MLS Power Rankings: Week 8
May 22nd, 2008 . By: Parrish GloverBefore getting to the rankings, I’d like to offer my brief commentary on the decision to let Morrow go. Some teams/coaches/players can gain a reputation for being unable to win “the big one.” In the last year, Morrow was gaining a reputation for not even showing up for it. Two straight playoff collapses, in addition to miserable performances in important games like the SuperLiga match against the Galaxy and the U.S. Open Cup Final against the Revolution, had set a clear precedent. I don’t have near the insight into these kinds of decisions as others on the site might, but I’m familiar with situations where coaches had been placed under review or on warning similar to what you or I would face in the case of persistent job underperformance. While it sucks for Steve to be out of a job, and it’s a shock to the team that may result in a lost season, I’d expect (and certainly hope) that the relevant parties were aware of what was expected and what was at stake going into Hush Sunday.
Despite losing at home, Chicago retains the top spot in the league on the strength of their previous performances. The gap between #1 and #2 is drastically narrowed, however. The Fire get a quick opportunity to prove that this past weekend was a one-time slip up, as they face a Red Bull side that is within breathing distance of third in the rankings. Speaking of Red Bull, a home tie isn’t normally a terribly disappointing result, yet they drop two spaces in the rankings. The closeness of the middle of the pack teams, combined with convincing performances (albeit against soft competition) by the Rapids and Revolution make the dip less an indictment of New York than would normally be implied. Another way of looking at it is that while the result isn’t bad, per se, it’s not exactly what you want to see from the #3 team in the league. You lose by four goals at home, you will fall and fall dramatically, so dramatically that you find yourself in this week’s Pillow Fight. Dallas has a lot to prove to themselves this weekend. A loss in Salt Lake that could have been prevented, along with the shake-up on the sidelines, plus a month-long malaise makes for an early season test of the will. We will learn a great deal about the character of the FC Dallas players this weekend. It’s just a shame that Serioux will miss the match, as this would be a good time for the Hoops to start taking care of family business. Upcoming matches against Houston and Colorado mean that the payback calendar is ready. A rare home-and-home set for United and TFC. With Carver in the process of proving me wrong about him, and Soehn in the process of proving himself mediocre, a sweep by either team would shake up the bottom to middle sections of the rankings. A resurgent Revs team goes into Ohio to face the Crew. It’s a great match on paper, but I’m not expecting it to be all that compelling to watch. Not sure why, just a hunch. 4 Comments Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI Leave a comment |
Watching the highlights and postgame comments from Morrow, to me it seems clear he knew what the repurcussions were going to be after the game. Morrow sounded quite different than usual. I doubt Morrow will be the last to go though. Morrow did coach some good games against Houston in the playoffs last year.
Pescadito must be somewhere in LA laughing.
Did Parrish get fired already?!
No real quibbles w/ this list…we’ve obviously earned our low ranking for now.
Opps, no. Sorry. upload mistake on the databse. I’ll fix that. Parrish has been doing a nice job.
Chicago loses and Columbus ties at MLS’ toughest venue and there’s no change at the top? I smell some corporate sibling jealousy.