{"id":1344,"date":"2010-10-14T23:45:18","date_gmt":"2010-10-15T03:45:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=1344"},"modified":"2010-10-14T23:48:00","modified_gmt":"2010-10-15T03:48:00","slug":"mls-rankings-week-28","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=1344","title":{"rendered":"MLS Rankings: Week 28"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every week the contributors to New England Soccer Today will look beyond just the standings to rank the 16 Major League Soccer (MLS) teams. This week Brian O\u2019Connell and Sean Donahue contributed rankings. Comments are followed by the ranker\u2019s name and the rank they gave that team. Editor\u2019s note: I (Sean) would like to apologize in advance for my gratuitous use of references and lyrics from the adidas MLS Anthems from three years ago. If you aren\u2019t familiar with them and are ready for some bad music, click here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

1. Real Salt Lake <\/strong>(14-4-10, 52 points) <\/strong>– A draw to NY on the road doesn’t change their position on the pole for the fifth straight week. Yawn. In other news, Nancy Grace is still annoying. (Brian – 1) \u2026 \u201cMan your battlefields\u201d; mighty REAL has held the top spot since we started these rankings in Week 24, but a match-up with FC Dallas this weekend might just change that. (Sean \u2013 1)<\/p>\n

2. Seattle Sounders <\/strong>(13-9-6, 45 points) (+1) \u2013 Wins vs. KC and Guadalajara only solidify how good this team is. The hottest team in MLS not named Real Salt Lake. In fact, if Seattle were a supermodel, it would be the super-smoking Adriana Lima. (For the record, RSL would be Alessandra Ambrosio). (Brian \u2013 3) \u2026 No team will be fancying a match-up with the Sounders come play-off time. Six straight victories in all meaningful competitions (including winning the U.S. Open Cup) and just one loss in their last 13 league games shows what a roll this team is on. 9-1-3 in MLS since the end of the World Cup shows they are a completely different team from the one that went 4-8-3 prior to July 11th<\/sup>. The only thing holding this team back is their lack of an adidas sponsored anthem. (Sean \u2013 2)<\/p>\n

3. FC Dallas <\/strong>(12-2-14, 50 points) (-1) <\/strong>– Draw to Colorado makes it 19 without a loss for the Gondoliers. And now they’re level on the league-lead in goals scored along with LA and RSL. The only thing Schellas Hyndman hasn\u2019t done is cure cancer. Yet. (Brian \u2013 2) \u2026 19 match unbeaten run is impressive, but a game against Colorado at home is one they should\u2019ve gotten the full three points out of. The Hoops will need to win at home if they are to have any chance of advancing in the play-offs against Salt Lake. Revs and Rapids have both exposed some weaknesses in the past month. \u201cThere\u2019s no hiding from this Dallas, Texas fate.\u201d (Sean \u2013 4)<\/p>\n

4. Los Angeles Galaxy<\/strong> (17-6-5, 56 points) (-1) \u2013 Shaky final minutes against Philly almost doomed them to a draw, although Edson Buddle seems to be finding his form just in the nick of time. The search for their first-half form continues\u2026 (Brian \u2013 4) \u2026 Road win over Philly all but assures the Galaxy will be taking to top seed in the West and the Supporter\u2019s Shield. Bruce Arena thinks they deserve more credit for their record and four victories in a row \u201criding on the Cali sun\u201d make it hard not to move this team up in the rankings. Not much separates the top four. (Sean \u2013 3)<\/p>\n

5. New York Red Bulls<\/strong> (14-8-6, 48 points) \u2013 No shame in drawing Salt Lake at home, even with Greg Sutton between the sticks. Playing some of the best soccer east of the Mississippi \u2013 you know, the land populated with a collection of underwhelming clubs. \u00a0(Brian – 5) \u2026 Nothing wrong with drawing the league\u2019s best, but somehow with all the talent they have, it seems like they should be playing better. If they can get it together before the playoffs, \u201cbe it finding the net or a save off the line\u201d, they could be headed to their second MLS Cup Final. (Sean \u2013 5)<\/p>\n

6. San Jose Earthquakes <\/strong>(12-8-7, 43 points) \u2013 Clinched a playoff berth with their 2-0 victory over DC. Chris Wondolowski has single-handedly steered the squad into November, who will look to pad his goal total against Chivas USA and KC in the closing weeks. (Brian \u2013 6) \u2026 Form has dipped a little lately, but win over D.C. is enough to secure a playoff spot and may help get them back on track (Sean \u2013 6)<\/p>\n

T7. Columbus Crew <\/strong>(13-8-7, 46 points) (-1) \u2013 Another bad loss to a lower-seeded team confirms that the Crew are collapsing before our eyes. A tired Columbus only confirms that CONCACAF Champions League only seems to punish rather than reward good teams. \u00a0(Brian – 7) \u2026 Last win against an MLS opponent not in last place (D.C.) came back on August 21st<\/sup>. Once favorites for the Supporter\u2019s Shield, they look likely for a first round exit in their current form. \u201cThe Buckeyes aren’t the only game in town\u201d, but that may not be the case for very long in November (Sean \u2013 8 )<\/p>\n

