Photo by ISIphotos.com
Can anybody stop the Seattle Sounders?
After handily beating two teams at home, the Sounders went to BMO Field for what was supposed to be their toughest test to date.
So much for that.
The Sounders posted another multi-goal shutout, beating TFC 2-0 to take over the top spot in the SBI MLS Power Rankings.
As surprisingly good as Seattle has been, there are also some MLS teams that have been surprisingly bad. The Columbus Crew heads that list after two more losses to start the season 0-2-2. The Houston Dynamo also fall into that category as it too has failed to record a win.
Here are this week's SBI MLS Power Rankings:
SBI MLS Power Rankings (Week 3)
1. Seattle Sounders (3-0)
Last Week: Beat Toronto FC, 2-0, on Saturday.
This Week: vs. Kansas City Wizards on Saturday (Direct Kick).
Outlook: No Fredy Montero? No problem. Sounders went on the road and continued their dominant form. Freddie Ljungberg looks poised for a big year and Steve Zakuani is starting to have a Rookie of the Year look to him.
2. Chicago Fire (2-0-1)
Last Week: Beat New York Red Bulls, 1-0, on Sunday.
This Week: at San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.
Outlook: Showed great depth, heart and determination in beating New York despite being down a man for most of the match. Here is the real question: Who will sit when Cuauhtemoc Blanco is ready to start? John Thorrington's red card means Denis Hamlett should have another week before having a real tough decision to make.
3. New England Revolution (2-0-1)
Last Week: Beat FC Dallas, 2-1, on Saturday.
This Week: Bye
Outlook: The Sounders get the headlines, but the results New England has been able to put up in the first three weeks of the season despite missing several key players has been just as impressive. The bye week should bring the Revs closer to being full strength.
4. Chivas USA (3-0)
Last Week: Beat Columbus Crew, 2-1, on Sunday.
This Week: at Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday (ESPN2, 10:30pm)
Outlook: Preki's newcomers continue to impress as Eduardo Lillingston scores for the second straight week and the Goats stay unbeaten.
5. Toronto FC (1-1-1)
Last Week: Lost to Seattle, 2-0, on Saturday.
This Week: vs. FC Dallas on Saturday (4pm, Direct Kick)
Outlook: Surprisingly outclassed by Seattle, TFC has the perfect remedy for a rebound in a visit from FC Dallas.
6. Real Salt Lake (1-1)
Last Week: Beat Columbus, 4-1, on Thursday.
This Week: vs. D.C. United on Saturday (6pm, Direct Kick)
Outlook: Now that is the RSL team we thought we would see this season. If Robbie Findley is going to finish chances with any regularity then RSL is going to be the team to challenge Seattle in the West.
7. Colorado Rapids (2-1)
Last Week: Beat Los Angeles, 3-2, on Sunday.
This Week: at Columbus Crew on Saturday (7:30pm, Direct Kick)
Outlook: Conor Casey picks up where he left off last season as the Rapids post a rare road win.
8. D.C. United (1-0-2)
Last Week: Beat Houston, 1-0, on Saturday.
This Week: at Real Salt Lake on Saturday (6pm, Direct Kick)
Outlook: Is D.C. United's defense going to be better than we thought? If so, D.C. could be in for a bounceback season.
9. Kansas City Wizards (1-2)
Last Week: Beat San Jose Earthquakes, 2-0, on Sunday.
This Week: at Seattle Sounders on Saturday (10:30pm, Direct Kick).
Outlook: Wizards finally found their attack and the defense finally stopped the bleeding. Unfortunately for KC, its next stop is the suddenly scary trip to Seattle, where a sold-out Qwest Field and the unbeaten Sounders await.
10. Columbus Crew (0-2-2)
Last Week: Lost to Real Salt Lake, 4-1, on Thursday; lost to Chivas USA, 2-1, on Sunday.
This Week: vs. Colorado Rapids on Saturday.
Outlook: The two-game, four-day trip to the West Coast was always going to be tough, but the Crew just have not looked sharp all season. A return to Crew Stadium might do the trick.
11. San Jose Earthquakes (1-2)
Last Week: Lost to Kansas City, 2-0, on Sunday.
This Week: vs. Chicago Fire on Saturday (4pm, Telefutura)
Outlook: How do you go from dynamic attack that scores three in a half, to scuffling bunch that can manage just one shot on goal in an entire match?
12. Houston Dynamo (0-2-1)
Last Week: Lost to D.C. United, 1-0, on Saturday.
This Week: vs. New York Red Bulls on Saturday (8:30pm, FSC)
Outlook: While surrendering just one goal might be a decent performance for the defense, the Dynamo attack still looks off and we shouldn't assume that the arrival of Ade Akinbiyi is going to fix that.
13. Los Angeles Galaxy (0-1-1)
Last Week: Lost to Colorado, 3-2, on Saturday.
This Week: vs. Chivas USA on Saturday (10:30pm, ESPN2)
Outlook: The good news? Omar Gonzalez scored his first career goal. The bad news? The defense is still bad.
14. New York Red Bulls (0-2-1)
Last Week: Lost to Chicago Fire, 1-0, on Sunday.
This Week: at Houston Dynamo on Saturday (8:30pm, FSC).
Outlook: Red Bulls looked just plain awful in losing to a Fire team that played most of the match a man down. Albert Celades, Seth Stammler, Alfredo Pacheco and Jon Conway can't get into this lineup soon enough.
15. FC Dallas (0-3)
Last Week: Lost to New England, 2-1, on Saturday.
