photo by Mike DiNovo/USA TODAY Sports

By FRANCO PANIZO

It might still be early in the MLS season, but trends are beginning to emerge. Both good and bad.

Week 5 of the MLS campaign saw Orlando City haunted again by its nightmarish inability to finish, while the Vancouver Whitecaps kept on rolling to move atop of the Western Conference. For the Philadelphia Union, goalkeeping issues were again a major problem in a third straight defeat.

The week also saw plenty of goals and its share of drama, including Tissue Gate in Portland and the spectacular rally – or collapse, depending on your viewpoint – in Kansas City. It made for an eventful round of action, even if four teams sat out due to those frustrating early bye weekends.

Here are some thoughts following Week 5’s action:

IT’S TIME TO BENCH MBOLHI

The Philadelphia Union have given goalkeeper Rais Mbolhi chance after chance after chance, but it’s time for head coach Jim Curtin to pull the plug on this failed experiment. At least for now.

In yet the latest example of the Union’s mishandling of their goalkeeping situation, Mbolhi turned in the type of disastrous performance that he is becoming known for and it played a huge role in the Union’s stomach-turning 3-2 collapse to Sporting Kansas City. Mbolhi was completely to blame for Sporting KC’s first equalizer, coming off his line and whiffing on his attempt to grab it. He did not cover himself in glory on the other tying goal in second-half stoppage time either and was even worse on the Kansas City’s late winner, helplessly standing about on the goal line. Not even a statue of a Buckingham Palace guard would have been so still.

Mbolhi was not solely to blame for the defeat – Michael Lahoud, here’s looking at you – but it’s clear that his confidence, decision-making and form just aren’t up to snuff. It’s telling that a young veteran like Ray Gaddis had to have a talk in-game with a player like Mbolhi who has international experience and World Cup games under his belt.

Union CEO Nick Sakiewicz said that he felt the Union had three of the best goalkeepers in MLS after acquiring Mbolhi last year. Right now, with Zac MacMath in Colorado and promising youngster Andre Blake healing, Philadelphia has zero.

That might make it seem like Philadelphia is stuck having to go with Mbolhi for now. But Curtin has 2014 USL Pro Rookie of the Year John McCarthy on the roster, and there’s just no way that McCarthy can play much worse than Mbolhi at this point. Make the change.

MLS NEEDS MORE FLAVOR, LESS VANILLA

A lot has been made of the tissue moment between FC Dallas coach Oscar Pareja and Portland Timbers manager Caleb Porter, but let’s echo what many other pundits have said about the incident.

MLS needs more of this type of thing.

For far too long, MLS has lacked personality. While the league has done a good job of growing and promoting the sport, it hasn’t made for very intriguing storylines for casual fans to want to tune in and follow. Not on a consistent enough basis, anyway.

MLS players and coaches alike are smart and tend to refrain from making controversial statements, but that’s a good and entertaining part of sports that the league is missing. Eddie Johnson’s critical public comments of his D.C United teammates last year – while not ideal from a team point of view – was great from a conversation standpoint because it brought another element and edge to MLS’s otherwise largely stale and predictable narrative. Landon Donovan and Luke Rodgers’ back-and-forth through the press in 2011 was another great example. Mike Petke’s 2013 proclamation that he wanted to welcome New York City FC with a “smashing” – which he later downplayed – was another.

Things and moments like that have to be natural and not forced, of course. But players and coaches should not have to feel like they need to suppress their true thoughts and feelings because of how they might be perceived from those above them. This is professional sports, and villains and controversy are needed just as much as heroes and feel-good stories.

LACK OF TRUE GOALSCORER KILLING ORLANDO

If Orlando City is going to maintain its high buzz in Central Florida, the club needs to find a more lethal and proven goalscorer. Somewhere. Anywhere. Fast.

Orlando City once again was outdone by its maddening inability to convert chances into goals on Friday, falling, 1-0, to D.C. United via some late set piece deja vu. The Lions unleashed 17 shots in a dominant display, but a combination of wayward finishing, bad luck, and a stellar Bill Hamid kept Orlando from finding the back of the net for the second straight home game. It also left the expansion side with one goal – a deflected free kick that may have been credited as an own goal in other parts of the world – in three matches at the Citrus Bowl.

Those scoring problems are not just limited to the Central Florida, however. Orlando City’s only win so far this year came in a road game where Houston Dynamo goalkeeper Tyler Deric scored an embarrassing own goal. Orlando did manage to put two up last week despite being severely shorthanded, but that was against a Montreal Impact side that has long struggled in MLS.

Kaka is doing his part for Orlando, but he needs more help. Darwin Ceren is still as green as envious Yoda, Pedro Ribeiro has not shown he can consistently score at this level, and Bryan Rochez and Carlos Rivas are two Designated Players that are still adjusting to a new league and country.

Could someone like the recently-released and team-first Kenny Cooper help provide a quick fix? Yes. Just ask Thierry Henry.

WHITECAPS LOOKING LIKE REAL CONTENDERS EARLY ON

With the likes of Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco on board, Toronto FC was predicted by many to be the best Canadian club in MLS in 2015.

Yeah, about that.

While Toronto FC has stepped into a three-game game funk after beating the Vancouver Whitecaps in the season opener, Carl Robinson’s side has bounced back and rattled off four wins in a row to surprisingly move atop the Western Conference. The latest victory, a 2-0 triumph over the LA Galaxy, saw the Whitecaps boss the defending champions LA Galaxy all over BC Place.

It’s early in the grind that is the MLS season, but the Whitecaps are looking like real contenders right now. MLS Golden Boot leader Octavio Rivero – four goals in five games – has given Vancouver the type of deadly forward that it was missing last year. The skillful Pedro Morales continues to work wonders in the midfield. Youngsters like speed demon Kekuta Manneh are continuing their maturations as players.

There are still questions about how the 34-year-old Pa Modou Kah will hold up next to centerback partner Kendall Waston, but so far Robinson has his club playing exciting and, more importantly, winning soccer.