20 May 2008
WVH Power Rankings: Week 8
Posted by Drew Epperley under: Chicago Fire; Chivas USA; Colorado Rapids; Columbus Crew; DC United; FC Dallas; Houston Dynamo; KC Wizards; LA Galaxy; MLS; New England Revolution; New York Red Bulls; Power Rankings; Real Salt Lake; San Jose Earthquakes; Toronto FC .
Just as I said yesterday. Week eight in Major League Soccer was all about making a statement. Some for good and some for bad. Either way, some clubs are starting to show us exactly where they will stand this season. For some clubs that isn’t a good thing as now will start to be the time where we see clubs make drastic changes either in roster or coaching changes.
In all, we know summer is around the corner and that can definitely put a smile on most faces.
A few changes this week, I guess Chicago didn’t like the heat of beating at the top spot, as last week they shared it with Columbus. Dallas continues their pace down the rankings and finally some quality player out of some western clubs.
1. Columbus Crew (19 pts., same) - They gave us no reason to demote them as the top club in MLS right now. They went on the road and get a solid draw against Toronto FC. They had their moments in this game where they could have easily been scored on but the fact remains, the Crew still have the best record in the league at 6-1-1.
2. Chicago Fire (16 pts., down 1) - Only dropping one spot for now after the Houston loss. But the more I see this club at home the more I wonder about them. Two losses at home isn’t helping them out here. I think they are counting their days until the summer transfer window to get rid of Wilman Conde though, his play against Houston not only caused the second goal but too many fouls in the game gave Houston chances. I can name seven western clubs that would drool to have his skills though on defense.
3. New England Revolution (16 pts., same) - This just seems to be a solid area for New England to be in. The result against San Jose was expected, and anything less and you can bet people would be talking about it. But at the same time the result was needed at home. The Revs had to show themselves that they could win at home again here this season. Plus a two-game winning streak never hurt anyone.
4. Toronto FC (11 pts., same) - I saw no reason to move this club up or down. The offense still needs some work but they did have their chances against Columbus. Sometimes you can’t write against a club who hits the post a couple times. Luck just wasn’t on their side against the Crew but now they have to shift focus to DC this week, twice. With the way DC has played they should be able to get no less than four points this week.
5. Colorado Rapids (12 pts., up 3) - Still a club I am having trouble figuring out. But a win at home in convincing fashion always gets my attention. Its all about consistent play with this club though. They are setting the pace right now in the west, so they have to keep this up or Houston will quickly pass them up. But one good thing is happening, Omar Cummings is starting to become that go-to scorer that I was wanting to see from this club.
6. New York Red Bulls (12 pts., down 1) - The bump down because of the amount of chances gone to waste against KC. It was another one of those home games that this club should have won but ended up with a draw instead. That kind of play will really come back to haunt this club in the long run.
7. Kansas City Wizards (11 pts., down 1) - Solid play on the road but for the most part they did more defending than anything in the end. Kevin Hartman was huge in the game. The offense still looked lost but at least the defense showed up for the first time in a month. A lot of work left to do with this club though.
8. Houston Dynamo (10 pts., up 2) - Showing us the first win wasn’t a fluke. The offense had quality chances on goal and they started to take advantage of those chances. They still will have to sign another striker this summer but right now they are in a decent spot I think. Probably more dangerous than anything else.
9. LA Galaxy (11 pts., up 2) - They showed us again that they can score in bunches on Sunday. They also showed us that people not named David Beckham and Landon Donovan can score for this club to win. Still some issues on defense and in the midfield but things are slowly turning around for them in those areas. Plus the big win on the road was a boost of confidence that the defense really needed. Let’s look at the bigger picture too, their three wins were against some no-so good teams: Dallas, Chivas and San Jose. Believe me they have work to do.
10. FC Dallas (9 pts., down 3) - I didn’t drop them as far as some will this week but there is some obvious internal problems going on with this club (more on that in a little bit). But the more I see this club the more frustrated I get with them. Its not all in the lack of moves to replace Carlos Ruiz or what was done on defense but its more of how the pieces in place right now just aren’t working and nothing is changing about them at the moment.
11. Real Salt Lake (8 pts., down 2) - Again, the road is a mystery for this club. Until they figure out how to win on the road they will probably never be higher than 10 on this list here. Their few chances against Colorado suggest that this club still still has a way to go here this season.
12. Chivas USA (8 pts., up 1) - Give this club credit, down nine players to injuries and they battled back to win. That’s a character win more than anything but more importantly they finally got the monkey off their back about winning from behind. There is still hope for this club, I’m sure of it. Injuries have been killer for them this year.
13. DC United (6 pts., down 1) - I know some DC fans will say they’ve been in this position before, but unlike those clubs before this club just has no cohesion with one another. Its pretty obvious that they miss the play of Ben Olsen and a guy like Brian Carroll in the midfield. Also, Marcello Gallardo is playing well but he isn’t getting any help.
14. San Jose Earthquakes (4 pts., same) - A lot of growing pains are going on here. I know they have no where to go but up. But at the same time they still have no life on offense here. Plus that own-goal is killer to any kind of confidence that they have going right now.
4 Comments so far...
tower0surfer Says:
20 May 2008 at 10:44 am.
Dallas is not a good team? THen why were they ranked 7th last week. So if the Galaxy beat the Wizards, who you also have ranked 7th, will they not be a good team as well and you’ll leave them at 9th still. Based on your ranking the Galaxy beat a team that was four places higher and were leading the west for the first part of the season. The galaxy are deserving of more credit then what they get, and you can only play the teams you are scheduled. By the way two of the losses the galaxy have are against Colorado and Toronto, last year whipping boys this year both are top or near the top in their conference. I would only suggest that they move ahead of Houston, a team that beat Chicago but as you admit are not all that great at home. Obviously the next couple of weeks will be tough for the galaxy as Beckham and Donovan have international duties, but i would not count out the amount of work Gullit is doing. If he can put players in the right spots we may get better then expected results.
Scott Says:
20 May 2008 at 5:33 pm.
DC fans are in despair right now because the team has NEVER been in this position before. Everyone’s saying that last year we started our poorly as well. We’re long past the start of the season. We’re in the midst of it. And we see huge losses to Real Salt Lake, Chivas, Colorado, and Kansas City, and we can’t figure out what’s wrong. Honestly, I don’t even think it’s Soehn’s fault; there’s just NO chemistry right now. Last year’s team was probably not as talented as this year’s version, and yet they won the Supporter’s Shield. Because they were all familiar with each other.
…I miss Christian Gomez…
Rollins Says:
20 May 2008 at 5:46 pm.
I can’t wait for the NE/Crew game this weekend!
Cannon Girl Says:
21 May 2008 at 12:33 am.
Re: #14 - Your theory might ring true if my Joe and his Quakes were quitters Drew, but trust me, they’re not quitters. GO QUAKES!
