MLS – Post Tournament Stock up and Stock Down

The recently completed MLS Is Back Tournament showed soccer (and sports fans in general) a number of things. First and most importantly is that you can safely play sports under the current pandemic. That’s not to say that its not without risks but that those risks can be planned for, minimized, and safely dealt with when thing go wrong.

Certainly soccer, with its smaller team sizes was a good test to run with a bubble approach. And it worked very well. Before the start of the tournament, things took a drastic down turn with two teams, FC Dallas and Nashville SC having to withdraw due to a large number of their team testing positive for Covid-19. But once the tournament got underway it was pretty smooth sailing. Kudos to MLS and the Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. But most of all kudos to all the health care workers and the service personnel at the complex. Job well done!!

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

Now as to the tournament itself there were some surprises, which is typical in a format such as thing. Like in all sports weird things can happen in short competitions. And once the tournament was completed, the regular season restarted a day later.So lets take a look at what we have learned during the tournament and the first 10 days back in standard league play (I use that phrase as a reminder that the tournament matches still counted as part of the regular season standings).

Eastern Conference

Stock Up:

Orlando FC – A team that was 22nd overall in the league last year made it to the tournament final and were one of the most entertaining teams to watch. They played a solid mix of attacking and defending soccer dictated by the game situation. And they currently sit in the mix for the playoffs. Quite a turnaround under new manager Oscar Pareja.

Columbus Crew – The best team in the Group Stage winning all three of their matches, the only team to do so. They were also the only team to not allow a goal in the Group Stage. Unfortunately they ran into the stingy Minnesota Loons in their Round of 16 match and lost in penalties. But in their game since the tournament they got right back on track beating Chicago 3 -0. Look out for these guys the rest of the way.

Philadelphia Union – Goalkeeper Andre Blake made more saves than any other keeper in the tournament That’s the proverbial good news bad news. They also allowed far too many opportunities. In the attack, up and coming Brenden Aaronson showed why several European teams are interested in this kid. Watch for him during the next World Cup cycle. We may see him wearing the USMNT uniform.

FC Cincinnati – To the surprise of everybody not wearing FCC swag, they took second in their group and are currently sitting at the cut line for the playoffs. Newly appointed manager, Jaap Stam has them playing much better defensively but their attack is still a work in progress. But overall a much better outlook than before the season.

Toronto FC – A bit of a disappointment in the tournament even though they won their group. One win and two draws was not quite what they were looking for. But they did win their group. Then the wheels fell off in their Round of 16 match getting curbed stomped by NYCFC 3-1. But perhaps that shook them awake. They have won both of their two post tournament matches by a combined 4-0 score and they sit in second place in the conference. Look for their experience to carry them well into the playoffs.

Neutral:

The Chicago Fire, Inter Miami FC, Montreal Impact, Nashville SC, New England Revolution, and NYCFC neither showed much improvement over preseason expectations nor did have hey faltered below expectations so far either. To quote ex Minnesota Vikings coach Dennis Green, “they are who we thought they were.”

Stock Down:

Atlanta United FC – Sure they lost superstar striker Josef Martinez but three group stage matches, three losses, no goals scored is as bad as it gets. So bad that they showed head coach Frank De Boer the door. They currently sit below the playoff cutline and new interim coach Stephen Glass has a lot of work to do to get right the ship. Playing their first post tournament match tonight at home in the friendly confines of Mercedes Benz Arena won’t hurt.

D. C. United – One loss and two draws in their 3 group stage matches followed by another draw last night against FCC (0-0). With the loss from last seasons key players Wayne Rooney and Luciano Acosta, this year was going to see some struggles early on and indeed that’s been the case. But newcomers Edison Flores and Julian Gressel have not provided the attacking spark they need. At least not yet. They will have to turn it on the rest of the way for DC to have any shot to make the playoffs.

New York Red Bulls – A win and two losses and not advancing in a group that had the worst team in the MLS last year and a floundering Atlanta side was simply not accpetable. Scoring one goal in three matches was not acceptable. A back line that seemed to get beat repeatedly was not acceptable. The one glimmer of hope however is that they did win their first post tournament match beating cross town rivals NYCFC. Still expect them to make the playoffs but the tournament was a major disappointment.

Western Conference

Stock Up:

Portland Timbers – No better place to start than the tournament champions. What more can you do than win your group, win all your knockout round matches, and do so with a 32 year striker named Sebastian Blanco who was named the Player of the Tournament. Blanco scored three times and had five assists meaning he had a direct hand in half their tournament goals. They sit well into the playoff mix and return to action tomorrow against NW rival Seattle. That should be a terrific match.

Minnesota United – The Loons took second in their group and made it to the semi-finals before falling to finalist Orlando. And they did so playing sound soccer on the entire field. They sit second in the Western Conference and had a chance to close the gap last night. But they fell to Conference leader Sporting KC. If the Loons have a weakness its in their depth in the attack. Still they should make the playoffs and could make a deep run.

San Jose Earthquakes – Lets just this right upfront. They are a fun team to watch. Their team motto is “embrace chaos’ and it fits. They just run around with high intensity and its sometimes hard to tell if they have a plan or they are just creating chaos. But they won their group so they were doing mostly good stuff. The Round of 16 match against Real Salt Lake showed how dangerous their attack can be netting 5. But their Quarter-Final match against the Loons showed a weakness in goal and at center back. Teams will try and exploit that the rest of the way. But hopefully the Quakes make the playoffs and we’ll get to see Chris Wondolowski once last time.

LAFC – The only team in the tournament to earn a draw against Portland taking second in the group trouncing Seattle in their first knockout stage before falling to Orlando on penalties. For a team missing perhaps the best striker in the entire league (Carlos Vela stayed opted out to be at home with his pregnant wife) they still scored in bunches. Led by Diego Rossi and Bradley Wright-Phillips they seemed to score at will scoring 11 times in group play, 4 more than the next best team. They play cross town rival LA Galaxy today. That should be a good one. With Carlos Vela back, look out for LAFC the rest of the way. You can score on them but in a shootout affair they probably win.

Vancouver Whitecaps – So how is it that a team that didn’t advance out of their group can be in the stock up category? Well they were missing 5 starters in the tournament and were down to their 3rd string keeper. And yet they managed to actually win a game. But that up assessment also needs to be tempered a bit. In their first match post tourney they got trounced by Toronto 3-0.

Houston Dynamo – Similar to above you ask how can a team be on the stock up when they didn’t advance? Well they had leads on both LA clubs giving hope that Tab Ramos is putting together a solid team. Of course the flip side is getting a lead is only half the equation. Holding a lead is just as important. They do look better but likely not enough so to make the playoffs this year. But Ramos seems to have a plan and he has the team trending in the right direction.

Neutral:

FC Dallas, Real Salt Lake, and Seattle Sounders are three teams that seem to be what was projected preseason. Real is too old, Dallas is too young (but keep and eye on them), and Seattle is always a team to reckon with.

Stock Down:

LA Galaxy – A single draw in the group stage. A minus 5 in goal differential which is really hard to do in 3 matches especially when you scored 4 goals of your own. Chicharito scoring his first goal then going out with an injury. A defense in shambles. And they have to play LAFC this afternoon. No wonder they sit last in the Conference. Ouch!

Colorado Rapids – Things were looking up at the start of the season as they won their first two matches. But the layoff was not kind to them. A lone draw in the tournament while allowing 7 goals (tied for next to last in the tournament) just dropped them like a brick. They sit on the cusp of the playoffs but that could change tonight when they face Real.

There are lots of matches left to be played before the playoffs start in late fall. But this is how things look today.