Chivas USA had a new head coach and a new system last season, but after a slow start the team looked to be set in neutral in the competitive Western Conference.  However, the acquisition of Juan Pablo Angel and a too late run at a playoff spot gave this team a bit of life and fans a reason for optimism.  As the club watched cross-town rivals the Galaxy celebrate with the MLS Cup in their stadium, the future looks mixed for the franchise.

Next up in our 3 Questions series is Chivas USA, a team who has not qualified for the playoffs in two years after a nice run of success to begin the franchise’s history.  Is next year the year when they begin a new streak?

1. Is management committed to this team?

The key to this question is who is making the personnel decisions.  Chivas decided to pass last season on every big name that came through the allocation process.  The speculation was that they were saving their powder for a big signing, and although they took on Juan Pablo Angel from the Galaxy, that big signing never came.  It may come this offseason, but the way the club has gone about building has been confusing.

This offseason so far has not settled those “cheap management” rumors.  Losing Zarek Valentin to Montreal in the expansion draft was very confusing considering that he is a young talent, but as noted here he was coming off his Generation Adidas and the team might have had to take on his entire contract.  If money is the deciding factor on player moves, management has to reconsider the business they are in or begin to realize that good players do cost money.

2. Will “breakouts” Kennedy and Angel carry over into 2012?

To call Juan Pablo Angel a “breakout” is a bit misleading, but Chivas fans haven’t seen that much of a revival since season one of The Walking Dead.  After being ineffective for the Galaxy, LA unloaded him on Chivas to make room for Robbie Keane.  Angel proceeded to score seven goals in nine appearances for the Goats.  Can he do the same in 2012?  First the team has to work out compensation: his New York-signed contract paying him $1 million is way too much, so he and the team have to come to an agreement.  This is even more critical considering Justin Braun was traded to the Impact.

The other shock of 2012 was keeper Dan Kennedy, who quietly put together one of the best seasons in MLS.  I remember seeing him play at DC United this summer and was incredibly impressed with his poise.  He has inked a new contract with the team so he will be set as the unquestioned starter in 2012.  But as a bright spot for the team last season, can he carry over his form in 2012?

3. Are the newcomers the key to success?

Like New England, Chivas has been replacing some of their departed players with MLS veterans.  The club grabbed Arturo Alvarez from RSL in the first stage of the re-entry draft and made trades for midfielder Ryan Smith (Sporting KC) and James Riley (Seattle/Montreal).  As I mentioned previously, it looks like there is help coming from overseas but again that is untested talent in MLS (although definitely it is talent).  You can argue that injuries and inconsistent play really hurt this team’s chances last year, but the acquisitions to this point don’t seem to address these issues.  But like the Revs maybe a few veterans will help with a playoff push.

As promised, here is the second half of this weekend’s preview, where we review the late games Saturday night and the one Sunday game.

Colorado Rapids v. San Jose Earthquakes (Saturday, 9 PM ET)

This game may be the hardest to predict this weekend.  It is no longer unthinkable that Colorado could fall out of the playoffs: not likely but not impossible.  After their poor CCL performance mid-week, the Rapids are reeling.  Their MLS losing streak has reached four and their goal in last week’s loss to Toronto was their first MLS goal in 270 minutes.  San Jose meanwhile remains mathematically alive after their midweek draw at Portland.  A key for both teams is how they can contain the other team’s offensive weapon.  Obviously, Wondolowski has to be contained by the Rapids defense to stifle the Quakes but the Quakes have to be able to contain the speed of the Rapids forwards, one of which likely will be Omar Cummings.

Prediction: Colorado 1, San Jose 1.

Vancouver Whitecaps v. Seattle Sounders (Saturday, 10:30 PM)

Seattle is flying high right now, minus CCL action.  The Sounders have a chance to clinch a playoff berth and keep their Supporters Shield hopes alive.  But also on the line is the Cascadia Cup: a Seattle victory means they win the annual three-way rivalry between the Pacific Northwest clubs.  The key for Seattle short term is to do what they did against DC – pressure the midfield and convert their chances.  The long term goal is to keep healthy.  The Whitecaps are certainly the underdogs but playing at home against a rival should inspire them.  Using the crowd’s energy could propel them to an important three points and deny Seattle the Cascadia Cup for now.

