Aron Winter and Toronto FC are hoping to get their season back on track this weekend. (Getty Images)

We’re already off to a good start to the new week in Major League Soccer. Week 7 had two extra games to kick us off early last night with DC tying Montreal and Sporting Kansas City continuing their good form by improving to 7-0-0 after beating the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1.

Three of those four teams from last night have double dips this week and will see action this weekend.

For the first week in I don’t know how long, we only have a couple East v. West matchups on the slate. The majority of the weekend schedule sees conference rivals clashing against one another. Should make for a fun weekend when it is all said and done.

So here are some items I’ll be giving a closer look at this weekend.

1. Can Toronto get over the hump? One thing is clear, due to the unbalanced schedule we don’t know a ton about the Chicago Fire. I’d imagine neither do their Week 7 opponents Toronto FC who are hoping to get their first point of the season. Aron Winter is quickly getting placed on the hot seat by fans and pundits around the league. For good reason too, his team has been dreadful this season except for three games in the CCL. 

The defense for Toronto has been terrible but the offense hasn’t been up to speed yet this season either. Something has to give with this group as they do have enough talent to do well in this league. Danny Koevermans, a preseason favorite to win the Golden Boot (by me and plenty of other people) hasn’t done much and fellow DP Torsten Frings has been hurt. Something has to give with this club and the Fire could be the club to get a least a draw from here.

2. Is LA really back? The Galaxy’s 3-1 win over Portland last week was a good indication that Bruce Arena’s club wasn’t going to stay down in the cellar for too long. They have just too much talent to be down in the dumps. But that was last week and now this club heads to the road to face a good Colorado Rapids squad that is getting the most out of good teams like Seattle and Salt Lake.

The Rapids pose a tough test for the Galaxy who got Landon Donovan back on the scoresheet for the first time this season. Oscar Pareja’s club does an excellent job of frustrating teams within the midfield and uses an underrated defense to keep them in games. If the Rapids can find any bit of offense for this one, it could be a tough out for the Galaxy to get two wins in a row here.

3. Double dips for DC, KC and Vancouver. You have to love the unbalanced schedule. D.C. United, Sporting Kansas City and the Vancouver Whitecaps each play two games this week. Both D.C. and Vancouver got two games at home but neither really made a good start of it last night with a loss by Vancouver and a draw for United.

I’ll get to Sporting’s run in a moment. But for D.C. and Vancouver, this is a good chance to stay in contention in their respective conferences. United has to get more out of their offense here as it won’t be easy to stay with the Red Bulls’ attack this weekend.

Vancouver on the other hand needs their entire team to step up here. Two games in a row with disappointing defense and still a lack of offense has to worry the locals. The Whitecaps need to also take advantage of a FC Dallas squad that will be making one of their longest road trips of the season here on Saturday.

4. Sporting going for a record. With a win this weekend at Portland – Sporting KC will tie a league record for consecutive wins to start a season – set all the way back in 1996 by the LA Galaxy. Impressive to say the very least. SKC’s style may not be loved by other teams in the league but there is no doubt that they get the job done here.

A trip to Portland won’t be easy though for Peter Vermes’ club. Even though the Timbers are currently down in the standings and are not playing well at all right now, they do pose a tough threat to this record. Not to mention, the crowd at JELD-WEN is always worth noting.

Thing that Sporting is riding at the moment is their defense. A total team defense really. The back four for Sporting has easily been the most consistent and complete group this season. If they stay healthy, there is no doubt they’ll continue to win games.

5. Chivas and playing at home. So we get that Chivas USA can win. Three wins this season prove that but all of them have come on the road. Robin Fraser has to get his team in the same winning mentality at home as he has on the road. They get a Philadelphia Union squad coming off their first win of the season at home this weekend. I don’t want to spoil my predictions for tomorrow’s post but this one has a draw written all over it in my mind already. Chivas, while improved, still lacks that bite in the attack. The Union on the other hand haven’t really shown us enough this season that they have a go-to scorer.

Still with saying all of that, this one is one of the more intriguing games in my mind of the weekend. It should answer a lot of questions about each side as we’re still figuring them both out here.

6. Quakes and RSL meet up. Easily the match of the weekend in my book, Real Salt Lake at the San Jose Earthquakes. A smaller field certainly helps San Jose but we know just how good this RSL squad is here too. Defensively the matchup in this one has to be one of the best we’ve seen this season.

RSL doesn’t lose two in-a-row very often these days so don’t expect them to lay down for the Quakes here. RSL needs to get their offense going early in this one to put pressure on the Quakes. So far this season, in the one loss for San Jose, their offense didn’t get going against a team (Houston) who scored early. With no Marvin Chavez or Shea Salines on the wings though for San Jose, we’ll really get a true test of how good this squad is in terms of depth. My concern is without those two, they’ll revert to their 2011 style of play, which is not good.

