Top Stories

SBI MLS Power Rankings (Week 15)

MLS_Logo

Just when you think the Los Angeles Galaxy can be counted out, Bruce Arena's team finds a way to win.

Okay, so maybe the Galaxy still just have three wins all season, but beating Houston without Landon Donovan has to go down as the best accomplishment of the weekend.

It was a limited weekend on the MLS front, with several teams on byes (or in SuperLiga). One of the teams that did play was Real Salt Lake, which announced its official re-awakening with a 3-0 mauling of Toronto FC. Another West team that looks poised for a second-half surge is the Seattle Sounders, which toasted Colorado, 3-0.

One team that wasn't able to revive itself is the New York Red Bulls, which continue on a march toward one of the worst seasons in league history.

Here is a look at this week's SBI MLS Power Rankings:

SBI MLS Power Rankings (Week 15)

1 (Last week- 1). Houston Dynamo (8-3-4)

2008_019_2 

Last week– Lost to Los Angeles Galaxy, 1-0, on Sunday.

This week– at Kansas City Wizards on Saturday.

Outlook– Came out flat vs. Galaxy and looked nothing like the streaking team that rocketed up to the top spot in the rankings.

2 (2). Chivas USA (8-4-3)

2008_014 

Last week– Bye (Lost to Chicago Fire, 1-0, and tied Pumas, 0-0, in SuperLiga).

This week– Bye

Outlook– Ready to return to league action after going winless in SuperLiga.

3 (6). Seattle Sounders (6-3-7)

Seattle Sounders FC - JPEG      

Last week– Beat Colorado, 3-0, on Sunday.

This week– Bye

Outlook– Fredy Montero has that look again and the Seattle offense finally finished off its chances. A second-half surge looks very likely for Sigi Schmid's squad.

4 (3). Colorado Rapids (5-3-6)

2008_015_3 

Last week– Tied FC Dallas, 1-1, on Wednesday; lost to Seattle Sounders, 3-0, on Sunday.

This week– vs. Chicago Fire on Saturday.

Outlook– Dropping points at home to improving FC Dallas side was disappointing, but the Rapids do get Conor Casey back from national team duty, while Colin Clark departs for the Gold Cup.

5 (4). D.C. United (5-3-8)

2008_017

Last week– Bye Week

This week– at Columbus Crew on Saturday.

Outlook– East Leader isn't standing pat, with roster tweaks taking place as D.C. prepares for the second half of the season. Stiff test awaits at Crew Stadium.

6 (5).  Columbus Crew (5-3-7)

2008_016_2

Last week– Beat New York Red Bulls, 1-0, on Saturday.

This week– vs. D.C. United on Saturday.

Outlook– Crew will be losing Chad Marshall and Robbie Rogers to the Gold Cup, meaning the bench will be tested yet again.

7 (7). Chicago Fire (5-3-6)

2008_013_2 

Last week– Bye (Beat Chivas USA, lost to Tigres, in SuperLiga)

This week– at Colorado Rapids on Saturday.

Outlook– Fire will miss Logan Pause during the Gold Cup, but SuperLiga performance show once again just how deep this team is.

8 (8). Kansas City Wizards (5-5-4)

Kc_wizards_logo

Last week– Bye (Tied New England, lost to Santos Laguna, in SuperLiga)

This week– vs. Houston Dynamo on Saturday.

Outlook– Didn't do well in SuperLiga, but can now focus on making run at playoff spot. Losing Jimmy Conrad and Davy Arnaud for Gold Cup won't be easy, especially with Houston coming to town.

9 (11). Real Salt Lake (5-6-4)

2008_024

Last week– Beat Toronto FC, 3-0, on Saturday.

This week– vs. San Jose Earthquakes on Friday.

Outlook– Followed up strong showing vs. Houston with a dominating effort vs. TFC. Could Jason Kreis' team be ready to regain its early-season form? Losing Kyle Beckerman to the Gold Cup will be tough, but RSL still has an attack dangerous enough to carry them.

10 (9). New England Revolution (4-4-4)

NE Revs  

Last week– Bye (tied Kansas City, beat Atlas, in SuperLiga)

This week– at Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday.

Outlook– As if losing Taylor Twellman indefinitely isn't bad enough, the Revs are dealing with a rash of key injuries as they prepare to play the extra games in hand on their schedule.

11 (10). Toronto FC (6-6-4)

2008_026 

Last week– Beat New York Red Bulls, 2-0, on Wednesday, lost to Real Salt Lake, 3-0, on Saturday.

