Major League Soccer - Week 18 Power Rankings
by denz on Jul 19, 2011 7:00 AM MDT
in MLS Power Rankings
Email
PrintWell it was an interesting weekend in Major League Soccer as the top team in the league played (and lost badly) in a friendly, the second place team had their match cancelled (due to rain, which hurt a grass pitch laid on top of a turf pitch) a first for Major League Soccer. This means a little movement in the top 5 and some minor shuffling in various parts of the rankings:
18. Vancouver Whitecaps - down 1
While they didn't play the team with 4 straight losses failed as the host team to provide a playable pitch (a first in MLS) and rightfully should have forfeited the match. They will play their friendly on Monday and then head to San Jose for an actual league match on Wednesday night.
17. Toronto FC - up 1
The Red's didn't play this weekend and moved up only because I now hate all things Whitecraps. TFC will return to MLS action with two matches this week, they will host FC Dallas on Wednesday and then travel to KC to face Sporting on Saturday. They made a number of moves to improve their roster so it will be interesting to see who actually ends up on the pitch for them.
the rest of the rankings after the jump:
16. New England Revolution - even
A 3-0 home loss to the Philadelphia Union, yet I leave them above the Canadian teams for now. Another red card will mean that on Wednesday when the face DC United that there will be no Benny, but they will get Shalrie back. There is no rest for the Rev's who will then head west to face the Colorado Rapids on Saturday.
15. Chicago Fire - down 1
The Fire become the first team to lose at home to one of the expansion teams, and it comes as little surprise to me that the Timbers were able to get the 1-0 win over the Fire. I feel bad for the Fire because I don't think it was a PK and to lose because of a bad call sucks worse than ending up with a draw because of a bad call. The Fire will take the week of from league play.
14. Portland Timbers - up 1
Getting your first road win is big for a team, and the Timbers did get the 1-0 win but clearly you won't hear them complaining about the call that they got that lead to the PK goal. Next up will be a Saturday match at Crew Stadium, and getting a win there might actually be impressive.
13. Chivas USA - even
I was tempted to move Chivas up a spot or two for their draw against the New York Red Bulls, then I remembered that the Red Bulls only have one more win than Chivas, so their 0-0 draw keeps them outside of my top 10. They will get to face Houston at home on Saturday, both teams really need a win.
12. DC United - even
To go to Pizza Hut Park and get a draw with FC Dallas isn't easy, to find a way to get a 0-0 draw and allow Dallas 14 shots to your 5 is even tougher to do. Hard to believe that they were able to get the draw in that one, but now they head home to face the New England Revolution on Wednesday, they have to get a win in this one if they want to move up the table.
11. San Jose Earthquakes - even
A 0-0 draw at Columbus isn't a bad result but the Quakes should have done better, they were the better team. The Quakes will have a chance to move into a playoff position if they can get some results with their two matches this week, first up they will play host to the Vancouver Whitecaps on Wednesday and then they will head to Rio Tinto Stadium to face Real Salt Lake on Saturday night.
10. Houston Dynamo - down 1
I didn't watch this match but cleary it was an action packed one as the Dynamos took the lead early, on another amazing free kick by Brad Davis, then lost two players to red cards in the second half, Colin Clark on a horrible tackle in the 51st minute, and then Brian Ching in the 69th minute on a clear cheap shot. Sporting KC was able to get a 90th minute goal to tie the match up. The only upside to the Houston performance was Tally Hall, now they will play host to Chivas USA on Saturday.
9. Sporting KC - up 1
When you are up a man for 40 minutes, and up two men for 20 minutes you should be able to find a way to get more than just a goal for a draw but still it was enough to keep Sporting moving up the Eastern Conference and with just 3 more road matches and 12 at home you have to believe they will continue to move up, the first step is a home win over Toronto FC on Saturday.
8. Colorado Rapids - even
In an amazing match in Seattle the Rapids lost 4-3, they took the lead in the first minute, then gave up a goal, then took the lead and then in the final minute tried to battle back but fell just short. The Rapids have just one win in their last 5 matches, but this week they will get two chances at home to add to that total. First up is the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday and then they will host New England on Saturday.
7. New York Red Bulls - down 1
I keep waiting for the Red Bulls to live up to expectations, I mean they have a lot of talent on their roster but they continue to under perform, their 0-0 draw with Chivas USA was exactly that a match where they under performed. So while MLS can hand Hans Backe the coaching gig at the All Star Match, the reality is that they simply need to do more to meet their potential. They will get two chances, neither of them easy, to do that on Wednesday they will face the Colorado Rapids in Denver and then on Saturday they will play host to FC Dallas.