Prediction: Seattle 2, Vancouver 1.  

Chivas USA v. Toronto FC (Saturday, 10:30 PM)

The Goats kept their faint playoff hopes alive with their midweek draw at DC, and but to continue a playoff run they absolutely need three points today.  They have been successful when their midfield can hold possession and get the ball to Juan Pablo Angel, as he gives their offense a new dimension.  However, the key to this game is Danny Koevermans.  Three goals in the past two games means he is the man to watch in this one.  When he scores, Toronto gets results.

Prediction: Chivas 2, Toronto 2.  There will be goals in this one but I don’t see Chivas coming out of this match with three points.

Chicago v. New England (Sunday, 4:00 PM)

These two teams are the type that benefit most from a ten team playoff: loser sees their playoff hopes dashed while winner lives to play another day.  The Fire lose Corey Gibbs to a red card suspension, so that is a concern for the Fire defense.  Offensively, Dominic Oduru has quietly snuck into the Golden Boot race as he has 10 goals.  The key for Chicago is to not hurt themselves: when they miss open goals or commit dumb fouls they lose games, as they don’t have the talent to overcome those mistakes.  New England is coming off a beat down by Portland and are without Rajko Lekic.  A win would only be their second on the road, so they need to find a way to get ahead early and put the pressure on Chicago.

Prediction: Chicago 3, New England 1.

Fans who saw the scoreline of September 10th’s 3-0 win by DC United over Chivas would assume that DCU would win handily against the Goats at home and, with New York’s loss, would move into the driver’s seat with their playoff push.  But as the excellent fan blog Black and Red United noted, Chivas actually dominated possession in the first game and bombarded DC with 29 crosses.  A couple of early goals turned the tide arguably against the run of play, and DC could cruise to a 3-0 victory.

Last night, the same trend continued but the result was not a DC victory.  Despite DC jumping out to a 2-0 lead early in the second half and looking like the better team, the Goats dominated the midfield and used two Juan Pablo Angel goals to take a much needed road point.  Chivas had an edge in almost every statistical category including possession and shots, but from about the fiftieth minute to the seventieth minute of the game it was all Chivas USA, and that made the difference.

Instead of a tale of two halves, the match was actually a game of three periods.  The first 35 minutes of the game saw both teams aggressively going forward, taking chances and trying to draw first blood.  Chivas had the edge in possession and DC needed Bill Hamid to save a early deflected chance from Marcos Mondaini, but neither team established dominance early on, a bad sign for the home team.

But beginning with Dwayne De Rosario’s goal in the 39th minute, the second period (from roughly the 35th through 50th minutes) saw the Black and Red with control of the match.  In a positive for DC, both goals came off of set pieces.  The first was Andy Najar’s free kick from outside the box which found De Ro’s head and the back of the net.  The goal was DC’s first headed goal of the year incredibly and gave the home side the momentum.  Two minutes into the second half, DCU struck again off a set piece.  This time, Santino Quaranta’s corner was put on goal by De Ro and the save deflected into the net by defender Ethan White for his first MLS goal.

At this point in the match, it looked like DC would cruise to victory just like they had ten days ago.  But some critical mistakes by DC and some smart substitutions by Chivas USA turned the tide of the match.  After the first Chivas goal, Ben Olsen sent on Steven King for Josh Wolff in hopes of grabbing more midfield possession.  Instead, the exact opposite happened.  Chivas subs Justin Braun and Laurent Courtois provided a major boost to the Goats lineup by adding some bite to the attack while the Chivas midfield began to dominate possession.  The visitors from the fiftieth minute on looked like the more dangerous team, with probing runs and smart one-time passes through the DC midfield while all DC could do when they got possession was clear.  In the 57th minute Angel scored his first goal of the night and Chivas kept up the pressure.  His second in the 69th minute was no surprise, as Chivas was dominating the run of play.  For DC, they had trouble mounting a comeback as Olsen’s substitutions had removed Charlie Davies and Wolff from the lineup, leaving just Joseph Ngwenya as the only offensive substitution he could have made.

