There is a ton of soccer going on right now. MLS clubs are currently competing in CCL, US Open Cup, and League play is ramping up. On top of all that, there have been rumors that MLS is set to announce the newest expansion team at an unbelievable fee of $500 million.
The rumored city is San Diego, which I think will both geographically and sporting wise be a great fit for the league. It does present an interesting conflict with the USL-Championship side San Diego Loyal, whose co-owners include Landon Donovan and DeAndre Yedlin. I hope the Loyal stay. More soccer is never a bad thing and the rivalry would be fun. I hate that St. Louis FC folded after the announcement of St. Louis CITY. I think some markets can have two thriving teams and I believe San Diego to be one of those markets.
Half of a billion dollars for an expansion fee is absurd. Expansion fees have become so much a part of the MLS business model that I only think MLS will quit expanding when people quit paying. I am working on a much larger US promotion-relegation piece but to give you an insight I think MLS would expand to 80 teams across four divisions if 50 more ownership groups are willing to shell out north of $100 million to be a part of the league.
US Open Cup round of 32 is underway with half of the games being played last night. I watched St. Louis-Chicago in what I hoped would be the first game of a budding rivalry. On the field I think it lived up to the hype. It was intense, physical and both teams wanted to win. The Chicago fans disappointed greatly. I haven't seen an announced attendance yet but there looked to be less than 5,000 people in the stands. I had hoped for the first iteration of this rivalry we'd see a packed Seat Geek Stadium with the fans as bought in as the players.
Elsewhere the Pittsburgh Riverhounds (who's jersey and stadium are so Pittsburgh in the best way possible) knocked off the Revs in Foxboro for the biggest upset of the night. LAFC took their 2nd team up to Monterrey and came away with a win. It's another sign that LAFC are the class of MLS. They're juggling two tournaments and league play and they have the depth to take a young squad to a 2nd division side and advance in the tournament. I've made the statement if everyone stays healthy LAFC could win every competition this year, and it's starting to look more and more possible.
There are going to be a lot of shaking and moving in this week's Power Rankings after a wild week of soccer, let's dig in:
1. LAFC 5-3-1 Last Week: 1; LAFC did drop their first game of the season in front of nearly 50,000 fans at Levi's Stadium, which made me naturally want to drop them from the top spot. They killed the Revs, the Sounders lost, and I'm just not ready to put FCC in the top spot. So for now LAFC remain a top the board.
2. New England Revs 7-3-1 Last Week: 2; I came so close to having the Revs jump LA. I just couldn't do it. That Sunday night thrashing in LA just hasn't left my mind yet. The Revs look great and have talent all over the field.
3. FC Cincinnati 7-3-1 Last Week: 3; FCC held on at home to win 2-1 over a much improved DC United team. FCC are still unbeaten at home and if they get that top seed in the East they will be tough to knock out.
4. Seattle Sounders 6-2-3 Last Week: 4; I think the Sounders are firmly fourth on this list. They would've been one but Sporting KC decided to play soccer again last Sunday and shocked the world for their first win of the season. The Sounders will be fine as they get ready for the Galaxy in Open Cup play tonight.
5. Nashville SC 5-3-3 Last Week: 6; Hany Mukhtar's hat trick led Nashville to a big home win against Chicago that led to Ezra Henderson's firing. I just think Nashville is so well coached and are good at how they play.
6. San Jose Quakes 5-3-3 Last Week: NR; If you've been reading you know I put a lot of stock in knocking off the top team on the power rankings. The Quakes had a great home showing at Levi's Stadium and I love the idea of hosting big games in NFL stadiums. Luchi Gonzalez is getting the best out of this team and they are going to push for a top 4 seed in the Western Conference.
7. St. Louis CITY 6-1-3 Last Week: 5; No way around it, City are not the same team without Joao Klauss on the pitch. He's integral to how they play. Teams have also been forcing them to control the tempo and they've struggled. This team can still win the entire league if healthy and if their opponents don't execute their game plan perfectly.
8. Houston Dynamo 4-2-3 Last Week: NR; Another team who haven't appeared in the rankings before. The Hector Herrera move is finally starting to pay off. This team aims to win and compete and they're doing just that. They aren't the deepest or most talented group in the league but they are going to give you all they've got. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the league is better off when Houston are competitive.
Bottom 5
25. Chicago Fire 2-5-3 Last Week: NR; I do genuinely hate writing this one. The Fire are 3 points out of a playoff spot and have some really bright spots on the roster: Chris Brady, Chris Mueller, and Brian Gutierrez in particular. They did just fire Ezra Henderson as they have higher expectation this season.
It is super disappointing and in my opinion a poor decision for the future to not let Chris Brady and Brian Gutierrez go to the U-20 World Cup. It's a huge tournament and guys want to represent their country. I understand from a sporting side it's hard to let your starting keeper and starting number 10 go for a month for a youth international tournament when you're fighting to stay alive in the season. On the other hand does the next Chris Brady or Brian Gutierrez sign with the Fire or do they go to college or sign somewhere that releases their players for these types of competitions? It's a really interesting case study to keep an eye on.
26. Austin FC 2-4-4 Last Week: NR; This is probably the biggest surprise of the season for me. I picked Austin to finish top 4 in the Western Conference but they have just struggled to produce results this season. I don't know if it's a junior slump or what's going on in Austin but I do feel they are deserving of this ranking today.
27. LA Galaxy 1-3-6 Last Week: 28; Los Angeles is really a tale of two teams this season. As high as LAFC climbs the Galaxy fall equally as far. The uninspired play is probably the worst part of this run and Greg Vanney is going to have to turn things around in a hurry.
28. Sporting Kansas City 1-3-7 Last Week: 29; Not only did SKC win their first game of the season, but it was at Lumen Field against a quality Sounders team. They looked different. They were winning second balls, getting back as a group defensively. It just did not look like the same Sporting side that struggled so mightily the first ten matches of the season. I'm only moving them up one spot out of pure jubilation after last week's result. They still have a long ways to go if they're going to contend for a playoff spot this year.
29. New York Red Bulls 1-6-4 Last Week: 27; The Red Bulls fired their head coach after last week's lost and immediately won their Open Cup match. They have the pieces to turn their season around. They need to get serious about it or the playoff streak will come to an end this season.
Stay tuned for more American soccer coverage!
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