Sporting KC and RSL square off in the biggest match of 2012 - so far. (Getty Images)

What else can you say about the upcoming weekend in Major League Soccer? It’s damn full. Nine matches, eight of them on Saturday. Tons of interesting matchups across the board that should have everyone’s attention.

This could be the start of where we begin to see how teams will go for the rest of the season. Six weeks in and we know a good amount about each club but it always seem that once those first few games are out of the way that teams begin to separate themselves from one another at this stage. This season should be no different really.

I have a few items I will be looking at heavily this weekend, and here they are:

1. Getting off the mark. For both the Philadelphia Union and Toronto FC, this is a big weekend. Both have win-able home games against clubs that they should beat. Toronto gets Chivas USA, a club making the cross country trip while Philadelphia welcomes in the Columbus Crew, a team fresh off a 4-1 drubbing last week from the hands of the New York Red Bulls.

Even though it is still early, this could easily be a make-or-break kind of weekend for Aron Winter and Peter Nowak. Both of their clubs have been dreadful thus far this season and neither have found their way.

Toronto has to find a way to get their offense going with Danny Koevermans, while making sure that this gritty Chivas team doesn’t make it three straight on the road. Saying that Chivas is a pushover can’t be true anymore after wins in Portland and Salt Lake this season but a long trip to Toronto could be tough for Robin Fraser’s club. Toronto has to find their game and take it to Chivas early or else they could be staring at yet another loss.

For Philadelphia – the plan is simple – find the attack and make it happen against the Crew. Whether it be Danny Mwanga, Gabe Farfan, or someone even like Freddy Adu stepping up…someone has to take over for the Union attack.

2. Reaction to Mullan. It has been nearly a year since the dreaded tackle from Colorado Rapids midfielder Brian Mullan on Seattle’s Steve Zakuani. With Mullan’s return to Seattle set for this weekend, the reception of the veteran wing could be some must-see TV. To me, I hope the Sounder fans keep it classy when dealing with Mullan. I’m not saying they should shower him with praises and roses or anything like that but I do hope that the faithful there realizes that holding a grudge against a player that has already been forgiven for too long could come back to haunt them.

My guess it will end up being mostly boos from the crowd each time Mullan touches the ball. Thankfully most fans do get bored with booing the same guy over and over for 90 minutes.

3. Can the Quakes quiet the Red Bulls? Who would have thought six weeks ago that this could be an interesting match? I certainly did not with the way the Red Bulls started the first two games of the year. Now as we enter Week 6 you have one of the top offenses squaring off against one of the best defenses.

San Jose has done well so far this season at quieting quality offenses like Seattle and Vancouver while finding ways to get Chris Wondolowski the ball. Their style and pace on the wings has come alive with Marvin Chavez and Shea Salines but for me what is so impressive is their defense. Victor Bernardez and Justin Morrow have quietly become a force in the middle of the defense. They’ll certainly have their hands full with Thierry Henry and Kenny Cooper, two of the hottest strikers in MLS.

The Red Bulls come into this match scoring 13 goals in the last three games, with Cooper and Henry doing most of the damage. So far this year the Red Bulls have been quieted by good defenses in Dallas and Salt Lake, while running all over Colorado, Montreal and Columbus. How they handle another quality defense like in San Jose will answer a lot about this team. If they can run up the score yet again this weekend, New York will certainly be a force to deal with for the rest of the season. If not, then we’ll know their kryptonite.

4. What formation does Schellas Hyndman put out this weekend? For most of the season FC Dallas manager Schellas Hyndman has used the 4-1-4-1, a trusty formation that really works best with a healthy David Ferreira. But last week against the New England Revolution, he switched it all up going to a 4-4-2. The speed of the wings with guys like Brek Shea and Carlos Rodriguez doubled with the speed of Fabian Castillo up top made it tough for the Revs to deal with at times. This move was made to counter suspensions to Jair Benitez and Daniel Hernandez but with their returns you have to wonder what Hyndman will go to next.

Typically Hyndman doesn’t like to make too many changes from game to game if he doesn’t have to but with the injury to Ricardo Villar, he may have to make a switch again when they host the Montreal Impact on Saturday. Replacing Villar in a 4-4-2 setup isn’t that difficult, seeing how he wasn’t that involved in last weeks game. But in the 4-1-4-1 setup, it proves to be a tougher challenge.

5. Battle at 15 points. Real Salt Lake head to the midwest to battle Sporting Kansas City, in the battle of the top two sides in the league. Each team has 15 points so far and SKC is undefeated after five games. Two extremely strong teams here, really no edge either way in my book as to which way this one leans.

Sporting will want to assert their speed and skill up front early in this one but so far this season they haven’t seen a defense quite like RSL. Jason Kreis’ club always plays tough against quality offenses like Sporting’s and this one will certainly come down to who blinks first.

I’m sure somewhere some executives at MLS are wishing this has been a national TV game for the league. IT would have been a great one to showcase.

