MLS 2014 transactions

12 days away from MLS Kick 2014 and here are my overviews of offseason dealings. My fuller preview will come closer to the season as I still expect a lot of moves, especially with Montreal and Vancouver. My bets are always in whatever thread I have going for the month so this one is just to get some chatter going for the upcoming year

I know we've got some MLS followers in here (bucks, dodger, exer, etc) so feel free to chime in, ask questions, or post your thoughts on team movement. I'll get into preseason results and my 2014 expectations closer to the season.

________________________________________________________________

Chicago Fire
- big changes throughout the organization starting with adding Frank Yallop as coach. I'm not a huge Yallop fan but he knows the league very well, has won a MLS title before, and has won more games in the league than he's lost.
- They dropped two defenders, Austin Berry and Jalil Anibaba, who both played every minute of every game last year and Berry was the MLS rookie of the year in 2012 and started 62 games in 2 years. Soumare, their best defender, remains and they added vet defenders Hurtado and Ianni, but that is hardly an upgrade. Joya is a great addition in midfield but they do have a series of midfielders and attackers to replace including Rios who was among the best players down the stretch. Hard to believe their cap position was as bad as Yallop insinuated by going for the fire sale of the 2013 roster

Chivas USA
- whatever they did couldn't be worse than Chepo's destruction of this club so they should be in a better spot for 2014
- acquisition of Mauro Rosales could be the most important non-Toronto pick up in MLS. He has the talent and experience to be the among the best MF in the league but was never really motivated in Seattle nor healthy. I don't understand the hiring of "el Bofo" at all unless they think the greater LA resident Mexicans will come out to see him on his last legs but the guy was completely unproductive for the past 4 seasons in Liga MX. Jean-Baptiste is a solid acquisition and a few years younger than Villafana so it gives them some good youth in central defense to backup Bocanegra and Burling. They also picked up a couple good young USL Pro prospects but it's really up to Rosales to show the offseason improvement

Colorado
- complete confusion for the Rapids. Oscar Pareja walked away in the winter and they've still not hired a coach. It's assumed former defender Mastroeni will take over but going through a complete offseason and preseason without designating a coach is club suicide.
- if the front office wasn't confusing enough player changes finish the job. Gone are almost every real game changer except Moor, Irwin, Powers, and Brown. Other than draft picks they didn't bring in any quality. Chavez has the speed and ability to be a strong wide midfielder but he was only a part time player for San Jose. Mark Burch is a quality pro but won't turn any heads in defense while Joe Nasco gives them a quality backup keeper that is a lot cheaper than Matt Pickens

Columbus
- new coach also in Cbus with former USMNT defender, Gregg Berhalter, getting the job. He was the first American to manage in Europe and did a nice job with Hammarby, He's played in USA, Holland, England, and Germany plus coached in Sweden so also has the connections to bring in top talent.
- the big departures besides Gaven's retirement were not bringing back young O'Rourke, trading vet Chad Marshall, and seeing their keeper off to Sporting KC. But the acquisitions were tremendous. They bring in excellent mf Paladini from the Fire along with mf Jimenez from LA and snagged Michael Parkhurst from Europe. Parkhurst is not only one of the US' finest defenders but gained great European Champions League experience starting for FC Nord. He was MLS rookie of the year and Defender of the year not all that long ago and will instantly become a top defender in MLS. His central defense partner should be Costa Rican Giancarlo Gonzalez who played for top CR club Alajuelense before spending a year in Norway. He's a "B team" Costa Rican international and has tremendous size for this league. Quality upgrades

DC United
- this will be year #4 for Ben Olsen and almost every other coach would have been fired after last year's campaign despite winning the US Open Cup. I'm not a fan of his at all and expect they will be poor again in 2014
- most people that cover this league are applauding DC's acquisitions but I just see a collection of has-been's and never-will-be's. Espindola is a decent #2 striker when you have a dominant point man like Henry or Saborio but he's useless on this team as Eddie Johnson can't create his own shot like his former partners. Except for Attakora every defender they got is on the downside of their careers. Bobby Boswell's best days are behind him, Parke was never above average, and Sean Franklin was largely assisted by playing with absolutely great players in Los Angeles. Conor Doyle is back from Derby County where he never scored a goal but he did show promise as an u20 American so could be useful someday.

FC Dallas
- big news of the offseason happened with Pareja leaving Colorado for FC Dallas. He was instrumental in turning the Rapids around and is a great judge of talent. He loves young players so this offseason was spent creating a youth movement in Dallas.
- part of moving to younger players is getting rid of older ones even if they were influential players like Ferreria, Nunez, Jackson, Ihemelu, and Cooper. They've added 7 mf and attackers under the age of 23 but surrounded them with vets like Hendry Thomas and Adam Moffatt. They're a little bit of a UN so getting all the latin players on the same page might be Pareja's biggest challenge

Houston
- Not a lot of changes on the Dynamo from 2014
- Ching retired, Cam Weaver sent packing, and Boswell off to DC United but none of them are really important departures. Calen Carr showed some promise but at 31 it should have happened by now. Horst was a decent pick up but the best signing was getting Tony Casio on loan from Colorado. While he didn't do a lot at Colorado he saw limited minutes and with a new team could become a decent scorer

Los Angeles
- Bruce Arena is still here so you know they'll be the most well-coached team in MLS and would be great to see them advance to the CCL semifinals. Likely will lose several important players to the world cup but will be a tremendous team
- Franklin gone in defense but not a big deal for me. midfield loses both Jimenez and Villareal but with Ishizaki and Husidic being added along with the emergence of Zardes there's nothing lacking in that area. Samuel and Rob Friend up top just bolster an already tremendous group

Montreal
- first year for Frank Klopas coming over from Chicago where he posted a 34-17-25 record. Tons of experience but not someone I'd be all that excited about if I was an Impact fan
- Nesta retired in defense but he was always injured so you can't call that a big deal. Arnaud and Ubiparipovic gone from mf but, again, that doesn't hit my radar. The move of Valentin to Norway doesn't appear to be a big deal but I think he would have been a great guy to bring back from loan. Acquisitions were slim and none with only Uruguayan Gonzalez coming into the lineup. He was a great player for an Uruguayan Second Division team but not sure how well that translates to MLS. Right now Heath Pearce is on loan and if he comes cheap he's well worth a shot at right back. This team isn't much worse than 2013 but they're certainly not better

New England
- of the young MLS coaches given jobs with no experience Heaps is the one that looks most comfortable in the role and he's putting together some great young talent. He's lost more than he's won, 23-17-28, but that should end this year
- really the Revs didn't need to make a lot of moves they just need more experience. Agudelo took off for Utrecht and Reis retired while Toja was never going to amount to anything in the MLS so the departures are negligible. The additions of former USMNT striker Charlie Davies and exciting prospect Teal Bunbury will absolutely bolster the mediocre attack wile keeper Knighton gives them experience behind Shuttleworth

New York Red Bulls
- Mike Petke has a decent first year in charge with the Supporters Shield but I'll reserve my enthusiasm as this team is just too unpredictable week to week
- On paper it looks like the defense took a big hit but Holgersson and Barklage were, at times, horrendous and Heath Pearce not getting younger. Espindola up front wasn't working so they lost nothing of importance. Bringing in Convey is a no-risk shot on a quality midfielder while using up an international transfer on Armando seems like a waste. They didn't need to change much but jury is still out on Petke

Philadelphia
- Hackworth with an up and down first 1.5 years (20-14-23) but this is a really quality coach that now has amassed HIS talent and should break out in 2014
- simple as this...if not for Toronto's major spending the Union would have had the best offseason this winter. The midfield is tremendously upgraded at both defensive mid (Maurice Edu) and attacking mid (Maidana/Nogueira) and Ethan White gives them depth in defense. Adding Austin Berry means they could have a Berry/Okugo central defense partnership for the next 5 years. They did lose Parke to DC (don't care) and have to replace Michael Farfan's 2000 minutes but overall you've got to give them a B+ or A- grade for making this team better

Portland
- Caleb Porter is the man...a winner is a winner at any level and right now you'd have to put him top 5 in MLS coaches and perhaps even #2 behind Arena. His challenge is wading through 3 fronts this year (CCL, MLS, Open Cup)
- lots of changes but mostly to fringe players. They probably gave up on Zizzo too early but already have a lot of wide mf options...same with Jean-Baptiste but with him they got Villafana who is still really young but with more experience. They pilfered Steve Zakuani in the re-entry draft and he WILL be one of the most exciting players in the league this year now that his injuries are behind him. Porter also snagged two outstanding pros from Argentina with Fernandez coming in from Estudiantes and Paparatto from Tigre. Fernandez is a veteran mf/att that won a Copa Liberatore title and scored a ton in both Argentina and Mexican leagues which are superior to MLS. Paparatto is a monster in defense and nearly led Tigre to a Copa Sudamerica title 2 years ago and was their team captain which Portland will need with the expected fewer minutes for Jack Jewsbury. Everyone still scratching their heads on how Schillo Tshuma dropped to 17th in the draft (was rated the #1 forward in college soccer) but he's a kid that can add instant energy subbing in late in games

Real Salt Lake
- losing Jason Kreis at coach only to be replaced by a staff assistant (an ex-goalie at that) is the big question for 2014, no doubt.
- not much to say about acquisitions and deletions as there were few of either. RSL had a nice 2013 so maybe there wasn't a lot to change but the big key was that they have a coach who really doesn't know the market. He's never played or coached a game outside the USA (backed up at Bolton for a while 10 years ago) and has been an assistant with RSL for 7 years so he couldn't be expected to go out and make a lot of moves. This team wasn't strong enough to just stand still...