This week– Bye week.

Outlook– Smacked around by RSL, Toronto is looking ahead to what is shaping up to be a very busy summer transfer period.

12 (13). San Jose Earthquakes (3-8-3)

2008_025_2 

Last week– Bye

This week– at Real Salt Lake on Friday.

Outlook– San Jose had a week to rest and savor its win vs. LA, now comes a crucial Western Conference match in the Earthquakes quest to try and grab a playoff spot.

13 (14). Los Angeles Galaxy (3-3-9)

2008_021_2

Last week– Beat Houston Dynamo, 1-0, on Saturday.

This week– vs. New England Revolution on Saturday.

Outlook– Do we ever really know which LA team is going to show up? With Landon Donovan on the way back from South Africa, and David Beckham set to return from AC Milan, the Galaxy sit an impressive three points out of a playoff spot. 

14 (13). FC Dallas (3-7-)

2008_018 

Last week– Tied Colorado Rapids, 1-1, on Wednesday.

This week– vs. New York Red Bulls on Saturday.

Outlook– Schellas Hyndman's squad is playing much better these days and will have a chance to scoop up some valuable points against a Red Bulls team that hasn't won on the road (in the regular season) in ten years (okay, two). 

15 (15). New York Red Bulls (2-11-4)

Red_bulls_logo

Last week– Lost to Toronto FC, 2-0, on Wednesday; lost to Columbus Crew, 1-0, on Saturday.

This week– at FC Dallas on Saturday.

Outlook– As if all the losing isn't enough the club is now faced with a rash of key injuries. The MLS season is lost, but the Red Bulls are revamping their roster with the hope of salvaging the CONCACAF Champions League and building some momentum heading toward 2010.

—————————————-

I will add some Week 15 thoughts shortly. For now, give me your thoughts. Think Houston still deserves the top spot after losing to LA? Do you see Seattle regaining its early-season form? Do you believe that Real Salt Lake is ready to turn things around?

share your thoughts on this week's MLS Power Rankings below.

Comments

  1. Big game for my Sounders vs the Timbers in Open Cup play tommorrow. It is on FSN Northwest for those of you who can get the station I think USLive.com is going to show it on the net. The URL may be wrong but it is on Jose Miguel Romeros Sounders blog on the Seattle Times Sports page for details.

    Reply
  2. Nothing to do with Chicago Ives, I’m a Toronto fan. I just don’t think a team with 1 win in their last 6 games (and that isn’t counting SL) doesn’t deserve to be in 2nd place.

    now, who does is a good question. I’d say Columbus.,…who in the same period have played 7 games, W4 T2 and L1. 14pts compared to CHivas’s 5.

    Still, fair enough, each to their own.

    🙂

    Reply
  3. Most overranked teams on here have to be Columbus and DC. The Few have lot to both Dallas and TFC, and DC has two games in hand, that could put it out of the playoffs.

    Reply
  4. Trying to figure how SJ move up by not playing a game when FC Dallas tie and LA wins a big game. I know this is the bottom of the table but in Dallas that is all we have right now.

    Reply
  5. I think Houston’s loss to LA should be attributed to some suspect coaching on the part of Dominic Kinnear. Dom decided to play Stuart Holden as a defensive midfielder just behind Brad Davis. Holden did OK defensively, but he wasn’t given the freedom to make his slashing runs off the ball until late in the game. Corey Ashe also should have just been a late-sub; his speed was something the Dynamo could have used late in the game.

    Reply
  6. RSL has been a different team since tweaking the formation to a 4-3-3. The spacing and possession continue to get better with each game. RSL creates lots of shots with their possession style, their fate for the rest of the season will be determined by how well they can finish chances and put games out of reach. So far, RSL has struggled to hold 1 goal leads to full time.

    The playoff race in the west will be an absolute dog fight, especially if David Beckham can be successfully integrated back into the Galaxy lineup (no small task).

    Reply
  7. SJ ahead of LA? Really?

    Heck, they are behind in the standings, and LA has been w/out Becks all year and Landon lots.

    Reply
  8. Al, my man, I’m not sure how many ways I can say it. SuperLiga DOES NOT FACTOR IN TO THESE RANKINGS!

