Ruud Gullit’s appointment as head coach of Los Angeles Galaxy brought a rash of excitement – sexy football was coming to MLS. History already shows that events did not turn out that way. Entertainers are sparse on US soil but they do exist. Landon Donovan remains Galaxy’s sole shining light with his rich vein of outstanding form, the impressive high energy pressing and attacking of Houston Dynamo continues, Chivas and D.C. United are capable of exhibiting delightfully fluid play, and Cuauhtemoc Blano continues to thrill Chicago. Columbus Crew do not spring to mind, but that may soon change.
Sigi Schmid’s team reclaimed overall top spot this weekend with a hard-fought 2-1 win at Dallas repeating the result from their clash two weeks earlier in Ohio. Ironically, Schmid was dismissed as Galaxy head coach in 2004 despite topping the table at the time. He also brought the MLS Cup, US Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions’ Cup to Southern California during his five-year reign. How fortunes have changed.
While Galaxy’s management pursue their misfiring galactico path, a route which has increased merchandise sales but anchored the team firmly in the lower echelons, Columbus are thriving after three barren seasons. Schmid is an intelligent, shrewd coach who has benefitted immensely from the evergreen form of Argentine veteran Guillermo Barros Schelotto.
The Boca Juniors legend has been in sensational form this season. Assists may be a dubious statistic designed to appease the American sports fan, but for what it is worth Schelotto leads the league by some distance – 16 goals created in 22 games (twice the amount generously attributed to David Beckham) adding to five goals of his own. Entering the season, Schelotto ranked 20th in the MLS 2008 guaranteed earnings list on $250,000. The return on that investment has been staggering.
Venezuelan striker Alejandro Moreno leads the team in scoring with eight goals, but the other headline grabber has been Robbie Rogers. The young winger was selected for the MLS All-Star First XI but missed the chance to face West Ham United due to his involvement with the US Olympics squad. Rogers was plucked from a scholarship at University of Maryland by Heerenveen in 2006. While his compatriot Michael Bradley excelled for the provincial Dutch team, Rogers quickly chose to return to America whereupon he was swiftly acquired by the Crew via a draft lottery. At 21, he looks to have a bright future and one that could see him earn another shot at Europe before long.
Columbus are near certainties to reach the post-season, but they will be keen to fend off New England Revolution in the race for the Supporters’ Shield – presented to the team finishing the regular season with the highest points total. The Revs have stuttered since lifting the Superliga title last month. Saturday’s 2-2 draw with the Donovan-inspired Galaxy meant only one win in August for Steve Nicol’s men. Much will depend on the teams’ two eagerly anticipated September meetings.
Houston also pushed themselves firmly into the Supporters’ Shield race with a battling 2-1 win over Chicago Fire that leaves both teams five points behind Columbus. Brian McBride took five minutes to notch his first goal since returning from English football. Blanco gained possession at the edge of Houston’s penalty area after a stumble by Dynamo defender Bobby Boswell. His measured cross found McBride in space at the back post and the former Fulham man blasted past an exposed Pat Onstad from close range.
Dynamo levelled within 60 seconds – Brad Davis setting Dwayne De Rosario free to slide past Jon Busch’s sprawling frame. The Chicago goalkeeper was busy throughout the first half as Houston laid siege to his goal. Davis tested him with a couple of efforts before Brian Mullan pulled his shot wide from a glorious position on the right of the penalty area. Davis then sent a header off target with the goal at his mercy before Mullan atoned for his earlier miss by finishing a sweeping move from a similar position on 39 minutes.
Real Salt Lake remain second in the West following their comfortable 2-0 win over the freefalling Colorado Rapids, but San Jose Earthquakes look like they could provide the biggest success story of the season. The expansion side started from a defensive base and looked utterly toothless during the first half of the season. At the end of July, they sat six points adrift at the bottom of the table and eight points outside of a play-off spot with three wins in 18 games and a measly 12 goals scored. Head coach Frank Yallop bolstered his attack during the transfer window by adding Arturo Alvarez (Dallas), Scott Sealy (Kansas City), and most significantly Darren Huckerby (Norwich).
The Quakes won their three August home games and drew at Chivas to extend their unbeaten run to seven matches. Huckerby’s late winner on Saturday, his third in six games, clinched a vital 2-1 win over Kansas City which moves San Jose off the bottom for the first time in nearly four months. They are now level with L.A. Galaxy and only two points behind Chivas in the battle for the final play-off place.
Yallop, of course, was also cast aside by a Galaxy front office suffering from delusions of grandeur. Since Beckham’s debut in D.C. last August, Galaxy have amassed 26 points from a possible 75 when he has played. In 14 games without him, Galaxy have 19 points from 42. He was brought in for a quarter of a billion dollars to sell the jerseys, but it seems that nobody in Hollywood noticed the double entendre.
Week 23 Results
Salt Lake 2 Colorado 0
New England 2 L.A. Galaxy 2
D.C. United 0 New York 0 (Not the best choice for Fox's live game!)
Dallas 1 Columbus 2
San Jose 2 Kansas City 1
Chivas 2 Toronto 1 (Late goalkeeping blunder puts Chivas into play-off spot)
Houston 2 Chicago 1
Standings
Eastern Conference
1) Columbus 40 points (played 22)
2) New England 38 (22)
3) Chicago 35 (22)
4) D.C. United 32 (22)
5) *New York 32 (22)
6) Toronto 26 (22)
7) Kansas City 26 (22)
Western Conference
1) Houston 35 (22)
2) Salt Lake 30 (22)
3) *Chivas 27 (22)
4) Dallas 26 (22)
5) L.A. Galaxy 25 (22)
6) San Jose 25 (22)
7) Colorado 24 (22)
*Lines show teams occupying play-off positions.
