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

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

Today we shift west to look at Chivas USA.

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

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.

Add another youth product to their roster. The club announced today they have signed 18-year-old Cesar Zamora to a professional contract.

The outside midfielder becomes the third product of the Red-and-White’s youth system to earn a professional contract, along with fellow Los Angeles area natives Gerson Mayén and 2007 Sueño MLS winner Jorge Flores.

Zamora has been working with the first team since the beginning of the season and had appeared in early preseason scrimmages against UCLA and the PDL Ventura County Fusion.

“He shows great potential and is very good with the ball,” said Chivas USA assistant coach Carlos Llamosa. “He fits in well with the type of soccer we like to play.”

“It’s good for the coaches to have options in the youth system,” said Llamosa. “It gives us a great chance to look at potential players for the future. We’ve been inviting a couple of the youth guys to first team practice and if they show they can be on this team, we might sign them. It’s a good program for us.”

“He needs to realize that he’s a pro now,” said Llamosa. “When he steps on the field, he can’t be afraid of anyone. He needs to move the ball quickly, be aggressive, and give everything he has.”

Its good to see more clubs signing young players from their youth systems. Chivas has already seen decent products like Mayen and Flores. Hopefully more clubs will be able to do the same here.

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

Fast starts don’t always happen in Major League Soccer. Usually it takes most clubs a few weeks into the season to get use to the new year before they start to reel off the points. But every few years a club comes hot out of the gate like this year’s Chivas USA.

I went out to do a little digging on how some clubs (most MLS Cup clubs) have done in recent years out of the gate and turns out last year our eventual MLS Cup and Supporter Shield champions Columbus Crew started out last year in similar fashion.

What do I mean by that? Well let’s look at it, Chivas USA has taken in 19 out of 24 possible points after eight matches. The Crew did the same last year after eight matches.

Other clubs that have started off quick after eight games like Columbus did have either made it to MLS Cup (New England in 2005) or won MLS Cup (Kansas City in 2000).

So this brings up an interesting thought. Will Chivas follow in the same steps as Columbus and win the double this season?

A lot of soccer is left to be played but so far Chivas is well on their way to at least a 50 point season. Which should definitely be plenty of points with the amount of draws this season to get them into the playoffs, let alone an automatic bid out of the west.

Most clubs however typically cool off in the summer and more than likely Chivas will do the same. It will be interesting to see how things go without Sasha Kljestan this summer when he is potentially with the US National Team. Also should say Zach Thornton cool off or the defense get hit with an injury to someone like Jonanthan Borenstein, how Preki gets his club to respond will be key. So far he has been able to do that this year with some of the injuries his club was facing at the start of the campaign. He’s gotten newcomers like Gerson Mayen to step up and produce as well as Mexican striker Eduardo Lillingston.

I think a big reason too is the fact that Chivas has finally found an idenity for themselves in this league due to Preki’s style of coaching. As Preki continues to push the right buttons things continue to look more promising by the week. And as we keep going here more things will continue to be on their side.

Freddie Ljungberg and Osvaldo Alonso have been huge additions to Seattle and to MLS this year. (Getty Images)

While rookies have been doing well this year so far, so have the list of newcomers to the league that aren’t rookies. It seems like last year we talked at length about the lack of positive newcomers until the summer months when guys like Darren Huckerby came into town for the San Jose Earthquakes.

This season is far in a way different as plenty of newbies are making a positive impact on the league. Most of the list below does contain a lot of Seattle Sounder players, but there are a few others that have made similar headlines this year that aren’t in Sounder green.

The list below is really no particular order here. After a while though I will still track the newcomers to the league this season as we gear towards the end of season awards. If you see a newcomer that I failed to remember, be sure to post his name below. Again, no rookies please, they have their own watch list that will probably be updated again next week.

Freddie Ljungberg (Seattle) – As some of you know, I am part Swedish so I am a little biased on this one when I see a Swede in the league and one doing well. So far Ljungberg is playing just the way Seattle needs him to be, a strong part of the midfield and one that hits the back of the net when called to do so. Continue Reading…

Dwayne De Rosario leads TFC against FC Dallas on Saturday. (Brian Stephens, WVH Photo Correspondent)

So far the 2009 season has been a lot different than most would expect. Two western teams headline the standings with perfect records, while a couple eastern clubs aren’t far off the pace. Judging by this weekend’s schedule this could be a good for some struggling clubs to get on the board here this season.

This will be the first weekend in a while that I can remember where all the games are on Saturday. Easter Sunday probably has a good bit to do with that reasoning. Seven games total, with only New England missing out on the fun due to the unbalanced schedule this season.

Feel free as always to post your score predictions for your club’s game or for all the games below. Continue Reading…