Has San Jose done enough to improve on their dismal 2009 campaign? (Getty Images)

Forgive me for a second for this coming out as late as it did. I had every intentions earlier in the week to get this one out on Wednesday but a certain clash in Holland kept me from finishing it until yesterday.

Anyways, we continue on with out look at each Major League Soccer club’s preseason happenings here. We’re in the final stretch with just San Jose, Seattle and Toronto to go. Up first today is San Jose, a club that is hoping to rebound after a dismal effort in 2009. Frank Yallop has made some moves this winter to shake things up by the Bay but will it pay off is the key question.

I thought going into the winter that Yallop and GM Frank Doyle would do a lot of work on this roster that only won seven games in 2009. Reshaping an offense that only scored 36 goals was also another issue but the biggest may be redoing a defense that gave up a league-high 50 goals.

So let us dive into the Earthquakes to see who they have going into the new campaign and where else they need to go to get back into the playoffs.

Keepers:

Who they have: Joe Cannon, Andrew Weber, Mike Graczyk

Notes: I’l be honest, I thought Cannon was gone after last season. I just figured he was on the trading block for real this time and would be in a different city by the end of the SuperDraft in January. Turns out I was wrong. Not to say that things are still rosy with Cannon and the Quakes but it appears he will be the main guy this season for Yallop.

After Cannon they do have a decent back up in Weber and a third option in Graczyk. I do think that should Cannon not work out we’ll see a lot more of Weber this season, or this club will go out and get a keeper in the summer.

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Defense:

Who they have: Bobby Burling, Ike Opara, Chris Leitch, Justin Morrow, Jason Hernandez.

Notes: I do think I heard talks of moving Ramiro Corrales to the backline this year. Not entirely sure how true that is but after yesterday’s move to waive Aaron Pitchkolen I think its probably more likely to happen now. Good thing too because this club has zero depth in the back at the moment. If any injuries pop up like last year with key guys like Hernandez expect some major issues for this defense.

I do like the addition of Opara to the backline. I think he’ll bring the right size and skill that was missing with this group a year ago. I do still think this group is pretty light even if they switch some midfielders here. Its definitely an area that they should have addressed more in the offseason.

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Midfield:

Who they have: Ramiro Corrales, Simon Elliot, António Ribeiro, Arturo Alvarez, Bobby Convey, Brandon McDonald, Joey Gjertsen, Ramon Sanchez, Andre Luiz, Javier Robles.

Notes: I like the new additions of Gjertsen and Robles to this group. Them along with the core group of guys could make this bunch a tough one to deal with and a fun one to watch. They still have some young fire power in Alvarez and Convey too. Hopefully for Quake fans Convey turns his act around in 2010. If the Quakes want to compete in the west they need a better showing from him for sure.

Will the additions of Gjertsen and Robles be enough? Possibly. If Gjertsen can return to his USL MVP form from a few years go it will turn out to be a very good pickup for this club.

I’m curious to see if Luiz and Sanchez can pick up where they left off late in the season last year. If they do this club will be better offensively.

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Forwards:

Who they have: Ryan Johnson, Eduardo, Cornell Glen, Quincy Amarikwa

Notes: I’m a big fan of Johnson here, he proved last year he can score goals and carry this club. Thing was his club stunk so bad he wasn’t able to carry them enough. The addition of Eduardo should provide a nice boost to the offense though. From early scouting reports, the two are linking pretty well together. I’m definitely curious to see them in person to see if that is the case.

Johnson needed a partner last year and if Eduardo can be that partner then expect plenty more goals in 2010 from this group.

I do think this group is still a little light but if Johnson nets another 10 to 14 goals and Eduardo or someone else chips in another 8 to 10 then they’ll be fine.

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Overall:

I was high on the Quakes bandwagon going into last year but boy was I way off base about them. I hink they’ve improved going into this year but I’m still shaky on giving them a good write off here until I see it for myself. Defensively I still have concerns that they didn’t do nearly enough to fix their issues from a season ago. I do think they’ll stay with teams on the field offensively this year though but a lot of pressure rests in the midfield. If that group can come together and keep quality possession then this club will surprise people in 2010.

