Sacha Kljestan is one of the key players for Chivas who needs to step up in 2010. (Getty Images

Its a new week and a new month. Last week we started a new series that looks at the current state of each Major League Soccer club. First we took a gander at the expansion club in Philadelphia and then we began a look at the rest of the league starting with the Chicago Fire.

Today we shift west to look at Chivas USA.

The offseason has been an interesting one in Chivasland. From a new coach in MartinVasquez to a decent SuperDraft. The AmeriGoats are hoping they can find a way to put together a club that finally gets out of the first round of the playoffs and possibly into the MLS Cup.

Keeper:

Who they have: Zach Thornton, Dan Kennedy, Jon Conway, and Lance Parker

Notes: A lot depends on the health of Thornton. He’s he is as fit as he was the majority of last year the AmeriGoats have absolutely nothing to worry about here but his age is a bit of a concern. I do like Kennedy but honestly I haven’t seen nearly enough out of him in goal to tell you if he is a legitimate starter in this league. I won’t even go into what I think of Conway, never been a big believe in him as a number one starter. I doubt this is an area of concern for Vasquez though and right now it really shouldn’t be.

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Defense

Who they have: Jonathan Borenstein, Yamith Cuesta, Carey Talley, Claudio Suarez, Ante Jazic, and Kevin Tangney.

Notes: I like parts of this defense and the rest needs a massive and I mean a massive upgrade. Suarez and Talley are old and likely on their way out (I want to say I’ve read somewhere that Suarez is definitely retiring here but couldn’t find it…maybe he’s playing again this year?)

If Vasquez even wants to compete in the highly competitive western conference he will have to improve this area of his team. Looking at clubs like Houston, Seattle, LA and even Dallas and RSL there are too many good clubs with talent in the back. Chivas has a couple good players like Bornstein but we know he’ll be gone most of this season with the national team. Improvement has to be made to get younger and better.

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Midfield

Who they have: Mariano Trujilo, Marcelo Saragosa, Jesse Marsch, Sacha Kljestan, Sasha Victorine, Jorge Flores, Gerson Mayen, Michael Lahoud, Cesar Zamora, Blair Gavin, and Osael Romero.

Notes: Not sure if Marsch really will be with this group this season or not but I think this group is still pretty underrated. I do see Kljestan having a better season than last year, he’s too talented not to bounce back this year. With young guys like Gavin, Lahoud, Flores and Mayen I see a lot of promise from this bunch.

One thing I do still worry about is who will create the offense for this bunch. A playmaker is still really needed here and I’m sure that has to be on the top of Vasquez’s to-do list here this winter. He’s been around that club long enough to know that they need some sort of stability in the midfield or else they’ll get passed up easily out west.

I am eager to see the development of those young guys under Vasquez. With someone like Christian Gomez likely on the market who he be worth a look at? Maybe if he comes in with his head on right for a change. I wouldn’t mind seeing this club look south to Mexico for a playmaker.

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Forwards

Who they have: Ante Razov, Jesus Padillia, Maykel Galindo, Justin Braun, Macion Santos, Chukwudi Chijindu, and Eduardo Lillingston (currently on loan to Tijuana).

Notes: A pretty interesting bunch. On paper they should be set in this department but a closer look makes to think otherwise. First of all Razov will likely be gone at some point. I just wonder if they can ever get him back to his level of play and get a Jeff Cunningham type of renaissance out of him.

I like Padilla, Galindo and Santos but I don’t particularly love them all. If Padilla can step up and be the scorer that we think he should be and Galindo stays healthy long enough then they will be fine.

I think one more addition here may help them out.

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Overall:

Chivas got out to such a hot start last year with very minimal talent doing so. They were gritty and found ways to win that most clubs couldn’t figure out. By the summer it fizzled out and the scoring dried up. Luckily enough guys like Santos came in and they were set straight enough to reach the post season.

For another good season this club still needs a lot of patching up in the back and in the midfield. They’re young enough to be dangerous yet old enough at the same time to get passed up by clubs below them.