6. Columbus Crew - up 1
A team doesn't often move up with a draw at home but due to the Red Bulls moving down and the fact that the Crew have 3 wins in the last 5 and find themselves just a point behind New York in the standing but they have 2 matches in hand. The Crew will have a chance to move in front of NYRB if they can get wins in both their Wednesday match at the LA Galaxy and when the Portland Timbers come to Crew Stadium on Saturday.
5. Philadelphia Union - even
A 3-0 win over New England was almost enough to move the Union up but the reality of how weak the East appears I am not going to move them up this week, no team above them lost this week. The Union had a match against Seattle but it was rescheduled to make room for a friendly, so they have no MLS action this week.
4. FC Dallas - down 1
A 0-0 draw at home against DC United was telling when FC Dallas couldn't play defend and counter they seemed to struggle a bit, a team that out shoots their opponent 14 to 5, controls 58% of the possession well normally you expect them to win. The Hoops get two chances to rebound, first a Wednesday match at Toronto FC, and then a Saturday match at Red Bull Arena against the New York Red Bulls, wins would really boost their position.
3. Seattle Sounders - up 1
The Sounders got a win at home over the defending MLS Cup champions in a crazy 4-3 match. I understand that the Sounders have a Champions League match and can only hope that they will get more players announced to the remaining inactive All Star slots. The Sounders will play a friendly this week, but no MLS action.
2. Real Salt Lake - even
It is truly a shame that a team was allowed to make choices that resulted in a league match being cancelled because of rain on their grass pitch put over their turf pitch so they could host a friendly. I maintain that the Whitecaps who were unable to host the regularly scheduled match should have been forced to forfeit the match, but instead MLS will force RSL to travel back to Vancouver at some random time to replay the match. Neither MLS or the Whitecaps have mentioned any form of trying to compensate the many RSL fans who traveled to Vancouver to see the match. RSL at least didn't lose any players due to injuries on the poorly thought out grass surface and does get some extra rest for their roster, they will play host (unless it rains) to the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night.
1. Los Angeles Galaxy - even
Well the Galaxy didn't play a league match this week, instead they got beat by Seattle in Open Cup action, and then beat by Real Madrid in a friendly. Up next for them is a real MLS match on Wednesday when they host the Columbus Crew, I hope they don't try to dial it in as they prepare for their friendly against Man City on Sunday. So they stay at the top but for how long?
Well there you have my take on how the MLS teams stack up this week.
OFF MY SOAPBOX
22 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
what a joke
OK, I know that this is a pro-RSL blog, but both your rankings for Vancouver and Salt Lake seem seriously misguided. How Vancouver loses a spot due to not playing (and therefore not losing), and how they are rated below an awful New England team, I don’t know. I understand that you’re bitter about the non-game that happened in Vancouver, but that doesn’t mean they are a worse team; power rankings should be about the momentum of a team and how well they are playing at the moment, not your personal vendetta against them. Vancouver has just added a promising DP, and they played a very competitive game against a good Man City team, which in my book puts them at least above the Revs in my book, if not TFC as well.
Besides, it’s not like RSL LOST a league game, it just got rescheduled – meaning it is still going to happen, and RSL still has their shot at beating Vancouver. Saying that they should forfeit is ridiculous as well – by your logic, TFC should have forfeited their game earlier in the year against the Whitecaps because of weather delay, as well.
If you want to blame someone, blame MLS for scheduling money making games with high-profile teams who demand to play on a grass surface.
Also, I’m not sure how you rank RSL above Seattle, considering the streak the Sounders have been on (in MLS league play and in the Open Cup), and considering that RSL just lost 2-0 to FC Dallas.
Really
How many points does Vancouver have? 14 points from 20 matches, no wins on the road and just 2 wins overall. They are by every statistic the worst team in MLS. sorry that is just the reality of it.
I do blame MLS in large part for the debacle in Vancouver, but the reality is that the Whitecaps knew their MLS scheduled included a Saturday and Wednesday match when they scheduled their Monday friendly. MLS didn’t make them play that match, the Whitecaps chose to play that match and in doing so they assumed the liability that came with trying to lay a grass field down over their current pitch. Never in MLS play has a match been cancelled for such a reason, not once in 16 years because other teams will work within their schedules to accommodate things like laying a new surface down, trying to do it 48 hours before a match was a stupid and risky thing but that is what the Whitecaps tried to do. They failed at it and when a host team can’t provide an adequate playing surface, they should forfeit, when they can’t provide one because they took huge risks then yes I think they should have to suffer a forfeit as a consequence. You can blame MLS all day long, but nobody held a gun to Paul Barber’s head and told him that he had to accept this match, several teams turned it down.
