Columbus Crew- It was a good season for 'America's Hardest Working Team' in the center of Ohio. After a slow start to the MLS season the defending Champions turned up the heat, and lead the Eastern Conference from June to the end of the year. With two weeks left in the season the Crew claimed their second Supporter's Shield in a row, claiming a spot in next years Champions League. Speaking of the CONCACAF Champions League the Crew were the only American club to advance to the knockout round of the competition, finishing second in their group. However this cannot cover up the Crew's breakdown in the MLS Cup Playoffs as they lost to the number-eight seed (but in their defense eventual Champions Real Salt Lake). The Crew also lacked in the US Open Cup losing by Penalty Kick to USL First Division Rochester Rhinos in the Third Round of the Tournament. Overall it was a successful year for the Crew, that was stained by two poor performances in the Playoffs. Watch out next year as the Crew will be back for revenge.
Final Report Card: MLS Regular Season:A Playoffs:D US Open Cup:D- Champions League: B+ Overall: B
Chicago Fire: It was an up and down year for the Chicago Fire, and boy was their lots of drama. The Fire went undefeated in their first five. But eventual slipped past the Crew and were unable to catch them at the end of the year. Much was expected from this club, and the fans were hopeful for good things in the playoffs. After defeating the Revolution in the first round of the Playoffs the Fire looked to be clear favorite to beat RSL in a packed Bridgestone Stadium. However it was not meant to be as the Fire lost in a heart-breaking shootout to the Lakers and just like that their season was over. Losing by Penalty Kicks seemed to be a recurring theme for the Fire, as after placing second in their SuperLiga group and beating the Revs in the Semi-Finals. The Fire lost to Mexican Club U.A.N.L by Penalty Kicks in the Final of the tournament. The US Open Cup is historically a very successful venture for the Fire, as Chicago has won the tournament four times. However the Fire suffered an embarrassing exit from the competition after losing to USL-2 club Wilmington Hammerheads (the Hammerheads? really?) by a 1-0 result. In essence the Fire season can be described by this, they played well, but overall underachieved throughout the season, and could not get over the final hurdle. The Fire still had a good year, and once again qualified for SuperLiga. It will be an interesting season in Chicago as a lot of pieces to the Fire roster are not set in stone for the following year, especially after the departure of Head Coach Dennis Hamlett. Look for some interesting developments from Chicago in the off-season.
Final Report Card: MLS Regular Season:A- MLS Playoffs:B US Open Cup:F SuperLiga:A- Overall:B+
New England Revolution: First off, congratulation to Head Coach Steve Nicol for keeping this team together. The Revolution were injury plagued since the word Go. It was a tough regular season for the Revolution as the club remained well out playoff contention for the majority of the season. But thanks to a strong finish in the regular season, and other teams tripping at the finish line the Revolution made the playoffs. However New England looked out of gas as after winning the first leg against the Fire, Chicago beat them in them in series and that was that. Like other Eastern Conference Teams the Revs went out in the Third Round of the US Open Cup losing to the Harrisburg City Islanders in extra-time. New England did do well in SuperLiga finishing second in their group. However the Revs lost in the Semi-Finals to the Fire, and were unable to defend their title in the competition. It was net met to be in Foxburo this year, as too many injuries plagued the club all year. It will be exciting to see what this club can do under Steve Nicol once Taylor Twellman is healthy and the Revolution will have a full roster, maybe the Krafts could actually start investing money into this club? That's the idea of the century.
Final Report Card: MLS Regular Season:B MLS Playoffs:C US Open Cup:D- SuperLiga:B Overall:C+
DC United: Another disappointing year in the nation's capital. United had a middle of the road regular season, and never really were a contender for a top spot in the standings. United kept posting average .500 results and were always in playoff limbo. Then after a streak of bad games United were out of the MLS Playoffs for the second year in a row (a club first). After winning last year's US Open Cup, United was in this year's Champions League. United won their preliminary round series against Luis Angel Firpo. DC made an improvement over last year's run in the Champions League as they were in good contention to advance into the knock-out stages. However on the last day of group play United drew 1-1 with Mexican club Toluca, and were out of the tournament in the group stage for the second year in a row. Really the only place were United saw any success was in the US Open Cup, where they lost at home to Seattle. Tom Sohen was fired as the head man of United as the club looks to go in a different direction. Due to the poor results for the first time in a long time United did not qualify for any international competitions. Look for big changes in DC, as not making the playoffs is simply just not good enough for a club that values, tradition, honor, and history.
