Houston and Seattle battle it out tomorrow night. (Getty Images)

We are chugging along here in the first month of the 2012 season. The third week of the season brings another full slate of games and talking points. There are a few decent games this weekend with a couple more that could end up being decent as well when it is all said and done.

Nine games on the menu this weekend across three days – only the LA Galaxy are off this weekend.

Below are some points I’ll be keeping an eye on this weekend.

1. West meets East. Six of the nine games this weekend feature a East v. West battle. Big games between Seattle and Houston and then Sporting KC and FC Dallas headline the weekend. Big thing to keep in mind is of those six games, four of them are in Eastern Conference venues. It will be interesting to see if the Eastern clubs can turn the tide at home after going the first two weekends without much to show for against the West. 

2. How good is Houston? Two road games in a row and two wins in a row have the Dynamo off to a rocking start. But how good is Dominic Kinnear’s club really at this point? The two 1-0 wins have come against one of the worst clubs in the league (Chivas) and a team that is decent (San Jose). Also, the Orange haven’t exactly lit up the boards with their offense as they’ve only chipped in two goals on the season, one being from the penalty spot last week.

Houston heads to Seattle for a big primetime battle with the Sounders tomorrow night. Seattle looked good in their home opener last week against Toronto as David Estrada ran all over the Reds with a hat trick. Toronto is a different defensive club than Houston is here. The Dynamo use the defense to their strength and will need to push around the Sounders early and often to get them off their game.

3. About those Quakes. San Jose takes their 1-1-0 record to the road to battle Toronto FC in their home opener. So far we’ve seen the Quakes play decent in a win over New England but then stumble against Houston last week. We know Chris Wondolowski can score but so far no one is really feeding him the ball. But they may be in luck as Toronto sweeper Torsten Frings is on the mend for a few weeks. Without him in the midfield, expect Toronto to be a little different and likely a bit weaker. If San Jose is indeed better this year, this will be a  game that they can prove it to us. On the road, in a tough environment, against a pretty decent team.

4. The questions in Philly. We’ve heard all week about stuff going on with the Philadelphia Union. Peter Nowak is playing things very oddly and in a way that can be easily made fun of too by folks in the press and online. This Union squad has talent, make no mistake about it, but right now they seem to be lacking some heart across the field. You’d expect a guy like Danny Califf or Carlos Valdes to step up and be the true veteran leaders that they are, but that hasn’t exactly happened yet in their two losses (for a variety of reasons no less). Offensively speaking the Union haven’t got it going so far this year and not having Freddy Adu isn’t making it easier.

The Union head to Chicago for their home opener. The Fire looked decent in Montreal last week but still have some question marks of their own. We don’t know how good this club really is or will be yet but we do know one thing, Dominic Oduro is certainly trying to make us realize that he isn’t going to be a one-hit wonder.

5. Turn the heat up in New York. We’ve talked about it this week, the heat under Hans Backe’s butt has to be getting warmer and warmer here. The Red Bulls opened the season with two straight road losses and losing their home opener is definitely out of the question. The panic button hasn’t been pushed, not yet at least. They get a Colorado Rapids squad that will be missing a key midfielder in Jeff Lawrentowicz, who got red carded late in Philadelphia last weekend. That’s a huge blow for a club on the road seeking a third straight win.

New York has to play their style of game. Direct, with pace on the wings with Dane Richards and Joel Lindpere. So far neither one of them has been involved much in their two losses. Without their services on the wings, Thierry Henry has been forced to sit further back into the midfield to get the ball. That cannot happen for a player like Henry. Having Rafa Marquez back in the lineup should help though, if he can be the defensive force in the midfield, it may allow pressure off the defense and some better service. At least one would hope that will be the case. If not, Backe and this club will be forced to answer a lot of tough questions.

