a big ask.
Overall, six of the top 12 selections are forwards. They'll have a significant sampling of history working against them as they attempt to create a stir in 2010.
2. Houston Dynamo vulnerable?: The Houston Dynamo have been a force in MLS since before they relocated south from California before the 2006 season. Dominic Kinnear's team won the whole shebang in 2006 and 2007. The Orange won the Western Conference in 2008 and finished second to L.A. in 2009 only by virtue of the tiebreaker. Suffice to say, Houston has been a league power since it arrived at Robertson Stadium.
But is Kinnear's team suddenly vulnerable due to defection and, perhaps, one large choice that might yet prove ill-advised?
Ricardo Clark has already signed with Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany. Stuart Holden remains in England, still mulling his options. Like Clark, he is out of contract with MLS, which makes a move to Europe more likely. There goes half of the Dynamo midfield, which has always been the heart of the effort at Robertson.
Meanwhile, Luis Angel Landin has a lot to prove. The club invested heavily in the young Mexican striker, who was unimpressive in his brief window late last year.
"It was tough for him, because he was carrying some injuries and he never really had a chance to get fit here," Kinnear said. "This is a big year for him. There's some good competition there and he knows that nothing is guaranteed."
Well, his contract is guaranteed -- for one more year. So he's not going anywhere. What Kinnear meant is that playing time is far from assured. Kinnear made that point quite clear last year when far less-heralded Dominic Oduro continued to start in the playoffs, with Landin reduced to a reservist's role.
On the other hand, the cupboard isn't exactly bare in Houston. While Kinnear admits that identifying and securing replacement parts is problematic because of the fluid situations with Clark (until the other day, that is) and Holden, there's still plenty of talent running around in orange jerseys. Kinnear said everything is "go" with take-no-prisoners center back Eddie Robinson, who is eager to get back on the field.
Robinson's return to central defense would allow Geoff Cameron to move into the midfield. Ideally, Kinnear would like to see Cameron in Clark's former holding role. It makes the most sense from a personnel standpoint, with ample Orange talent on the wings in guys like Brian Mullan, Brad Davis and first-off-the-bench Corey Ashe.
Given time to grow into the spot, Kinnear believes Cameron can be a big asset at the position. "He covers a lot of ground and he does a lot of good things in there," the manager said.
3. Other clubs still sorting it out: Houston isn't the only club working to fill potentially destabilizing gaps. So, who is has the biggest "rebuilding" banner hanging over the gate as they welcome players in for preseason?
The candidates (beyond Houston) seem to be New York, Chivas USA, Chicago, D.C. United and even New England. It may seem counterintuitive, but two of those teams did make the playoffs last year, Chivas and Chicago. Still, both are under new management, with ample personnel change in at least one case.
At Red Bull New York (64 days until the official stadium opening!) plenty of familiar faces remain around from 2009. But with a new manager, talk of additional transfer targets and five draft picks, all set against the backdrop of a league-worst 5-19-6 record and the need for a splash inside that splashy new arena, who knows what the roster might look like by the team's March 27 season opener? (Or by the March 20 Red Bull Arena debut against Brazil's Santos, for that matter.)
In Chicago, the coming-and-going factor is high for a club that came within a penalty kick or two from landing in the MLS Cup Final. Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Chris Rolfe, Bakary Soumare, Gonzalo Segares and Brandon Prideaux, all of whom started at least half of Chicago's matches in 2009, aren't currently set for a 2010 return. Meanwhile, new manager Carlos de los Cobos must not only familiarize himself with a crop of new players, but also with the ways of MLS.
The reshuffle job becomes more difficult still at Chivas USA if Jesse Marsch retires. (He's considering it.) Losing the veteran midfielder would seriously dent the Red-and-White's prospects; they already had lost one-half of the hard-churning central midfield tandem when Paulo Nagamura signed on with Mexico's Tigres. Well-regarded midfielder Michael Lahoud, a rookie in 2009 who established a starting role late in the campaign, has suddenly seen his value around The Home Depot Center rocket skyward.
Meanwhile, new manager Martin Vasquez must make some hard choices on two aging vets who remain on the roster. Claudio Suarez made just one start in 2009. That was one more, at least, than striker Ante Razov, who never got on the field.
Part of D.C. United's preseason is about incorporating new signings Troy Perkins, Floribert N'Galula, Danny Allsopp and Christian Castillo, all under the direction of new manager Curt Onalfo.