6. Dreadful Timbers and Galaxy square off. John Spencer said recently that this last month has been hell, well I am paraphrasing him with that. I’m sure Bruce Arena is thinking the same thing about his club’s performances over the last six weeks as well. Both sides only have a win to bank on up to this point and neither look like the clubs most expected them to be at the start of the season.

Both teams need points but more importantly each need a big performance out of their defense in this one. Neither has shown up well this season and while you could make the point about their offenses not stepping up to the plate as well, it is the defenses that really win in this league.

7. Oh yeah, Houston and Chicago. Man I hate the unbalanced schedule for reasons like this one. Both the Houston Dynamo and the Chicago Fire have been on and off all year not because of poor play on the field but because of the schedule. Both teams have played just three games so far. Yes just three. How insane is that?

Hopefully this match will shed a little more light on just how good the Fire will be this season. I think what we’ve seen so far is they have some quality around the pitch but someone else has to step up offensive other than Dominic Oduro. The same can be said in a way for the Dynamo as their offense has to have some form of life here too.

Rocky Mountain Cup is on the line this weekend. (Getty Images)

The weekend is finally getting here. For those that know me and know what this past week or so has been like for me on the day job front, you know how excited I am to see the weekend ahead. A three day weekend in fact.

Time to take a look at the weekend ahead and we get started a day early with a game tonight in Dallas.

This is another weekend where there are plenty of quality games to discuss. Only three East v. West matches this weekend but the big focus will be on two rivalry games and a big showdown between KC and LA.

1. Revs hoping to make it three straight. Never would have guessed this version of the New England Revolution would be going for three straight wins tonight (and two straight road wins), this early in the season. Give credit to Jay Heaps for the hard work he’s put into this club. I think the big thing is seeing  Shalrie Joseph finally have some supporting cast around him is making the difference. Clyde Simms has been huge in the midfield with Joseph and the defense is slowly stepping up and is making things tough for other clubs. Saer Sene is gaining some confidence with two goals as well. New England hasn’t had a quality striker like Sene in some time and if he can keep it up the Revs will definitely contend in the East.

2. Canadian rivalry loses some steam. Both Toronto and Montreal lost last night, on the road just days before their first MLS match. Boy I have to say I wish this one had a little more leading into it than just a couple days after a bad performance. Montreal is slowly coming together but as expected the expansion club growing pains are pretty obvious when you watch this side. Toronto on the other hand comes into this one after an embarrassing loss in Mexico. So much was going right until it all went so very wrong last night. I’ll let others go through what didn’t go right for the Reds in Mexico but it is clear, no Torsten Frings or Danny Koevermans and this is club looks an awful lot like the team that was dreadful to watch early last year.

3. Red Bulls hope to continue statement run. Nine goals in two home matches is something else but getting another big outburst on the road will truly show folks if this New York Red Bulls side is indeed turning a corner or not here this season. I know I don’t show a ton of love to this club but I can’t find myself getting excited over a win against a Colorado side missing two key players in the midfield and a win over an expansion club. Also, we can’t ignore the facts that the defense is still giving up goals. If the offense has an off night someone in the back has to step up and play big. They may have won two straight games with nine goals but they also gave up three. Just sayin’.

4. Sporting goes for five. I keep feeling good with my preseason pick of SKC as the Supporters’ Shield winners. Four games in and they are unbeaten. Saturday night they go for five against probably the toughest team they’ve faced all season in the LA Galaxy. Yes, the LA boys are coming off a bad home loss to the New England Revolution but knowing Bruce Arena, he won’t let his team stay down for long. You have to like Sporting’s chances though in this one – at home in front of a sellout crowd – with that speedy offense. SKC has the type of attack that can and will cause problems for LA. I thin this one gets played a little closer to be book though as LA will press hard for a win to prove people that they still are the giant in the league. Thankfully this one is on national TV for all to see.

5. Two underrated clubs square off by the Bay. Give it up folks, the Vancouver Whitecaps are the ONLY MLS team to not give up a goal this season. Yes, you read that correctly. Sure they haven’t been scoring much lately either but it is still worth noting. You hats also must go off to the San Jose Earthquakes, as they have only given up a single goal this season back in the second week. I haven’t given either a ton of love yet this season but I am warming up to each of them the more I see them play. Defensively each side has improved so much from last season. This one will certainly come down to who makes a mental mistake first. The smaller field at Buck Shaw Stadium certainly helps the Quakes in this one but Vancouver has been solid this season at not letting quality strikers like Dwayne De Rosario score so you have to expect they’ll be all over Chris Wondolowski in this one.

6. Rocky Mountain high. One of my favorite rivalries in MLS is the Rocky Mountain Cup between Colorado and Real Salt Lake. Just like the Toronto-Montreal game I do wish this one had a little more time to hype up this week but the schedule makers put a RSL game in the middle of the week (boy was that one ugly huh?). This is one of those games that will come down to the midfield play of guys like Kyle Beckerman or Jeff Larentowicz. Both sides have shown the means to score goals this season so the defenses will be tested. I like RSL at home though in this one, even after the ugly midweek win over Montreal. Sometimes getting an ugly win out of your system helps you in the long run.

