The Fire joined the 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs tonight with a victory over Chivas USA. A single point would have put them in, but they ended up with a 1-0 victory on an own goal scored by Eduardo Lillingston in the 67th minute.
Here is the updated standings:
49 Columbus
45 Los Angeles
45 Houston
45 Chivas USA
45 Chicago
44 Seattle
40 Colorado
39 Toronto FC
—
39 FC Dallas
39 New England
39 D.C. United
37 Real Salt Lake
32 Kansas City
30 San Jose
18 New York
Who is next?
It was 2005 the last time the West was represented by someone other than two time defending champion Houston Dynamo. The New England revolution have represented the East even longer, 2004 was the last time someone other than the Revs made it to the MLS Cup. This year both of those teams dropped out in the first round thanks to the Chicago Fire and New York Red Bulls.
Of the 4 remaining teams only the Chicago Fire have ever made it to the MLS Cup, so we will see at least one new team playing for the title this year.
@ 
Chicago Fire (#2 East) @ Columbus Crew (#1 East)
Thursday November 13th – 6:30 PM
ESPN 2
The Eastern conference final has possibly the two favorites to win the MLS Cup. I know I would be happier to see these teams match up for the MLS Cup rather than what we will end up with. The Crew had the best record in the regular season and get to play at home. The Chicago Fire are hot right now. I think the Fire will be too much for the Crew to handle. Chicago wins 3-2.
@ 
New York Red Bulls (#5 East) @ Real Salt Lake (#3 West)
Saturday November 15th – 8:30 PM
Fox Soccer Channel, HDNet
The Western conference final isn’t really the Western conference final. New York obviously plays in the East but due to the silly playoff setup they get to play in the Western conference half of the playoff bracket. Real Salt Lake has never been in the playoffs before. The Red Bulls have been here but not ever advanced to the final. After seeing what the Red Bulls did to Houston this is a tough game to predict. I’ll stick with the home team and say RSL 1-0.
What are your predictions?
The regular season is over and the playoffs are set to begin in two days. The first semifinal 1st leg will be played on Thursday night in New England. We will see the 2nd and 3rd seeded teams from the East in this first semifinal matchup between the Chicago Fire and New England Revolution.
@
Chicago Fire (#2 East) @ New England Revolution (#3 East)
Season Series: Chicago 2-1-0
Thursday October 30th, 6:30 PM
ESPN 2
My prediction: Chicago Fire 2-0. What do you predict?
With just about 5 weeks remaining in the regular season schedule the race to the playoffs is heating up. Here is a quick look at the current situation of each team
Columbus Crew 14-6-5 47pts
The Crew missed the playoffs last year and are on the top this year. They have at least a spot in the playoffs clinched and are the only team to do so yet.
Last 5: W T W W W (13pts)
Remaining Schedule:
@ New England Revolution
LA GALAXY
@ Chicago Fire
@ New York Red Bulls
DC UNITED
New England Revolution 12-7-6 42pts
The Revolution are always near the top, usually going far into the playoffs and collecing some trophies (just not the MLS Cup). This could be the year they get that MLS Cup. They got SuperLiga and aren’t doing so bad at 2nd place in the league.
Last 5: T W L L T
Remaining Schedule:
COLUMBUS CREW
REAL SALT LAKE
@ Kansas City Wizards
@ DC United
Kansas City Wizards
Houston Dynamo 10-5-9 39pts
Defending MLS Cup champions have a habit of starting the season slow and peaking at the right time and they could do it again this year.
Last 5: T W W L W
Remaining Schedule:
@ Toronto FC
@ Colorado Rapids
DC UNITED
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES
LA GALAXY
Chicago Fire 11-9-5 38pts
The Fire started out with a bang this season – for a while they held the top spot in the league. Now they are in a slump but if they come out of it at the right time they can bean anyone and could add to their collection of silverware.
Last 5: L L W L L
Remaining Schedule:
LA GALAXY
@ Kansas City Wizards
COLUMBUS CREW
@ Toronto FC
NEW YORK RED BULLS
New York Red Bulls 9-8-8 35pts
The Red Bulls have been all over the place, near the top and near the bottom. You never know what the Red Bulls are gonna do. They are currently 5th overall but currently 4th in the East with DC and KC within striking distance. They could go either way in the playoff hunt but I’d expect to see them get in.
Last 5: L W L T W
Remaining Schedule:
COLORADO RAPIDS
TORONTO FC
@ Real Salt Lake
COLUMBUS CREW
@ Chicago Fire
DC United 10-12-3 33pts
One of the most successful clubs in MLS History, defenders of the Supporters’ Shield, DC United is going to make it close to the playoffs this year. If they playoffs were to start today, they’d be the last team in. There are a couple teams right on their heels.
Last 5: L T L T W
Remaining Schedule:
@ FC Dallas
CHIVAS USA
@ Houston Dynamo
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
@ Columbus Crew
Chivas USA 9-10-6 33pts
Chivas USA were winners of the Western Conference last year and then took a first round exit from the playoffs. Right now they have 2nd position in the West although they are 7th overall.