T7. Colorado Rapids<\/strong> (11-8-9, 42 points) (+1) \u2013 Draw in Dallas put them in the driver\u2019s seat for the final playoff spot. Although they have no problem in front of the net, their defending is about as stout as a dryer sheet. (Brian \u2013 8 ) \u2026 Minus the loss to D.C., they\u2019ve been crushing the worst teams in the league and drawing some of the best. (Sean \u2013 7)<\/p>\n

9. Kansas City Wizards<\/strong> (10-12-6, 36 points) \u2013 Though not yet mathematically eliminated, they stand little chance of getting through to the postseason. Kei Kamara and his 4,000 facebook friends can\u2019t do it all. (Brian \u2013 9) \u2026 Barely staying mathematically alive. Look for their unrealistic play-off hopes to end this week. \u201cStop dreamin’ Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah\u201d (Sean \u2013 9)<\/p>\n

10. Philadelphia Union<\/strong> (7-14-7, 28 points) \u2013 Gave the Gals a good fight last week, and have been playing quality soccer since August. Peter Nowak is currently authoring the book on putting together an expansion team this season. (Brian \u2013 10) \u2026 Impressive even in their loss to the Galaxy. They are in a good position heading into the offseason. (Sean \u2013 10)<\/p>\n

11. New England Revolution <\/strong>(8-15-5, 29 points) (+2) \u2013 Clinched an encouraging victory against the Dynamo without their starting wingers. Project 2011 continues this weekend. (Brian \u2013 11) \u2026 Shown some good signs over the past three weeks and finally have three points to show for it. It\u2019s too little, too late, but at least there is something to be encouraged about heading into the offseason. (Sean \u2013 11)<\/p>\n

T12. Chicago Fire <\/strong>(8-12-8, 32 points) \u2013 No playoffs for the Fire for the first time since \u201904. Not the type of finish you\u2019d expect from such a free-spending club, nor the one envisioned by a soon-to-be retired Brian McBride. (Brian \u2013 13) \u2026 Even more cowbell from OK Go couldn\u2019t save them this season. Very disappointing for such a talented squad. Victory over Columbus does little to brighten a poor season. (Sean \u2013 12)<\/p>\n

T12. Toronto FC <\/strong>(8-13-7, 31 points) (-1) \u2013 Embarrassing loss to Chivas USA prompted an apology from the front office \u2013 which is still missing a GM – to their supporters. But aside from that, everything\u2019s perfectly normal North of the Border. (Brian \u2013 12) \u2026 Abysmal form down the stretch and discontent from star Dwayne De Rosario thanks to the club overspending on Mista and Julian de Guzman, not only leave this club eliminated from MLS playoffs and the Champion\u2019s League, but also put them in a tough spot this offseason. (Sean \u2013 13)<\/p>\n

14. Houston Dynamo<\/strong> (7-15-6, 27 points) \u2013 Failed to capitalize on the chances afforded to them, then lost their cool at the end. Although Houston has talent, Dom Kinnear\u2019s still has his work cut out for him in the winter. (Brian \u2013 14) \u2026 \u201cJust in case you ain’t know, Mike Jones,\u201d who is in last place in the West? \u201cWHO? Houston Dynamo\u201d (Sean \u2013 14)<\/p>\n

15. Chivas USA<\/strong> (8-15-4, 28 points) \u2013 Throttled a terrible Toronto club with a three spot. Best of all: the goals came from three different players, proving that Justin Braun isn\u2019t the only one capable of scoring in ChivasLand. (Brian \u2013 15) \u2026 Again Chivas show they are capable of playing good soccer about once a month. (Sean \u2013 15)<\/p>\n

16. D.C. United<\/strong> (6-19-3, 21 points) \u2013 Lost (no way!) to the playoff-bound Quakes. Unless they suddenly become prescient prior to next year\u2019s draft and the international market, next season doesn\u2019t bode well, either. \u00a0(Brian \u2013 16) \u2026 Proved victory over Colorado was just a fluke. Lots of work needed this offseason. Likely to set the record for lowest goals scored total with only 19 goals in 28 games so far. \u201cThis type of sh*t don\u2019t happen every day\u201d. (Sean \u2013 16)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every week the contributors to New England Soccer Today will look beyond just the standings to rank the 16 Major League Soccer (MLS) teams. This week Brian O\u2019Connell and Sean Donahue contributed rankings. Comments are followed by the ranker\u2019s name and the rank they gave that team. Editor\u2019s note: I (Sean) would like to apologize […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":723,"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\/2010\/09\/rslfeature.jpg?fit=490%2C225&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1344"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1344"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1344\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1346,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1344\/revisions\/1346"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}