It will be interesting to see what Vasquez and company do with these next couple months to prove people like me wrong. Right now I just wonder if they have what it takes to be a playoff club again. If the right parties step up (Kljestan, Padilla, etc.) then playoffs should be no issue but its getting those guys to step up that seems to be a challenge sometimes.

This all got me thinking of a few guys that would be worth trading to mix things up here for other MLS clubs. We’ve already seen a flury of trades and releases in the past couple weeks and I know more clubs will be looking to clean house in the coming weeks as we get closer to the summer transfer window opening up in the middle of next month.

Some guys listed are going to be coming back from injury soon, while others are just looking for more PT in general right now. I had a couple of the same players from the article above but differed on a couple other players. I didn’t see a need for Justin Mapp, Devon McTavish or Fuad Ibrahim to be traded away here.

If you have any other guys that thing are worth a mention here, put them below and why.

Ante Razov (Chivas USA): I know once Razov gets fit again he will be a good spark for Chivas but I am still not convinced that he will be with this club at the end of the season. Chivas has shown they have talent that can score, even though no one has stepped up in a big time way to be a go-to scorer like Razov once was. I think he’d be good trade bait to get a little extra allocation in for a summer pick up.

Jason Garey (Columbus Crew): I know the Crew need scorers and Garey should be one but I think his time in Columbus is coming to a close very soon. I still believe he has the talent to compete in this league but I think it could be time to get him into a system where he isn’t expected to be a scorer. It also may be best to see if he could be converted into another position as well. He’s still fairly cheap and could be a player worth taking on as some clubs gear up for the playoff run.

Marcelo Saragosa (FC Dallas): Saragosa is one of those guys that works very hard in practice and usually does a lot of little things right. I just think right now he is a victim of a bad system in Dallas where he isn’t used right. He isn’t a good fit for Dallas and Dallas isn’t a good fit for him. I’d think a club like San Jose or a Kansas City would do well with a guy like Saragosa.

Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake): I know a trade won’t happen with this kid because RSL has asked for too much when other clubs have approached them about Seitz. Thing is this kid is good but we aren’t seeing him nearly enough like we should. I think it could be a matter of RSL waiting on Nick Rimando to either retire or trade him (which is looking like could be the case later this winter).

Abe Thompson (Kansas City Wizards): Thompson was trade late last year from Dallas to KC and I really don’t think KC was the place for him to go. I know Thompson is a quality striker but he has to be in the right system for that and right now KC just has too many guys ahead of him. He’s still fairly cheap and a club like New York or San Jose could really use someone who is as hungry around the goal as Thompson is.

Chivas keeps rolling...but for how long? (Getty Images)

Looking back on this past week and even a season as a whole up until now there are plenty of questions surrounding these clubs. I think we are seeing who is contending this season, who is pretending and who is already playing themselves out of contention.

I’ve been jotting down a few notes recently about a few clubs and how they are playing. Some are coaching questions as we move into the first edition of the coaching hot seat (coming up soon I promise), and other random thoughts I’ve had so far this year. You all may be able to answer some and if not they could be good topics of discussion.

So let’s get to it shall we?

Just How Good Is Chivas USA?

This may be one of the biggest questions on everyone’s mind right now. Seven games in and this club has 16 points are the best club in the league. Or are they?

Let’s look at who’ve they beat so far:

FC Dallas (twice)
Colorado
Columbus
Seattle

They’ve also tied LA (then again who hasn’t by now) and lost to Toronto on the road (Chivas is never a good turf club).

I’ve had a couple emails asking my opinions on just how good this club really is. From first hand experience they are good. But there are concerns that I do want to point out about them here. First of all their defensive depth will come into question before long this season. It just has to. Secondly, how long can Zach Thornton keep up his current pace? All legit conerns.

One bright note too is that this club is playing well despite the fact that Sasha Kljestan has not been playing well this season. We’ve seen little to no production out of him and it makes me wonder if he even really wants to be there any more.