I don’t count friendly matches in my MLS power rankings because they don’t count and playing a scrimmage against a team from England means nothing to me. Nothing. Again this is MLS power rankings, not US Open Cup power rankings, not friendly power rankings, not we just signed a player who hasn’t done jack for us yet rankings, this is about MLS performance.
How do I rank RSL above Seattle, is easy. points per match played. RSL is currently earning 1.76 points per match, they have 5 matches in hand with Seattle, if they maintain their season long average they would gain 9 points. I believe that 39 is still greater than 38 (the current Sounders point total).
um...
My issue is not with the fact that Vancouver is the flat out worst statistical team, but that you had them ranked higher and dropped them a position BECAUSE of your feelings about the RSL-Whitecaps game. I agree that Vancouver is bad. I just don’t think they are worse because of a game that they did not play. You flat out said “…the Red’s didn’t play this weekend and moved up only because I now hate all things Whitecraps.” If you don’t consider anything but MLS play to be influential in your rankings, then leave your own bias out of it.
And I still don’t understand where the sentiment of “when a host team can’t provide an adequate playing surface, they should forfeit” comes from. Where is the precedent for this? Like I said, it’s not like that game just doesn’t happen anymore – it just gets rescheduled. Shit happens, just because it doesn’t go your way, it doesn’t mean that it’s unfair or that someone is in the wrong. It happened, now get over it.
I dropped them
Because it looks very clear that there are some real issues in that organization, which are easily reflected in their decision making on and off the pitch.
If you don’t like my power rankings, then don’t read them, but I moved them down because as an organization they appear to have as many if not more issues than do Toronto FC.
Will their new DP be like their current one? You know the guy wh has been suspended almost as many matches has he has played? You have to wonder if Hassli hadn’t been tossed 3 times this year, could the Whitecaps have another win or two? I could count their move to get rid of Dunfield as a negative since they got nothing in return.
The great part of having a blog is that I get to write what I want, and you have every right to disagree with me. Welcome to RSL Soapbox, I stand by my opinions but understand they are just my opinions.
why didn't you say so?
If you had written that reason for their ranking in the first place, we wouldn’t be arguing. Those are some very good points that you neglected to actually say in your power rankings, instead opting to talk more about the game-that-never-happened. I fully agree with you that Vancouver (in their current state) is a bad team, for multiple reasons. I just happen to disagree with you about the whole ‘forfeit the match’ thing.
simple
I write a couple of sentences for each team, and the biggest news around Vancouver was the cancelled match
Blind faith
I fully expect my readers to have blind faith in all things I post. If not, we will never get our no profit status as “the Church of Real”
PPM Rankings?
How do I rank RSL above Seattle, is easy. points per match played. RSL is currently earning 1.76 points per match, they have 5 matches in hand with Seattle, if they maintain their season long average they would gain 9 points. I believe that 39 is still greater than 38 (the current Sounders point total).
Why don’t you call these what they are then… PPM rankings, or maybe predicted rankings, or something like that? Typically “power rankings” take into account current records, recent form, recent injuries, strength of schedule and anything else that could affect a team’s future success. I pointed out below that RSL has a very road heavy schedule ahead of them. If you think they’re going to be able to maintain their 1.76 PPM, then you haven’t been following the team very close (I say with a grin). They’re not great on the road so far this season (1.28 PPM). Regardless, this is an RSL fan site, so keep ‘em up there as long as you can justify it. We won’t fault you too much for that.
Not the only factor
It is a shame I lost a really good comment about why I consider RSL still above the Sounders, things like wins against top 4 teams, losses to top 8 teams. I know we have a ton of road matches to end the year, but last year while RSL didn’t get as many wins as I would like, they lost just 4 matches on the road all year and 3 of those came in April. Yes that means that in the 11 road matches after April they went 3-1-7 (average of 1.45 points per match) so if they can keep from getting jobbed at home on a regular basis a 1.76 PPM actually isn’t that tough, they have 7 matches at home and I would expect they should be able to get 5 wins from them and no more losses, that would make them 5-0-2 at home for a 2.24 PPM at home. If I combine those totals it would be easy to see how RSL could easily keep their ppm or actually improve it.