Last 5: W L W W T
Remaining Schedule:
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS
@ DC United
@ San Jose Earthquakes
COLORADO RAPIDS
HOUSTON DYNAMO
Kansas City Wizards 8-9-8 32pts
The Wizards must like to cut it close. They’ve gone down to the very last day of the regular season to determine their playoff fate a couple times in the past few years. Right now they’ve got some ground to make up to get in this year.
Last 5: W W L L T
Remaining Schedule:
@ Chivas USA
CHICAGO FIRE
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES
@ New England Revolution
Colorado Rapids 9-12-4 31pts
The Rapids have been up and down this year. They missed the playoffs last year and hope to change that this year. They are current tied on points with RSL for the 3rd position in the West – which will likely be the last position to get into the playoffs from the West.
Last 5: T W W L L
Remaining Schedule:
@ New York Red Bulls
HOUSTON DYNAMO
@ LA Galaxy
@ Chivas USA
REAL SALT LAKE
Real Salt Lake 8-10-7 31pts
RSL have had a bit of a slide lately. They had been on top of the West and looking forward to making the playoffs for the first time in their history. Now they’ve got a battle to get there. This could come down to the last game of the saeson when they play Colorado.
Last 5: L L T W L
Remaining Schedule:
@ San Jose Earthquakes
@ New England Revolution
NEW YORK RED BULLS
FC DALLAS
@ Colorado Rapids
FC Dallas 7-9-9 30pts
FC Dallas could likely be one of the team that made the cut last year to drop out. They have had their moments but not enough of them. They are only 1 point away, but I think it is unlikely they move up.
Last 5: W T L L T
Remaining Schedule:
DC UNITED
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES
TORONTO FC
@ Real Salt Lake
@ LA Galaxy
LA Galaxy 7-10-8 29pts
The Galaxy have had ups and downs as much as anyone in the leage. For a while they got hot and led the west, they’ve also been on the bottom on the single table. Chances of the Galaxy getting into the playoffs are not looking very good.
Last 5: W L T T L
Remaining Schedule:
@ Chicago Fire
@ Columbus Crew
COLORADO RAPIDS
@ Houston Dynamo
FC DALLAS
San Jose Earthquakes 7-9-8 29pts
The Earthquakes have been close to or at the very bottom for most of the year. A first year team isn’t expected much more, but they have had a hot run in the 2nd half of the season. They came up and threatened to take a playoff position, but now they’ve fallen back a little bit.
Last 5: T W W T W
Remaining Schedule:
REAL SALT LAKE
@ FC Dallas
CHIVAS USA
@ Houston Dynamo
@ Kansas City Wizards
TORONTO FC
Toronto FC 7-12-6 27pts
TFC spent some impressive time in the playoff hunt, but now they sit at the bottom of the league. It would take an amazing run to get them in now.
Last 5: L T L L T
Remaining Schedule:
HOUSTON DYNAMO
@ New York Red Bulls
@ FC Dallas
CHICAGO FIRE
@ San Jose Earthquakes
The rumors were true. Brian McBride is going to join the Chicago Fire. Toronto FC had the right to McBride, but McBride made it known that he wanted to play near his hometown which is right near Chicago. The Fire sent forward Chad Barrett to TFC along with future considerations in order to get McBride.
McBride spent several years playing for Fulham FC in England after a long and very successful career in Major League Soccer playing for the Columbus Crew. At the league’s 10th anniversary they named the all time best XI team which included Brian McBride.
Any team should be happy to have a player like McBride, but Toronto doesn’t come out of this deal in a bad way at all. Chad Barrett has played with both the US Olympic team and the full men’s national team. He should be a welcome addition at Toronto.
A couple MLS teams dropped out of the US Open Cup last night to lower league opponents. Here are all the results:
Crystal Palace Baltimore 2 -0 New York Red Bulls
Richmond Kickers 0 – 3 New England Revolution
Cleveland City Stars 1 – 4 Chicago Fire
Rochester Rhinos 0 – 2 DC United
Miami FC Blues 1 – 2 FC Dallas
Charsleston Battery (4-3 on PKs) 1 – 1 Houston Dynamo
Carolina Railhawks 2 – 4 Kansas City Wizards
Seattle Sounders 2 – 0 Chivas USA
So we are left with 5 MLS teams, a single USL-2 team and a pair of USL-1 teams. This is what the quarterfinals look like for next week. Both the Revolution and DC United will not host these games at their normal home field. Dallas will be at Pizza Hut Park for their game.
Crystal Palace Baltimore at New England Revolution
Chicago Fire at DC United
Charleston Battery at FC Dallas
Kansas City Wizards at Seattle Sounders
The third round of the US Open Cup is upon us. There are 8 MLS teams remaining in the tournament – each of which will face a non-MLS team.
