It is that time again, the new season is here and I will make my annual Bold MLS Season Predictions.

Last year I did alright in some predictions, and pretty poorly in others. In years past I’ve always thrown out a few random predictions to mix things up a bit so this isn’t just another predictions post out there. You may like what I say or think I’m crazy, either way I try to have a bit of fun with this each year.

I’ll start off with some early awards predictions, followed by some random stat predictions, and finally the season outcome I see happening.

Early Award Predictions:

Below are some predictions for each end-of-season award. I left a few off that I really don’t care about, why we vote on things like the Ref of the year is still beyond me. I’ll give you my top three for each since that is how we have to vote on it anyways.

Goalkeeper:

1. Nick Rimando (RSL) – Always a frontrunner for this award, I think he’ll have a solid enough season to finally win this award.
2. Kevin Hartman (FC Dallas) – Another always in contention for this, I’d expect his level of play to be better this season after a disappointing finish to the 2011 season.
3. Stefan Frei (Toronto) – I really like Toronto this season and Frei has always had the talent, this year he and his club finally “get there”.

Defender:

1. Jamison Olave (RSL) – The guy is still a beast.
2. George John (FC Dallas) – He’s back for the season and will be looking to secure a big contract at the end of the season.
3. Geoff Cameron (Houston) – He’ll keep them in most games this season, and probably help them win a few too.

Newcomer:

1. Kris Boyd (Portland Timbers) – Love the early look I got of him last week in a preseason game. He’s a natural goal scorer and one that will do very well in MLS.
2. Hamdi Salihi (D.C. United) – A lot rests on how he messes with Dwayne De Rosario but the guy just scores goals. Should be fun to watch.
3. Blas Perez (FC Dallas) – Another guy that is expected to score goals this season, he’ll have a tall order in front of him to lead Dallas but so far he looks good.

(Note: this will easily change as newcomers join the league in the summer)

Coach:

1. Peter Vermes (Sporting KC) – I think KC has a chance to be really special this year.
2. Bruce Arena (LA Galax) – LA is strong and if they can do well in the Champions League and win another Supporters’ Shield then there is no doubt he’ll win this or at least be in contention to again.
3. Aron Winter (Toronto FC) – A wild pick in one sense but I do like where he is taking this club.

Rookie:

1. Kelyn Rowe (New England) – This kid fits in perfectly in the midfield for Jay Heaps. Something about him there makes me think this will be a really good first season for Rowe.
2. Darren Mattocks (Vancouver) – A lot depends on how much time he gets on the field but he showed flashes of how talented he is in the preseason.
3. Luis Silva (Toronto FC) – Don’t sleep on this kid for a moment. Silva fits into Winter’s 4-3-3 perfectly.

MVP:

1. Javier Morales (RSL) – I expect big things from him after a tough 2011.
2. Mauro Rosales (Seattle) – A guy that nearly won the award last season. I’d expect more of the same from him in 2012.
3. Landon Donovan (LA) – He’s always in the mix really and with a slightly more favorable schedule this season, he should continue to put up big numbers.

Next MLSer to move to Europe:

• Brek Shea (FC Dallas) – It will happen before long…I keep saying after the Olympics.
• George John (FC Dallas) – Same as Shea, it will happen before we know it. Third time will be the charm but likely after this season is over.
• Geoff Cameron (Houston) – Throwing this one out there, I’ve always been a fan of Cameron’s game and as he gets more time with the national team, his stock should rise for clubs overseas.