Will DC and Dallas battle to any goals this year? (Getty Images)

Here we are, at the end of the first month of the season already and by the end of the weekend we’ll be in April. Week 4 in Major League Soccer gets started a little early with a game tomorrow night in DC with United hosting FC Dallas.

The theme of the season will still be going on as we have five matches between Eastern and Western conference clubs. Unlike last weekend though the majority (three) will be in Western conference venues.

Below are some talking points going into the new week. 

1. Will United and Dallas provide anything on Friday? Remember the two games between D.C. United and FC Dallas last year? Nope? Yeah, I didn’t think so because each ended in a 0-0 draw. Nothing to show for from each side. So what will this early and only meeting of these two clubs bring this season?

For United it could be a good chance to get more than a point but more importantly get their offense going. So far in three games the Black-and-Red have one goal to show for and it came from a rookie midfielder. The 2011 MLS MVP Dwayne De Rosario hasn’t look himself just yet as he is still getting use to some new faces like DP Hamdi Sahili. Neither have really gotten on the same page but I do think it is only a matter of time before it happens.

As for Dallas, this game is about getting points but getting back to normal. Fabian Castillo should return to the lineup and so could Brek Shea. That’s good considering the lack of offense the Hoops had in the second half against Kansas City last weekend. Even if Shea doesn’t go the full 90 for Dallas it will still be something to have him and Castillo back on the wings. If all of them can get on the same page with Blas Perez and Ricardo Villar, they could sneak out of RFK with some points.

2. RSL bouncing back. I claimed Real Salt Lake’s 1-0 loss at home to Chivas USA as a fluke. Most people did. Now RSL has to go on the road to a place they struggled at last season, JELD-WEN Field in Portland. Lucky for RSL, the Timbers are coming off a bad loss as well. This one will be all about the midfield play for me. Who takes control and gets their front men the best chances will undoubtably win this one. The talent edge has to still go to RSL but you can never count the Timbers out at home now can you?

3. Just how good is San Jose? I’ve been saying all season long that I’m not entirely impressed with the San Jose Earthquakes. A Week 1 win over New England wasn’t much and the win last week in Toronto was something to say the least. But just how good is this club? Honestly a win in Seattle against what I think could be the best team in MLS will get me thinking more about this team of Frank Yallop.

Obviously in the lone loss of the year against Houston the Quakes had no answer for a tough defense. Seattle is right up there with the Dynamo in the tough defense department, that we know. San Jose will need to play to their strengths up top with Chris Wondolowski and find a way to keep the wings involved with Shea Salinas and Marvin Chavez. Those two were very active in the two San Jose wins but were quieted in the loss. Seattle is good at controlling the game in their home stadium, so this one will be extra tough for San Jose. I have a feeling we still have a ton to learn about this club.

4. A fresh LA. A week off and now a home game against a club that has to travel across the country. Man life must be nice for the LA Galaxy. Bruce Arena’s club gets a New England side that got their first win last weekend at home against Portland. While that was nice and all a win in LA won’t come easy against a team that will be fresh. Expect LA to use all of their star power in this one.

If New England is going to get in this one they need to catch LA napping early like they did against Portland. That may be their only way out of this one. LA is too talented up front and even without Omar Gonzalez in the back they still have plenty to draw from against a New England offense that is still going through some growing pains.

5. Can Chivas make it two in a row? Some folks out there weren’t calling the Chivas win in Salt Lake a fluke. Good. I like to see optimism with this club. If they really want to impress, make it two in a row against a top club in the league. This weekend they host the only 3-0-0 team in the league, Sporting Kansas City.

Sporting looked good in their win over Dallas last weekend, controlling the match and really having their way with a Dallas squad that was truly defensive all over the field. Sporting has done a good job so far at not quitting in the late stages of the game, winning two games last so far this season.

Chivas will need another gritty performance out of their defense and from keeper Dan Kennedy. If Robin Fraser’s offense can gain some sort of spark in this one that would be nice but so far the Goats offense hasn’t given us any real reason to think that will happen.

6. What about the Fire? I get this question a bunch, why not write more about the Chicago Fire here? Simple, I’m still learning a ton about them here and this game on Sunday in Colorado will be a good chance to see what they are really made of. I liked them in their 1-1 draw in Montreal and last week’s home opener win against Philadelphia was equally nice. But going to the Mile High city is always a challenge and the Fire have to show a little more offense if they want to get out with points.

Dominic Oduro has already picked up two goals this season but he needs help from others around him like Marco Pappa and Patrick Nyarko. The big key in this game will be using the width of the field, something neither the Fire or Rapids are really great at.