Three teams from the USL Second Division have made it to the round of 16. These teams all face MLS teams in this round. Here are those matchups:
Crystal Palace Baltimore vs. New York Red Bulls
Richmond Kickers vs. New England Revolution
Cleveland City Stars vs. Chicago Fire
The remaining lower level teams all came from the USL First Division:
Rochester Rhinos vs. DC United
Miami FC Blues vs. FC Dallas
Charsleston Battery vs. Houston Dynamo
Carolina Railhawks vs. Kansas City Wizards
Seattle Sounders vs. Chivas USA
The previous round saw the exit of 8 more USL First and Second Division teams along with the only team from outside USL to make it that far – Hollywood United. Hollywood United are a part of the United States Adult Soccer Association.
What MLS teams may fall to their lower league opponents?
Brian McBride recently announced that he would not be returning to Fulham for another season in the English Premiership, and that he wants to return to the United States. Right now Toronto FC would have the rights to get McBride because they have the highest allocation ranking due to their last place finish in the league last year.
So would McBride be coming back to play in Toronto? A more likely situation would be that he ends up at the Chicago Fire. McBride grew up near Chicago and has said that he’d like to return to his home. So Chicago would likely have to make a deal with TFC to get the rights to McBride unless TFC wanted to pass on him in order to keep the top allocation spot open in case someone better comes around. I can’t imagine they’d see someone better than McBride coming into MLS this season.
The Chicago Fire are currently tied at the top of the league and looking pretty good. With the addition of Brian McBride they could be a very dangerous team looking for another MLS Championship. What do you Fire fans think? I’d be quite happy to see McBride joining my team.
Is there any chance that McBride would end up anywhere other than Chicago? Would he go back to his former team – Columbus Crew?
DC United will be playing in their fancy new VW jerseys tonight for the first time on ESPN2. Sounds good but things aren’t right in DC, and they are playing the Fire, the same team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year. Chicago is hot right now. The Fire are currently tied for 2nd place overall in the league.
The DC United bloggers are arguing about the potential reasons to fire or not to fire current head coach Tom Soehn. I think D from the DCenters is next in line to take over the head position at DC United if/when Soehn goes.
vs
Chicago Fire (4-1-1) 13pts – 2nd
DC United (2-4-0) 6pts – 10th
6:30 PM CST – ESPN2
My MFLS predictions are a pretty good indicator of exactly the opposite of what is going to happen. If this streak keeps up DC United fans should be happy with the result of the game tonight. Sorry Fire fans. I guess didn’t take into account the extra pressure of playing with the VW on the front of their shirts tonight. Well being 2-4 and in 10th place overall is probably the source of any pressure if there is any on this game this early in the season.
In order for the LA Galaxy to bring David Beckham to Major League Soccer the rules had to change. The salary cap was too small for Beckham to fit on any team by himself, so the league added DP’s which only count toward some of your salary cap. After that the team can pay that player as much money as they want to. The Galaxy were able to get their 32 year old man Beckham for a huge amount of money.
Later other teams got in on the action and New York Red Bulls even traded to get 2 DPs. The have 32 year old Juan Pablo Angel and 34 year old American Claudio Reyna to fill their DP slots. Chicago has 35 year old Blanco, DC United will have 32 year old Marcelo Gallardo, and Kansas City has now signed 33 year old Claudio Lopez to fill their DP slot.
The average age of the DPs that will be playing in the league at the start of this season will be 33. In the past the average age of the whole league has been right around 27-28 years old. So the average DP is about 5-6 years older than the league average. These number may not be accurate today – they were based on some numbers I saw that were a few years old. I would guess the league average might be a little bit younger today.
While the DP’s are great to have around, I can’t wait for the day they don’t have to be all these old timers. There is no problem with them – some of them have been tremendously important for their teams (Juan Pablo Angel, Blanco) but some have made small impacts (Claudio Reyna, David Beckham). Maybe that isn’t totally fair, both Reyna and Beckham were held back by injuries.
While these old guys are coming into the league, young guys like Eddie Johnson and Clint Dempsey are leaving the league. These are young guys that could potentially hold a DP slot someday. Yet they are leaving the league to go play in Europe. I can only imagine that money and better experience are the main reasons these players are so eager to head to Europe and leave MLS behind. Both are very valid reasons but this needs to start changing in MLS.
Our national team does just fine when they have an MLS dominated lineup so we can’t say our young Americans need to play in Europe to build a better national team. I’m sure the experience doesn’t hurt, but I don’t really see it as necessary. So if the money was there for MLS would they be able to keep more young talent? Preston North End, a team at the bottom of the 1st division in England, recently wanted to bring Taylor Twellman to England. Either MLS or the Revolution would not let him go which angered the striker because this low level team was going to pay him three times his salary here in the MLS. I wonder it Twellman would have been ready to go for the same pay he receives now? What if it had been a top notch premiership team willing to pay his current salary?
I guess two things probably need to happen before these DP slots don’t have to be filled by these near retirement old timers. First we have to get rid of the idea that Europe is so massively better for the payer’s development. I’m not arguing that Europe isn’t better for our young talent – but I do believe that a young player can have a successful career in Major League Soccer and be competitive with the national team. If people start to believe this it just comes down to money. If it is just money I would think that more teams would fill their DP slots with young talent. Claudio Lopez should be pretty awesome this year, but who would you rather have for the long run, Eddie Johnson or Claudio Lopez?