2012 WVH Bold Predictions:

1. MLS will get 4 clubs in CCL knockout stage after this fall’s group stage – LA, RSL, Seattle and Toronto will all make a return to the knockout round after getting through the group stages this fall.
2. A MLS club will win the USOC – Not a stretch but go a head and bet on a MLS club winning it again, my money is on Seattle again to make it four in a row. Though that new format certainly makes it more interesting for another team to win it all.
3. Four clubs add DPs this summer – With the Young DP rule in effect, look for Chicago, DC, Dallas and New York to all add DPs this summer.
4. A couple more Yanks return home – Just a hunch as always but given Rangers financial woes, at least Carlos Bocanegra will return to MLS, maybe even Demarcus Beasley will as well.
5. The 20th club will be announced…and it will be New York. Yeah surprise, surprise. I think some kind of deal gets worked out in this year to add New York. Not sure which group will be part of it or where a stadium will be but something will get done.
6. But a deal with Orlando comes up as well…yes team number 21. I said this was a bold prediction page now didn’t I? I think something also gets worked out in Orlando and they’ll enter MLS a year after NY does.
7. A late run this season will help…Portland – While the East certainly is weaker I do think a late run to get into the playoffs will be done by a Western side. The Timbers have the talent and the chops to get through the West.
8. Golden Boot winner will be…Danny Koevermans (Toronto) – I’ve been saying how much I like Toronto and a big part of it comes down to how well Koevermans looked late last season. He has the size and skill to deal with MLS defenses and I think he has the chance to bag at least 18 goals.
9. Mauro Rosales will lead the league in assists – I’d say he’ll get 15 assists this season.
10. US will finish with a bronze medal in the Olympics – Qualifying will be one thing but I do see the US doing well in London.

Playoff Predictions:

Eastern conference order of finish: Sporting Kansas City, Houston Dynamo, Philadelphia Union, Toronto FC, New York Red Bulls, Chicago Fire, D.C. United, Columbus Crew, New England Revolution, Montreal Impact

Western conference order of finish: LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, Seattle Sounders, FC Dallas, Portland Timbers, Colorado Rapids, San Jose Earthquakes, Vancouver Whitecaps, Chivas USA

Darkhorse clubs: Portland and Chicago

I like both sides to be fairly sneaky this season but Chicago will just barely miss out in a surprisingly crowded East.

Supporter’s Shield Winner: Sporting KC

Notes: With the unbalanced schedule, KC has a chance to get a ton of points on a much weaker conference while clubs like LA, Seattle and RSL will be fighting it out behind them. The unbalanced schedule really opens up nicely for KC to win the Shield this year as they have the talent to do it and the lack of non-MLS games to deal with (only the USOC is on the slate so far outside of MLS).

MLS Cup Winner: LA Galaxy

Notes: They may have to go on the road to win the Cup this year but I think they’ll repeat. Just too much talent not to.

The owners are hoping the later start time will enhance the stadium atmosphere which should translate into a better TV viewing experience.

Switching to Sunday night and on ESPN means the MLS Cup will go against NFL’s prime-time Sunday game.

“[We] decided to make this the move to allow us the opportunity to play the game later in the day,” MLS President Mark Abbott wrote in an e-mail. “MLS Cup had traditionally taken place during the early afternoon on Sunday, and we collectively decided to move it to the evening.”

“We have the flexibility within the partnership to try different things,” said Scott Guglielmino, vice president of programming and acquisitions at ESPN. “We’re going to continue to do that.”

The league hasn’t given word on whether or not the 2010 game will be on ABC or ESPN.

I know the move goes against prime-time football and other prime-time TV shows but the move could be good for MLS to do here. Either way the league was going to go against the NFL for the game so instead of going against five or six games at once the league will only be head-to-head against a single game. Which could be good and it could be bad. We’ll see.

The Crew made it just seem easy in 2008. (Getty Images)

It was no mystery to how the Columbus Crew won the 2008 MLS Cup. The 17 wins in the regular season were no fluke. This club was just that damn good. From the offense of MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Aljeandro Moreno to the defense of MLS Defender of the Year Chad Marshall and MLS veteran Frankie Hedjuk.

The 2008 regular season champs and post season champs are the Columbus Crew. Pretty crazy stuff if you ask me but in all honesty the best club won the season and the Cup. Just as it should work in any sport. The best team won.

