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| MLS weekend preview: Sounders and Galaxy ready for center stage | MLS weekend preview: Sounders and Galaxy ready for center stage |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| Competition is fierce – kind of | Competition is fierce – kind of |
| Say what you like about MLS – and many people do, loudly, and at great length – but at least it’s competitive. No Bayern-style 19-point winning margins here: the 2015 season has been all about parity. A succession of teams have reach the summit of their respective conferences and then misplaced their crampons: Sporting, Vancouver and DC have all been toppled at various points this season, falling down like Michael Douglas in a white-collar shirt. | Say what you like about MLS – and many people do, loudly, and at great length – but at least it’s competitive. No Bayern-style 19-point winning margins here: the 2015 season has been all about parity. A succession of teams have reach the summit of their respective conferences and then misplaced their crampons: Sporting, Vancouver and DC have all been toppled at various points this season, falling down like Michael Douglas in a white-collar shirt. |
| Take the Red Bulls. They’re the best team in the East, the only side to have lost fewer than 10 games, and last week they go and get blitzed 5-2 at home by Orlando City. Go figure. However, the Bulls can quench their thirst against the Columbus Crew this weekend. Columbus are a bit hit and miss, but they don’t draw many, and could theoretically move top with a victory, especially if Kei Kamara continues his hot streak. Should be a good one. | |
| DC United want goals, goals, goals | DC United want goals, goals, goals |
| DC United have been flirting with the top of the standings in the East, but by gum, they’re boring, aren’t they? The defensive Ben Olsen, DC’s coach, may not necessarily be a disciple of George Graham, Otto Rehhagel or Norad, but the stats tell a story: they’ve scored just 37 goals in 31 games, and just four in their last six since that zany 6-4 win over Real Salt Lake in August. United are too reliant on Jairo Arrieta and Fabian Espindola, and it’s high time DC’s midfielders ditched their John Obi Mikel impressions and started finding the net. | DC United have been flirting with the top of the standings in the East, but by gum, they’re boring, aren’t they? The defensive Ben Olsen, DC’s coach, may not necessarily be a disciple of George Graham, Otto Rehhagel or Norad, but the stats tell a story: they’ve scored just 37 goals in 31 games, and just four in their last six since that zany 6-4 win over Real Salt Lake in August. United are too reliant on Jairo Arrieta and Fabian Espindola, and it’s high time DC’s midfielders ditched their John Obi Mikel impressions and started finding the net. |
| New York City aren’t boring; they’re just not very good. David Villa has been his usual excellent self, and has 17 goals in his debut year, but the rest of the team has, shall we say, issues? Flimsy defence, erratic goalkeeping, a lack of pace, a tiny child’s home pitch that’s the laughing stock of the league. After all that transfer and injury hoopla, Frank Lampard has started to do what he’s done for 20 years – score goals from midfield – but Andrea Pirlo’s star has waned with his pace, and NYC’s surge has probably come too late. | New York City aren’t boring; they’re just not very good. David Villa has been his usual excellent self, and has 17 goals in his debut year, but the rest of the team has, shall we say, issues? Flimsy defence, erratic goalkeeping, a lack of pace, a tiny child’s home pitch that’s the laughing stock of the league. After all that transfer and injury hoopla, Frank Lampard has started to do what he’s done for 20 years – score goals from midfield – but Andrea Pirlo’s star has waned with his pace, and NYC’s surge has probably come too late. |
| There’s a tiny chance NYC could move above the red line, but it would require a massive collapse by about four other clubs, and it’s just not going to happen, for all that the MLS money men would like Lampard, Villa and Pirlo to be there in the playoffs. Oh well. At least one team from Yankee Stadium will be contesting the postseason. | There’s a tiny chance NYC could move above the red line, but it would require a massive collapse by about four other clubs, and it’s just not going to happen, for all that the MLS money men would like Lampard, Villa and Pirlo to be there in the playoffs. Oh well. At least one team from Yankee Stadium will be contesting the postseason. |
| Giovinco and Toronto to pile on sad Philly | Giovinco and Toronto to pile on sad Philly |
| Poor old Philly. On Wednesday, when Sebastien Le Toux scored first in the US Open Cup final, Union fans might have actually thought: wow, maybe we can finally win something! Then Krizstian Nemeth equalised for Sporting, and the teams were locked at 1-1 after extra time. Cue Union coach Jim Curtin to play his joker, Louis van Gaal-style: in came John McCarthy for Andre Blake, to be the shootout hero he was earlier in the tournament. It didn’t work out. McCarthy stopped one of only eight penalties, and Sporting KC ran off with the cup, while the official MLS website lamented Philly’s “second straight gut-wrenching defeat”. | Poor old Philly. On Wednesday, when Sebastien Le Toux scored first in the US Open Cup final, Union fans might have actually thought: wow, maybe we can finally win something! Then Krizstian Nemeth equalised for Sporting, and the teams were locked at 1-1 after extra time. Cue Union coach Jim Curtin to play his joker, Louis van Gaal-style: in came John McCarthy for Andre Blake, to be the shootout hero he was earlier in the tournament. It didn’t work out. McCarthy stopped one of only eight penalties, and Sporting KC ran off with the cup, while the official MLS website lamented Philly’s “second straight gut-wrenching defeat”. |
