WASHINGTON, DC and SAN JOSE, CA (July 14, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- J Hutcherson and Tony Edwards talk about who could take advantage of the absence of the SuperLiga clubs as the Major League Soccer schedule plays on.
J Hutcherson: Hey Tony, Since we're supposed to be firmly focused on the SuperLiga even as the MLS season continues, let's talk about the clubs that got left out.
They’ve basically got a month where they don’t have to worry about the teams that did the best the previous season. One would think that’s a golden opportunity to put points up while hoping the compressed schedule the SuperLiga teams will have following the tournament will work to their advantage. Clubs like LA and Chicago should be pressing right now, but I don’t get the sense there’s a real mandate to take this as their moment.
It’s hard to imagine any MLS team being strong enough to start a roll that will take them through the SuperLiga and onto the MLS Cup. There will undoubtedly be a lull, and it’s likely going to come when they’re playing five games a month.
Tony Edwards: But the MLS playoff system pretty much guarantees, doesn't it, that New England and Houston and Chivas USA will make the playoffs. Maybe a better way to say that is MLS' relative mediocrity pretty much guarantees those three teams in the playoffs, SuperLiga and National Team call-ups or not.
Say what you will about Real Salt Lake and the Rapids (five points dropped to the Quakes this season) relative improvement, but teams that are less established do have to use this period to put some pressure on Houston and Chivas. And I'm not sold on either team being able to do that.
Let's not forget that the transfer window is open as of tomorrow, meaning those teams that need the most help, such as the Red Bulls and San Jose, can take advantage of any cap room to theoretically fill their needs. What this does is essentially bring even more teams toward .500, further mucking things up, oh excuse me, helping them remain in playoff contention.
It seems that clubs like Kansas City, Chicago, and Columbus, which I think of as clubs with veteran leadership, should be trying to find another gear about now to take advantage of the schedule. But where is the urgency?
JH: Well, it’s certainly not flowing from the squad to the fans with a joint feeling that we can do this and now is the time. I could lean on some more clichés, but we’re agreed on the point. Those third place in Conference slots and the two wildcards should be the goal of every team not spending time looking up MFL squad lists on Wikipedia. Yes, that is a less than subtle indication of how much time I think the participating clubs spent scouting their SuperLiga opposition.
New York has already assured us the major move(s) is/are coming, with the expected rush from the bottom of the Conference. With the beloved MLS parity, that means a point out of the playoff picture. They’ve already got players set to go as of tomorrow, and they still need defensive help. Yes, it’s established that MLS won’t pay for that, but we’re talking upgrades rather than potential stars.
As for everybody else, I would assume we’ve seen San Jose’s big move. Chicago still doesn’t seem to have gotten the concept that waiting on a potential player while dropping points could make the arrival of said potential player just about irrelevant. Then again, the chances that team doesn’t make the playoffs as it stands are slim.
Bringing us back to your point about the Rapids and Real Salt Lake and the relative wonder of .500 soccer in MLS.
TE: Wait, you mean popping a dvd into the computer of your opponents' last game isn't scouting?
Let's quantify the moves we are talking about. For the Quakes, its a 37 year old defensive midfielder and a 32 year old striker. The Red Bulls, who lost Altidore and Angel having been hurt much of the year, signed a couple of midfielders and defenders. I'm not saying JC Osorio doesn't know what he is doing, or that mid-season signings have to boost your ticket sales, but lets just say there are no Beckhams or Blancos on that list.
Short of another outburst of MetroStars Playoff Fever, why is there any more reason to buy a ticket in New Jersey than there was last week? Because finishing fourth and getting beat by the Revs in the first round is progress? So the Red Bulls can be 'the team no one wants to play' in the first round.
Let's step back a second. Which non-SuperLiga team is really a threat to New England?
Chicago--as you noted above. Too often, they are outplayed by teams they should stomp on. The Galaxy--well, if noted tactician Abel Xavier had this way, they'd play 8 guys behind the ball apparently. What the Galaxy need is someone in the midfield who can slow the game down, instead of endless 35 yard balls to Buddle and Donovan that are easily cut out. Columbus? RSL? The Rapids?
JH: Stepping back as requested, I’m apparently one of the few that thought Abel had a point that MLS doesn’t really defend and the run of play becomes deceptive. Combine tactical naivete with questionable officiating, and you get what most of us watch week in and week out. It’s not much to build a business on.
As far as threatening New England, they come back from SuperLiga duty likely in the opposite situation from where they’ve been for a few weeks. Two games in hand and a six point lead might suggest they’re not as dominant as just looking at the table and the points would suggest. Maybe they’re the ones that get a reality check, but it’s as good an argument to think Taylor Twellman makes a late run at the scoring table.
The problem with New England is that their success sends the wrong message to the rest of the League. Aging and developmental players shouldn’t be able to bail you out at this level, and yet here’s the Revs.
TE: Tactical naivete. Yes, I'll go along with that. But the problem is, every team believes the answer is to tighten up at the back. We all know that MLS isn't the only league with this problem, but where is the team that builds its game on possessing the ball and putting pressure on the other team's midfield and defense? Teams know how to defend; its that far too often, its all they know.
And people want to blame college soccer or youth development or whatever the boogie man is this week, but as we've seen in this league in past years, there have been teams that pass, that possess the ball, that don't depend on a long pass to a fast forward for a speculative shot.
JH: As with most things in this life, there’s doing it and doing it well. MLS should have already patented defending as trying to step into every available passing lane regardless of tactical advantage.
The problem is not just that every MLS team thinks the answer is better defense, it’s that they refuse to pay for it while spending on offensive players. Your repeated point about the need for a midfielder to slow things down and actually control possession rather than launching balls forward notwithstanding.
TE: And it does go back to the players needing to take advantage of that style of defending. It's about intelligent runs off the ball and its about having passers who can exploit these situations. Easy for me to say.
As you say above, New England's mix isn't anything startling, just solid. A defensive midfielder and some veterans who can pass and a forward who can consistently score. Hard to love if you're not a fan.
JH: Yet it’s still probably closer to the template with the MLS salary cap. Easy enough to make the point that New England are in the SuperLiga while LA and RBNY aren’t.