Schellas Hyndman has a shot at the Coach of the Year award. (Getty Images)

Its that time of the year again. The final month of the season is here so it means we’ll have to dip into the end of year awards around here. I felt like starting off today with the coach of the year away, one that could be the toughest to gage in recent years.

Typically the coach of the year race usually goes down to a coach that has take his team from a worst-to-first kind of situation. A lot of times the guy who leads his team to a successful season gets over looked in that case. That’s what we’ll have here this year as you could make an argument for at least four or five different coaches.

I’ll break down each coach before giving you my thoughts on who I think is leading the race at this point at the end.

Worst-to-First Guys

Hans Backe (New York Red Bulls) – It goes without saying this category is centered around what Backe has done in New York this season. Going from literally one of the worst teams in league history to one of the top contenders this season shows that New York finally got it right with their coaching selection. I think a special nod also needs to go to Eric Solar for helping put together this team but a lot of the credit will still go to Backe at the end of the day.

Its hard to think that this New York team was that bad last year. This year’s version is completely different as Backe is finally getting the most out of some guys like Dane Richards while proving he, Solar and Richie Williams were geniuses in the SuperDraft by getting Tim Ream in the second round and getting a future star in Toni Tchani.

Oh yeah it doesn’t hurt to have three Designated Players on his roster either. But at the end of the day Backe has been the perfect motivator for this club by getting them to step up in games in places they’ve never done well at.

Schellas Hyndman (FC Dallas) – On the other end of the spectrum in this category is Hyndman. Its been a long road for him in Dallas over the last couple years to get his team where it is today. He made some unpopular moves at the time to bring in some old SMU guys of his like Ugo Ihemelu or Daniel Hernandez but what he’s finally been able to do is get a roster of guys that play his system and play it to perfection.

Dallas has gone from a so-so defensive team to one of the top defensive teams in the league. Getting Kevin Hartman in goal had something to do with that but it also took Hyndman placing the right mix of guys in the back too. Seeing George John go from just another draft pick for depth to a starter shows Hyndman knew was he was doing all along.

Speaking of the draft too, Hyndman like Backe had one of the better drafts this past season with the likes of Zach Loyd, Eric Alexander and Edson Edward on the team. They all weren’t big name rookies but they’ve all picked up things from the veteran squad and looked well beyond their years.

Frank Yallop (San Jose Earthquakes) – Boy was I ever wrong about Yallop and the Quakes this season. Hell I believe everyone was. No one saw their midseason transformation happening at the start of the season when the Quakes were hammered at home by RSL. We all expected more of the last two years out of these Quakes and Yallop but somehow and some way the Quakes responded to Yallop and started winning.

Yallop may be a hard sell for this award but going from last place in the west to one of the contenders this season shows he’s made some solid moves this year to get his club where they need to be. Not only did he finally get the best out of Bobby Convey but he found a star in Chris Wondolowski this season. Again, who saw that coming?

Successful all season long

Jason Kreis (Real Salt Lake) – Kreis and RSL have been near the top of the standings since April. Kreis continues to get more out of lesser known stars than anyone else in this league. Not only has he made the best moves for guys like Alvaro Saborio but he’s been able to get his young rookies like Luis Gil and David Hurst loan deals to get them solid playing time in the lower division here in America.

In all honesty it would be a shame for Kreis to not win this year due to his club’s success in league play and in the CONCACAF Champions League. I think if you ask most fans around the league they feel confident enough in RSL to do well in the CCL knockout rounds next year.

Then there is the home field advantage thing that his club has going for them right now. Even before they moved in to Rio Tinto they were a tough home team but now more than ever its damn near impossible to get three points on Kreis’ club at Rio Tinto.

Bruce Arena (LA Galaxy) – This one may be the hardest sell considering LA hasn’t been nearly as dominate as they were from March-July. Still with four games left the Galaxy have a real shot at winning the regular season crown and a lot has to do with how Arena managed this club this season.

To think they started off so hot with Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan leading the way before the World Cup and then to remain hot once they were in South Africa shows Arena knows how to develop young talent like Tristan Bowen or Michael Stephens. I still find LA a dangerous side as long as they remain healthy.

In other years he would have already wrapped this award up and I think he could get back in the mix if his club goes off and wins four straight before the start of the playoffs. I just think when his club went cold so did his chances for this award.

Interesting quote from LA boss Bruce Arena on the timing of the US Open Cup games after his Galaxy lost last night in the quarterfinals to the Seattle Sounders FC.

“No, to me these games don’t make sense. Essentially it was a reserve game tonight. I think the timing of this competition isn’t right for MLS teams; it’s a difficult time to try and play these games. I think if see both teams, obviously both want to win, the competition is water down due to the fact that each team is juggling players and see who you want to play and who you don’t want to play. For us tonight there were valuable minutes for some players and others not so good.”