The controversial moment in the match came in stoppage time, when Angel seemingly pushed De Rosario to the ground in the box.  Replays showed the push was rather weak and the contact was likely not a penalty.  Regardless, referee Chris Penso pointed to the spot, and De Rosario botched the penalty by sending a low shot to the right that was expertly saved by Dan Kennedy, preserving the draw.

The draw basically kept Chivas USA’s playoff hopes on life support, and Robin Fraser’s team had some positives to take from the contest (in addition to the road point).  Juan Pablo Angel continued his good run of form since his “move” from the Galaxy.  Their next two games (Toronto and Philadelphia) are absolute must wins because they close the season against LA and Seattle.

After the game, Ben Olsen went on a rant about the lack of urgency on the team, according to Steven Goff.  ”Up 2-0, now we think the game’s easy. Now we think we don’t have to tackle, we don’t have to win second balls: Let’s just roll the dice and hope we get lucky. It’s absolutely gonna stop — it has to stop or we will not make the playoffs.”  The combination of letting off by DC and poor substitutions by Olsen hurt DC in this game, but regardless this was a must win for DC.  Saturday’s game against Real Salt Lake, who demolished New York, is now another must win for DC to keep up in the playoff race.  Another draw or loss could mean desperation time in the nation’s capital.

Photo by Structures:NY

It’s catch-up time.  In both games in hand and playoff positioning.

In the shadow of the CONCACAF Champions League matches six MLS clubs will take the pitch tonight in critical games for playoff positioning.  One of the matches is a match-up of heavyweights, while the other two look to be mismatches that could be surprises.  What do all three have in common?  All three results could go a long way to helping or even ending the playoff hopes of three teams, while boosting the playoff positioning of a fourth.  Below is a breakdown of each match; all three can only be seen on Match Day Live or Direct Kick.

DC United v. Chivas USA – 7:30 PM ET – RFK Stadium

Coming off their resounding loss at Seattle, DC faces a struggling Chivas side they dominated less than two weeks ago in Los Angeles.  However, there are two differences this time around – no Chris Pontius for the home side and DC’s miserable home record.  Bill Hamid should be back for tonight’s match which will help DCU in net; Joe Willis was solid but not great in net this weekend.  The key will be to secure the home field – DC is 1-1-2 in home matches since July, a record that will keep them out of the playoffs if they keep it up.  Chivas, meanwhile, is seeking its first win since August 6.  Chivas will have Marcos Mondaini back for this match, which could prove useful against a DC midfield that looked suspect against Seattle.

Bottom line: DC needs 3 points to remain in the playoff race.  A loss effectively puts their hopes on life support, a draw could do the same depending on other results.  I see DC squeaking out a close 2-1 win here.

New York Red Bulls v. Real Salt Lake – 8:00 PM ET – RB Arena

Their win versus Dallas this weekend has reinvigorated a New York team that had hit a major slump.  That win basically set up this week perfectly for New York: wins versus RSL and Portland mean they have an inside track to the playoffs.  Their defense shone this weekend after some shaky recent performances but maybe the benching of Rafa Marquez has given them a spark.  The key question is will the team’s depth allow them to play at the highest possible level in back-to-back-to-back must win games, to say nothing of the rest of the season.

Real Salt Lake will be looking to repeat its 3-0 beat down of the Red Bulls in early August.  The visitors are riding a four-match winning streak and could conceivably clinch a playoff spot by Sunday if the various playoff scenarios play out.  The visitors will critically be missing Kyle Beckerman due to yellow card accumulation, and Tony Beltran will also miss this match due to an abductor strain.

