League Got Joseph Ban Right

Shalrie Joseph was the latest victim of the MLS Disciplinary Committee. On Tuesday he was slapped with a one-match ban for an incident during Thursday's 1-0 loss to FC Dallas. On the play, Joseph went into a tackle from behind, toppled Ricardo Villar and was booked for doing so.

Not good enough, the committee decided and in essence decided that the play was worthy of a red card. Had he gotten a red card originally of course this probably would not have happened. But he didn't and now we're debating the merits of this suspension. At least, there seems to be quite a bit of debate out there.

I can't say I disagree with the findings, though. For several reasons.

For starters, that was a harsh tackle. It was from behind, reckless and the kind that can cause serious damage. Last season, some similarly awful challenges cost Steve Zakuani and Javier Morales quite a bit of pain and grief. The league is rightly trying to do something about it, and if players continue to committ such foolish challenges they will be punished, whether it's on the field or in instances such as these that Joseph finds himself.

Now, it may seem as if this undermines the officiating and that it shows some sort of disrespect to the officials. Effectively, the committee is saying that the call was not good enough, that it was flat wrong, and then they went ahead and corrected it. Well, what I would say to that is this - since when has the media, fans and players shown any sort of collective support or respect of the officials? Watch any MLS game and at one point or another you will see players swarming around the official after a call, protesting a call, demanding the call be changed, barking at, yelling at, all but hitting the official. Fans in the stands or on various social media outlets will voice their displeasure of the officiating and stories are written about how certain calls affected matches. All of that undermines the officials and goes on consistently, and yet now it's an issue?

If anything, this sends a message to the officials that there needs to be stiffer penalties during games so that this does not have to happen again. It's a way of helping the match officials, not hurting them or undermining them. The league wants certain things punished more, wants to eradicate certain things from games and one way of correcting and eliminating these behaviors is by actively helping the match officials stamp it out in games. In other words, this Joseph decision isn't just a one-off thing. It's not that this tackle was bad and it should be punished; it's that this tackle was bad and these kinds of tackles are unwanted in MLS matches and players need to know that in one form or another.

Also, Villar is out for at least one match with a mid-foot sprain. According to reports, Villar's injury is a week-by-week injury but if nothing else it's a setback since Villar had scored twice and was becoming an important player for FC Dallas.

Now, here's the play in question from various angles:

That's a harsh tackle. It should have been a red card, plain and simple.

And next time, it will be.

Chivas Slowly Turning Heads

Admit it. You thought Chivas USA were crap. That's okay, you were probably in good company.

Chivas USA were given about as much hope of making the playoffs as a mule would be in winning the Kentucky Derby, but this red-and-white mule could turn out to be a thoroughbred, one few saw coming.

Chivas USA is not having a tremendous season quite yet. They are 0-3 at home, having lost all three home games by the same hard-luck 1-0 score. But where they've found success and where they have started turning some heads is on the road. A 1-0 win over Real Salt Lake was shocking and to prove that was no fluke the club came from behind to beat Portland 2-1 on the weekend.

Bad teams don't get those kinds of road results, not a clean sheet against a team that rarely loses at home and a comeback win over another side who was supposed to be better than Chivas.


Now, I'm not hailing Chivas as the second-coming of Barcelona. Don't get me wrong, this team has some issues that need to be worked out. The attack needs to be much more dangerous and the team must see games through particularly at home. All three goals they've yielded at home have come in the second half.


But the hope is there. It's there within the team and now those outside the team can see things coming to fruition.


I dedicated my Wednesday PE column to Chivas USA but for some reason it's not linked online. I'll share with you some of what Fraser told me:


On earning respect and if he feels the road results have helped the club gain some respect: Earning respect is an ongoing process. Perhaps we had a little respect from Salt Lake, perhaps we got a little more respect from Portland but at the end of the day earning respect is a never-ending process.


On how feels the process has been and is going: It’s understood that turning this franchise around was going to take time and we feel we are taking steps towards that. It’s a long process. In some instances you get quite fortunate and it’s a quick process but for the most part it’s a long, hard process and there’s no easy route to being good.


On how comfortable he feels in his position now compared to last year: I’ve felt pretty comfortable last year knowing what we were trying to do and what we were trying to accomplish. This year there is a different feeling, a feeling more of expectations. We’ve been here a year long, brought in a few players and have high expectations for ourselves.

Lopes Deal Smacks Of Desperation

Is this what desperation looks like?

The LA Galaxy traded a promising young talent in Paolo Cardozo for a guy who is a big physical specimen in David Junior Lopes.

Cardozo may not have had much on-the-field success with the Galaxy but the youngster has a decent upside. He could flourish for Chivas quickly as Robin Fraser likely won't have the type of clamps on him that Galaxy coach Bruce Arena did.


In Lopes though the Galaxy get a guy who has a good center back body but is a liability. He played just eight games with Chivas last year but made no great impact. He did not play in any games this season as Chivas opted for a starting duo of Rauwshan McKenzie and Heath Pearce in central defense. Newcomer John Valencia, who was supposed to come in and contend for a starting center back spot, has yet to make his league debut because the McKenzie-Pearce pairing has been solid. This made Lopes expendable.


Arena also hopes that Lopes can help stop the bleeding in the back. The Galaxy have played six games and have allowed 12 goals. Tommy Meyer and Andrew Boyens have each started three and neither has been strong enough to snatch that starting spot for good. The next option in central defense was Sean Franklin - at least until Leonardo is healthy - unless Arena was willing to put Bryan Gaul in there, and Gaul has only played center back since the start of training camp.


This lack of presence in the middle of course prompted the move. Had either Boyens or Meyer found true success in the backline, this trade probably would not have happened. Instead, Boyens/Meyer have not been good enough to keep opponents from scoring consistently.

