Frei leaves the field on crutches, wearing an air cast left leg. Doesn't look good. #MLS

— Luke Wileman (@LukeWileman) March 23, 2012

Folks are saying that the injury happened in a non-contact play in training this morning for Toronto FC. Frei was the starter for the Reds to open the season but at least they do have a decent backup in Milos Kosic.

Frei is still considered to be one of the best young keepers in MLS despite playing most of his career behind an inferior defense. Hearing this news is certainly not what Toronto fans or MLS fans want to hear just before the start of the third weekend of the season.

Normally I tackle one of these kinds of posts each year it seems as there are always a group of guys that just look prime to go from MLS to Europe at the next chance. A year or so ago (okay December 08) I wrote that guys like Sacha Kljestan and Michael Parkhurst were on their way out of MLS.

After Geoff Reid’s talk yesterday about players heading to leagues in Sweden or Norway I felt like piggy-backing that post a bit to get back into this discussion today. The fact that I skipped an entire year on something like this was a bit shocking as I thought I’d keep up with it longer when I first started doing it. Silly me I suppose.

The summer transfer window just closed a couple weeks ago and now clubs have to wait before they can get their hands on some up and coming MLS talent. It seems like right now there are plenty of guys that could very well be gone from MLS next year if the league doesn’t step up and protect it’s own, which we know probably won’t happen.

A lot of talk has surrounded Landon Donovan in recent months but really anymore I don’t see him going back to Europe full-time. I think in January we’ll see him head back to England or where ever for a three-month deal only to return to LA for the start of the 2011 season. Plus I feel as though he went to England this past year and did what he’s been wanting to do for a long time, prove himself on a big stage. He’s done that and so I think he’s fine in LA for the time being. Some folks won’t agree with that but let’s face it MLS isn’t getting rid of it’s biggest star just yet.

Now some of my list below is built on a gut feeling and the others could be based on rumors flying around. All of these guys are young too as I didn’t go for any veterans that think they’ll just up and leave MLS. Which means I still believe guys like Shalrie Joseph won’t go even though you know they’d like to. Also I know a few of these guys are a couple years away from a move but I thought they were worth discussing. If you feel like I missed someone or think I’m totally crazy just share your thoughts below.

1. Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo) – His injury this year probably dampened his chances in a big way to score a huge contract or even a transfer this summer but one thing is certain about Cameron he’s vastly underpaid in MLS. He knows it and so does the rest of the soccer world. He hasn’t signed a contract extension with the Dynamo just yet either so don’t be shocked if his situation turns out to be similar to Stuart Holden and Ricardo Clark. I’d love to see Geoff stay here in MLS, believe me I would but we’ve seen this time and time again with clubs like Houston. They make good, young, and cheap players into very talented stars. Its always tough to hold on to something like that.

2. Danny Mwanga (Philadelphia Union) – I know he got talked into coming to MLS instead of going to Europe but believe me he won’t be in MLS very long with the way he plays. I give him one more year here tops. Maybe even less than that.

3. Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy) – Here’s a gut feeling kind of thing. Once his contract runs out with the club I see him as a goner. Defenders like Gonzalez are tough to come by and he’ll also continue to get more US National team play in the coming year as well I believe. The more folks abroad see him the more likely he won’t be in MLS with LA.

4. Brek Shea (FC Dallas) – Here is another talented yet cheap player that is continuing to get better. He had rumors a couple years ago about going to Europe but after the way he’s emerged this season it will be tough for Dallas to keep him long-term. He’s still very young and has room to grow in the right system.

5. Andy Najar (D.C. United) – You can’t be shocked to see this kid’s name listed here. Thankfully for D.C. fans they have him for at least another year as he can’t go anywhere else until he’s 18. But unfortunately for D.C. and anyone who enjoys watching him play in MLS he’s a star on the rise that will only continue to garner interest from abroad.

6. Toni Tchani (New York Red Bulls) – Some will say Tim Ream is more likely to leave MLS than Tchani but I disagree. Tchani may be a couple years off from a move out but believe me once this kid gets the proper playing time you’ll understand why I put him here. His size and skill are there and its only a matter of time before this guy gets attention abroad.

7. Stefan Frei (Toronto FC) – I could be wrong here about Frei but the talented Swiss player could make a move easily based on his passport. Then again if anyone watches him in goal they’d be silly to think he wouldn’t be a good fit abroad. He’s got the size and skill you want in a keeper too.