Ryan Johnson was one of the few bright spots for San Jose in 2009. (Getty Images)

It’s hard to decline as a club after being an expansion team in 2008 but the 2009 version of the San Jose Earthquakes did just that. They became the first team to lose more in their second season than in their expansion season.

The only difference is this version of the Quakes are actually improving. After a load of failed mistakes in player pickups over the offseason manager Frank Yallop and GM John Doyle bucked the criticism and did start to bring in talent that not only produced but was able show that this club has the potential to actually contend in 2010 if the chips fall in the right order. 

San Jose did have the league’s worst defense this year allowing 50 goals. Yes you head that right 50. Having only three shutouts on the year you could easily say the defense was the biggest issue with the Quakes in 2009. How come? Injuries hurt this aged group of players plus one could also say that Joe Cannon might have lost a step or two this year.

But offensively the Quakes were pesky in 2009, especially late in the year with Ryan Johnson really finding his own groove in the league. Johnson lead the Quakes with 11 goals on the season, six more than runner up Arturo Alvarez.

What Went Right In 2009?
When things were going good for Frank Yallop’s bunch it was when Johnson was scoring and the midfield was holding possession long enough to create chances for Johnson. Midseason additions like Ramon Sanchez and Antonio Ribeiro helped create more chances in the attack while holding off some of the pressures that caused so many goals on the defense. Also, the play of this club after the All-Star break was definitely an improvement. Going 4-4-5 over their final stretch of games showed this club could become a winner.

What Went Wrong In 2009?
One could point a finger to the loss of Darren Huckerby as something that changed the season for the worse. Losing him early on meant a lack of offense early in the season. Even when he returned from injury he was never the same Huckerby that fans grew to love in 2008. Throw in the defensive issues on the season and a lack of consistent winning and the 2009 season will be one Quake fans will want to forget quickly (no back-to-back wins on the entire year).

You could also point to pickups like Bobby Convey not panning out or Pablo Campos and Cam Weaver not producing like expected. Sad part was once Campos and Weaver left they produced right away for their new clubs (Houston for Weaver and RSL for Campos).

What’s Next?
First of all this club has to correct the defensive issues that killed them all season. After that figure out where they are going with the midfield. Either trade away Convey to say Philadelphia (I hear this is a move that both sides want) or find a way that gets him back on the wings where he belongs. Then they have to find a good reliable partner for Johnson. I think the upcoming drafts will be key for this bunch. In the two years that they have been back in the league they have yet to have a solid draft. While some clubs can make due without it like Houston the Quakes are far away from where the Dynamo are right now. They must take next year’s draft seriously.

Kansas City fans have been pretty good so far. (Brian Stevens, WVH Photo Correspondent)

Typically I do a version of this kind of thing for all MLS clubs but this time around I wanted to do something a little different with the typical Good, Bad, and Ugly column. Instead I will be looking at things in the league as a whole that I have liked, disliked and have absolutely hated thus far in the early going of the season.

Most of this is stuff I’ve been keeping track of here since the start of the season. I may ramble on a bit but you are always welcome to do the same below.

Good:

Quality crowds in Seattle, Toronto and even in smaller venues like San Jose or Kansas City. I believe there is a reason why San Jose and KC want smaller soccer stadiums for their future. It doesn’t all have to do with money and not being able to consistently fill those stadiums, it is because they have the fans that create good atmosphere (I think both clubs have underrated supporter’s groups). The same sort of thing you see in Seattle and Toronto. Passionate fans equal a good time at the park.

Bad:

So-so numbers in places like LA for Galaxy and Chivas games, Chicago for Fire games and DC for United games. For those clubs it doesn’t really deal with a lack of advertising or even the clubs being bad on the field. Its honestly an economical thing in my eyes.

Still seeing bad numbers in Colorado and Columbus too. Thing about the Rapids is though they’ve only played one home game so far. With the club doing pretty well so far this year things could change in their favor in terms of butts-in-seats.

