June 6, 2008 by f4denz.

Well the MLS season is over one third of the way through, and some things simply don’t make sense to most fans: Columbus is one of the best teams in the league and DC United sit as one of the worst. Landycakes is the early leader in the golden boot along with Kenny Cooper, last years stars Angel (who just got his second goal this season) and Emillio last years winner has scored only 3 goals as United has struggled early in the season. What will happen as teams enter the middle third of the season, well last night we saw the struggling Red Bulls pull off a 1-0 win against Chivas, perhaps Jozy heading to Spain will allow the rest of the team to focus on MLS. This weekend has some exciting match ups:

F*C* Dallas @ Revolution

A Friday night match up at Gillette stadium will be without a couple key players on each side, New England is still dealing with the nagging injury to Taylor Twellman, and for this match they will be without one of the bright stars of the season so far as Kenny Mansally is with his national team (Gambia) as they start their World Cup qualifying. Dallas is dealing with some injuries as Sala, McCarty, and Wagenfuhr are all unlikely to see action tonight.

New England has only one loss in their last 7 matches (4-1-2) and Dallas has only one win in their last 7 (1-4-2), so this one is unlikely to see Dallas shake off their funk, but will New England be able to find a way to deal with what I think is one of the best forward duo’s in the league? Kenny Cooper has proven he has what it takes to be a goal scorer in MLS (when he is healthy) and Oduro has four goals in his last 4 matches, together they bring size and speed to the Dallas long ball attack. The problem for Dallas is that beyond those two there is little scoring power on their roster, only 5 of their 15 goals this season come from other players, and that allows teams to crowd the box and really eliminate or try to eliminate the threat from the Dallas duo.

Matt Reis has 4 clean sheets already this season and has a low 1.18 goals against average, and that will be enough to give New England the advantage in this one, as I think they will pull out a 1-0 victory in a match that I think will be more exciting than the final score would indicate.
Game Guide

Your team is a natural disaster

My favorite chant for the reformed San Jose Quakes is “your team is a natural disaster” because so far this season it has been so very true. In a disaster, you get the occasional bright spot as some hero does something, well heroic, like the San Jose defeat of Houston a couple weeks ago, but the overwhelming suffering and tragedy, like last weeks beat down by RSL 3-1, seem to be the more common reality. Now San Jose has to travel to face off with another team that has a great home record (4-1-0 for the Crew at home), but can San Jose turn the recent events in Columbus (see commissioner Garber’s statement here) to get the Crew and their fans more focused on what is happening in the stands and take advantage of it on the pitch? I doubt it, the Crew have a solid team and the Quakes are still without Kei Kamara, and Ivan Guerrero both on international duty, and injuries to Jay Ayres, Philippe, Garcia and Glinton will slow down the league’s worst offensive unit.

Columbus is looking to rebound after a stunning 0-2 defeat at the hands of Chivas last weekend and their first home loss of the season two weeks ago at the hands of New England. Columbus has not scored a goal in their last 3 matches so either Robbie Rogers (5 goals) or Alejandro Moreno (4 goals) will need to step up and work with Schelotto (5 assists) to get the Crew attack back in form. To be honest there is no better team to face in the league to get off a slump or offensive drought against as RSL showed last weekend. I have to believe the Crew will win this one 2-0 and get the attention back on their performance on the pitch.
Game Guide

OK time for work, so I will do the rest of my reviews later this afternoon, but here are the rest of the available game guides:

Houston vs. Toronto

Galaxy vs. Rapids

Fire vs. United

Back to the action

Can TFC stay hot on the road?

So after playing 6 of their last 7 matches on their home pitch and doing very well (4-1-2) and in five of those matches they kept their opponents from scoring, while in those 7 matches they scored 9 goals and only gave up 4, but this weekend they are on the road. Houston has finally found their form, after going 6 weeks without a win, in week 7 they got their first win and since then they have only lost once (3-1-1 ) in their last five matches. Houston is coming off a trip to DC to face United that was abandoned after 16 minutes due to bad weather.