6. Dallas travels with a slew of missing players. We’ve talked about wondering just how good a couple clubs are, well Sporting KC fits that mold. They’ve done well in their two wins to start the season, one on the road in D.C. and the other at home against a 10-man New England. Now they’ll host a FC Dallas squad missing Brek Shea, Fabian Castillo and likely David Ferreira. That’s a ton of offense for Schellas Hyndman to be missing, not to mention newcomer Carlos Rodriguez, who has been filing in on the wings will be out with the Panama U-23 national team. Ouch.

To me this one is simple, if KC plays to their strengths up top with Kei Kamara and CJ Sapong, then this one will be their’s without a doubt. Dallas has a strong defense for sure this season with the return of George John and newcomer Hernan Pertuz looking good but without the wing play in the midfield, Dallas will struggle in this one.

Rafa Marquez will miss a big MLS match against RSL this weekend. (Getty Images)

Once again it seems like international dates on the FIFA calendar are going to hurt several MLS clubs in the coming week. All but two clubs will have at least one player called into their respective national team camps for friendlies (or in a couple cases African Nations Cup qualifiers). Only FC Dallas and the Philadelphia Union are without any players getting call-ups.

At a time when MLS is in the heat of the season with playoff races being hotter than ever, teams will be without key guys for a game or two depending on when the friendlies are for their players.

For a club like New York who is making a run at the top of the standings right now they’ll be hit the hardest with four guys called out into duty. Bouna Coundoul, Dane Richards, Rafa Marquez and Roy Miller will all be unavailable this weekend as the Red Bulls try to knock of the defending champions Real Salt Lake in Utah. RSL has a couple big losses of their own with Alvaro Sabario and Will Johnson getting call ups as well.

I won’t go into the MLS needs to break for FIFA dates or whatever today. That’s a barrel of fun that I just don’t have the time for today.

I do think however that some of these weird international dates like this one coming up are hurting MLS clubs a lot. I get the Euro qualifiers and African Nations Cup call-ups. I really have no issues with those but the friendlies for some CONCACAF teams this coming weekend makes little sense to me. I very well could be in the minority feeling that, but that’s how I felt for the US-Brazil friendly a month ago.

To see a full list of who got called up check it out over at Soccer America.

Juan Pablo Angel will lead the Red Bulls again, who else will step up? (Getty Images)

Its been a little while since we did a preseason look in on a MLS club. We hammered out about half of the league already but with the on-going CBA issue things like this had to take a backseat for a little while. Well today we’re back on the horse and continue on our preseason coverage here.

Today we have the New York Red Bulls. A lot of talk always surrounds this club each year and 2010 will be no different as the club has a new arena (finally) and a new direction in terms of management (yet again). Hans Backe is now the manager with Eric Solar leading the charge in the front office when it comes to player moves. No longer is it Juan Carlos Osorio making ill-advised moves with Jeff Agoos.

The thing is will it actually matter? Will the Solar/Backe move actually pay off and New York shines in their first season in the mecca that will be Red Bull Arena? Time will tell but we can say that anything should be an improvement on last year’s product.

So let’s see where New York is with each part of their roster and what further moves are needed to be made before the season kicks off.

Keepers:

Who they have:  Bouna Coundoul.

Notes: First of all they do have guys like former TFC keeper Greg Sutton in camp right now. Good thing too because Coundoul is not the answer for their keeping situation. I know some folks like him but I just don’t believe he is a solid #1 in this league. His time in Colorado was decent but never great. If the Red Bulls go with him all year their success on the field won’t be too great. But if their defense improve from last year then it may be a gamble worth taking.

Sadly at this point with the CBA issues at hand it will be tough for New York to get a real solid keeper in camp. If I were them I’d be doing everything possible to get Kevin Hartmen from KC. Or I’d be tossing some trades around to someone like San Jose to get Joe Cannon.

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Defense:

Who they have: Kevin Goldthwaite, Chris Albright, Tim Ream, Carlos Mendes, Roy Miller, and Andrew Boyens.

Notes: A decent bunch with the pickup of Albright and Miller. If Mendes can turn his play back into what it was a couple years ago they may be set in the back.