Final Report Card: MLS Regular Season:C- Champions League:C+ US Open Cup:A- Overall:C+
Toronto FC: Coming into the year many thought that this would be the year that Toronto would finally reach the MLS Cup Playoffs. With FANTASTIC support for the Reds at BMO Field, Toronto was hanging around third in the East for most the year. However after some late season mishaps, including and embarrassing loss to the New York Red Bulls Toronto once again will have to wait another year for the franchise's first playoff appearance. In other ventures Toronto won their first ever Canadian Club Championship (first ever mention of the domestic tournament North of the Border in the blog). It took a 6-1 thrashing of Montreal to win the Canadian Championship, but with the domestic crown Toronto FC was in the Champions League for the first time. However their Champions League stay was short as the Reds lost in the Preliminary Round to the Puerto Rico Islanders 1-0 on aggregate. All in all it was a disappointing year for the Reds as once again the club was unable to satisfy their loyal fans with a trip to the playoffs. Maybe a new manager will help as Cummins was fired earlier this year, and former Chivas boss Preki is now in charge of Toronto FC. This is just me, but maybe some grass would help as well, instead of that artificial turf. I hope for better things from this club, for the sake of their great fans.
Final Report Card: MLS Regular Season: C- Canadian Championship: A Champions League: F Overall:C-
Kansas City Wizards: The Wizards could never get a foothold on the MLS season this year, as they struggled from the start of the year all the way through. Once in a while the men of KC would sneak into the top eight of the league, but that quickly ended. The Wizards never really mounted a serious threat for a playoff spot, which is a shame after they made it last year, and were looking for two in a row. Thanks to last year's results the Wizards qualified for this year's SuperLiga, however Kansas City did not fair too well as they only gained one point from three matches. Unlike all the other Eastern Conference teams in the US Open Cup the Wizards actually advanced to the Quarter-Finals as they beat USL-1 side Minnesota Thunder in Penalty Kicks. However the Wizards lost in the Quarters to the eventually champions Seattle. All in all it was a down year for the Wizards who just can not seem to shrug off their second-tier status in the MLS. Maybe not playing in a minor league baseball park would help.
Final Report Card: MLS Regular Season:D+ SuperLiga:D- US Open Cup:B Overall:C-
New York Red Bulls: Oh Boy; where do I start. Well what can I say, the Red Bulls Sucked this year, major suck-suck. As my dad keeps telling me 'less said is best said' So I'll keep this short. New York went 5-19-6, good enough for 21 points. Actually looking back I'm surprised they won five games this year. Still the 21 points is the worst season in league history, and just down right pathetic. New York only managed two draws on the road, and still had a losing home record. In the Champions League the Red Bull's woes continued. New York lost in the Preliminaries and that was that. Really all aspects of this team was terrible, and there are very few positives to draw up. But I did manage to find some. #1-Juan Carlos Osorio is now gone, and good riddance.#2- They are out of that grave yard that was Giants Stadium, as the club will move into Red Bull Park, the fans, and players will appreciate soccer on real grass, and a playing in a legitimate soccer environment. And I will close on this final note on positives from the Red Bull's 2009 campaign (other than it is now over). In MLS there is no relegation-otherwise this club would so be in USL or NASL right now. Actually it is funny when you think about the fact that talk of relegation came up in MLS circles during this dismal year.. coincidence??
Final Report Card: MLS Regular Season:F- Champions League: F ...let's face it F is not the proper way to describe the Red Bulls' year. Just plain ole' PATHETIC should cover it. As New York was a disgrace to the MLS this year.
That's it for the MLS Eastern Conference, class is now out of session. The instructor will NOT be available to go over grading after class. These grades are finals. Stay tuned for the Western Conference Report Card.
No comments:
Post a Comment