Toronto and Montreal keeps its place at the bottom, but here comes Columbus. It won’t take much for the bedraggled Crew to threaten one of the Canadian clubs’ places along the back of the pile. These are Nos. 13-19 in ProSoccerTalk’s weekly rankings countdown.
(Parts II and III are on deck …so check back)
19. Toronto FC – Five games, no wins, just two goals. (If that sentence looks familiar, it is. All I did was change out last week’s “four” to “five.” Such is the sullen state of affairs at BMO.) Manager Aron Winter and his players are keeping the faith, focusing on the chances being created around BMO Field and hoping things can soon bounce their way.
18. Montréal Impact – Jesse Marsch’s men tried to kick and foul their way past FC Dallas, and it nearly worked. Donovan Ricketts seems to have found his feet in Montreal goal, at least; his work was big in helping Montreal take the lead Saturday in Texas. Meanwhile, manager Jesse Marsch had some explaining to do about subs that played a part in the result. He’s a young manager; good on him for offering up a “my bad” on this one.
17. Portland Timbers – Sometimes timing just plain stinks. Normally, a visit by the league’s best club would be a grand ol’ time for most clubs. But things aren’t going well for John Spencer’s men, with Saturday’s loss to the Galaxy extending the Timbers’ winless streak to five matches. So, facing SKC is a tough test at an unfortunate time. Meanwhile, young Colombian forward Sebastián Rincón, who has been training with the club since preseason, has been officially added.
16. Columbus Crew – Robert Warzycha’s team is 2-3-0, which doesn’t seem like an awful record. But it’s not sparking water, either, especially when you consider those wins came over Montreal and Toronto, a bungling pair with one lone win between them. Typically trusty midfielder Eddie Gaven is struggling at the moment, and young center back Eric Gehrig is making killer mistakes each week now. Danny O’Rourke and Rich Balchan will help, but their injury return timetable seems hard to pin down.
15. Philadelphia Union – Things just aren’t going to be easy around PPL Park this year, apparently. Peter Nowak’s Union won for the first time in 2012, wearing down a bedraggled Columbus Crew on Saturday. But even in victory, Nowak is having to answer questions about his management. This time, it’s about removing Freddy Adu after 62 minutes, even though the Philly attacker seemed to be having a productive match. (Adu didn’t look happy about it, but he’s saying all the right things in the aftermath.)
14. New England Revolution – A couple of disappointing results have sideswiped the March momentum, but nobody believed the Revs’ remake would be complete by April. Now Jay Heaps’ team has a week off to get ready for a trip to New York to meet the high-scoring Red Bulls. No one can use the break like rookies Kelyn Rowe and Ryan Guy, who appear to be experiencing growing pains.
13. Chicago Fire – Chris Rolfe’s signing (announced Monday) may provide a little more attacking “umph” to the Toyota Park gang. With just three goals in four games, they sure need it. Last week’s 1-1 draw (shortened by weather concerns) to just 65 minutes provided the latest evidence. Sean Johnson reassumed his spot in goal, his first action since returning from the U.S. under-23’s Olympic bid.