Several MLS clubs have said similar things over the years about the timing of the USOC in their schedule. For teams like the Galaxy who have a loaded schedule due to the CONCACAF Champions League, the regular MLS slate, friendlies scheduled in the summer and then this tournament you can see why they complain like this.

Sure these comments wouldn’t come out after a win though but I do agree with the timing of this tournament being a bit off still. They’ve adjusted it in the past to not go as long as it used to but I’d still argue that this needs to be something that should be pushed up earlier in the year.

My wonder too is that do teams even make money on this tournament any more? I know its the oldest tournament that we have for soccer in the States but I’m getting more of a sense that it really needs revamped to make it more meaningful.

I’d normally like to get these predictions out much sooner but with all that has gone on this winter the day before First Kick seems about right really. The rosters became compliant at 5pm ET yesterday and thus will put an end to the preseason in a way for all the clubs.

In the past I’ve done these bold season predictions in various ways. I ended up sticking with the tradition of the predictions and picks and also added some other items like I did a year ago. I know some of the bold predictions are silly and meaningless but they’re fun to do nonetheless.

As always feel free to put in your season predictions below.

Players to watch out for in 2010:

• Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus): Can he guide this club to another stellar season? I think he will but it won’t be easy with the league out to get them.
• Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy): No doubt Donovan will return to his MVP form from a year ago, but the question will he be with the club after the World Cup? Part of me thinks he will and part of me sees him going back to England.
• Juan Pablo Angel (New York Red Bulls): Once he is 100% again look for him to do very well this year. Not playing on nasty turf at home will do wonders for him and the Red Bulls.
• Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo): Big, big year in Houston for the Dynamo especially for Cameron. If he can help keep their offense in check and facilitate things like I believe he can then look out.
• Freddy Montero (Seattle Sounders FC): He’s a marked man but if he can break open in space like we’ve seen him do time and time again then he’ll get his goals this year.

Coaches Already Feeling The Heat

Each year I’ve done a Coaching Hot Seat, where I look around the league to see who stands the greatest chance of getting the boot. Last couple year’s I’ve been right on with some picks on here while a few others have been a bit off. Again, its just my opinion on each coach listed and it doesn’t mean it will actually happen. In other words don’t get all bent out of shape if you see your coach on here at any point this year, I can’t tell you how many emails I get over this issue.

But in saying so this year could be a fairly light year for coaching hot seats in general since there have been so many coaching changes.

• Frank Yallop (San Jose Earthquakes): Its year three for the Quakes 2.0 which means Yallop should really feel some heat if he doesn’t get this club winning early on this year. I wasn’t shocked to see him get another season with the club after last year but I wouldn’t be at all shocked to see him be the first gone this year.
• Gary Smith (Colorado Rapids): Another western coach that should feel some heat this year if his club isn’t winning. If they continue to be inconsistent look for lots of calls for his head later this year. Thing is the Rapids owners typically drag these things out. I think he’ll be fine but for now this is more of a caution of possible things to come.
• Hans Backe (New York Red Bulls): I do believe he’ll last longer than most expected him to but I think its more of a formality at this point to always include the New York boss in these lists given the fact that they have a new coach about every year or year and a half.
• Schellas Hyndman (FC Dallas): While I believe he will have this job as long as he wants it I also think that if he has another clunker of a season the pressure for him to go will have to mount. His overall record (15-18-14) isn’t anything to brag about.

Early Award Predictions:

Below are some predictions for each end-of-season award. I left a few off that I really don’t care about, why we vote on things like the Ref of the year is beyond me. I’ll give you my top three for each since that is how we have to vote on it anyways.

Goalkeeper:

1. Donovan Ricketts (LA Galaxy): He’s a beast…nothing more to say than that.
2. Kasey Keller (Seattle Sounders): If Ricketts isn’t 100% all year then this award easily goes to Keller.
3. Will Hesmer (Columbus): I find him to be highly underrated.

Defender:

1. Chad Marshall (Columbus): Hard not to go against the league’s best defender.
2. Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (Seattle): He’s the rock in the back for the Sounders.
3. Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy): I see this kid growing into a perennial All-Star.

Comeback Player:

1. Taylor Twellman (New England): Its gotta be Twellman right? Anyone else to put here?

(Yes I’m sure there are others but right now Twellman is all I have for this one.)

Newcomer:

1. Joel Lindpere (New York Red Bulls): If NY is going to be half as good as people think/say they are this year it will be because of this guy.
2. Eduardo (San Jose Earthquakes): The Quakes need a goal scorer and he will help do just that.
3. Blaise N’Kufo (Seattle Sounders FC): Yes he is only playing a half season but I agree with a lot of folks out there that think he is the final piece to the puzzle that puts this club over the top.