San Jose Earthquakes
- Watson finished up with SJ put never got them rolling for the playoffs and really didn't even stop the bleeding. Don't forget this was the #1 team in 2012 season with the best offense and they were putrid in 2013.
- as you might imagine there was a ton of turnover. Corrales finally retired, Morrow was traded to TFC, Baca left for Cruz Azul, Chavez for Colorado, and one of my fav players Beitashour went to Vancouver. Not to mention fellow defenders Attakora and Gargan weren't renewed but the attack left in place which I don't agree with at all. To me this team was missing speed and flair and unless Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi provides it I don't see them causing many problems to the oppositions midfield and, btw, Pierazzi scored 2 goals in 179 matches with Ajaccio in France. He was their captain so should be able to fill that void left by Corrales' retirement. Additions of solid MLS vets like Harris, Barklage, and Francis help quite a bit but I don't see any spark in midfield or attack just giant trees looking for a header.

Seattle
- wtf is Sigi Schmid doing? if this was practically any other league in the world both him and Ben Olsen would be unemployed but he's back for another year after failing miserably despite getting every player he wanted
- It could be argued their departures make a better starting XI than their 2014 team. Obviously you have Montero not being welcomed back and last I saw he had something like 13 goals in 19 matches with Sporting in Portugal. While I'm not an EJ fan he is still a top 5 American striker and I love Zakuani's potential...they're all gone in attack. Moffat is a tough MLS vet sent packing and Rosales might be the most talented player in MS...both are gone. Ianni, Burch, and Hurtado played over 4000 minutes in defense for them in 2013 and their starting keeper (as shaky as he was) got the axe. With guys coming in there are nothing but question marks. Barrett, Bowen, and Cooper have played plenty of games in attack in MLS but would anyone want them over Zakuani, Montero, and EJ? hell no. Chad Marshall and Jalil Anibaba are solid professionals and in his day (with Schmid in Cbus) Marshall was a top 5 centerback but that day is not in 2014. The big deal here is Marco Pappa. He was a terrific albeit one-footed midfielder with Chicago and after getting knocked down to size in Holland (12 appearances in 2 years) he should be plenty motivated plus he's a free kick monster. IMO he's not an upgrade over Rosales and I think it's pretty obvious that Schmid struggles getting the best out of foreign players (see Alvaro Fernandez, Mauro Rosales, Gspurning, Fredy Montero, Obafemi Martins, Shalrie Joseph, and Blaise Nkufo) who are super stars when they aren't playing for him. For that reason I'm guessing Marco Pappa will not produce like he did in Chicago

Sporting KC
- Vermes is a great coach now in season #6 after winning the title...no reason to expect anything less in 2014
- When you win a title, are comfortable with the salary cap, and don't have any players moving on you don't need a whole lot. They sent a really good striker prospect, Bunbury, to NE Revs but he wasn't getting time in KC anyway. The stole Sal Zizzo from Portland as the Timbers weren't using him but this is a kid with tremendous potential who really led our u20 team before blowing out his knee in Germany. It's time for Zizzo to reach the expectations that saw him at Hannover at age 20 and this is a great spot for him. With Hartman retiring they simply went out and snagged Gruenebaum who started 54 games for the Crew in the past 2 years. easy enough...

Toronto
- Ryan Nelsen is, for me, right behind Jay Heaps as far as the top young coaches in MLS but unlike Heaps and the Revs' youth movement Nelsen has to produce by the World Cup break or he is gone.
- It would take a book to run through TFC but the fact is they've added 7 instant starters to a team that had a lot of good young prospects. ALmost overnight they snagged the best American player on the planet, Brazil's starting keeper for the world cup, and probably the best natural goal poacher born in England. Toss in fan favorite De Rosario, a right back that has started in both EPL and Championship, a quality MLS vet mf with Jackson, plus a brilliant young Brazilian forward and you have an overhaul as never seen before in MLS. Getting these guys playing together ASAP is the key and that falls on Nelsen who i believe can get it done.

Vancouver
- Rennie out, Robinson in. One year as a Vancouver assistant after retiring from MLS and he's now running a franchise? good luck with that
- for everyone the biggest WTF in MLS this offseason was Camilo getting transfered to Queretaro in Liga MX. He was, at times, not only the best young player in MLS but even the best player. He's gone for nothing? Toss in both keepers getting axed, Lee retiring, and a couple more strikers being dropped and you really are left shaking the head. I love the addition of Steven Beitashoure but how many times will an MLS team pick up Ballouchy before they realize he sucks? I have no clue what's going on with the Caps but it's not pretty

Great stuff in here....looking forward to the season. MLS continues to make strides.

Great write-up, roltide.

I wanted to believe right up to the end of last season, that the Sounders would turn it around. But I agree with you. Sigi has lost it as a manager. Starting Shalrie Joseph at forward in the 2nd leg of the Portland series, could be the worst tactical decision I've seen in my 30+ years of watching soccer. It left us with zero chance to come back in the series.

Seattle had won 8 of 9 games, culminating with a big home 2-0 win over RSL to reach the top of the table, before they dumped Carrasco for Moffat. Sigi said he wanted "toughness". They finish the season going 1W-6L-3D, with several painfully bad losses.


Sigi made another horribly bad tactical decision that ended the 2012 season, as well. In the 1st leg of the series at Los Angeles, he starts Montero up front by himself in the 4-5-1 formation, leaving "Pay Me" Johnson on the bench. The Sounders get buried 0-3. Series over.



Seattle has made so many off season moves, I don't know what to make of it.

One thing's for sure, Sigi doesn't seem to think latin players are "tough enough." As a result, some of the best players to wear a Sounder uniform, have been shipped out.

Chicago Fire
- big changes throughout the organization starting with adding Frank Yallop as coach. I'm not a huge Yallop fan but he knows the league very well, has won a MLS title before, and has won more games in the league than he's lost.
- They dropped two defenders, Austin Berry and Jalil Anibaba, who both played every minute of every game last year and Berry was the MLS rookie of the year in 2012 and started 62 games in 2 years. Soumare, their best defender, remains and they added vet defenders Hurtado and Ianni, but that is hardly an upgrade. Joya is a great addition in midfield but they do have a series of midfielders and attackers to replace including Rios who was among the best players down the stretch. Hard to believe their cap position was as bad as Yallop insinuated by going for the fire sale of the 2013 roster and if it was why let younger, cheaper players leave in favor of expensive veterans?
LINEUP & PREDICTION
- Sean Johnson is the real deal in goal and the back-4 in front of him are barely acceptable. I certainly don't believe swapping out Anibaba/Berry for Palmer/Hurtado is an improvement but it gives them a little more experience I guess. Hurtado is soon to be on the wrong side of 30 and his age has shown since he blew out his knee in the 2010 season. Segares is 31 years old but still very productive and Soumare has been a strong defender in this league while Palmer is a well-traveled fullback that will be on his 4th team in 4 years, and there is nobody of interest behind these guys. Although I'm not obviously not convinced with the back 4 I'm less enthused with the middle of the pitch starting with Larentowicz in the holding mf role. Here we've got another 30-something who has a lot of wear on the tires as he's been an ironman in the MLS for almost 10 years. Out wide they have some nice talent and Anangogo showed some promise up front but just like last year a lot depends on Mike Magee. The turn-around for the Fire was solely due to Magee but it will be very tough for him to replicate a 21-goal season since he scored 21 goals in his previous 7 seasons combined! The recent signing of Harrison Shipp might be the key to a playoff run. He was a dominant college player and won the NCAA title in 2013 and has shown quite well in the preseason. I'll slot them right on the playoff cusp but missing it narrowly like they did in 2013

Chivas USA
- whatever they did couldn't be worse than Chepo's destruction of this club so they should be in a better spot for 2014
- acquisition of Mauro Rosales could be the most important non-Toronto pick up in MLS. He has the talent and experience to be the among the best MF in the league but was never really motivated in Seattle nor healthy. I don't understand the hiring of "el Bofo" at all unless they think the greater LA resident Mexicans will come out to see him on his last legs but the guy was completely unproductive for the past 4 seasons in Liga MX. Jean-Baptiste is a solid acquisition and a few years younger than Villafana so it gives them some good youth in central defense to backup Bocanegra and Burling. They also picked up a couple good young USL Pro prospects but it's really up to Rosales to show the offseason improvement
LINEUP & PREDICTION
- it's taken the better part of a decade but this club now at least appears to be headed in the right direction. I'm a big Dan Kennedy fan in goal and he should see a lot less balls now that he has a respectable back 4...I'd compare him favorably to fellow ex-CUSA keeper Brad Guzan at Villa who sees a lot of balls end in his net but is still a top class ball stopper and absolutely owns the goal crease. A Bocanegra/Jean-Baptiste center half pairing is at least average though both R&L fullback positions are big question marks. Lots of talent in midfield with Minda a quality DM and one of my favorite players, Mauro Rosales, creating from the right side. With Rosales at right mid don't be surprised if they drop Avila back from right mid to right fullback similar to what Philly will be doing from the left side and Farfan is an acceptable left midfielder. Up front might be a disaster if Erick Torres doesn't net 15 times this year. Without Torres this is one of the worst attacking groups ever assembled in the league which is not promising for a team that scored just 30 times last year which was by far the worst in the West. This team totally gave up in 2013 getting hammered in final 5 games to the tune of a 18-2 goal differential but I think they'll be better in 2014....not much better, maybe 8 wins instead of 6, but they won't post a -37 goal differential or a -26 2H goal differential.

