Parity: it's something the league is built on. There are roster rules and salary cap structures that would've confused Einstein himself. It's all meant to achieve what we are seeing in Major League Soccer's 2023 campaign: pure and insane parity. I had no idea when I started doing these weekly power rankings how hard it would be at this point in the season. I've always said I'm not going to do my power rankings based solely on the standings. Which makes doing a bottom five this week EXTREMELY hard.
In the East 7 points separate 3rd place and dead last. There's a little more separation thanks to atrocious starts from the Galaxy and Sporting KC, but it's only 10 points between 3rd place St. Louis and last place Kansas City. It's not like there's an Arsenal or Man City running away with the Shield. Clubs have done a better job than ever balancing competitions and everyone (except LAFC) seem to be prone to runs of poor and excellent form. So here's my best take at this week's power rankings:
1. LAFC 6-3-1 Last Week: 1; LAFC went to Salt Lake City and absolutely dominated RSL. They played essentially a second team squad and advanced to the US Open Cup round of 16. When Denis Bouanga got brought down in the box in the 87th minute the golden boot leader elected to let Mateusz Bogusz take the penalty to score his first MLS goal. That is as clear a sign that I've ever seen that a squad is truly bought in to a team first mentality. Steve Cherundolo has this team rolling.
2. FC Cincinnati 7-3-1 Last Week: 3; FCC probably benefited from not playing over the weekend. They do have a midweek home match against red hot CF Montreal before hosting Columbus in the Ohio Derby this weekend. We shall see how their shared lead of the Eastern Conference withstands the next few days.
3. Seattle Sounders 7-2-3 Last Week: 4; It took 11 on 9 soccer and all of the way to the 87th minute before Seattle went ahead in Houston this past weekend. Houston aren't a bad side and any road win is a good one. This one just wasn't the prettiest for Seattle. They have a midweek bought against Austin FC before another leg of Cascadia against Vancouver across the boarder this weekend.
4. New England Revs 7-3-2 Last Week: 2; The Revs have a ton of talent and lost on the road to a hot Miami team that need every point they can get right now. Miami's first goal was quite flukey, one of those that took an odd bounce before getting by Petrovic. Noel Buck made an incredible move and shot to score for New England and I think these Revs will compete for the Shield this season.
5. Philadelphia Union 5-2-4 Last Week: NR; The Union have always had the talent. Even without McGlynn, Sullivan, and Craig gone for the U20 World Cup they're still a top 3 talented team in the league. Winning in Colorado is always a big one in my book. Colorado aren't world beaters but they're good enough and the altitude is tough enough that any win in Denver is a huge plus in my book.
6. Nashville SC 5-4-3 Last Week: 6; Nashville are good at what they do. I don't think they're more talented or on a better run of play than anyone above them on this list. They got a good draw at DC this weekend, but DC were without Benteke.
7. FC Dallas 5-3-3 Last Week: NR; Paul Arriola's injury report could impact the rest of FC Dallas's season. They still have a good squad and they've been on a good run of play, winning at Austin last weekend. They have a midweek match against Vancouver before hosting Houston in a big matchup on Saturday.
8. St. Louis City 6-1-4 Last Week: 7; St. Louis are in real danger of falling out of the top 8 for the first time all season. The truth is simple, Joao Klauss is their MVP. He makes everyone around him better and he's a world class finisher. If Klauss is healthy St. Louis can beat anyone, home or away. Without Klauss they look like a fringe playoff expansion team. Which is still good, just not what they're capable of with a healthy Joao. They're off midweek before hosting SKC in the first I-70 Derby (also dubbed Darbeque). Hopefully that rivalry will live up to the billing, because two games in Chicago were MAJOR let downs. The two games combined didn't draw what one home City game does. It just didn't have the juice of a rivalry.
Bottom 5
25. Sporting Kansas City 2-3-7 Last Week: 28; Everyone is back, everyone is healthy and Sporting have won their last two league games. This week will be tough going to LAFC and then to St. Louis on Saturday. I would imagine some heavy rotation for Wednesday's match. Jake Davis has been a diamond in the rough of SKC's start. He has gone from third on the depth chart to likely the starting right back from here forward. Ghadi Kinda and Alan Pulido look like the designated players they are. Rosero is settling in to his role and playing well with whoever he is partnered with. SKC will still HAVE to go out and sign another CB in the summer transfer window and hope for Willy Agada's quick recovery. They just look inspired and cohesive out of the blue. The only worry is that it's going to be a tough recovery from the start they had to this season.
26. Austin FC 2-4-5 Last Week: 26; Austin and Toronto are the only two teams in the bottom five to not win last weekend. They dropped at home to Dallas before a wild travel of going to Seattle for a Wednesday game and then back to Austin for a home match with Toronto.
27. LA Galaxy 2-3-6 Last Week: 27; They had a good home win against a good San Jose side. However I don't trust this team to not fall apart for the next 2-3 weeks. They have a big road trip this week going to Columbus on Wednesday and to DC on Saturday. They could be clear of the bottom five, or at the bottom depending on how these two games go.
28. New York Red Bulls 2-6-4 Last Week: 29; NYRB did have a good weekend, winning the Hudson River Derby against NYCFC at home. They showed their talent and potential, and if they build on that they won't be on this list long. The Galaxy had a quality win, and I am still pretty down on this club after their first 10 weeks.
29. Toronto FC 2-6-4 Last Week: NR; This club would take home a trophy for the biggest disappointment of the last 18 months. They have the league's largest payroll, brought in two Italian superstars, brought in Canadian internationals like Mark-Anthony Kaye and currently sit dead last in the East. I'm not sure what Bob Bradley is or isn't doing, but this squad even being here right now is a massive let down.
Comments
Post a Comment