Then there is the reality that is what will Preki do once he gets a healthy Ante Razov and Maykel Galindo to go with his current starting XI? Start’em? Sit’em? Trade’em? Honestly, I see one of those two getting traded this season. Its a weird gut feeling I’ve had all year, even before the season started that probably Galindo or Razov would be traded away for allocation or something. It just seems like it is going to happen, especially once they are healthy.

I don’t know though, this club has all the makings of a playoff side and I fully believed they would be anyways before the season. There is just the worry I guess that this club will pull a New England from last year and just flame out after a really hot start. We’ve seen it happen a few times in recent years, a fast start followed by a playoff birth in the middle of the year followed up by a flame out at the end with no deep run into the playoffs.

I sort of see their current run continuing on in May. Three out of five are at home and the two road games in San Jose and KC are definitely win-able games. In other words they aren’t games on turf.

For me though I still need this club to learn to come from behind. Historically it’s not something they’ve been able to do. We didn’t see them do it in Toronto this past week either which raised the concerns about them from a few folks.

Why is FC Dallas so bad?

I look at the roster in Dallas and really wonder why on Earth this club is sitting with record of 1-4-1 on the year. Defensively they are a joke still and I think it could be safe to say that a lot of the issues are coming down to coaching on the part of Schellas Hyndman.

Sad part is the club is producing offensively but defensively they can’t seem to figure things out. Another sad part is that Hyndman isn’t even anywhere close to a hot seat even though he normally would be in most situations.

Any Worries in the Windy City?

What’s going on with the usual dependable defense that is in Chicago. Bakary Soumare for one has been shaky at best lately. Don’t be shocked to see Dennis Hamlett make a change for a game or two to get things back in gear for Soumare. He had a couple possible fouls in the box that could have been easily wistled for a PK.

Overall though the Fire are the only undefeated club left on the block. They are still the deepest club in the league and really should have no worries right now. Of all the clubs I think their start is in line for a great summer run to break away from the rest of the eastern conference. Once they get going here in the coming weeks we could see the making of a Supporter’s Shield type club.

Possible Coaching Hot Seat

I’ve mentioned before that I am close to starting up a coaching hot seat list for this year. John Carver in Toronto was looking to go this way until his club pulled off two straight home wins this past week…also his resignation with the club changed a lot of what could go on this season with this list. Anyways…early candidates include:

Juan Carlos Osorio (NY)

….and that is about it. Most guys have a little bit of time on their hand but I put Osorio on the initial list due to the poor performance of his club through seven games. Not to mention his new additions are not paying off…again.

Guys with a little heat though:

Schellas Hyndman (FCD): Obvious reasons mentioned above

Frank Yallop (San Jose): Its a low simmer kind of heat but if his club doesn’t start turning around by the end of the year he could see more heat.

Bruce Arena (LA): Club can’t win…but on the flip side they aren’t losing as much.

Crew Blunders

Will Columbus make the playoffs this year? Only two defending champions failed to do so the next season (DC in 2000 and LA in 2006) so it can happen. But why is it happening? The club isn’t hungry at all. Injuries finally caught up with this club unlike last year.

Mainly I think it comes down to a lack of fire and sharpness. Point blank they are missing guys like Frankie Hejduk too much and it is costing their club dearly.

Contender/Pretender

I love playing this game, even this early into the season. I won’t go into any in-depth reasoning here because its more for fun than anything right now. I really only see a couple true contenders and a few pretenders. There is just a lot of muck in the middle.

Contenders:

Chivas USA
Seattle
Chicago

Mixed in the middle (for now)

Real Salt Lake
Kansas City
Toronto
DC United
Colorado
New England
Houston

Pretending:

San Jose
New York
Dallas
Columbus
LA

Martin Rogers over at Yahoo! Sports says that Razov is being lured away to Mexico this winter.

9. Get ready to say goodbye to …

Ante Razov. The Chivas USA striker is reportedly attracting attention from Mexican league side Leon, which is prepared to offer him a lucrative contract.