This Week: at Toronto FC on Saturday (4pm, Direct Kick)
Outlook: Schellas Hyndman's squad just isn't playing effective soccer and looks like a shell of the team you would expect with their roster. A road trip to Toronto isn't exactly the cure for a slump, especially not when TFC is coming off a home loss.
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Not much to explain this week, but here are some notes to consider:
Why didn't the Crew fall lower after a two-loss week? They have had a brutal schedule and I think they will turn things around soon enough.
I suppose you could swap the Red Bulls and Galaxy, but let's face it, both teams have problems so why nitpick about where they are when it's low either way.
That's all for now. Please feel free to share your thoughts on this week's SBI MLS Power Rankings in the comments section below.
Wow, you REALLY want Conway back as a starter? The team has been terrible in front of Danny and we’d be “rewarding” his playoff run with a lousy team by sitting him back on the bench?
Lame.
Most spot-on with just a few changes:
1. TFC would have to be below RSL, DCU and possibly Colorado. DCU for instance, has a better record and hasn’t played a stinker like TFC just dropped in their most recent match.
2. I’d put LAG below RBNY. While RB hasn’t looked good at any point this season, LAG has at no point looked even mediocre defensively. Barring a bad PK call and the failure of the ref to stop play with two players down and bleeding on the field, LAG is really close to being 0-2 with a Goal differential of -3 and 5 goals conceded. Things have really looked ugly in Galaxy-land.
STFU… Good one.
So fans in Toronto left before the end of a poor display in freezing cold conditions. Who really cares that much? There’s other reasons to knock TFC this week but to those of you giving their fans slack for that, STFU, grow up.
Of all the teams I’ve seen play KC and the Rapids seem to have the most potential to be this years returning team surprise.
( Seattle is a diffrent kettle of fish)
Is Steve Nichols is not the best coach in MLS then he’s tied for 1st with whoever is.
What the guy does what he has is just amazing year in and year out. Whichever team fires their coach first should hire Paul Mariner because he has worked with the best at understanding MLS talent,salary limitations and tactics and I am sure some if not all of it has rubbed off.
I think the hilarious thing is that normally the talk is all about when an expansion team will first, nick a point of someone, and second get their first win. For the Sounders, its when will someone actually nick a point of them? I’m certainly not saying the Sounders aren’t going to drop points this year…obviously they will…its just utterly unbelievable that they are the expansion team but all this talk is inverted from its norm.
hey u want to know what isn’t funny, all of these people saying NJ red metros that is about as unique as DC scum’s uniforms. Ok we got it we suck but that doesn’t make the stupid NJ think any more funny.
fenel:
So Chivas will be starting four forwards?
If Chivas is the second best team in MLS right now, I’m Smokey the Bear. They beat the impressive trio of Colorado, Columbus, and Dallas. Wow! Those three teams have a combined total of two wins in ten games!
I will say this for Chivas. It’s amazing what Preki can do with weak lineups. He seems to find a way to stay respectable no matter how many players he is missing.
Sigi Schmid is the best coach in the league? Columbus is playing like they are right now because they don’t have Sigi anymore? Really?
What a bunch of garbage. The Crew played pretty bad for significant periods of time under Sigi as well. Columbus was always going to be a team that was never going to repeat or even necessarily be better than average again. I will give credit to Schmid for realizing this and jumping from a can’t win situation to a can’t lose situation, but then again, who wouldn’t?
Given Columbus’ offense by committee, and it’s over dependence on the aging Schelotto, and the obvious hot cold nature of the players involved in said offense by committee, there was no way Columbus was ever going to come even close to a MLS Cup again.
They have no offense! Eddie Gaven? Robbie Rogers? Alejandro Moreno? Jason Garey? Steve Lenhart? The forever injured and inexplicably missing Pat Noonan? What a great combination of players who are either no good or only get hot for brief periods of time, if that. I would have run from this team if I were a coach. I feel sorry for Warzycha who is going to have to suffer the endless “it’s because we lost Sigi” comments. He should get some new players or resign because he is probably going to be fired at some point because some geniuses think this mediocre team is great and not playing up to it’s potential. The only way this team will play great again will be if GBS can have another great year (at least as good as last year), Eddie Gaven has a great year, Robbie Rogers has a great year, and two players out of Alejandro Moreno, Jason Garey, Steve Lenhart, and Pat Noonan have great years. Even then, that’s assuming the rest of the team plays as well as they did last year. Who see’s that happening? Even Hesmer is not looking too good at this point. I wonder if that’s because of Schmid?
You guys must hate chivas usa or something. Before the season began, they had chivas all the way down to 14 or 15. Now, they have a 3-0 records, and still they are being ranked at no. 4. Chivas usa is the second best team in the league right now (Period). Don’t forget to say, they are missing Razov, Gallindo, Victorine, Vaughn, Eskadarian, and Dan Kennedy. These are six starters.
@ Sterlinho:
Nope. -4 is pretty damn cold in Celsius, especially in April. Even in Canada. 50km/h winds don’t make it any nicer.
Seattle has definitely earned the #1 rating. The ownership/administration team had a very clear idea as to what they wanted to accomplish and executed their plan brilliantly. Portland and Vancouver take note!
I’d probably put Chivas in the #2 slot, but that’d be quibbling. And what’s the problem with FC Dallas/NYRB/Columbus this season?
I said last week that Ives had FCD rated too high at #15. I didn’t see anything Saturday that changed my opinion drastically. It was reassuring to see that FCD could score from the offensive half of the field though…
Now if we could just make games 45 minutes instead of 90…
Has anyone watched the KC-SJ highlights on mlsnet? What the HELL is with that camerawork?! Insane. Like a soccermom’s camcorder. Except she’s drunk. Add wobbling on a peg leg.