(Note: this will easily change as newcomers join the league in the summer and after the World Cup)

Coach:

1. Sigi Schmid (Seattle Sounders): He’ll continue to work his magic in the Pacific Northwest.
2. Peter Nowak (Philadelphia Union): I do believe he’ll make them better than most expansion clubs and thus will get high praise for it. A playoff birth would easily help him win this though.
3. Bruce Arena (LA Galaxy): If they end up losing Landon Donovan this summer and they still do well in the west then he may very well beat out Schmid for this honor.

Rookie:

1. Tony Tchani (New York Red Bulls): He’s a beast, believe me.
2. Zach Loyd (FC Dallas): The man that can play just about anywhere for Schellas Hyndman. Once he settles into a role he’ll be golden.
3. Teal Bunbury (Kansas City Wizards): He’s a natural goal scorer, and KC needs goals.

MVP:

1. Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy): Not settling the world on fire with this pick but as long as he is in the league he’s the best player no matter what.
2. Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus Crew): As long as he has a full healthy season he could end up winning this on his production alone.
3. Kyle Beckerman (RSL): If this club is going to repeat it will be because of this man.

Playoff Predictions:

Top two from Eastern Conference: Columbus Crew* and Chicago Fire
Top two from Western Conference: Seattle Sounders FC and LA Galaxy

Wild card winners: Real Salt Lake, Houston Dynamo, FC Dallas, D.C. United

I feel as though the first six (auto-bids, RSL, and Houston) are simple picks for me but with parity in this league we really could see any number of teams in those final two spots. I think it will come down between Dallas, D.C., Colorado, Chivas, Toronto, New York and New England for those final two spots. I felt weird taking four western conference wild cards so D.C. gets the nod for me though I’ll be honest I’m not totally set on that pick. Dallas needs to find a partner for Jeff Cunningham or they’ll be in trouble. Still Dallas is a dark-horse for me just as I’ve said all winter long. Had to stay with that pick here.

First round playoff winners: Columbus (over Dallas); Chicago (over D.C.); Seattle (over Houston); and RSL (over LA).

Conference final winners: Columbus and Seattle.

MLS Cup winner: Seattle Sounders FC

(*= Supporter’s Shield winners)

The Rest of the WVH Bold Predictions:

1. A MLS club will win SuperLiga: I still hate this tournament but I’m a homer and root for anyone MLS in it. My guess is Houston will take it hom this year.
2. A MLS club will win the US Open Cup: The league usually does every year and with the whole Division II mess that went on these past few months I like a MLS club’s chance even more. I’m going to go with the Chicago Fire to win this year.
3. MLS will get four clubs in CCL Group stage: We already get two in Columbus and Real Salt Lake. I’ll say LA and Toronto some how manages their way into the group stage this year. Seattle falls short.
4. MLS will win the All-Star game: Yawn.
5. Three clubs will add DPs by the end of summer: New York will add their second while Chicago and D.C. get new ones.
6. More Yanks will return home: Maybe a Benny Feihaber? Who knows? I still see a couple coming back this summer.
7. A couple Yanks transfer out of MLS: This deserves it’s own post (again) but I wouldn’t be shocked to see Donovan go as well as someone like Brek Shea.
8. Dominic Kinnear will once again trade like crazy: He does it each year and it only makes his team better. Why people trade with him I’ll never know. You can bet one at least one trade really working out in the Dynamo’s favor though.
9. Mo Johnston and Preki will butt heads: All seems good now as they continue to dump salaries but at some point they’ll clash over player pickups.
10. Houston and San Jose will see their stadiums go up: They’ll join Kansas City in the movin’ dirt department.
11. D.C. will still be stuck at RFK: Its election year for D.C.’s mayoral race, so I don’t see anything happening to United’s stadium issues anytime soon. Which sucks.
12. Montreal will get their expansion bid: They’ll be in the league in 2012…its all but announced at this point.
13. No other expansion bid will be announced this year: I think the league will carefully plan who their 20th club will be. My money is on them trying to find an owner in New York to bring a second club to that area.
14. A late season run will help…D.C.: We see it every year, last year it was RSL getting lucky at the right time, this year it will be D.C.
15. Juan Pablo Angel will lead the league in goals: No turf at Red Bull Arena will go a long way in getting him back to producing lots of goals.
16. Brad Davis will lead the league in assists: He always quietly gets lots of assists and no one notices.
17. Kasey Keller will lead the league in saves: I still see the Sounders give up a fair amount of shots but Keller will be there to save most of them.
18. The US Men’s National Team will make it to the quarterfinals: Not MLS related but definitely worth predicting at this point. I love the boy’s chances in South Africa, as much as I want to put them in the semi-finals, a quarterfinal exit seems more likely.

Landon Donovan has seen plenty of success in England, but should he come home now? (Getty Images)

Part of me wants Landon Donovan to stay in England. The other part of me wants him back here in the US with the LA Galaxy. Thing is I cannot for the life of me decide which is the right one to go with.

Its a rough dilemma to be in for Donovan. He wants to stay on with Everton just a little bit longer but we know LA manager Bruce Arena has said no a few times to the press recently.

