve, but Houston has a horrible record of successfully integrating their big foreign acquisitions. From Costly to Koke to Landin to Dalglish ... Whomever they do bring in will be on the bench by the 2nd month and off the team in 6 - 12 months. Not to mention that whomever they do bring in at this point will practically miss most if not all of preseason which at the very least guarantees a very slow start for Houston.
Eastern Conference 1. Union - strong D, excellent depth, new latin talent 2. Sporting KC - strong finish last year, big O 3. Toronto FC - much improved toward end of season 4. Red Bulls - inconsistency continues, lack of depth 5. Houston - may drop out if they can't score ------------------------------------------------------- 6. Montreal - close but no cigar, road record dooms them 7. Crew - re-tooling year, no guns 8. DC United - could finish as high as 5 with some breaks 9. Chicago - will go as far as their O carries them 10. Revolution - cause they're the Revs Western Conference 1. Galaxy - they are totally stacked even w/o Gonzalez 2. Sounders - they'll make a run with Zakuani back and Mauro 3. RSL - still very solid, but fading 4. Timbers - they were close last year 5. FC Dallas - Hartman and Co. win the close ones ------------------------------------------------------- 6. Colorado - they are a few players short this year 7. Whitecaps - lots of guns, no D 8. Chivas - they are getting there 9. Earthquakes - not their year, dumped talent MLS Cup - Galaxy over Sporting KC
disagree. Freeman didn't see the field for 11 games. Garey added little to no value. Cruz is not starter quality but I mentioned that as a position of need. Ching will hopefully be back. As for veteran leadership...Ching, Davis, Cameron, Boswell, that is covered. Provided they fill the right wing they lost little of value. Remember they have three spots to fill and one of those will likely be from trials. Integration is always a concern but with seven on the road to start we likely start slow anyway. Camargo and Moffat integrated in weeks last year. Integration is about the right player not a time line.