Colorado
- complete confusion for the Rapids. Oscar Pareja walked away in the winter and they've still not hired a coach. It's assumed former defender Mastroeni will take over but going through a complete offseason and preseason without designating a coach is club suicide.
- if the front office wasn't confusing enough player changes finish the job. Gone are almost every real game changer except Moor, Irwin, Powers, and Brown. Other than draft picks they didn't bring in any quality. Chavez has the speed and ability to be a strong wide midfielder but he was only a part time player for San Jose. Mark Burch is a quality pro but won't turn any heads in defense while Joe Nasco gives them a quality backup keeper that is a lot cheaper than Matt Pickens
LINEUP & PREDICTION
- now we're 7 days away from the start of the season and still no coach but at least they have a top MLS keeper in Clint Irwin, and some proven veterans and exciting young prospects. The problem is they don't have many of either. Defensively they were outstanding last year and the back 4 returns with Klute and Wynne sandwiching O'Neill and Moor. These four played in 31-30-28-26 games last year and were 4 of the team's 6 leaders in minutes played. They lose their rock in defensive midfield as Hendry Thomas was poached by Pareja and he not only started 27 games but showed himself to be a destroyer in front of the back four. The year before Thomas they allowed 50 goals and last year just 38 so this could be THE big issue with the Rapids in 2014. LFB Klute could emerge as the league's top fullback in his second year as a starter and he's able to link, cross, and create chances as shown by his team-leading 7 assists. Midfield and Attack isn't too bad at all as long as Dillon and Brown can recreate their breakout 2013 seasons. The players are strong but Mastroeni could be in way over his head and since they've yet to actually give him the job despite a 2-month trial he, and his team, must be a little disgruntled at this point. If things clean up in the management this is a playoff team and since I see most of the West regressing I will side with the Rapids squeaking into the playoffs as they might have the most solid back five in MLS and no real concerns with the world cup. Like Toronto, there is a clear path to them falling apart in 2014 starting with Powers' concussion issues.

Columbus
- new coach also in Cbus with former USMNT defender, Gregg Berhalter, getting the job. He was the first American to manage in Europe and did a nice job with Hammarby, He's played in USA, Holand, England, and Germany plus coached in Sweden so also has the connections. They each played in 30+ games and combined for 15 goals and 10 assists while no other midfielder or forward hit the 30-game mark. Gabriel Torres to bring in top talent.
- the big departures besides Gaven's retirement were not bringing back young O'Rourke, trading vet Chad Marshall, and seeing their keeper off to Sporting KC. But the acquisitions were tremendous. They bring in excellent mf Paladini from the Fire along with mf Jimenez from LA and snagged Michael Parkhurst from Europe. Parkhurst is not only one of the US' finest defenders but gained great European Champions League experience starting for FC Nord. He was MLS rookie of the year and Defender of the year not all that long ago and will instantly become a top defender in MLS. His central defense partner should be Costa Rican Giancarlo Gonzalez who played for top CR club Alajuelense before spending a year in Norway. He's a "B team" Costa Rican international and has tremendous size for this league. Quality upgrades
LINEUP & PREDICTION
- interesting team here with a solid, established attack and a great defensive addition. Goalkeeping will remain a problem as Clark looks like a bottom 5 keeper with little pedigree (Honefoss for 3 years and a PDL gig in Milwaukee before that). The back four gets a big upgrade with Michael Parkhurst taking over for veteran Chad Marshall and Waylon Francis taking over for a decent Tyson Wahl. The problem in the back is that both Gonzalez and Francis will make Costa Rica's roster for Brazil and Parkhurst has a shot to make the USA team so while it's great to have international-level talent in defense it could be the difference between making or missing the playoffs. Wil Trapp is a rising star in the league and together with Viana make the back 7 in this 4-2-3-1 an excellent starting unit. Up front there's a lot of talent with Higuain, Arrieta, and Oduro so I don't expect them to decrease their goal production as they did in 2013. To make the playoffs a better home campaign is a must. Losing the 2nd most home games in the East while scoring just 19 goals won't cut it especially when you allow the most road goals in the conference. There's a lot of nice pieces in place for Berhalter and they've improved their team from top to bottom but in an improving Eastern Conference that doesn't mean a playoff spot. They'll be better than DC and Montreal but will be fighting for the playoffs with Chicago, NY, NE, and a few others in a really clogged Eastern conference.

DC United
- this will be year #4 for Ben Olsen and almost every other coach would have been fired after last year's campaign despite winning the US Open Cup. I'm not a fan of his at all and expect they will be poor again in 2014
- most people that cover this league are applauding DC's acquisitions but I just see a collection of has-been's and never-will-be's. Espindola is a decent #2 striker when you have a dominant point man like Henry or Saborio but he's useless on this team as Eddie Johnson can't create his own shot like his former partners. Except for Attakora every defender they got is on the downside of their careers. Bobby Boswell's best days are behind him, Parke was never above average, and Sean Franklin was largely assisted by playing with absolutely great players in Los Angeles. Conor Doyle is back from Derby County where he never scored a goal but he did show promise as an u20 American so could be useful someday.
LINEUP & PREDICTION
- this prediction will be far against the norm as most people see DC United as the 2nd most improved club behind Toronto and a team that will compete for a playoff spot or even a title. I'm not seeing it at all. First off in goal Bill Hamid is possibly the most overrated player in the league. He is plenty talented and athletic but is shaky and inconsistent which are not good qualities for a team with a bad defense. They allowed an East-leading 59 goals last year and only scored 22 for a brutal -37 goal differential and while the back four is entirely new, it's not necessarily better. Fernandez-Parke-Boswell-Franklin is a nice collection of average players with a combined 120 years in them. Perry Kitchen has the promise of a top 5 defensive midfielder but regressed badly last year as did both Pontius and DeLeon in mf. Up front you have super-lazy Eddie Johnson with workhorse Fabian Espindola and while it's possible this partnership will work I really don't see it. Wrap this all up with perhaps the league's worst coach and I'm not predicting any quick turnaround to DC in 2014. They'll win more than 3 games but likely will have the poorest defense in the East again and bad defense = no playoffs.

FC Dallas
- big news of the offseason happened with Pareja leaving Colorado for FC Dallas. He was instrumental in turning the Rapids around and is a great judge of talent. He loves young players so this offseason was spent creating a youth movement in Dallas.
- part of moving to younger players is getting rid of older ones even if they were influential players like Ferreira, Nunez, Jackson, Ihemelu, and Cooper. They've added 7 mf and attackers under the age of 23 but surrounded them with vets like Hendry Thomas and Adam Moffatt. They're a little bit of a UN so getting all the latin players on the same page might be Pareja's biggest challenge
LINEUP & PREDICTION
- biggest issue for FC Dallas is how quickly they learn Pareja's system as he will not change what he does. It took Colorado sacrificing an awful 2012 to learn this system and that produced a playoff appearance in 2013 but Dallas wants to win now. Obviously Pareja's building something and he's not going to be concerned with quick results and the young talent he's assembling could be the best in MLS in 2 years. Pareja already said he'll be giving the youngsters a lot of time this season and as you saw with Powers/Moor/Klute/Brown at Colorado this guy can win with kids. Perhaps the only big issue is the back four. George John is great but can never stay healthy and is already a doubt for game 1 which doesn't bode well for a team that has only won 3 of 19 games when he's absent. Zach Loyd is among the best RFB in the league and Benitez solid on the left and a Moffat/Thomas defensive midfield will provide some protection but Dallas' biggest positive is up front. Super speed, a clinical finisher, and a Pareja 4-3-3 should produce a lot of goals with Castillo ready for a breakout campaign. The concern has to be the way they ended last season missing the playoffs after being near the top of the west for much of the year winning just 3 of their final 21 games once June hit. Their defense was simply horrendous and allowed 16 goals in a 6-match home period while conceding in all but 1 of their final 16 road games. Pareja is a great coach but he needs time for his system to develop. Colorado lost a league-leading 13 road games in his inaugural year in charge then got results in 9/17 road games in his second season and I can see that happening to FC Dallas....I expect some struggles this year followed by a potential MLS Cup run in 2015. Colorado for example were 11-6-22 in Pareja's first 39 games but then 14-7-8 in the last 29. Growing pains for 2014 but a lot of fun to watch their speed on the wings, Mauro Diaz making plays, and Blas netting a bunch.