8. George John (FC Dallas) – This one may shock some folks but I’m a big George John fan, not because I see him all the time here in Dallas but because he’s really started to grow as a player here. His size is perfect and he’s only getting better, just like his club at defense. Part of me feel he could be the next Clarence Goodson from MLS.

9. Steve Zakunai (Seattle Sounders FC) – The speedy winger from Seattle is a guy that can be a game changer with his pace and scoring ability. Having some chances in Europe before (he was with the Arsenal youth system) before coming to the US to play college soccer at Akron. Now that he is making a name for himself here its only a matter of time before he hops back across the pond.

10. Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew) - Part of me thinks he’ll be in MLS for his entire career but the other part me thinks he’ll eventually try his hand at going to Europe. He’s only 26-years old but had enough experience to land in a decent league if he wanted to.

Toronto FC has talent, but little depth. (Getty Images)

Its the very last team in our 2010 Look-in series. First off sorry TFC fans for not posting this sooner. I had ever intention of doing this last week but set backs got in the way.

Lots of changes have taken place in Toronto this winter. From the turf being removed for natural grass at BMO Field, to a new manager in Preki taking cover and re-doing the roster his way. Lots of changes have taken place but have any really done a good enough job of getting this club ready for 2010?

Will this be the year that Toronto finally gets to the playoffs? Is Preki the right guy to lead the way? Let’s take a look now to see where this team is at right now and what places they need to improve on before the new season gets underway.

Keepers:

Who they have: Stefan Frei, Brian Edwards

Notes: Honestly they are set for years here between these two. Frei is an All-Star keeper in the making and Edwards may be one of the better backups in the league. I’m sure they’re working on getting a third keeper on the books as well. Still they’re covered here.

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Defense

Who they have: Nana Attakora, Nick Garcia, Jim Brennan, Marvell Wynne, Ty Harden, Gabe Gala, Emmanuel Gómez, Zach Harold.

Notes: What they did this winter in this area was added a young prospect in Harold and traded for Harden. Two moves that aren’t bad but aren’t exactly going to help them out in the area that I’d argue they are pretty weak in still. But things could improve since the field is no longer turf, which has to help out the older guys like Garcia and Brennan.

I would have liked to have seen them go more for depth in this area this winter. Adding a quality center back would have been a real upgrade here and would help increase their playoff chances. They do have good speed on the outside with Wynne.

I’d like to think they improved here over the winter but I’m just not buying it yet.

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Midfield

Who they have: Dwayne de Rosario, Julian de Guzman, Sam Cronin, Nane Joseph, Amadou Sanyang, Jacob Peterson.

Notes: Losing Carl Robinson wasn’t a terrible thing in my eyes. Cronin will slide in nicely in his old spot and for the most part they shouldn’t miss too much of a beat with De Rosario and de Guzman leading the way in the center of the park. I would have liked to have seen them go for more depth on the wings but the trade for Peterson should help that area out a decent bit if he is full fit to go this year.

They lost a lot of fire power in this area with Robinson and Amado Guevara both exiting this winter. But if I were a Reds fan I would see it as addition by subtraction. Sure Robinson was a big leader and a fan favorite but if he wasn’t happy there he wasn’t going to help this club in the long haul.

They’ll need more depth on the wings and possibly in the attacking portion of the midfield  here to get through the long season and the Nutrilite Canadian Championship.

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Forwards

Who they have: Chad Barrett, Ali Gerba, O’Brian White, Fuad Ibrahim.

Notes: One thing is for certain either Barrett or Gerba have to step up in a big way this year. Also the club has to hope that both Ibrahim and White grow as players. No doubt there is the most pressure on this group of players as compared to the rest of the club. If the team doesn’t score they won’t win, it is as simple as that.

Most would have liked Mo Johnston to get a primary striker for this season this winter but that didn’t happen. Most likely that will come this summer, if at all. I’d like to think they can win with these four (and the help of De Rosario and de Guzman in the midfield) but realistically they didn’t improve in this area at all this winter.

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Overall:

No doubt there is loads of pressure in Toronto this year. Offensively they have to produce like never before and defensively they have to be able to prove to teams that they won’t give up 5 goals in a must-win game. Preki is a good coach though that will change the culture of that club inside and out. The team will be tougher, which may have been lacking in the first place.