Sigi Schmid’s team reclaimed overall top spot this weekend with a hard-fought 2-1 win at Dallas repeating the result from their clash two weeks earlier in Ohio. Ironically, Schmid was dismissed as Galaxy head coach in 2004 despite topping the table at the time. He also brought the MLS Cup, US Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions’ Cup to Southern California during his five-year reign. How fortunes have changed.
While Galaxy’s management pursue their misfiring galactico path, a route which has increased merchandise sales but anchored the team firmly in the lower echelons, Columbus are thriving after three barren seasons. Schmid is an intelligent, shrewd coach who has benefitted immensely from the evergreen form of Argentine veteran Guillermo Barros Schelotto.
The Boca Juniors legend has been in sensational form this season. Assists may be a dubious statistic designed to appease the American sports fan, but for what it is worth Schelotto leads the league by some distance – 16 goals created in 22 games (twice the amount generously attributed to David Beckham) adding to five goals of his own. Entering the season, Schelotto ranked 20th in the MLS 2008 guaranteed earnings list on $250,000. The return on that investment has been staggering.
Venezuelan striker Alejandro Moreno leads the team in scoring with eight goals, but the other headline grabber has been Robbie Rogers. The young winger was selected for the MLS All-Star First XI but missed the chance to face West Ham United due to his involvement with the US Olympics squad. Rogers was plucked from a scholarship at University of Maryland by Heerenveen in 2006. While his compatriot Michael Bradley excelled for the provincial Dutch team, Rogers quickly chose to return to America whereupon he was swiftly acquired by the Crew via a draft lottery. At 21, he looks to have a bright future and one that could see him earn another shot at Europe before long.
Columbus are near certainties to reach the post-season, but they will be keen to fend off New England Revolution in the race for the Supporters’ Shield – presented to the team finishing the regular season with the highest points total. The Revs have stuttered since lifting the Superliga title last month. Saturday’s 2-2 draw with the Donovan-inspired Galaxy meant only one win in August for Steve Nicol’s men. Much will depend on the teams’ two eagerly anticipated September meetings.
Houston also pushed themselves firmly into the Supporters’ Shield race with a battling 2-1 win over Chicago Fire that leaves both teams five points behind Columbus. Brian McBride took five minutes to notch his first goal since returning from English football. Blanco gained possession at the edge of Houston’s penalty area after a stumble by Dynamo defender Bobby Boswell. His measured cross found McBride in space at the back post and the former Fulham man blasted past an exposed Pat Onstad from close range.
Dynamo levelled within 60 seconds – Brad Davis setting Dwayne De Rosario free to slide past Jon Busch’s sprawling frame. The Chicago goalkeeper was busy throughout the first half as Houston laid siege to his goal. Davis tested him with a couple of efforts before Brian Mullan pulled his shot wide from a glorious position on the right of the penalty area. Davis then sent a header off target with the goal at his mercy before Mullan atoned for his earlier miss by finishing a sweeping move from a similar position on 39 minutes.
Real Salt Lake remain second in the West following their comfortable 2-0 win over the freefalling Colorado Rapids, but San Jose Earthquakes look like they could provide the biggest success story of the season. The expansion side started from a defensive base and looked utterly toothless during the first half of the season. At the end of July, they sat six points adrift at the bottom of the table and eight points outside of a play-off spot with three wins in 18 games and a measly 12 goals scored. Head coach Frank Yallop bolstered his attack during the transfer window by adding Arturo Alvarez (Dallas), Scott Sealy (Kansas City), and most significantly Darren Huckerby (Norwich).
The Quakes won their three August home games and drew at Chivas to extend their unbeaten run to seven matches. Huckerby’s late winner on Saturday, his third in six games, clinched a vital 2-1 win over Kansas City which moves San Jose off the bottom for the first time in nearly four months. They are now level with L.A. Galaxy and only two points behind Chivas in the battle for the final play-off place.
Yallop, of course, was also cast aside by a Galaxy front office suffering from delusions of grandeur. Since Beckham’s debut in D.C. last August, Galaxy have amassed 26 points from a possible 75 when he has played. In 14 games without him, Galaxy have 19 points from 42. He was brought in for a quarter of a billion dollars to sell the jerseys, but it seems that nobody in Hollywood noticed the double entendre.
Week 23 Results
Salt Lake 2 Colorado 0
New England 2 L.A. Galaxy 2
D.C. United 0 New York 0 (Not the best choice for Fox's live game!)
Dallas 1 Columbus 2
San Jose 2 Kansas City 1
Chivas 2 Toronto 1 (Late goalkeeping blunder puts Chivas into play-off spot)
Houston 2 Chicago 1
Standings
Eastern Conference
1) Columbus 40 points (played 22)
2) New England 38 (22)
3) Chicago 35 (22)
4) D.C. United 32 (22)
5) *New York 32 (22)
6) Toronto 26 (22)
7) Kansas City 26 (22)
Western Conference
1) Houston 35 (22)
2) Salt Lake 30 (22)
3) *Chivas 27 (22)
4) Dallas 26 (22)
5) L.A. Galaxy 25 (22)
6) San Jose 25 (22)
7) Colorado 24 (22)
*Lines show teams occupying play-off positions.
.jpg)
2 comments:
Hey just wanted to say that I have been enjoying the blog, it is always great to see a well-written and thoughtful commentary on MLS (I actually saw the link in the discussion of Shaka Hislop's blog on Guardian.com, but this is 10x better). Keep it up!
Thanks for your kind remarks.
I took it upon myself this season to produce a weekly update for friends and family that does not focus on the same old tired angles prevalent in so much of the media, usually from those who barely watch MLS (if at all).
I'm glad you are enjoying the posts.
Post a Comment