Houston
- Not a lot of changes on the Dynamo from 2014
- Ching retired, Cam Weaver sent packing, and Boswell off to DC United but none of them are really important departures. Calen Carr showed some promise but at 31 it should have happened by now. Horst was a decent pick up but the best signing was getting Tony Casio on loan from Colorado. While he didn't do a lot at Colorado he saw limited minutes and with a new team could become a decent scorer
LINEUP & PREDICTION
- Tally Hall came alive last year in goal but I'm still not too convinced he's a top half keeper in MLS. With a lot of movement in defense these last 2 years and now a really questionable back 4 that can be exposed in 2014. When you look at a back 5 this is one of the weakest groups in MLS and if they don't get production from Omar Cummings up front they could see a DC-like slide this year. Their midfield is really strong with a nice holding mf duo, Creavalle and Ricardo Clark, and a terrific attacking mf with Davis and Boniek-Garcia but it's quite likely both will miss significant time with national teams in the summer. Without those guys producing the service it makes Bruin even less effective up front and he's a striker that netted in just 8 games all last season despite playing in 4 diff tournaments. This team is getting older, not better, and it looks like another year of straddling the line of finding the playoffs. I'll keep them out of the 2014 postseason as they have too many holes and are regressing while the rest of the East is improving.

Los Angeles
- Bruce Arena is still here so you know they'll be the most well-coached team in MLS and would be great to see them advance to the CCL semifinals. Likely will lose several important players to the world cup but will be a tremendous team
- Franklin gone in defense but not a big deal for me. midfield loses both Jimenez and Villareal but with Ishizaki and Husidic being added along with the emergence of Zardes there's nothing lacking in that area. Samuel and Rob Friend up top just bolster an already tremendous group
LINEUP & PREDICTION
- only reason they didn't win the Supporter's Shield in 2013 was a terrible start as they really weren't ready to play on so many fronts and prioritized the CCL. By the time June rolled around they were tremendous before RSL knocked them out of the playoffs which showed the importance of home field advantage. That won't be lost on Arena this year and expect a much faster start especially when they're staring down RSL in week #1. Keeper Penedo is a brilliant shot stopper, very athletic and has won wherever he's played and backed up by excellent keeper Perk. The centerback pairing of Leonardo/Gonzalez will be #1 in the league if Leonardo can stay healthy (only 18 games in 3 years) while DeLaGarza is a solid pro at RFB (with a great backup in Riley), Dunivant similarly solid at left back. They also have terrific depth with Opare, Venter, and Meyer. Midfield is stacked...Donovan pulls back to midfield along with Husidic, Ishizaki while Zardes is ready to become a household name at left midfield and if he doesn't start well they have Robbie Rogers ready. Juninho and Sarvas round out the best group in the league. Up front it's all about Robbie Keane and how quickly his achilles is healing as he's hands-down the best striker in MLS (perhaps in MLS history). Beside him will be either Friend or Samuel but the option exists to move Zardes up to get both Zardes and Rogers on the field. They Galaxy were nasty at home but pedestrian away and that cost them in the playoffs. They'll be thrown back into the fire to start 2014 with home match vs RSL followed by the home-and-home Champions League series with Tijuana then a road rematch back at RSL all in a 14 day span. Straight from there it's 5 road MLS games out of 6 and 2-4 more CCL matches if they defeat Tijuana...so potentially 14 games in just 68 days to start the year. That's a hell of a brutal stretch especially knowing that both Donovan and Gonzalez will be missing for two months after that. So it's not going to be easy for LA but this is the best team in the West and if their older legs can keep up (Keane, LD, Dunivant, Riley, DeLaGarza) they will be awesome.

Montreal
- first year for Frank Klopas coming over from Chicago where he posted a 34-17-25 record. Tons of experience but not someone I'd be all that excited about if I was an Impact fan
- Nesta retired in defense but he was always injured so you can't call that a big deal. Arnaud and Ubiparipovic gone from mf but, again, that doesn't hit my radar. The move of Valentin to Norway doesn't appear to be a big deal but I think he would have been a great guy to bring back from loan. Acquisitions were slim and none with only Uruguayan Gonzalez coming into the lineup. He was a great player for an Uruguayan Second Division team but not sure how well that translates to MLS. Right now Heath Pearce is on loan and if he comes cheap he's well worth a shot at right back. This team isn't much worse than 2013 but they're certainly not better
LINEUP & PREDICTION
- as of 2/28 this team has fallen behind the 2013 version. Right now Plan A and Plan B on offense is Marco DiVaio who has stayed remarkably injury-free despite his age and scored 25 goals in his 48 starts. He will likely lead the MLS in offside calls but that's what he does...pushes the defense over and over until them make a mistake (btw he went offside more than 10 other MLS teams last year). The problem is what happens if DiVaio gets hurt? A team built really only to attack can only be successful with a poacher and if he goes down or falls into a period of disinterest (he scored 7 of his 20 goals in a 5-game span last year) there is nobody on the team that can remotely pick up his production. Their midfield is really strong with guys like Bernier, Felipe, and Bernardello but not sure the signing of Gonzalez will benefit them much. Defense is like attack where they're too reliant on 30-somethings like Ferrari and Camara to expect them to better last year's performance and they basically folded after mid-Sept posting a 1-1-7 record to close out the campaign and won just 1/12 road games after beating KC on June 1. Klopas has won a lot of games in MLS but I've got Montreal missing the playoffs with the current lineup. Good news for them is they won't have any player in Brazil. Win or lose they'll play some exciting, goal-filled matches.

New England
- of the young MLS coaches given jobs with no experience Heaps is the one that looks most comfortable in the role and he's putting together some great young talent. He's lost more than he's won, 23-17-28, but that should end this year
- really the Revs didn't need to make a lot of moves they just need more experience. Agudelo took off for Utrecht and Reis retired while Toja was never going to amount to anything in the MLS so the departures are negligible. The additions of former USMNT striker Charlie Davies and exciting prospect Teal Bunbury will absolutely bolster the mediocre attack while keeper Knighton gives them experience behind Shuttleworth
LINEUP & PREDICTIONS
- for a few months last season Shuttleworth was a shutout machine so I expect him to win the keeper battle over Knighton and he's a real decent player. Goncalves and Soares appears to be their central defense partnership wtih both Farrell and McCarthy able to step in if needed. Tierney and Farrell likely to start at fullback but you've got both Alston and Woodbine of nearly equal ability so it has to be said this is a really impressive and deep group. They better be as defensive midfield is right now a very big issue and whoever plays here would be my 19th choice (out of 19) defensive midfielder starting in this league. That is UNLESS they bring in shalrie joseph to resurrect his career back home in New England. He's been trialing for them but likely will be too expensive to buy from Seattle but we'll see. Most of the attack remains the same as 2013 with Fagundez out left, Sene out right, with Rowe and Nguyen pushing forward and Bengston in attack. The only thing that has changed is depth with former American star Charlie Davies in camp along with Imbongo and Bunbury up front. It could be said this is a team without any stars, though Fagundez has the potential to be one, but really great depth. Bengston has mostly been sleep-walking since joining the Revs but you'd think he's highly motivated to impress the Honduran coach into giving him a shot in Brazil. They've also got Belgian Ogunjimi on trial right now and he did net 30x for Genk in just 84 matches but just once since then. We'll have to see if either Joseph or Ogunjimi sign this weekend but regardless this is a well assembled team that will be in that 3-6 place in the east.

New York Red Bulls
- Mike Petke has a decent first year in charge with the Supporters Shield but I'll reserve my enthusiasm as this team is just too unpredictable week to week
- On paper it looks like the defense took a big hit but Holgersson and Barklage were, at times, horrendous and Heath Pearce not getting younger. Espindola up front wasn't working so they lost nothing of importance. Bringing in Convey is a no-risk shot on a quality midfielder while using up an international transfer on Armando seems like a waste. They didn't need to change much but jury is still out on Petke
LINEUP & PREDICTION
- the supporter's shield winners of 2013 will not win it in 2014, at least not with the current roster. There's rumors of both Drogba and Puyol joining RBNY this season so I can only predict based on current team as obviously those are two tremendous players for MLS level. In goal they bring back Luis Robles who was pathetic for much of 2013 but then solid toward the end of the season which resulted in the Supporters Shield so expect a full strong year out of him. The back four is comical, IMHO, but Petke seems to like it so let's go with it. Kimura and Miller will play out wide and they are both error-prone and shouldn't be starters on a big MLS team. Connor Lade is a tough kid out wide but when you're about 4'10" it's tough to make much of an impact in a physical league like MLS. Armando Sanchez very well might be the opening day center half next to Olave which is a bit shocking to me while their only competent backup appears to be Eckersley who they got from a terrible Toronto FC squad. Things get better from here. In central mid the pairing of Eric Alexander and Dax McCarty is top notch and out wide you've got all sorts of options for Tim Cahill to fine. Up front they're stacked with Henry, Akpan, Sam, Luyindala, and Bradley Wright-Phillips. Even a shot to have Henry/Cahill in attack and pull Lyuindala to volante and Sam/Convey out wide. Whatever the lineup they will attack plenty and get scored on a bunch. They'll be a playoff team, but just barely.