Thus, the deal. But Lopes won't help the Galaxy defense much, unless Arena is somehow able to tap into Lopes' tremendous physical stature. Until then, the Galaxy defense may be up to its old tricks once more.

How Slow A Start Is This?

The Galaxy are off to a terrible start to the 2012 season. No matter how you spin it, this team is underperforming, at least based on the expectations that were placed on them heading into the season. The three losses speak for themselves.

Is it time to panic? Do Galaxy fans need to start riots and turning cars over in anger? Or do they need to step off the ledge, take a deep breath and relax?

That last part is up for debate of course, but one thing to consider is just how starts to other seasons have gone. Technically this is not the worst start to a Galaxy season, but you have to put an asterisk (and I did) next to seasons with shootouts because that skews the wins and losses and points. Since MLS did away with shootouts in the 2000 season then, the Galaxy have had no fewer than three points after four games. In fact, this is the third time the Galaxy have three points after four games since 2000.

Anyway, here you go so you can compare and draw whatever conclusions you want. I included notable accomplishments (Supporters' Shield, MLS Cup appearance) after each season. I don't consider making the playoffs a notable accomplishment since in 2003 and 2004 for instance eight out of the league's 10 teams made the playoffs. Not impressive.

2012: 3 points, 1-3-0 (LWLL); 5 gf, 8 ga

2011: 7 points, 2-1-1 (WTLW); 4 gf, 5 ga. Won SS, MLS Cup

2010: 12 points, 4-0-0 (WWWW); 7 gf, 1 ga. Won SS

2009: 3 points, 0-1-3 (TLTT); 5 gf, 6 ga. MLS Cup finalists

2008: 4 points, 1-2-1 (LWLT); 6 gf, 9 ga

2007: 4 points, 1-2-1 (TLWL); 6 gf, 6 ga

2006: 4 points, 1-2-1 (LTWL); 3 gf, 4 ga

2005: 9 points, 3-1-0 (LWWW); 8 gf, 5 ga. Won MLS Cup

2004: 8 points, 2-0-2 (WTTW); 7 gf, 4 ga

2003: 3 points, 0-1-3 (TTTL); 3 gf, 4 ga

2002: 8 points, 2-0-2 (WWTT); 6 gf, 4 ga. Won SS, MLS Cup

2001: 6 points, 2-2-0 (LLWW); 7 gf, 7 ga. MLS Cup finalists

2000: 8 points, 2-0-2 (WWTT); 10 gf, 5 ga

*1999: 2 points, 2-2 (WWLL); 5 gf, 5 ga. MLS Cup finalists

*1998: 10 points, 3-1 (WWWW); 11 gf, 7 ga. Won SS

*1997: 3 points, 3-1 (LLLW); 5 gf, 9 ga

*1996: 12 points, 4-0 (WWWW); 9 gf, 4 ga. MLS Cup finalists

Week Five Rankings

Okay, I tried to figure out this week's power rankings. It's not a science and there is no formula, but I tried my best to figure out some sort of formula. No matter how you rank em though, I think it's safe to say that RSL and Sporting KC would top most... well they should top all power rankings out there right now, and the schedule gods have complied with a table-topping matchup at Livestrong Sporting Park as RSL visit Sporting KC on the weekend.

But before we get into those matchups...

1. Sporting KC: A perfect start, 15 out of a possible 15 points. They've earned this perch

2. Real Salt Lake: Gotta hand it to 'em, RSL improved tremendously from Wednesday to Saturday

3. San Jose: Broke through the vaunted Whitecaps backline... ok, Vancouver's record-setting defense

4. Seattle: Burch could've raised the ultimate middle finger, but Seattle's point is well-earned nonetheless

5. New York: Dominant performance on the road against tricky opponent; not bad

6. Houston: Houston... Houston... oh yeah, I remember them. Kinnear's team.. yeah, that's right...

7. Colorado: Say what you will about Espindola's handball but marking on Saborio's goal was nonexistent

8. Chicago: Some teams have played six games already; Chicago is one of two to have played three

9. FC Dallas: Late heroics vs New England, could be massive confidence-booster
10: Chivas USA: This team's not nearly as bad as many thought it would be
11. New England: What a heartbreaking defeat; draw vs Dallas would've been just

12. LA Galaxy. Had em way too low last week (brain fart?) but they're certainly not Top 10 material

13. Columbus: A complete whipping at hands of New York; was that an aberration?
14. Vancouver: So you were saying how this defense was grandiose... 

15. DC United: DC vs Dallas - four goals; DC's other four games - one goal

16. Montreal: Félicitations pour cette victoire historique

17. Portland: Ownership talked about playoffs before season began; how about competing first?

18. Philadelphia: Wonder if the Union found their offense on their off weekend

19. Toronto FC: 45 minutes away from CCL final, an eternity away from MLS Cup playoffs

Galactic Aftertaste: Thoughts On LA's Loss To KC

Some things to take away from the Galaxy's 1-0 loss to Sporting KC

* Bar Has Been Lowered? The Galaxy did not give up much to Sporting KC. The hosts had maybe a few decent chances to score in the first half, one of which was a goal, and another of which Josh Saunders exquisitely dived and parried away. This seems to be a major step forward for the Galaxy, who had given up seven goals in league play thus far. Does that mean the Galaxy's expectations are lowered? Has the club gotten to the point where efforts like Saturday's are acceptable? Obviously the result is not and never will be acceptable but if players and coaches feel good about how things went on the field aside from the result itself then the club will be in for a long season.

* No Early Goal: Players have lamented their lack of finishing, and it seems that in every game the Galaxy has an early chance that just does not fall. AJ De La Garza told me as much this week about the ealry chances.

