Peter Nowak and Philadelphia make their home debut this weekend. (MLSSoccer.com)

Are you ready for tomorrow? Seriously, are you ready? Eight games in one day, a new league record. We knew this day would come eventually with all the expansion in the league and kudos to the league for putting one so early in the season too.

If you’re like me, you’ll find tomorrow to be a tough one because of the amount of games on at once. Thankfully with my Mac I can at least throw up a few different game windows in multiple spaces.

So get your DVRs ready (if you can hold this many games), sign up for the league video package online (if you haven’t done so already), or be like most folks and just go to a game if you can. Its going to be a fun weekend for sure.

Feel free as always to leave your predictions below in the comments section.

New York Red Bulls – at – Chivas USA:

Lets just say that Chivas USA needs to figure out their offensive issues here. In to town is the new look Red Bulls who’ve won two straight shutouts. Hans Backe’s club has been solid defensively so far this season but a second straight west coast game will prove to be a bigger test than some will really think, even though Chivas has yet to score this season. We could see a potential letdown by the Red Bulls after they finally got their first road win a week ago after 27-games of coming up short away from home.

For me its going to come down to who scores in this one. Even with the two wins on the year the Red Bulls haven’t lit up the scoreboard so far (only two goals). I see a slight drop off in this one while Chivas continues to struggle to score.

Player to watch out for: Tim Ream – the rookie is as good as advertised here. Look for him to be all over Chivas’ Maykel Galindo in this one.

WVH Prediction: Chivas 0, New York 0

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D.C. United – at – Philadelphia Union

Home opener for Philadelphia is a big, big deal. They’re expecting about 30k+ tomorrow at the Linc, don’t be shocked if they reach a sellout figure (they’re caping the capacity for this one at 35k). This new rivalry will be heated, especially given how bad both have started off the year. D.C. has look awful all over the field while Philadelphia struggled on the road in their debut two weeks ago. Given the fact that Peter Nowak has had a little more time to prepare for this one I like the Union’s chances in this one a little more.

Curt Onalfo’s side has to figure out where to get their offense from. So far in attack they’ve looked uncreative and in result have been unproductive. You could say it comes down to their midfield not doing enough with the possession too. I’d imagine Nowak will do a better job with his lineup now that he gets Fred back. Look for their shape to be a little better in this one as they ride the massive fan support in the home opener. Its easy to go for a draw here given the poor results by these two so far but I like Philadelphia’s chances here.

Player to watch out for: Danny Mwanga – With Fred back and likely in the midfield, we should see more out of Mwanga in this one for Philadelphia. Hopefully Nowak learned that he belongs up top.

WVH Prediction: Philadelphia 1, D.C. 0

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Toronto FC – at – New England Revolution

Steve Nicol is looking for his 100th career MLS win in this one, and he probably couldn’t ask for a better opponent. Toronto FC is still in a bit of a state of flux after all the moves that have gone on over these last few weeks including the latest with the retirement of Jim Brennan. That loss thins out the Reds defense even more here. New England could possibly see Shalrie Joseph back for the home opener but even without him I like the Revs chances in this one. The Revs could also see Darrius Barnes back for this one as well, which would only make it rougher on Toronto to score in this one.

It seems like Toronto hasn’t scored a goal in league play or in exhibition play in ages here. I don’t see that starting back up right now. The Revs played their game last week in D.C. and I’d imagine Nicol will use some of the same tactics this week to get three more points.

Player to watch out for: Dwayne De Rosario – Really Toronto’s only hope to get on the scoreboard. If he can work his magic that we’ve seen him do in the past against the Revs, Toronto could sneak out with some points.

WVH Prediction: New England 2, Toronto 0

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Colorado Rapids – at – Kansas City Wizards

Here’s one game this weekend I’m looking forward to. Two clubs that everyone is still trying to figure out here. Are both contenders or pretenders this season? We think they could be contenders but its still too early to tell. The Rapids have to get their defense in line here for this one as the Wizards showed early on this year that they can score early and often.

As we saw last week, Kansas City’s best bet to get by the Rapids defense is to go right at them with some speed. Look for Ryan Smith and Kei Kamara to do just that on the wings as things in the center of the park will be a little tight. The Rapids haven’t won in KC since 2002 and something tells me that streak isn’t going to end here this season either. However I do think a draw sounds more likely with these two trading some goals early on in this one.