I don’t really consider injuries, I do look at current records, home and away (the win in Portland was huge I thought for the Sounders, but you have to remember the two draws with the expansion teams at home). Just as I can say that RSL has fewer wins than the Sounders or FC Dallas, I can point to the fact that they have fewer losses and still have the fewest goals allowed in the league.
I have to hope that for the bad calls that RSL has suffered in recent weeks, that things will as everyone believes even out. I do think RSL has a huge hurdle in the second half of the season, that is the New York Red Bulls, who I have to believe at some point will get their act together.
I am a bit confused why PPM has to only be seen in a proactive format, I use them more as a way to adjust for the gap in matches played. While I realize the matches in hand will have RSL being busy the last half to the year, I do also realize that the heavy front end loading of LA and Seattle (a smart move given the extra Champions league matches) could easily backfire. I do consider who a teams play, so RSL’s last match was a win over FC Dallas, the last win of Seattle (and a good win I believe ) was over Colorado. So beating a team above you in the table counts more than beating a team below you in the table to me. I also count teams in the playoff hunt, the RSL draw with New England didn’t help us, the win over Toronto FC didn’t hurt us but didn’t help us much either.
So there is no single criteria I use, but I do consider a good number of them, I also look at if a team has done enough to stay where they are, move up or move down from week to week. So if you look back 5 weeks the Sounders were #8 on my list, they have moved up to #3 as a result of their current form. RSL 5 weeks ago was in a muddled mess of teams at #4, they moved up as I think Philly has struggled (their loss at Vancouver and home draw with Sporting KC) a bit and then they beat FC Dallas.
I don’t ask that any one has to agree with me, but I do like to think that I put a lot more thought into my rankings than a lot of people offering up their rankings. There is no one factor, but rather there are a lot of things that I look at, and I have to believe that anyone who is a fan of a team and sees that team more probably identifies their strengths more than their weaknesses. For me I think RSL’s defense is the best in the league, and while we may not get a lot of wins away from home, we aren’t going to lose many either (my prediction is that RSL ends 6-4-7 on the road this year – just my prediction).
Couple things
1. For some reason Vancouver thought they could perform super human feats with grass on top of turf just because they’d seen Seattle do it. Turns out not so much. I know you’re upset about the game being canceled, but you have to admit that if they’d played the match you’d still be just as upset. UZ over at Burgundy Wave sure has complained a lot about the grass in Seattle on Saturday for the Colorado game (here, here, and here). Given that they were in a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation and Kreis was invovled in the final decision, they decided to postpone. Lesson learned. Move on. If you feel so strongly about compensating away fans, maybe you should ask Garth Lagerwey to compensate them. He’s already making excuses for them. He’s already proven he’s capable of crazy stuff like retiring soccer jersey numbers. It’s worth a shot.
2. Nice that you mentioned Seattle’s victory over LA (still #1 in your power rankings) in USOC action this week, but you skipped right past the part where RSL starting 11 went down to Dallas (#4) and lost to a bunch of their reserves in the other USOC quarterfinal in the West. How that keeps RSL in second place I don’t know. I get that their PPM is still higher, but do you really believe, given their current form, that they’ll get 8 points out of 5 matches? 5 of the next 8 are on the road where RSL has been less than stellar. Furthermore, they don’t have a great track record of rebounding after elimination from cup competitions. I know that this is a pro RSL blog, but this is getting a little silly. Given recent form (in all competitions), it’s hard to argue that Seattle’s not #1. No one likes us, no one likes us, we don’t care.
sure
1. don’t care, reality is that the Whitecaps chose to schedule that friendly, several other teams passes on it, they knew the risks and they failed to meet the larger obligation which is to provide adequate facilities as the host team in a league match, failure to do so are grounds for a forfeit. FYI, it was owner Dave Checketts who chose to retire #9 and not GM Garth Lagerwey. I do think that MLS and the Whitecaps knew the risks of trying to put in grass 48 hours before a MLS match, and I question if it hadn’t rained if it would have been playable. The reality is they chose not to reschedule the match until less than 6 hours before the match, they do have an obligation to the fans of both teams.