So far in preseason play this group hasn’t played too bad. As long as Albright gets to be 100%, Miller proves he is a good signing and the rest of the group does their stuff right this team could surprise a few folks. I still think they are a little weak in the back though, plus I’m not entirely sure their centerbacks are good enough to keep up with some of the better offenses in the league just yet.

One guy to keep an eye on is Ream, I really think he’ll be one of the surprise rookies from this year.

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Midfield:

Who they have: Seth Stammler, Siniša Ubiparipović, Danleigh Boreman, Irving Garcia, Austin de Luz, Jeremy Hall, Dane Richards, Joel Lindpere, Ernst Öbster, Tony Tchani, and Luke Sassano.

Notes: This group is really the make or break group for me with this club. If the new additions from Europe pay off it will make Backe and Solar look like geniuses. For the last couple years we’ve seen this club go strictly after South American talent here and none of them payed off (except for their DP Juan Pablo Angel).

Enter Lindpere and Obster, two guys far from their usual reaches in South America. Some preseason talk of those two have been positive and the rest has been okay, nothing too negative at this point. Lindpere is a hard worker in the center of the park, which has been lacking from this club.

Also let’s not forget the two rookies de Luz and Tchani. I have to think both will see plenty of action this year and Tchani has to be in the early discussion for ROY.

I do worry about this club on the wings a bit. I know Miller has played decent on the wings in preseason but still seeing Boreman and Richards on the roster worries me that the club is going to lean on their speed over everything else. Neither really bring anything else to the table in my mind but maybe Backe can figure out something more to do with each of them that Osorio couldn’t.

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Forwards:

Who they have: Juan Pablo Angel, Macoumba Kandji, John Wolyniec, and Conor Chinn.

Notes: I do believe that Angel will return to a better year now that he isn’t playing 15 home games on turf. Getting his home games on natural grass will go a long way in getting his production back up. I look for a big year out of him right away.

After that I wonder who will help lead the charge. You can always count on Wolyniec for a few goals but that’s usually off the bench. Kandji is good but I’d really like to see more out of him this season and prove to the league why the Red Bulls paid a transfer fee from a USL club to get him.

The big thing will be interesting to watch this summer, will the Red Bulls use their second DP slot at the transfer window? I think this may be the year they do it, especially if they are close to a playoff spot going into the ladder half of the summer.

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Overall:

I think this club will improve under Backe and no that’s not the Swedish biased in me talking I really believe that. I think for once this club isn’t going into a season with a load of hype built up by the media and that is a good thing. The only hype they have is with their new digs at Red Bull Arena, which will be special.

Is this club a playoff contender right now? I doubt it, but if their defense shows up a little more this year then we have to think it is possible. Unlike last year they won’t have a crazy schedule that puts them on the road for four games in a row or weird stretches of going from coast to coast. Its a more do-able schedule for them.

I think they are improved but they still have some ways to go with their wing play and in the back. I still don’t like their keeper situation and I’d love to see them go after Hartman or Cannon. I’d also really like to see them make a move for another ex-Wizard in Claudio Lopez. He’s a guy I really think would do a lot of good in New York. But I doubt either of those moves will take place until a CBA gets worked out.

My favorites were Beckham’s and Richards. What did you all like?

Order of goals: Dane Richards, Julien Baudet, David Beckham, Pablo Campos, Bryan Namoff, Steve Ralston, Wells Thompson, Ramon Sanchez, Pablo Campos (Chivas game), Fabian Espindola, and Robbie Findley (1 and 2).

Order of video: Geoff Cameron, Nate Jaqua, Kheli Dube (hat trick), Juan Pablo Angel, Dax McCarty, Dane Richards, Chris Wondonlowski, Sacha Kljestan, and Landon Donovan.

Jimmy Conrad and Josh Wolff will try to keep Columbus winless. (Brian Stevens, WVH Photo Correspondent)

Week eight has already kicked off with a bit of a bang with two draws on Wednesday night in Kansas City and in Salt Lake City. The RSL-LA draw was something to talk about for sure while the DC-KC draw was pretty much expected.

