Down to the wire
Other than Houston and San Jose, every team in MLS has three games remaining, the results of which will shape their November plans. A league that prides itself on parity will be delighted that, at this advanced stage of the season, all 14 clubs retain postseason ambitions.
For the teams that are in (Columbus and New England in the East and Houston in the West), the next three weeks will be spent fine-tuning in preparation. Practically resting easy is Chicago, which holds the final automatic berth in the East and would have to do something fairly monumental to relinquish it. Chivas looks similarly strong, placed as they are second in the Western Conference.
Below those five, meanwhile, nine sides face a nerve-jangling run-in and it's anyone's guess as to who will prevail. What do I think? Kansas City will take advantage of playing two of its final three matches at home to take the East's wild card. Real Salt Lake will also use the home comforts generated by playing two of its remaining games in its new stadium to ride into the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
As for the final spot? Here are the runners and riders:
Los Angeles: Forget it. With Beckham, the Galaxy are useless. Without him as they will be in two of their final three games, they're even worse, if that's possible.
D.C. United: United's biggest challenge is finding enough players to field a team. Their schedule has destroyed them.
Toronto: They're playing well but have left too much to do, especially with road games in Dallas on Saturday and San Jose two weeks later.
San Jose: The extra game helps, but Darren Huckerby needs to be even better if the goal-shy Quakes are to have any hope.
New York: One away win all year plus two remaining road games equals another missed postseason.
Colorado: Two Home Depot Center trips plus a final day matchup against RSL will be too much for the inconsistent Rapids.
Dallas: I think the Hoops get in based on recent form, but their trip to RSL on Oct. 18 is a potential banana skin.
Long-range forecast
Six weeks from Sunday, the Alan I. Rothenberg trophy will be lifted at the Home Depot Center, bringing the curtain down on MLS' 13th season. It's never too early for a prediction, so, who will be clutching the silverware?
Columbus remains the team to beat, as stated in this blog last week. From front to back, the Crew has the right mix of youth and experience. Their heartbeat is Guillermo Barros Schelotto but, in his absence recently, Columbus has proved it can win in more than one way. Crucially, Sigi Schmid has his solid pros, such as Chad Marshall and Alejandro Moreno, playing at levels they have never previously attained.
It's hard to bet against the two-time defending champions, but I think Houston will fall at the final hurdle as it attempts a three-peat. The Dynamo's CONCACAF Champions League schedule means that they will play seven more games before the end of October, a timetable that will catch up with them in the postseason. I think they're the best team in the West, but not in MLS.
As for the rest, only three other sides can challenge Columbus and Houston. New England continues to play inconsistently but its playoff record under Steve Nicol means it cannot be underestimated. However, a first-round meeting with another potential champion, Chicago, could take so much out of both sides that the victor will have little left in the tank for the Eastern Conference championship game. The third side is Chivas, winners of three straight and capable of beating Houston in a one-off conference final.
MLS ploughs on
Of course, reaching the playoffs would likely be more straightforward if the league's coaches did not have to wave off their internationals again this weekend. While the rest of the club soccer world takes a break, MLS continues, forcing its clubs to play one of the most pivotal weekends of the season at less than full strength.
It's an old argument but, until something is done to bring the league into line with the majority of the rest of the world when it comes to international breaks, the debate will rage on. Simply put, at a stage of the season when many sides are dealing with injuries and suspensions, inflicting this additional obstacle upon them is of no advantage to anyone. The players are caught in the middle, while the fans are left wondering what the authorities' priorities are.
Well played, young man
He might look like Wayne Rooney but, let's face it, for Chad Barrett that's where the similarities end. Or is it? Not to say that the Toronto man is reaching the level of one of the world's best forwards, but since moving to Canada, there is no doubt Barrett has elevated his game to another level.
Freed from (rightly) playing second fiddle to Cuauhtemoc Blanco in Chicago, Barrett has blossomed at TFC and is once again showing the promise that saw him heralded as another next big thing when he broke into the league as a 20-year-old with the Fire in 2005.
His finishing is greatly improved and Barrett is now also scoring different types of goals, from tap-ins to free-kicks. In the long-run, acquiring him in exchange for Brian McBride might prove to be one of TFCs most impressive moves.
A thing that made me go hmmm …
There I was, thinking Josh Wicks was the worst goalkeeper in the league, when along comes Louis Crayton to make me reconsider.
Just when D.C. fans thought it couldn't get any worse, Crayton goes walkabout against Chivas to put them in an even deeper hole. To add further insult, D.C.'s former No. 1, Troy Perkins (now playing for Norway's Valerenga), is in the kind of form that has led to his recall to the U.S. squad. Another tough week for the capital city club.
Andrew Hush
