Conor Casey and Pablo Mastroeni will be called to lead again in 2010. (Getty Images)

We’re moving on in our look at each Major League Soccer roster to see where all the clubs are at in their pre-season. So far we’ve looked at Philadelphia, Chicago and Chivas USA. Today we stay out west and look at Gary Smith’s Colorado Rapids.

Last season had some ups and downs for the Rapids. Offensively at times they looked like they could not be stopped with Conor Casey and Omar Cummings leading the charge but injuries got in the way of post season glory for this bunch.

The winter months have given Smith and his club some time to make some moves and so far they’ve been pretty active. I still see this club making more moves before the season kicks off next month. But lets see how they are doing at each position right now. Continue Reading…

With stars like Conor Casey and Pablo Mastroeni, the Rapids should have done better in 2009. (Getty Images)

Consistent play was always an issue in 2008 for the Colorado Rapids, and it turned out 2009 wasn’t much different. The Rapids looked like a team that could contend in early on in 2009 but the ladder part of the season tore this group apart as injuries were racked up and the offensive production that was one of the best in the league at times turned into a pumpkin.

Gary Smith took over late last season and did actually get his club started in the right path in 2009. Conor Casey and Omar Cummings turned into one of the league’s best duos as they each racked up the goals while Cummings also provided the assists. The play out of the midfield was actually more impressive as Mehdi Ballouchy actually looked like he had a decent touch for once and Colin Clark started to actually produce like we all expect him to.

But injuries took over this club and when that happen any sort of consistent play this club would produce would go out the window as expected. Their depth showed it was a big weakness and in return the guys that were producing well turned out to not be able to produce when it mattered most. The ladder part of the season Casey could only find the back of the net from the PK spot and Cummings went dry from the start of September till the end of the year.

Rapids fans are left with a lot of what ifs on the season after a promising summer that saw so much productivity out of Casey and Cummings. In the final six weeks of the season the Rapids completely came apart. Some people like Ives even called out everything about the team’s current state of affairs like it was going down as fast as a sinking ship.

What Went Right In 2009:
When Casey and Cummings were on it was pretty cool to watch. The two would light up pretty much any club that stood in their way. The midfield play then was also fun to watch as it had such a good nucleus of talent.

What Went Wrong In 2009:
It seems as the more shares of Arsenal that owner Stan Kroenke buys the worse things get for this bunch in Colorado. As mentioned above the last few weeks of the year really did them in for good on the season. Injuries took a big toll on the club mostly because they are build to use the wings and when guys like Colin Clark went down for the year so did the production of this group.

What’s Next:
For this bunch it is all about getting healthy and correcting what went wrong late in the year. Sad part is I don’t see this bunch getting any better over the offseason with the way things currently are in Denver. Finding a Designated player in the offseason may help but building some depth will probably go a longer way in repairing this club on the field. Off the field this bunch needs a make over. A couple years ago things seemed so promising as they moved into a new stadium but now it seems like this group has gone down the deep dark path that teams like FC Dallas are in. They need to repair things within their fanbase in a big way.

I love a good holiday weekend. That’s why these previews are coming today instead of it’s usual Friday timeslot. Even with the holiday comes loads of extras for me to be doing and sitting in front of my laptop isn’t going to be one of them.

After a couple weekends of SuperLiga play breaking up the flow of the season schedule the majority of the MLS clubs are back in play this weekend. Only Chivas, Seattle, and Toronto are out of action this week. Gotta love that unbalanced schedule the league has, I don’t see why a club like Toronto is off this week but oh well.

Anyways, time to get down to business. Feel free to send your game predictions as well. Continue Reading…

Today is expected to be quite a day for American soccer. The US face Spain in a big time clash in the Confederations Cup over in South Africa. While I won’t be doing any formal preview of that game (I’ll let those who are better at covering the US to do that) I will say that I am very eager to watch it.

Aside from the big game across the pond we do still have two MLS games to talk about today. Colorado hosting Dallas and Toronto hosting once again New York. Since today is a double dip of games the preview is going to be cut a little short on the fact that I have a lot to do today in very little time.

Feel free to leave your game predictions below.

New York Red Bulls – at – Toronto FC:

Its been only a week and a half since their last encounter at BMO Field but the result should be close to the same as last time. New York looked better at home against Seattle last week and I would imagine there could be some let down from Toronto’s emotional high from winning the Canadian Cup last week in Montreal. The thing is I know Toronto is still a quality side and they are improving on all ends right now. The Nick Garcia trade will continue to be a good one for this club and I think he will help clamp down the Red Bull attack.