Houston will be missing a couple key pieces of their team, Eddie Robinson is on a red card suspension, and Wade Barrett is likely to miss a match with an injury. While the Red’s will also be without a number of players, Maurice Edu and Amado Guevara are both gone for international duty, and Danny Dichio is questionable with an injury. So neither team will at full strength, and both teams are fairly evenly matched, both have scored 13 goals, and while Houston’s defense has given up a few more goals 15 to Toronto’s 12, five of Houston’s goals were scored on backup keeper Tony Caig.

The Dynamo have not lost at home this season (2-0-2) and TFC have only one win on the road (1-3-0), so I expect that TFC will struggle and Houston will be able to take advantage of a team missing some players, this one ends 2-1 with Houston continuing their unbeaten at home streak.
Game Guide

Battle for the top of the West

So with Chivas and Dallas losing their matches, the winner of this match will be at least tied for first in the Western Conference. The Galaxy will be trying to get revenge for a 4-0 defeat on opening day when these two faced off at Colorado, but they will be without Landycakes who will be on national team duty. Colorado is going to be hurting as well, gone are Bouna Coundoul, and Pablo Mastroeni both with their national teams, also our are Mike Petke, Justin Hughes, and John DiRaimondo with injuries.

These teams have met 23 times at the Home Depot Center, and LA holds a distinctive edge with 17 wins, two ties, and four loses, and with Beck’s back from his tour with the English national team it could be a very long night for Colorado. Colorado have been very hot and cold they are 5-5 this season with no draws, and only one time getting the same result in two straight matches (a 2 game losing streak). LA has the highest scoring offense in MLS, but they also have the second worst defense, so this one should be exciting and have some decent scoring. I am going to pick the Galaxy to win this one 3-1, as Colorado continues their streak of wins or losses.
Game Guide

Best vs. Worst

So Chicago has the leagues best defense, they have only given up six goals all season, and DC United has the worst defense having given up 22 goals so far this season (last year they only gave up 34 all season). While United have done slightly better in the last couple weeks with a win, a tie, and the Wednesday match that was abandoned, but prior to that they lost 6 of 7, with only a home win against RSL against six loses. Chicago’s two loses this season have both come at home, but one was a lost to Houston who has found their form of late. The downside for Chicago is even with a win against United, they will still trail New England even if they get the 3 points, as the Revolution beat Dallas on Friday night.

Chicago is one of few teams in MLS action this weekend not missing major pieces of their team due to injury or national team duty, United are not so lucky, as they are still without Ben Olsen and Jeff Carroll, both who are out with injury. DC is also missing Francis Doe who is on national team duty, but Gallardo is back healthy. It will be interesting to see the midfield match up between DP’s, one Blanco has been red hot with 4 goals and 5 assists in 9 matches and having played every minute in those matches. On the other hand is Gallardo, who in 9 matches has 3 goals and 0 assists, and has 760 minutes in those matches. I don’t think that DC United will be able to score against the Fire’s defense and Jon Busch will get his 5^th clean sheet of the season, as the Fire win this one 2-0.
Game Guide

The RSL vs. KC preview will be up Saturday morning, until then I am back

OFF MY SOAPBOX

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June 4, 2008 by f4denz.

Battle of perennial powers

Well the MLS calendar may say it is week 11, but for Houston (3-3-5 14pts) and DC United (3-7-1 10pts) it will be their 12th match and both will play their 13th match this weekend. It is a clear attempt by MLS to massage the schedules, so teams are not overwhelmed with the upcoming SuperLiga tournament, which will kick off later this summer. But who would expect two of the best teams in recent MLS history to be struggling, Houston was the last team in MLS to pick up a victory this season, and United has fewer than 1 point per game so far this season. Houston has recently started playing better and are 3-1-1 in their last 5 matches, while United continue to look for a direction and are 1-3-1 in their last 5 matches.

DC United has really struggled without Christian Gomez (traded in the off season), and Ben Olsen (still out with an ankle injury), they simply have looked lost at times, and their million dollar man Marcelo Gallardo has had moments of brilliance, but for the most part has to be considered a bust so far this season. DC is better at home where they are 3-2-0 and have a +4 goal differential. Can they find a way to beat the two time defending MLS Champions?