In New England, officials have finally completed the trade that sends midfielders Jeff Larentowicz and Wells Thompson to Colorado in exchange for defender Cory Gibbs, goalkeeper Preston Burpo and other considerations.
That will mean a big shift at Gillette, as Larentowicz has been Shalrie Joseph's central midfield partner since 2007.
Revs manager Steve Nicol apparently thought promising young center back Darrius Barnes needed some veteran guidance, which Gibbs can provide. While Barnes was generally solid in 2009, the second center back spot was frequently exposed last year, especially in the season's late stages.
Colorado, despite the trade, approaches the 2010 season on fairly stable footing. Larentowicz's addition looks promising, and an abundance of quality center back candidates helps to mitigate Gibbs' loss. Oh, and add Pablo Mastroeni's name to the list of potential center backs, as Larentowicz's arrival could herald a move for the former U.S. national team mainstay to defense, where he has played at times in the past.
4. Announcing preseason plans -- cautiously: Teams are slowly announcing their preseason plans, and doing so with a little more caution this year.
The caution is all about the ongoing labor negotiations. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement expires on Feb. 1 -- which is right around the date most teams have circled to report for physicals or begin practices.
In a few other cases, clubs are reluctant to reveal their preseason plan because they want to inform their personnel first.
Either way, managers and GMs are preparing as usual, planning a labor agreement will land in due time and allow things to move forward. Just this week, four clubs announced participation in the inaugural Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in central Florida. (FC Dallas, Toronto FC, Houston and New York are the clubs involved.)
Soccer America's Ridge Mahoney has reported that several teams are interested in training at a new soccer complex in Casa Grande, Ariz. (between Phoenix and Tucson). Seattle, Colorado, Real Salt Lake and Los Angeles are the clubs now considering training stints there.
The Red Bulls are already in Europe, about to get their first taste of life under new Swedish manager Hans Backe during two weeks in La Manga, Spain. There, at the annual low-profile series of matches that attracts teams from MLS, Russia and Scandinavia, the Red Bulls will face Russian clubs CSKA Moscow and Rubin Kazan and Poland's Lech Poznan.
Seattle will also participate in La Manga, but Sounders FC's stay will take place over the back half of the month.
For the league champs, Real Salt Lake's march to history started at last year's Carolina Challenge Cup. So they'll go back in 2010 to the tournament hosted by the Charleston Battery, joined once again by D.C. United and Toronto. Both of those teams are guided by new (but familiar) managers. The Carolina Challenge Cup has become a traditional preseason stop for United and Toronto.
5. Saturday's U.S. friendly: Major League Soccer will certainly have a lot to say during Saturday's friendly at The Home Depot Center, where the United States will kick off its 2010 schedule against Honduras. The Central American country announced its roster late last week, stocked primarily with players from the Honduran league.
As for Bob Bradley's men, 25 of 28 players in camp -- the match concludes the team's January camp -- play in MLS. Which MLS players need to shine Saturday in the 6 p.m. PT contest (live on Fox Soccer Channel and Telefutura)?
Short answer: plenty of them.
There are only two players, perhaps, in camp who are more or less locks to land on the 23-man World Cup roster. Benny Feilhaber can surely like his chances. And Chivas USA's Jonathan Bornstein has a good chance, his case assisted because he mans a longtime trouble spot, left back.
Otherwise, there are 24 MLS players with varying degrees of hope for South Africa. Chivas USA's Sacha Kljestan, for instance, can move into a favorable position with a big performance Saturday. Same for Robbie Rogers, who is also likely to be seen in the match.
Columbus defender Chad Marshall can enhance his chances, which have been on the rise for a year now. Meanwhile, fellow center backs Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles Galaxy) and Brandon McDonald (San Jose) are probably better suited for the next World Cup cycle. So the range of World Cup hope really is all over the place.
The one position where MLS types can make some serious headway is at forward. Four strikers are in camp, all from MLS. Between Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), 2009 Golden Boot winner Jeff Cunningham (FC Dallas) and Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), one or two will probably find their way to South Africa. Chivas USA's Justin Braun is also in camp, but facing longer odds.
How does the January camp rate historically in terms of World Cup roster impact? In the 2002 January camp, 13 of the 28 players were eventually named in the 23-man World Cup roster. Ten players in camp four years ago were on the plane for World Cup Germany. The camp probably won't have that level of impact this time, but it will certainly have a say on Bradley's final choices.
Steve Davis is a freelance writer who has covered Major League Soccer since its inception. Steve writes for www.DailySoccerFix.com and 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.
