MLS Power Rankings: Phil Neville's Portland Timbers climb, while Lionel Messi-less Miami falls

Sometimes you just have to be happy you play in a cool stadium, have great fans, and are somewhat close to the beach on the coast of California.

That's about all San Jose has going for them, at the moment.

Oh, D.C. United...

They look like an amateur team competing in MLS. It's been rough to watch. Winless since May 11, it's just been ugly.

Thing's aren't going as expected for Nashville on the pitch, but the biggest positive is that they've hired a coach who seems to know how to get the job done.

A massive July 4 victory over the Timbers had them buzzing, but somehow, they followed it up with a loss to Sporting days later.

FCD are in a confusing state at the moment.

CITY parted ways with manager Bradley Carnell on July 1, and frankly, it was a wakeup call for the club. They overperformed in 2023, and now they're arguably the least watchable team in the league.

They have just four wins on the season, and three of them are against clubs outside the playoffs.

Winless since May 18.

Just five words: Figure it out, Jim Curtin.

Sometimes, you just need to root for chaos. And at least that was delivered Sunday evening as SKC earned their first win in what felt like a decade over FC Dallas.

Shoutout to Paul Arriola for the nonsense.

They've lost six in a row, but are somehow still above the playoff line. Make it make sense, John Herdman! (The bottom-half of the East is really, really bad.)

With all their talent, they should be winning more games.

The Loons are no longer Looning, folks.

Winless in six-straight, they're crashing hard. They have a lot of absences due ton the FIFA international windows this summer, and are down to their 3rd and 4th-string goalkeepers on the roster, but it's been tough to watch.

They need the biggest summer transfer window of any team in MLS at the moment.

Chicago are only thee points beneath the playoff line, someway, somehow. A hard-fought win over the Union had them celebrating for at least a day, but they followed it up with a loss to San Jose because of course they did!

Nothing makes sense with the Fire at the moment, we just need to watch it play out and enjoy the chaos.

Canada stole their roster for Copa America, essentially, so it's been tough to figure out where they're at.

Realistically, though, they're a club who needs to figure out their front office issues, because they seem to be translating to the team's efforts on the pitch.

Listen, you have to applaud Atlanta for their transfer business. Selling Giakoumakis, Almada and Wiley for reportedly more than $40M in one window is stellar work.

Now, they just have to figure out two things.

1) Who is going to coach them?

2) Who is going to play watchable soccer on their roster?

Austin are... weird. An embarrassing loss to Sporting KC was followed by a win over NYCFC. There's little consistency in the club at the moment, the biggest positive was seeing Gyasi Zardes bag a brace for his first goals of the campaign.

Seeing the Revs figure this all out has been fun. We all knew Caleb Porter was a good coach, but those first few months were not pretty.

A win over Atlanta United was followed by a loss to the Sounders last week, which, by all accounts is perfectly fine for them.

The Dynamo are right where they should be. They aren't among MLS' elite, but they are not bottom dwellers, either. A team who appears to be active in the transfer market this summer, they're already in talks to bolster their attack, with the signing of Lawrence Ennali.

Orlando smashed DC United 5-1, and they're feeling good. Up to seventh in the conference, they're creeping up in the East.

Brian White has channeled his inner "New Jersey Messi" mantra over the past slate of matches, with five goals in his last three matches. The Whitecaps secured results against against Minnesota United and CF Montreal last week, and are slowly climbing the table in the West.

They fell to Inter Miami 2-1 last week, and to be honest, they deserved more from the match. However, they are still a team lacking superstar power. Dean Smith needs reinforcements this July.

They're the league's youngest team, with a relatively inexperienced head coach, but they're also playing pretty decent soccer - 4-4 in their last eight matches. Last week, they topped a struggling Montreal side, and followed it with a disappointing showing vs Austin FC.

The Sounders have finally figured out how to play soccer again, and they look like a team who will sneak into a playoff spot. Four wins in their last five have them climbing, and with the summer transfer window around the corner, it's a safe bet to see them active.

Portland started terribly, but lucky for them, the bottom half of the West is arguably worse.

There's also the fun factor that they can't defend if their lives depended on it, but at the same time, their attack has the ability to bag three goals a game at a minimum.

It is champagne footy? Nope. Is it entertaining? You're damn right it is.

Sitting fourth in the West, The Rapids swept Missouri last week. A narrow victory over Sporting Kansas City and a 4-1 thumping over St. Louis CITY SC has them in high spirits.

Cole "Goal" Bassett is finding form, while Rafael Navarro has really found himself up top.

There's a clear status of Elite teams in the East now, and the Red Bulls are sitting just outside it. They're finding results against clubs at their level or below them, and they should be rather content with that.

Emil Forsberg is sidelined for a month and they've lost John Tolkin to the Olympics, so now, their goal is to continue coasting.

Gabriel Pec has all of MLS' heart at the moment. He has been sensational of late, and has taken Los Angeles by storm since his $10M transfer earlier this year. Luis Suarez is a worthy contender, but Pec is making his case.

Despite an El Trafico loss to LAFC last week, the Galaxy topped Minnesota United a few days later.

The Herons haven't particularly been bad of late, but this past weekend was a horrid showing. An absolute thumping at the hands of FC Cincinnati has them with their heads down this week.

Getting both Messi & Suarez back soon will be a massive help, but at the same time, they're losing Cremaschi and Gomez to the Paris Games.

Their Champions Cup hangover ended quickly, as the Crew are cruising in the East. They've outscored their opponents 15-1 over their last four matches, with both their attack and defense looking rather unstoppable at the moment.

The reigning champs are back to the top.

RSL might be the most fun team in Major League Soccer. Diego Luna took his Olympic Games snub personally, and notched three assists and a goal en-route to a 5-2 victory over Atlanta United.

They've established themselves as LAFC's chief contender this season.

Kei Kamara continued goal-scoring form is astonishing. LAFC are cruising, and another El Trafico win over the LA Galaxy will only have them buzzing more.

FCC just thumped Inter Miami to the point of embarrassment. When you're able to put six goals past a title contender, your spirits, and ranking, are both pretty high.