Player to watch out for: Omar Cummings – For me he is by far the most dangerous player on the field in this one. If he finds open space in the final third for Colorado he can score and create chances for Conor Casey.

WVH Prediction: Kansas City 2, Colorado 2

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LA Galaxy – at – Houston Dynamo

I love the promo the Dynamo are running for this one –  a flash light campaign, in case the lights go out again with these two on the field. Beautiful stuff.

Houston as we know is a bit banged up with Brian Ching on the shelf for a few weeks. Dominic Kinnear will have to look elsewhere for offense. Maybe we’ll finally see their Designated Player Luis Angel Landin finally step into the role. Or Kinnear can go with Cam Weaver. Either one with the speed of Dominic Oduro should be fine.

LA has been very good on defense so far this year, with no goals against. But both of those games came from the friendly confines of the Home Depot Center. Things are a little different for the Galaxy at Robertson Stadium, a place few get points at. I see this one staying close but look for the Dynamo to figure out a way to get one by Donovan Ricketts.

Player to watch out for: Brad Davis – Don’t expect another two goals from the PK spot this weekend for Davis but no matter who scores for Houston in this one it will be due to the play of this guy.

WVH Prediction: Houston 1, LA 0

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Columbus Crew – at – FC Dallas

The regular season version of the Pioneer Cup. Both teams had a week off last week to plan for this game. It will be interesting to see if Chad Marshall makes it back for this one for the Crew. If he isn’t out there their defense could be a bit exposed with him gone and Eric Brunner out. Guys like Andy Iro will likely have to step up to contain Jeff Cunningham.

Dallas isn’t too different in the back either as both Kyle Davies and Ugo Ihemelu are banged up. We could even see Brek Shea in the back for the Red Stripes in this one as a bit of a patch work job by manager Schellas Hyndman. Expect this one to come down to who can control things in the midfield. On one side we have Guillermo Barros Schelotto and the other David Ferriera. I’d be lying if I didn’t think that was the best matchup of the weekend right there. The visitors could go away with three points but a draw sounds more likely.

Player to watch out for: Atiba Harris – Dallas needs some big time play on the wings and Harris has to be that guy for them. He scored in the season opener and if he can work his way into the middle in the final third of the field we could see him score again.

WVH Prediction: Dallas 1, Columbus 1

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San Jose Earthquakes – at – Chicago Fire

We know the storyline in this one, Jon Busch’s return to Chicago. That should be a it awkward. The Fire looked a little better in week two but they still haven’t found that consistent play out of their midfield. Manager Carlos de los Cobos went with a 4-3-3 last week and it started to work for them as Collins John made an impact with the open space up top. Chicago has to get more out of Marco Pappa though in the midfield.

The Quakes just need to figure themselves out here though. In week one they looked more like an expansion team than a team in it’s third year. Frank Yallop made a couple changes to his roster and got former Quake Scott Sealy back. I’m not entirely sure if that move will get their club going or not here. The road hasn’t been kind to the Quakes lately either. Chicago should find a way to win this one.

Player to watch out for: Ryan Johnson – He’s the main guy for the Quakes, if he doesn’t get going in this one it will be a long night in the Windy City for Yallop’s side.

WVH Prediction: Chicago 2, San Jose 0

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Seattle Sounders FC – at – Real Salt Lake

Probably the game of the week in most folks minds. Rightfully so as both clubs are looking to rebound after dismal efforts in week two. RSL will look to resume their home dominance while Seattle will hope to get on the right track this year away from Qwest Field. Sigi Schmid has to find a way to get his club going offensively though to get any sort of points in this one. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Pat Noonan get the starting nod in this one for them to make an effort to kick start their offense.

RSL also has some decisions to make offensively. Do they start Robbie Findley over Fabian Espindola or Alvaro Saborio, or do they keep him as a second half sub for now? Either way I think we’ll get more Findley this week than what we’ve seen so far this season. I like RSL in this one though with the way their midfield plays at home. I doubt we’ll see the same defensive meltdowns that we saw out of them in Houston a week ago too.