Houston has recently started to click, and their 3 wins in their last 5 matches are as good as anyone in MLS, but they have struggled on the road and are just 1-3-3 with a -4 goal differential. While Barrett is doubtful due to injury, Eddie Robinson is out serving a red card suspension, the rest of the roster including both DeRo and Onstad are back from their time with Team Canada. Houston has scored at least one goal in each of their last 5 matches, and in three of those matches they were able to put two goals up on the scoreboard. Tonight will be no exception as Houston gets a road win over a still struggling DC United, 2-1 Houston.

GAME GUIDE

Which will prevail goats or bulls?

Chivas has regained their form and have won three straight matches and are 3-1-1 in their last 5 matches, while the Red Bulls are suffering like DC United with very inconsistent efforts so far this MLS season and are 1-2-2 in their last 5 matches.

Chivas was my preseason pick to win it all, they looked great last year and if they had avoided a couple of injuries they may have given everyone a run for their money in the playoffs. This year nine different players have scored for them, and ten players have assists, but the goat’s will be without their leading goal scorer from last year as Galindo is out with an injury. RSL cast off’s Carey Talley and Atiba Harris both will be in the starting line ups on Thursday evening, and Atiba was a one man wrecking crew a couple weeks ago when Chivas beat down DC United, he did not score he was the cornerstone of all three of their goals.

The Red Bulls on paper should be one of the very best teams in the league, Juan Pablo Angel and Renya fill their two DP slots, but neither of them have hit the 500 minute mark so far this season. The rumors of Jozy heading to Europe have impacted his performance, but he still has managed to score 3 goals so far this season, but 7 of New York’s 10 goals this season have come from 3 players, and Juan Pablo isn’t one of them. For the Red Bulls to have any chance this season at making a real impact on MLS, they will need Juan Pablo to return to his form of last season, and either send Jozy on his way, or get him focused on the task at hand. If this match were being played at the Home Depot Center, it would be easy to pick Chivas, but since this is being played in New York I am going to have to pick this one as a 2-2 draw.

GAME GUIDE

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May 31, 2008 by f4denz.

Can RSL make fans forget?

It is often said that winning makes everything easier to swallow, well RSL fans have been choking down a lot of losses, a lot of disappointments, and this week many got a huge increase in the cost of their season tickets as the team prepares to move to their new stadium. When your ticket price jumps over $400 bucks per seat, and your team is sitting in second to last place (something that is very common for RSL fans), it can be enough to push you over the edge. Perhaps the timing could not be better for RSL, they have four of their next five matches at home, a place where they have not lost a match all season. But wait, it gets even better, two of those home matches are against San Jose (the only team worse than RSL so far this season), so a couple wins at home and RSL can move up the standings, and ease the pain in the wallet that fans are feeling. It really is interesting that the relocation event starts the Monday after that 4^th home game in three weeks, it may be the smartest thing the RSL staff has done in a very long time, but likely they didn’t plan it at all. OK, on to the match at hand.

San Jose comes to RES for the second time this season (first was a 4-0 defeat in a LHUSOC match), and they do so without a number of key players: Ayres, Glinton, and Peguero Jean Philippe are all out to injuries, Kamara, and Guerrero are both gone for national team duties. San Jose did pick up Jovan Kirovski, and Kelly Gray from Colorado, for keeper Preston Burpo. They also signed Amir Lowery and Dan Benton. Will any of this help San Jose, I doubt it, there number one issue has been scoring they have only put 6 balls into the back of the net all season, and while Kirovski has proven he can score goals (24 in his 4 seasons in MLS), it is not enough he scores one goal for every 345 minutes of playing time, or one goal every four matches, simply not enough to lift San Jose from their scoring woes. Will Ryan Johnson live up to the “former RSL player” curse? Atibia, and Esky both put in goals when they faced RSL earlier in the season, and I would not be surprised if Johnson did the same thing tonight.