2. I could talk about wins vs. top 4 teams, I could talk about losses to top 8 teams, I could talk about the fact that US Open Cup matches don’t count in my rankings, but the reality is none of that would matter to you. You and so many Sounders fans are funny, you are not #1 because you can’t beat LA in league action, not this year, not last year, not in the playoffs. Oh and the reason no one likes you (which isn’t true) is that you all are so busy having MLS, ESPN and everyone kiss your butts that you fail to realize the league existed before you and would exist without you. You have a nice team and do well in Open Cup, maybe this year you will get out of your group stage in Champions League, or maybe you will make it out of the first round of the MLS playoffs, maybe not.
Huh...
US Open Cup matches don’t count in my rankings
Sorry, I guess I was confused when you talked about LA’s loss in the USOC to Seattle. Were you trying to trick us all by mentioning that? Clearly PPM is a factor thought not a dominant one otherwise FCD would be in second, ahead of RSL.
you all are so busy having MLS, ESPN and everyone kiss your butts
Yeah, we’ve got a ton of players on the All-Star squad, and as many ESPN games as Chicago. Their nose is pretty far up our asses at this point.
you fail to realize the league existed before you and would exist without you.
It’s unfortunate that you’re painting all Sounders fans with the same brush. I like your blog. I read almost every post and enjoy most of them. I comment when I have thoughts to share or I disagree with your points (specifically on DPs, “the Don,” and league favortism IIRC). I am a Sounders fan and sometimes that comes through.
easy
I mentioned it because I am constantly confused how you guys can own then in Open Cup but can’t seem to deal with them in league play. They seem to be the team you struggle with, just like RSL struggles with FC Dallas.
You don’t have all stars because they are going to be in Champions League action, just like FC Dallas. That one is easy. Do we really need to go through the whole national TV issue again, trust me the Sounders make for fun TV, they love the crowd there, and I don’t blame them but your “no one likes us” mentality is just silly for the most part. Most people I know that don’t live in Seattle would choose them as their second favorite MLS team, that included fans from several markets. Trust me plenty of people like you guys, and you can’t play like it is anything different.
settle down
Just because Vancouver picked up a DP doesn’t mean that he’ll be effective or that it will translate into wins. They still lost to Man City. I don’t care if it was close they couldn’t close it out. Until they win a game, just one, they deserve to be in the bottom. If you want to argue over who’s 17 or 18 it’s getting a little tired. And K I’ll bet you that RSL get more than 8 points out of their next 5. I don’t understand your logic in requesting that Lagerway should compensate the RSL supporters who traveled. Is he the one that decided to host a grass-demanding EPL club two days after a league match in a heavily precipitous region? It is Vancouver’s responsibility to provide a playable surface that will host the match. They made the decision to place the grass over their turf surface, it wasn’t the simple act of raining that delayed the contest, it was because of the sod laid on top of the artificial turf surface with no thought to providing some sort of drainage. Of course Kreis didn’t want to play on that surface, so that justifies Vancouver’s shortcomings? Now RSL have to add another game midweek and have to deal with all that travel and fatigue in what has already been a very busy year. Having said that Seattle’s a great club this year and I believe that they should and will be higher in the rankings soon. Don’t sleep on RSL though. It’s pretty easy to feel confident when you look at the points but with an average of 4 games in hand on everyone above them it’s almost comical to make comparisons other than PPM. Things’ll shake themselves out soon enough. I personally can’t wait until all these games in hand are finally made up. Then there’s no more speculation.
vancouver
The Whitecaps have lost 4 games in a row. How can you even argue that they shouldn’t be at the bottom? If you are actually putting stake into non-league matches, Toronto should most definately be ranked ahead of the ’caps by virtue of winning the NCC.
Personally I’d have to put Seattle at number 1, but given the top 4 teams in the west, who are all unbeated in at least 6 if i’m not mistaken, you could rank them any which way.
My only real gripe with this list is that Sporting KC is as low as they are. Unbeaten in 11 isn’t too shabby (their opponents in that stretch were rather weak, but they did get some great results).
draws aren't wins
Too many draws, now with a heavy home schedule they should be able to move up quickly but this is about where they are today and today they have 23 points from 19 matches, 3 straight draws and a -1 goal differential.
I still like Sporting over Colorado atm. Also their next 2 league matches are at home, vs Toronto and New England. 2 games in hand on Colorado and New york both. 23 points from 19 matches isn’t great, but Colorado and New York both aren’t much better off, and recent form isn’t at good. I’d take Sporting over each of those teams at the moment, but it’s close.
If KC can capitalize on these next 2 easy games, then maybe a move may be in order.
Dude
I think your rankings are just fine. And everything you write is pretty spectacular. I believe what you’re writing is the way it should be said.
Just saying.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
