{"id":3985,"date":"2011-03-24T00:14:05","date_gmt":"2011-03-24T04:14:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=3985"},"modified":"2011-03-24T00:42:39","modified_gmt":"2011-03-24T04:42:39","slug":"mls-rankings-week-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=3985","title":{"rendered":"MLS Rankings: Week 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every week, the New England Soccer Today crew will look beyond the standings to rank each of the 18 Major League Soccer (MLS) teams. This week Brian O\u2019Connell, Sean Donahue, Carl Setterlund, and Julian Cardillo contributed rankings. Comments are followed by the ranker\u2019s name and the rank they gave that team.<\/em><\/p>\n

T1. Los Angeles Galaxy <\/strong>(2 first place votes) (1-0-1, 4 points) – They\u2019ve had the star power the past few years with Donovan and Beckham, but I really think this season, especially with the addition of Juan Pablo Angel, is the best Galaxy squad in a while. This is my early favorite to win the MLS Cup. (Carl \u2013 1) \u2026 The Galaxy are only in first because they collected points from both of their opening matches. \u00a0But it showed against New England that finishing has to improve and Beckham needs to find his stride. (Julian \u2013 1) \u2026 The Galaxy opened the season with an impressive 1-0 away win over the Seattle Sounders. Their 1-1 home draw with New England will leave the team disappointed. The Galaxy could\u2019ve and should\u2019ve scored more in both games and Juan Pablo Angel\u2019s return should help alleviate their finishing problems. (Sean \u2013 2) \u2026 Clinched a sound 1-0 victory in Seattle in a match that could’ve seen them score a few more. Same thing against New England on Sunday after they had two goals disallowed in the first half. (Brian \u2013 3) <\/strong><\/p>\n

T1. Real Salt Lake <\/strong>(1 first place vote) (1-0-0, 3 points) \u2013Salt Lake continued to show their class in the CONCACAF Champions League with a 2-0 win over Costa Rica\u2019s Deportivo Saprissa on Tuesday. The team still had enough in the tank to grind out a 1-0 win over an underrated San Jose squad on the road on Saturday. (Sean \u2013 1) \u2026 The only thing keeping them from the number one spot is the rain-soaked affair in San Jose that seemed to stymie both clubs in the guests’ 1-0 win. Their 2-0 victory over Saprissa during CONCACAF Champions League was impressive, but it also seemed limit them later in the week. (Brian \u2013 2) \u2026\u00a0Everyone is expecting a huge season out of Alvaro Saborio and barring injury you can bet he\u2019ll be in the MVP conversation. Saborio definitely has the supporting cast behind him and he won\u2019t need to put the team on his back (even though he might anyways). RSL is one of the title contenders this year and they know it, too. (Carl \u2013 2) \u2026 Real Salt Lake silenced a Quakes crowd.\u00a0 This well-rounded squad may not have had an off-season makeover, but they still continue to play attractive soccer. (Julian \u2013 2)<\/p>\n

3. Colorado Rapids<\/strong> (1 first place vote) (1-0-0, 3 points) \u2013 The defending MLS Champion comes out of the gate ready to prove that there’s nothing fluky about them. Although they may have beaten up on an expansion team, three goals out of the gate is a sure sign that no one in Commerce City is sitting on their laurels. (Brian \u2013 1) \u2026 The defending MLS Cup champs are out to show last season was more than luck. A comprehensive victory over Portland was a good start, but the team will need to do more to rise above Salt Lake and the Galaxy. (Sean \u2013 3) \u2026\u00a0 I\u2019ve never been a big fan of the Rapids\u2019 forwards. That\u2019s actually a backhanded complement though because this is about as low as I think I could rank Colorado fairly. Hey Jeff, miss you bro.\u00a0(Carl \u2013 3) \u2026 The defending champs Colorado were dynamite at home.\u00a0 However, it was against a new and lacking expansion side Portland Timbers.\u00a0 Still, a good performance. (Julian \u2013 6)<\/p>\n

4. New York Red Bulls <\/strong>(1-0-0, 3 points) \u2013 Few would bet against the Red Bulls at home, even against the Seattle Sounders.\u00a0 Henry\u2019s missed penalty was interesting, but New York is proving that they have the depth to do well in 2011. (Julian \u2013 3) \u2026 If game one is any indication, a full preseason together has done the Red Bulls, and their stars, a great deal of good. \u00a0(Sean \u2013 4) \u2026 Thierry Henry, Rafa Marquez, Tim Ream, Joel Lindpere, Juan Agudelo and Tony Tchani. Need I say anything more? However, I will caution that I don\u2019t think the supporting cast is fully there yet and the Red Bulls may still be a little bit better on paper than on the pitch, as usual. (Carl \u2013 4) \u2026 Juan Agudelo kicked off a season brimming with expectations with the only goal of the game, as the Red Bulls gored a tough-luck Seattle side who find themselves suddenly starving for goals. (Brian \u2013 6)<\/p>\n