Ugly:

Numbers we see in Dallas are just terrible. The fact that the club has gotten a shade under 12k for their last two home games is pathetic. Marketing around Dallas is nearly non-existent, and people just can’t get excited about this club. It has little to do with the performance on the field I think (because the town supports baseball’s Rangers decently enough each year and they are largely just as bad if not worse), but it deals more with a lack of knowledge about the club in the local community.

Good:

Impressive starts from clubs like Chivas and New England. Let’s be real honest, did anyone expect either of these clubs to be undefeated after five weeks of play? If you did then you are probably very rich.

Bad:

Not-so-good starts from clubs that we expect to be good like Houston or to a lesser extent Real Salt Lake. We know of Houston’s typical early season slowness but RSL is on a different path with how bad they play on the road in the early goings this season.

Ugly:

Until this past week, the ugliness that was New York’s start of the new season. While LA and Dallas were pretty ugly in the early going, they at least were able to find the back of the net in a consistent manner. New York saw four games with no actual goals. The one that was marked in the score column in the 1-1 draw to New England was an own goal by New England’s Jay Heaps.

Things are starting to turn but the Red Bulls dug themselves a decent-sized hole to start the season, not to mention that no club (correct me if I am wrong) has reached the playoffs after going scoreless in their first four games.

Good:

Surprising starts for players like Kasey Keller (who still has it), Conor Casey (who is showing he can lead), and Davy Arnuad (three sweet goals).

Other quality starts to the year include play out of Ben Olsen, Luciano Emilio, the Freds from Seattle, and nearly most of the Seattle lineup (even with the two game slump), Kenny Cooper, Javier Morales, and Dwayne De Rosario.

Bad:

Slower than normal starts from Juan Pablo Angel, Darren Huckerby, Sasha Kljestan, and Robbie Rogers. Some are due to injuries and others who knows.

Ugly:

I think maybe the start from the Columbus Crew as a whole could go here. I know I have higher expectations for this club. Offensively they should not have Guillermo Barros Schelotto as their leading scorer. He needs to be leading the assist category for this club to be success. Maybe the club owners needed to open their wallets a bit more in the offseason to upgrade the offense.

Good:

Rookies have started off particularly well this season in comparison to last year. I think it may be even safe to say that this year’s class has already out done what last year’s did.

Bad:

New additions barely making a mark on their new clubs, that even that is slowly starting to turn around positively. I look at guys like David Ferriera, who up until this past week hadn’t made a dent into the Dallas offense. Hopefully for the Red Stripes, that assist was the first of many to come this season. Also, other guys like Santiago Hirsig for Kansas City are still (slowly) getting use to the MLS game.

Ugly:

No real ugly in talks with the rookies/newcomers but let’s talk about the amount of red cards so far this season. Referee Tim Weyland comes to mind from the Galaxy-Chivas game. He had a bad night to say the least by handing out 11 cards, including three reds. I don’t care if this was a derby game you just shouldn’t have to do that. Let the boys play!

Good:

Veteran keepers leading the pack, along with a couple surprises like New England fill-in Brad Knighton. Mainly it seems like Keller in Seattle, Pat Onstad in Houston, and a blast from the past in Chivas’s Zach Thornton.

I know I’ve killed Chivas for not finding a better keeper than Thornton but at least the big guy is making me eat my words so far this year. Five games in, two goals against with three clean sheets. Not bad, not bad indeed.

Lastly, is it me or does LA keeper Donovan Ricketts seem like a possible saving grace for that club? Two games and only one goal against. So far I have ben impressed with his play.

Bad:

Keepers you’d expect to be doing fine each week like Columbus’s Will Hesmer or San Jose’s Joe Cannon. Its been part sloppiness and weak defensive play for Hesmer and for Cannon just an overworked backline that is aging quicker than most thought.

Ugly:

I look a couple games this season with really ugly keeping. A couple New York games came to mind with Danny Cepero. Boy you could tell they wanted Jon Conway back in a hurry.

With Joe Cannon coming back the Quakes could be contenders in 2009. (Getty Images)

(Note: Forgive me if this is a few days late, last week was a very busy week for me at the 9-5 job and I didn’t get around to this news item until today. Still better late than never for some.)