| Curtin’s response afterward was one of remorse: “All I can say is sorry for not delivering.” And now they’ve got nothing to play for. They go to Tronna on Saturday night, and the Canadians, despite being in fifth, have the record of classic mid-table dross: 13 wins, 13 defeats, 52 goals scored, 52 conceded. As good as they are bad, at least they’re entertaining, and they go into this one with a two-game winning streak. Plus, Sebastian Giovinco, MLS’s best ever player (There! We said it) became the first guy in league history to record 20 goals and 15 assists in a single season. He’s just brilliant. Expect the Atomic Ant to colonize the Union defence, if that’s even possible. | Curtin’s response afterward was one of remorse: “All I can say is sorry for not delivering.” And now they’ve got nothing to play for. They go to Tronna on Saturday night, and the Canadians, despite being in fifth, have the record of classic mid-table dross: 13 wins, 13 defeats, 52 goals scored, 52 conceded. As good as they are bad, at least they’re entertaining, and they go into this one with a two-game winning streak. Plus, Sebastian Giovinco, MLS’s best ever player (There! We said it) became the first guy in league history to record 20 goals and 15 assists in a single season. He’s just brilliant. Expect the Atomic Ant to colonize the Union defence, if that’s even possible. |
| Seattle aim to close the gap on Galaxy | Seattle aim to close the gap on Galaxy |
| In the West, the Galaxy go to Seattle for the weekend’s biggest matchup. MLS’s most glamorous squad goes to the Pacific north-west for showers, Starbucks, and a Sounders team on the up. Remember when Seattle were useless? You should, because it wasn’t that long ago: June and July were hellish, and Seattle experienced bigger losses than Volkswagen. Sigi Schmid was feeling the heat, but they pulled themselves together, Obafemi Martins started scoring, and they’re right in the mix for the Supporters’ Shield, especially if they can beat a Galaxy side that’s faltered since that 5-1 shellacking of NYC in late August. | In the West, the Galaxy go to Seattle for the weekend’s biggest matchup. MLS’s most glamorous squad goes to the Pacific north-west for showers, Starbucks, and a Sounders team on the up. Remember when Seattle were useless? You should, because it wasn’t that long ago: June and July were hellish, and Seattle experienced bigger losses than Volkswagen. Sigi Schmid was feeling the heat, but they pulled themselves together, Obafemi Martins started scoring, and they’re right in the mix for the Supporters’ Shield, especially if they can beat a Galaxy side that’s faltered since that 5-1 shellacking of NYC in late August. |
| For LA, it’s all about Steven Gerrard. (When isn’t it? Zing!) No, but really: is the former Liverpool captain to blame for unsettling the Galaxy’s midfield balance? Um. I mean: do we even have to ask? | For LA, it’s all about Steven Gerrard. (When isn’t it? Zing!) No, but really: is the former Liverpool captain to blame for unsettling the Galaxy’s midfield balance? Um. I mean: do we even have to ask? |
| Related: Steven Gerrard is an upsetting presence in LA Galaxy's midfield | Related: Steven Gerrard is an upsetting presence in LA Galaxy's midfield |
| Houston go to Dallas for a Texas BBQ | Houston go to Dallas for a Texas BBQ |
| To borrow an old Texan phrase, this MLS season has seen more twists than a pretzel factory. A couple of weeks ago, FC Dallas looked good for a first-place conference finish, but then dang: successive losses against Sporting and LA have pushed them back into third. However, these good ol’ Texan boys have a chance in the derby to push Houston to destruction, especially if their prime Colombians, Castillo and Barrios, can rediscover their scoring touch. | To borrow an old Texan phrase, this MLS season has seen more twists than a pretzel factory. A couple of weeks ago, FC Dallas looked good for a first-place conference finish, but then dang: successive losses against Sporting and LA have pushed them back into third. However, these good ol’ Texan boys have a chance in the derby to push Houston to destruction, especially if their prime Colombians, Castillo and Barrios, can rediscover their scoring touch. |
| Houston, to borrow another old Texan phrase, are in a place about as dark as the devil’s riding boots. They’re three points back of Portland, having played a game more, and realistically need two wins minimum from their final three games to make the cut. But they’re on a roll, kinda, and a win against their inter-state rivals keeps them alive. The Dynamo need another big game from Will Bruin, and Giles Barnes could do with another goal: otherwise they’ll be crying in their Lone Star beer until next season. | Houston, to borrow another old Texan phrase, are in a place about as dark as the devil’s riding boots. They’re three points back of Portland, having played a game more, and realistically need two wins minimum from their final three games to make the cut. But they’re on a roll, kinda, and a win against their inter-state rivals keeps them alive. The Dynamo need another big game from Will Bruin, and Giles Barnes could do with another goal: otherwise they’ll be crying in their Lone Star beer until next season. |
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