5. D.C. United<\/strong> (1-0-0, 3 points) \u2013 Charlie Davies has arrived in DC.\u00a0 The new changes brought on by Ben Olsen certainly seem to be what the doctor ordered in Our Nation\u2019s Capital. (Julian \u2013 4) \u2026 This is where it gets trickier for me. Sort of going on a hunch with this one, or maybe it\u2019s just that I want to believe in Charlie Davies. Either way, I love the personnel changes they made this offseason in the nation\u2019s capital and think D.C. will likely be back in the playoffs in 2011. (Carl \u2013 5) \u2026 Talk about starting anew. With Charlie Davies bagging a brace in his MLS debut, Ben Olsen’s bunch look like a team reborn and ready to reclaim their glory days after a 3-1 hammering of a crumbling Crew. (Brian \u2013 5) \u2026 United could be this season\u2019s surprise. Comprehensively beating even a much changed Columbus side is no easy task. The pacy duo of Charlie Davies and Josh Wolff could be deadly. (Sean \u2013 6)<\/p>\n

6. Sporting Kansas City<\/strong> (1-0-0, 3 points) \u2013 \u00a0Victory by Bravo – Omar, to be exact. The newcomer made his presence immediately thanks to a pair of goals which helped lead an up-and-coming KC to three points against the Goats. (Brian \u2013 4) \u2026 Omar Bravo made an immediate impact in his debut and Teal Bunbury\u2019s return will only help the attack. As poor as Chivas USA is, a road win at the Home Depot Center is never easy. (Sean \u2013 5) \u2026 Sporting Kansas City looks like a dark horse.\u00a0 Omar Bravo is this week\u2019s player of the week.\u00a0 Will people figure out his Mexican dance or are he and KC just getting started? (Julian \u2013 5) \u2026 I just don\u2019t see it. I could always be wrong, but I\u2019m not buying into Bravomania just yet. This could be a good team yet, but I think it\u2019s more of a decent team.\u00a0(Carl \u2013 8 )<\/p>\n

7. FC Dallas<\/strong> (0-0-1, 1 point) \u2013 A home draw against Chicago Is hardly impressive for a potential title contender, but playing down a man for 35 minutes certainly didn\u2019t help Dallas\u2019 cause. (Sean \u2013 7) \u2026 After getting upset by Colorado in last year’s MLS Cup, the Hoops are hoping to get more out of their youngsters. Unfortunately, a red card to Brek Shea wasn’t what they had in mind in their 1-1 draw to Chi-town. (Brian \u2013 7) \u2026 David Ferreira or not, I think the Hoops have taken a step back. They\u2019ve subtracted too many key contributors and I think this will end up being more of a transition year.\u00a0(Carl \u2013 10) \u2026 Not an ideal start for FCD.\u00a0 But a point is better than a loss.\u00a0 Still too early to decipher whether or not they will have the same year as 2010. (Julian \u2013 10)<\/p>\n

8. Philadelphia Union<\/strong> (1-0-0, 3 points) \u2013 Danny Califf\u2019s goal to lift Philly over Houston proved that the veterans are the backbone in the city of brotherly love.\u00a0 Will the youngsters like Farfan be singing \u201cWhere is the Love\u201d or will this positive trend continue to the youngsters too? (Julian \u2013 8 ) \u2026 \u00a0Really like what they\u2019re doing down there in Philly. I think with the veteran additions and Le Toux pulling the strings, the Union will take another step forward this season. It’s also right about time for the young talent Piotr Nowak focused on acquiring to start paying dividends.\u00a0(Carl \u2013 9) \u2026 Pushed aside a weak Houston squad at home for the victory, but a win’s a win. We’ll see how they fare on the road this weekend in Vancouver. (Brian \u2013 9) \u2026 The Union began to improve throughout the second half of last season, their first year in the league. Getting a win against a two-time MLS Cup Champion on the road, albeit a rebuilding one, should build confidence to start the season. (Sean \u2013 10)<\/p>\n