Bottom line: RSL will miss Beckerman against a possibly resurrected New York side, which needs a result more than the visitors.  Still, I’m not 100% sold that NY is back on track and I think the backline will struggle against the RSL attack.  I predict a 2-2 draw on this one.

Portland Timbers v. San Jose Earthquakes – 10:30 PM ET – JELD-WEN

The quotes are flying in this one, which Lovel Palmer saying, “(this) game makes or breaks our season,” a sentiment John Spencer only somewhat disagrees with.  The Timbers are riding a four game unbeaten streak and have won three of those matches, but have only two matches left at home while playing four of their final six on the road, where their record is not quite so good.  Much like DCU needs to begin racking up wins at home, Portland needs some road wins.  Darlington Nagbe will start again after a good performance against New England, and if Kenny Cooper is hitting a hot streak, this team can score with the best of them.

San Jose is likely battling for respectability in this one, as even their home town paper is saying their playoff chances are “slimmer than a pair of skinny jeans“.  The ‘Quakes actually had the lead against Houston at the half this weekend, but gave it away to continue their slide.

Bottom line: This is an absolutely must win for Portland, and at home they will get it. 2-0 victory for the Timbers.

MLS fans were treated to four games last night instead of the usual one or two, as the schedule makers begin to crowd in a few more league games in anticipation of international friendlies and late-season CONCACAF Champions League matches.  In a cool twist, all four had some playoff implications as the results had a definite impact on positioning for the playoffs and may prove critical down the stretch (although with ten teams making the playoffs that is an easy statement to make).

For those watching So You Think You Can Dance or enjoying an evening free of television, here is a recap of the action from last night.

Vancouver Whitecaps 0, Columbus Crew 1: The ‘Caps continued their miserable inaugural season with a case of what could have been, while Columbus continues to solidify a top three spot based on Jeff Cunningham’s milestone goal.  The striker scored his 133rd MLS goal in the 90th minute to not only give his team the victory, but to tie him with Jamie Moreno for the all-time lead in MLS goals.  The home team had plenty of chances in the first half, dominating possession but failing to convert, and had a great chance in the second half when Alain Rochat was dragged down in the box in the 72nd minute.  However, Terry Dunfield’s penalty was easily saved and, when Shea Salinas was sent off with a red five minutes later, it was a matter of time before the Crew would score the game winner.

New York Red Bulls 5, Toronto FC 0: On their most recent road trip, New York had a record of 0 wins, 1 loss, and 3 draws.  They took out their frustration at home against a hapless Toronto side.  Thierry Henry scored his ninth goal of the season in the 33rd minute and it was all New York from that point forward.  More coming soon from Daniel on this one.

Chivas USA 2, San Jose Earthquakes 0: This match could come back to haunt San Jose as the two teams will be battling for a wild card slot at the end of the season.  It was Robin Fraser’s decision to insert Ben Zemanski in the 58th minute that turned the tide and gave the Rojiblancos an energy boost in midfield.  His goal (seen above) in the 64th minute broke a scoreless tie and Nick LaBrocca’s strike in the 84th minute put this one out of reach for San Jose.  Speaking of the ‘Quakes, they will have to face Philadelphia this weekend without Steven Lenhart, who will miss the game due to yellow card accumulation.

Sporting Kansas City 1, Colorado Rapids 1: Colorado is quickly approaching the Chicago Fire’s tie record and Kansas City extended their unbeaten streak to 9 as these two teams battled to a draw at Livestrong Park.  Conor Casey did what he does best in scoring his goal in the 32nd minute: he used his strength to corral a long free kick and placed a shot just out of Jimmy Nielsen’s reach.  Again, it was a good substitution by a manager that made the difference, as Peter Vermes brought on C.J. Sapong in the second half for Teal Bunbury and it was the rookie Sapong who scored the equalizer.

