How do you make the hottest team in MLS even stronger? You bring back the league's most valuable player.
That's exactly what will happen today when the streaking Columbus Crew welcome back MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto from a four-game injury absence, a stretch that saw the Crew win four straight.
Does that mean the Crew should roll tonight? Not necessarily, not when FC Dallas and sizzling striker Jeff Cunningham come to town. Cunningham has scored five goals in two games and always likes returning to his old stomping grounds in Columbus.
As we get ready for the weekend's match-ups, here is a look at the SBI MLS Power Rankings, which were pushed back due to some game in Mexico this week:
SBI MLS Power Rankings (Week 21)
1 (Last Week-1). Columbus Crew (9-3-9)
Last week- Beat San Jose Earthquakes, 3-0, last Saturday.
This week- vs. FC Dallas tonight.
Last Five (in MLS) - 4-0-1 in last five (W-W-W-W-T), unbeaten in last seven.
Outlook – Robbie Rogers with a great game and perhaps a message to Bob Bradley that he should be strongly considered for the next World Cup qualifier. Oh, did we mention the Crew win AGAIN without Guillermo Barros Schelotto. Scary to think what a rested Schelotto will do when he returns.
2 (3). Houston Dynamo (11-6-5)
Last week- Lost to FC Dallas, 1-0, on Thursday, beat Chicago Fire, 3-2, last Sunday.
This week- at Real Salt Lake tonight.
Last Five – 2-2-1 (W-LW-L-T)
Outlook – Rebounded well from tough loss to FC Dallas by putting together a quality offensive performance against Chicago in winning, 3-2. Ricardo Clark doesn't score many, but his finish on Sunday was quality. Geoff Cameron adds right back to positions he can play well.
3 (4). Los Angeles Galaxy (7-3-10)
Last week- Beat New England Revolution, 2-1, last Saturday.
This week- vs. Seattle Sounders tonight.
Last Five – 4-0-1 (W-T-W-W-W), unbeaten in six.
Outlook – Landon Donovan's great goal was the highlight of another solid team performance for a Galaxy squad that is looking very dangerous as we move toward the end of the regular season. Donovan Ricketts returning is a big boost, but Donovan's swine flu diagnosis is a cause for concern.
4 (2). Chicago Fire (8-4-8)
Last week– Lost to Tigres in penalty kicks on Aug. 5 (SuperLiga final); lost to Houston, 3-2, last Sunday.
This week- at Kansas City Wizards on Sunday.
Last Five – 3-1-1 (L-W-T-W-W).
Outlook – Tough week for the Fire, losing two games they played well enough to get better results in. Chicago desperately needs Wilman Conde back in order to help the defense get back to its stingy ways. The game this weekend looks easy, but KC will be playing for new coach Peter Vermes so the Fire won't have an easy time.
5 (7). Colorado Rapids (8-6-6)
Last week– Beat Chivas USA, 4-0, on Saturday.
This week- Bye week
Last Five - 3-2 (W-L-W-L-W)
Outlook – Big win vs. Chivas USA was good news, losing Colin Clark for the season is awful news. A bye week comes at the perfect time and you wonder whether the Rapids might call Terry Cooke and ask him to come back.
6 (6). DC United (6-4-10)
Last week- Beat Luis Angel Firpo in penalty kicks on Aug. 4 (CONCACAF Champions League); Lost to Real Madrid, 3-0, last Sunday (friendly).
This week- at Toronto FC on Saturday.
Last Five – 1-2-2 (L-T-W-T-L)
Outlook – D.C. United qualified for the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League, which was a good accomplishment, but one that will test the team's depth. D.C. has added some new pieces and will need them all as it begins a brutal stretch of matches beginning with today's visit to Canada.
7 (5). Seattle Sounders (7-5-8)
Last week- Lost to FC Barcelona, 4-0, last Wednesday (friendly); lost to Real Salt Lake, 1-0, on Saturday.
This week- at Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday.
Last Five – 2-2-1 (L-L-T-W-W), winless in eight straight on the road (0-4-4).