Time to shift focus to the weekend however as we have plenty of games on the menu to keep us going. Seven games this week, on three straight days. We have all conference battles except for one match tonight in New York with San Jose and the Red Bulls. Also this weekend we have a couple rivalry games like in Texas between Houston and Dallas. And in the east we get to see a lovely battle with Chicago and New England, two clubs that really don’t like one another.

As always feel free to post your score predictions for this weekend’s action below.

San Jose Earthquakes – at – New York Red Bulls

1. What can San Jose do to turn things around in Giants’ Stadium?

One thing going against San Jose so far this season is not sloppy defense or poor offense it is injuries killing Frank Yallop’s bunch. The loss of Jason Hernandez early on hurt the defense in a big way while having Darren Huckerby out for some time hurt the offense just as bad. Right now it is time for Yallop to step up in the locker room and get his troops back to square one here. He also needs guys to step up on the field like Bobby Convey or Romario Corrales.

In this game they face a Red Bull club that is also just as bad as they are this season so getting on the board early will definitely help. Offensively they just need a spark out of anyone at this point. If someone like Ryan Johnson or Pablo Campos can find a way through the Red Bull defense, which has been very shaky this season we could see a surprise tonight in the Meadowlands.

2. Is this the right time for New York to get things going this season?

One would think that this is the perfect time for Juan Carlos Osorio’s bunch to turn the page on this season and get their act together for once. So far this season we just haven’t seen enough solid play for 90 minutes to think they can do it though. While San Jose is just as bad as they are they haven’t been able to beat bad clubs like themselves this season (the loss to LA proved just that a couple weeks ago).

Mainly what needs to go down is some better control in the midfield. No one is servicing the ball into Juan Pablo Angel like last season, which has lead to many questions about this club’s offense. It mainly comes down to quality of service from the wings I think. They just haven’t gotten that so far this season. With how poorly San Jose has been in defense this season this could be the right time for Dane Richards to have a big game.

3. Player to keep an eye out for.

I’m watching New York’s Macoumba Kandji in this one. He has all the tools and skills to be super dangerous here. I think its a matter of him realizing that too here. Once he and Angel get on the same page consistently this club will really start piling on the goals…and maybe the wins.

Quick Thoughts:

Honestly it is hard to pick a west coast club that is playing so poorly coming over to the east coast to play. Then again both clubs have given us very little reason to believe in them so far this season. Each sit near the bottom of the table with near identical records on the year and even the same goal differential on the year. And oddly enough neither club knows how to score on the road. I think with that the advantage has to go to the homeside, which lucky enough for New York means they should win this one. And in reality they should win this one.

While I am picking the Red Bulls to get their second win of the year I doubt it will be too convicing here either. I also wouldn’t be at all shocked to see a 0-0 result out of these two. Especially considering the fact that New York only has five goals on the year (one of which was an own-goal).

WVH Prediction: New York 1, San Jose 0

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Kansas City Wizards – at – Columbus Crew:

1. Once again, will the Crew finally break through here?

Honestly this looks like the one for you Crew fans. At home against a club that played in the midweek and expended themselves a bit at home in the process. Yeah, it could be the one but will it be. A lot needs to happen and the biggest is for the Crew to close out the game if they get the early advantage. Too many times this season the Crew have gone up early and fallen late due to poor defense or sloppiness in general.

Defensively they should be able to get a better pickup once Frankie Hejduk is back in the lineup for good. Hejduk is said to be fit enough to go on Saturday and that should lift this club a lot with their veteran leader back in the lineup.

2. What can KC do to keep Columbus out of the win column again?

For the visitors they need to control the midfield and shut down Gulliermo Barros Schelotto. Easier said than done but the Wizards have been able to slow him down a decent bit before. Secondly they need better service into their attack and better finishing. I wasn’t overly impressive with how they handled DC on Wednesday night for the better part of the game. They had a decent attack but nothing that would really set them apart in the east. I am starting though to think this club is one good striker away from being a really title contender.