I think in the end Toronto just has too much talent and New York just sucks something awful on the road. Its going to take a lot for them to event get a draw on the road at this point but I think Toronto will have a little more energy in their tank and that will be more than enough for this one. Dwayne De Rosario and Amado Guevara should have another big night at BMO as the locals welcome home their Canadian champions.

WVH Prediction: Toronto 2, New York 1

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FC Dallas – at – Colorado Rapids:

I have to say that Dallas is starting to play well, it’s just too bad that it is too little too late here. They, like New York and San Jose have nearly played themselves out of contention here already. Colorado on the other hand has a bunch of games in hand on everyone and in those games at hand most of them coming up are at home. After the way they handled a quality DC side a week ago I would imagine they should do a similar thing to Dallas, who’s defense is a lot weaker than what DC has.

Omar Cummings is proving to the league that he is the real deal here and that once Conor Casey returns to the line-up, they will be one tough duo to stop here. I think Cummings and the play of Colin Clark will be a lot to handle for Dallas. I do see the Red Stripes getting one in this one but it won’t be enough.

WVH Prediction: Colorado 3, Dallas 1

Brad Davis leads the league in assists and no one is talking about him. (Getty Images)

Right now we nearly 40 percent (if not more) through the 2009 season. While we all know of the guys making headlines I thought it would be a good time to discuss some of those guys that are making a difference who aren’t getting all the love from the press. Some may be names that we already know but I figured it was necessary to hype them up a bit more for once.

Some of these guys are newcomers, some are not. All however are making an impact on their club though.

If you have a guy that I’ve missed that needs a little more love from the bloggers, writers, and press just leave a note below and tell us all who and why. I know I won’t get everyone’s but these are a few that I felt deserved a little hype.

Brad Davis (Houston) – Here’s a guy that’s been around the league for a while but hasn’t seen nearly the respect he deserves. Right now he leads the league in assists with seven. I think it is about time we hear his name mentioned more often. He’s been a valuable player for other clubs before and right now he is a big reason why Houston is charging up the standings.

Gerson Mayen (Chivas USA) – Whether he has come off the bench or started for the top club in the league this season, the young Mayen has definitely left a good impact on his club so far. With four assists he has been able to get himself involved in the attack and help Chivas out in the standings. He has had some hype from a few Chivas writers but I think he needs some more hype nationally, especially since he is a product of the Chivas youth academy.

Logan Pause (Chicago) – Pause is one of the few guys that is out there every game for the Fire. He like teammate Brian McBride have been out for every minute of each game so far this season. Honestly no one talks about Pause but he is one of those valuable role players that every club looks for when building a title contender. He’s a steady cog to the midfield and one that helps keep possession.

Colin Clark (Colorado) – I’ve been saying for a couple years that Colorado needed Clark to step up and play big. This season he is finally doing so with two goals and five assists. One of the biggest beneficiaries to Clark’s success is the league’s top scorer Conor Casey. We very well could see the start of an amazing duo here.

Bryan Namoff (DC) – Think about the DC defense for a second. Who’s one guy that’s been there all season and hasn’t missed a second? Namoff would be that guy. I thought getting guys like him and Clyde Simms re-signed this offseason were bigger than finding a new designated player for this club.

Luciano Emilio and DC travel to New England to face Shalrie Joseph and the Revs. (Getty Images)

I won’t lie, last night’s game between Chicago and Chivas put a sour taste in my mouth for this weekend. The game itself was entertaining but the officiating was lacking in quality as we’ve all seen by now. Hopefully this weekend won’t be filled with yellow and red cards or lots of questionable PK calls.

Sorry for the rant but that’s just how I feel going into this weekend.

As for the weekend ahead here, we have a full slate of games with everyone in action except for Chivas (who played last night). I do hope we get seven quality games like last night’s contest though. Aside from the horrible officiating in the middle it was a good game. I’m gonna start switching things up here for the weekend previews. While I like doing longer previews for each game, time just doesn’t allow me to do so anymore for the weekend games. Instead I will stick with a quick preview and a player to look out for along with the score prediction. Continue Reading…

Plenty of goals this week, mostly due to the RSL thrashing of New England. Still there were plenty of quality strikes that were goal of the week material. I’ve put together my usual list of goals for the week.

If you think I missed a quality goal just let me know.

The order goes as follows:

Chris Pontius (DC), Steve Zakunai (Seattle), Yura Movsisyan (RSL), Clint Mathis (RSL), Andy Williams (RSL), Robbie Findley (RSL), Colin Clark (Colorado), Landon Donavan (LA), Chad Marshall (Columbus), Alejandro Moreno (Columbus), and Gonzalo Segares (Chicago).