"If you look at every game we’ve had a chance to score first, we’ve had the better scoring chances first and we just haven’t capitalized. We kind of fall back and let them get one and we start breaking down. We’ve just got to finish our chances and defend them on the other side."

There's some truth to that. Edson Buddle and Robbie Keane combined for a chance very early in the loss to New England and if Keane buries that one, who knows? While the Galaxy have had a multitude of defensive breakdowns and tactical mistakes, the club ihas also suffered through a loss of confidence. Perhaps an early goal would give the team a shot of confidence. Then again, look at the DC United match. The Galaxy were up 3-0, comfortably heading towards a win when DC United scored late and then all of the sudden DC started buzzing and nearly got a second. An early goal would help for sure but until they get one, there's no guarantee that that will help turn things around.

* Still Salivating? The buzz around the Galaxy's strike force before the year began was loud.

"Robbie Keane and Edson Buddle, with Landon Donovan and David Beckham behind them? This team could score three or four goals a game!"

Well all that is gone. Keane has looked extremely pedestrian-like while Buddle is the Buddle of 2009. Not only is this not one of the best strike pairings in MLS history, it's not even one that is among the best right now. It's actually among the worst. Keane has three goals, Buddle one but their play has been stagnant and their partnership has not yielded a thing. It's really time to shake things up in that unit. Chad Barrett has had his chances - including a late one in the loss to KC - but it's time to give him a start. Or perhaps it's time to move Donovan up top, pair him with Keane and plug in his hole in the midfield. Either way, Buddle-Keane is not putting fear in anyone right now.

* Shell Shocked: The way the Galaxy is playing right now reminds of me of the way the club played for the last several months of the 2010 season. The Galaxy had an awesome start to the season but around July other teams had figured out their defense. Puerto Rico did a number on them in a CONCACAF Champions League qualifier and then others started to tear down their defense. Even though the team wound up winning the Supporters' Shield that year, the end result of the year was a bad 3-0 loss to FC Dallas.

The difference between then and now of course is that the Galaxy had amassed enough points to where they still cruised into the playoffs and walked away with hardware. This time around, the deer-in-headlights look the Galaxy has given is happening way too early for their own sake.

Galaxy-KC Leftovers

Some thoughts ahead of the Galaxy's game against Sporting KC on Saturday.

* No Beckham: David Beckham did not travel for the match. This isn't a surprise today but it was a surprise on Wednesday when we found out he wasn't at practice. I hadn't noticed him out there and turns out that was because he didn't train. Supposedly he's got a lot of different injuries although I was told it was because of rest. I don't know, this all sounds strange. After last week's game against the Revs, Arena said this about Beckham:

"Hopefully he’s ready to be part of the next game. I’m sure he’s not pleased about it."

This was, of course, after Becks was taken out at halftime of the match. Maybe Beckham isn't ready to be part of this game. Won't be the first time we'd be told one or two things and it was something completely different.

This whole season seems kind of different. Beckham's been yelling at teammates for stuff, most notably a bust-up he had with Todd Dunivant right on the field after the first half of the Galaxy's game against Toronto FC on March 14. Then there were reports of another such incident involving Marcelo Sarvas and Sean Franklin, at the half of the New England match. I don't know how injured Beckham really is.

* LD Returns: Landon Donovan will return after he joined the team for training this week and apparently deemed firt enough to travel and possibly play on Saturday. I expect him to start of course but we could see him on the bench if his quadriceps injury is not quite up to 90 minutes. Either way I expect to see him on the field at some point.

* Must-Win? I asked Bruce Arena if he thought this match was a must-win game. His response?

"A must win with 30 games left in the season? I would think not. I don’t think there’s a must-win for any team in the league because there’s 90 points left after Saturday. I don’t know how that’s a must win. Our goal is to win the game."

Well, I guess he doesn't think it's a must win.


*Lineup? My best guess: Saunders; Dunivant, De La Garza, Boyens, Franklin; Magee, Stephens, Juninho, Donovan; Buddle, Keane.


I would see Stephens in there over Sarvas simply because Sarvas looked awful against the Revs. He flat out quit on a few plays and Arena does not like that at all. Now, I would put Chad Barrett in for Edson Buddle, especially since Barrett scored two goals in a reserve game on Monday but I don't see that happening. I think Arena sticks with Buddle and Keane up top. He's not hitting the panic button yet so don't expect to see too many changes. If anything maybe we see Tommy Meyer back in there but I doubt we even see that much.


* My Pick: I had picked Sporting KC to beat the Galaxy when I published my picks on Friday morning, before word broke of Beckham not travelling. I stick with my pick (well I have to I guess). I think we'll see the Galaxy come out strong and I wouldn't be surprised to see them pull this one out but if I was betting on this one I'd bet on Sporting KC. I don't think they will have figured out how to cut down the service or defend it well enough and I think CJ Sapong and Kei Kamara will do their thing against that Galaxy backline. Kamara and Sapong are just two big bodies KC boasts and that will not play in the Galaxy's favor. Set pieces will also be key for KC and without Beckham, the Galaxy aren't quite as deadly - although Donovan and Robbie Keane do well with set pieces.

Anyway, a close one but I don't see the Galaxy breaking out of their funk.

Week Five Picks

The week has already begun and my picks are already turning on me. I got RSL correctly over Montreal (the gimmie game of the year thus far) and was seconds away from guessing the Dallas-New England match correctly but Ugo Ihemelu had to score a late goal to give Dallas the win. So I got one out of two right.

With a full slate of seven matches set for Saturday, here's hoping the late goals go my way.