I do however have trouble seeing if this club improved this winter though. They have so many questions to be answered as well. I think depth wise they are very weak but I do like the talent they have starting out on the field.

It just looks like another long, yet interesting year in Toronto.

Darrius Barnes is currently leading the way for the rookies. (Getty Images)

Its finally Friday, though I will admit this week has flown by for me due to it being a four-day work week and things being fairly steady on both the regular job front and this place. I had planned to do more than what had been posted today but I blame the weird rainy weather here in Dallas for me not getting around to some of it. Rainy days seem to do that to me.

Anyways I wanted to get back into some award talk for the first part of tonight’s post. Tonight I wanted to kick up my Rookie of the Year discussion and give you a sense of where I rate the current crop of rookies, which by the way have been nothing short of great this season. I know not every single rookie drafted has played this year but there are at least 10 or possibly 12 good rookies from this year’s draft. That usually doesn’t happen very often.

This is my current rankings on the rookies, whether or not this stays the same when I vote in a couple weeks for this award remains to be seen.

1. Darrius Barnes (New England): Yes a third round pick has a great shot right now at Rookie of the Year. Not like last year because the draft class was so weak but because he has truly shown to be the steal of the draft. Barnes has played in every minute of every game this season for the Revs and has truly become a guy that I think will be defending in this league for years to come.

2. Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy): A lot of people have him as the top rookie right now and I am starting to actually buy into his hype after last weeks’ game against LA. He’ll probably snatch up more votes than Barnes because of his pick number and because of where he plays but that should be the reasons why you vote for this kid. He’s good…and I mean damn good. That Sean Franklin and Gonzalez duo in the back for LA is going to be a tough one to get by for years to come.

3. Stefan Frei (Toronto FC): I nearly had him over Gonzalez but for some reason Gonzalez just came out slightly ahead of this kid. I think if TFC gets into the playoffs you will see this guy get plenty of first place votes for this award. If they fail to reach it he may not even get any third place votes.

4. Steve Zakuani (Seattle Sounders FC): Zakuani lived up to the top pick hype this year I believe unlike last year’s top pick (Chance Myers). He’s gonna need a monster last couple of weeks to the season to catch up to the guys ahead of him but he’ll surely get his share of votes for this.

5. Chris Pontius/Rodney Wallace (DC United): These two really split votes for me. One day I see Wallace as the better rookie then the next it is Pontius. Both have proven to be very valuable picks but as things get worse for DC here late in the year the less votes these two will see.

Others in consideration: Kevin Alston (New England), Sam Cronin (Toronto FC), Michael Lahoud (Chivas USA), Matt Besler (KC), and George John (Dallas).

Stefan Frei has proven to be one of the better picks in the 2009 draft. (Getty Images)

We are nearly halfway through the 2009 campaign and it is a good time to review how the rookies are doing thus far. As stated before I think this year’s rookie class has been one of the better ones that we have seen in recent years. Plenty of rookies are getting a chance on the field and some are making very good impacts with their clubs.

For me right now the rookie of the year race is really starting to heat up. A few guys have really shown they are worthy of the honor already and continue to do so each week. While I won’t go into any particular order with this list I will say the few that are mentioned are definitely above and beyond the rest of the class here.

Steve Zakuani (Seattle Sounders FC): The number one pick continues to impress me. I knew a while back that this kid had some special talent and I believe we are seeing just that here this season. Currently he has two goals and three assists on the year. His number may not jump out to some but his skill on the field definitely do to me. Right now he has to be considered a front-runner for ROY honros. Good to see a number one pick live up to the expectations of the pick.

Stefan Frei (Toronto FC): I think Frei has made a lot of clubs second guess themselves this year to why they didn’t pick him until Toronto did late in the first round. He’s already proven himself to be a quality starter in the league. Hell he’s even gotten Toronto’s old keeper out of a job because of his play. While he has let in a few more goals than other keepers out there a lot of that could be due to the defense that plays in front of him, though I think that could be changing soon.

Rodney Wallace (DC United): When DC selected Wallace at the draft I had a good feeling for them with that selection. Wallace has shown a lot of growth in his first season with the club and continues to be a headache for other clubs with his runs out of the back. Also his defending hasn’t been too shabby either.

Chris Pontius (DC United): A lot of United fans hated this pick back in January. And I mean a lot! Fast forward to today and United is in first place in the east and some of that is due to the play of Pontius who is third in scoring for DC. Just like fellow rookie Wallace, he has seen action in every game this season for DC. Not a lot of rookies can say that. I see nothing but good things for this kid’s MLS future.