It would be a good break for Razov who is heading into the final chapters of his career. I figure if he doesn’t sign with Leon he will definitely get traded elsewhere in MLS. In other words I just don’t expect him to be in Red-and-White stripes too much longer.

What do you think of Razov in Mexico? Good move for him or just a move to make some money?

Easily the best week went to Chicago’s John Thorrington. His late game-winner at home against Toronto gave voters little doubt about who to pick in this short week. I’ve said before, Thorrington is quickly becoming one of my new favorites in this league. His pace and energy on the field continues to show up. How this guy was nearly cut a while back is amazing too.

So week 16 goes to Thorrington, oh hey, the league agrees!

The goal of the week was a little bit of a different story. We really had little to pick from (12) but a couple were nice. Chris Rolfe’s strike in the fifth minute against Toronto was sweet and cool as they come but the goal that got my attention the most was a Primetime kick by Chivas USA’s Ante Razov. Honestly it was vintage Razov.

Anyways, to refresh your memories on how this all works. Everything including players, coaches, GMs, officials, and whatever else I think of are all open for dicussion here in this post. No one is safe, that is unless they are on the rise in the ‘up’ section.

As always, feel free to pipe in your comments about this all.

UP:

1. Luciano Emilio, DC United: Allow me to throw some numbers out to ya: six games and nine goals. That’s the current pace the Brazilian DP is on right now for DC. It seems like Emilio turns his game around once the summer days started to kick off back in late May.
2. Steve Ralston, New England Revolution: The last few games have seen Ralston be apart of nearly every Revolution goal scored. Six goals and four assists in the last few games. Its weird that he just keeps getting better with age. Also, I think the move to the center of the park has paid off in a big way for Ralston and the Revs.
3. Emmanuel Ekpo, Columbus Crew: Continuing to become one of the best offseason finds for Columbus. Ekpo impresses me more with each week. A couple goals, a couple timely assists have kept the Crew on pace to be in the thick of things this season.
4. Ante Razov, Chivas USA: He may only have three goals on the year but something tells me he is on the way up those charts for the year and for the all-time mark.
5. CONCACAF Champions League: I honestly cannot wait to see how this new format plays out for the region. MLS has a chance to get five teams involved in the group stages. I know this doesn’t kick off for a while but it deserves a mention since it will play a part in a few clubs seasons.

DOWN:

1. SuperLiga: Look I loved last year’s edition as much as the next guy. The games were interesting and exciting, the players were amped up for it and it got some decent media buzz. But honestly it comes at a horrible time for the four clubs involved in my book. Most know what I would like to see done with the tournament, maybe I will dicuss that a bit more this week.
2. Juan Carlos Osorio: The New York boss really isn’t doing anything better than the previous boss (Bruce Arena). His bunch is 5-5-5 with a flagging minus-7 goal difference. Even with the new players coming on board I just doubt it will be enough for this club and possibly his job later on.
3. Abel Xavier, LA Galaxy: I know the experience is on his resume keeps him in the line up. But when will it come to a point when Ruud Gullit wakes up and realizes that Xavier is letting in more goals than stopping.
4. RSL Finishing: We know how good this club is at Rice-Eccles Stadium but no matter what field they play on their finishing in the penalty box is down right pathetic at times. This club lacks the confidence to get it done, which doesn’t at all resemble the way their coach Jason Kries use to play in the box.
5. Chivas Crowds: Its been said before how bad they can be but the last two should have been higher and weren’t at all. Box office numbers at their last two home games, on fan-friendly nights, were listed generously at 13,561 and 16,379. I know some people think I have something against this club but I don’t at all, I pull for them to do well on the field and in the stands. But they just continue to come up short in the ladder of the two no matter how well they do on the field. A move out of the HDC is definitely in order, hopefully real soon.