Player to watch out for: Steve Zakuani – The one big chance the Sounders have in this one is for Zakuani to expose RSL on the wings. His pace could be a big difference maker.

WVH Predictions: RSL 2, Seattle 1

Kyle Beckerman will lead RSL into battle with the Dynamo tonight. (Getty Images)

Tonight we get not just one but two solid primetime games on ESPN2. Which kind of begs the question, why didn’t the league have two games go on last week on opening night to kick off the year? Too late to wonder about that now but from the looks of things these two games won’t go head-t0-head with a lot of normal Thursday night TV.

We got two big western conference clashes tonight on ESPN2. First up in Houston its the defending champions Real Salt Lake taking on the Dynamo. Then its off to LA to see the first game in the 2010 Honda SuperClasico between the Galaxy and Chivas USA.

As always feel free to leave your thoughts and predictions below.

Real Salt Lake – at – Houston Dynamo

Probably the best game so far to date this season. Typically the meetings between these two clubs are heated. Six of the last seven Houston-RSL matches have seen red cards, including five ejections in three games last year. Its not a bitter rivalry, just a physical one. Don’t expect anything different this year.

RSL took a huge step forward in week one from their 2009 road campaign by downing San Jose 3-0. Javier Morales looks to be back and better than ever for Claret-and-Cobalt. Look for Houston to have newcomer Lovel Palmer zone in on him in this one. If Palmer can be as effect as Ricardo Clark used to be in the midfield for the Orange, we shouldn’t see too big of a change from a year ago in the defense for Houston. The big thing in this one though is if Houston can slow down the likes of Robbie Findley. Last week in Dallas, the Dynamo had trouble with the speed that FC Dallas presented them. Look for an even bigger challenge with a speedy Findley.

I think the Dynamo will have to find a way to slow down Findley, if they do that they should be fine in this one. But even more so they have to find a way to get their attack going in this one, which means Geoff Cameron will have to get going more in this one.

I see a close draw in this one, even though the Dynamo have absolutely owned RSL at Robertson Stadium in the past couple years. Thing is this isn’t the same RSL club from those years.

Player to watch out for: Kyle Beckerman – He’s not very liked in Houston and he’ll be going head-to-head with Cameron in this one. I think he’ll slow down Cameron enough to keep Houston from scoring a lot in this one.

WVH Prediction: Houston 2, RSL 2

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Chivas USA – at – LA Galaxy

Everyone loves a good rivalry and this one is as heated as any in the league. The Home Depot Center mates don’t like one another at all. Landon Donovan went as far to say today that Chivas is a team that they should beat. Fightin’ words if you ask me.

Chivas hasn’t been able to do much to this Galaxy squad these last couple years. I see that trend continuing here tonight if the Goats fail to find a way to generate offense again. Last week against Colorado they looked slow and lacked creativity on offense against the Rapids. Going against a better defense in LA it won’t be easy to score at all in this one. The Galaxy looked strong in week one against New England and that should carry over to this one.

Look for it to be heated as usual with plenty of cards. I’d expect Donovan to have one of his big games in this one too.

Player to watch out for: Omar Gonzalez – The big defender for the Galaxy will have to find a way to slow down the speed of Maykel Galindo in this one. Lucky for him all he needs to do is be a big physical with Galindo, a few bumps on him should do it.

WVH Prediction: LA 2, Chivas 0

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.

Keeper:

Who they have: Zach Thornton, Dan Kennedy, Jon Conway, and Lance Parker

Notes: A lot depends on the health of Thornton. He’s he is as fit as he was the majority of last year the AmeriGoats have absolutely nothing to worry about here but his age is a bit of a concern. I do like Kennedy but honestly I haven’t seen nearly enough out of him in goal to tell you if he is a legitimate starter in this league. I won’t even go into what I think of Conway, never been a big believe in him as a number one starter. I doubt this is an area of concern for Vasquez though and right now it really shouldn’t be.

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Defense

Who they have: Jonathan Borenstein, Yamith Cuesta, Carey Talley, Claudio Suarez, Ante Jazic, and Kevin Tangney.