Philadelphia
- Hackworth with an up and down first 1.5 years (20-14-23) but this is a really quality coach that now has amassed HIS talent and should break out in 2014
- simple as this...if not for Toronto's major spending the Union would have had the best offseason this winter. The midfield is tremendously upgraded at both defensive mid (Maurice Edu) and attacking mid (Maidana/Nogueira) and Ethan White gives them depth in defense. Adding Austin Berry means they could have a Berry/Okugo central defense partnership for the next 5 years. They did lose Parke to DC (don't care) and have to replace Michael Farfan's 2000 minutes but overall you've got to give them a B+ or A- grade for making this team better
LINEUP & PREDICTION
- start with this...topbet has Philly at 66/1 to win the title...that's just wrong so I have a small bet in at those odds. Fact is that all you need to do is make the playoffs in this league then anything can happen and since I have Philly at #3 in the East (a playoff team) you can't post anything higher than 20/1 on them.
- MacMath likely to start in goal but will be pushed by young, 6'4" Andre Blake who could be the next great keeper out of Concacaf. The center-half pairing of Berry/Okugo will be outstanding and you have to love both williams and fabinho at fullback. Having Carroll in front of the back 4 with Edu either by his side or just in front of him is outstanding but this team will likely live or die by how much offense Maidana and Nogueira can produce and if Jack McInerney can put together a full season. Last year he netted 6x before April was out but then just 6 more all season and didn't score a single goal in any competition from mid-June until mid-Oct. Getting a 2nd scoring option up front whether it be LeToux, Hoppenot, or Casey. South Americans are very hit-or-miss in this league but Maidana fills in a big hole at left midfield and with overlapping runs from Fabinho will put a ton of pressure on opponent's with right back deficiencies (which is most of this league) and hopefully create a penalty or two as they were not awarded a single penalty kick in 2013. Philly should be a playoff team as long as injuries stay away. I don't believe Edu will be on the WC team so they also should be relatively full staff for July.

Portland
- Caleb Porter is the man...a winner is a winner at any level and right now you'd have to put him top 5 in MLS coaches and perhaps even #2 behind Arena. His challenge is wading through 3 fronts this year (CCL, MLS, Open Cup)
- lots of changes but mostly to fringe players. They probably gave up on Zizzo too early but already have a lot of wide mf options...same with Jean-Baptiste but with him they got Villafana who is still really young but with more experience. They pilfered Steve Zakuani in the re-entry draft and he WILL be one of the most exciting players in the league this year now that his injuries are behind him. Porter also snagged two outstanding pros from Argentina with Fernandez coming in from Estudiantes and Paparatto from Tigre. Fernandez is a veteran mf/att that won a Copa Liberatore title and scored a ton in both Argentina and Mexican leagues which are superior to MLS. Paparatto is a monster in defense and nearly led Tigre to a Copa Sudamerica title 2 years ago and was their team captain which Portland will need with the expected fewer minutes for Jack Jewsbury. Everyone still scratching their heads on how Schillo Tshuma dropped to 17th in the draft (was rated the #1 forward in college soccer) but he's a kid that can add instant energy subbing in late in games
LINEUP & PREDICTION
- A huge plus for Portland is they're the only legit Supporter's Shield team that has no players going to Brazil and the past two MLS titlists in World Cup years both had ZERO world cup minutes played. If year one was getting acclimated to Caleb Porter's system then year two must be to compete for the title, both the MLS cup and the Supporters Shield, and unlike SKC and LA they don't have any Concacaf CL matches to worry about so should get off to a great start (especially when 4 of first 6 games are against non-playoff teams from 2013). In goal you've got Donovan Ricketts who is still a top 5 keeper in the league. The addition of Paparatto in defense stiffens up a group that easily led the West in goals against last year so should be even tougher to break in 2014 though lack depth in case injuries hit the backline. With Nagbe and Zakuani you have two potential game-changers that really didn't factor into the 2013 results so if either, or both, can play to potential they will be even more of a handful going forward. The addition of Fernandez gives them some great attacking options and also insurance against Valeri's injury lasting into regular season but there still remains a question in attack. With Ryan Johnson in China it looks like an attack by committee without a proven MLS forward. Alhassan, Valencia, Piquionne, Urruti, and Nagbe are all options and really what Porter's done is assemble a tremendously deep squad where an injury or two will not derail their season. Certainly they'd like to see Will Johnson and Valeri stay healthy along with the back four but a few guys out in midfield won't hurt them. The only depth they lack is in central defense so if that stays intact all year this is a title chasing club.

Real Salt Lake
- losing Jason Kreis at coach only to be replaced by a staff assistant (an ex-goalie at that) is the big question for 2014, no doubt.
- not much to say about acquisitions and deletions as there were few of either. RSL had a nice 2013 so maybe there wasn't a lot to change but the big key was that they have a coach who really doesn't know the market. He's never played or coached a game outside the USA (backed up at Bolton for a while 10 years ago) and has been an assistant with RSL for 7 years so he couldn't be expected to go out and make a lot of moves. This team wasn't strong enough to just stand still...
LINEUP & PREDICTION
- I'd have had more fun watching paint dry than seeing RSL in preseason this year. As mentioned their offseason was boldly quiet and really only resulted in sending Lovel Palmer away for cash. That certainly tells me the new coach thinks he has the pieces in place after a solid 56 point season in 2013 but I say otherwise. If anything can point to a predicted decline it's that they lost a cup final, AT HOME, to a 3-win DC United team! That aside it was a surprisingly good year for RSL but Jason Kreis is a top coach and now it's up to a trialist to run the show. In the nets you've got Nicky Rimando who is as solid as it gets and in defense probably the deepest overall talent in the league with Balchan, Beltran, Mansally, Wingert, Schuler, Borchers, and Watson-Siriboe. Beckerman is an annual best XI choice in central midfield, Grabavoy is a tremendous professional so you can't get much stronger with the back 7. Attacking MF is where things fall apart for me. Javi Morales is a great player, no doubt, but at 34 it's tough to continuing your productivity from attacking mf and if Luis Gil heads to Europe and Sebastian Velasquez doesn't make huge strides in 2014 this is a really poor group. Up front Sabo, Olmes, Findley, and Plata are quality but it's the midfield that will tell the tale for RSL in 2014. If Morales, Gil, and Velasquez produce offense like they're able to then this team will be really good but if things don't go well in attacking mf and they miss Sabo, Beckerman, and Rimando for long periods of time with national teams they could struggle to be a playoff team. Morales has dealt with a few injuries these last years, not surprising for 34, and their production is shocking without him (when he played they scored every 44 minutes, when he missed out it was just every 130 minutes)

San Jose Earthquakes
- Watson finished up with SJ put never got them rolling for the playoffs and really didn't even stop the bleeding. Don't forget this was the #1 team in 2012 season with the best offense and they were putrid in 2013.
- as you might imagine there was a ton of turnover. Corrales finally retired, Morrow was traded to TFC, Baca left for Cruz Azul, Chavez for Colorado, and one of my fav players Beitashour went to Vancouver. Not to mention fellow defenders Attakora and Gargan weren't renewed but the attack left in place which I don't agree with at all. To me this team was missing speed and flair and unless Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi provides it I don't see them causing many problems to the oppositions midfield and, btw, Pierazzi scored 2 goals in 179 matches with Ajaccio in France. He was their captain so should be able to fill that void left by Corrales' retirement. Additions of solid MLS vets like Harris, Barklage, and Francis help quite a bit but I don't see any spark in midfield or attack just giant trees looking for a header.
LINEUP & PREDICTION
- this club was basically like watching Stoke City II in 2013. Ugly, beastly football centered around winning headers and praying a cross finds a blue shirt...it was an awful brand of football and they really haven't done much to change the team's makeup. As you might imagine this "hit and hope" style produced nearly 40 ariel balls/match, most in MLS, and while Atiba Harris is a solid pro to add in attack he is more interested in defending than attacking. He will be asked to replace Marvin Chavez but the stats aren't there. Harris completed less than half his final 1/3 zone passes in the last two years but did lead the league in most aerial balls won and contested...so expect much the same out of San Jose...hit 'em long and hope you retain possession. And now do so without your most exciting, aggressive midfielder? While they won't be pretty they might be effective. The center half pairing of USMNT, Goodson, with Honduran MNT, Bernardez, is big and nasty but slow as hell. Francis, Harden, and Barklage are decent MLS pros but this is not a defense you can ask to get you into an offensive position. Cronin will man the defensive midfield and they'll need to get attacking play in midfield from Pierazzi which isn't very likely or from Attiba Harris down the wing (also unlikely). Up front it's a group of bruisers with Jahn, Lenhart, and Gordon (all 6'3"+) trying to create room for Wondolowski. Their only hope IMO is someone like Schuler emerging as a playmaker otherwise you will see long balls up front with Gordon/Lehnart/John/Harris trying to take the ball down then a cross in the box hoping to find wondo's head. yawn.... SJ will not make the playoffs, hopefully

