With J Hutcherson -- Another chance for Major League Soccer to work on the idea that Friday just might be the night for work week soccer. Real Salt Lake hosting San Jose tonight (10pm - DirectKick) in a battle to tease out what bad really means in the Western Conference.
Yes, RSL has gotten a few results and currently is a point up on Los Angeles for fifth. They also should be looking at an easy night's work courtesy of a San Jose team that has an entire point from their road schedule this season. Ten games for one point, and no good excuses for RSL doing anything other than making that eleven.
It's an intriguing problem for MLS Season XIV, trying to distinguish between good, mediocre, and bad. Salt Lake would probably prefer we go ahead and edge them towards the good category. What about average? Right now that's just not happening.
Still, this is a significantly improved RSL team to the one that was destroying New England one week and then coughing up goals to Seattle the next. Since losing to... wait for it... San Jose on May 30th, RSL put together a strong June. Draws with Colorado when they were streaking and Western Conference leaders Houston, along with wins over LA and Toronto.
A win tonight, and RSL pulls level with Toronto on points and is well ahead of them on goal differential. If RSL played in the Eastern Conference, that would put them third, a point off leaders DC and riding the best goal differential in the East. To repeat a previous point, does that move the needle on RSL from mediocre to good?
Not so much. Instead, it makes the point about the strength of the West at the expense of the East. It's hard to make a case that any of the Eastern Conference clubs are playing quality soccer right now or at any stretch during the season. DC would be fourth in the West and the Eastern Conference top three would fill in between third-place Seattle and fourth-place Colorado.
A loss, and Salt Lake isn't even part of that conversation. On 19 points from what would be 16 games played, they would be fifth in either Conference. Assuming they didn't lose by a lot, they would be 9th in the mythical single-table on goal differential.
You can make this all about parity if you like, but the real point is simple. Winning the games you're supposed to and not losing to the teams ahead of you isn't going to be enough to make a significant move.
That's what an unbeaten month earns a team like RSL. The difference between being lumped in with the true stragglers and taking a run at the top of the table. Any slip, and they're right back where they started.
Moving on, join me tomorrow for live follow-along coverage of the Grenada - United States game starting at 8:45pm. I'll be the one typing.
Comments, questions, solutions to problems that have yet to present themselves. Please, tell me all about it.