Darrius Barnes (New England Revolution): One thing I am sure of is that Steve Nicol sure knows how to pick them. A late selection in the draft was Barnes but none more valuable to New England this season who have been through a lot of injuries in defense. Barnes has been one of the better defenders in the league this year and I think he could easily grow into one of the top defenders in the league in a couple years.

A few others to watch out for:

Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy): Has shown plenty of potential in the back for LA. Still gives up a few chances for other clubs but that may be partly due to the fact that he is surrounded by a fairly young defense with a couple older veterans.

Sam Cronin (Toronto FC): Nearly put him in the top group but he is just outside of it for me right now. He’s played a lot of minutes for this club already this year and I think his value will continue to show as the season moves forward.

Matt Besler (Kansas City Wizards): Another guy that has seen a lot of minutes this season for his club. Besler has shown some good promise for a young club.

Kevin Alston (New England Revolution): When healthy he is as good as though in the top group. He hit a bit of an injury bug like the rest of his club earlier this season but he has returned to help get New England out of their early funk. I do believe he is a name that you could see eventually move to Europe in a few years.

Michael Lahoud (Chivas USA): Here’s a guy that is starting to see a lot more minutes here as the season goes on. So far I think he’s shown a lot of good potential for Chivas. I think given time he will prove to be one of the better picks in this draft.

Rodney Wallace has proved to be one of the best picks in the 2009 Draft. (Getty Images)

A lot has been said about this year’s draft class. Going into the draft a lot of people thought it was a deep pool of players, more so than it had been in a few years. After eight or nine games for most clubs you could say those people figured right. Many rookies continue to get plenty of minutes and impress folks in the stands with their abilities.

I figured instead of doing the usual look at the potential rookie of the year today to do something a little different. Instead I will be looking at each club’s selections once again. I’ll do most of the first round and a few random picks here and there from that with a few other notes.

Most of all the clubs who had first round selections used them wisely as we can all see. A few others did not though. Then you have the clubs that hardly picked at all. Those are tough to grade.

As always feel free to post your comments below on the subject.

Seattle Sounders FC: This club made a big splash with Steve Zakuani at number one who has lived up in my eyes as a number one pick. Definitely more of a Maurice Edu-type pick rather than a Nikolas Besagno-type number one pick. Which is a good thing for the expansion Sounders. Zakuani has done enough to make the Sounder draft class one of the better ones this past year.

Toronto FC: Two picks in the first round usually mean the club will do fairly well. While one pick (O’Brien White) hasn’t played yet due to injury, the other pick has certainly lived up to his pick number. Sam Cronin was a worthy number two pick in the draft. Either off the bench or in the starting lineup, Cronin has shown he has what it takes to help make this TFC club a contender. But TFC’s best pick was probably in the last first round pick they had with keeper Stefan Frei. He probably has made the biggest impact of the three first round selections.

LA Galaxy:What can you say about their top two selections? Omar Gonzalez and AJ DeLaGarza have become pretty comfortable in the starting rotation. Each took sometime to get use to the style of play in the league but they are a big part of the reason why this club has only lost a single game this year.

FC Dallas: Had some good selections in the first round. George John has proven to be a very good pickup for this club in the back, who really needed help defensively. Peri Marosevic will get his time. Not a bad draft but then again not the best.

DC United: Two picks in a row in the first round have led to arguable the best draft class for this club in a very long time. Both Rodney Wallace and Chris Pontius are mainstays in the starting lineup for Tom Soehn and each are making big time impacts for the Black-and-Red this season. Right now I would say they are both in the thick of things for rookie of the year. Also, third round pick Milios Kocic has been a good pickup for them in goal when needed. He was a very underrated pick at the time and proves to be maybe one of the best steals of the draft.

Kansas City Wizards: A club with loads of picks this past year. Matt Besler has been a good addition to this club’s defense and Graham Zusi saw decent minutes to start the season. Overall their draft proved to be a decent one but nothing too exciting.

New England Revolution: Another club with a lot of picks, the Revs went out in typical Steve Nicol fashion and got a few good steals. Darrius Barnes and Kevin Alston have been big additions to the club’s defense and I would say Barnes could be right up there in the discussion of rookie of the year. Come on, the kid was a third rounder!

