MLS Team Rankings - Update

I noticed your'e from NoCal. That wouldn't have anything to do with the Quakes being on top of your list would it???
Why are they so high on your list?
They beat the Revs and so could my U-11 boys club team.
They beat the Galaxy on a penalty that would have gone uncalled 5 out of 7 days and otherwise didn't really impress, I was there, I saw it. (insert shameless plug here for www.lariotsquad.net)
They tied KC on the Onstad howler so maybe that was a win.
They tied a crap Colorado team.

Hmmm, class of the league right now??? I don't see it.

At this point, C-bus is probably playing the most attractive ball in the league. SJ has gotten results, but their play isn't terribly attractive.
What is for sure is that NE, Colorado and Dallas suck. The rest of the squads are kinda languishing in early season form.

However, June 7th, look for all hell to break loose when the Galaxy opens Victoria St and finds their form.

 

Actually, given the ranker's NorCal bias, the amazing thing is that LAG is rated as high as third. Given the cr@p performance on the field through 4 games, that ranking has got to be based on reputation and potential rather than results. Right now (and this is coming from a staunch fan) I couldn't rank LAG above 6 or 7 in the league based on performance.

 

My 2 cents

*SJ beat Colorado.

*Colorado stinks

*DC's a mess, Chicago is not

 

The Quakes BEAT the Rapids and are top of the single table with a game in hand. Hard to see how you wouldn't put them at the top.

The Galaxy should be farther down and be replaced by the Metros. Bradley may have gotten the Metros to turn the corner quicker than anyone would have thought.

The Rapids should be in 10th...they've shown absolutely nothing. The Revs at least had a fine game in Dallas and a decent game in Chicago.

The Fire should definitely be above DC. Heck, they're undefeated and United couldn't score in Amsterdam.

And why is that poll going along with this thread?

 

1. Columbus. Too many weapons.
2. San Jose. Not much talent (except of course LD) but playing good team ball
3. Los Angeles. LA's so great, LA's so great, LA's so great... man, these guys aren't so good (in fairness we need to wait until they play some home matches).
4.NY/NJ. Gueverra was a really nice pickup
5. Kansas City. Can look great at times, but way too inconsistant
6. Chicago. Great defense and great speed up top. Should be interesting to see what they can do with Razov back.
7. DC. Looked awesome the first 20 minutes against dallas, also wonderfully skilled at breaking legs.
8. Colorado. Screwed by a frenchman... that should be a song
9. Dallas. With Ronnie O'Brien out it won't be pretty (not that it was anyway)
10. New England. Ick. I like to watch New England games, sometimes the games can produce great goals. They just aren't for New England.

 

Hey you know, I agree with FlashMan.

 

1. San Jose. 3 wins, 1 tie on an Onstad Howler. Getting it done.
2. New Jersey. Bradley has this team playing tough defensively, and just good enough offensively.
3. Columbus. Lots of offensive talent, cant help but think they have blown points though.
4. Los Angeles. Would be lower but will give them a break for the all road schedule.
5. Chicago: Lucky to beat KC.
6. Kansas City. Anyone able to find their defense?
7. DC. Need to start scoring goals.
8. New England. Ugly to watch, so naturally once again will be on the deuce. At least they have a result.
9. Colorado. Not pulling it together.
10. Dallas. This team has me stumped.

 

Right. LA is doing far worse than anyone seems to want to admit. They'll say that DC stinks (that's my team and it does) and yet, LA which has an identical record to DC everyone thinks is a title contender.

This thread is a demonstration of why polls are among the worst things ever to happen to BigSoccer.com.

 

C'mon, you gotta give props to NY/NJ for winning at Giants Stadium, the way they were, it's almost like a US win at Azteca.

 

Its early, but

1. San Hose. No, I meant to spell it like that.
Can they keep this going? They lost a lot of good players. Stay tuned. Just keep saying Young Donovan is the real deal, over and over again

2. Metrostars. No, I mean it. Bob is pushing the right buttons and he is bringing in young players making an impact. For once, they are a fun team to watch.

3. Columbus/LA Tie. You know they will be there, at the end, in the Galaxy's new stadium. Bill Bennett bet on it.

5. K.C. Living above expectations. Would someone send me whatever they are injecting into Preki? I want to reverse my aging process, too.

6. New England. So close, but so far.

7. DC. On paper, man they are good. Now if they would just paper the pitch at RFK

8. Colorado. And this hurts, because they are just getting some good crowds, again.

 

Oops, I forgot Dallas and Chicago. Freudian slip

 

I agree with you, except obviously the Galaxy have had four road games while DC has played twice at home.

Still, the only reason the Galaxy are probably so high is 'cause of pre-season expectations. So far they've lived down beneath them.

 

I'd agree with you if not for one simple fact: There has been absolutely no advantage to home teams this year. In fact, there seems to be an extraordinary disadvantage to playing at home this season.