Notes: I like parts of this defense and the rest needs a massive and I mean a massive upgrade. Suarez and Talley are old and likely on their way out (I want to say I’ve read somewhere that Suarez is definitely retiring here but couldn’t find it…maybe he’s playing again this year?)

If Vasquez even wants to compete in the highly competitive western conference he will have to improve this area of his team. Looking at clubs like Houston, Seattle, LA and even Dallas and RSL there are too many good clubs with talent in the back. Chivas has a couple good players like Bornstein but we know he’ll be gone most of this season with the national team. Improvement has to be made to get younger and better.

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Midfield

Who they have: Mariano Trujilo, Marcelo Saragosa, Jesse Marsch, Sacha Kljestan, Sasha Victorine, Jorge Flores, Gerson Mayen, Michael Lahoud, Cesar Zamora, Blair Gavin, and Osael Romero.

Notes: Not sure if Marsch really will be with this group this season or not but I think this group is still pretty underrated. I do see Kljestan having a better season than last year, he’s too talented not to bounce back this year. With young guys like Gavin, Lahoud, Flores and Mayen I see a lot of promise from this bunch.

One thing I do still worry about is who will create the offense for this bunch. A playmaker is still really needed here and I’m sure that has to be on the top of Vasquez’s to-do list here this winter. He’s been around that club long enough to know that they need some sort of stability in the midfield or else they’ll get passed up easily out west.

I am eager to see the development of those young guys under Vasquez. With someone like Christian Gomez likely on the market who he be worth a look at? Maybe if he comes in with his head on right for a change. I wouldn’t mind seeing this club look south to Mexico for a playmaker.

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Forwards

Who they have: Ante Razov, Jesus Padillia, Maykel Galindo, Justin Braun, Macion Santos, Chukwudi Chijindu, and Eduardo Lillingston (currently on loan to Tijuana).

Notes: A pretty interesting bunch. On paper they should be set in this department but a closer look makes to think otherwise. First of all Razov will likely be gone at some point. I just wonder if they can ever get him back to his level of play and get a Jeff Cunningham type of renaissance out of him.

I like Padilla, Galindo and Santos but I don’t particularly love them all. If Padilla can step up and be the scorer that we think he should be and Galindo stays healthy long enough then they will be fine.

I think one more addition here may help them out.

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Overall:

Chivas got out to such a hot start last year with very minimal talent doing so. They were gritty and found ways to win that most clubs couldn’t figure out. By the summer it fizzled out and the scoring dried up. Luckily enough guys like Santos came in and they were set straight enough to reach the post season.

For another good season this club still needs a lot of patching up in the back and in the midfield. They’re young enough to be dangerous yet old enough at the same time to get passed up by clubs below them.

It will be interesting to see what Vasquez and company do with these next couple months to prove people like me wrong. Right now I just wonder if they have what it takes to be a playoff club again. If the right parties step up (Kljestan, Padilla, etc.) then playoffs should be no issue but its getting those guys to step up that seems to be a challenge sometimes.

Chivas USA was a surprise early on in 2009, but they faded quickly in the summer months. (Getty Images)

It seems like every season or so we get one club that comes out hot to start the season then to only fade in the summer. In 2009 it was Chivas USA who was just that club as they went 7-2-3 to start the first couple months of the season. Nearly half of the season total 45 points came in that stretch of time. Preki had plenty of issues with injuries but this lineup kept plugging away at wins after wins.

But just like clubs before Chivas, the summer was a rough patch for Preki’s group. June hit and so did the schedule as the AmeriGoats had a super fall in SuperLiga. Stars like Sacha Kljestan never seemed to show up with the club needed them most and scorers like Maykel Galindo never stepped up at the right moments.

After the rough patches in June and July, Chivas saw themselves passed up by a few clubs in the standings and things got a little dicey for their playoff hopes. But some key wins in August and September faded those worries away and this club looked like one that could contend for the Supporter’s Shield again after guys like Galindo, Kljestan and Eduardo Lillingston starting to step up again.

By the playoffs Chivas was once again bounced in the first round, just like they’ve been done in the past couple of seasons. What hurt this time was it was to their Home Depot Center rivals the LA Galaxy.