Montreal vs Toronto FC

These two Canadian cities have a natural rivalry and now it will spill over into an MLS match. Toronto FC visits MLS's latest entrant in a match that is a budding derby. I suppose it should be a derby given the cities' histories but I'm hesitant to label this as such given the poor state of Toronot FC and the newness of Montreal. Still, it should be a heated affair and Toronto FC should be desperate for a result since they've had nothing to show for their league efforts thus far. Montreal played much better against RSL than they did against New York which gives the club hope coming into this affair. Look for Montreal to gain their first-ever MLS victory.

Columbus vs New York

A rematch of the 2008 MLS Cup final, the Red Bulls visit the Crew in a match that promises... nothing. Columbus may be one of the league's least interesting teams, yet the Crew still manage to get results. Columbus left BMO Field with maximum points a week ago and fared well against Montreal at home. New York meanwhile boast Player of the Month Thierry Henry and seem to be a handful thus far. Still, be wary of New York on the road until they can actually prove something away from home. I see a listless draw.

Sporting KC vs LA Galaxy

The LA Galaxy are all but dead, right? Possibly. The dynasty may be crumbling at a much faster pace than anyone expected. This match may not feature David Beckham (hamstring) nor Landon Donovan (quad). Even with Robbie Keane there, if the other two DPs are out then the Galaxy suddenly look mortal. They've played that way thus far this season, and to put up another such effort in this situation is asking for trouble. Sporing KC are the league's top team right now bar none, having gotten maximum points from all four of their games. But can KC really start the year off with five consecutive victories? I say yes. Sporting KC beats the Galaxy in a closer match than many will expect.

San Jose vs Vancouver

The Whitecaps are on the verge of making history. With a clean sheet - or even, with just 60 minutes worth of scoreless soccer - Vancouver will set the league record for most minutes to start the season off without conceding a goal. At first glance, that appears impressive. But look at who the 'Caps have faced - Montreal, Chivas USA, DC United and Philadelphia. Those aren't exactly teams with great offense. San Jose meanwhile has done remarkable this season, trashing Toronto FC on the road and then stealing a victory at Seattle. Chris Wondolowski will end Vancouver's streak and hand them their first loss of the season. San Jose wins this.

DC United vs Seattle

It's fairly early in the season but DC United have already shown they can get blown out, they can play a gritty (and dull) scoreless draw and can blow out another team. They're running the whole gamut here and it's barely April. Seattle meanwhile continue being one of the top contenders, despite losing to the 'Quakes. Seattle now face adversity and to have to do so on the road could make for an even greater challenge. They should do enough to get a point. Look for this one to end in a draw.

Real Salt Lake vs Colorado

The first of three installments of the Rocky Mountain Cup comes at us on the weekend, and it comes at a good time. Both teams have done well of late. RSL escaped a Wednesday night home match with three points as they got past Montreal as expected but the club certainly had an emotional letdown after the weekend's thrilling come-from-behind victory at Jeld-Wen Field. Colorado also enter this match with a home win, having beaten Chicago 2-0. RSL have won five consecutive Rocky Mountain Cups and their quest for number six will begin with a win.

Portland Timbers vs Chivas USA

Chivas USA's defense is building up a repuation of being stingy. The club has allowed three goals in four games and it should have been less than that. Also, the clean sheet at RSL speaks well for the team's defense. But the attack is all but pathetic as there is nothing going on up front. Portland will give Chivas space and if Chivas cannot score on the Timbers, something must change. Portland is a difficult team to figure out. The club has talent, no doubt, but the mentality seems fragile. Against the Revs, the club just did not show up. RSL put two late goals past Portland a week ago to steal that match, and suddenly the Timbers find themselves on a two-game losing streak. But facing a team with as weak an attack as Chivas will help. Portland wins this one.

Season Totals: 6-5

Scrappy TFC Bows Out

Toronto FC were 45 minutes away from making history, 45 minutes from not only shocking CONCACAF but from taking a giant step forward that would benefit all of MLS.

Then the bottom fell out.

Santos Laguna scored four second-half goals to down the Canadians by 6-2 on Tuesday and won their CCL semifinal series by an aggregate score of 7-3. Santos killed MLS’s hopes of having a representative in the final for the second consecutive year.

There are two things that came out of this result. First, Toronto FC fought harder and lasted longer than many gave them credit for. Secondly, MLS is still far behind the Mexican league level.

Now, Toronto FC is not exactly the bar for MLS teams. That bar has been raised and held there by Real Salt Lake and the Galaxy and a scant few others but for the most part the bar is set. That bar is still well below Mexico’s bar. Now, there are reasons for this. Mexican teams have no salary cap, greater resources, greater support from their communities and run unopposed in their media and within the Mexican culture. MLS clubs don’t enjoy the financial resources as their Mexican counterparts nor do they enjoy the other luxuries Mexican teams have.

Within those guidelines then, Toronto FC’s run was made more remarkable. Toronto FC got past the supposed juggernaut the Galaxy were and fared better than Seattle against the same Santos side – Seattle gave up two quick goals and all hope seemed lost afterward.

Toronto FC won’t be challenging for the MLS Cup title, at least few can see that happening. Their league form this season has been poor – losses to Seattle, San Jose and Columbus have marred the start of their season. And still, even while not being part of the cup contenders, Toronto FC nearly found themselves playing for a much bigger prize.

Now, while MLS is not quite the powerhouse league many would like to believe it is but when less-successful teams like Toronto FC can battle and scrap their way and find a modicum of success against teams like Santos, that has to bode well for both club and league.

Week Five Picks, Part I

Nothing says MLS like midweek matches. We have two games here to pick this week, one each on Wednesday and Thursday night. I fared okay last weekend, not bad I suppose. Anyway, let's see how I fare with the appetizers for what will be another full plate of games on the weekend.

