An interesting week of MLS action, here's wot I fink:
1. The Sounders Are in Trouble
The Sounder's open cup loss to Portland might be the most costly loss in Open Cup history, not only did they lose Dempsey to suspension for his infamous actions but Obafemi Martins injured his groin, taking him out for 3-6 weeks; before that game the Sounders were also missing fellow designated player Osvaldo Alonso to injury, his usual back up/partner Gonzalo Pineda and super sub forward Chad Barrett too. So it's not really surprising that the Sounders lost 2-0 to San Jose. That said, the Sounders did have some hope here, the two goals were mostly against the run of play, the Sounders just couldn't get the ball in the back of the net. Adding insult to injury, Brad Evans went out with what looked like a hamstring injury, furthering exasperating the injury issues. The Sounders also have two games this week, flying out to Philadelphia to face the reeling Union and then heading down I5 for another round with the Timbers, a rough week of travel ending with an opponent they want to face with nothing less than their best.
2. All the Stars Are Melting Down!
In the 10th minute of the Red Bulls vs Vancouver game Sacha Kljestan lost his god damn mind and decided to elbow and attempt to trip Kendall Watson. Watson does some play acting after the trip attempt to draw attention to Kljestan's antics and the New York Red Bulls' star gets a designated player gets a straight red. The most damning thing about the whole situation was that Kljestan was looming over Watson afterwords, as if he wasn't satisfied. What's in those Advocare water bottles? Pure testosterone? See the video below (if it doesn't queue up properly, it's at 1:43).
https://youtu.be/LrR0WzQ5l1g?t=93
3. Ben Olsen Is the Best Coach in MLS
DC United took over the lead for the Supporter's Shield and cemented their lead place in the east after beating second in the east New England Revolution in a 2-1 comeback win. What's striking is how impressive DC United has been with essentially nothing. Fabian Espindola, their loan remaining designated player has been injured for about half of their season so far and Luis Gil, one of their other offensive players has been injured for much of the season so far too. Admittedly, Bill Hamid is a monster goalie and DC does have a talented group of midfielders, but it's hard to argue that anyone in MLS has done more with less.
4. LA Galaxy Isn't Back Yet Guys
Some folks, after the 5-1 win over Philadelphia might be tempted to say the Galaxy are back to their old ways, but let's not get ahead of ourselves here. The Union, as I've said previously, are terrible. LA is currently sitting in 4th in the west, true, but they've also played more games than anyone else in MLS besides DC. It gets worse when you consider that LA is hoping for a big boost from Steven Gerrard, but he's going to have a mere 14 or 13 games to be a difference amker before the playoffs (LA play 2 games this week, bringing their total to 20 of 34 games).
5. Houston, We Have a Problem
Earlier in the year I questioned how well Houston would do without their former coach Dominic Kinnear, I suspected they were in trouble and it looks like I'm probably right. For years Kinnear did the impossible, he got blood from a stone, making the MLS playoffs with teams lacking star power and even winning an MLS Cup doing it. Kinnear is gone, but I don't think Houston's problems necessarily stem from a Owen Coyle, after all he's sitting one place behind where Kinnear wound up last season (they ended 8th in the east) and he's in the tougher western conference. Rather, the fact of the matter is that Houston's roster simply isn't good enough, particularly on offense; Will Bruin and Giles Barnes have put in admirable work but in MLS you need a bit more than that. It is possible that Erick "Cubo" Torress will turn things around when he arrives in July, but it's hard to envision one player changing things that much. In midfield, Alexander Lopez hasn't worked out, he has 2 assists and 0 goals, which simply isn't acceptable from a midfielder designated player, the oddest thing is that he didn't look good enough to be a designated player before he got paid DP money either. On defense, DeMarcus Beasely does well despite his age, but well, his age is a factor and at this point he's getting the money more for his name than anything else. Brad Davis soldiers on (and didn't play their last match) but he's looked a lot slower this season than years past. Ultimately, I think Houston is going to try to press on through this season and take their lumps, it was going to be tough after transitioning (again) to the western conference with a new coach anyway. I fully expect a roster shake up next season if things continue to go badly, probably accompanied from a GM firing (which would be their second in as many years).
