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Just when thought the playoff race was easy enough to track, now 13 of 14 teams have put themselves in position to try and qualify with just a month to go in the season.
Kansas City, FC Dallas and Los Angeles all posted victories last week to help resurrect playoff hopes that looked to be fading. Those wins, coupled with losses by the Red Bulls, Chicago, D.C. United and Real Salt Lake made it that much tougher to try and rank the teams when there is so little seperating them.
Here are this week’s SBI MLS Power Rankings:
SBI MLS Power Rankings
1 (Last week-1). Columbus Crew (14-6-5)
Last Week: Beat New York Red Bulls, 3-1, on Thursday.
This Week: at New England on Saturday.
Last Five MLS Games: 4-0-1
Outlook: Unbeaten in six (5-0-1), the Crew look very good heading into its showdown with the Revs. Will Schelotto be fit? Columbus will need him against a recharged New England squad.
2 (2). Houston Dynamo (10-5-9)
Last Week: Game vs. San Jose was postponed, tied San Francisco of Panama, 0-0, in CONCACAF Champions League on Tuesday.
This Week: at Toronto FC on Saturday.
Last Five MLS Games: 3-1-1
Outlook: Week off due to Hurricane Ike could wind up helping the Dynamo as a congested part of the schedule hits.
3 (4). New England Revolution (12-7-6)
Last Week: Tied Colorado, 1-1, last Saturday.
This Week: vs. Columbus on Saturday.
Last Five MLS Games: 1-1-3
Outlook: Showdown vs. Columbus is New England’s best chance to catch the Crew. How much will the Revs’ 4-0 loss to Columbus earlier this month weigh on their minds?
4 (5). San Jose Earthquakes (7-9-8)
Last Week: Game at Houston was postponed.
This Week: vs. Real Salt Lake.
Last Five MLS Games: 3-0-2
Outlook: Will the week off kill the Earthquakes momentum? Don’t count on it. Not when they’ll be playing at home against an RSL team that has started to fade in the standings, and boasts the worst road record in MLS.
5 (9). Chivas USA (9-10-6)
Last Week: Beat Real Salt Lake, 1-0, on Saturday.
This Week: vs. Kansas City on Saturday.
Last Five MLS Games: 3-1-1
Outlook: With the lineup getting healthier, the Goats have found a nice run of form lately, but things won’t be easy this week against a hungry KC team that has found its stride.
6 (3). Chicago Fire (11-9-5)
Last Week: Lost to FC Dallas, 4-1, on Sunday.
This Week: vs. Los Angeles on Thursday.
Last Five MLS Games: 2-3
Outlook: Two straight losses by the combined score of 6-1 has to have Fire coach Denis Hamlett concerned. The real question is why is the offense still struggling with McBride and Blanco on board?
7 (6). New York Red Bulls (9-8-8)
Last Week: Lost to Columbus, 3-1, last Thursday
This Week: vs. Colorado on Saturday.
Last Five MLS Games: 2-2-1
Outlook: Offense was flat awful vs. Columbus, failing to create chances and putting the defense in tough situations. Now comes Colorado in a game the Red Bulls need to win to stay ahead of the pack in the East, and to put some pressure on Chicago for third place.
8 (11). Colorado Rapids (9-12-4)
Last Week: Tied New England, 1-1, last Saturday.
This Week: at New York Red Bulls on Saturday.
Last Five MLS Games: 2-2-1
Outlook: Unbeaten in three straight, the Rapids will need to win at Giants Stadium to avoid being passed up by the suddenly lively bottom of the West standings.
9 (14). Kansas City Wizards (8-9-8)
Last Week: Beat Toronto FC, 2-0, last Saturday.
This Week: at Chivas USA on Saturday.
Last Five MLS Games: 2-2-1
Outlook: With the offense awakened, the Wizards have the look of a team ready to grab a playoff spot. Chivas USA will offer a tough test but Wizards just might have the momentum to pass D.C. in the East.
10 (7). D.C. United (10-12-3)
Last Week: Lost, 5-2, to Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday.
This Week: at CD Marathon on Wednesday (CONCACAF Champions League), at FC Dallas on Sunday.
Last Five MLS Games: 1-2-2
Outlook: Don’t look now but D.C. is winless in four straight and just had its defense ripped apart by the Galaxy. Now comes a road game against an FC Dallas team that just put up a four-spot on Chicago. With Kansas City charging, and Marcelo Gallardo sidelined, D.C. is in real trouble.
