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…

Why isn't Colin Clarke back on some club's radar? (USLSoccer)

Its hard to believe that three clubs are still without a head coach this evening. Well one has an interim head coach but two big time clubs in Major League Soccer end the day without a lead boss, which could be setting them back a bit for the upcoming month with the transfer window opening up and the SuperDraft.

Yes I am talking about you DC United and Chicago Fire. Both still lack a manager after parting ways with Tom Soehn and Denis Hamlett respectively.

Last night we heard news that DC would not be able to get Akron head coach Caleb Porter which put their coaching search into a big spin. SBI broke news earlier that DC even went as far to try and get San Jose manager Frank Yallop and Houston assistant John Spencer for the job. San Jose said they couldn’t approach Yallop and Spencer said he wasn’t interested.

Yikes.

Are things that bad that no one wants to coach in DC? Second of all it says a lot about what DC thinks of former Kansas City manager Curt Onalfo who seemed to be the next guy in line after Porter. But with Porter out of the picture it just sounds like Onalfo was not good enough (which he isn’t by the way) to get the job. Now DC could still go that route if they end up with no other options but it sounds like they will continue to drag their feet in this search until they get someone better than Onalfo.

Why isn’t DC going after someone like RSL assistant Robin Fraser? Or former Dallas manager Colin Clark who’s now in the USL with Puerto Rico.

Chicago isn’t much better here with their search. According to ESPNChicago.com the Fire aren’t completely sold on their two final choices that were reported in former DC boss Tom Soehn or Chivas USA midfielder Jesse Marsch.

Honestly if I were the Fire I’d go for Soehn. I know things didn’t pan out in DC with him but honestly the guy can coach in my opinion. DC just had a loaded schedule with some injury issues the years he was there. Chicago won’t have as loaded of a schedule in 2010, just possibly SuperLiga again.

The ESPNChicago article also mentions some other possible candidates for the gig like Thomas Rongen (not a bad pick), Spencer (who won’t take a job until 2011 with Portland), and Clarke.

What do I think each club will do? Honestly I wouldn’t be shocked to start hearing John Harkes name for the DC gig here soon. I know he’s comfortable with his job at ESPN but he did do some assistant coaching under Bruce Arena in New York. In the end I do kind of see United settling for Onalfo. As for the Fire I think they’ll end up with a surprise pick like Clarke or even Rongen if they can get him away from his U-20 national team post.

Rookie Michael Lahoud is expected to make his second career start tonight. (Getty Images)

Tonight’s western conference battle is a big one. Not only is Major League Soccer getting a primetime clash on ESPN2 on a night without the NBA Finals or the NHL Stanley Cup Finals. But they are also getting the league’s two best clubs showcased in front of a national audience. You really can’t beat that if you ask me right now for a league that needs a boost in terms of eye-balls watching.

Houston comes into tonight’s game red hot, putting their three-game winning streak and eight-game unbeaten streak on the line against the top team in the west and the MLS overall standings – Chivas USA. The AmeriGoats are six points ahead in the standings but Houston does have two games at hand.

The only downer on this game is the fact that both clubs are missing their marquee players at the moment. Houston is lacking Brian Ching to injury and Ricardo Clark to national team duty with the US. Chivas is also missing Sacha Kljestan and Jonathan Bornstein to national duty as well. So in a way we aren’t seeing either side at full strength.

1. What can Houston do to continue owning the league’s best defense?

It all starts and ends with defense up top. If your strikers and midfielders are defending well then it puts less pressure on your backline and keeper. Houston does it better than anyone though Chivas isn’t far off their pace as they’ve only given up two goals more this season. I think the play out of Stuart Holden in the midfield has been huge lately for Houston which has allowed the Dynamo defense to keep the other clubs off the board in recent games. Also throw in the fact that Houston has made some big changes to their offense these past couple weeks in getting Dominic Oduro and Cam Weaver will really help I think.

Though if you want another unsung heroes for the Orange and their defense you have to give some credit to two guys, Geoff Cameron and Richard Mulrooney. Both are playing very well and I’d say Cameron is playing like an All-Star these days for Houston.