It wasn’t always easy for the Crew but as I’ve said all year long, they were the toughest team to beat. Tough teams typically win titles because no one can close them out when it counts. Kansas City couldn’t do it in the opening round, Chicago couldn’t in the conference championship and New York definitely couldn’t do it in the MLS Cup.

It didn’t take much for the Crew either. For the first 20 to 25 minutes of the game the Crew weren’t at their best yesterday. New York handled the pressure of the Cup and nearly took advantage of it. But one inch became a mile for the Crew as Moreno put home the game’s first goal.

After that it was pretty much all Columbus.

Sigi Schmid and Guillermo Barros Schelotto enjoy the Cup. (Getty Images)

Sure New York got on the board for a few seconds. But it didn’t take long for the Crew to do what they do best, score on set pieces with Marshall and Schelotto.

New York would pressure but Columbus and their defense won the title. The defense stepped up and then the offense took it over from there.

Why did it all happen? Well when you have the Coach of the Year in Sigi Schmid you should be able to put games away with defense like that. Schmid got a couple years to put this club together and it paid off. It didn’t hurt that they got Schelotto for so cheap either.

Oh yeah and with the win Schmid made a little history of his own. He became the first coach to lead two clubs to MLS Cups. Not a bad way to cap off a year, not bad indeed.

So your champs this year are the Crew. Not the Dynamo, or the Galaxy, or the Quakes, or even United. It’s the Crew. Congrats to them for making a changing of the guard of some sorts. Sure their work is now cut out for them in the year to come but as long as Schmid, Schelotto, Moreno, Marshall and company are still there they should be fine. I won’t go into the questions surround those guys yet, its more fun to congradulate them on this win than speculate the future right now.

Both clubs know one another very well as rivals in the Eastern conference. It is also a weird #1 v. #8, top seed versus the lowest seed in the bracket. Can the Crew continue their run or will the slipper fit the Red Bulls for another day?

We have plenty of good matchups to look forward to in this one as well.

• GBS v. New York’s defense/midfield: I don’t know who has the advantage here. The one or two unlucky guys for the Red Bulls or the league MVP. I think the edge has to go to GBS and his craftiness.
• Juan Pablo Angel v. Chad Marshall: Both are solid in the air but who will make a larger impact on this game? Angel will have to score for New York to win in my book and I think Marshall is a guy that can keep him from doing that.
• Hesmer v. Cepero: Sure they won’t exactly meet head-to-head but I figure one will have a bigger impact on the game. Cepero’s run has been just as good as his club’s as of late. To think it probably all started with that terrible free kick against the Crew that went in the back of the net for the young keeper.
• Robbie Rogers v. Dane Richards: Now here is a matchup on the wings to watch. Speed v. Speed. I think the edge slightly goes to Rogers though for the quality touch that he brings but don’t rule Richards out for a quick change of pace.

I know there are plenty more matchups here to watch for this game but I will just let you find them out during the game.

It will be hard for some to look at the season series between these two to predict this game. New York won two of the three but let’s face the facts, one was at the very beginning of the year (which you can’t base much on either club then) and the other was at the end when Columbus rested half of their starters and New York was desperate for a playoff spot. Columbus won the middle match when the Red Bulls were trying to figure themselves out in the late summer. It wasn’t much of a game really as the Crew dominated from end-to-end after giving up an early goal. I just recall that game and Robbie Roger’s ridiculous strike to start out the second half.

Both clubs want this one really bad to prove to a lot of people that they belong on this level. New York is trying to become another club that had a terrible regular season and wound up winning it all (a la LA in 2005). Columbus wants to prove the Supporter’s Shield isn’t a curse but just another trophy in the case along side the MLS Cup.

Again, I’ve gone over this one a few thousand times, Columbus and New York in a MLS Cup together. The winner is tough to figure out but I think it will end up being Columbus. I’ve said all year long that they are the hardest team in MLS to beat, they will prove that again tomorrow. New York is on a nice run and they’ve beaten some quality clubs along the way but I just see Columbus putting and end to it.