11 (10). Los Angeles Galaxy (7-10-8)
Last Week: Beat D.C. United, 5-2, last Saturday.
This Week: at Chicago on Thursday.
Last Five MLS Games: 1-2-2
Outlook: Was the blowout win vs. D.C. an illusion, or a real sign that LA is ready for a playoff run? It’s tough to count out any team with Landon Donovan and David Beckham, but the comeback could end on Thursday. Anything less than a win and the Galaxy’s chances will fade before they ever got really started.
12 (12). FC Dallas (7-9-9)
Last Week: Beat Chicago, 4-1, on Sunday.
This Week: vs. D.C. United on Sunday.
Last Five MLS Games: 1-2-2
Outlook: Hoops snapped a five-match winless run in a big way and now comes a match against a sliding D.C. squad. Is Jeff Cunningham really ready to turn it on late in the year? Can Kenny Cooper keep it up?
13 (8). Real Salt Lake (8-10-7)
Last Week: Lost to Chivas USA, 1-0, last Saturday.
This Week: at San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.
Last Five MLS Games: 1-3-1
Outlook: Can RSL stop the free fall? Real Salt Lake must find a way to win on the road for just the second time this season, and do so against an Earthquakes team unbeaten in nine matches.
14 (13). Toronto FC (7-10-5)
Last Week: Lost to Kansas City, 2-0, last Saturday.
This Week: vs. Houston on Saturday.
Last Five MLS Games: 0-3-2
Outlook: A season that showed so much promise early on has officially flat-lined. Auditions for 2009 are underway and it will be interesting to see which players step up and show they’re worth keeping around next season.
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What do you think of this week’s rankings? I should point out that choosing between team’s 5-13 is tough because there’s just so much parity. Recent form is the big criteria with so many teams so close together. Take Real Salt Lake. I have them 13th but they’re not that much worse, if at all worse, than No. 8 Colorado, but the Rapids have been better lately and thus get the nod.
Share your thoughts on this weekend’s power rankings in the comments section below
^^^ Love Faux’s comment!!!
^^^
…and here, we have Exhibit A in why I hate the Canadian Neo-Scum.
Low attendance jokes are both new and relevant! Who needs the playoffs when you can sit in a packed house full of camera whores, wanna-be hooligans and trend seekers?!
“Toronto at the bottom brings a smile to my soul.”
And yet despite that, we’ll still outdraw your team this week.
I don’t like these power ratings, they say very little that a general table does not. Let me plagiarize Groovester from another post and offer an easy solution, which would allow the Islanders a chance to play in MLS: In a better world
MLS
Columbus 47
New England 42
Houston 39
Playoffs
____________________________________________
Chicago 38
New York 35
D.C. United 33
Chivas USA 33
Kansas City 32
Colorado 31
Real Salt Lake 31
FC Dallas 30
Los Angeles 29
Relegation
___________________________
San Jose 29
Toronto FC 27
________________________________
USL
Puerto Rico 54
Vancouver 53
Promotion_________________________________
Montreal 42
Rochester 41
Charleston 40
Seattle 40
Minnesota 39
Carolina 37
Miami 34
Atlanta 34
Portland 31
Way too many teams make the playoffs, making the regular season boring. When will MLS fix this issue?
RSL should be last. Alowing that goal to Esky deserves a drop to last.
RSL FAN….
Key missing personnel can have dramatic effects on results. The Fire with both Soumare & Pause out cannot be as tight defensively as when they’re both in there.
Chivas USA is way too high, they will strugle mightily against ANY opponet at this point. Only time will tell but I see already I’m not the only one on this one.
Ives,
I think your comments back to Seth were half-baked.
🙂
No question TFC belongs at the bottom. We have been a disgrace for much of this season. Not really sure what’s wrong with the team though and why.
“That being said, the whole ‘We lost with half our team injured’ argument is weak when your team’s players are always hurt.”
Amen. But that excuse comes from DC fans’ belief that their team is categorically better than anyone else.
Maybe after giving up five a few more times, they’ll rethink it.
Ives, you really don’t need to defend your rankings…like you said, they’re there so nerds like us can argue about them. That said, I should have chosen my words more accurately and not used the phrase, “not accurate.” My bad.
I still think Chivas is too high, haha.