9. New England Revolution <\/strong>(0-0-1, 1 point) \u2013 They got rid of a bunch of nothing in the offseason and added some good depth. I don\u2019t think they\u2019re much of a title contender (a DP could change that), but I think this squad is back in the playoffs again. Give Steve Nicol the parts and he\u2019ll put it all together in the end. The Revs are no Maserati, but they could be quite a Volvo.\u00a0(Carl -7) \u2026 The Revolution may have walked a tight rope in Los Angeles.\u00a0 But to be fair, two of the Ref\u2019s three calls were right.\u00a0 Make Shalrie\u2019s shot off the post go in, and suddenly it\u2019s 2-2. (Julian \u2013 9) \u2026 Shalrie Joseph’s early score gave the Revs a surprise lead in the 3rd minute, but let’s face it: three disallowed goals preserved the road point against a potent L.A. attack that seemed snakebitten for much of the match. (Brian \u2013 10) \u2026. The Revolution certainly had some luck on their side in their 1-1 draw with the Galaxy, but grabbing a point against one of the league\u2019s top teams on the road is a positive sign for a team starting the season with a roster already plagued by injury. (Sean \u2013 12)<\/p>\n

T10. Seattle Sounders FC <\/strong>(0-2-0, 0 points) \u2013 I think the Sounders\u2019 early results are more a result of their competition than an indication that this is a middling team. Blaise Nkufo may be gone, but Jhon Kennedy Hurtado is back, baby. I\u2019m bullish on Seattle and it\u2019s still too early for me to budge on that.\u00a0 (Carl – 6) \u2026Dropping the first two games of the season has the Sounders in an early hole, but the team can\u2019t be too ashamed at falling in close matches to two of the top three teams in the league. (Sean \u2013 8 ) \u2026 \u00a0The Sounders went silent with zero goals in their first two matches. They’re too talented to remain quiet for long, so long as Fredy Montero and Steve Zakuani are on the pitch. (Brian \u2013 13) \u2026 <\/em>Seattle\u2019s crowd won\u2019t win them games.\u00a0 The Sounders have not been able to finish as they have now lost two games by 1-0 score lines.\u00a0 To be fair, they were against the Galaxy and Red Bulls. (Julian \u2013 15)<\/p>\n

T10. San Jose Earthquakes <\/strong>(0-1-0, 0 points) \u2013 Ran with Real Salt Lake for much of the match, but couldn’t keep up in the end. But, a 1-0 loss to a championship contender isn’t the worst thing in the world. They attacked at will in the final 15, and had Nick Rimando not been in net, it may have ended differently. (Brian \u2013 8 ) \u2026 Suffered a home loss to the league\u2019s best, but played them close all the way, just couldn\u2019t find the back of the net. \u00a0Nothing to worry about yet. (Sean \u2013 9) \u2026 I don\u2019t think Wondo pulls another rabbit out of his hat this season. The Earthquakes have some good parts though and this team will be competitive.\u00a0(Carl -11) \u2026 <\/em>San Jose certainly didn\u2019t look as sharp as the team that made conference finals last year.\u00a0 Wondo could be a known presence with Convey needing to free himself up. (Julian 13)<\/p>\n

12. Vancouver Whitecaps <\/strong>(1-0-0, 3 points) \u2013 The Vancouver Whitecaps appear to be set to compete in MLS.\u00a0 With 4 goals against TFC, they scored more than any other team in week 1.\u00a0 Not bad from an expansion side. (Julian \u2013 7) \u2026 The Whitecaps couldn\u2019t have asked for a better start in their expansions season, beating Canadian rivals Toronto 4-2. They\u2019ll need to do the same against better opposition, however, before I start moving them up the rankings. (Sean – 11) \u2026 The Whitecaps crashed their Canadian counterparts with a 4-2 throttling in their MLS debut. With Eric Hassli and Atiba Harris, they’ve got the firepower to put a few more smackdowns on some American sides this summer. (Brian \u2013 12) \u2026 Vancouver is the lowest-ranked team out of those that won their first game. That\u2019s me saying let\u2019s not go nuts here just yet. I honestly thought Portland would be the better of the two expansion squads. Early returns on Eric Hassli sure are encouraging though. (Carl \u2013 15)<\/p>\n

13. Chicago Fire <\/strong>(0-0-1, 1 point) \u2013 Diego Chaves scored his first goal to give the Fire a brief lead, but couldn’t put away the go-ahead with the man advantage. A road match at KC will provide a strong challenge for Chicago on Saturday. (Brian \u2013 11) \u2026 Chicago seemed to be ready for action.\u00a0 But can they compete in such a competitive Eastern Conference? (Julian \u2013 11) \u2026 The talent exodus in Chicago has been a little exaggerated in my opinion. Well, not really, but it was time to move on from Blanco and McBride and I think the Fire has young players capable of stepping it up.\u00a0(Carl \u2013 12) \u2026 The Fire earned an impressive road draw against FC Dallas, but would\u2019ve hoped for more with a man advantage for over a third of the match. Still, a positive start for a team that lost a lot of key pieces in the offseason. \u00a0(Sean \u2013 13)<\/p>\n

