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By AVI CREDITOR
Bravo to those of you who Fantasy MLS players who went Kansas-City-Wizard-heavy and selected Ryan Smith, Kei Kamara, Davy Arnaud and Jimmy Nielsen and cashed in last week. Now comes the bad news: They don't play again until Week 3.
They're not alone, though. With six teams off after playing just one match, only five fixtures grace the Week 2 slate. You, the fantasy manager, likely fall into one of three categories:
- You drafted in preparation of the schedule curveball and are all set
- You need to make multiple transfers to field a full squad
- You're willing to take a couple of 0s and save your transfers for another time
Houston Dynamo, Real Salt Lake, L.A. Galaxy, Chivas USA, New England Revolution, D.C. United, Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, Seattle Sounders F.C. and the New York Red Bulls are the only teams in action, but there are still plenty of fantasy points to be scored. Here are this week's player rankings by position:
FANTASY MLS WEEK 2 PLAYER RANKINGS
GOALKEEPERS
- Donovan Ricketts, LA – SuperClasico offers Galaxy week's best chance at a clean sheet
- Nick Rimando, RSL – Defending champs looked stellar vs. SJ; Houston attack still a work in progress
- Kasey Keller, SEA – NY attack is vastly improved, but Sounders D hard to crack at Qwest Field
- Matt Pickens, COL – Fire offense still adjusting to new parts; Rapids D performed well vs. Chivas
- Troy Perkins, DC – United home opener comes against punchless Revs
- Preston Burpo, NE – Kept Revs alive vs. LA, has good matchup with struggling D.C.
- Pat Onstad, HOU – MLS Cup holders provide killer matchup for any defense, even on the road
- Zach Thornton/Dan Kennedy, CHV – Thornton's return from injury would help the Goats, but either way they're facing an inspired LA attack
- Andrew Dykstra, CHI – Conor Casey, Omar Cummings will challenge first-year starter
- Bouna Coundoul, NY – Blanked Chicago, but Seattle will cash in if sloppiness is repeated
DEFENDERS
- Sean Franklin, LA – He hardly costs anything (110), has a great chance at securing the two clean-sheet points and Galaxy should have no problem scoring on Chivas to help the +/-
- Omar Gonzalez, LA – Same explanation, except he costs a bit more
- Leonardo, LA – Brazilian's debut at CB was sharp; Yes, I think L.A. will shut out rival Chivas
- Chris Wingert, RSL – Dynamo attack clearly missing Stu Holden, Ricardo Clark; good news for Salt Lake defense (aka Nat Borchers, Robbie Russell are OK to play in your lineup too)
- Jamison Olave, RSL – Physicality provides card risk (picked up yellow last week), but matchup is solid
- Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, SEA – Sounders defensive anchor likely to be tested by NY a bit more than he was last week
- Tyrone Marshall, SEA – Qwest is a fortress of sorts, and the centerback pairing of Hurtado and Marshall is a big part of that
- Marvell Wynne, COL – New team, new position, new-found steadiness. Regardless of if CB move is permanent, Wynne helps Rapids back line
- Geoff Cameron, HOU – Only because he actually plays midfield and is more involved in the offense; not a great matchup for Dynamo D
- Dejan Jakovic, DC – Hard to trust United defense after Kansas City debacle, but Juan Manuel Pena's arrival at other CB position should help, and NE offense isn't that potent
MIDFIELDERS
- Javier Morales, RSL – Reigning league Player of the Week set bar high for midfield play
- Steve Zakuani, SEA – Provided stellar service, disruption on the flanks in win over Philadelphia
- Freddie Ljungberg, SEA – Limped off vs. Union with back injury but should be ready for NY
- Juninho, LA – Brazilian can dish to quality finishers in attacking third
- Kyle Beckerman, RSL – Not necessarily because he'll score, but the team's potency means a great +/-
- Shalrie Joseph, NE – If fit, and he's still a question mark, he would provide serious boost against porous DC defense
- Joel Lindpere, NY – Preseason was no joke; Red Bulls have a midfield spark
- Brad Evans, SEA – It's already tough to keep this team off the scoresheet; just think about when Nkufo arrives
- Colin Clark, COL – Combines with Pablo Mastroeni, Jeff Larentowicz to form talented midfield with decent matchup; Chicago's midfield struggled in Week 1
- Santino Quaranta, DC – Don't think last week's -6 output will be the norm for United's playmaking midfielder
FORWARDS
- Fredy Montero, SEA – Looked like the dangerous Montero of early last season against Philadelphia, will test improved NY defense
- Landon Donovan, LA – Readjusting to MLS tempo and style, but Donovan-Buddle combo looked sharp against NE
- Edson Buddle, LA – Strong play, goal against NE an indicator of rebound season in 2010
- Omar Cummings, COL – First-week goal a beautiful strike; faces untested goalie in Dykstra
- Conor Casey, COL – Like with Cummings, first-year starting keepers are gold to goal-scoring strikers
- Robbie Findley, RSL – Speedy striker matches up well with Houston defense
- Fabian Espindola, RSL – Ditto
- Brian McBride, CHI – Shorter Rapids defenders helps veteran finisher's cause
- Juan Pablo Angel, NY – Not a great matchup, but JPA is always a threat to finish
- Jaime Moreno, DC – United look to rebound at home against young, wounded Revs
COACHES
- Bruce Arena, LA
- Sigi Schmid, SEA
- Jason Kreis, RSL
- Gary Smith, COL
- Steve Nicol, NE
- Curt Onalfo, DC
- Carlos de los Cobos, CHI
- Dom Kinnear, HOU
- Hans Backe, NY
- Martin Vasquez, CHV
Soccer By Ives League Standings (Top 10)
1. FC Byrd Turgler……………..57 points
2. BestofNW……………………56
2. Scarlets………………………56
4. Cpt. Pancakes and Lt………..54
5. Klarson……………………….52
5. sammysounder……………….52
5. Miles Davis FC……………….52
8. Zambezi Highlanders………..51
9. Teletubbyninjas……………..50
9. Vols FC………………………50
9. Les Bois Flying Ninj………….50
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How are you going to cope with this week's schedule? Who do you think is primed for the week's best performances? What's your lineup looking like?
Share your thoughts below.
Deadline is one hour before kickoff.
If you could not sub out Joseph two hours before kickoff, it was due to something other than the move deadline, such as salary cap, transfer fees, too many foreign players (limit is six), too many players from same team, etc.
In real life, of course. But a fantasy matchup against Casey and Cummings isn’t favorable, and much in MFLS is determined by team success. Chicago’s still figuring things out, and Colorado’s attack against an untested keeper doesn’t bode well for the Fire on the road.
no conde on the defenders?
though i’m in the top 45, not feeling this fantasy site. couldn’t sub out joseph two hours before last thursday’s kickoff even though NE didn’t play sat.
as well as all other kinds of concerns …
Lighter week=not competing with Final Four weekend
Why do some many teams already have byes? That is silly, where is the momentum to build off opening weekend?
When the time is closer SBI should do a challenge for the WC2010 brackets that are advertised on the side bar. Much easier to get participation for 1 month.
I’m going to get killed on bye weeks…I never keep up enough with who is playing when.
How do I join the soccerbyives division? I need a password.
Agreed about Colin Clarke (col), thought he looked dangerous against Chivas and his run actually led to Omar’s goal. I noticed SBI didn’t put many NYRB on the list this week, most likely because of the opponent. But I have faith in Kandji and I love Richards’ speed on the wings. Lindpere is a quality mid but will he get you points? He’s not going to score acrobatic full volleys every week.