Center Line Soccer is reporting that San Jose and keeper Joe Cannon are very near to inking a new deal for the keeper. General Manager John Doyle stated that the two parties have agreed in principle to a new deal. One would imagine the deal could be announced sometime this week even.

“Joe Cannon will be back in 2009, and we’re happy to have him back,” said Doyle.

‘Frank Yallop and I brought Joe Cannon back to San Jose, and we always wanted him to be here,” Doyle added. “I think it was a little unfair the way it was portrayed, that we were the bad guy. But we always wanted to make it work.”

I think getting Cannon back could very well make this a playoff contending club in 2009. All is left to do is add depth to the defense and sign a good striker to lead the way. Reports suggest the club is close to siging a couple strikers in the coming weeks so we will see how it pans out for the 2.0 Quakes.

What do you all make of the Quakes chances with Cannon back in the fold? As long as a quality striker or two are signed this club could be a strong contender for the playoffs in 2009.

Michael Parkhurst is as good as gone from MLS, but who is will join him? (Getty Images)

I think it is safe to say that it is open season right now for foreign clubs to pick apart MLS talent in preparations for the upcoming transfer window.

Lots of rumors are swirling around who will go where and for how much. A lot of transfers unfortunately will probably cost MLS more due to the lack of possible transfer fees as some players are out of contract. But they could make up for it with some young stars that are looking to move on from the league.

Defenders are at a premium for the taking right now. But so are some young talent that we’ve been saying would be ripe for the picking for a while now. There is also now some veteran players in the league that could see their chances elsewhere increase in the coming weeks.

Again, loads of rumors and only so many will come true. Even with the amount of possible players leaving it always means the door will be open for more to come in. From what I’ve seen so far there are plenty of possible players to join the league this winter in transfer deals.

Let’s just look at this at a player-by-player case:

• Landon Donovan: He’s either in Munich or he’s not for a loan right now, depending on who you ask. For the most part we know he will be there until at least March. I still have a slight feeling he won’t be staying longer than that for an extended stay. Sure he has grown up a bit since his last couple tries but I just see this not working out yet again in Germany for LandyCakes.
• Taylor Twellman: No way Twellman is leaving MLS right now from what I’ve been hearing. If he leaves New England it will be in a trade to somewhere else in the league. Right now that seems like the most likely scenario of anything for him.
• Michael Parkhurst: He is as good as gone. According to Steve Goff today he will be in Denmark. The Scandinavian club Nordsjaelland is the destination and in the words of the Insider, “the Revs have already began preparing for 2009 without him.” Toughest part is not seeing the league and the Revs get any sort of transfer fee for Parkhurst.
• Sasha Kljestan: Dutch side FC Twente want him and will get him, I just don’t know if it will be this winter or next summer. If he does leave this winter he will get Chivas (and MLS) a nice little transfer fee. Part of me still thinks this won’t go down until the summer but either way he is going to Holland before long.
• Chad Marshall: I don’t expect any big name clubs to come calling Marshall’s name this winter but the MLS Defender of the Year will probably land on his feet in some Scandinavian league. Go figure right? He’s one of the few that hasn’t been linked to any clubs just yet and if he has Crew fans aren’t willing to mention which ones they are either. (EDIT: Now it appears that he could be going to Germany. He will be having a trail soon with German club Mainz.)
• Kenny Cooper: German Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt seems to be the ones wanting Cooper now. We all recall the summer months of rumors with Cooper and the various clubs out there. It’s funny though because here in Dallas there isn’t a huge discussion on Cooper leaving, most feel his two club options on his contract will be picked up and he will have to wait it out again for getting sold to a European club. His big pay day is still in the works as he wants DP-style contract in MLS, which of course they won’t give to him. My money is on him leaving next month though because I think Dallas will make a couple big trades with the loads of cash they now have that Dulio Davino is off the books for 2009.
• Marvell Wynne: He wowed some people at the Olympics a few months back so expect some suitors to come calling Mo Johnston’s office here in the next few weeks. If Johnston is going to have the fire sale that some believe he will in order to land a couple high priced players in January, expect Wynne to be the first to go in a transfer. He will probably land in a smaller league, possible with a Danish or a Norwegian side but there has been some interest from Italy and Holland.
• Joe Cannon: When the Quakes decided to not pick up his option it showed me one thing, they weren’t as smart as some pegged them to be. Not picking up his option and low-balling him in an offer allows one of the league’s best keepers to be on the world market for a free transfer. I was kind of shocked when I first heard they didn’t pick up his option but now the word is some Norwegian clubs are looking at Cannon. I may be the first to say it but if they do lose Cannon this way they will not make the playoffs in 2009 unless they get a solid replacement, maybe a Chris Seitz from RSL?
• Bakery Soumare: When you are big, physical and hold a French passport some people take notice in the soccer world. That is he life that Soumare is leading right now. He jumped from a bench warmer to a star in 2008 and now he could very well cash in on a big pay day in Europe. He probably won’t go cheap though for Chicago to let him go that easy. I would imagine it will take some big number to get him to go.