Real Salt Lake vs Montreal

On paper this looks like a lopsided matchup. And in reality, it looks like a lopsided matchup. When this one's over, everyone will say what a lopsided matchup this was. Sure, there are no sure things in soccer but RSL is all but a lock to win this one. Montreal have played three times on the road thus far, and have yielded nine goals in those two games. New York had their way with Montreal on Saturday, scoring four unanswered goals at one point. If there is a positive to Montreal, it's that the club has scored first in two of their games. RSL meanwhile has already lost at home, dropping a 1-0 result to Chivas USA their last time out. Might that bode well for Montreal? Hardly. The last time RSL lost two consecutive home matches was in 2007. RSL wins this one easily.

FC Dallas vs New England

I didn't see the Revolution as being a contender this season, or being very competitive at all. Now, they enter FC Dallas Stadium on a two-game winning streak. For a team that has had a meager 60 points combined the last two seasons, that's a great deal. But New England may look better entering this game because of their performance last time out, but they demolished a team that had a host of problems and frankly that made them look better than they are. To counter my own counter, though, the Revs are facing a team in FC Dallas that is a shell of its former self. This is not the team that surprised the league to reach MLS Cup 2010, nor is it the side that was on its way towards another MLS Cup until the bottom fell out late last summer. This team is slow and static and lacks that dynamic play that was their hallmark from the most recent successful stretch. Still, to expect the Revs to win three consecutive games after having played as poorly as they have in the last several years is asking too much. This one's a draw.

Week Three Record: 5-4

Toronto FC's Monumental Challenge

Toronto FC faces a monstrous challenge today. If Toronto FC is to become the first Canadian club and second MLS side to reach the CONCACAF Champions League final, the task will be monumental.

Beat Santos at Santos.

Well, I take that back. They technically don't have to win. They can tie 2-2 or 3-3 or etc., and win the series on away goals. A 1-1 draw sends the match to extra time while a scoreless draw sends Santos through.

No way this match finishes in a goalless draw. This one has goals written all over it. Santos beat Seattle by 6-1 in Torreon last time out and Toronto FC has scored five goals in their three previous CCL encounters.

But Toronto FC will be missing Danny Koevermans and of course Torsten Frings. Without their two European standouts, the task of scoring goals and stopping Santos from scoring becomes even more difficult.

Still, nothing is impossible. Few gave Toronto FC a chance to get this far, and few gave them a shot of beating Santos at home. While they did not win the home leg, a 1-1 score is surprising to some and a decent enough result heading down to Mexico.

That Toronto FC is the last MLS club standing is a shock. FC Dallas and Colorado did not survive the group stage while LA Galaxy fans surely relished the opportunity of playing Toronto FC instead of Seattle in the quarterfinals.

Toronto FC may go down in flames and they may be swallowed up by the budding Mexican juggernaut in Torreon but the club has done itself proud and done MLS proud in this tournament regardless of the result. And if they do pull off the supposed miracle, they will surely have more MLS supporters in their corner come the final.

Galaxy Defensive Woes

In 2011, the LA Galaxy were an impenetrable wall. The club gave up just 28 goals in 34 regular-season games, one of the few clubs in league history to yield less than 30 goals in one season.

This year, the Galaxy are about as impenetrable as a screen door. They've already allowed seven goals in three regular-season home games and add the four that Toronto FC dropped on them in their CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal series and that figure goes up to 11 goals in five games.

It took the Galaxy 12 games to give up 11 goals in 2011.

Clearly there is something amiss. Now, the easy and seemingly obvious answer is Omar Gonzalez. Because of Gonzalez, the Galaxy have gone from a legendary MLS defense to a porous one. While Gonzalez's absence certainly is being felt, simply pointing to Gonzalez as the reason for the club's defensive demise is overlooking the major problem.

Nobody is defending. Look at any of the Galaxy's goals in their 3-1 loss to New England and you can point to player after player who was not marking. AJ De La Garza even said as much afterward.

"Kelyn Rowe is 5-7 and he’s getting behind our backline on a cross and the second one, their left back is scoring a goal inside our box, that’s unacceptable. On the third one, obviously, it’s a cross and coming in and not marking or someone getting a head on it."

The same lack of marking has been there in other games, notably the series-clincher for Toronto on March 14, when Ryan Johnson had too much space outside the box and laid it off for Nick Soolsma, who buried the ball into the back of the net to kill the Galaxy's CCL hopes.

The problem isn't just in defense. Marcelo Sarvas gave up on a couple of plays Saturday while Juninho has not been himself either. Obviously Landon Donovan did not play but those around him did not pick up the slack.

Point at Gonzalez as the Galaxy's reason for its ills but you'll be pointing at the wrong issue. There is nothing the team can do about Gonzalez now. He is rehabilitating his injury and wants to get back on the field as soon as possible, but look at what is on the Galaxy's roster now, what Bruce Arena has to work with.

Right now, he has a team who is out of form, lacking confidence and not marking well. That's a bad combination.

Week Four Rankings

This wasn't exactly a defining week; can't have that until a little bit later in the season. However, there were some teams who showed more than they have been, for both good and bad, and that will reflect in my latest rankings.

1. Sporting KC. If they're not number one in every single power ranking across the web, then something is wrong.
2. Real Salt Lake. Tremendous grit and determination to overcome late deficit.
3. Seattle Sounders. Tough home setback; maybe they took the 'Quakes too lightly?
4. San Jose. Few gave them credit for 3-0 win at Toronto, but 1-0 win at Seattle is no fluke.
5. Colorado. Shook off bad outing in NY with solid home win.
6. Houston. Stingy defense needs a strong attack to match.
7. Columbus. It wasn't such a tough opponent but 1-0 road wins are always strong.
8. New York. Henry in top form all season could be runaway MVP.
9. Chicago. Could have shown better resolve on road, but then again Fire never win at Rapids.
10. New England. Not gonna anoint Jay Heaps as Coach of the Year yet but may have been wrong about Revs.
11. DC United. Dropped four on FC Dallas and made it look easy.
12. Vancouver. Listless attack; at least there's hope.
13. FC Dallas. Hyndman needs some butter leather magic.