New York Red Bulls: Jermey Hall proved to be what we all pretty much expect him to be. A good pickup. Other than that the Red Bulls really didn’t end up with anyone else that has done enough to improve this club.

Real Salt Lake: Ah, most felt it was the worst draft of any club and I have to still agree with that. Jean Alexandre has really done little of note to be a first round selection. Raphel Cox has decent potential though to make up for it however. I wouldn’t mind seeing him get more playing time for this club as it is.

San Jose Earthquakes: No first rounder and really no big impact selection. Brad Ring hasn’t played but third rounder Quincy Amarikwa is showing potential. Either way its a draft class for this club that few will remember in years to come.

Chicago Fire: With this club being deep already adding a few rookies is tough. None have even had a sniff at the starting XI, much less even time off the bench so far this season. It may be a come back in a year and see if anyone does anything of note.

Chivas USA: Another club with few selections. Michael Lahoud has seen some decent time off the bench for this club. From what I’ve seen out of him in person this kid has some real potential to make the Chivas draft class for this year a good one.

Colorado Rapids: Another so-so draft. None of the players selected have even seen playing time this season. Hard to even say it was a good draft in that regards.

Columbus Crew: Kind of the same as the Rapids. Though fewer selections, one guy has seen time with the club so far this season. I do think third rounder Alex Grendi has turned into a solid selection for the Crew. He’s seen his fair share of playing time already.

Houston Dynamo: The club that took the biggest risks in the draft are seeing any sort of reward from it. Hey we kind of expected it when they took Daniel Cruz and Marcus Tracy with their only picks that it would be a high-risk/high-reward type of thing.

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

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

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

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

Chivas Still In Front

Some how, some way this club continues to lead the pack. Another gritty win without the help of Sasha Kljestan. But what they are getting is loads of good defense (they lead the league in goals-against). Only three goals against in eight league matches. Not bad at all my friends, not bad at all. And you know what they say, defense wins championships.

Anyways, I’d say a big reason is right now Preki is getting a lot out of his back four and even more so out of Zach “Turn the clock back” Thornton. The big guy between the pipes is making me think it is 1998 all over again.

Scary part is this club is slowly getting healthier by the week. Justin Bruan is starting to get more involved with the attack and as San Jose found out that is not a good thing. Plus with more guys coming back like Sacha Victorine and Maykel Galindo it just shows how deep this club is going to be for the long run.

As for the Quakes, the winless streak is at six. May be time for Frank Yallop to redo some of his line up to make up for the defensive issues going on. But then again the offense isn’t looking any better right now either.

Salt Lake Falls In Colorado

Again, it was hard to get so hyped up about last week’s 6-0 win for Salt Lake when you knew they had to turn around this week and go on the road to rival Colorado.

RSL continues to show they are missing a piece or two when it comes to playing on the road. For a team that was suppose to contend this season, they sure don’t get me thinking they will with the way they play on the road right now. Teams who win championships and contend find ways to win on the road.

It didn’t help to be a man-down for the entire second half either. And that they lost keeper Nick Rimando early in the game too. But in all the offense never got going for RSL.

The Rapids controlled the pace of this one early and really never let the visitors in this one. It was good to see this club finally take a real ownership of their home field. Sometimes it takes a rivalry game to do that too. Plus this club really starting to get interesting. With the way the west is playing this year this club could very well contend for one of those two auto-bids into the playoffs.

Seattle Looks Strong In Draw

For an expansion club Seattle goes on the road in Chicago against the league’s last undefeated team and comes out looking very good despite playing a man-down for a good chunk of the game. Seattle showed some serious grit after going a man-down and trailing shortly after in the second half when Chicago’s Marco Pappa put the Fire on top.

Some how, some way the Sounders placed a call to Tyrone to get them level in this one. Tyrone Marshall’s game tying goal gave the Sounders their first draw of the season and at the same time giving Chicago it’s forth straight tie (fifth of the season too). Freddie Ljungberg’s corner kick to Marshall was just poor marking on the Fire’s part. To be a man up and leave a guy like Marshall that open was pretty bad to see.

I don’t know what it is about the Fire but at some point they are going to lose one here. While some clubs aren’t good enough to win the Fire are playing just good enough not to lose at the moment. Hey, whatever gets you by but at the same time they get starting to get passed in the standings. Draws look good for only so long.