RSL has been decent at home, granted they blew leads late against Chicago and the Galaxy, but both matches could have been wins. Ian Joy is out on a red card suspension, Movsisyan and Sturgis are both still out with injuries, as Espindola, Morales, and Olave are all expected to play but have ongoing injuries. The question is how much confidence can RSL have after getting outplayed against the Rapids a couple weeks ago, and last week giving up two late goals to snatch a road win against Dallas from their grasp? Can the RSL defense shut down the struggling Quake offense? Will RSL start to get balls into the box for Deuchar to finish? Can Williams, Morales, Beckerman, and Kovalenko control the midfield and help RSL dictate the pace of the match? There are so many questions, will this be the match we get some positive answers, I think so. I am going to pick a 3-1 RSL victory as we continue good form at home.
Game Guide

More about who isn’t playing than who is

The matchup between TFC and the LA Galaxy is really more about what players will not be playing, for TFC the list is long with both international duty and suspensions: Robinson, Sutton, Guevara, and Robert all are gone for this match, and Marshall and Dichio both are nursing injuries. The LA side doesn’t get much better as Beckham and Jazic are out on international duty, Vagenas is nursing an injury, and does anyone really know what is going on with Landycakes? He goes to England, but fails the fitness test, he is not listed as a starter in this match, has travelled a lot this week, and has the USMNT match with Spain in a couple days, so will he play or not? I am going to think he may be a second half sub, but LA without a healthy Donovan, and without Beck’s is not a very good team, they may be getting Ruiz back, but his form can’t be up to par after spending so much time out with injuries and now playing with a bunch of guys he hasn’t had a lot of playing time with.

I think TFC takes advantage, most of their defense is there, they can bring in a striker like Jeff Cunningham, and they still have Edu and Ricketts in the midfield. I have to think that will be enough to beat LA, so this one will be a 2-1 victory for Toronto FC.
Game Guide

The match almost no one will see

Another HDNet exclusive (which means less than 15% of people can see it, and in this case it may not be a bad thing) will feature the second match of the week for the Dynamo as they face off with the New York Red Bulls, and add in the fact that they will be without DeRo and Onstad for international duty, and Robinson for a red card, plus Barrett still most likely out with an injury, and things don’t look good for Houston. On the Red Bull side, the only real impact is Stammler is still nursing an injury, but expected to play. I have been waiting all season for the Red Bulls to click as a team, but on the heels of one of the ugliest beat downs in MLS history (1-5 loss to Chicago), can they recover? It is hard to believe a team with such offensive power as Jozy Altidore, Juan Pablo Angel at forward, and Van der Bergh and Borman in the midfield, and a fairly solid defense, have struggled as much as they have. I think this match will be a great chance for the Red Bulls to rebound and find some form, I pick them to win this one 2-1.
Game Guide

MLS Rematch of the Year (so far)

The last time Chivas and the Crew met it was considered by many to be the best MLS match this season, a 4-3 victory for the Crew on their home pitch, but the rematch is going to be played at the Home Depot Center, and the focus of the league may be more on the action in the stands than it is on what happens on the pitch. Chivas has had issues with the supporter groups, including banning members from matches for violent behavior, but not to be out done, the Crew have become the center of some controversy as fans were videotaped making racial taunts during a recent home match against New England. So both clubs have become shining examples of the wrong types of behavior in the stands.

On the pitch Chivas is more like a hospital than a soccer team, they have varying states of injuries to the following players: Bornstein, Eskandarian, Galindo, Vaughn, Wicky, Sotinca, Suarex, and Thomas, heck that is a nice core of a team. While Columbus doesn’t have a lot of injuries, they will be without their anchor as Frankie Hejduk serves a red card suspension. I simply think Columbus will be trying to get the focus on the pitch and not the stands and with Robbie Rogers becoming a star in MLS, it will prove too much for the goats as Columbus picks up a 2-1 win on the road.
Game Guide

Showdown in the West

So FC Dallas sits in second, and Colorado sits in third and both are within three points of first place Galaxy in the Western Conference race, so this match up has a lot of implications for both sides. FC Dallas is coming into their third match in eight days and they are 1-0-1 in the previous two matches, but they will be without a couple key pieces to their roster, as Adrian Serioux is on international duty, Andre Rocha is on a red card suspension, and Wagenfuhr and McCarty are both out with injuries, Rocha is the teams leader in assists. Colorado is without their number one keeper Bouna Coundoul who is on national team duty, and have a number of players nursing injuries (they have had this problem all year), Mastronei, Burciaga, DiRaimondo, and Petke. I am tempted to pick Dallas in a road upset, but I get a feeling this one will end up as a 1-1 draw.
Game Guide

OFF MY SOAPBOX

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May 24, 2008 by f4denz.