A lot of end-of-season awards in Major League Soccer are just as tight as the playoff race. I’ve been tracking the Rookie of the Year and MVP races for some time now but I figured I would weigh in on all the awards for once since we are in the final few weeks of the season.

MLS MVP Award:

1. Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Columbus Crew: His club may be playing well without him but his numbers still make a serious case for MVP this season. He should be back soon, which can only mean his soccer IQ on the field will enhance the Crew even more here.
2. Landon Donovan, LA Galaxy: 19 goals in just 21 games. I think that may be all I need to say here. Earlier I thought his production wasn’t enough for the MVP this year but I am thinking otherwise now.
3. Shalrie Joseph, New England Revolution: He and his club may be stumbling but that should all work itself out once the Revs clinch a playoff spot.
4. Darren Huckerby, San Jose Earthquakes: If this were a half-season MVP I would probably have a tough time picking between Schelotto and Huckerby. Both have been stellar in the second half of the season. Huckerby has only been here for a half season, just think what he can do for a full year.
5. Juan Pablo Angel, New York Red Bulls: He’s forth in goals this season in the league but I don’t think that will be enough to get him this award this year.

Others in the discussion:

Javier Morales, RSL; Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Chicago; Kenny Cooper, FC Dallas; Jamie Moreno, DC United; and Sacha Kljestan, Chivas USA.

Newcomer of the Year:

1. Darren Huckerby, San Jose Earthquakes: No doubt that Huckerby will win this one. In nine games with the Quakes, he has scored six goals. Not to shabby.
2. Andre Rocha, FC Dallas: A bit of a homer pick for me but I’ve loved Rocha’s play on the field this season. At times it’s been tough to watch but most of the time he has been a solid addition to the Hoop’s midfield.
3. Rohan Ricketts, Toronto FC: There has to be a bright spot in a dark season for the Reds, that bright spot is Ricketts.
4. Jorge Rojas, New York Red Bulls: Let’s face it, since the addition of Rojas the Red Bulls have looked like a whole new club. He’s a big reason for that.
5. Emmanuel Ekpo, Columbus Crew: This Olympian has given Sigi Schmid a nice addition on the wings.

Others in the discussion:

Jamison Olave, RSL; Louis Crayton, DC United; and Francisco Lima, San Jose Earthquakes.

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Rookie of the Year:

1. Kheli Dube, New England Revolution: Some think that Dube isn’t the front-runner anymore, I think otherwise. Then again, this year’s award may be anyone’s guess at this point.
2. Andy Iro, Columbus Crew: I still like Iro could sneek in and win this award. But will the voters feel the same way?
3. Geoff Cameron, Houston Dynamo: Expect to see more of him in the final weeks of the season.
4. Justin Braun, Chivas USA: He’ll get more minutes as well which could really help him out in this award race.
5. Sean Franklin, LA Galaxy: Some have him as the front-runner but I think he played himself out of that a while back. Could he sneak up again though is the question?

Others in the discussion:

Roger Espinoza, KC Wizards; Stephen King, Chicago Fire; and Steven Lenhart, Columbus Crew.