14. Portland. Terrible way to lose a game.
15. Chivas USA. Four games, all 1-0 results. Too bad only one has gone their way.
16. LA Galaxy. The bottom has fallen out.
17. Toronto FC. Will to win is there as CCL proved but has to pay off in league sometime.
18. Montreal. Ugly losses like this one will continue, sad to say.
19. Philadelphia. A point does not exactly atone for the team's horrid start

Week 4 MLS Picks

One of the outlets I did a lot of work for over the last couple of years was a gambling site. It was actually pretty cool. I would write up match previews in a specific format and then I'd make a pick.

I picked every MLS game for that site from 2008 all the way through last season - regular season, playoffs, MLS Cup. Now, unfortunately, that's over. Having to pick all the games meant I had to stay abreast of what was going on around the league.

We're three weeks in now and I haven't picked a game, and this makes me sad. So I will try and pick the weekend's games here.

DC vs FC Dallas

DC United have yet to win this season while FC Dallas are coming off a tough loss at KC. I expect FC Dallas to come out focused and determined to not let another match slip through their fingers, but I don't think that DC will lose this. Therefore, I see a draw.

Toronto FC vs Columbus

Toronto FC will be in the midst of a difficult stretch. The club will have played San Jose at home on March 24, will have hosted Santos Laguna in a CCL semifinal on the 28th, then will have this home game just four days before playing at Santos. Oh yeah, and Torsten Frings is hurt. And, oh yeah, Toronto's form has been miserable in league. The Crew wins this edition of the Trillium Cup.

New York vs Montreal

Poor Impact. Their hopes were high going into the season but now the team is finding out that life in MLS for expansion teams is difficult. Their fragile confidence has been shattered after a come-from-ahead draw to Chicago at home and a bad loss to Columbus on the road. No goals in two road games... make that no goals in three road games. New York takes this one handily.

Philadelphia vs Vancouver

Easily the most-anticipated matchup of the weekend. I mean, it's Sebastien Le Toux's return to Philly for chrissake. Will that make it the best game of the weekend? Maybe, maybe not but I think it makes this the most difficult game of the weekend to pick. On the one hand, Le Toux may come out fired up and might be ready to score two or three goals on Philly. But at the same time, that feeling may make you look away from the facts - Vancouver, for all they've improved, still aren't a proven team (they will need more than just a 1-0 win at Chivas to change that for me) and that makes them unreliable. As a general rule I don't like to take unreliable teams to win road games. So I'm calling this a draw.

Seattle vs San Jose

The 'Quakes put three past Toronto FC but don't be fooled. That had as much to do with Toronto FC adjusting to life without Torsten Frings and their focus on the CCL as it did with San Jose's own attacking prowess. Seattle are strong and at home and perhaps they will run out of magic at some point soon up at Century Link but I don't see it happening this weekend. Seattle wins this one.

Portland vs Real Salt Lake

Dear Portland... what was that? The Timbers put in a miserable performance against what I feel is the worst team in the league in New England, allowing an early goal and putting exactly zero past Matt Reis. Portland's woes on the road continue, but that of course means nothing as they return to Jeld-Wen Field. RSL had their own troubling loss but RSL played well enough to at least get a point away from their match. RSL are more sound and more settled and that will equate to success. RSL takes the full three points on the road.

LA Galaxy vs New England

Don't be fooled. The Galaxy aren't the juggernaut they were in 2011 and they have traditionally struggled against New England, even at home. A year ago, the Revs stole a point from the Galaxy's home opener and New England has won three of their last six matches vs the Galaxy at Home Depot Center. New England will surely try and exploit the Galaxy's woeful central defense, which has been a part of the Galaxy having allowed eight goals in four games across all competitions. New England will play the Galaxy tough and will get a draw from this game.

Colorado vs Chicago

What matters more - Colorado's awful showing from a week ago or Chicago's strong four points? Chicago certainly has more momentum and with Dominic Oduro on a scoring streak the Fire appear poised to challenge. However, consider this: Chicago are 1-3-1 vs. Colorado at Dick's Sporting Goods Park and have won just three games all-time at Colorado. The Rapids will bounce back with a win.

Chivas USA vs Sporting KC

Sporting KC are on a tear. They've bested all competition thus far, whether it's been at home or on the road. Their offense was supposed to produce these kinds of results as CJ Sapong and Kei Kamara from the start of one of the top attacks in the league. Teal Bunbury will return to give Peter Vermes another piece to the puzzle. But Chivas USA came off a potentially defining victory that if nothing else gives the team a load of confidence entering this match. Will that be enough to topple mighty KC? No, but I think it will be enough to earn a point. Look for a draw from this match.

Escaping With A Draw

Toronto FC were strong against Santos Laguna in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League semifinal match, escaping with a respectable 1-1 draw.

Toronto FC were a bit unlucky not to get the second goal and take a victory down to Mexico. Santos went down to 10 men for the final quarter hour but Toronto FC were unable to take advantage.

Is this a great result for Toronto FC? Honestly, no. Toronto FC will need to win outright or draw by at least 2-2 in order to win the series. A 1-1 draw sends the match to extra time while a 0-0 draw or a Santos win eliminates Toronto FC.

Toronto FC now have one win and two draws from their CCL campaign while having just two bad losses to show for their league efforts.

What will make it complicated in the second leg will be the absence of Danny Koevermans. The Dutch striker was booked against Santos on Tuesday and will now serve a one-match suspension because of it. Pity, but Toronto FC have Ryan Johnson, Nick Soolsma and Luis Silva to pick up the slack. It's troubling but not disastrous.