Rattling the Crew early also won’t hurt in this one. Emotions could be high for the Crew since they are still searching for that first win so getting under their skin could go a long way.

3. Player to keep an eye out for.

I’m looking out for Columbus’ Pat Noonan on Saturday. I honestly feel he is due for a goal or at least an assist with the way he’s been playing as of late. He’s finally fit and I think once he and Alejandro Moreno link up together it could be a good combination going forward for the Crew.

Quick Thoughts:

Yes, I am drinking the Kool-aid that this is the game for the Crew to get their first win. For one they are throwing a big bash to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Crew Stadium and a lot of key guys are coming back to the lineup. Some stars just seem in line but if anyone would ruin it I think the Wizards are very capable of pulling it off. I just think the Crew are too hungry for a win at this point to let another slip by.

WVH Prediction: Columbus 2, Kansas City 1

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Toronto FC – at – DC United:

1. With Dwayne De Rosario back in the line up, how does TFC stack up against DC?

Without DeRo the Reds looked pretty good, in fact they sort of turned their season around after a bad two game spell against Dallas. Now that DeRo is fit again the club is continuing to play well. Both clubs are coming off a midweek game where each played fairly well so each should be just as tired as the other when it comes to Saturday’s game. The thing for Toronto is, DC has owned them in the past at RFK Stadium.

Toronto needs to work the ball through DeRo early in this one. He has to be the X-factor that controls this game for them or DC will take full advantage of TFC just like they always have at RFK.

2. How can DC control this game from start to finish?

Something DC failed to do on Wednesday was close the game out. That’s been a problem here and there for them so far this season, closing out games. And with Toronto not being a pushover these days finishing out the game in a good manner is a big thing right now for DC, especially since they are the leaders in the east right now.

Keeping the ball in the midfield and getting good runs out of the back from guys like rookie Rodney Wallace will definitely go a long way. We saw on Wednesday that when Wallace makes his runs he can be very dangerous for DC.

3. Player to keep an eye out for.

I think a big game could come from DC’s Luciano Emilio. He didn’t go the full 90 on Wednesday so he could be fully ready for Saturday’s game. That’s a good thing too as he’s done fairly well over these last two years against Toronto.

Quick Thoughts:

This one really has game of the week potential written on it. Toronto is playing some good soccer these days and DC is right up there with them. Hard to believe that these two are contending for the top spot in the east right now.

I think in the end DC gets the best of Toronto. RFK has never been a friendly place for the Reds and right now I just don’t see that changing. Toronto has been decent on the road so far this year but until they can prove they can win in places like DC it will still be hard to take them very seriously on the road. This one will be tight but in the end DC marches on with a win.

WVH Prediction: DC 2, Toronto 1

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New England Revolution – at- Chicago Fire:

1. Does Chicago continue to get draws here or will a dose of New England be the cure?

Let’s face it the Fire are in a little bit of a rut right now. Yes they aren’t losing a game but they also aren’t winning at the same time. That’s a problem no matter how you look at it, especially when they aren’t closing out games that they should win.

But if last year is any indication, the Fire playing New England is something the Fire look forward too. Maybe the Fire have been overlooking the past few games for this weekend’s clash with the Revs. It comes at a good time too since the Revs are still very banged up and are in a bit of a funk due to the major injuries on their roster.

2. Can we even expect New England to be competitive in this one?

Last year the Fire spanked the Revs all over the place during the regular season and even in the playoffs. With the amount of key guys still out to injuries it is hard to look at New England seriously here right now. I do love a Steve Nicol coached club but right now he is struggling to find a way out of the pile of injuries that is club has, which is understandable.

But to the question, they will be competitive in this one. Its a rivalry game for one and you know Nicol is posting scores from last year in the locker room this week to get the guys pumped up.

