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Which team has had the best offseason?

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

In light of the series of player moves that have happened this offseason, most notably this past week, a number of Major League Soccer teams have improved themselves significantly – at least on paper.

Although not many of the playoff stalwarts did much tinkering heading into 2011, some of the league's worst teams from 2010 have appeared to take large steps in closing the talent gap, which should make for a pretty exciting season, one whose opening game is less than a month away.

So who are some of the teams that have made the best moves to date?

D.C. United and Chivas USA come to mind as two teams due for large improvements in 2011.

United has acquired Charlie Davies, Dax McCarty, Josh Wolff, Joseph Ngwenya, Perry Kitchen, Rodrigo Brasesco, Ethan White and (for the time being) Pat Onstad in an effort to bounce back from one of the most futile seasons in league history.

With new coach Robin Fraser behind the wheel, Chivas USA has seemingly rebuilt its defense overnight, adding the likes of Jimmy Conrad, Heath Pearce and Zarek Valentin. The offensive side of the ball hasn't entirely been ignored, with the team picking up Alejandro Moreno and also trading with its Home Depot Center rival Los Angeles Galaxy for U.S. Under-20 striker Tristan Bowen.

D.C. and Chivas weren't the only ones to turn over their rosters for the better, though.

The Philadelphia Union seemingly rectified its goalkeeping problems by acquiring Faryd Mondragon from FC Cologne and Zac MacMath in the SuperDraft. In addition to that, Peter Nowak's side added pieces like Carlos Valdes, Brian Carroll and Chris Agorsor in an effort to make vast improvements in its second year in the league.

The Houston Dynamo are also in the mix when considering best offseasons. After a disappointing 2010,  the Dynamo added the likes of Hunter Freeman, Kofi Sarkodie, Will Bruin, Jermaine Taylor and Jason Garey while incorporating homegrown players Josue Soto and Alex Dixon.

As for a playoff team that made some bigtime adjustments, the Galaxy should be in the conversation. After losing Edson Buddle to Germany, the team brought in Juan Pablo Angel, Frankie Hejduk and Chad Barrett, among others, in an effort to return to MLS Cup glory.

Finally, a team like the Portland Timbers has also made some personnel headway, even if it's an expansion side. After the expansion draft, the Timbers managed to add Darlington Nagbe, Kenny Cooper, Sal Zizzo, Troy Perkins, Rodney Wallace and Jeremy Hall to its core group.

In your opinion, which team has had the best offseason so far? Cast your vote here:

 

How did you vote? Any teams not on the ballot that you think deserve mention?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. As a Chivas USA fan I disagree. We still lack offensive side. Justin Braun can’t do it by himself. Don’t count of Gordon.

    DC United has more potential to make a comeback.

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  2. That’s because the Fire just left for Florida where most teams are now wrapping up the most important part of preseason training. Hopefully the Fire can get a couple games against the U-14 Florida State Team. They should not be much better.

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  3. how ’bout them Crew?! oh wait…..worst offseason ever. ever ever. i mean, it’s a pretty solid offseason for a D2 team. or coca-cola league 2. or bundesliga-4. but a team that nearly 3-peated for Supporters Shield? i predict a battle for draft picks between cbus and the f!re.

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  4. How can you say that? The Chicago Fire will be ready this season!! They signed a couple great forwards…um, wait. The midfield has been hurt so they went out an got..oh. OK OK. The defense. That’s where they needed the most help and they got…oh yeah…Corey Gibbs. I guess he will have to win the ball out of the back, pass it to Gibbs out wide, serve it in to Gibbs for the header.

    This is going to be a great season for the Fire.

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  5. Yeah I’m amazed that RSL not only held onto all that talent, but actually added to it. They should be in the discussion as well…

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  6. Yeah, I don’t think anyone is arguing that DCU is going to be a Supporters Shield winner, but you can definitely make a case for most improved. A reasonable hope (for a DCU fan) would be to make the now 10-team playoffs. That simply requires being average and would represent a big leap forward after the disaster that was 2010.

    (OT: expanding the playoffs to 10 teams was a big mistake. What a head-scratcher!)

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  7. I think DC did very well in stocking attacking players. However, I am still concerned about our defense. Offseason was very good, on paper at least.

    RBNY had a very good offseason as well as the Timbers (can it even be considered an offseason for them?).

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  8. Not to mention the offseason allowed Henry to heal and get some rest, they “added” Marquez to their defense, and whatever else might be said about Angel, they removed someone who became a largely ineffective player from their offense and replaced him with youth and energy and what looks like a good nose for the goal in Agudelo. Other teams may have done more to improve their position relative to everyone else. But RB looks like it might have put itself a class above this offseason.

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  9. Everyone is sleeping on Chivas, it seems as though they have fixed there porous backline. As painful as it is to think, they will be one of the top teams in the west

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  10. So subjective as to who had the best off season. As a Red Bull fan I think we had a great off-season, with some a nice mix of young/home grown guys, as well as guys who have extensive Euro/International experience. Plus a full pre-season with Henry and Marquez.

    But…DC was so abyssmal last year, that with the talent they added to the couple of good young guys they had on the roster already, they’ve got no where to go but up. So I cast my vote from them.

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  11. RSL had the best off season. They had no real pressing needs, and didn’t waste money chasing players. They didn’t lose any key pieces. They did well in the draft.

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  12. DC United needed a squad overhaul, and that is exactly what has occurred. I believe they have brought in enough quality players to resume their role as perennial playoff contenders.

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  13. DC United brought in the most players, but they needed to. Overall, they caught up a bunch, but that just brings them up to the neighborhood that a lot of clubs were already at.