King of the Hill

When the Rev’s try to do what no other MLS side has been able to do yet this season, they for the first time all season will have close to a full roster, but can they stop the winning ways of the Crew at home (4-0-0)? Well New England have proven themselves to be road warriors so far this season (3-1-1), those three road wins are tied for the best in MLS. But at home I have to stick with the undefeated Crew, this one should be exciting as no team can knock Columbus out of first, but New England could make it interesting heading into June. I have been impressed with the talent that the Rev’s have brought to MLS from Africa, there 3 new additions bring pace, size, and talent to what already was a good side. Columbus has been riding high off the talent of 2^nd year player Robbie Rogers, and one of their most experienced players Alejandro Moreno, who have 9 of the teams 14 goals so far this season. Columbus gets challenged but win this one 3-2.
Game Guide

Midweek Rematch

DC United suffered another loss on Wednesday night as they went north of the border to face TFC in front of what some call the leagues best fans, today they get another chance at beating Toronto, but now in front of their home fans. DC United will seek revenge on their first ever loss to TFC, and more importantly they will be trying to stop their 4 game losing streak that has seen them score only one goal in those 4 matches. If you want to know how important the loss of Gomez was, simply look at the tables, DC United are the worst team in MLS and Christian’s new team Colorado is atop the Western Conference, add in the loss of Ben Olsen and the failure of the talented Gallardo to make the team better and their problems just seem to be getting started. TFC on the other hand is one of the hottest MLS teams, they have a 6 match unbeaten streak (4-0-2), and their defense has been stellar giving up only one goal in their last five matches. Toronto has not been the highest scoring team in recent play scoring only 5 goals in their last 5 matches, but with their defense, they don’t need many goals to get results and I am going to pick TFC to win again (despite my feeling that United may finally break out like they did against RSL) TFC 2- United 0.
Game Guide

RSL rivals battle

I still struggle to figure out which of these teams I hate more, Colorado with Pablo, or the Goats USA? Neither side has looked impressive yet this season, but both hold wins over RSL on their home pitches, when these two sides have met in Colorado the most common result has been a draw (4 out of 5). Both teams have scored 13 goals this season; the difference is that Colorado has given up only 9 goals which makes them the best defense in the West. On the other side Chivas have given up 16, only DC United has given up more. Both teams have scored in almost every match so far this season, only once have the Rapids failed to score, and Chivas has been blanked only twice. I think this will be a entertaining match but will end like most of their matches in Colorado as a draw 2-2.
Game Guide

Galaxy aim for the stars

Well LA could put themselves in first place in the Western Conference with a win against KC and if my prediction for a draw between Chivas and Colorado comes true. No team has scored more goals than LA so far this season 19, and they are facing a KC team that has less than half that with only 9 goals all season (3 in their last 4 matches). The problem in this one for LA is that other than the United no team has given up more goals 16 (same as the other team from LA), the KC defense is anchored by Jimmy Conrad one of the best defenders in MLS and KC have only allowed 10 goals to be scored against them. Something is going to give in this one and I have a feeling that it will be the defense of the Wizards, I don’t think that LA will get a hat trick from anyone player but I think a team hat trick will give them the win at home, Galaxy 3-1.
Game Guide

Defensive battle in the East

So the two best defenses in MLS match up on Sunday in New York, as the Red Bulls who have only given up 6 goals all season will face off against the Chicago Fire, who have only given up 5 goals. Both teams have a lot of injuries that will impact who can play as well as how well some players may perform, check the game guide for the gory details. New York will be without Dave van der Bergh out for a red card suspension, as well they will be without head coach Juan Carlos Osario who is also serving a one game suspension. Chicago will be trying to just stay close to the top of the East, and hoping that Columbus cools off at some point this season. This game also features the match up of the non-Beckham superstars, both Juan Pablo Angel and Blanco made an impact last season on their teams and the league, now the two superstars will match up for the first time this season. Angel has been suffering from injuries early in 2008, but Blanco has been on the pitch every minute of every game so far for Chicago, this matchup should be one of the best of the weekend, shame it is only going to be offered on Telefutura with their horrible technical issues and Spanish only broadcasting. Imagine if all the other matches were English only, outrage. Anyhow I have no idea if this one will end up being a scoring fest or a drought, but I am leaning towards the latter a 0-0 draw.
Game Guide