I suppose down in the second leg that anything short of a 6-1 loss won't reflect too poorly within MLS. After all, one of the league's best sides fell by that much down in Torreon.

This team may not be a power but they also are survivors. Perhaps nobody outside their locker room believes in them, but that probably won't bother them much at all. That underdog mentality will only help the club down in Mexico, when nobody will give them a chance to do anything against Santos Laguna.

No Chance For Toronto FC?

Toronto FC and Santos Laguna. The two don't belong on the same field let alone in the same competition, right?

After all, Santos Laguna have won Mexican titles before - los Guerreros were the first Mexican team to win a short-season title, capturing the Invierno 96 crown. They may not be one of Mexico's Big Four but they are a well-respected team within their league and one of the few Mexican teams to have built their own stadium recently, a testament to the passionate support the club enjoys in Torreon.

Toronto FC meanwhile... well, they're just a sad sack of a club, or so the perception is. Toronto FC have yet to make the playoffs, yet to win an MLS match that matters, have gone through countless coaches and players in their short existence.

And yet, here they are, these two clubs from opposite ends of the success/respect spectrum, fighting for a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League final.

Toronto FC were not a hapless club against the LA Galaxy. Now there's a team that was heavily favored, was supposed to waltz through TFC, supposed to capture attention throughout the region and the world by making a CCL run and TFC did not care. TFC did not bat an eyelid. When the Galaxy overcame a 2-0 deficit to level terms late in the first leg, ensuring that a low-scoring draw would be good enough to get through to the semifinals, Toronto FC did well to keep a level head. When Toronto FC scored an own goal to tie the second leg and give the Galaxy the edge, the Canadians kept fighting, kept battling and scored, and did not let the high-flying Galaxy back into the match.

And it is Toronto FC who are deserved semifinal representatives. Remember, this is the same Toronto FC squad that tied Pumas at home in the group stage and punched their ticket into the quarterfinals with a 3-0 win at FC Dallas. They earned their spot in the knockout rounds and earned their spot in the semifinals.

Now, their league form is terrible. Two losses by a combined 6-1 is probably most were expecting out of Toronto in their series against the Galaxy. But that matters nothing against Santos.

Of course the Mexicans are heavily favored to win the series. Mexican teams have dominated the CCL. Santos are in fine form in league and demolished Seattle by 6-1 to book their spot in the semifinal round. And with the second leg scheduled for Torreon on April 4, Santos has an advantage in this series too.

But nobody told Toronto FC that they were supposed to lose to the Galaxy. And I doubt they got the message that Santos Laguna should prevail here either.

Developing Winners Or Developing Players?

Something I'm going to explore in my Press-Enterprise column for Wednesday is this topic: if the purpose of the U.S. youth national teams is to develop players, then the Under-23's failure to qualify for the Olympics is bad but not catostrophic.

If this was the senior team who had failed to beat Canada and El Salvador at home in a tournament, then I would say that would be catostrophic. But the aim of the youth national teams is simple - to develop players. Right? Am I right in saying/thinking this? Maybe it shouldn't be, maybe that should be a key part of MLS and maybe US Soccer shouldn't necessarily concern themselves with youth development, but that's the reality. MLS is not yet producing a high number of young talents; sure, clubs are continually taking a more proactive approach to youth development but US Soccer still has to take a load of this responsibility.

Now, these players aren't exactly the same as the U-17s or even the U-20s. At 22 or 23 years of age, players should be well on their way towards a professional career. Soccer age is younger, so a player who is 26, 27, maybe 28 should be at their prime and by 30, 31, 32 it's time to start thinking about life after soccer.

Still, the biggest opportunity lost for this squad was not that they won't get to contend for a gold medal in London (because honestly, a medal would always have been a bit of a miracle) but that these players, this group will not have had the exposure or the chance to play in a major tournament. The soccer part of the Olympics is not necessarily a major tournament but the Olympics themselves, yeah, they're pretty major. And being a part of that would only have helped the development of players like Terrence Boyd, Juan Agudelo, Joe Corona, Brek Shea, Freddy Adu... etc.

Anyway, that's something I'm kicking around this morning. I'll post the finished product here after it runs in the paper.

Loss Doesn't Spell Overall Doom

The United States' loss to El Salvador... wait... draw with El Salvador will lead to lots of fallout. Some will clamor that this was Caleb Porter's fault; others will question the talent pool; still others will say this reflects poorly on the U.S. youth system and the types of players who are being produced.

Now, say what you will about Porter and the rest of the coaching staff; his international inexperience may have hurt the team and I felt he should have rotated more players in and out of lineup given the three-games-in-five-days stretch. But one thing that can't, or at least shouldn't, be questioned is the fallout with regards to how it reflects on the youth setup.

This has zero bearing on the U.S. national team's future. None.

Now, it may seem natural to assume that it does. If this team of Americans cannot reach the Olympics - heck, if they can't beat Canada or El Salvador at home - then surely it has to point to larger problems, no?

Well, no. It does not.

Go back to any youth national team who either competed at or for a spot in a major tournament and you will find a mix of players who went on to excel with the national team and those who vanished and became nothing.

For the purposes of the U-23s, look at the U.S. lineup who failed to reach the 2004 Summer Olympics.

This is the team that lost to Mexico in Guadalajara in February 2004 and did not reach the Athens games.

USA: D.J. Countess; Chris Wingert (Kyle Beckerman, 46), Nat Borchers, Chad Marshall, Ricky Lewis; Logan Pause, DaMarcus Beasley, Brad Davis (Eddie Gaven, 76), Bobby Convey; Landon Donovan, Eddie Johnson (Alecko Eskandarian, 63). Subs Not Used: Doug Warren; David Stokes, Brian Carroll, David Testo.