    The team chemistry plays a big part in MLS with the hard salary cap. Which team will get the most out of the players they have? That’s the question that I want the answer to – what, with so many teams that have similar levels of talent.

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  14. Has Ives even had any news about the Fire? Haven’t see much at all, preseason-wise.

    Would be nice if we could get a clue of how their preason games/training was going.

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  15. I agree. And the loss of the ever-classy and ever-dangerous Angel may also prove to have a silver lining, as it makes room for Agudelo. They also added a great young forward in Hertzog, and will get Nielsen back from injury. Finally, the decision to move Marquez to CB is another off-season “move” that will pay great dividends.

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  16. The Revolution bolstered their defense but didn’t improve AT ALL on their bottom-of-the-league offense. I’m not looking forward to a bunch of 1-0 losses.

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  17. You kind of need to show what went out before you can comment on the best offseason dont you think? Showing Angel in, but not mentioning Buddle out, for example, is pretty misleading.

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  18. I’d say Chivas if you include Robin Frazer and the new vision that he is bringing over from RSL. Purely from a player standpoint, I’d say DC United brought in the most new talent.

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  19. DC looks real strong IMO if Chuck D plays to 90% of what he was when he scored @ The Azteca and Dax/Kitchen play well all season. Don’t count out Houston – I think Dom Kinnear is a very good judge of talent and coach. The two kids from the draft should help and having Cameron back for a full (if he stays healthy) will be huge. They won’t be down to long.

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  20. What’s the happenings with Luis Gil? If he can come in and learn from some vets like Alverez, that would be a plus. Gil’s first touch alone could get him out of trouble, but his thinking needs to be quicker. Any indication he’ll be ready to contribute to RSL?

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  21. RBNY!!! We added a Brazilian midfielder Paullo, harworking midfielder Solli, looks like a proven international Tainio will be signed to add to the backline, and a wildcard in Luke Rodgers to come off the bench!! If you watched the first half against Chivas the other night, you got to see how potent and sharp we are gonna be this season. My vote is for the Bulls!!!!

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  22. RSL was arguably the best team in the league last season and lost little over the offseason (findley who was subpar; horst who was on loan). it didn’t need to completely retool so it simply strengthened its core by re-signing key players (saborio, borchers, johnson, rimando, paulo) and added alvarez (huge pickup), some nice draft picks, and a lucky lotto pick up (arnoux).

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  23. I think RSL’s off season has been flawless, although I don’t know if you can rate it as the best, since they didn’t need to transform a crappy team into something else.

    COYR.

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  24. Don’t kid yourself into thinking that Carrasco, Cruz or Meredith is any sure thing. Outside of Friberg we didn’t add any certainties. How that could be considered a “best offseason” is beyond me. No wonder other fans get annoyed with us.

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  25. DCU is out in front of this race and deservedly so, but the offseason (and window for that matter) aren’t over yet. Teams on this list, including Philly and Houston are liable to add at least one more big piece. This would be a great poll to do again on April 15.

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  26. For me, it’s got to be DC United. Their moves to add Dax McCarty & Perry Kitchen were outstanding. Then, to get Charlie Davies? In the pre-season videos I’ve seen and reports, he looks close to being the old CD9. Sure, he may not be ready for Ligue 1, but he seems like he’s ready for MLS. I believe that the Timbers took KCooper and that allowed DC United to be next in line for CD9. Imagine the Timbers with CD9 (if i’m not mistaken about the allocation order). The Timbers with CD9 instead of KCooper would be #1.

    My #2 would be the Timbers.

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  27. DC has had the beset off season with their signing of Dax, Kitchen and CD9 along with today’s announcement of Pat O back in goal. The mix of veterans, up and coming talent and a possible come back of one of our most promising USMNT strikers…that seals it for DC for me.

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  28. I’m a little hesitant to get too excited in the preseason, but I think DCU has made some very good moves. If they come together on the field, it could be a good season.

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  29. For improvements to their squads that will have an immediate impact, I’m torn between DCU and Portland. I want to see how good this kid Kitchen will be, that could tip the scales to DCU for me. LA had a good offseason because all their key players come into the MLS season well-rested and they acquired some nice additions, but their age is a concern over the season. The award for worst offseason goes to the Fire and Crew.

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  30. RSL. A very good side that lost virtually nobody (does Findley even count?) and added a few pieces here and there. Continuity is key if you have something that works ….

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  31. It’s DC of course mostly just based on the additions of Chuck D & Dax. If Perry kitchen has anything close to a ROY season DC will battle and can win games all season.

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  32. What about RSL? Their biggest (player) loss is Robbie Findley. They’ve locked up a bunch of core players for the long term and picked up Arturo Alvarez and Cody Arnoux … Sounds like a pretty good off season to me.

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  33. In a previous thread someone posted that 2011 Fire = 2010 United. Unfortunately, I agree with them. Buying season tickets this year is going to be painful.

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  34. I agree, I am jazzed about MLS around the corner with the Sounders, but there are many teams fans thinking the same thing because their teams got much better too.

    BUT you don’t even mention White !?!?

    He is a bit of a wildcard, but that could complete a straight, probably a straight flush, that the Sounders have been looking for complete for two years now.

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  35. Absolutely Seattle. We dropped high priced dead weight in Marshall and Sturgis. We gained young talent in Friberg, Tetteh, Carrasco, Cruz, and a backup keeper in Meredith/Ford.

    We also got rest and a full preseason for Nkufo and Fernandez. We DP’d Montero. We extended Ozzie’s contract.

    But most importantly, we got one year older together and healthy.

    Everything we did was an improvement except for losing Nyassi. But, we have guys that can fill his role probably better in Friberg, Fernandez, Montano, and Fucito.

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