 

My rankings:

1) San Jose: Good results. Luck alone doesn't yield 10 pts out of 12. Donovan's as effective a decoy as many attackers can be.

2) MetroStars: As a Fire fan I am not exactly surprised by the Metros' performance given Bradley's track record. Is Mathis on the way back to early 2002 form? Is Bradley just what Mathis needs to reclaim his international potential? Stay tuned.

3) Columbus: Can the Crew be the winning team they can be? Only the defense can answer this and giving away needless PKs is the wrong response.

4) Los Angeles: "Can you tell us how to get ... how to get to Victoria Street?" It's easy to attribute the Galaxy's slow start to the daunting road schedule, but is that all? It may also be the case that Ruiz has been figured out somewhat and others have failed to take the pressure off "the Fish" late in matches.

5) Chicago: 1 game doesn't signal a turnaround, true enough, but the Fire's young troops are beginning to gel more quickly than anticipated. Razov's return can only add to their capabilities. If the defensive kinks are worked out, look for the "Men in Red" to battle for each of the three major awards (plus the Brimstone Cup).

6) Kansas City: This is beginning to look like '97 all over again. As many goals as the Wizards score, they seem to give up as many if not more. Gansler absolutely MUST address these defensive lapses and Meola must learn when to charge off his line if the "Azzuri in Missouri" are to make any noise.

7) Colorado: Even without Grimandi, the Rapids have shown that they have the tools to shake up the West. Whether "Inter Colorado" can put everything together for a playoff run depends on how fast the chemistry takes place. Zizi Roberts looks like the steal of the year.

8) New England: At the very least, we know that the Revolution CAN score (Joe-Max and T-2 could be a 20-20 tandem on any team). Steve Nicol's defensive-mindedness seems to conflict with this fact, which may ultimately lead to more draws than wins. Sometimes you have to play to win rather than playing not to lose. Such a strategy can be seen as gaining a point or cheating yourself out of two.

9) Dallas: It's too early to dub the Burn as the "West Ham of American soccer" but the lack of results (especially at home) is worrisome for a team as talented as the Central Texas side. Coach Jeffries would do well to shake up the roster before the season gets too far away from him.

10) D.C.: One could possibly factor in lack of chemistry and experience when assessing United's woeful start, but would that be the whole story? The "Screaming Eagles" may be screaming some unprintable words at Ray Hudson if the ship continues is erratic course. Maybe a dash of "Mad Bulgarian" can bring out the potential of this club.

 

Please do not post polls on this forum. Moved to the MLS GD thread.

 

Lots of SJ loving and Galaxy hating in this thread, which is expected.
The absolutely pathetic thing is SJ still can't draw fans and they are off to their best start. What is it going to take to get people in the seats up there???
The Galaxy are struggling partly due to the schedule, but like someone pointed out, the home teams are something like 2-7-2 so far this year.
However, the Galaxy's real problem is sub par performances from just about everyone except Cobi and Hartman and probably Califf.
EZ has been playing like crap and the midfield, oh the humanity!
Once Sigi gets a creative midfielder in there, Ruiz will scoring again and the Galaxy will be the high flying team everyone was promised.
Plus 27,000 screaming banshees in the new home will prove to be the first true home field advantage MLS has ever seen. The mini pitch they play on in SJ doesn't count as a true home field advantage.

 

Still bitter about the loss? The only "pathetic" thing I see is the galaxative fans making excuses for their sorry assed teams 0-1-3 record. Oh and try 17,000 for our first match, jackass.

 

Ah yes, the attendance smack. Can't beat us on the field so you have to beat us in the stands.

As far as SJ not having any home field advantage -- the best home record ever in any MLS season was last year in San Jose. 14 games, 12 wins, one draw, one loss (yes, to the Galaxy, congratulations) -- 37 out of 42 points. Let's see how you guys do at Victoria Street this year.

 

Number of votes do not necessarily make it great. You could start a thread in the MLS N&A forum that says "Soccer sucks!" and it would have numerous replies within in an hour. But that wouldn't make it great.

Anyways, the forum guidelines state that polls will be moved out of that forum.

 

To those with Napoleon's syndrome in SJ:
Of course I am bitter over the loss two weeks ago in SJ. It was a big downer for the trip we took up with the Riot Squad. However, many of us down here in LA want SJ to succeed in the stands and on the field, except against us of course, because it provides the only true derby rivalry in the league. If SJ continues to draw 9-10k and the League moves the club, we down here in LA get screwed as do you of a good rivalry.

Oh and your home field advantage is completely due to that small pitch you have. It's short and at most 68 yds wide which is 12 yds narrower than what Victoria St will be. I know first hand the advantage is not because of the atmosphere. SJ is the epitome of a soccer mom/dad/junior crowd.

You only cheer when you're told to

Ring a bell???