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Goalkeeper of the Year:

1. Jon Busch, Chicago Fire: Best stats in the league, to his credit though his defense in front of him is pretty darn good too.
2. Joe Cannon, San Jose Earthquakes: Cannon is a very close second right now for me in this race. Should the Quakes get in the playoffs he will earn a bunch of votes for this in the process. And rightfully so.
3. William Hesmer, Columbus Crew: Hey his club is still top dog in the league, and he is a reason for it.
4. Matt Reis, New England Revolution: I still think Reis is one of the best keepers in the league. From time to time he isn’t able to show it because of faulty defense.
5. Pat Onstad, Houston Dynamo: Onstad is in that same category as Reis. Solid every year.

Others in the discussion:

None, really outside of Busch and Cannon there isn’t much of a race going on here.

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Defender of the Year:

1. Gonzalo Segaras, Chicago Fire: There’s little doubt in my mind he will win this award this season.
2. Michael Parkhurst, New England Revolution: We know what Parkhurst can, but can he work his way to the top of this list?
3. Wilham Conde, Chicago Fire: People love Segares and hate Conde at the same time. Its a shame too because Conde is a beast.
4. Chad Marshall, Columbus Crew: Speaking of a beast, Marshall is one of those guys that probably is due for a National team call-up.
5. Bobby Boswell, Houston Dynamo: Think DC is wishing they hadn’t traded Boswell before the season?

Others in the discussion:

Jimmy Conrad, KC Wizards; Bakary Soumare, Chicago Fire; Jamison Olave, RSL; and Wade Barrett, Houston Dynamo.

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Coach of the Year:

1. Sigi Schmid, Columbus Crew: Once the Crew wrap up the Supporter’s Shield so does Sigi wrapping this award up. Or has he already done so? Maybe.
2. Preki, Chivas USA: His club may have had a rough year but you cannot deny how well Preki has handled it all this year.
3. Frank Yallop, San Jose Earthquakes: Can Yallop get his club to be the first expansion club to reach the playoffs since Chicago did so back in 1998?
4. Dominic Kinnear, Houston Dynamo: Two MLS Cups and possibly one more on the way? Simply remarkable if you ask me.
5. Steve Nicol, New England Revolution: Nicol has navigated his club through a heavy schedule.

Anyways, as far as the interconference battles went this weekend. The west is showing they can back up their play against the east. The two sides split their five matches going 2-2-1 on the weekend. The one match that would have fixed the split was that washed out match on Wednesday night.

Let’s start out with some points from around the league before diving into each match:

• Yes, I know the Crew fans went against league policy on the streamers. Please spare me the fact that they ignored it and what not. I know they did but it was only on one occasion and all it did was slow down the game. Pay more attention to this when Toronto has their next home game.
• By the way, those Crew fans were well behaved other than the one streamer throw.
• Something that needs to stop more than the streamers is this random fans that decide to run out on the field during the game. We’ve seen it in Toronto a couple times but now in LA. Folks that has to stop, more so than the streamers. Let’s see now if MLS Rumors attacks those LA fans like they have with Toronto and Columbus fans. Yeah, I doubt they will too.
• Funny to see Beckham laugh it off and Chris Klein tackle the dude though.
• The officiating was very questionable for the most part this weekend. One thing this league has problem with is sub-par officiating. Too many times they dictate the play, that has to change.
• Attendance was a typical so-so here. DC would have had solid number if the rain hadn’t come. New England will boost the numbers with the Brazil friendly. Other than those two the week was a typical so-so. But I say that with LA and Chicago posting near sellouts. That is a so-so in the form of its typical and highly expected of those two clubs.
• Three clubs still undefeated at home right now. We all talk about Toronto and Salt Lake, mainly because of the turf but look at Houston. They sit at 3-0-2 on the year at Robertson Stadium. That place is a great venue, too bad it isn’t their own.
• The west still has one club above .500 (LA), while the east has five (NE, Columbus, Chicago, Toronto, and NY).
• Still no draws for Colorado. I don’t think I’ve ever see a club go 11 games into the season without a single draw. Remarkable and sadly impressive on the fact that they are so inconsistent.