What Went Right In 2009:
For the most part a lot of things did go well in 2009 for Preki’s side. He looked like a Coach of the Year candidate early on with the way Zach Thornton turned back the clock and became a rived player again in goal. Thornton’s season was stellar too as he won both the Comeback Player of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year honors this season. Other things that went well was certainly that quick start to the year. Grabbing 24 points in the first couple months really set the pace for the season. We also learned of some new names that we will certainly see for years to come like Gerson Mayen.

What Went Wrong In 2009:
Obviously the summer months caught up to this club. Offensively they were one of the worst in the league even though mid-season moves to get Jesus Padilla in didn’t pan out quick enough. Padilla will be good in a year or so but he wasn’t enough to revive an offense that didn’t have enough punch. Also the whole year was a large disappointment for Kljestan who never looked good after his pre-season trail with Celtic. After not getting a transfer to the Scottish power, Kljestan really fell from grace.

What’s Next:
More than likely we will see Preki leave this team in the coming weeks. I have a feeling now more than ever he will join Bob Bradley with the national team rather than go to another MLS club. Should he actually stay in MLS he will probably do to Toronto. After that will be the likely departure of Jonathan Bornstein and possibly Kljestan. If they lose both of them look for this club to endure a serious make-over in the winter months. This group has talent they just need some offense and a couple younger parts on defense to really become a MLS Cup contender in this league.

Sacha Kljestan and Chivas head to Chicago to face the Fire. (Getty Images)

It is simple for each club, keep winning and good things happen. All the Chicago Fire needs to do tonight is win (or even draw) and they are in the playoffs. As for Chivas a win tonight and a win over the weekend could turn into a Supporter’s Shield trophy. But more importantly for the task at hand for Chivas is getting an automatic birth out of the western conference, and home field advantage.

The Fire are currently slipping their way out of things right now. While the playoffs should happen for them no matter what their current run isn’t going to help them get to MLS Cup 2009. Tonight they have to get their offense going which has been very lackluster as of late. But more importantly they need their defense to step up and get a result (no wins since the middle of August). If they can duplicate the result in New England from last week the Fire will be well on their way to an automatic bid into the playoffs.

Chivas will have to do a good job containing Chris Rolfe, Brian McBride and company while getting Maykel Galindo involved early in the attack. It also wouldn’t hurt to see Sacha Kljestan come up with a big performance tonight as well. Defensively they can’t allow crap goals to the Fire like they did last week against San Jose.

Both clubs know what they are playing for here and each control their fate in this but I have to wonder a bit about where the Fire are at right now. I do think they will play well like they did a week ago but something about their play at home this year just makes me believe Chivas comes in and steals this one away here. I think this one ends on level terms seeing the Fire go through to the playoffs.

WVH Prediction: Chicago 1, Chivas 1

Order: George John, Maykel Galindo, Brandon McDonald, Justin Braun, Josh Wolff, Nate Jaqua, Luciano Emilio, Jim Brennen, and Fabian Espindola.

Sasha Kljestan leads Chivas USA tonight into Rio Tinto Stadium to face RSL. (Getty Images)

Old expansion mates square off tonight in what could be said is a must-win situation for the home side. Real Salt Lake enters tonight’s game at Rio Tinto Stadium with Chivas USA just three points behind the last playoff spot. A win tonight would help get them in the discussion for the playoffs this year while a loss would spell doom for their chances.

Real is hoping to cash in on their home unbeaten streak that dates back to May. Thing is they’ve dropped some valuable points lately in draws at Rio Tinto due to poor discipline and sloppy defending.

RSL manager Jason Kries needs a big time game tonight out of Robbie Findley. We’ve seen time and time again where Findley can step up and become of the the better strikers in the league this season but some how he continues to find ways to stay out of the spotlight with poor finishing. I think this could be a game where he could get his chances though.

RSL should look a little better in defense with Jamison Olave back in the lineup. You can tell a big difference when he is out of action for this club.

Chivas has been a thorn in RSL’s side winning the last six of seven between these two sides. Preki will look for another big game out of Sacha Kljestan who seemed to finally wake up from the dead in the last game, scoring two goals in a winning effort. I’m also curious to see if Chivas can get more out of newcomer Jesus Padilla. We really didn’t see him do much last week against Toronto since he had to deal with Dwayne De Rosario so much.