A few good choices for player of the week but none stood out more to me when I looked at everything like Columbus Crew midfielder Guillermo Barros Schelotto. The Argentine’s two assists proved to be enough to get the Crew back in their game with Chicago from a 2-0 hole. Both passes to Emmanuel Ekpo and Steven Lenhart were spot on and allowed the Crew to steal a point late from the visiting Fire.

A lot of people don’t realize just how good he is until he makes passes like those two.

So to me, it was Schelotto’s week by far over everyone, including the two goals from New England’s Adam Cristman (who will more than likely take home the award this week).

Goal of the week was pretty easy to figure out for me as well this time around. A few late heroics were in the mix. I loved the timely headers by Cristman and Abe Thompson, as well as the quick feet of Lenhart, and the four strikes by four different Rapids against New York.

But to me the best strike was a late free kick by Chivas USA’s Ante Razov. Upon first glance I said “yup, goal of the week right there, no doubt about it.” I think you all will see why.

This time of the year is also a big time for clubs to start trading parts away to rework their lineups in hopes of getting back on track this season.

We’ve seen it in recent years and last year was a great example of it. On this day a year ago, the Columbus Crew and the Houston Dynamo were a part of a four-player swap. The key parts were Joseph Ngwenya being dealt from Columbus in exchange for Alejandro Moreno. The trade proved to be a big one for the Dynamo, and now the Crew are seeing the benefits of that trade.

I bring this all up because of a post Ives wrote today. He is calling for Chivas USA (who made a trade over the weekend) to trade for Chicago defender Wilman Conde and in the process send former Fire striker Ante Razov back to the Windy City.

A young defender who wants out of one place in exchange for a striker who will probably want out of LA since the going has gotten tough in recent weeks.

Honestly, its a trade that works for both sides and I’m glad someone brought it up today.

But what about some other clubs that are looking to deal.

Obviously DC United is close to shaking things up here.

I think we are about a month or so away (if things remain the same) from this club getting another makeover. Of course money has to make sense in these deals but I wouldn’t be shocked to see this club unload some talent that they brought in this year.

One move that I wouldn’t be shocked over is to see DC trade for another keeper here. Both Zach Wells and Jose Carvallo were the answer in goal this season. Wells continues to show he is nothing more than a backup here and we really haven’t seen enough out of Carvallo.

As far as trades go with DC, don’t look for any eastern conference club to link up with United in a deal. As tight as things are in the east it wouldn’t make sense for anyone to help DC out here. So look for a western side to play part as a deal maker with DC. Don’t be shocked to see DC try to swing deals with Chivas, Colorado or Real Salt Lake here.

Another eastern side that will more than likely be looking to deal, based on who is running their program, is Toronto FC.

The Reds are reportedly looking to land a top-flight scorer this summer for their designated player and in the process they will more than likely have to dump some contracts to make things work out in terms of meeting the salary cap.

One guy that is more than likely on his way out is Jeff Cunningham. Look for him to get moved around and who knows maybe even Toronto would deal with DC when it comes to Cunningham. However, I still see Cunningham back in the west before the season’s end. My bet is either Chivas, Colorado, or Houston will make a play for Cunningham. Sure he has aged some but he still has some goals left in him if the playing time and situation is right for him.

I also wouldn’t be shocked to see Toronto trade a defender away like Todd Dunivant this summer. The pieces they have put together on defense, along with some of the young rookies that they brought in this year spell trouble for a guy like Dunivant. I think the Reds would have no problem trading him away to about any club in the league right now. He’s a quality defender that many teams could use.

Out west there are a couple clubs already mentioned. Chivas, Colorado, Houston.

Though it could be fair game for any western side to made a deal right now with the way things are going in comparison to how they are stacking up against the east right now. But I see teams like San Jose going out and signing players this summer rather than trading for them. Same may be said for Dallas or LA.

The wheels are in motion here for plenty of deals to be worked out this season. But don’t be shocked if we see a big name player or two move in the next month or so.

Any deals out there that you want to see? Its a busy time for GMs and coaches in MLS, not only with games on the field but the action in the office is really heating up.