Now on to the weekend’s games.

New England Revolution 2 – 1 FC Dallas:

• Again, a great first half for New England. Early goals are always a killer in this game. But they couldn’t put it together for a full 90 for the most part. But a home win is always nice and they are still top dog, even though they have a game or two advantage on everyone else.
• Dallas still looks in trouble but that last 25 minutes of play was really promising out of this young club. To pull within a goal and looking ever dangerous throughout has to give Marco Ferruzzi and his club some confidence.
• I think the two defensive midfielder system for Dallas has to go. Marcelo Saragosa and Pablo Ricchetti are practically the same type of player and the two together just don’t work that well at the same time. Either one is fine on their own I think but it may be time to move to a system in the midfield that poses more of an attack than a defense. Either one can help the defense out more.
• Some questionable reffing on Friday night, a couple calls that really could have gone both ways for either club. One or two probably could have favored Dallas late and one or two could have favored New England early.
• Matt Reis had another stellar night. Quickly moving up the MVP charts and the player of the month charts in my books.
• I ragged on Juan Toja early in the game but those last 15 minutes were the Toja we got use to last season. Something must have clicked, or at least Dallas fans hope so.
• Is New England really the best club in MLS right now? I think so, they don’t win pretty each time but they still win. They still need a killer mentality though, that was certainly lacking in the late stages of the game.

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San Jose Earthquakes 2 – 0 Columbus Crew:

• Another solid road shutout for the Quakes. Let’s be honest though, aside from the two goals they had practically zero other real chances in this game. Fact of the matter is the took their chances and made the most out of them.
• Columbus did not. They had the chances and just couldn’t muster up enough quality behind those shots or headers to find the back of the net. It wasn’t that Joe Cannon had a great night, it was just Columbus didn’t make it hard enough on him I think.
• Ronnie O’Brien was easily the man of the match. Two textbook assists on the night. When he is on, so is his club. Just too bad he has more off-nights than on-nights.
• Very poorly officiated game though. A few calls that really should have gone the Crew’s way didn’t happen. I thought James Riley should have had a straight red for the two footed slide into Robbie Rogers. The ref ignored it and gave a yellow to Eric Denton for the tackle from the side on Rogers. Still both deserved a card for the play. No one should go in with both feet up like that into someone.
• The red card to Brad Evans was a terrible call. A yellow card, yes, but certainly not a red.
• Speaking of the calls, sadly enough in the second half the ref dictated the play and not the players. That just shouldn’t happen. But that’s what happens when Ricardo Salazar is in the middle of a MLS game. He tends to do that.
• The two subs before half for Columbus clearly hurt them. Sure Andy Iro was fit and ready to go but losing both Chad Marshall and Ezra Hendrickson early in the game put a damper on how Sigi could sub in the second half.
• I still like where San Jose is going here. Very solid defensively, once their direction goes on offense they could do some serious damage to some clubs late in the year. Not a playoff club yet but one of those that will do more damage and not be in the mix in those final weeks of the season.
• Columbus continues to not score. A long, long spell of no goals now at four games. Sometimes dry spells happen but they are still very much in the thick of things with Chicago and Toronto losing this weekend. But still you have to wonder when they will get fit again and hit their stride. They definitely need another scorer though.

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DC United 2 -1 Chicago Fire:

• Thank you FSC for using Dave Johnson as your play-by-play for this one. Very refreshing to hear a good voice on your channel.
• I’d like to continue to welcome Luciano Emilio back to this season. Very solid effort in this one. Goal and an assist, might give him the player of the week nod by the media.
• What happened to Chicago’s defense on both goals? Starting to see some cracks on this club here? Jon Busch was really a bit out of position on that stoppage time goal. Shouldn’t have gotten beat near post like that.
• Crazy game though, a few red cards, a couple goals. Gotta love this rivalry here between these two sides.
• Wild week for DC, washed out on Wednesday and a tornado warning on Saturday. Yikes!
• Some iffy calls by the center official but I think the red cards were justifiable. Though I have to wonder if replay helped out.
• Think Blanco was distracted by the Mexican national team being in Chicago, he didn’t look like his usual self against DC. Then again neither did his entire club.
• Its about high time I update the coaching hot seat here. Tom Soehn has found a way to bounce his club back into the fold here and out of the cellar in the east. They still have a ways to go to catch up to the front three and four in the east though.
• Chicago stumbles, Columbus stumbles and Toronto stumbles. No loss in ground but the third home loss of the season by a late goal makes you wonder about this Chicago side. Do they have the ability to close a game out in a strong fashion? At home you’d think they would but I’m starting to question it.