    As for Chivas USA’s recent slump, they dropped from first to second after losing to Houston and haven’t played a league match since the Crew game on June 14. They lost a pair of road games four days apart against two of the best teams in MLS (Houston and Columbus) and now I’m supposed to ignore their EIGHT wins and drop them? For who exactly? Seattle? They beat Seattle. Columbus? The Crew has THREE wins. Chicago? They lost three straight league matches before SuperLiga began. D.C. United?

    Let me guess, this boils down to you feeling Chicago should be higher since they “beat” Chivas USA and they did well in SuperLiga. Sorry but I don’t buy that one.

    Sorry Al, but that’s not how I see it or how I do my rankings. You are entitled to disagree, and you’re also entitled to do your own MLS rankings somewhere else. The internet is a big place.

    Reply
  9. Sorry , but no way is Columbus ahead of the Fire . Yes they are 2 points ahead of them temporarily but that is only because the Fire has not been playing league games. The Crew has lost to Dallas and were lucky to not have the Red Bulls get their first road win of the year. Besides, Columbus is a one trick pony , the Fire is the better ” TEAM “.

    Reply
  10. Ives, I couldn’t disagree more. The whole point of Power Rankings is it’s the current temperature of teams in the league. Else, you’d just as well list the table standings as it would be the same thing.

    Since May 16th – 6 weeks ago – and just considering MLS play, they are W1, L3 T2.

    That’s not considering the W0, L2, T1 record in MLS.

    They’re in just awful form and aren’t even clsoe their early season form. I don’t know how you can even consider they’re due the #2.

    Reply
  11. Trent, the Crew didn’t drop a spot for winning, they dropped a spot because Seattle jumped past them. And yes, the Crew did win, but they didn’t exactly dominate against the worst team in the league, a team made even worse than usual by several key injuries. I know a win is a win, but Seattle’s win was MUCH more impressive, which is why they moved up.

    And if the Crew shut out DC and win they will move up.

    Reply
  12. Crew dropped a spot for winning. I would hate to see what happens to them when they shut out DC. Maybe put them down to 8th?

    Reply
  13. Houston was not houston when they played LA….not only did we lose hainult, we had injuries to barrett and waibel….not to mention we had brad davis in a spot he’s not used to….Its going to be tough losing some of our guys…..HOUSTON WILL BE IN THE PLAYOFF THOUGH….No Doubt.

    Reply
  14. I hope RSL is starting its swing the other way.

    I also noticed the top four teams are from the West, so I don’t want any more of this East better than the West stuff.

    Reply
  15. KC and Houston both lose players to the Gold Cup. Maybe Houston is worse off losing Ching and Holden.

    BTW, Ching played for Houston the whole Confederations Cup. Makes me wonder about BB’s decision to leave him off the roster. While BB did include an injured Bocanegra he left Ching off. Seems interesting to me that a coach so maligned for not taking chances and not being able to change would do such a thing. Interesting…..

    Reply
  16. Thanks for putting back the results, schedule and outlook. I missed it last time.

    No real complaints about the ratings, for me. I could see Chicago a bit higher, but I don’t know which team above them deserves to fall. I also feel like New England could be a bit lower, but again, who goes ahead of them? Maybe Toronto, but that would be hard to justify after this past week.

    It would be difficult to move too many teams around with all the byes from SuperLiga play. After all, this is the MLS rankings, so SuperLiga probably shouldn’t be a factor. Overall, a good job.

    Reply
  17. Fair point Joe K, I included that disclaimer.

    And Al, SuperLiga results don’t factor into these rankings. Not all teams are in it and the teams in it don’t all approach it the same, so those results are meaningless with respect to these MLS rankings.

    Even with the recent slump Chivas USA still has two more wins than anybody else and has a game in hand on Seattle. There are other rankings that can be debated, but Chivas USA’s No. 2 spot really isn’t one of them.

    Reply
  18. The Fire are losing more than just Logan Pause to the Gold Cup. GK Jon Busch is also on the U.S. roster while LB Gonzalo Segares is with Costa Rica. Tim Ward can cover for Pause with Prideaux covering on the right or left and either Washington or Woolard filling in the last defensive opening. Andrew Dykstra is the backup GK and should start tonight in their Open Cup match vs Wilmington. Luckily Guatemala is not in the tourney so Marco Pappa will be available, but the Fire have other midfield options in Mapp and Banner.

    Reply
  19. hey, it hasn’t really been 2 years for the red bulls. only 2 years without a regular season win on the road.

    why not count the playoff wins?

    Reply

Leave a Comment