Outlook – Things aren't looking good for the Sounders, who should count themselves lucky that they may not face Landon Donovan tonight. Can the offense shake out of the funk its in? Can the defense hold up without the suspended Jhon Kennedy Hurtado? A loss tonight could drop Seattle as far as sixth place in the West.
8 (9). Real Salt Lake (7-8-5)
Last week- beat Seattle Sounders, 1-0, last Saturday.
This week- vs. Houston Dynamo tonight.
Last Five – 2-2-1 (W-L-W-L-T), unbeaten in past five at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Outlook – Can RSL keep up its solid form at home against a Dynamo team looking to rebound from a tough loss to FC Dallas? Will the attack generate chances without Yura Movsisyan, who is doubtful for the match?
9 (10). New England Revolution (6-6-6)
Last week– Lost to Los Angeles Galaxy, 2-1, last Saturday.
This week- Bye week.
Last Five - 2-1-2 in last five (L-T-W-W-T)
Outlook – Revs continue to find free time on the schedule, which doesn't hurt a team that could use time to get healthy.
10 (12). FC Dallas (6-9-5)
Last week- Beat Houston Dynamo, 1-0, last Thursday.
This week- at Columbus Crew tonight.
Last Five - 3-2 (W-W-L-L-W)
Outlook – Consecutive wins and a five-goal haul for Jeff Cunningham has FC Dallas rolling, but a stiff test awaits against the league's best team. Can Cunningham work his magic against his old club?
11 (8). Chivas USA (8-7-3)
Last week- Lost to Colorado Rapids, 4-0, last Saturday.
This week- at New York Red Bulls tonight.
Last Five - 0-5 (L-L-L-L-L), lost six in a row.
Outlook - Dropping a sixth straight loss is one thing, being smoked by four goals after having a bye week is downright ugly. If Preki's men can't win against the lowly Red Bulls then the Goats' playoff chances could be officially flat-lining.
12 (11). Toronto FC (7-7-6)
Last week– Tied Puerto Rico Islanders, 0-0, on Aug. 4 (CONCACAF Champions League); lost to Real Madrid, 1-0, on Aug. 7 (friendly).
This week- vs. D.C. United today.
Last Five – 1-2-2 (T-L-T-W-L)
Outlook – TFC has a vital Eastern Conference clash with D.C. today that will either revive Toronto's faltering playoff hopes, or officially drop TFC behind the pack in the chase for a first post-season berth. Will Lesley Fellinga help? Will Ali Gerba settle in and start to score some goals?
13 (13). Kansas City Wizards (5-7-6)
Last week- Bye
This week- vs. Chicago Fire on Sunday.
Last Five – 1-2-2 (L-T-T-L-W)
Outlook – Four-match winless streak helped seal the fate of former head coach Curt Onalfo. Now interim head coach Peter Vermes gets his chance to show why so many teams rated him as a top coaching candidate.
14 (14). San Jose Earthquakes (4-11-5)
Last week– Lost to Columbus Crew, 3-0, last Saturday.
This week- Bye week.
Last Five – 1-3-1 (L-W-T-L-L)
Outlook – So what direction are the Earthquakes headed? After giving away Ryan Cochrane to the Houston Dynamo, you have to wonder just what is next for this faltering club.
15 (15). New York Red Bulls (2-15-4)
Last week- Lost to W Connection, 1-0, on August 5th (CONCACAF Champions League).
This week- vs. Chivas USA tonight.
Last Five – 0-5 (L-L-L-L-L), winless in 12 straight.
Outlook – Red Bulls have nothing to play for but pride and avoiding the record books for futility. They catch a break this week in face the one team in MLS playing as badly as they have in recent weeks.
—————————————-
What do you think of this week's rankings? Think FC Dallas can stop the Crew? Will Seattle's road woes continue?
I agree!
I have a hard time with the continual praise of Donovan’s goal. After watching the replay repeatedly, it looks to me like it was a deflection off a defender so how can it be such a great goal????
Seriously though, who gives a sh*t?
haha “Shakes” why so testy mate? He was only joking. Internet bad asses like “Scott” are so scary haha.
