2008 Western Conference Preview

2008 Western Conference Preview

UnitedMania.com

March 24, 2008

Wade Barret lifts the 2007 MLS Cup Trophy.
Photo: Rafael Crisostomo

Unitedmania’s podcasters, Martin Fernandez, Chris Webb, Randy Ruff, and Mike Martin take a stab at how they think the 2008 season will play out in the Western Conference. Starting with general comments compiled from each of us about each of the teams in alphabetical order, and ending with our predicted order of finish for each team at the end.

Washington, D.C.

Compiled by Mike Martin 

Listen to our entire discussion of the Western conference here...

Now just as a reminder, last year it was Chivas winning the West pipping Houston at the post on the very last day of the season to win the West, but the Dynamo bagged the biggest prize with their second straight MLS Cup. Dallas and Colorado underperformed as usual, while Beckham and LA hobbled to mediocrity, and RSL continued their run as bottom of the barrel. But, interesting off-season moves may well see a dramatic shakeup of the traditional results in the West.

Chivas USA –
Chris claims Chivas is a solid team up and down the starting lineup and the addition of Eskandarian gives the team a third forward it desperately needs. Plus, Bofo Bautista coming in the summer would be huge if rumors are true. Defense and goalkeeping are still the best in the West. Martin adds that Preki is for real, and if Guzan comes back from his injury quickly and has a solid performance like he did last year and the forwards produce as well Chivas should be the team to beat in the West. Randy also agrees and points out that even though they faltered from the playoffs early in 2007, these things happen to young teams. In 2008 they are a year older and every bit as hungry. This team has it all: coaching, talent, depth, goalkeeping, and most importantly, goal scoring. If you're a soccer fan, this is the team in Los Angeles to be excited about. I think Chivas has a respectable group of starters, and that alone would normally be enough in the West, but they play a lot of extra games this year similar to DC United and Houston and their relatively thin bench will allow Houston to turn the tables on them this year.

Colorado –
Chris goes right to the heart of any analysis of Colorado by reminding everyone of the indisputable wonder that is Fernando Clavijo continuing to steal checks in MLS. However, the addition of Gomez is huge for them. Yet, is there anyone who will benefit (i,e. strikers) from Gomez' passion? Martin agrees that the addition of Gomez will help them work up the table and they will are always difficult to beat at home. Randy points out that Colorado has an outstanding midfield in the form of newly acquired playmaker Christian Gomez, anchorman Pablo Mastroeni, and talented wingers like Terry Cooke and Colin Clarke. But their strikers are inconsistent, and their defense is atrocious. Perhaps the midfield can maintain enough possession of the ball, and impress improvement on the very average forwards in front of them, but the Rapids will be in deep trouble against counterattacks with clumsy defending and dubious goalkeeping. I agree with all of them, Colorado stinks and Clavijo would be coaching AYSO if Kroenke wasn’t so cheap.


FC Dallas –
Chris thinks the big losses of Ruiz, Mina and Denilson might be argued as addition by subtraction. However, with no distractions in the locker room, what exactly does FC Dallas have left? Not much is the answer. MLS' perennial underachievers will almost certainly break hearts in Big D again. Martin agrees the loss of Denilson and Ruiz, while beneficial for the team will not be enough to make them better. Randy says that Dallas did add a lot of young talent in the MLS superdraft, and that would be great if this team didn't have such gaping holes to fill in its starting lineup. The big drop in talent has left in its wake a heavy load that falls on journeymen players like Arturo Alvarez, Abe Thomson, and Kenny Cooper. A possible upgrade to the defensive line comes in the form of the talented Mexican signing Dulio Davino, yet inexplicably the hapless Dario Sala returns to Dallas in goal. I agree that Morrow seems to be building a team by chucking darts at a player registry. Incoherent system, unproven players, no real reliable scorer or defensive anchor if Davino fails to adapt. Looks like a recipe for disaster, and I’ve got Morrow in the deadpool. I think he’s gone by July.

Houston Dynamo –
Chris thinks that top to bottom this is MLS' best team. However the lack of depth at striker as well as an aging Brian Ching might be a harbinger of doom this season. Will the bubble burst finally? He thinks they hang on for one more year at the top of MLS but their heavy workload outside of MLS could affect them late in the year. Martin agrees they are thin and injuries will likely be their demise. Randy agrees with Chris that Dominic Kinnear's team will challenge for a third consecutive MLS tile IF he can keep his starting 11 healthy. The club was robbed in the offseason of significant talent and depth, most notably Joseph Ngwenya, although the losses of Nate Jaqua, Ryan Cochrane, and Zach Wells are going to hurt too. Houston is a still a quality team with a winning tradition and mindset, but Kinnear will have to develop his reserves in a hurry to keep them on top if the injury bug bites them. I agree too. There’s no way around the fact that they are two time defending champions for a reason, Kinnear has found a way to overcome any problem in the past two years. But this year will be their last near the top unless they reload significantly down the road.

