The Road to MLS Cup XIII, Week Four

1. LA-Houston
LA forward Alan Gordon was removed at halftime for the defensive-minded new acquisition Joey Franchino when the Galaxy was down a goal. Not a typical move for a team that's chasing a game, but in this case, it gave the Galaxy the possession they needed and they go on to score two goals.

The Galaxy are a weird team, huh? As much as I don't like the Gals geriatric movement where they essentially traded away all of their young prospects to make cap space for Xavier, Klein and Vanney, I do like the move for Franchino. His cap number is low (only $50,000) but he's a bulldog. Rumored personal issues probably contributed to his exit from New England, but the guy has bite-- something that the lackadaisical Galaxy frequently lack.

So where does this leave Gordon? I'll be curious to see whether he starts the next game on the bench.

But if David Beckham hasn't turned Gordon into a 10 goal striker, it looks like he might perform an even better trick with Landon Donovan. LD's got 5 goals in four games. Donovan continues to be a frustrating player-- when he gets mad, he starts playing at a level far above any other field player in MLS. The problem is that you never know when Donovan's going to respond that way. But Beckham's incisive passing makes it a little easier for Donvoan to be The Man. There's a lot to like about this partnership. Beckham probably won't challenge the all-time mark for most assists (26)in a season set by Carlos Valderrama (with a fair amount of help from Mamadou Diallo), but both he and Donovan are off to a fast start.

2. The Fire are who we thought they were.
Ironically, the first time the Fire control the run of play for a good chunk of a match, they lose, 1-0 at home to the Wizards. But while the Fire dominated for large periods, they showed their other side, too: for the first 15 minutes or so, the Fire simply boomed long balls forward from the defenders. The strategy makes no sense when you've got Cuahtemoc Blanco in the midfield. They looked terrible. Only the much-maligned Justin Mapp did anything constructive.

But then Blanco starts seeing more of the ball and the show starts. Blanco always looks like he's running in knee-deep mud, but somehow the ball just eludes defenders. And then he always makes the pass between two defenders with a Chicago player making a slight diagonal run. While some MLS teams seem to be able to pass effectively without creating danger (DC United, so far), the Fire frequently create maximum danger out of only one or two good passes. But whatever they gained from their penetrating passing, they lost through incoherence in front of goal. Chad Barrett pulled a Shea Salinas and sent a point blank shot in front of goal straight up. Gonzalo Segares and Andy Herron were sent in on goal but then couldn't decide who should shoot. And when Kansas dropped back to defend their lead, Chicago lacked aggression.

The Road to MLS Cup XIII, Week Three

(1)Whose League Is It Anyway?
So the Revs crush champions Houston 3-0 in their first game, setting themselves up as the league's best. But they have some injury issues, give up an early goal and red card in Chicago and lose to the Fire 4-0. Pretty bad, right? But the Revs stuck with that game as much as they could and then they have to travel to Kansas City's odd little ballpark, which looks like it's going to be a real fortress because the Wizards had won their first two there. And what do the Revs do? They beat KC 3-1 with goals from their teenage attacking substitutes, Nyassi and Mansally. So now, you've got to be thinking: wow, the Revs are for real and coach Steve Nichol's a genius.

So what did Saturday have for us? Steve Nichol is out-coached by Fernando Clavijo, who no one thinks is a genius, and the Revs lose 1-0 at home to the Rapids. Nyassi and Mansally are contained when Colorado clogs the midfield, and the Revs waste a ton of chances, making you wonder just how quickly Taylor Twellman can get healthy. So, it's not the Revs' league.

KC? Ives Galarcep thinks they might just be the best team in the league, but the loss to the Revs makes me think twice.

DC? After a 4-1 victory over Toronto FC, I was ready to forgive their week one loss to the Wizards. But then they get crushed-- 4-0-- by Real Salt Lake. It's not their league either.

Chivas USA? I think they've got the pieces to be the best, but those pieces are unfortunately injury-prone or older than the spoken word.

Dallas deserves some love: a pair of ties against good teams and a win over New York. Kenny Cooper is one fire. This backline-- Drew Moor, Duilio Davino, Adrian Serioux, Dax McCarty-- ought to be pretty good in MLS. Juan Toja is threatening to be the best player in the league. But then you think about how they were bossed around the field by Houston. You think about how disjointed the defense looked.

And Chicago? Along with Dallas, the other unbeaten team, but man, they looked awful against a supposedly toothless San Jose team. And they looked awful against Real Salt Lake, despite earning a point. And they looked about as bad as you can look when you win 4-0 against a 10 man New England.

