MLS Power Rankings: Week 6
May 7th, 2008 . 3:04 pm . By: Parrish GloverI feel that predicting ties is about as safe a bet in soccer as it is in baccarat, so I don’t do it very often. So I’m going to point to last week’s all-nil pillow fight as further evidence of my massive genius. I really am just that impressive.
Oh, what a fun week we have in store for us. No matter what happens, I’m expecting chaos to wreak itself upon the rankings. Every team in the bottom half of the standings is hosting a team from the top half (excluding the vacationing Wizards and Reds). This is the week that either home-field advantage asserts itself or quality teams announce their presence on the stage. Which is more surprising so far, the gap between first and second or the gap between second and third? With a home win netting a team a minimum of two full points in the form calculation, slots 3-5, 6-9, and 10-13 are comparable buckets. They aren’t exactly virtual ties or separation by rounding error, but each are one decent (not great or even good, simply decent) result from being completely shuffled around. Columbus at San Jose. The Crew have four home wins already this season, while only two other teams have played as many as four matches total at home. So their table-topping position is to be taken with a grain of salt. Meanwhile, San Jose had two home games at two different venues and has put up zero goals combined. I’d like to say that this is a trend that’s due for a reversal, but then I looked at the Quakes roster. Chicago at United. I’ve praised the Fire enough for May already. United sits at the bottom of the East due primarily to an atrocious road record of 0 wins, 3 losses, 0 goals scored, and 8 allowed. The Black and Red have actually shown some quality at home, though, as evidenced by a goal-scoring total equivalent to that of Columbus. Colorado at Houston. They Dynamo are still winless. They are dead last in the league. They have more ties than the entire Atlantic seaboard. Excluding the FCD match, they have scored two goals in five matches. This has reached beyond simply getting off to slow start… this team is just plain lousy. Coaching genius has always proven to have a limited shelf life in MLS and it’s possible that Kinnear has simply run out of juice. Into this mess comes Colorado, finding itself at an ironically high altitude. Hot streaks are the norm in MLS, so a dramatic reversal of fortunes is unlikely. New England at Chivas. In seven matches, the Revs have given up ten goals. Seven of those have been scored by Chicago. Getting owned repeatedly by a conference rival is never a good thing, but New England has until August to wash off the stink. Chivas has been struggling with way too many personnel issues for a season this young, a problem exacerbated by the absence of Claudio Suarez this weekend due to red card suspension. 3 Comments Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI Leave a comment |
Okay, using sponsors was a really bad idea for this. Very confusing but I do see #4 FCD when they really have the 8th best record.
Ric,
First of all, it’s called a sense of humor, I suggest you look into one. Secondly, as explained previously, the Power Rankings employ a formula to determine relative team strength using a variety of measures, things that transcend simple win/loss records. Strenght of opponent, home vs away, etc.
I got a chuckle out of the sponsorship representation ;), trying to determine who was who was fun also.
Something I didn’t realize was only 5 of 14 teams lack a titlle sponsor, one of the being an expansion this season. Not sure which way to judge this impact to the league’s/team’s staying power. Is it a benifit to each so money can be spent elsewhere, or is it a need due to lack of revenue.?.?.?