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Kansas City Wizards 0 – 0 Real Salt Lake:

• Honestly didn’t get to view this one. Saw highlights. And from that I gathered that KC is happy their two month roadie is over, RSL is still tough on turf, and neither club will make the playoffs this year.
• Give KC the credit though for battling better than some do on the turf in Salt Lake. But the winless run now extends to five games for the Wizards. A home game can’t come soon enough.
• Kevin Hartman had a solid game. Lots of good saves.
• Lots and lots of chances on goal for RSL. Findley and Deuchar each had plenty of shots but weren’t able to hit it home.
• KC had only a couple chances with Davy Arnaud, both were solid. One even hit the woodwork.
• KC’s defense is still shaky. I know they are mostly young but before long they have to step up and play better. Too many times they leave their man and allow easy shots on goal. Plus the midfield has to possess the ball better.

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LA Galaxy 3 – 2 Colorado Rapids:

• LA proved yet again they have to outscore everyone to win because of their defense. The I really felt that had there been another five or 10 minutes to this game Colorado would have drawn even.
• This club is still clearly better with Beckham though, had Donovan been out there I think they would have scored five or six on the Rapids.
• Give credit to Colorado for battling back in this one though, they easily could have given up the same scoreline that they had beaten the Galaxy on earlier in the season. But they didn’t because of the two Gomez and Colin Clark. Solid final 15 out of the Rapids.
• But saying that it still shows how inconsistent Colorado is. A club that can’t put a stretch of wins or losses together is tough to get behind. Even if they make the playoffs they won’t do much in them.
• Again, Clarke finds a way to make Abel Xavier look stupid. Why Rudd Gullit continues to go with this guy in defense is beyond my level of thinking these days.
• I must say Edson Buddle is looking better this season than the last two or three. He’s really looking comfortable with Beckham. Then again Beckham easily makes the worst of strikers look good with his services.
• LA continues their lead in the west, and they go visit San Jose next. That isn’t fair. You know they can put like four on that club and San Jose won’t be able to keep up. Then again the LA defense still makes the worst offenses look good.

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Houston Dynamo 3 -1 Toronto FC:

• Very nice to see Brain Ching and Dwayne De Rosario lead this club again here. Both are really coming on strong for their club as of late. Now the Orange are tied at the top with LA in the west. Which one has a better chance of beating the other in October? Hmm…I’m leaning with Houston.
• Give credit to Toronto for battling in this one despite lacking some very key elements to their roster. No Maurice Edu or Amado Guevara. Both clearly were missed on both offense and defense for Toronto. Just shows how important each are for this side.
• I would write off Toronto a bit because of this performance on the road as a legit contender but I will have to wait again until they play on the road at full strength. Just not fair to this club but still they didn’t look horrible.
• Plus as mentioned above, they didn’t lose any ground this week but it would have been big had they won this game. They could have been sitting in second place with a win. Instead they slip a little due to Houston and LA being at the 17 point mark on the season like them.
• Jeff Cunningham is at 99 career MLS goals. I guess we will see his 100th very soon.
• Amazing stat, this marks the first western club to beat Toronto this season. The Reds had previously swept LA and beat RSL.
• Houston looked very dangerous on offense tonight, Ching and De Rosario along with Stuart Holden really put the pressure on the Reds from the start of the game.
• I think the toughness is coming back to this Houston side. They clearly remember how to put away a side here.
• Pat Onstad had one of his typical solid nights. A few key saves kept this game out of reach for Toronto.

Well, what else did I miss? Let’s hear it.