14. Columbus Crew <\/strong>(0-1-0, 0 points) \u2013 Are Columbus this year’s DC? Probably not. But with Guillermo Barros Schelloto gone, Saturday’s loss to DCU wasn’t an encouraging sign. They’ve got Emmanual Ekpo and Eddie Gaven, and Jeff Cunningham should prevent them from falling too far down the table. (Brian \u2013 14) \u2026 The exodus of veterans has certainly hurt this team and their rough season opening loss to D.C. will have done little to boost this young team\u2019s confidence heading into the season. (Sean \u2013 14) \u2026 How the mighty have fallen, right? Eddie Gaven is a stud though and I think Jeff Cunningham still has one more decent season in him. The Crew will stay afloat, but I don\u2019t think it’ll do much more than that.\u00a0(Carl \u2013 14) \u2026 The Crew fell out of grace with that performance against DC.\u00a0 Is Warzycha going to do poorly this year as man in charge? (Julian \u2013 16)<\/p>\n

15. Houston Dynamo <\/strong>(0-1-0, 0 points) \u2013 \u00a0Well, the glory days are over, but I do still think highly of Dom Kinnear. The Dynamo won\u2019t be any better than average at best unless Brian Ching can come back strong and that\u2019s a real coin flip.\u00a0(Carl \u2013 13) \u2026 Houston got off to the wrong start, but it is only week one.\u00a0 Same question as Chicago: can they compete in such a competitive Eastern Conference? (Julian \u2013 13) \u2026 Injuries have certainly taken their toll on the team already, but even so, falling at home to Philadelphia shows just how far this team has fallen over the last few seasons.\u00a0 (Sean \u2013 16) \u2026 Lethargic effort all around. Dominic Kinner needed his players to step up without Brian Ching. Instead, they took a two-hour snooze and walked away without a sliver of hope that this year will be different than 2010. (Brian \u2013 17)<\/p>\n

16. <\/strong>Chivas USA <\/strong>(0-1-0, 0 points) \u2013 Chivas USA proved they could score, but their defense lacked enough edge to hold off Omar Bravo.\u00a0 The season is still young and Robin Fraser\u2019s changes may continue. (Julian \u2013 12) \u2026 Losing 3-2 to KC reinforces the fact that the defense still needs work. Heath Pearce and Jimmy Conrad can’t do it alone. The Goats still need help across the pitch. (Brian \u2013 16) \u2026 An offseason overhaul may have left Chivas needing more time to prepare for the season, but if they can\u2019t improve from their season opening performance against Kansas City, this squad is in for a long year. (Sean \u2013 17) \u2026 <\/em>The Goats aren\u2019t going to score many goals and Sporting KC showed they can be scored on.\u00a0Carl \u2013 17)<\/p>\n

17. <\/strong>Portland Timbers<\/strong> (0-1-0, 0 points) \u00a0– \u00a0Coughing up three goals in the first frame isn’t the opening scene Timbers fans were hoping for, but it wasn’t unexpected against the defending champs. They still need time to gel before they can start breaking out the chainsaw. (Brian \u2013 15). \u2026 As I said, I rated the Timbers higher than the Whitecaps and I think Kenny Cooper and Darlington Nagbe will be one of the top forward pairings in the league sooner than later. (Carl \u2013 16) \u2026 Tough loss to open the season showed this team still has a lot of work to do. Portland may need a few more pieces before they can compete. (Sean \u2013 16) \u2026 The Portland Timbers still have work to do.\u00a0 But they have the players and administration to get work done.\u00a0 Kenny Cooper is the first bright spot. (Julian \u2013 17)<\/p>\n

18. Toronto FC<\/strong> (0-1-0, 0 points) \u2013 There is some talent there, but the new coaching staff is having just as much trouble piecing it together as every other Toronto coach has. With stars such as Dwayne De Rosario unhappy, there is little to be positive about up in Toronto. (Sean \u2013 18) \u2026 \u00a0Yup, for me this is the worst team in the league until it proves otherwise. (Carl \u2013 18) \u2026 The downward spiral continues. So talented, yet so temperamental. Changes to the technical staff may create some growing pains, but these are grown men getting stomped on. This just gets more ridiculous every season. (Brian \u2013 18) \u2026 The woes continue for Toronto FC.\u00a0 Oh? DeRo scored the 8,000th league goal?\u00a0 Big whoop.\u00a0 Could have been anybody. (Julian \u2013 18)<\/p>\n

Agree or disagree? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Galaxy and Real Salt Lake sit atop our first rankings for the 2011 MLS season. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3988,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nesoccertoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/galaxyreal.jpg?fit=490%2C225","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3985"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3985"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3985\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4004,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3985\/revisions\/4004"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}