Power Rankings: Galaxy still tops in first preseason poll
There are still two-and-a-half months left in the MLS transfer window, but for the most part, we’re pretty sure the big moves have been made. Kris Boyd and Edson Buddle have come in; Tim Ream and Faryd Mondragón have gone out. Sébastien Le Toux has swapped coasts, Pável Pardo re-upped and the Quakes went Catracho down in the South Bay. Let the madness begin.
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Only MLS regular-season games reflected on schedule.
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Robbie Keane, Landon Donovan, Edson Buddle, Mike Magee, David Beckham ... holy crap this team is going to score a lot of goals. Chances are, though, that they’ll concede a few more than in recent years thanks to the departure of Juninho and the injury to Omar Gonzalez. Still, Bruce Arena has to be salivating over the talent at his disposal this season.
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Depth, balance, creativity, goal scorers all over the pitch, veteran defenders, a new ‘keeper who has bought into the culture, one of the three greatest coaches in league history and a demure, soft-spoken fan base. What more could a team want?
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RSL aren’t as deep as the Sounders or Galaxy, but one-through-18 or so, they’re right there with the leaders. Everybody’s finally healthy again (or near enough), and they don’t have the pressure of the CCL knockout rounds to deal with.
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Everything seems to be pointing to them continuing their rise after last year’s run, but offloading veterans such as Omar Bravo and Davy Arnaud is always risky. There’s also the simple fact that they won’t be sneaking up on anyone this year.
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From about August onward, Chicago were among the best teams in the league. Unlike the rest of their Eastern Conference compatriots, the Fire didn’t lose any key players in the offseason. A lot rests on Pardo’s 35-year-old legs, but he looked up to the task in 2011.
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There’s still a big, big question about where the Dynamo’s goals will come from. But with pretty much the same midfield and defense back from last year’s Cup run, plus plenty of allocation money and cap flexibility, they look pretty good even without a go-to No. 9.
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New York have plenty of talent, but it's brittle – their three most important players (Thierry Henry, Luke Rodgers and Teemu Tainio) all missed significant chunks of time last year. And Wilman Conde is coming off a significant injury himself.
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They have one of the league’s best home-field advantages, and in Kris Boyd, they have a pure striker who should challenge for the Golden Boot. But there are still defensive issues, and their young, talented wingers need to start dribbling with their heads up.
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A lot of folks used the throttling Colorado took at the hands of SKC as proof that their MLS Cup 2010 title was a fluke, but the reality is that they had a simply ridiculous glut of injuries to deal with. If they get healthy – and they should by April or so – they’ll be in the hunt.
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The Crew are basically following the same game plan as Houston: Build a solid, veteran defense and then hope the midfield stays healthy and creates chances. It worked pretty well for a team in rebuilding mode, and should be even better in 2012.
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Blas Pérez will score goals and, by June at the latest, be the most hated striker in MLS for his diving and histrionics. But will David Ferreira and Daniel Hernandez be healthy? Is Brek Shea’s head already overseas? And how will they replace Marvin Chávez, Jackson and possibly George John?
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The Power Rankings Politburo has been a fan of Martin Rennie since the old Cleveland City Stars days, and we’re very, very fond of what he’s done with the ‘Caps roster so far. They still need some depth in central midfield, but the overhaul looks like a winning one.
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Maybe Peter Nowak, Nick Sakiewicz & Co. have a master plan. But we can't figure it out. Le Toux has accounted for nearly 60 percent of the Union’s all-time scoring output, and it wasn’t an accident that the defense improved once Mondragón was between the pipes.
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Perhaps no team has had as productive an offseason as the Quakes. They got faster, tougher at the defensive midfielder and central defensive positions and – most importantly – will have Steven Lenhart and Alan Gordon to do the donkey work for Chris Wondolowski.
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Getting Branko Boskovic and Chris Pontius healthy should be priorities No. 2 and 2A. Priority No. 1? Getting Dwayne De Rosario into camp and happy for the next couple of years. United will struggle at the start of the year, but should get better as the season trucks along.
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Americans and Canadians both dream of one day producing a forward who finishes like Danny Koevermans. But neither he nor Torsten Frings – the real key to the team – are getting any younger, and TFC’s schedule is packed. They’re even more vulnerable to injuries than RBNY.
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The offense looks nice with Nick LaBrocca and Miller Bolaños pulling the strings for Juan Pablo Ángel and draft pick Casey Townsend, but what about that defense? The Goats only have two true central defenders, and one of them – David Júnior Lopes – was less than impressive in 2011.
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There's a ton of promise for Jesse March's crew, but it remains to be seen how quickly they'll come together. If Brian Ching really is on board for a new project, he's an invaluable presence in the locker room. Nelson Rivas brings some of the best experience in the league.
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John Lozano – not Benny Feilhaber, Shalrie Joseph or anyone else – is actually the key player in New England this year. The offense and possession game was better than good down the stretch, but defensively, they couldn’t stop a sneeze. Lozano needs to come through for them to improve.
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