MLS All-Star no brainers
The MLS all-stars were announced this week and for the most part the voters got it right in their 11 selections. Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle’s superb early season form for the Galaxy meant that they were obvious.
The Galaxy’s Omar Gonzalez also fully deserved his first all-star selection after a series of superb performances that will surely lead to an international call up and a move abroad.
Chad Marshall and Jamison Olave are similar in that they are both dominant defensively and a threat on set Marco Pappa’s selection in midfield may have raised some eyebrows but his form over the first half of the season has been good enough to warrant a place in the first XI.
Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Javier Morales are two of the most creative players in the league and it is these kind of players that will quite rightly catch the eye of the voters, while Kyle Beckerman’s simple but effective game has made RSL one of the most difficult teams in the league to beat so that makes him the right choice to anchor this all-star team.
The biggest compliment I can pay to Dwayne DeRosario is that we have all come to expect the high levels of play we have seen from him so far this season and Toronto would not be in the position they are in right now without the former Dynamo hitman.
MLS First XI snubs
Although the all-star selections were for the most part correct, there are still a few people that can feel aggrieved at not being on the list. The player who can feel most agitated at the snub is Nick Rimando.
The RSL stopper has been in superb form yet again this season and is a major reason for his club's superb form over the last few months. Donovan Ricketts is a great goalkeeper but sometimes the voters can get wrapped up in the statistics of the game.
On paper, Donovan Ricketts may be having the better season, but I believe Nick Rimando has been the star goalkeeper in MLS so far this year.
Sebastien Le Toux has been fantastic for the Philadelphia Union so far this season and had a hand in almost every goal his team has scored. Philadelphia’s lowly league position obviously doesn’t help the Frenchman’s cause, but I am sure he will still be involved as a coach’s pick.
Juan Pablo Angel has again been in top goal-scoring form this season and is still the best finisher in MLS. In any other year he would have been a shoe-in for the first XI but with Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan in such fine form, Angel will have to settle for being a coaches pick.
Bradley to the Premier League?
Over the last 20 years we have seen many U.S. players make their mark in almost every European league, but we have yet to see an American coach be given the chance to see how successful they could be abroad.
Bruce Arena did enough at the World Cup in 2002 to warrant such an opportunity but nothing ever materialized and since then that avenue has been closed to the top U.S. coaches, until now.
The mere fact that Bob Bradley’s name is being linked with the vacant Fulham post just shows how much respect American soccer has gained from their performance at the World Cup. Bradley is a thinking man’s coach and I have no doubt he would be a success at the top level in England.
It would be a huge step for American soccer as a whole to have one of their own coaches in charge of a Premier League club and I’m sure Bradley would gain some valuable knowledge in Europe that he could then share with some of his colleagues here Stateside.
It would also open up the doors for many other top coaches in this country to try their luck abroad and finally be given a shot at coaching outside this country. Coaching the national team may be the biggest honor that can be bestowed upon an American coach but it is vitally important that Bradley’s takes on this challenge if he is given the chance.
Seattle’s struggles continue
Seattle has been absolutely woeful this season and their GM Adrian Hanauer is quite rightly trying to do anything he can to turn things around. One of the moves Hanauer may be looking at closer than people think is moving Freddie Ljungberg.
The former Arsenal man showed flashes of brilliance last season but since then he has been below average. He seems to have forgotten that it was his tremendous work-rate at Arsenal that made him such an attacking threat with those strong powerful runs a distant memory.
There is also talk of moves for Osvaldo Alonso, Steve Zakuani and Fredy Montero, but it is Ljungberg that has been the biggest disappointment. There is always a worry that a foreign player coming to the end of his career may not give 100% and that now seems to be the case with the former Swedish international.
Seattle fans deserve better than what their designated pick has given them, but I don’t see things changing anytime soon. If that is the case then I believe Ljungberg has to go down as a Designated Player that failed to live up to top billing.
On to the MLS Power Rankings ...
1. Real Salt Lake: Real Salt Lake rode their luck in their victory over Chicago last week but you get the sense that this team is so confident that they almost expect to win when they step on the field.
2. Los Angeles Galaxy: The Galaxy struggled without Omar Gonzalez and Landon Donovan and never looked like getting anything from their trip to New England.
3. Columbus Crew: The Crew continues to struggle in their alternate black kit and have now won just one of the seven games that they have played when wearing that uniform over the last three years.
4. Toronto FC: Toronto have now opened up a five-point cushion in the race for third place in the conference and, if they continue their consistent form, this team should reach the playoffs for the first time.
5. New York Red Bulls: It will be interesting to see how the Red Bulls integrate Thierry Henry into the side without affecting the chemistry they have developed over the opening months of the season.
6. FC Dallas: Dallas is now unbeaten in five games after fighting back to earn a point at Seattle last weekend. I still think this team needs Jeff Cunningham to return to form and get back in the side to give them a real chance of doing some damage in the playoffs.
7. San Jose Earthquakes: San Jose produced one of its poorest displays of the season but still managed to come away from Philly with three points. The Earthquakes are still miles behind the top teams in the west.
8. Colorado Rapids: The Rapids' unbeaten streak came to an end with their fourth 1-0 defeat of the season. At least it proves Gary Smith’s men have been competitive in every game they have played.
9. Houston Dynamo: The Dynamo’s winless streak continued but at least they gave themselves something to build on with their battling performance against the Crew last weekend.
10. Chicago Fire: The Fire outplayed RSL for large stretches of the game and but for the width of a post could very well have ended the MLS Cup champs unbeaten record.
11. Chivas USA: Justin Braun led Chivas to a much-needed win over K.C. and, with some key signings joining the Goats, things could finally be looking up for Martin Vasquez.
12. D.C. United: United fans are hoping that Pablo Hernandez and Branko Boskovic will add a spark to this team because right now they look toothless in front of goal.
13. New England Revolution: The Revs produced their best performance of the season as they beat the Galaxy but now the question is can they build on this performance and finally start to climb the table?
14. Philadelphia Union: Philly played some superb football against San Jose but fell asleep defensively to allow the Earthquakes to steal the points. Peter Nowak will not have been happy.
15. Seattle Sounders: The Sounders have lost the plot over the last few months and the speculation surrounding the future of Freddie Ljungberg is proof that all is not right in the dressing room.
16. Kansas City Wizards: The Wizards are quite simply the worst team in MLS and I don’t see things improving for their fans anytime soon.
Keith Costigan is a writer for FoxSoccer.com covering Major League Soccer.