Guys, I agree that I dropped D.C. too far down. They should stay ahead of LA because as bad as the 5-2 final score was it was 3-2 before the phantom red card on Burch. That being said, the whole “We lost with half our team injured” argument is weak when your team’s players are always hurt. That can’t be an excuse when it’s been going on all season. If D.C. could stay healthy it would be much better, but D.C. can’t stay healthy so it’s a moot point.
As for the other complaints, I’m sorry but I’m sticking with Chivas ahead of Chicago and the Red Bulls right now because Chivas has had a good run and Chicago has looked horrendous. It’s not just two straight losses, its losses by a combined 6-1 scoreline against two Western Conference teams not named Houston. That’s why they fall behind Chivas. The Red Bulls could make an argument for being fifth, but I’ll leave them where they are and see what happens against Colorado.
The standings aren’t purely a current form thing but when a team like Chicago, who has a few more points than the pack, looks terrible, and teams in that trailing pack have played well, you can have variations in the rankings.
And Seth, please explain what you even mean? All rankings are subjective and opinion. If you want to call them half-baked because you don’t agree with them then that’s your choice but I really don’t think any of the rankings are so way off.
As I said in the post, there’s so little seperating so many teams that you can go any number of directions with the rankings. What some of you fail to realize is that you aren’t objective when you look at rankings. The first thing you do is look at your team and start finding teams you think your team should be ahead of. That’s natural, I know, but there are no perfect rankings. Should I just list them by record? If I did that then San Jose, a team that is unbeaten in nine games, would be in the bottom four.
Agree or disagree with the rankings, that’s what they are there for, but to call them “half-baked” or say they are “not accurate” is pointless.
As much as this might sound odd, I think Blanco misses Barrett. Say what you will about his finishing but he made nice runs and was pretty good about keeping on sides. He made Blanco better because he was a good player for his style. I think if Nyarko with his pace comes back Blanco will be fine too, but with the current personal i think he does not do enough.
Brett –
What I’m looking for is an off-field spazz fest. I want him to flip and hit the coach in the face and moon the press box or something. I want him to give your boys the Terrell Owens treatment. Question Calen Carr’s sexual preference and hit on Mapp’s wife.
EDB and Brett are absolutely correct and Denis Hamlett is proving himself to be a good assistant coach.
One ugly loss without most of their starting lineup and suddenly DC is worse than even Colorado or Kansas City?
Of course these rankings are purely subjective, but I’ve officially stopped thinking that these are anything more than half-baked opinion.
Faux- lol, wheres a blanco melt down?? we seem to play quicker and better without him… not saying we would ever game, but just pointing out some facts….
rob c- these rankings are simply based on current form, not overall seasons…. chicago has had a 2 game crap streak…. while you could base an arguement, these rankings are simply based on how the team is currently playing based on where they placed on the rankings the previous week…
kingsnake- it apparently claims he was at the olympics with the US… well he was wih us during Quals… how reliable is that site?? i havent heard any rumblings from Celtics i know, except the trial he had when he rejected fire’s contract…
I think I disagree with these rankings more than I have with any previous ones. There’s no way Chivas should rank above Chicago or the Red Bulls. And LA at 10th? They’re still AWFUL. Sorry, these rankings are just not accurate.
“The real question is why is the offense still struggling with McBride and Blanco on board?”
well EDB has hit the nail on the head… with BMB it seems we play to many balls in the air… yes he’s good in the air, but for crying out loud play the ball on the ground and if the situation presents itself then play to his head… but he’s not super quick to play the long balls and he cant quite control the game with the ball at his head…. i stopped watching the FCD game at half time….
oddly enough, the fire play better without blanco… could simply be coincedence, but its there… blanco has been absent since the all-star game…. he has flashes here and there, but for how instrumental he is to the Fire, he’s gone and pulled a landon donovan :-/
I forgot . . .
Fixture congestion for the Scum. Stick a fork in ’em.
Toronto at the bottom brings a smile to my soul.
I really want a shot at the Champions League. Where’s a good Blanco meltdown when you need one?
S.O.S. TORONTO!
I think 6 is generous for the fire. They have looked terrible and the reason why the offense i think looks so much worse is because now they insist on playing so many passes in the air even though McBride is the only good player in the air.. they need to go back to ground passing where the whole team can be utilized
Crew-LA would make quite the attractive final.