3. Player to keep an eye out for.

No one more to watch than Chris Rolfe for me. For some reason Rolfe has had New England’s number in the past and I doubt that will change at all this season.

Quick Thoughts:

Its really hard to pick New England right now. I want to but I just know it would be a waste of a pick with the amount of injuries this club has. Its a shame too because when healthy they are still a very good club. Thing is they don’t have the depth to do much right now and offensively they just aren’t scaring anyone. On the flip side Chicago has as good of an offense as anyone in this league and defensively they are pretty sound right now.

I think this one goes to the homeside pretty easily. Still too many key guys missing all over the field for Nicol and in the end Chicago just has more talent on the field.

WVH Prediction: Chicago 3, New England 0

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FC Dallas – at – Houston Dynamo:

1. Is this the time that Houston starts to turn things on here?

I think last week was a good indication as to how well Houston will start playing here. They controlled a lot of the game against New England and even though this is a rivalry game I still think Dallas has a very small shot at beating Houston in Houston. Stuart Holden is proving he can carry the load for the Dynamo in the middle and really that is something great to finally see.

2. How can Dallas sneak in and get the three points?

Luck may be one way but in all reality they need better midfield play. They have guys getting balls in the box but not to Kenny Cooper and not in ways that allow this club to be good on offense. Its kind of like having too many chefs in the kitchen. Its just messy. Plus defensively Schellas Hyndman still hasn’t figured out which combination of players works well enough to hold teams off.

Let’s not forget Houston has practically owned Dallas in this series. Only one Dallas win in three years between these clubs.

3. Player to keep an eye on.

If Dallas is to get any sort of success in this one it may have to come from Dave van den Burgh. He’s been a big lift to this club on the wings so far this year and I’m sure folks in New York miss his service too. Dallas needs a big game from him is they want to get on the board in this one and come out with any kind of points.

Quick Thoughts:

The El Capitan series kicks off for 2009 but it just doesn’t have that same bang to me as it has in recent years. Maybe it is the lack of De Rosario for Houston that is doing that to me or maybe it is because Dallas is a tough club to get behind these days. I don’t know what it is but its a good rivalry nonetheless even if Houston has won most of the games in it.

I think Houston will start to roll here with this game. They showed a lot of promise last week in their win at New England and I think it will continue this week at home against Dallas. I see Houston getting on the board early with Brian Ching and never looking back from that.

WVH Prediction: Houston 2, Dallas 0

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Real Salt Lake – at – Chivas USA

1. What will it take to knock off Chivas?

RSL is a club that can do it really. They get Javier Morales back in the midfield after his suspension and that will help. The thing is I’m still not totally convinced this club can do anything of note on the road. Three games on the road this year for RSL and they haven’t even mustered a single goal. That isn’t very good. Its showing that their defense really isn’t as good as advertised. Against a club like Chivas that exposes weaknesses easily RSL has to clamp down in the middle of the park in order to shut Chivas down.

The thing that Chivas is doing well right now is spreading their attack out to multiple people. Plenty of guys have goals this season for this club and that is always tough to defend. On any given night one guy could be the hot hand and as a defender that can be very tough to defend. RSL has to get more out of guys like Nat Borchers and Jamison Olave. But in all reality they need a bigger game out of Kyle Beckerman and Clint Mathis in the midfield.

2. What does Chivas need to do to control this game?

From the start Chivas just needs to continue playing their style of soccer. Its worked for them through eight games and there is really little reason why it won’t continue to work tomorrow night. Preki has gotten the most out of this bunch so far this season and I wouldn’t expect anything different now that some veterans like Sacha Victorine are coming back. Plus it doesn’t hurt if Sasha Kljestan continues to improve on his form. I thought last week he got himself involved a lot more and that can only lead to bigger and better things for this club if he continues to show interest here.

3. Player to keep an eye on.

I think a guy to watch has to be the AmeriGoats’ Maykel Galindo. He will likely be coming off the bench still but look for him to be a second half sub that could give this club a boost late in the game. If he can regain that form he had two seasons ago this Chivas club could go from really good to something amazing.

