New York making a splash in the transfer market
After a forgettable season in 2009, the Red Bulls knew that changes needed to be made within the organization on and off the field.
New York and Los Angeles are seen as the most important markets in MLS but the Galaxy was streets ahead of New York both on and off the field after the acquisition of David Beckham to complement league MVP Landon Donovan.
The Red Bulls knew they had to do something big in the transfer market to wrestle back some of the limelight from their west coast rivals and that is exactly what they have done with their recent blockbuster moves in the transfer window.
The signing of Thierry Henry was a master stroke and now the addition of Rafael Marquez means that this team has arguably more star power than any other team in MLS.
Whether that translates to silverware remains to be seen but at least the Red Bulls organization is doing everything it can to give its side a chance to compete for the MLS Cup.
My guess is that the league is praying for a New York-L.A. final, but hard-working teams like RSL and Columbus might have something to say about that.
Onalfo sacking no real surprise
D.C. United fans and owners expected the return of Curt Onalfo to bring the club back to it’s glory days, but after a horrible start to the season, the former K.C. man was relieved of his duties as head coach.
Onalfo inherited a side that needed rebuilding and there can be a case made that he wasn’t given enough time to implement his own blueprint on the club, but in today’s modern game it is very rare to see a coach given more time when results are as bad as they have been at United.
Some of the personnel moves that the former Wizards coach made haven’t worked out, but the underperforming players have to take their share of the blame for that. I’m sure that when a new coach is in place that many of these players will be looking for a new club.
In his time at K.C., Onalfo proved himself to be one of the brightest young coaches in MLS and he deserved a shot at one of the bigger clubs. It hasn’t worked out in D.C. but that doesn’t mean that we have seen the last of Onalfo at the highest level, and I’m sure we will see him back in the hot seat somewhere -- sooner rather than later.
Galaxy struggles just a blip
Every great team goes through a blip in form throughout the season and that is exactly what we are seeing from L.A. right now.
The Galaxy has struggled defensively over the last three games, conceding nine goals and losing two of those games, but you don’t become a poor defensive team overnight. L.A. in the midst of a spell were it is being punished for every individual error the team is making.
There are some defensive adjustments that do need to be made, most notably Sean Franklin and Todd Dunivant not pushing forward too early and leaving Omar Gonzalez and Gregg Berhalter exposed, but for the most part the Galaxy don’t need to panic because of their recent struggles.
Bruce Arena is a coach that has seen it all in his time and he certainly won’t be pressing the panic button anytime soon. After going 3-0 down to the Fire on Sunday, the Galaxy showed great character in fighting back to 3-2 and I expect them to build on this spirit and return to top form over the next few weeks.
Clint Mathis retires
The L.A. Galaxy’s friendly with Real Madrid this Saturday at the Rose Bowl will mark the end of an era in MLS as Clint Mathis will play in his final game before retiring.
Mathis has always been a colorful character in MLS and will be best remembered for his initial spell with the Galaxy and his goal-scoring exploits with the MetroStars. Mathis also made some vital contributions to the national team, most notably his goal against South Korea at the 2002 World Cup, but the latter stages of his career have been blighted by injuries.
Since his return to MLS from Hannover in 2005, Mathis has struggled to regain the form of his early years and only on occasion showed us his undoubted natural goal-scoring ability during spells at Colorado, RSL and the Galaxy.
Bruce Arena showed just how highly he regarded Cletus by trading for him in January, but injuries again denied him the opportunity to really make an impact on the field. Clint Mathis has had a tremendous career but one can’t help but wonder how much better it could have been had he stayed off the treatment table?
On to the MLS Power Rankings ...
1. Real Salt Lake: Real Salt Lake is simply unbeatable at Rio Tinto and on current form is once again the team to beat in MLS.
2. Los Angeles Galaxy: The Galaxy look a shadow of the side that started the season off so well defensively. Omar Gonzalez and co. must return to form quickly if L.A. is to hold off RSL at the top of the west.
3. Columbus Crew: The Crew missed out on a wonderful opportunity to close the gap on L.A. in the race for the regular season crown as they produced one of their poorest performances of the season in a loss at lowly Chivas.
4. FC Dallas: Dallas continues to be one of the toughest teams to beat in MLS but it must start turning some of these draws into victories if it really wants to challenge the top teams in the Western Conference.
5. Chicago Fire: The Fire produced its best performance of the season as it dismantled L.A., and with Ljungberg and Castillo to come into the starting XI, things are really looking up for Chicago fans.
6. Seattle Sounders: The Sounders don’t seem to be missing Freddie Ljungberg too much as they continued their return to form with a hard fought win at San Jose.
7. Chivas USA: Chivas USA produced its best performance of the season as it beat the Crew to keep its own slim chances of making a playoff push alive.
8. New York Red Bulls: Thierry Henry didn’t disappoint in his debut and his partnership with Juan Pablo Angel could very well fire the Red Bulls to MLS glory.
9. Toronto FC: Toronto needs to start producing on the road or it will again miss out on the playoffs. Preki has to be envious of the moves east coast rivals Chicago and New York have been making recently.
10. San Jose Earthquakes: Picking up a measly 11 points at home is not the kind of form that will propel San Jose into the playoff race.
11. Kansas City Wizards: The Wizards fine run of form continued with an impressive win over Toronto, but K.C. is still not good enough to be considered a playoff team.
12. Colorado Rapids: The Rapids can’t keep dropping points at home to Western Conference rivals if they expect to make it to the postseason.
13. Houston Dynamo: The Dynamo showed some character as it fought back for a point against the Red Bulls, but this team is still streets behind the Houston sides that dominated MLS just a couple of seasons ago.
14. Philadelphia Union: The Union will be a difficult team to beat at home but they don’t have enough quality on the road to make a strong push for the playoffs.
15. New England Revolution: The Revs produced a battling display in Philadelphia but a point from a game against the league’s newest team is hardly going to get the Revs back in the playoff picture, is it?
16. D.C. United: United’s poor form has cost Curt Onalfo his job but the players need to shoulder their share of the blame for what is turning into a nightmare season for one of the league’s biggest clubs.
Keith Costigan is a writer for FoxSoccer.com covering Major League Soccer.
