WVHooligan - Soccer Blog

Not a whole lot of change this week in the WVH Power Rankings. The Labor Day weekend saw the Crew go on top of the standing and the Rapids fall to the bottom of the standings. In regards to the standings here on WVH, it is pretty much the same on top as it is on the bottom.

1. Columbus Crew (40 pts., same) – Made the most of things on the road to become the first club to 40 points this season. I like the schedule from here out for Columbus too, eight games left and all equally good for this club who hopes to get their second Supporter’s Shield trophy. Their key though remains in the hands…or feet rather of Guillermo Barros Schelotto.

2. Houston Dynamo (35 pts., up 1) – Gritty home win against Chicago thanks to Dwayne De Rosario. I think the loss to New York was one of lack of energy on their part and they definitely made up for it against the Fire. They are having a season that kind of reminds me of their last year in San Jose. Lots of wins, lots of draws and few losses. Only five losses on the year, making this club look good for a three peat.

3. New England Revolution (38 pts., down 1) – They drop based on a game they should have won in my opinion. The chances were there against LA and really their defense gave up the two Landon Donovan goals like they were nothing. They need to bounce back tonight in the CONCACAF Champions League to make up for it.

4. Chicago Fire (35 pts., same) – The loss didn’t hurt them because beating Houston in Houston is not an easy thing to do. I did like the combinations of Blanco to McBride. That could be a very dangerous and fun thing to watch for the rest of the year.

5. DC United (32 pts., same) – Three shutouts for Louis Crayton since his arrival. Good time to pick up a solid person between the pipes. Plus they can just throw Zach Wells out there for those CONCACAF games and still be fine. Still, I did think about dropping them because they gave up a shutout to New York at home in that 0-0 draw. AND Jamie Moreno MISSED a PK!

6. New York Red Bulls (32 pts., same) – Great confidence boost for New York to get a shutout on the road in DC for the first time EVER. That’s also a good sign that this defense is turning a corner and looks like a true contender here. Two months ago we never would have thought that.

7. Real Salt Lake (30 pts., up 1) – The home result against their rivals gets the a slight boost. That’s one of four games they must win down the stretch. This club could very well go into the books as the best home team ever and the worst road team ever, or at least one of the worst.

8. San Jose Earthquakes (25 pts., up 1) – We all really never thought this would be the case but give Frank Yallop can company credit, they’ve found what works for them and they are sticking to it. I honestly wouldn’t be shocked to see them pass up a couple western clubs in getting in the playoffs right now.

9. FC Dallas (26 pts., down 2) – Can win at home and now are sitting outside of the playoff picture. It may have come at the hands of the best club right now in the league but they should have taken care of things better. They get the lead then to only blow it minutes later. Blame the offense for not scoring or blame the defense for giving up goals. But it really comes down to their midfield, its just not cutting it right now.

10. Chivas USA (27 pts., up 1) – Well, well, look who is finally back in the playoff hunt. The Atiba Harris trade back in the winter is starting to really look like a smart deal for Preki and his club. Can it last though, that is my only question.

11. Toronto FC (26 pts., down 1) – Toronto manager John Carver threw out ever offensive weapon he had and still got only one goal. Plus that late game-winner by Chivas probably killed anything that was actually left in the tank for this club.

12. Kansas City Wizard (26 pts., same) – Yeah, even with the goal on the road (which was nice too) this club still had nothing else in the tank to stay with an expansion club for 90 minutes. They may only be six points back of a playoff bid, but I think they are miles away at this point.

13. LA Galaxy (25 pts., same) – Landon Donovan and David Beckham looked good. Eddie Lewis wasn’t too shabby either. That defense is still terrible and Josh Wicks turned out to be just as bad as Steve Cronin.

14. Colorado Rapids (24 pts., same) – Is it time to start thinking about 2009?

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