Seattle
- wtf is Sigi Schmid doing? if this was practically any other league in the world both him and Ben Olsen would be unemployed but he's back for another year after failing miserably despite getting every player he wanted
- It could be argued their departures make a better starting XI than their 2014 team. Obviously you have Montero not being welcomed back and last I saw he had something like 13 goals in 19 matches with Sporting in Portugal. While I'm not an EJ fan he is still a top 5 American striker and I love Zakuani's potential...they're all gone in attack. Moffat is a tough MLS vet sent packing and Rosales might be the most talented player in MS...both are gone. Ianni, Burch, and Hurtado played over 4000 minutes in defense for them in 2013 and their starting keeper (as shaky as he was) got the axe. With guys coming in there are nothing but question marks. Barrett, Bowen, and Cooper have played plenty of games in attack in MLS but would anyone want them over Zakuani, Montero, and EJ? hell no. Chad Marshall and Jalil Anibaba are solid professionals and in his day (with Schmid in Cbus) Marshall was a top 5 centerback but that day is not in 2014. The big deal here is Marco Pappa. He was a terrific albeit one-footed midfielder with Chicago and after getting knocked down to size in Holland (12 appearances in 2 years) he should be plenty motivated plus he's a free kick monster. IMO he's not an upgrade over Rosales and I think it's pretty obvious that Schmid struggles getting the best out of foreign players (see Alvaro Fernandez, Mauro Rosales, Gspurning, Fredy Montero, Obafemi Martins, Shalrie Joseph, and Blaise Nkufo) who are super stars when they aren't playing for him. For that reason I'm guessing Marco Pappa will not produce like he did in Chicago
LINEUP & PREDICTION
- in goal you trade the athletic but sometimes shaky Gspurning for steady but unexciting Hanhnemann or Frei so I don't see any big change in nets. The central defense for me is a huge concern as Chad Marshall is not the player Sigi coached 7 years ago and now put those old legs on crappy turf and he could be a mess. Djimi Traore is equally, if not more, shaky as he's a great positional defender but can be beaten with speed. Ideally for Seattle Anibaba will be Marshall's partner at centerback and while he's not spectacular he is an absolute ironman with 6000 minutes played in L2 season missing just one game. Still a Marshall/Anibaba/Traore partnership, in any fashion, will rate in the bottom 1/3 in the league. While I might laugh at the central defense the fullbacks are top class with Yedlin at right back and Gonzalez at left back. Both are fantastic players and only have fringe shots at making their national teams for the cup so should be around all season. The issue with Gonzalez is his age (33) while playing on this terrible field for too many years but he's adjusted his game to be more of a stay-at-home guy while letting Yedlin get involved in the attack. In front of the back four is Ozzie Alonso who is simply the best def mf in the league. This club's record when he's out of the lineup is pathetic and when both he and Gonzalez miss out it's "all in" betting on the opposition. Up front a lot depends on how Dempsey and Pappa pan out. Dempsey was awful in 2013 but is clearly a top player for MLS level while Pappa is a talented mf that can go missing for months at a time...a lot like Dempsey, i suppose. Brad Evans on the right is the consummate professional while Martins has golden boot (20+ goals?) potential if they can find a partner for him. If things go perfectly you will have the mf of Pappa/Dempsey/Evans pushing defenses back and opening spaces for Cooper/Martins/Neagle up front with Alonso quickly getting it up to the mf and Yedlin making crazy runs down the right. If that goes as they hope this is a 60-goal team. On the other side there is a pretty clear path for destruction....Yedlin goes to Europe, Gonzalez/Traore/Marshall show their age in defense, Alonso gets injured, and they don't recover from losing matches while Dempsey and Evans are in Brazil. I'll keep Seattle in the playoffs and if things go well this is a 60-goal, 60 point team but things haven't gone as planned for Sigi Schmid for several years.

Sporting KC
- Vermes is a great coach now in season #6 after winning the title...no reason to expect anything less in 2014
- When you win a title, are comfortable with the salary cap, and don't have any players moving on you don't need a whole lot. They sent a really good striker prospect, Bunbury, to NE Revs but he wasn't getting time in KC anyway. The stole Sal Zizzo from Portland as the Timbers weren't using him but this is a kid with tremendous potential who really led our u20 team before blowing out his knee in Germany. It's time for Zizzo to reach the expectations that saw him at Hannover at age 20 and this is a great spot for him. With Hartman retiring they simply went out and snagged Gruenebaum who started 54 games for the Crew in the past 2 years. easy enough...
LINEUP & PREDICTION
- champs are solid favorites to repeat. I'm not a huge Gruenebaum or Kronberg fan in net but I didn't care much for Hartman and when you are the deepest team in the league having an average goalkeeper still wins you trophies. In all seriousness SKC should have been even more dominant last year than they were. They were the #1 first half team in MLS, tied or leading in 29/34 matches, but only won 17 games. Their 47 goals was just 5th in the East and 10th in the league so there is still a lot of room to improve. First thing they need to do is cement their wins at home as only 6 MLS teams had fewer home victories as they had too many dominating home performances end in 0 or 1 point. No changes in the back with the most dominant starting 4 in MLS here for their 3rd year together as a starting group with plenty of depth as well. MF added Zizzo out wide and can pretty much do it all with guys of every size, speed, and ability in various roles. Uri is an unbelievable young defensive midfielder and I'll put him there with Alonso as the best in the league while Nagamura, Feilhaber, and Zusi will get the service for Sapong, Saad, Dwyer, and Bieler. I'm not 100% sold on life up front without Kei Kamara but when you're confident enough to send away a guy like Bunbury who scored 9x for them in 2011 the coach must know this is a talented group. Just like LA in the west SKC will have an early season gauntlet starting with an away game in Seattle, a home-and-home vs Mexican leaders Cruz Azul in Champions League, and 3 more MLS games before March is done. That's 6 games in 21 days with two trips in altitude, one to the Pac NW, and 3 home games. SKC's depth will be tested early. I'm not much into preseason records but a 8-1-0 record heading into final match is an impressive number especially when you consider they even won 2 games in one day. Title contenders for sure

Toronto
- Ryan Nelsen is, for me, right behind Jay Heaps as far as the top young coaches in MLS but unlike Heaps and the Revs' youth movement Nelsen has to produce by the World Cup break or he is gone.
- It would take a book to run through TFC but the fact is they've added 7 instant starters to a team that had a lot of good young prospects. Almost overnight they snagged the best American player on the planet, Brazil's starting keeper for the world cup, and probably the best natural goal poacher born in England. Toss in fan favorite De Rosario, a right back that has started in both EPL and Championship, a quality MLS vet mf with Jackson, plus a brilliant young Brazilian forward and you have an overhaul as never seen before in MLS. Getting these guys playing together ASAP is the key and that falls on Nelsen who i believe can get it done.
LINEUP & PREDICTION
- obviously just hanging in there while Julio Cesar, Jermaine Defoe, and Michael Bradley are prepping for and playing in Brazil is a key to making the playoffs as the guy backing these 3 up are a big step down in quality and depth is among the poorest in MLS. Julio Cesar should be the best keeper in MLS and Steven Caldwell is one of the best center halfs in the league while Orr/Morrow give them one of the best fullback tandems in the league. The depth behind them is frighteningly poor though I still hold out hope that Agbossoumonde will become the type of centerback that saw him starting for US' u17 and u20 teams while Morgan has shown promise. Jeremy Hall has been playing right back in preseason during Orr's injury and if injuries plague them in the back this team will be a disaster. De Ro and Weideman have gotten nice minutes up front while Gilberto and Defoe are now getting into the country so I think they can be productive players up front when called upon but Gilberto/Defoe should be a top 3 striking pair in the league. With guys like Rey, Osorio, and Lambe held over from last year's midfield they have to produce in 2014 if this team is to make the playoffs or even compete for a supporter's shield but that's another area of the pitch where a few injuries would collapse the squad. Obviously they need to get a lot of wins before the national teams call up their top players and it's a tough ask with so many new faces that need to gel quickly but if things fall into place and they can snag early wins the sky is the limit for this group. Don't forget this is a team that was in almost every match but continually collapsed in final 15 minutes. They didn't lose by multiple goals at all in a home match and only 5 of their 17 losses all year were by 2+ but they have to get rid of the losing attitude that has seen them post b2b2b 6-5-6 win seasons which is absolutely brutal for a parity-driven league like MLS. I'll put my faith in TFC for 2014 and slot them in the playoffs but I can clearly see the path that would land them in the basement as well.