Another week, another MLS star goes down with broken bones.  This time it was Javier Morales who is out for months after Marcos Mondaini made an aggressive challenge on the midfielder in front of the Chivas net.  Morales cut back towards the goal from the wing and Mondaini, beaten on the play, went to ground and caught Morales’ lower leg in between his own, sending the RSL player down in pain.  The referee initially brandished a yellow card, but upon closer inspection of the injury, issues a straight red and sent the Chivas forward off.

You can see the video here.  Warning – the video shows the injury from multiple angles and in slow motion, in addition to in real time.  The video is not for the faint of heart, and be warned it is very graphic.

At this point, MLS is still considering punishment for the tackle; Mondaini will certainly get a game for the red card.  But how long should the punishment be, now that we have the precedent of the Brian Mullan suspension of ten games for his tackle on Steve Zakuani?  There are arguments to be made that it should be shorter and longer than Mullan’s.

Mondaini’s punishment should be equal to or longer than ten games:

• The tackle was intentional.  He was certainly beaten by Morales and right before the tackle looks to try and tug on the jersey to bring him down.  Mullan’s was also an intentional tackle, due to the fact he had just lost the ball.  MLS has to hand out lengthy suspensions to prevent beaten defenders from taking down quicker players if it is serious about preventing injuries.
• Maybe the video missed it, but Mondaini showed little remorse for the tackle.  On the field he may have tried to check on on Morales but was seen on video just walking off after he was moved away my teammates.  His apology after was bland.
• Going off the first point, this is the third major injury to a prominent player in two weeks.  Don Garber spoke before the season about the importance of protecting star players; he needs to come down hard on this play to show he is very serious.

On the other hand, Mondaini deserves a more lenient punishment than Mullan:

• The injury was less severe than the Zakuani injury.  Although his leg is pointing at a 45 degree angle, Morales only broke some bones in his ankle.  Zakuani snapped two bones in his leg, a much more serious injury with a much longer recovery time.
• The tackle looks worse in retrospect than it did at the time.  Referee Paul Ward initially gave a yellow on the injury.  Even Jason Kreis said he did not see the tackle as malicious, according to ESPN: “To be honest, I didn’t think it was the most flagrant of fouls.  It was from behind, which we’re trying to get out of the game. It’s in the attacking third, and Javi was clearly getting ready to shoot. I understand the urgency of the situation from the defender trying to make the play, and I really don’t think it was that egregious.”
• There was a similar situation that occurred recently in MLS, and it was the David Ferreira tackle.  Ferreira broke his ankle on a tackle from behind by Jonathan Leathers; Leathers was not disciplined for the tackle.

What do you think Marcos Mondaini’s punishment should be?

Another week, another MLS star goes down with broken bones.  This time it was Javier Morales who is out for months after Marcos Mondaini made an aggressive challenge on the midfielder in front of the Chivas net.  Morales cut back towards the goal from the wing and Mondaini, beaten on the play, went to ground and caught Morales’ lower leg in between his own, sending the RSL player down in pain.  The referee initially brandished a yellow card, but upon closer inspection of the injury, issues a straight red and sent the Chivas forward off.

You can see the video here.  Warning – the video shows the injury from multiple angles and in slow motion, in addition to in real time.  The video is not for the faint of heart, and be warned it is very graphic.

At this point, MLS is still considering punishment for the tackle; Mondaini will certainly get a game for the red card.  But how long should the punishment be, now that we have the precedent of the Brian Mullan suspension of ten games for his tackle on Steve Zakuani?  There are arguments to be made that it should be shorter and longer than Mullan’s.

Mondaini’s punishment should be equal to or longer than ten games:

• The tackle was intentional.  He was certainly beaten by Morales and right before the tackle looks to try and tug on the jersey to bring him down.  Mullan’s was also an intentional tackle, due to the fact he had just lost the ball.  MLS has to hand out lengthy suspensions to prevent beaten defenders from taking down quicker players if it is serious about preventing injuries.
• Maybe the video missed it, but Mondaini showed little remorse for the tackle.  On the field he may have tried to check on on Morales but was seen on video just walking off after he was moved away my teammates.  His apology after was bland.
• Going off the first point, this is the third major injury to a prominent player in two weeks.  Don Garber spoke before the season about the importance of protecting star players; he needs to come down hard on this play to show he is very serious.