Let's see... there's an MLS Most Valuable Player there, an MLS Defender of the Year, finalists for both MVP and Defender of the Year, players who have played and excelled abroad, players who are fixtures and key players on their MLS clubs... sure, there are some washouts and players who amounted to nothing but there's some solid talent in that group.

That loss then did not reflect the level of talent found on that team. And who knows, if that semifinal was not played in Guadalajara before 60,000 passionate Mexican supporters, perhaps we're not having this discussion.

But it happened and we are. And it happened again on Monday, so we discuss.

Now, that U.S. team was, I'd argue, more talented than their Mexican counterparts. Here's El Tri's lineup...

Jesús Corona; Aarón Galindo, Francisco Rodríguez, Ismael Rodríguez; Mario Pérez, Gerardo Espinoza, Diego Martínez; Sergio Ponce, Luis Ernesto Pérez (Luis Alonso Sandoval, 78), Juan Pablo García (Gonzalo Pineda, 67); Rafael Márquez Lugo (Ismael Iniguez, 83). Subs Not Used: Cirilo Salcedo; Juan Carlos Cacho, Jaime Duran, Hugo Sanchez Guerrero, Rodolfo Espinoza.

Mexico's best player from this squad was Francisco Rodriguez, better known as Maza. Jesus Corona has been one of Mexico's top goalkeepers in last decade or so, and Luis Perez and Juan Carlos Cacho have enjoyed league and some national team success, Gonzalo Pineda played in a World Cup... but Donovan and Beasley are better than anyone Mexico had that day.

This U.S. team now has some top-notch talent. Brek Shea, Terence Boyd, Freddy Adu, Joe Corona... pick your poison. These players will be influential for club and country before it's all said and done. Just because they failed collectively does not mean that individually they're garbage.

In many ways, the youth setup is like the game of soccer itself. Scoring goals is important yes, but creating chances is probably more important. The more chances you create, the more likely it is you will find the back of the net. But you can generate chance after chance and fail to score, just like you can churn out top youth talent but fail to win. Lack of goals does not necessarily indicate massive deep-rooted problems in a given team's attack, and lack of a youth team's clutch victory does not indicate if the youth system is strong or not.

Talent Can't Save U.S. Olympic Dreams

The dream is over. The U.S. lost to El Salvador. Well, it was a draw technically but the U.S. Under-23 national team needed to beat El Salvador to advance to the Olympic qualifying semifinals but failed to do so, surrendering a 3-2 lead in the fifth minute of stoppage time on Monday.

And the mighty giant has fallen.

Alright, the U.S. is not the mighty giant, and anyone who thinks this team was actually a gold-medal contender now knows how foolish that notion ever was. This is... WAS... a team with talent, sure, but talent does not win games alone. It never has. These Americans are far more talented than their Central American counterparts; many of these U.S. players will go on to have standout careers in leagues and clubs bigger than El Salvador's players will, but none of that matters. It certainly did not matter during the game.

What mattered was heart. The U.S. looked like it had heart there in battling back to take a 3-2 lead after trailing by a goal at halftime and into the second half. But no, this team ultimately lacked the heart and desire and courage necessary to close out the match. Perhaps it was El Salvador's tactics - elbowing players, reckless fouls, etc. - that got the U.S. players off their game or maybe the Americans just thought they had the game in hand and got overconfident. Whatever the case, the U.S. could not see the job through.

For all of that, though, if Sean Johnson makes a save on Jaime Alas' shot from distance - and it appeared to be a rather routine save - then we're talking about how the U.S. dodged a bullet and now will have a few days to recover before facing Honduras (likely) in the semis.

But soccer can be cruel, and the ball just did not go the way the Americans wanted on Monday. The dream is over and the American lads won't be in London vying for soccer glory.


Ultimately, this is just a case of a team who failed to see the job through. A talented team, yes, but a flawed team as well. And a team that won't be anywhere near London this summer.

Too Much U23 Hype?

The sky is falling out from the United States' beloved Under-23 national team.

Or so you may think.

The U.S. Olympic squad may not actually ever be an Olympic squad if the U.S. does not take care of business against El Salvador tonight. Of course, this wouldn't be an issue had the U.S. lived up to the hype and beaten Canada but instead the Canadians stunned the U.S. with a 2-0 win on Saturday.

Shocking? Has to be, right? This is Canada after all, and these are the Adu- and Shea-led Americans, a squad loaded with talent who was supposed to walk right through this round.

Well, the U.S. may never have been or may never be gold medal favorites, at least in 2012. But the U.S. is not an also-ran in CONCACAF either. Somewhere in between is the U.S. And that's probably what makes the loss to Canada seem so stunning. This U.S. squad is loaded with talent - Freddy Adu, Brek Shea, Joe Gyau, Joe Corona, Juan Agudelo, Bill Hamid, Teal Bunbury, Mix Diskerud.... salivating, eye-popping, mouth-watering - insert your preferred adjective about the squad here.

But was it just too much hype and too much excitement for this squad that fueled the hype and caused this squad to be a bit inflated? Perhaps. Certainly the United States' dominant 2-0 win over Mexico in February did not help matters in terms of inflating this team's stature.

The problem with perception really is not a problem unless players believe the hype and overconfidence creeps in. Sure, we may all believe one thing that isn't but that's on us for buying into hype. Once players start believing the hype, bad things happen. And maybe there was some of that with this team, if not believing hype from the media and outsiders then possibly feeling overconfident because of their own previous performances.

And let's also not diminish what Canada did. The U.S. probably has more talent than Canada but Canada did very well to take it to the U.S. and shut down the Americans' engine right from the start of the match.

Still, the bottom line about the U.S. is this - if the Americans can't beat El Salvador in a must-win match, they don't belong anywhere near the Olympics.