Vancouver
- Rennie out, Robinson in. One year as a Vancouver assistant after retiring from MLS and he's now running a franchise? good luck with that
- for everyone the biggest WTF in MLS this offseason was Camilo getting transfered to Queretaro in Liga MX. He was, at times, not only the best young player in MLS but even the best player. He's gone for nothing? Toss in both keepers getting axed, Lee retiring, and a couple more strikers being dropped and you really are left shaking the head. I love the addition of Steven Beitashoure but how many times will an MLS team pick up Ballouchy before they realize he sucks? I have no clue what's going on with the Caps but it's not pretty
LINEUP & PREDICTION
- since my overview of their acquisitions the Caps claimed Laba from Toronto and he be an instant starter next to Reo-Coker in defensive midfield. With Robinson looking to play a 4-2-3-1 the "2" is now very well set and has to be one of the most impressive duos in MLS and Laba can challenge Ozzie Alonso for rights as the MLS's top defensive midfielder (sorry Beckerman). The back 4 probably need all the help they can get as it's tough to count on the injury-prone Jay Demerit and his partner, O'Brien, is coming off a long injury spell himself and with a combined age of 68 it's tough to see them both playing 30+ games. I love Beitashour at RFB but he's likely to miss a couple months with Iran this summer. He led the MLS in defender assists over the past 3 years and both he and LFB Harvery will be asked to make a lot of attacking runs making them a pretty fun group to watch. With Laba on the team Teibert will be asked to move into a more attacking MF role and I'm not sold on him at all in this role as he looked pretty strong in a deeper position. In the attacking third you've got a lot of unproven talent with Fernandez, Salgado, Miller, Manneh, Koffie, and Mattocks. Miller was a massive disappointment, Mattocks is a talented head-case, Manneh is still a teenager, and Salgado didn't score a goal last year either for the Caps or reserves. He was brought back from injury very slowly and if you're looking for a kid to make an impact that will be Salgado. Overall I just don't see how this team will compete in the West. They allowed way too many goals last year and there's only so much the addition of Laba can help on that front and losing the league's #1 scorer, Camilo, who put this team on his back in the fall (8 goals in last 6 games) during their push for the playoffs seems too much to overcome. They'll be the Montreal of the west...entertaining, goal-filled matches but on the losing side of too many of them to reach the post-season. Like Montreal, their keeper is awful and with a subpar backline this will be a pretty easy hole for opponent's to exploit. Biggest positive for Vancouver is that teams like Seattle, RSL, and Colorado above them in last year's standings look like they're regressing so while I have them missing the playoffs it will be a pretty tight fight in the west for positions 3-9. Update: after I finished the preview the Caps signed attacking mf Pedro Morales from Malaga and the Chilean should step right in to an attacking mf role which is a great addition.

Wow, rolltide. You went all out.

I agree about Alonso. When he's not on the pitch, opposing teams counter-attack right down the center with little resistance.

The starting midfield could be decent, but what about the back-ups. It looks like a pretty steep drop off in talent. They traded away Carrasco. Got rid of Burch for nothing. Rose and Caskey? Those two should only be playing against the very bottom teams like Chivas. Not sure where Estrada fits into the lineup.

Bump

Fantastic stuff Rolltide. Looking forward to the season and to your posts.

Seattle/SKC - most accurate result would have been draw but Seattle scored on a counter in 94th after a midfield giveaway. tough loss for Sporting KC who were no worse than even in the match.

DC/Columbus - DC were awful...simply an extension from last year. Coach is clueless, midfield is pathetic, and defense is old and confused. Cbus very impressive up front and a lot of grit with guys like Francis holding DC to 1 shot on goal

Vancouver/RBNY - wasn't really a 4-1 convincer like score says but for sure was wide open. Caps scored some great goals and it was a well deserved win but scoreline was a bit flattering

Houston/Revs - just a complete 1-sided domination. really a terrible performance from New England who's defense was humorously torn apart by Dynamo runs. Revs took a bunch of shots from distance but only 1 found the frame

Dallas/Montreal - two teams I expected to have bad defenses...had bad defenses. The front line for Dallas was just too much for a DiVaio-less Impact to get a point. If he had played this would have been either Impact win or draw but front line was too wasteful

Galaxy/RSL - blame this one on Robbie Keane. Simple volley in first half put it right at keeper then easy finish in 1st half off right post followed by a missed penalty. Game should have been 2-0 or even 3-0 (Zardes still hasn't learned to shoot straight) before the RSL goal. Won't see many MLS games where a team takes close to 30 shots without scoring

Timbers/Union - quite a lucky draw as Philly was flat-out the better team. Union deserved all 3 points but fell asleep on stoppage time corner and left Gaston free for simple header and the draw. Will Johnson needs to spend more time finishing chances and less time yelling at his own teammates...dude is such a little ****. IMO Edu was playing out of position in attacking mf but this team has a lot of size and nastiness in that area and I thought they intimidated the tiny Timbers.

US Chivas (or Chivas USA whatever the fuck they are) much better game. Still have comical defensive structure but will at least be enjoyable to watch. The rumors that Mike Magee wasn't playing in preseason due to contract dispute gained some steam as he didn't play a single minute today despite publicly declaring himself fit for the match. Never been a Frankie fan (see above) but looks like Magee and Yallop will be having a cock size contest to see who runs the show. Advantage Yallop, I guess...if you call sitting the MLS MVP in a match you need to win an advantage? My guess is they'll leak some bullshit info that Magee regressed in training yesterday so Frankie can escape the obviously criticism. Bad job by Frankie and the Fire but without Magee this is a 7-9 win team, max

round 2...

RBNY/COL - attack of the replacement refs...terrible call on Olave but when you go down like a sniper hit you in the back of the head the ref can get suckered in. poor match, neither team were very good after rbny dominated first 20 min

PHI/NE - not much happened at all...goal out of nothing when a defender fell down and set Philly up. Revs really struggling to create any chances

SEA/TOR - JD is too good for this league...he'll have 10 goals before the WC starts. Seattle midfield, like last week, fail to create anything.

SKC/DAL - dallas 1 shot, 1 goal....SKC just 1 point out of 6 and were the better team in both. both goals off headers

HOU/MTL - montreal 0 points out of 6 and were better team on road in both of them without divaio. could be a really nice play-on team shortly

RSL/SJ - RSL have now allowed 55 shots in two games and came away with 4 out of 6 road points. very rare. I just can't see SJ having a decent season from what I watched this week. defense is big and slow and only chances created are on set pieces. Horrible football to watch but a pair of 95th minute goals this week shows they can come from behind

Quality

Rolltide,

Outstanding feedback my friend. Looking forward to your picks as the season gets going. Best of luck.

-RTR :chest:

Van/Revs - if NE fall short of playoffs they'll circle 2 points that got away here. Maybe writing was on the wall when Van keeper made brilliant relfex save off an early Revs corner but for all their domination they only troubled him a few times and missed the net a ton. Van did less than nothing in the match so a really gifted 1 point. Stat of the match is that 10% of the game was spent in Vancouver's penalty area...that's insane. Stat of the match part 2 is the 7 blocked shots that Vancouver had, including 4 inside the area.

Dal/CUSA - first half hour nothing separated teams then final 60' was ugly one-way traffic with Dal keeper needing to make just 1 save from a shot in the box. CUSA defense is really really really bad and Minda coming off early is a terrible sign if he's gone for any length of time

SKC/SJ - IMO this was the best performance for any MLS team this year but KC never makes things easy on themselves, even hitting the post 2x on the same attack. For all their dominance (9 shots in box vs 2) it still came down to a comical miss by Wondolowski with 10 minutes left or another 1-1 draw for KC...really was a great performance by KC though limiting SJ to just 4 attempted shots all match.

COL/POR - no doubt Portland continues to be the most disappointing team in the league. In this match they were really even until 70th minute and then sort of died in the altitude and allowed 2 late goals while never threatening themselves. Timbers 1 shot in box all night and forced only 1 save from 25 yards out. That is pathetic

CBUS/PHI - one of those matches where the score doesn't really tell the story as Philly were no worse than even with Cbus. Cbus spent a pathetic 11% of the game in Philly's final 1/3 but they did take some quality shots just not at the volume of Philly's 15 attempts inside the box. Just like the late 1-1 equalizer allowed in Portland the Union will circle this game as a point, or three, that got away

RSL/LA - Plata terrible miss in 2nd minute then both teams scored in the next half hour only for really nothing to happen the rest of the game except for one great save by the LA backup keeper. 1-1 was probably an appropriate result

TFC/DC - big news will be that lowly Toronto is 2-0-0 but they really didn't play all that well here. DC had really good possession in 1H while TFC were hitting on counter attack but TFC very sloppy match, simply waited for a few great plays by their million dollar men. DC spent plenty of time in TFC territory but simply lack a #10 to create and a #9 to finish. They can take something away here at least...played much better than vs Cbus

another pretty strange day...