On the other hand, Mondaini deserves a more lenient punishment than Mullan:

• The injury was less severe than the Zakuani injury.  Although his leg is pointing at a 45 degree angle, Morales only broke some bones in his ankle.  Zakuani snapped two bones in his leg, a much more serious injury with a much longer recovery time.
• The tackle looks worse in retrospect than it did at the time.  Referee Paul Ward initially gave a yellow on the injury.  Even Jason Kreis said he did not see the tackle as malicious, according to ESPN: “To be honest, I didn’t think it was the most flagrant of fouls.  It was from behind, which we’re trying to get out of the game. It’s in the attacking third, and Javi was clearly getting ready to shoot. I understand the urgency of the situation from the defender trying to make the play, and I really don’t think it was that egregious.”
• There was a similar situation that occurred recently in MLS, and it was the David Ferreira tackle.  Ferreira broke his ankle on a tackle from behind by Jonathan Leathers; Leathers was not disciplined for the tackle.

What do you think Marcos Mondaini’s punishment should be?

For your viewing pleasure, above is the video of Juan Agudelo scoring the goal of the year so far in Major League Soccer. Every time there is a story or interview saying Americans should temper their enthusiasm for him and hold off on predicting greatness, he does stuff like this. Enjoy him while you can MLS fans.

Now for the roundup of what else happened this week:

• The Benny Feilhaber drama has ended for now with the midfielder claimed by New England after Chivas and Philadelphia passed on his rights. He was not traded to Houston, as was the rumor, and it looks like Shalrie Joseph will drop to a more holding role to make room for Feilhaber.
• The Chicago Fire are shuffling their lineup again, according to MLSsoccer.com.  Can’t say that’s incredibly surprising.
• Coach Wilmer Cabrera has made his call-ups to begin training for the U-17 World Cup in Mexico.  These are the type of players where you print out the list, wait four years, then go back and take a second look to judge how good of a team it is, based on where some of the players have gone.
• ESPN as part of their “money” issue of their magazine broke out a list of the top paid U.S. soccer players playing overseas (defined to include players with dual citizenship).  The entire list is behind their pay wall, but the top five are not surprising although the order may be: Brad Friedel, Oguchi Onyewu, Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard, and Giuseppe Rossi.  Want to know why Freddy Adu hasn’t returned to the U.S.? He makes close to $900,000 on his current contract.
• And finally, let’s hope the Lamr Hunt U.S. Open Cup winners celebrate more successfully than this.

Photo by Greg Hickman

On March 19, the Columbus Crew dejectedly walked out of RFK Stadium in Washington on the wrong side of a 3-1 game.  The team allowed two Charlie Davies goals (one a penalty kick) and looked outclassed, out played, and in for a long season.  The result came after they were shown the door from the CONCACAF Champions League by losing 4-1 to Real Salt Lake.  After an offseason where the team jettisoned many of its bigger named players to make room in the salary cap and committed to a rebuilding effort, the team looked destined for a long, long season.

A month later, Columbus sits in a playoff spot.  The team has not allowed a goal since the second Davies’ goal and this weekend held the highest-scoring team in MLS to no goals.  While not an offensive juggernaut, the team is scoring enough to get results.  So are the Crew back to their normal spot near the top of the Eastern Conference for good, or is this an illusion that will wilt away in the summer months?  The answer is, of course, not that simple.

At first glance the schedule up to this point for the Crew has been daunting, but upon closer examination looks to have been quite easy.  After the trip to DC, the Crew hosted the Red Bulls and Dallas, two 2010 playoff teams and teams expected to compete for an MLS Cup this season.  But the Crew played New York during an international break and essentially forced a draw with a “B” team, while Dallas has struggled mightily this season and is still sorting out personnel issues.  The trip to Chivas led to a scoreless draw, not surprising how bad Chivas is, and while Sporting Kansas City is promising, they have a horrendous defense to go with a great offense.  So the schedule has not been a good guidepost to the season so far, except to say the Crew don’t lose to bad teams.