Quick Thoughts:

Another potential game of the week here leads me to wonder if we will ever see RSL show up on the road this season. Chivas has been a very good home club these last couple of seasons while RSL has stunk up the place outside of Salt Lake City. Plus was anyone really that impressed with the way RSL finished the game at home against LA on Wednesday? I know they didn’t get a call go their way but still if you can’t close out LA at home then something must be up.

I’ll keep saying it, until RSL shows me they can do it on the road I won’t pick them when they are visiting. Plus this is a big stretch for Chivas I believe. They’ve made it this far and I know Preki will want them to continue pushing forward in attack and continue getting these wins. I like Chivas is this one. It will be close but I think Chivas at home in a physical game should do it.

WVH Prediction: Chivas 2, RSL 1

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LA Galaxy – at – Seattle Sounders FC

1. Will LA continue to improve on the last two results?

Four points in the last two games would normally mean a club is doing something right. Plus not to mention how Bruce Arena’s club got the draw on Wednesday. That should be a big boost going into Seattle on Sunday. They need to carry that momentum into Qwest Field in a big way and get the expansion Sounders off their guard early in this one. LA is showing they have a decent club right now. Let’s not forget here that they haven’t lost a lot of games this season…but they’ve again only win a single game too. If they can rattle the Sounders early with something from Landon Donovan they could see another positive result.

2. What will Sigi Schmid do without Fredy Montero?

Well Montero is suspended for this one from his cheap shot a week ago. Probably a good thing too because he really hasn’t done a lot for this club in recent weeks in my opinion. Schmid needs to get more out of guys like Nate Jaqua anyways. More than likely rookie Steve Zakuani will be in place of Montero and we will see a decent amount of offense through him. Which hasn’t been a bad thing so far this season.

3. Player to keep an eye on.

I want to see more out of Seattle’s Sebastian Le Trox here. So far he’s been involved a lot in the attack but has only produced an assist on the season. I’m still waiting for him to break out a little bit and start scoring some here for the Sounders. Against a young defense like LA it could be a good time for that.

Quick Thoughts:

This game will probably be more competitive than most think. LA’s defense is really starting to come together I think but that’s only if the young three (Gonzalez, Franklin, and DeLaGraza) play well and on the same page as veteran Gregg Berhalter. Like I said if they can get under the skin of the Sounders early and take the crowd out of it as well they could be in for a good battle.

In the end however I think Seattle takes the points from this one. Seattle has a few more weapons up top and defensive are better in the midfield than LA is right now. It will be tighter than most think but I see Jaqua sticking it to his old side.

WVH Prediction: Seattle 2, LA 1

But before an influx of new talent comes into Major League Soccer I wanted to spend a little time looking back at the homegrown stuff here in the States. More importantly the homegrown talent that comes out of the college ranks and what not through the league’s SuperDraft.

I am mainly looking at old drafts and thought it was worth a mention to take a look back at the last few drafts to see not only how clubs did but the players that have moved on to bigger and better things through the league. Also to talk about the players who were picked high and ended up as duds (there are more than you’d think).

For the most part the MLS SuperDraft finds us about 10 good players and about 30 or so not-so-good players. Some last in the league, others don’t make it, and some head for Europe before the first kick of their rookie season. I think the draft will continue to go on in the future but with fewer rounds before long. Once the homegrown talent from youth academies kick in we will mainly see college players go through this process. And most of those won’t come with a high profile either in my best estimate.

I’m only taking us as far back as the 2005 MLS SuperDraft. I feel like in this now-expansion era of MLS soccer, that’s a solid starting point for discussions like these. Not to mention most of those players by now are either hits or misses.

As always feel free to pipe in your own thoughts about these past drafts below.