I think this is one of those games that RSL steps up well early on and puts plenty of pressure on Chivas to defend. Thing is I also feel that RSL just doesn’t defend well enough when they need to most sometimes. This game looks like a draw which could mean bad things for Kreis and his club’s playoff hopes. Chivas should leave with a solid road point thanks to Maykel Galindo and Kljestan.

WVH Prediction: RSL 1, Chivas 1

Order: Chris Rolfe, Mike Banner, Steve Zakuani, Fredy Montero, Maykel Galindo, Eduardo Lillingston, Chad Marshall, Eddie Gavin, Dwayne de Rosario, and O’Brien White

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

Guillermo Barros Schelotto got the best of Claudio Lopez on Saturday in KC. (Brian Stevens, WVH Photo Correspondent)

If you blinked this weekend you may have missed some changes in the standings this weekend. A couple clubs continues to fall down the standings while a couple more continue to rise. Also we saw the western race (and the overall race for that matter) tighten up a bit with a Chivas win and a Houston win this weekend.

I believe the groups I’ve mentioned a couple weeks ago in the standings are still shaping up though one or two teams may have shifted around in the groups. The bottom of the barrell is still what it has been for a while now this year.

The Shifting Crew

The biggest move though may be one few noticed due to their game being on at the same time as the US national team’s game on Saturday (yeah, genius plan to schedule it like that). Columbus notched another win in typical Crew fashion this week in Kansas City behind two goals from their MVP and probably current league MVP front-runner Guillermo Barros Schelotto. With GBS scoring instead of setting up the goals this season we are seeing a slightly different Crew side this season but one that is starting to get results.

Sometimes it takes a club a while to get use to a new coach but if you didn’t notice the Crew are back in playoff contention right now. They also have a game to spare on those above them in the east.

Weird part may be though that this club still isn’t healthy here in the least bit this season. But as always good teams figure out a way to get results no matter the lineup. Columbus was still a good team at the start of the season but now they are finishing out games and getting points rather than struggling to get draws. Its hard to keep in mind that they’ve only lost twice this season.

One more thing, when I look at KC I still see a quality team here but I’ll keep saying it, they are missing one to two key elements to make them really good here. I think keeping their attack through Josh Wolff and Claudio Lopez can help but the playmaking in the middle just isn’t there enough. Also the defensive mistakes are really hurting this club. The U-8 style defending on the first goal just won’t get it done. I know Jimmy Conrad is already taking the blame for that goal.

Chivas Rolls Yet Again

It didn’t seem to take much but Chivas USA continues to stay at the top. Give credit once again to Preki for finding the bunch to get it done this week after his lineup was changed a bit due to Sacha Kljestan and Jonathan Bornstein’s US callups and Jesse Marsch’s suspension.  Still the lineup produced what it needed to to get the three points against the Sounders.

Once again give a lot of credit to Zach Thornton in the back for keeping Fredy Montero and company off the boards. He showed some true MVP form in goal Saturday night.

While the Chivas attack isn’t fancy they get the job done. Eduardo Lillingston, Maykel Galindo and Paulo Nagamura combined on the game’s lone goal. I loved the heart those three showed on the play, they pressed hard and got the result. Too many times clubs aren’t pressing enough on goal and that could be a reason why we see so many draws.

I’m also wondering about Seattle now. Is the early success coming to a head and we are seeing this expansion side be an expansion side? Sigi Schmid could use some healthy players to cure that but this group is falling a bit. Maybe a visit from San Jose coming up will help.

Toronto Continues To Stumble

Talk about a bad stretch of play for Toronto FC. A blowout loss a week ago in Houston followed by an embarassing loss in Vancouver in the Canadian Cup. Most thought a home game against a LA squad that would be without Landon Donovan would be the answer to get them back on the winning ways. Instead Edson Buddle made sure his former side didn’t get the three points.

I still don’t know what to make of this win for LA. While it is good I still don’t beleive they have the depth to stay like this without Donovan this summer. Still a win is a win and I am sure this bunch will take it even if it is only their second one of the year.

Toronto on the other hand dips back down into the territory that they shouldn’t be in. The place below the top group of clubs and right in the middle pack that could go either up or down here. Right now they are falling fast though. Maybe this is their usual summer slump too. I still believe this club has plenty of talent to be good in this league but they lack a finisher up top. Until they get a true go-to scorer they will continue to be middle of the pack here.