2. What does Chivas need to do to overcome their history at Robertson Stadium?

All-time in Houston the Goats have not played well at all. Six games with four losses, two draws and only one goal scored. Houston in that timeframe has scored 12 goals. Thing is this is not the same Chivas club that we’ve seen the last couple years. Preki has put together a very strong defensive group that is getting results. I do worry though that the absense of Mariano Trujillo (suspended) and Bornstein in the back will hurt this club big time tonight.

Chivas just has to play their style of game. Pack the midfield and wait for their chances. They’re good enough to sneak one by Houston if they play their style tonight. They also need a big game out of young guys like rookie Michael Lahoud and veteran Jesse Marsch.

3. Player to keep an eye out for:

I think if Chivas is to be successful tonight on the road they need a big game out of Paulo Nagamura. He’s been the one guy this season for them that continues to impress me week after week.

Quick Thoughts:

This game really should bea  good one tonight even with the lack of big names that I mentioned above. I think if there is one club to cool off Houston, even at home, it is Chivas. Thing is I just think Houston is too hot to handle right now and that is why they will pull out the three points tonight at home. They’ve been too good lately and with the new additions I see them making an impact right away. It will be a tight game but Houston pulls it out in the end thanks to the play of guys like Holden and Brad Davis.

WVH Prediction: Houston 1, Chivas 0

Jesse Marsch and Chivas USA continue to roll. (Getty Images)

Another week down in Major League Soccer and a lot of things remain the same around the league. Week seven is in the books here Chivas USA still remains the league’s top club. Other things that are still constant in the league include:

- New York still struggling
- Columbus still struggling to win
- Chicago still drawing games, yet still undefeated
- Dallas still losing games
- Salt Lake still losing on the road
- Attendance still so-so across the league

And a little sidebar that a couple of you pointed out to me, I picked every game correctly this past week. Some of the scores weren’t right on but I did have all the winners correct and all the draws be 1-1. Yeah, sorry to toot my own horn but sometimes it is nice to be right. Continue Reading…

As the All-Star rosters are now official, its time to put together the group of eleven that didn’t make but had a damn good reason for making it. I’ve stated my opinion on some that got snubbed but figured that it would be best to put out a full starting lineup of guys that didn’t make the All-Star festivities.

If you got someone who was snubbed let’s hear it.

I’ll keep with the same 3-5-2 formation that we’ve been using for the All-Star game.

Keeper:

Jon Busch, Chicago Fire: Easily putting up the best numbers of any keeper this season. It was clear that it was going to be tough to beat out Matt Reis but surprising enough Busch had to contend with Pat Onstad too. The Canadian won since the game is in Toronto and Busch is left with nothing.

Continue Reading…

There’s really no drama in this news or any surprise for that matter but David Beckham leads the way in the MLS All-Star voting after two short weeks. Landon Donovan was second and Cuauhtemoc Blanco was third.

Again, shocker, I know.

Here is a look at the top 10 after two weeks of voting:

1. David Beckham, Los Angeles Galaxy
2. Landon Donovan, Los Angeles Galaxy
3. Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Fire
4. Amado Guevara, Toronto FC
5. Frankie Hejduk, Columbus Crew
6. Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Columbus Crew
7. Dwayne De Rosario, Houston Dynamo
8. Greg Sutton, Toronto FC
9. Robbie Rogers, Columbus Crew
10. Maurice Edu, Toronto FC

Okay I kind of lied about the no surprises. One could easily consider Greg Sutton or Amado Guevara a surprise but we all know the Toronto fans enjoy stuffing any ballots that come their way when they have a player or two on it.

Other than that there really isn’t a shocker on this list. A few players that need your votes are guys like Jon Busch (Chicago), Gonzalo Segares (Chicago), Sasha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Jesse Marsch (Chivas USA), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Andra Rocha (FC Dallas), and Matt Reis (New England) just to name a few.

Fans, Players, Coaches/GMs and media each make up 25 percent of the vote. Fan voting concludes July 2. The first XI will be announced on July 10. The commissioner’s selection will be announced on July 15. The MLS All-Stars take on West Ham United on July 24 at BMO Field.

I haven’t done my ballot but once I do I will be sure to pass it along to you all.

Feel free to post your All-Star selections at anytime here