Los Angeles Galaxy –
Chris points out that the Big Top is up and running once again in the City of Angels and already there are rumblings of discontent between Lalas and Gullit. Not exactly what this top heavy team needs. However, they have a devastating trio of players in Beckham, Ruiz and Donovan. They will be dangerous on every free kick inside of 40 yards this season, and they'll get plenty of opportunities with Ruiz flopping all over the place. They will score a lot and give up a lot too. Word Cup qualifiers could cripple this team during the Fall. Martin is a bit more optimistic saying that they're going to give up a lot of goals, but they're going to score more than they give up. No extra games to worry about and can focus only on league play. Randy pulls no punches in stating that in tinsel town showcasing absurdity appears t be the name of the game. For all the Beckham hype, the Galaxy have done nothing, and will continue their downslide into disaster in 2008. A once proud franchise is now run by morons, and Alexi Lalas and Ruud Gullit are quite a pair. They deserve each other. The re-acquisition of goal poaching/flopping in the box expert Carlos Ruiz is the only interesting move the team has made toward improvement. Even the best US player Landon Donovan cannot save this mess. How long will it take Landon to demand a trade back to San Jose where he began his MLS career? While I love Randy and Chris’ rants, there is no doubt LA will score a lot of goals this year, and all they need is enough defense to keep their heads above water. Being able to focus solely on MLS success as they have no other tournament commitments will be huge for them.

Real Salt Lake –
Chris can’t hide his Garth-love and makes RSL his choice for the team with the biggest improvement this off-season. Not a lot of star power, but a lot of under the radar moves that will greatly improve this team. GM Garth Lagerway takes a page out of United's playbook (a team he worked closely with the past decade) in putting together this team. Question is though, can they turn around the culture of losing they have cultivated in their first three seasons? Martin doesn’t think RSL has done enough and that they remain a long term project - they'll finish better than they did last year but the rate of improvement will not be enough to propel them anywhere near the top of the table. Randy puts it a bit more bluntly stating that there's just no talent on the team. The club may be headed (slowly) in the right direction under Jason Kreis and Garth Lagerway, but they'll struggle to achieve mediocrity again this year. How long will the fans be patient with this team? Boring is one thing. Losing is intolerable. Salt Lake City may be starved for sports franchise, but this team is far from the Real deal. I think RSL still has a ways to go particularly in finding ways to score goals. If the goal doctor gets it done, they could be decent, but really overcoming that inertia to just move up a notch from the bottom of the table seems like all they will manage this year.

San Jose –
Chris thinks Yallop has definitely put together a better team than the last three expansion clubs (TFC, RSL and Chivas USA) from the jump, but who will be the "go to" guy on this team? No international profile to speak of but they are chock full of solid MLS veterans. However, in today's MLS it is getting harder and harder for expansion teams to be successful right off the bat. Martin disagrees since there are no expectations on them and the pressure is off. The key is Yallop and no media circus this time. He's building a solid team. Lots of teams will head into the bay area with the expectation to win but will be met with a surprise. Randy agrees that Yallop is the difference and he was smart by building this club from the back (shocker!). The defensive battery anchored by Joe Cannon in the pipes will be difficult to score on, particularly when supported by defenders like Nick Garcia, Ryan Cochrane, Jason Hernandez, and Ramiro Corrales. But who will score goals for San Jose this year? If Yallop can find some attacking talent, watch out for the Earthquakes. If not they'll still be hard to beat. I totally agree that SJ is a pretty decent team and they have a great coach, which in the weak West means you can challenge for the title.

Predicted order of finish by everyone.

Chris Webb:
1. Houston
2. Chivas
3. LA
4. Real Salt Lake
5. FC Dallas
6. Colorado
7. San Jose

Martin Fernandez:
1. San Jose Earthquakes
2. Chivas
3. Colorado
4. LA Galaxy
5. Houston Dynamo
6. Real Salt Lake
7. FC Dallas

Randy Ruff:
1. Chivas USA
2. Houston Dynamo
3. FC Dallas
4. Colorado Rapids
5. San Jose Earthquakes
6. Real Salt Lake
7. Los Angeles Galaxy

Mike Martin:
1. Houston
2. Chivas
3. San Jose
4. LA
5. RSL
6. Colorado
7. FC Dallas

Feel free to add your comments on your own picks, or take some shots at us for our picks. Look for our Eastern Conference picks this Friday.

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