Houston Rising

Don’t look now but Houston is up there in the standings with Chicago and Chivas. Stuart Holden and company jumped all over Chicago early and held on with their strong defense late to keep Chicago off the board.

Houston continues to impress with their defense, which is the best in the league at the moment in terms of goals against. I think we are also seeing their offense click a good bit here with the play of Holden. He knew he ahd to be a leader this season and he is definitely showing it.

What’s with Chicago at home here this season? Just like last year they struggle at home while playing very well on the road (league best road record 4-0-3). They tend to give up a lot of easy goals at home for some reason and defensively make me question just how deep this club really is.

Yeah, Colorado May Be That Good

I know it was a draw but the fashion the Rapids scored their game-tying goal late in Salt Lake gave me the impression that this club probably can compete without the services of Conor Casey up top. Good thing too since they will be missing him a decent bit this summer.

Omar Cummings was a good go-to filling if you will for Colorado. It’s exactly what the Rapids need out of him when Casey is gone. His speed is there and right now is finishing is starting to be there more for him. If that keeps up the Casey-Cummings duo could be a really fun one to watch this season.

I know RSL had the bulk of chances in this game but finishing continues to ruin what could be a really good club this season. I think once the summer transfer window opens up in a few weeks we will see this club change up a good bit. Jason Kreis has to make some moves to get this club back to where many expected them to be here at the start of the season.

Bottom Clubs Are There For A Reason

I wasn’t at all about to get excited over the recent play of Dallas and San Jose here. While both are starting to slightly come around here this season they are both still not very good. Its sad too since both have the potential to be good but just can’t get over the hump on a few items.

Both San Jose goals were just a product of terrible defense by Dallas here. More of the same if you will from the back four for Dallas, bad give aways in terrible spots.

But for Dallas both goals were very good to see. Great build ups by Jeff Cunninham on the first after a quick restart by David van den Burgh. David Ferrierra bags his first MLS goal (finally) on the play. Brek Shea helped set up the game-tying goal to Kenny Cooper. Just the kind of build up you need from this side, which makes me want to see more of Shea in the lineup here for Dallas.

Still I do like Dallas shifting their lineup a bit by moving Jeff Cunningham to the wing. His pace on the wing is much needed on a hot day like yesterday. The thing though about a guy like Cunningham is he isn’t always there for you out there. Too many times he gives up on plays but at the same time he could have been more involved at times.

The man of this match for me though had to be Ray Burse. For Dallas fans I think it is easy to say Burse has claimed his spot as the starting keeper for the club, even when Dario Sala is healthy again.

New England Lays Into New York

For a while we’ve said that New England will be good once their offense gets going. Well after a four goal effort yesterday I wonder if everyone else is still having doubts about this club like they were a few weeks back. Thing about this club is they’ve seemed to get over the hump a bit in terms of the amount of injuries that they had early on this season and are finally seeing results on the field that we’ve come to expect out of Steve Nicol’s bunch.

Kudos to Taylor Twellman for becoming joining the 100 goal club. No doubt his play on the field is sparking this club in a big way. I still have little doubt that he will go into the books before long as the all-time leading scorer in league history.

So what can we make of New York here? Six goals against in two road losses this week. They still haven’t found the back of the net here and most are certainly calling for Juan Carlos Osorio’s head now. Would it even be the best move for this club going forward? Maybe and maybe not. All I can say is the moves that were made by Osorio haven’t worked and that may be enough for a dismissal. It’s just gone from bad to down right sad there.

Other Notes:

The butts-in-seats look this weekend wasn’t all that bad. Everyone had at least 11K except for the lowly figure in Dallas yesterday. No way in hell there was even 5700+ at Pizza Hut Park. You’d have to count for all the workers at the stadium and the folks playing on some of the other fiels in the area to make that number. Now I know that is technically the number of tickets sold but its a pathetic number nonetheless.

Best crowd this weekend may have been at Rio Tinto Stadium for the Rocky Mountain Cup match between the Rapids and RSL. A near sell-out according to the final attendance numbers.