Phi/Mtl - probably an accurate scoreline to the action but philly threw away a lead with a man advantage on some horrendous defending by okugo who kept backing up and backing up until Di Vaio had just a simple curler into the side netting. really strange defending from one of the league's better center-halfs.... has to be considered dropping 2 points for philly

Chi/DC - the David Moyes of the MLS needs to go. Olsen is horrible...period. Anyone that had the drop he did in 2013 would have been fired and now 0 for 3 to start 2014? Team played ok but once the got the lead he tried to park the bus and simply invited non-stop pressure from Chicago who cashed in and nearly won it outright. Time to rev up the plane and fly a banner over RFK...this guy has to go and Hamid needs to stay as far away from the USMNT as possible. I don't get our national team's fascination with this guy. he blows

Van/Hou - solid game for Van who are really night and day when they're home vs away. Probably should have been easier than 2-1 with a late winner but if they could add a decent winger and a real striker they would be very dangerous. Oh wait, they had the league's leading scorer and gave him away for nothing...never mind

Dal/Port - continued misery from Portland. Looking at the match map the shocker is that only one cross came from their left side....everything else was pushed down the right. No matter the league if you're that predictable you're not likely to succeed. The other obvious issue is they settled for long distance shots all night against a pretty pedestrian defense. this is way too talented of a roster to be sitting where they are right now. Dallas will be a nice play-against team as soon as they leave Texas....

RSL/Tor - scoreboard shows a blowout but in reality it was a much closer match. Even at 2-0 a Toronto shot blasted off the left post and sent RSL on a counter for 3-0...so a post changed it from 2-1 to 3-0. TFC's possession time just isn't very good right now and they can't continue to just try to play on the counter. You don't spend the millions they did on Orr, Bradley, DeFoe, and the brazilian to absorb pressure and counter. Watching their last two matches vs RSL and DC bring some manager questions to mind

SEA/Cbus - Cbus came out in the 2nd half with a completely diff mentality and got both the penalty and red card on a terrible Traore challenge then won it in stoppage while Seattle was busy trying to configure themselves for a corner kick. Hard not to be impressed with Columbus right now....great preseason then went on road for 6 points at DC and SEA. Trapp is playing great, their attackers are top notch, coach is outstanding, and Parkhurst really leading the team from the back. SEA have some major issues in mf and attack but sort of knew that going into the year. This would be a totally diff team with Rosales down the right and Montero up front.

SJ/NE - anyone that bets on SJ at anytime this year deserves to lose. This is the worst football i have seen any MLS team play outside of expansion years. This "hit and hope" philosophy is disgusting to watch and their own goal was a comedy of errors. Revs didn't show any great level themselves and took a SJ own goal for them to score this year but certainly they are a much better team with Goncalves. No surprise that SJ lead MLS in longest avg pass length as they really have no clue how to play football except for Salinas down the left. Really hate this team

rbny/cusa - good end to a strange weekend with the red bulls unable to win as a -250 fav and needing a stoppage time goal off a corner just to get a point. they were really impressive in 2h though except dan kennedy (my fav goalie in mls) was better. how kennedy isn't ahead of hamid in the usmnt depth chart is beyond me but he is. guess its an age thing.... anyway, the red bulls played perhaps the best quarter hour of a game this year in MLS those final 15 minutes and limited cusa to just 1 shot for the match and a 12-1 shot differential. rbny certainly won't be excited about gaining just 1 point at home to cusa but should be encouraged at how badly they could dominate another team for 15-20 minutes

Not sure who got the better of this deal. rolltide what's your take? Not a real big impact for either team?



　
Philadelphia Union's John Hackworth explains Jack McInerney-Andrew Wenger swap


　
Why did the Philadelphia Union trade a franchise original, their most prolific goalscorer and one of the most exciting young American soccer players?

For John Hackworth, it all came down to tactics and long-term contract implications.

That’s how the Union manager explained his rationale behind dealing Jack McInerney to the Montreal Impact for Andrew Wenger in Friday’s stunning blockbuster.

"Right now, we see it as a straight swap – forward for forward," Hackworth said on a conference call from the airport, just before his team flew to Chicago for Saturday’s game against the Fire (5 pm ET, MLS LIVE).

"[Wenger] is more of a prototypical No. 9 than Jack was or is. That’s where we see him. But he is versatile enough, which we really like. You could put him on the left or right, or drop him into the midfield, and he’d be effective."

McInerney, on the other hand, is viewed strictly as a center forward, which has handcuffed Hackworth as he’s employed his favored 4-3-3 formation and tries to ease veteran striker Conor Casey back into the lineup.

On top of that, McInerney’s future with the team was cloudy as the 21-year-old striker is nearing the end of his contract. Wenger, meanwhile, has two years left on his deal followed by two more option years, according to Hackworth.

"I would tell you, yes, that’s part of it," Hackworth said of McInerney’s contract situation factoring into the trade. "It’s not that I don’t think we could have signed Jack to another contract. But it certainly presents another set of problems when a player is at the end of a contract and you know what you’re going to have to do to retain that player’s rights."

Hackworth was also asked if McInerney’s streakiness played a role in the deal. When he was at his best, as he was for the end of the 2012 season and the beginning of the 2013 season, McInerney had the ability to carry the Union on his back. But after getting called up to the US national team for the Gold Cup and making the MLS All-Star game last summer, his productively sharply declined and his team suffered because of it.

But even as the Union have struggled to score through the first four games this season, Hackworth said there was "no sense of desperation" to try to shake things up.

"We weren’t disappointed in the way Jack was playing," Hackworth said. "Clearly, we have an idea of where we want to go and the type of players we want to bring in. We felt like this was a move that would improve that – it’s as simple as that."

While it seems unlikely Wenger can replace the 12 goals McInerney scored last season, Hackworth is optimistic that the top overall pick in the 2012 SuperDraft can provide a much-needed boost to the team’s sagging offense.

Wenger, who hails from the Philadelphia area, will be available when the Union return home to face Real Salt Lake on April 12 (following a suspension he’s serving for, interestingly enough, a red card he picked up in last week’s game against Philly).

Said Hackworth, "I think he has an opportunity to be a starter immediately."

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2014/04/04/philadelphia-unions-john-hackworth-explains-jack-mcinerney-andrew-wenger-swa

simply a money situation. union have two guys, Jack Mac and Okugo, that want DP money on next contract. Union don't feel raising Jack Mac from 75k to 400k is worth it so went out and got one of the supposed up-and-coming strikers in Wenger. Only thing that doesn't make sense is that Wenger is making 125k so unless Montreal is paying some of that $$ this year it was not a great move IMHO.

Time will tell but I'm not sure McInerney and Di Vaio will fit well together as each likes to push up and press the defense. If Montreal were looking for a complimentary striker I would have expected more of a guy in the mold of Welbeck or Heskey...a guy that does a lot of dirty work, wins aerial ball, and keeps feeding the guy up front. Jack Mac ain't that guy

Wenger should be real happy coming back home (he's from Lancaster which is maybe 40 min from Union stadium) but not sure anyone they have up front is really all that impressive so he'll get plenty of time

I don't see either team making out like bandits on this....if JM can adapt to playing a more retreated striking role then for sure the Impact will have the better of this one but not sure he can do it

KC/RSL - RSL badly outplayed again but got another point...just a team that is lucky as hell. They had 1 shot attempt from inside the box vs the 14 box attempts from KC. Man of the match was RSL's backup keeper playing in place of starter Rimando....

HOU/DAL - surprise of the weekend for me as Dallas tore Houston's defense apart scoring on 4 of their 5 shots on target with all 4 goals within 15 yards. You just can't defend like that and ever win. Houston offense probably deserved more than 1 goal but result was fair

DC/NE - DC finally won a match and this really makes 3 straight games they played decent football holding the Revs to just 1 shot on goal and outplaying them in the 2nd half. Still isn't much to like about DC but a win is a win. Parke with a great game completing 92% of passes with 7 interceptions and 11 clearances. NE took 7 shots inside the DC box and put just 1 on target which is pathetic

VAN/COL - gotta give it up to Colorado who i expected to start slowly this year. Winning in Van, getting a point in NY even though the play of Morales in the middle was tremendous, same with Mattocks up front. Mari completed 95% of his passes really out of nowhere. Maybe draw was more accurate result but 3 points is 3 points

CBUS/TOR - bookies cleaned up on this one as everyone was on Cbus after hearing about TFC's injuries. game was pretty even but when you consider no DeFoe, no Bradley, no Osorio this is a terrible result for columbus. Cbus were in TFC's final third 22% of the match with 9 shots inside of 15 yards but Julio Cesar was too good.

CHI/PHI - weird game. 4 goals, 4 shots on goal with 1H pretty well controlled by Chicago then 2h by Philly. Loving Philly's midfield this year...they are a great unit but the attack is pretty sad. Pretty odd to see so many goals with only a dozen combined attempts but falls in line with the rest of the strange happenings in the match

POR/SEA - Portland threw away 2 points in a match they had fully under control until 85th minute. Chara was great, Valeri was great, but Dempsey woke up and crushed the bet. Rare to see a team completely dominate midfield and not win but Portland have a lot of issues in their defense..or at least in the beginning and end of matches.

LA/CUSA - near perfect match for the Galaxy...up there with KC's performance vs San Jose earlier this year except LA finished a few more chances. CUSA didn't really offer up anything and I thought Juninho was tremendous, completing well over 90% of his passes from midfield. Ishizaki in for Zardes made a big difference as well but it's the Juninho return that made the biggest difference. CUSA with some timely blocked shots and great Kennedy saves or score would have been even worse...the Boca return to MLS really isn't working out.