As for Seattle goes, they lost Fredy Montero to the red card on a bad elbow to Gonzalo Segares, who had a pretty rough game overall. I really felt even though the Sounders played a man-down they really out-played the Fire late in the game. Chicago had the possession and shots early but just like most clubs this year they were unable to get anything by Kasey Keller.

DC Continues To Roll

Look at DC here. Hard to believe they are sitting atop the eastern standings now and only have a single loss on the year. Credit those veterans for stepping up and credit that defense for really putting a clamp down on guys like Kenny Cooper.

What can you say about the two goals by Jamie Moreno too? Too calm and cool goals got United the three points after dropping an early goal to Dallas’ Andre Rocha (nice corner by the way for Dallas).

Dallas really never got solid possession in this one and that was due to DC stepping up their midfield play. DC pressed early and often in this one behind Moreno, Luciano Emilio and rookie Chris Pontius.

Defensively for Dallas they are still struggling. Schellas Hyndman can’t seem to get a grip on who to put in the middle of his defense and until he does his club will continue to give up easy goals down the middle of the pitch like they did on Saturday.

DC is improving each week here folks. Rookies are stepping up due to quality play of veterans and Tom Soehn’s club may be one to contend with here this season.

LA Gets First Win

Someone told me the other day that the best thing to happen to Chicago in the past two years was not landing Blanco or McBride but it was losing Juan Carlos Osorio. For some reason his club is still a mess despite new players starting to get playing time on a regular basis.

This one was pretty boring for the most part anyways. LA had the better chances overall but there weren’t that many to begin with. Neither club was holding possession too long but neither was creating many scoring chances either. LA lead the way with six attemps (five on goal) but New York only mustered up three shots and only one of those was on frame.

LA got their first win but this club still doesn’t look like a winner to me. Once they lose Landon Donovan this summer to Gold Cup and other national team duties they will easily stay near the bottom of the standings.

New York on the other hand is more confusing by the week. Osorio-watch may be in full force since his high-speed offense couldn’t even get more than one shot on goal against a club like LA. It wasn’t like the Galaxy defense stepped up their game for once it was more like New York couldn’t get their game going. While the Galaxy may not be a big winning club this season New York is quickly playing themselves out of playoff contention here before summer hits.

Crew Still Winless

Watching this game I made the classic mistake of walking away for a few minutes and missed both goals (left the room to see the news on the Cowboys training facility collapse). Anyways, Columbus again handled the Reds but were unable to get the three points again.

The Crew dominated the first half and had plenty of good chances on goal. Stefan Frei came up big for the Reds time and time again but early in the second half Emmanuel Ekpo’s sweet finish gave the Crew the lead for a few minutes. Chad Barrett got the homeside on the board no more than 10 minutes late to level the game.

The second half really was owned by Toronto after the Barrett goal. Mostly I think it was due to the subbing out of Guillermo Barros Schelotto midway through the second half. Without GBS the Crew weren’t holding possession well and weren’t getting the best passes in the offensive third of the field.

Columbus near got the lead back with Pat Noonan late in the second half but once again Frei came up big for Toronto.

A win for Columbus is coming though. You can sense it as they continue to improve each week here. The toughness that wasn’t there early on this season is starting to come back and once they get fully healthy the wins should start coming. Thing is before long it could be too little too late with the way some clubs are playing so far this season.

Toronto on the other hand is playing well. Another solid draw keeps them in the thick of things in the eastern conference. Now they have to turn their attention to the Canadian Cup this weekend when they host Vancouver on Wednesday.

Houston Starts To Catch A Break

Once Stuart Holden realized he was the man to lead Houston this season things started to click. That was the case yesterday as Houston finally caught a break and got out of their regular season funk against the Revs.

New England again failed to generate any sort of offense this week with only three shots in the game. The Revs’ only shot on goal didn’t come until just after the hour mark when Jeff Larentowicz header failed to do anything more than to give Pat Onstad something to do for once. Houston really controlled this one from start to finish with Holden and Brian Ching.

Once again it came down to a young defensive line in front of Matt Reis that caused New England to fall in this one. They weren’t able to handle any sort of pressure that Houston put on them as the Dynamo registered 14 shots in the game.

Until New England can get healthy again here this season they will continue to play this way. A bright spot though was seeing Taylor Twellman on the bench for this one as a sub. Apparently he isn’t too far from coming back which is something New England really needs to have at this point.