2005 MLS SuperDraft:

• I think it is fair to say that the top pick in this draft is still a kid. Nikolas Besagno probably didn’t go to the best club (RSL) to develop his talents but the jury may actually still be out on this kid. But by other people’s standards a top pick that has only seen eight league matches since being draft isn’t a good thing. If he was worth the top pick he would be a steady starter by now, at least.
• Brad Guzan went second to Chivas, I think right now we all know how well that pick turned out to be for both sides.
• I forgot Chad Barrett went at number three to Chicago in this one. Worthy of a top three pick? Maybe not with his inconsistent finishing. Still fairly young though, but I’m sure looking back on this the Fire would have loved to get a better defender out of this draft (Michael Parkhurst or Drew Moor). Though they did end up with a LATE steal in the third round with Gonzalo Segares.
• Speaking of Parkhurst, he was easily the best player in the draft now that we look back on it four years later.
• Rounding out the rest of the first round, lots of role players right now for the most part. Not a lot of big names to speak of. That’s what you get when seven of the first 12 picks are defenders.
• Chicago easily had the best draft…along with Barrett they got two third round gems in Segares and Chris Rolfe. Not many clubs in any sport in America can say they got two steals in a late round like the Fire did. Pretty impressive.

2006 MLS SuperDraft:

• Marvelle Wynne was the top pick with New York, though his time didn’t last long in New York I still believe he is one of the better wingbacks in the league right now. His pace and ability to get down the wings shows us reasons why he was the top pick in 2006.
• Mehdi Ballouchy carried on the tradition of terrible draft picks for RSL in their first couple of seasons. How this guy is not in the USL or somewhere below that is beyond me.
• Then again the jury is almost out of time on guys right after Ballouchy like Jason Garey and Yuri Movsisyan.
• Best draft may have gone to Chivas who nabbed Sasha Kljestan with the 5th pick and then in the forth round with a steal of a pick in Jonanthan Bornstein.
• We all know Jozy Altidore was drafted in the second round and how big that was. Easily a steal by anyone’s account, especially now looking at some of the crap drafted above him.
• Some decent picks here and there in the first round now that we know more about some of these kids. Kai Kamera shows flashes here and there, Dax McCarty is as solid as they come when he is healthy, same could be said about guys like Jed Zayner, Nathan Sturgis, and Patrick Ianni.
• Biggest dud of the draft may have been New England’s pick with Leandro de Oliveria. Yeah I don’t recall the name and couldn’t find a bit on him. Wow, for all the praise we give Steve Nicol and the Revs for finding gems in each draft he came up short on that one. Anyone have a story on that kid?

2007 MLS SuperDraft:

• Its almost like a gulf in class between some of these drafts and this one. I think it may be a product of younger and better talent either not going into college or in the top pick’s case not staying in college very long. Either way this was a pretty solid draft.
• A lot of trades in this draft…and I mean a lot. The Joe Cannon trade, the Ronnie O’Brien trade, the popular Amado Guvara deal. Plus many others that really shaped this draft.
• Of course it is still early to tell with some players still in this draft but we are starting to see some key role players out of this bunch with guys like Wells Thompson, Brad Evans, Anthony Wallace, and Amaechi Igwe.
• Maurice Edu was by far the best player in the draft, may be one of the best number one picks the league has ever seen really.
• I was low on the second pick for a little while but I’ve come around to Chicago’s Bakery Soumare.
• Chris Seitz continues to be talked about as the best keeper in this draft (which he was by and far) but we haven’t seen much of that in league play out of him. Tough to be a young budding keeper when you have a veteran standing in the way. Don’t be shocked if this kid is in Europe in a year or two.
• Steal of the draft by some accounts was New England’s forth round pick in Adam Cristman.
  
• Second round steal goes to New York (again) with Dane Richards.
  
• Some could say Robbie Findley was a steal in the second round as well. Considering some of the players picked above those two (hello, Chicago picking Jerson Monterio or Colorado taking Nico Colaluca).

2008 MLS SuperDraft:

• Yeah okay, I won’t go into this one too much since we are STILL figuring this draft out. Come back next year I suppose. Its anyone’s guess who got the best draft, much less the best player!