Davis: League starting to take shape

that's right now for you non-filers -- that we can start getting a handle for what's what around MLS.

It's a long season, of course, with just three little rounds out of 30 in the books. But you can begin to develop a clearer picture of what teams need going forward as late April pushes into summer and so on.

So, in no particular order, here's what a few clubs might require in order to climb past their sticking points:

Juan Carlos Osorio is already up to some of his lineup tinkering at Red Bull New York. Against FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park, the first-year N.Y, manager asked defender Chris Leitch, usually seen on the outside, to deploy at center back. And Dave van den Bergh, spotted playing centrally in midfield a week earlier, was back at left fullback against Dallas.

All that's well and good, but what the Red Bulls really need is a little more speed on the outside. Van den Bergh is good with the ball at his feet, but he's not going to blow past anybody on the left. Dane Richards can surely supply the fix when he gets healthy and lines up on the right once again.

As it is, Claudio Reyna seems comfortable at the new role he's being asked to play, centrally, tucked in behind a lone striker. The former U.S. skipper will surely be even more effective when he has a little more slash and dash around him, with the likes of Richards zooming in from the outside.

Across the country, Los Angeles is going to need a little more offensive push from its pair of central midfielders. As it is, most of the offense originates from the wings. Specifically, of course, it's coming from the right wing, where David Beckham is mixing a few well-timed mid-ranged passes into his steady supply of pinpoint crosses and long, point-of-attack-changing deliveries.

It's working pretty well, too. Landon Donovan in the middle and Ely Allen on the left are getting more and more familiar with Beckham's spectacular ability over distance. But that's going to be too predictable over the course of a season. The Galaxy will surely get its share of goals this way. But for the Home Depot Center men to move into elite class and challenge for hardware, they'll need a few more late runs from Brandon McDonald and Alvaro Pires (or whoever holds those two central spots).

In the back, it's pretty clear what Los Angeles must sort out: The defenders must do everything possible to keep Abel Xavier or Greg Vanney from getting matched up individually. Both players still have some value in their ability to organize and distribute. But they are getting exposed in one-on-one battles, like the one that led to Toronto's late game-winner on Sunday. As much as possible, the vets must provide cover while center back Sean Franklin gets closer to the nearest attacker and matches up individually.

The Galaxy's opponent last Sunday, Toronto FC, will soon have to identify a role that suits French veteran Laurent Robert.

The former Newcastle man has been stationed wide left in midfield during his first two matches for John Carver's side. But he doesn't look like a guy who can track up and down the flank. On Sunday that left Beckham with acres of space and ample time to put on a clinic of passing and crossing. Compare that to a couple of weeks ago when Beckham had far less success working against the younger legs of Colorado midfielder Colin Clark.

Imagine how bad a day Robert could have if he's left to chase Richards, Ronnie O'Brien, Brian Mullan, Sainey Nyassi, etc., the gold status members of the right-sided attackers club.

Finding a suitable role for Robert is no easy assignment for Carver, however, with attack-minded midfielder Amado Guevara now in the fold. That gives TFC two midfielders who are at their best on the attack. Perhaps the answer is using Maurice Edu and Carl Robinson as dual holding midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 arrangement, giving Robert just a little less to do defensively.

In Dallas, the most pressing need isn't about some lineup deficiency. Rather, manager Steve Morrow simply must get through to his pair of young striker reservists. In two consecutive matches Ricardinho and Dominic Oduro have carelessly declined to take balls into the corner or, at the very least, to make a selfless pass late in the match.

Instead, they've stubbornly dribbled right at goal. While there's value in putting away a match, there's equal virtue in killing off time and protecting a lead in more conservative fashion. Failure to do just that has already cost Dallas two points in the standings (in that thrilling 3-3 tie last week at Houston).

Houston and D.C. United? They just need to shake off the CONCACAF hangover. Don't forget, the same thing happened last year as both clubs merged sluggishly into the MLS campaign following elimination in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. Both clubs eventually got it together. (Houston, obviously, got it more together en route to a successful title defense.)

New England? Pretty simple. Get healthy. Taylor Twellman's absence due to injury will never be more apparent than on a cold, rainy New England night last weekend. Bad conditions call for feisty and ruthless opportunism. Quality, patiently built attacks are going to be rare. Twellman is the kind of striker you want around for disagreeable circumstances.

Two teams in the Midwest have similar issues to sort out -- although the answers won't come easy in either case.

Young U.S. international attackers Justin Mapp (in Chicago) and Eddie Gaven (Columbus) are getting to that tell-tale, crossroads age. Both have tons of talent in the boots, but neither can harness it consistently.

Mapp is 23. Gaven is just 21, but is already in his sixth pro season. At some point, people might stop waiting and just assume these guys are what they are -- inconsistent assets who will get it done in spurts, but maybe not over the long haul. In the meantime, it's up to Denis Hamlett in Chicago and Sigi Schmid in Columbus to squeeze and squeeze, hoping to wring all the talent possible from these guys.

Steve Davis is a freelance writer who has covered Major League Soccer since its inception. Steve can be reached at BigTexSoccer@yahoo.com. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.