assuming they're both on the field.
A chance to start fresh in Dallas: FC Dallas has strained to shore up is defense since the 1999 season -- and has yet to come up aces. Since 1999 the club hasn't finished higher than a tie for fifth in team defense. (In an goofy statistical anomaly, the Hoops have conceded exactly 44 goals in each of the last three seasons, which meant a tie for fifth and two ninth-place finishes among all teams.)
Attempts at improvement have always come via routine transition in personnel. But now manager Steve Morrow has a clear opportunity to fix matters in 2008 through sweeping change -- even if most of it wasn't by design.
That's because players who accounted for more than half the starts in defense last year no longer have a Pizza Hut Park address. Out of 120 starts along the back line in 2007 (Dallas used a back four last year), players responsible for half of those starts are no longer part of the Pizza Hut Park personnel package.
Chris Gbandi and Clarence Goodson left in the offseason. Alex Yi retired this week due to recurring hamstring struggles. Plus, Bobby Rhine and David Wagenfuhr are manning midfield roles now that Dallas has shifted to three in the back. All totaled, that accounts for 77 of 120 starts.
It's Drew Moor, Duilio Davino and Adrian Serioux for now, hoping to crawl beneath that stubborn 44-goal plateau.
We were right about RSL -- right?: Plenty of us saw what manager Jason Kreis and GM Garth Lagerway put together at Real Salt Lake for 2008, and we were sold. RSL was destined to be better.
They are better, right?
Kreis' team has looked like the Unlucky Louie of early days so far. It took a special, last-gasp effort from Chicago Fire difference maker Cuauhtemoc Blanco to keep RSL from taking all three points in the season opener.
Then last week RSL was pressing Chivas USA hard for the late equalizer at The Home Depot Center. Instead, Preki's men notched the breakaway goal at the other end, and what could easily have been a 2-2 draw found its way to a 3-1 conclusion.
So the men from Utah have raked up just one of a possible six points, and a tough early-season schedule isn't going to lighten up for a while. RSL plays host to D.C. United this week, just as Tom Soehn's crew can focus more intently on MLS encounters, now that the CONCACAF tournament no longer is in play.
From there, Real Salt Lake has the privilege of participating in Toronto's home opener. Nice. From there, Kreis' crew moves on to RFK for another dust-up with United. Double-nice.
The RSL defense looks more stable, but the club clearly must produce more goals. Scottish signee Kenny Deuchar was only occasionally effective in his starting debut last week. Later, Deuchar lamented the lack of direct balls, the kind he always saw in Scotland. Kreis responded by noting that players must adjust to the team's style, not the other way around.
While the roster looks more competent overall, Kreis needs more production from the center of the park. Playmaker Javier Morales hasn't been at his best so far in 2008, and defensive midfielder Carey Talley was far too turnover-prone in last week's loss to Chivas USA.
Five-a-Side's early Best XI: There have been more than a few outstanding performances so far. But individually, those only qualify as "one in a row." Here are the players who have put together two early outings that rise above the ordinary:
Goalkeeper: New England's Matt Reis.
Defenders: Chicago's Gonzalo Segares, Chivas USA's Shavar Thomas, Kansas City's Jimmy Conrad, D.C. United's Gonzalo Peralta.
Midfielders: Chivas USA's Sacha Kljestan, Chicago's Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Colorado's John DiRaimondo, LA Galaxy's David Beckham, New England's Sainey Nyassi.
Forward: Colorado's Omar Cummings.
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's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