One constant this season has been the defense, which should not be a surprise considering that was one area the team didn’t unload their star power.  MLS star Chad Marshall was retained and paired with a number of new players who have excelled to this point.  Julius James was picked up off the smoldering heap that was DC United’s 2010 backline and has seen a career resurgence.  Rookie Rich Balchan has started all five games and played extremely well.  In net, Will Hesmer has played very well after some uncertainty this offseason as to who would be the starter due to injuries.  The team has not allowed a goal in four matches, a team record and an incredibly accomplishment.  In their last match, Dilly Duka had as many shots on goal (2) as all of the Kansas City players combined.

Another reason for their positive play has been Robbie Rogers, their one consistent offensive threat.  The rift that existed between Rogers and head coach Robert Warzycha has seemingly been resolved; the Crew team on the pitch in DC looked lost and without a real offensive threat until Rogers stepped on the pitch.  So far this year Rogers has scored as many goals (2) as he has the past two seasons.

The upcoming schedule also should be a reason for optimism among Columbus fans.  This weekend, they visit a Toronto team in flux then host the expansion Whitecaps and struggling Sounders (although the Sounders may be finally turning their season around).  Things get tough with back-to-back trips to San Jose and Portland, but they end May by hosting Chivas.  Conceivably, the Crew should pick up at least 12 points through the end of May.

But the reason why Rogers has been so good for the Columbus offense is that the play of the Crew forwards and midfield have been terrible.  Consider that Portland scored as many goals in its home opener as the Crew have scored this season, and that two of those goals came from penalties.  Eddie Gaven has been ok but not really good up front, and while it is still early Andres Mendoza has been a disappointment.  Jeff Cunningham looks his age and fails to convert quality chances.

So can the Crew continue this run and qualify for the playoffs?  In an Eastern Conference with few clear favorites, it is not out of the realm of possibility for them to grab a top three spot if their defense continues to play well.  But for this team to challenge New York for first or even challenge a resurgent Philadelphia or DC, they need to find more consistent offense.  Without a goal scorer either emerging or being acquired this summer, Columbus could be on the outside looking in this September.

Deadline deals are some of the most exciting in sports, and this one looks to be no different.  MLS announced today that Benny Feilhaber, most recently of AGF Aarhus, agreed to a contract with the league late Friday night and will be made available to the teams via allocation order.

Feilhaber had received playing time for AGF Aarhus, but as a second division Danish team Feilhaber was not receiving the exposure to top-flight soccer he may have hoped he would receive.  In addition, despite playing in the most recent World Cup, his spot on the U.S. national team has been threatened by a few younger players like Mikkel Diskerud.  Receiving regular playing time in the United States in a better league in front of Bob Bradley is a good way to remind him and American soccer fans that is a world-class player.

So where is Feilhaber going to play?  The first three teams in the most recent allocation order are Chivas, Philadelphia, and New England.  The Goats recently turned down an opportunity to sign English winger Jason Barton to possibly maintain their chance to sign Feilhaber.  He played his college soccer at UCLA, so it would be kind of a homecoming for him.  But Chivas has declined to discuss acquiring him until after Saturday’s match, and there is some question how Feilhaber would fit into Robin Fraser’s system.  The Union have already said they are not interested in acquiring Feilhaber, but whether that is a smokescreen is unknown.  New England already has an attacking midfielder in Shalrie Joseph, but could certainly accommodate him in the starting XI.

Regardless of where he plays, this is a great acquisition by MLS.  The league should be a place for U.S. national team players and prospects who are maybe just below the top European leagues (and who knows maybe eventually compete with the top leagues).  Grabbing players like Feilhaber not only makes the league more viable, but helps make those USMNT players more visible to American soccer fans.