Houston is starting to really look good here. They still have some catching up to do out west but as we’ve seen out of them before, sometimes slow and steady wins the race.

Its early so far but its worth going in to see who has the best shot after the first couple weeks.

So far this won’t be in any particular order but if you have an order to who you think is leading the rookie pack this early feel free to post below. If you think a rookie needs to be on this list, just post below.

Steve Zakuani, Seattle Sounders FC – I think we are all seeing why this kid was picked first by Seattle back in January. And to think we had some questions about Seattle not picking him and trading away that top pick. Right now I think it is safe to say that the number one pick could be the leader in the clubhouse after three games. His one goal and one assist have helped lead the Sounders to their perfect record thus far.

Stefan Frei, Toronto FC – The record may not show and now that he is back on the bench will possibly hurt his chances but Frei definitely showed he was the best keeper in this rookie class. The three goals scored on him were more defensive problems than poor positioning on his part. Not many keepers would save those two goals by Davy Arnuad in week one.

Graham Zusi, Kansas City Wizards – While Zusi hasn’t done anything real special so far for KC he did carry a starting position for the first couple of games. It will be interesting to see if he can keep it up.

Kevin Alston, New England Revolution – Alston is one of two New England rookies to watch. He didn’t play this past week against Dallas but I look for him to be a mainstay (when healthy) for New England this year on their backline. I just thought in week one he did a great job of holding guys like Darren Huckerby and Arturo Alvarez to no goals.

Darrius Barnes, New England Revolution – Barnes is the other rookie for Steve Nicol. I think Barnes has been possibly the more impressive defender rookie so far this season in the entire league. Think about it, the Revs have only given up two goals in three games with rookies in their backline. It could be part poor offense on the other clubs but I would argue its a bit good defense on the parts of guys like Barnes.

Omar Gonzalez, LA Galaxy – The kid from Maryland has one impressive goal but that is about it really. He looked decent in the first game against DC but was absolutely smoked by Conor Casey and Colorado last week. I still think he will be one of the top rookies this year though.

Sam Cronin, Toronto FC – He hasn’t been a main starter just yet for TFC but he is getting plenty of minutes so far this season. I think he has the chance to be a real difference maker for this club this season. We just need to see more out of him here, that’s all.

Chris Pontius, DC United – Some hated this draft pick back in January, I think it is safe to say now that those who hated it aren’t quite as angry at it now. Pontius has been a steady addition to DC this season.

Toronto would move up to #1 and of all things Seattle would take some allocation and move down to #4. Yup, that would mean Toronto would own the top two picks. After all the talk about Toronto shipping the second overall pick to the best buyer this deal sounds more reasonable for Toronto.

Apparently this is all stemming from a poor MLS Combine for a couple players that Seattle had in mind for the top pick. Mainly Steve Zakuani isn’t living up to his billing at the Combine so far. Sure Combine results are tough to tell anyways from year to year but they do hold weight with clubs.

Plus the idea of getting some extra allocation for the expansion club is a smart move I think. Moving down to number four won’t be a big swing in the quality of player they could draft. Not to mention there could still be a outside shot that Steve Zakuani would fall to that spot if they were there. Toronto would be at the top two and would probably take Stefan Frei and Sam Cronin with the top picks. Some believe they will take Cronin only to deal him to someone else. Which I could see them do it with Omar Gonzalez as well.

Honestly I like this deal for both clubs if it turns out to be true. Toronto gets better in possible in areas they need help with; Mo Johnston gets to play the trade game like always; and Seattle gets some solid allocation and a good prospect for Sigi Schmid.

What do you all make of this possible pick swap between these two sides? It could be a domino effect that could change a lot of things in this draft.

Some see Husidic as the top attacking midfielder in this draft. His size (at 6’1″) gives him a good advantage over a few others in this draft. Also to go along with this size, his speed is also seen as one of his better assets.

I see Husidic as a mid-first rounder that could move up the board if he continues to impress in some workouts. The need for an attacking midfielder in this draft will be interesting to watch for a few clubs.

Husidic joins a pretty strong Generation adidas class that already includes Maryland defenders Omar Gonzalez, Rodney Wallace and midfielder Jeremy Hall, Akron striker Steve Zakuani, Cal goalkeeper Stefan Frei and Indiana defender Kevin Alston. Some reports suggest other targets Peri Marosevic and Michael Stephens are close to signing and could end up doing so by sometime this week.