So whose league is it? For now, I'm going with (1) Dallas, (2) Kansas City and (3) Chivas USA, but every team has a lot of question marks right now.

(2) The Weekend's Most Shocking Result?
There are a few strong contenders.
(A) Chad Barrett scores again. The graphics people on Fox Soccer Channel didn't believe it either: their graphic indicated that it was his first of the season.
(B) Real Salt Lake beating DC United 4-0. I mean, seriously? 4-0? When does Real ever beat anyone, let alone Supporters Shield winner DC, by four goals? (for what it's worth, the answer turns out to be: never-- the 4-0 victory was RSL's largest margin ever).
(C) Tony Caig kept a clean sheet. I didn't see the Houston-KC game, but I honestly wasn't expecting Caig to get another start after giving up 3 goals in his two previous games, with a solid majority being his fault. Then I looked to see who Houston's backup GK was. A kid named Corbin Waller. Here's an excerpt from his biogarphy on Yahoo Sports:
" "
That's right. THere's nothing on him. But you know what? I'd rather put Corbin Waller out there, with his empty bio, than Tony Caig with his stint in the premiership.

But Tony Caig got his clean sheet, so maybe there's a reason Dom Kinnear is a coach and I work in a cubicle.

3. Most embarassing performances?
If DC fans had recovered enough after drinking grain alchohol chased with vodka to help them forget their loss to Real Salt Lake, they had to be chuckling to themselves watching the LA Galaxy game, where Greg Vanney falls down instead of bodying up to Danny Dichio and allowing a goal, and then repeating the same trick half a game later to give up the game winning goal to Jeff Cunningham.

But United fans still shouldn't laugh too hard: I think we found out a little bit more about the pieces of United's reconstructed backline. Gonzalo "I'm not Peralta" Martinez has got range, some pace, helps distribute the ball cleanly out of the back and generally cleans up messes. Unforutnately, he wasn't playing Saturday night. Gonzalo "I'm not Martinez" Peralta was, and he had a disasterous night, before finally gifting the fourth goal to Real Salt Lake when heading the ball back to DC's keeper. It could have just been an off game for Peralta-- RSL's turf apparently is not easy to play on. But I'm beginning to feel like, if United is to have success this year, it will depend greatly on Martinez staying healthy and on the field.

I had to feel bad for Chivas USA's Eric Ebert, who did his best Greg Vanney impersonation by gifting Columbus with two goals after entering the match in the 64th minute. My guess is that the rookie doesn't start next week.

4. San Jose-Chicago
Here's the thing about the Quakes: they do have guys who can pass. Ronnie O'Briem followed up a completely anonymous performance against DC with a solid, unpredictable (in a good way) showing against Chicago. Ned Grabavoy may be the league's less-heralded #10, but I bet you he puts together a decent season. You might think Ramiro Corrales is garbage because you last remember him at the US national team level, but he's pretty good at the MLS level.

So how did San Jose lose?

Kei Kamara and Gavin Glinton seem to have developed a great, consistent partnership. The problem is that, while Kamara consistently whipped balls in, Glinton consistently missed the shot. San Jose put Chicago under tremendous pressure and really ought to have tied. But in the clutch, slow-motion moment when a ball is floating up invitingly, who is the Earthquake player to strike the ball from just feet in front of the Chicago goal?

Enter young Shea Salinas, who manages to shoot the ball at an approximately 89 degree angle so that it goes out harmlessly. Tough moment for a rookie, but ideally San Jose would have a late game finisher to handle stuff like that. They just don't, and it's really going to hurt this otherwise carefully constructed team.

5. LA-Toronto
This was the kind of game that gives equal amounts of fuel to Donovan haters and lovers. He and David Beckham have developed good rapport and Donovan's one of the few MLS players with the speed and intelligence to take advantage of some of Beckham's passes. Time and time again, Donovan went racing off with the ball, with three or four Toronto defenders trailing after him like tin cans on a Just Married car. Donovan fails each time. Now, these aren't necessarily easy chances-- he's running top speed with the ball with defenders closing in. But then Donovan, with a look of determination on his face, takes the ball, does a step over, leaves his defender stumbling like an outtake from NBA Ankle Breakers and shoots a hard, clean shot from distance. Goal.

But, as his teammates mob him, Donovan doesn't celebrate-- instead, he's got a furrowed brow. It's like he knows that he should have had 3 or 4 goals by that point so he needed to decide to play up to his potential for a brief moment in time to make up for it.

