MLS Ramblings

A Few Moves(not a complete list)

As July 1 approached, the time when players contracts would be guaranteed if they were on the roster, MLS clubs made moves. I haven’t listed the players waived or released to make roster room, but some of the new additions are…

26 yr old Alecko Escandarian has moved across the hall as he was picked up by LA from Chivas USA. Josh Tudela was dropped to make room on the Galaxy roster.

The Revs are trying to bolster their scoring by signing 5 time Lithuanian player of the year, striker Edgaras Jankauskas.

The Rapids added defensive help with the signing of Julien Baudet from English League One side Crewe Alexandra.

The Sounders added defensive help with the signing of Costa Rican defender Leonardo Gonzalez from Liberia Mia, the Costa Rican league champion.

The RBNY signed keeper Bouna Coundoul.

Home cookin’?

Chicago is the only team with more points per game on the road than at home.

A Meaningful Statistic?

SoccerBlog.com makes a case for passing stats as a predictor of success.

Only two teams, Houston and Chivas USA, have won over 50% of their games. No other team has won more than 38% of their games.

The Real Standings?

Over at the fullback files, a good job was done looking at the standing from different perspectives, so I figured I list the standings based on points per game(PPG), especially since the range is so wide. RBNY has played 18 games, while the Revs have played just 12.

Points after 112 Games
09
Pts	GP	PPG
Houston	28	15	1.87
Chivas USA	27	15	1.80
Seattle	25	16	1.56
Colorado	21	14	1.50
Chicago	21	14	1.50
Columbus	22	15	1.47
DC United	23	16	1.44
Toronto FC	22	16	1.38
Kansas City	19	14	1.36
New England	16	12	1.33
Real Salt Lake	19	15	1.27
Los Angeles	18	15	1.20
Dallas	14	15	0.93
San Jose	12	14	0.86
NY Red Bull	10	18	0.56

The Open Cup

By now you’ve heard how 4 of the 8 MLS teams were dumped out of the US Open. Same old story. Short rosters, nominal prize money leads to MLS fielding 2nd string teams despite the carrot of a bid to the CONCACAF Champions League for the winner. That’s how DC United made it into the 2009-10 competition.

20/20 hindsight

It’s interesting re-reading pieces by people I respect and see how things worked out. What criteria do you use to decide what info to let through the sieve?

Jeff Carlisle’s look at the USMNT midfield on May 6, 2009.

Brent Latham made his picks of 11 players to go to the Confed Cup on May 29.