WVHooligan.com - MLS Blog
A look at Major League Soccer (MLS) through the eyes of a MLS writer and fan.
It is that time again, the new season is here and I will make my annual Bold MLS Season Predictions.
Last year I did alright in some predictions, and pretty poorly in others. In years past I’ve always thrown out a few random predictions to mix things up a bit so this isn’t just another predictions post out there. You may like what I say or think I’m crazy, either way I try to have a bit of fun with this each year. Continue Reading →
Could this be the year that Sigi Schmid and Seattle really celebrate? (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
Earlier in the day I predicted how I thought the Eastern Conference would be in the new season.
Time now to examine the Western Conference for the 2013 MLS season.
To me the West is a bit of an interesting group of teams. Top to bottom I think they are still as deep as they have been these last couple of seasons but I do see a bit of a changing of the guard going on here. Teams we know will be good may not be as good as we’ve seen while others may surprise us.
Sporting KC hopes to keep their hold on the Eastern Conference in 2013.
It is time to get down to it. I’ve already gone through each MLS side, along with several other previews. But now it is time to get down to where I think things will shake out once the dust settles later this year.
Yes, I am talking predictions folks.
First up is the Eastern Conference.
Right now I see the Eastern Conference as a pretty deep group of clubs. I feel confident that it could end up being a eight team race for the long haul of the season. Yes, eight teams folks. I think the top part of the conference is pretty well stacked but the middle group from about 3-8 is closer than some might think. Continue Reading →
Just how good will Andrew Ferrell be for the Revs? (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)
The new MLS season is right around the corner. Just like with every year, there are a fresh crop of rookies that hope to make their impact on the new year. Like most years it make take a little while for some rookies to break into their lineups while others may get their shot earlier in the year.
While some are predicting their Rookie of the Year winners already, I’ll save mine for later this week. Until then, I wanted to point out a few rookies that I think will have a big impact on this season.
Andrew Ferrell (New England) – The first overall pick should always have a big impact on his first year. We saw some out of last year’s number one Andrew Wenger in Montreal but I see Ferrell having a bigger impact in his rookie year than Wenger did. Ferrell will be tasked with helping repair a pretty broken defense in New England. The talent has been there with guys like AJ Soares and Kevin Alston being big parts in the defense in recent years but it always seemed as though they were missing an element. I believe Ferrell is that missing element or link that the Revs have been needing in their defense. Continue Reading →
Sporting improved this offseason. (Rob Foldy-USA TODAY Sports)
Each year I’ve tried to come up with some new way to preview the new season. The last couple of years it was doing positional rankings. While those were a comment goldmine for the most part, they took forever to write up. I didn’t have the luxury of that kind of time this preseason to do that. So, some shorter kinds of preview posts have been coming out.
So far we’ve looked at homegrown players, newcomers and each MLS squad. Today I wanted to take a quick look at three clubs that I believe knocked it out of the part this offseason in preparation for the new year. On the flip side of that I will also look at four that struggled to really improve in the offseason.
Narrowing the two lists down to just four wasn’t easy. For the top groups it mainly came down to the little additions that I like more than the big ones. Items not actually seen in a transaction listing. On the other hand, the teams that I wasn’t thrilled about going into the offseason came down to moves that just made me scratch my head a bit or the lack of moves. Continue Reading →
DeAndre Yedlin could be a solid HGP for the Sounders’ future. (Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports)
Each year Major League Soccer is growing not just on and off the field but in how they grow their own talent. Academies are getting to the point where they are producing quality talent each season soon enough MLS teams will be able to take full advantage of a younger player in their every day lineup.
We’ve seen some success so far in the Homegrown movement. Andy Najar is the obvious best example. In his rookie season with D.C. United, the Honduran midfielder earned the league’s Rookie of the Year award. He was the first Homegrown to win the award and to this day remains the only one to as well. Najar was also recently the first Homegrown player to get transferred overseas.
This winter several MLS squads made Homegrown signings. Dallas, Columbus and New York each signed a couple of their own in hopes that they have the next best young start.
So who are these Homegrown players? Here is a good list of who you should be expecting to get some playing time in 2013. Continue Reading →
Can Claudio Bieler win the Newcomer of the Year award? (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
Just as with any season, there is a slew of new players worth noting. Naturally most of these players will be in the early discussions for the league’s Newcomer of the Year award later this year but given how that award has lately gone to midseason additions this may be a post we’ll have to revisit this summer.
That being said, there are plenty of names worth plucking out to talk about as we gear up for First Kick this weekend.
Here are some players I will be keeping an eye on this season as they learn to adapt to MLS and it’s long season.
Diego Calderón (Colorado Rapids, transfer from LDU Quito) – A new defender for the Rapids this season, Calderon expects to be a big piece in Oscar Pareja’s back line with Drew Moor. If he can adapt to the speed and physical nature of MLS early, I’d imagine he’ll be one of the more underrated signings from this offseason.
Agustín Viana (Columbus Crew – Discovery/Bella Vista) – The Crew have a couple newcomers that appear to be big players for them this season. Viana already looks like he’ll be a strong addition to their midfield. His play during the Disney Cup last week showed that he has adapted to some of the speed already. I won’t proclaim him as the next big thing yet in Columbus but early signs are good. Continue Reading →
Can Darren Mattocks lead the Caps in 2013? (Photo by Rainier Ehrhardt/Getty Images)
Time for the final team preview here (you can view all season previews at this link). Last up are the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Martin Rennie got his club to be the first Canadian club to reach the MLS playoffs last year. Though one could say they stumbled their way into the playoffs, the Whitecaps had a pretty solid 2012 season.
As long as the Whitecaps do not do what they did in the middle of the summer and re-do their roster, they should be fine with some of these new additions for 2013. Their defense is still stout but has the offense had enough time to get better for the new season? Let’s find out.
Toronto hopes to improve in 2013. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
We’re nearly done in our team-by-team previews here. The final week of the preseason is here and we’ll go up to Canada for the final two previews today. First up is Toronto FC.
What can be said about the Reds going into the 2013 season? First of all, its is a whole new group leading this team. Kevin Payne has stepped away from D.C. United to take over Toronto. Ryan Nelsen has hung up his boots with Queens Park Rangers to become the next coach for Toronto. Lots of player trades as well have gone one this winter but the team also drafted a couple Canadians too.
Where is this club going? Well, we know they can’t be much worse than last year’s bunch so onward and upward I suppose.
SKC hopes to be the top dog in the East again. (US Presswire)
In my bold predictions last year, I stated that Sporting Kansas City would be the Supporters’ Shield winners and be a big contender for MLS Cup. In the end I was a little off on those two items, however, a USOC title win and a top seed in the Eastern Conference wasn’t too far off base.
Last season was pretty good to Sporting Kansas City. But the offseason has been interesting as Peter Vermes has had to go out and replace Roger Espinoza and now Kei Kamara. Both are in England and while Kamara could end up back in Kansas City this summer if his loan doesn’t lead to a sell, Sporting is left to figure out who steps up.
Vermes has made a decent amount of changes this winter and now it is time to see if it will be enough to keep them atop the Eastern Conference.