My take? The guy's by far the best American player. If he chokes a few chances here and there, keep in mind that other guys wouldn't have had the skill to even have those chances to choke. I'd pick him first on my sandlot team anytime.

But what about the rest of his team? I am no fan of Ruud Gullitt, but I liked how the Galaxy midfield defended as a unit, adjusting their positions to clog passing lanes. LA is a hard-working team, even on a day when temperatures on the field were above 100 degrees. But I'm not sure they're up to it. Beckham seems like a luxury. The rookies (and there were three of them starting) seem earnest, but they're not able to take advantage of the players created by Donovan and the Englishman. Galaxy forward Alan Gordon just isn't getting it done.

And so the Galaxy, despite creating so much more than their Canadian rivals, fall 3-2 at home. It doesn't seem fair. And yet... when David Beckham ends up being your last man on defense against Jeff Cunningham, one of the leagues speediest and deadliest forwards, something's wrong with the team. Cunningham didn't score that time, but what does it say about the Galaxy's defense that it happened at all? Of course, given Greg Vanney's performance, you wonder if the years he spent in France hadn't rubbed off on in, such was his insistence on surrender to the foreigners.

Fire-Galaxy: the awesomeist game ever?

The LA Galaxy's tie with the New York Red Bulls sets up what many are calling the "awesomeist game ever": a match-up between Fire and Ice, yin and yang, Hall and Oates, Watson and Crick, Blanco and Beckham. Winner take all.

Some might even say that MLS couldn't have scripted it better, but that's clearly not quite right because it looks increasingly unlikely that both Hall and Oates will be going to the playoffs this year (no bonus points for guessing whether Blanco is more like Hall or more like Oates). As I understand (and given the byzantine nature of the tiebreaks, I may not understand at all), the Fire and the Galaxy can still both make the playoffs but they will need some help from the other playoff chasers.

Here's a quick run down, with goal differential (GD):
Chicago 37 points, GD -6, plays LA
Kansas City 37 points GD -2, plays FC Dallas
Colorado 35 points GD -4, plays Real Salt Lake
Los Angeles 34 points, GD -9, plays Chicago

With the possible exception of Chicago (and trust me-- you don't want to get into the tiebreakers) each team needs a win, but a win will not guarantee a spot for LA or Colorado.

Here are the relevant matchups:
Dallas-Wizards (at Pizza Hut Park): it feels like an awfully long time since either side put in a convincing performance. Dallas won the first meeting between the teams and is getting healthier, which means Dallas's all-time best signing ever, Brazilian stepover superstar Denilson probably won't take the field. And Dallas hasn't exactly been unbeatable at the Pizza Box, going 7-4-3, but with only a plus 2 goal differential.

So what's going to happen? Will Eddie Johnson show up? This one's going to come down to which team cares less, which, judging by the way both teams have played recently, suggests that they probably won't bother playing the game and Dallas will give KC a 2-0 decision by forfeit.

Colorado-Salt Lake (at Dick's Sporting Goods Park): despite the fact that Real Salt Lake is now like the kid in 5th grade that tries really hard but still ends up at the bottom of the class, games between the Rapids and RSL have been pretty competitive. In Colorado, the Rapids hold an edge, winning 3 and losing only 1, but most of those games have been tight. In short, this is an honest to goodness rivalry game.

We've been told that RSL is "desperate" to avoid being the last placed team in the league, which is nice, but as far as I know, 12th place in MLS doesn't come with a big bonus. I think RSL will play reasonably hard for the rivalry (and can still win the rivalry trophy, the Rocky Mountain Cup, with a win), but they are a pretty limited team.

The Rapids really aren't so much better and were looking forward to the offseason until they became the first team to beat Chivas USA at home last week.

What do I think will happen? I don't know, but the thought the of the Rapids in the playoffs gives me shivers. And not good shivers. More like shivers after an acute bout of dysentery.

The Awesomeist Game (in Chicago): with MLS's luck, this will be a dull 0-0 draw, eliminating both teams, and Blanco will accidentally decapitate Beckham while hurting his own back in the process. Beckham will, however, continue to run around the field, headless, which is pretty much what he did on Thursday against the Red Bulls.

I really, really hope that results on Saturday go LA's way. I'd rather see them in the playoffs than either the Wizards or the Rapids and, frankly, purely because I like seeing Beckham and Donovan. But LA is not a great team-- Donovan can only do so much by himself. Beckham's probably capable of being that guy too, but we haven't really seen enough from him to judge.

If it really is winner-take-all, I love the Galaxy's luck, but I think the Fire are actually a good team-- maybe one of the better sub-.500 teams in MLS history. Fire 1-0.