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Goal.com MLS Rankings: Reds Rise As Chivas USA Continues Its Slide
Toronto FC's home draw with top dogs Houston sees the Canadian club rise three spots in the latest Goal.com MLS rankings.
Jul 20, 2009 10:59:07 AM
1. Houston – A gritty point for the shorthanded Dynamo in Toronto extended Houston's lead atop the league table to four points. (1)
2. Seattle – Chelsea's visit provided a fun and entertaining distraction for Sounders FC, but it's back to business with Houston's visit for the U.S. Open Cup semifinals on Tuesday and Chicago in town on Saturday. (2)
3. Chicago – Now that Chicago has ended its inexplicable 405-minute home scoreless streak and notched its second home win of the year (2-2-4 at Toyota Park), the Fire moves above its Eastern Conference counterparts because it has a game and a point in hand on its pursuers. The trick now is to find a way to produce goals consistently with attacking fulcrum Brian McBride shelved for the rest of the regular season. (5)
4. Columbus – The Crew remains second in the Eastern Conference pecking order after getting valuable production out of reserve forwards Jason Garey (two goals) and Steven Lenhart (one goal, one assist) in its 3-1 home win over Real Salt Lake. (4)
5. D.C. United – Demerits here for United after yet another occasionally brilliant performance in its 3-1 win over Colorado. At some point, United's tendency to play in spurts rather than over the full 90 minutes will come back to haunt them. (3)
6. Toronto FC – TFC should thank Dwayne De Rosario for skipping Canada's Gold Cup odyssey. His performance paced the Reds to a 1-1 draw with Houston. (9)
7. Los Angeles – Landon Donovan continues to play like a man possessed as evidenced by his goal and assist in the Galaxy's 3-1 win over hapless New York. If he keeps this up and gets some help from David Beckham, the Galaxy could certainly contend for MLS Cup. (8)
8. Chivas USA – Can the Goats find a way to win with Sacha Kljestan anonymous at best? Early signs pointed to yes, but recent signs have advanced the opposite conclusion. (6)
9. Colorado – If Colorado's playoff push falters, a lack of depth – particularly in the wide areas and up front – will prove its undoing. (7)
10. Real Salt Lake – RSL is six points out of the playoffs with 12 games to play. Once the key players get back, it's time to make a charge before it is too late. That won't happen if RSL doesn't start to eliminate those mistakes at the back. (10)
11. New England – The Revs badly needed that 2-0 victory over floundering Chivas USA on Sunday night. Without Shalrie Joseph's second-half intervention, it wouldn't have happened. (12)
12. Kansas City – Curt Onalfo must have winced when Jimmy Conrad picked up that concussion with the United States' 2-1 win over Panama on Saturday. The playoff-chasing Wizards can't afford to have Conrad miss more time than he already has. (11)
13. FC Dallas – With a trip to Rio Tinto Stadium for what looks like a must-win game with RSL on Friday night, the Hoops probably used their down time for some additional preparation. (13)
14. San Jose – Better effort from the Quakes in Bridgeview, but it's increasingly starting to look like San Jose needs to figure out which parts to keep around for next year. (14)
15. New York – Another dismal performance, another loss. Rinse, lather and repeat. How many more of these performances should Red Bulls fans have to take before changes are made? (15)
2. Seattle – Chelsea's visit provided a fun and entertaining distraction for Sounders FC, but it's back to business with Houston's visit for the U.S. Open Cup semifinals on Tuesday and Chicago in town on Saturday. (2)
3. Chicago – Now that Chicago has ended its inexplicable 405-minute home scoreless streak and notched its second home win of the year (2-2-4 at Toyota Park), the Fire moves above its Eastern Conference counterparts because it has a game and a point in hand on its pursuers. The trick now is to find a way to produce goals consistently with attacking fulcrum Brian McBride shelved for the rest of the regular season. (5)
4. Columbus – The Crew remains second in the Eastern Conference pecking order after getting valuable production out of reserve forwards Jason Garey (two goals) and Steven Lenhart (one goal, one assist) in its 3-1 home win over Real Salt Lake. (4)
5. D.C. United – Demerits here for United after yet another occasionally brilliant performance in its 3-1 win over Colorado. At some point, United's tendency to play in spurts rather than over the full 90 minutes will come back to haunt them. (3)
6. Toronto FC – TFC should thank Dwayne De Rosario for skipping Canada's Gold Cup odyssey. His performance paced the Reds to a 1-1 draw with Houston. (9)
7. Los Angeles – Landon Donovan continues to play like a man possessed as evidenced by his goal and assist in the Galaxy's 3-1 win over hapless New York. If he keeps this up and gets some help from David Beckham, the Galaxy could certainly contend for MLS Cup. (8)
8. Chivas USA – Can the Goats find a way to win with Sacha Kljestan anonymous at best? Early signs pointed to yes, but recent signs have advanced the opposite conclusion. (6)
9. Colorado – If Colorado's playoff push falters, a lack of depth – particularly in the wide areas and up front – will prove its undoing. (7)
10. Real Salt Lake – RSL is six points out of the playoffs with 12 games to play. Once the key players get back, it's time to make a charge before it is too late. That won't happen if RSL doesn't start to eliminate those mistakes at the back. (10)
11. New England – The Revs badly needed that 2-0 victory over floundering Chivas USA on Sunday night. Without Shalrie Joseph's second-half intervention, it wouldn't have happened. (12)
12. Kansas City – Curt Onalfo must have winced when Jimmy Conrad picked up that concussion with the United States' 2-1 win over Panama on Saturday. The playoff-chasing Wizards can't afford to have Conrad miss more time than he already has. (11)
13. FC Dallas – With a trip to Rio Tinto Stadium for what looks like a must-win game with RSL on Friday night, the Hoops probably used their down time for some additional preparation. (13)
14. San Jose – Better effort from the Quakes in Bridgeview, but it's increasingly starting to look like San Jose needs to figure out which parts to keep around for next year. (14)
15. New York – Another dismal performance, another loss. Rinse, lather and repeat. How many more of these performances should Red Bulls fans have to take before changes are made? (15)
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