WVH Prediction: Columbus 2, New York 1

• Next year will have a 30 game schedule, starting one week earlier than in 2008 (March 21). The league will do it’s best to avoid as many FIFA dates as they possibly can (yeah right).
• Playoff structure will not change in 2008. (kind of a let down really but with the more teams in the better it will have to get, but I still believe  they need to do away with the opening round home-and-away series)
• Reserve division is no more…senior rosters will be expanded in the process (I will go more into that later…its a good thing really as the league expands)
• No overlap between CCL and SuperLiga teams…another good thing to happen
• Seattle Sounders FC have sold over 18000 season ticket…good Lord, whatever they are doing can they teach eight or nine of the clubs that have been in the league since day one on how to do it?
• Big one here…Montreal has DROPPED their expansion bid! Wow!
• Speaking of expansion, we will get word on the next two in prior to the 2009 season, say mid-to-late-February? Definitely no later than the middle of March. (I give them another month before they announce the Miami bid though)
• MLS Cup is a sellout for Sunday…gosh that is good news. I honestly had a little fear that it wouldn’t reach 20k.

Okay, time to go a little more into details on a couple things, once I get more details on a few things I will continue to update this:

Drop of Reserve League:

Basically the league is cutting some costs here. By getting rid of the Reserve league they can expand senior rosters from 18 players to 20 and keep four development players. Some thoughts behind the removeal suggest that with travel costs, and very little change from those players each year the league is investing more money in the senior roster by dropping those bottom four spots.

As the league expands they needed to do this anyways to fill roster spots for four new clubs by 2011. Clubs can will also be able to spend more money on current talent or foreign talent. And seeing how those bottom four development players hardly ever work out for anyone, it’s not a bad idea at all.

Montreal:

Probably the biggest news of all out of this is Montreal dropping their expansion bid. Apparently they let the league know about a week or so about that they were going to be doing this. I don’t know if it was fear of not getting in due to a couple strong bids or what. I think it comes down to their desire to wait a couple more years to see if they should really expand into MLS. Who really knows but once details trickle out about this story I will definitely have it.

SuperLiga/CCL:

No club will play in both tournaments. Finally the league thought things through here.

SuperLiga: Chivas USA, Chicago, New England, Kansas City.
Champions League: New York, Columbus, Houston, D.C.

Playoff Format:

A little different than what I was originally told. Its going back to the top-two clubs getting auto-bids. The next four will be wild-cards regardless of conference. The playoff format will remain the same: home and home in the first round, single-game conference finals and MLS Cup.

Garber said the league is taking a serious look at holding MLS Cup at the site of a finalist, but for 2009, the game will be at a neutral venue. Next year’s site and date have not been finalized.

Angel, the team’s top offensive player, was injured when collided with goalkeeper Danny Cepero while going up for a header in the box.

Angel went down to the turf and remained there for a number of minutes. He was then helped up and escorted to the bench by team trainers. He appeared to have injured his shoulder.

If I find out any more on his injury I will let you know. Still it probably is nothing more than a knock on the head. He should be fine for Sunday.

Who will win the matchup between the Crew and the Red Bulls? I'm sure Dave van den Burgh will have something to say about it. (Getty Images)

Anyone have this matchup for MLS Cup 2008? Of course your didn’t because the likelihood of a conference battle at MLS Cup doesn’t happen often. We had it once before with two Western Conference sides a few years back and now we get to see an all Eastern Conference game.

But can you really believe it? Sure with the way Columbus played this year it is very believable to see them make it this far but for New York it is definitely not. The Red Bulls have this LA Galaxy of 2005 feel to them.

You remember that Galaxy club right? Stumbled into the playoffs somehow and yet ended up winning MLS Cup over a good New England club.

Could that same kind of thing happen on Sunday? We will see. I won’t go too far into this matchup just yet as I want to let it sink in a bit more. But we do have a new poll here at WVH, pick the winner.

I will check back in with more on this past weekend and this coming weekend today.