Can RSL take advantage

So RSL already owns a victory over Dallas this year, but they have never gotten a win or draw when facing Dallas in Texas (0-4-0), RSL has also not gotten any points on the road this year (0-4-9) and only scored two goals in their four defeats. How could anyone think that this match should be any different? Well Dallas has just made a coaching change, out is Steve Morrow and in is Marco Ferruzzi, but has that interim label, how will players react? Dallas will be without Adrian Serioux who is serving a red card suspension, their defense was already suspect as DP Duilio Davino has struggled to adapt to the MLS style of play, Dax McCarty is still out due to an injury, and they are coming off a total thrashing at home against the Galaxy 5-1. Their biggest weakness in my opinion is that they are a one trick team so far, long balls over the top to Kenny Cooper has been their only real offensive threat this year, it has lead to half of their 10 goals, but shut down Kenny and who will step up? One of last season’s surprises was Juan Toja, who has been almost invisible this season, their midfield is very suspect, but can RSL take advantage?

I think RSL has to counter the long ball tactics of Dallas with two efforts, first control the midfield and don’t allow the more accurate balls from the middle of the pitch, make Dallas play long balls out of their own defensive third. Second, counter and cross, we have to have a quick response as Dallas will throw too many players into the attack, if we counter fast and get the ball into their third of the pitch and put good crosses into Deuchar we could just start to see the goals be delivered by “Dr. Goal”. This will be tough as our attack will have to come from the outside as Morales appears to be out for another match, I had hoped we would have moved Dema back into the defensive mid role and given Matias Corboba a chance to show if he has the ability to play on the first squad. But if the game guide is to be believed it looks like Kenny Cutler will get another start in the midfield, he had moments last week both good and bad moments (more bad than good in my opinion) but the reality is that we lost a match we could have won at Colorado, and this week is another match we could and should win.

I am going to pick another RSL win and I am going to pick it the same as the last time these two teams met, 2-1 for RSL.
Game Guide

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May 21, 2008 by f4denz.

DC United @ TFC

Well this matchup between the bottom two teams in the East should be entertaining, but I would not expect a high scoring match. DC United has one goal in their last three matches (all loses), and TFC has scored just one goal in their last two (both ties). So TFC has an edge in momentum, but when these two sides faced off earlier in the season, it was DC United who dominated and put a 4-1 whipping on the boys from Canada. The projected line ups are:

This is a very different TFC than what United faced earlier in the year, they have added a number of new international players and by the look of the line up two that have made a great impact already in their time in Toronto will be in the match Guevara and Ricketts bring offensive punch and creativity to the lineup and with Robert becoming the on the field leader of the team, TFC is a much improved side in week 9 vs. week 2.

I am going to pick TFC to win tonight 2-0 over DC United who really are trying to figure it out. Offical Game Guide

Same MLS town, Same MLS name, very different team

So for the first time the team formely known as the San Jose Earthquakes, now the Houston Dynamo will be facing off against the new version of the Quakes, it will be interesting to see how the fans react on Thursday evening as these two sides walk out for introductions. San Jose has really struggled to score, they only have 4 goals in 7 matches and they have a number of injuries that will impact their roster (Ayres, Glinton, and Philippe are all out and Garcia is probable), they have only scored in two of their matches a 2-0 win against the Rapids and a 3-2 defeat at the hands of the Columbus Crew. Houston seems to have found their scoring edge by putting 2-1 victories up the last two weeks against Colorado and Chicago. Here are the starting lineups:

While the emotions will be high on both sides as the match kicks off at Buck Shaw Stadium, Houston has too much talent and I think they will put two into the back of the net again. The only question is can San Jose do enough to get on the scoreboard? Having to play Ned Grabavoy at striker tells you how much trouble the Quakes are in, I think they simply do not have a chance. 2-0 Houston. Official Game Guide

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