Come on RSl
Yes, because the point of the comments section on a sports blog is just for people to say “I agree!” over and over again, and not to politely disagree, then discuss it.
Idiot.
– Scott
Shakes should come up with his Power Rankings so we can rag his opinion.
Fair enough Ives – I appreciate the expanded explanation.
– Scott
Scott, I don’t mind feedback and I appreciate you taking the time to write. So here’s what it boils down to. It’s easy to just look at standings and say why isn’t this team ahead of that team, or to say that Teams A and B have been worse in recent weeks, but that’s not really taking everything into account.
In the end TFC falls behind in two categories that tend to impact subjective rankings, streaks and quality wins. Of Toronto’s seven wins this season, five of them came against New York, KC and San Jose. The other two? Chivas USA and New England. The only one of those wins that could be considered quality at the time was the Chivas USA win because it came when the Goats were doing well. So if you’re not beating good teams, how are you going to move up that much?
Second, TFC’s longest unbeaten streak of the season is four, a 2-0-2 stretch in April and early May. Since then Toronto has been very inconsistent, with the only thing resembling a winning streak being two consecutive wins against the awful Red Bulls. You mention a team like Seattle and how they’ve been shutout in their past four matches (it’s actually three, the Barcelona game doesn’t matter here). Before that shutout streak Seattle had rattled off a six-match unbeaten streak (3-0-3).
So basically, if you’re not beating good teams and you’re not putting together lengthy stretches of quality soccer, how do you expect to move up the rankings? You don’t.
All that said, you’ve got a case for me putting TFC ahead of Chivas. I’ll give you that, but it’s really not that rock-solid, especially for a team that just got shut out two straight times by a USL team in an official competition. Given Toronto’s performance vs. DC, I think it’s safe to say they’ll move up.
I like TFC, think they’ve got great talent, and I’ve stated repeatedly on radio shows that they’re a team that I think could get into the playoffs and do some damage. I still think that, but to this point in the season (as in before today’s DC game, when I did these rankings), Toronto FC’s body of work had been disappointing and deserving of the ranking it currently holds.
In that case Ives, what about Seattle, who have (if I remember correctly) had four scoreless matches in a row now, and sit a measly two points ahead of TFC in the standings?
Their place in the standings would place them around 7-8, but their recent form would undoubtedly place them further down than that.
You’ve got teams with less points than TFC ahead of us, and you’ve got teams that have been playing FAR worse than us the past several weeks ahead of us.
I’m not trying to be one of those schmucks that complains about your subjective opinion of their team like some slavish fanboy – I’m just trying to understand the internal logic of your selections.
Anyway, keep up the good work. Despite my small quibble with this list, I am a fan of your website.
– Scott
So Shakes, your issues is basically that I put Chivas ahead of you even though they’ve been atrocious lately? Fair enough, but in the end you’re complaining about one spot.
The rankings are current form AND season to date, so no, FC Dallas doesn’t move into the Top five because of a hot few weeks, nor does Chivas USA stay in the Top Eight because it was great early in the year.
I still like TFC but the past few weeks have been awful, from the league play to the Champions League debacle. That’s why they’re 12th. If they start winning they’ll move up. Simple as that.
So… Chivas, who have lost six straight, rank higher than TFC. And DC United, who are ONE POINT ahead of TFC in the standings right now, and have the EXACT SAME record in their past five (1-2-2), rank six places higher than TFC in your mind?
Explain that, please.
I mean, either you base these “power rankings” off of recent form, in which case this discrepancy doesn’t make sense for reasons such as the ones I mentioned above.
Or, you base it off of the standings, in which case it also doesn’t make sense, since as I said, we are one point behind DC United, and are currently also ahead of teams like New England (games in hand don’t count as automatic wins).
I opened this entry expecting us to be around 8th or 9th – but 12th? Come on.
– Scott
as if all the european competition today wasn’t enough, we get to watch beckham v. ljungberg… me like.
Revs record = the number of the beast. 😉
It will be interesting to see how Columbus uses GBS today, with a CCL game looming early next week. I suspect he won’t go 90 minutes.