“It was kind of like in that movie ‘Dumb and Dumber’, where the man says that there is a chance, it’s just one in a million,” said Arena. The Galaxy coach, who has remained in frequent contact with the midfielder throughout his loan, did not appear concerned about the comments.

“There is always a chance, it may be one in a million, but there is always a chance.”

Yeah a chance, a very small one but one nonetheless.

Where to stand on this is a tough thing. Donovan has clearly done well this time around in Europe with Everton. It comes to show that if you place him in the right system he cannot be stopped. He’s done nothing but be pretty freakin’ amazing while playing for Everton these last couple months.

But should we as MLS fans be selfish and want him back so soon? I’m sure LA fans certainly do. Their team won’t be nearly as good without him.

But would keeping him with Everton until June really hurt LA? I kind of doubt it. I’m not saying he should make a permeant move to Europe here just yet but I do think a little more time wouldn’t hurt. I’m sure it would easily help the US Men’s National team this summer if Donovan was playing at a very high level in England (not to say he wouldn’t be at a high level here in MLS).

I think one big thing this loan has proved to the rest of the world is that players from MLS can play and that Donovan most certainly is a force to be reckoned with. I know I’m happy to see Donovan finally do well in Europe. And as much as I want to see him stay in MLS I wouldn’t be at all upset to see him make a full fledge run in the EPL with Everton.

How do you want to see this story play out with Donovan? Do you want him back here in MLS or would you rather see him at least get an extension on his loan with Everton?

Real Salt Lake took home their first hardware. (Getty Images)

I decided not to write a recap last night after the game finished up. Mainly I was exhausted from watching the game that went into penalties. MLS Cup 2009 wasn’t the very best game of the year but it definitely provided plenty of drama. From key injuries to key goals the game was compelling and exciting.

The PKs were kind of expected of this game after things were tied up going into overtime. Both teams were totally gassed on the field and just looked like they’d rather get it to the penalties rather than make something happen in the extra frames.

Injuries played a huge part in this game. Javier Morales’s knee injury really hurt RSL’s momentum in the first half, which the Galaxy did an excellent job of taking advantage of. The Galaxy found great space with Landon Donovan and David Beckham which lead to Mike Magee’s goal late in the half. The first half really was controlled by Bruce Arena’s squad.

But some halftime switches by Jason Kreis really turned things in RSL’s favor. Either it was the right halftime speech or the move to get the sick Will Johnson out that paid off but whatever was said or done by Kreis fueled his club. RSL came out with more energy than before and really caught the Galaxy off guard with Yura Movsisyan and Robbie Findley. Once the attack got going for RSL it was only a matter of time before Findley put away a goal.

The game from there was a bit back and forth. The Galaxy controlled the ball late while RSL took things into their own hands to start the first extra frame. The second overtime was a bit back and forth as well but both teams were clearly exhausted.

The PKs were what we expected, loads of drama. Key guys like Kyle Beckerman and Donovan missed their chances. MLS Cup MVP Nick Rimando continued to be the king of PKs as he stopped a couple big shots.

RSL is now the champions of Major League Soccer. Some called it in the pre-season but not many really expected this outside of Utah. Congrats to RSL and Jason Kreis on a job well done.

Extra Notes:

- With the win RSL becomes the first American sports team in 60 years to win a title with a losing regular season record. No doubt many will put them down as the worst team to win a MLS title ever here. Least deserving based on their record yes but based on the late run they certainly deserved the hardware with the big wins on the road.

- Saying that I still do wish the league would reconsider their playoff format here for the higher seeds. Either do away with the first round being a home-and-away series and make it a single game knockout like the rest of the playoffs. Or give us a 1 v. 8, 2 v. 7, etc. format instead of this east and west thing. Keep the conferences for league play but not the playoffs.

- Back up keeper Josh Saunders came on late for the Galaxy when Donovan Ricketts injured his hand. Saunders proved to be a solid backup and had the Galaxy won you gotta bet there would be a couple clubs around the league calling his name for a starting gig next year. Judging on the brief play last night I wouldn’t be shocked if some teams offer the Galaxy a trade for the young keeper.

- Fun thought on RSL too. Think back to that trade that brought Kyle Beckerman there from Colorado. The two clubs have pretty much gone in opposite directions since that trade.

- Donovan pulled a Roberto Baggio in his PK. Should we be shocked? Yes because he typically hammers these home. Hopefully this won’t affect him too long because we need him to be clutch next summer if a game comes down to PKs in the World Cup.

Qwest Field was an excellent host for MLS Cup. (Getty Images)

- 46k+ saw the game last night at Qwest Field. Great venue but apparently it won’t host the big game for a few years according to the league. Apparently many clubs want to host it now and from the sound of things other cities really have their work cut out for them now after the way Seattle hosted this thing.

- The Field turf really did a number out there last night on the players. No doubt it will be a topic of conversation going into next year.