MLS Round-up: Drogba delight as Chicago Fire Frank.

With new names under scrutiny, old faces do the job for Seattle to claim the Cascadia Cup.

In the build up to Saturday’s clash between Vancouver Whitecaps and Seattle Sounders, the Province newspaper in Vancouver ran a piece asking for more transparency relating to player transactions.

Citing Seattle Sounders as the case in point, writer Marc Weber questioned how the club could bring in the likes of Nelson Valdez, Andreas Ivanschitz and Roman Torres and still remain under the salary cap given the player’s pedigrees.

A fair question, it is worth noting the club had significant amount of allocation money from the sale of DeAndre Yedlin to Tottenham Hotspur and spent very little during pre-season. Requesting the league be more open, it would have done little to help the cause of the Whitecaps as they were steam-rolled 3-0 by the Sounders.

Opening the scoring through Ivanschitz, more familiar faces took centre stage as Stefan Frei, Clint Dempsey and Gonzalo Pineda all put in impressive displays. For Seattle the motivation to win was two-fold. Clinching the Cascadia Cup (which we discussed in our recent Seattle Portland piece), they’re also trying to guarantee their place in the play-offs for the seventh consecutive season.

“It’s come at the perfect time,” Seattle’s Stefan Frei said after the game. “Obviously there’s a trophy on the line and three points away against a tough team – I think arguably the best side in the league right now – is huge for us.”

Achieving both objectives, there was a fire in the eyes of Clint Dempsey that will excite Sounders fans. Dempsey is a showman and when it comes to the play-off picture he is also a game changer. While it can be risky to rely on a player like that, should he produce we could be seeing them go all the way to the final for the first time in their history.

The Biello era feels the impact of Didier Drogba.
“L'Impact Sublime,” read the front page of Le Journal de Montreal on Sunday, a reference to Didier Drogba’s performance the previous night as the Montreal Impact beat the New England Revolution 3-0.

Just like last season the Impact handed the Revs a defeat at Stade Saputo amid a string of wins for the Revolution. Although Drogba’s deflected free-kick could easily have been deemed an own goal, his influence on the team cannot be contested. Notching an assist by finding Dilly Duka, Montreal have gone from a team in a tailspin to one that stands a strong chance of making the play-offs.

Representative of the duality found in MLS, where perceptions can change quickly, their success is also down to new man Mauro Biello. Hired as interim in the wake of Frank Klopas’ departure, Biello has made subtle changes. Allowing the full-backs to attack, he has also lifted the mood, while cleverly rotating his squad in a way that suggests that are no guaranteed starters (an issue under Klopas).

With their eyes firmly fixed on the play-off positions, Montreal will decide their own fate. In theory making the post-season should not be difficult but questions will arise over their star man. Drogba arrived in MLS having largely been an impact substitute for Chelsea with 20 of his 28 Premier League appearances coming from the bench.

In four games for Montreal he has almost reached half his total minutes for the London club last season in the league, leading to questions over whether he can be used consistently for 90 minutes during an arduous play-off schedule. Something Biello may have to manage as the season moves forward, it is one of the many tests that has been thrown his way, many of which he is passing with flying colours.

Frank Yallop fired by Chicago amid mounting problems.
It has been a tough week for Chicago Fire fans, but then we’ve been saying that for most of the season. Surprisingly there was a smattering of optimism going into the 2015 campaign. The club had three new Designated Players all offering pace, movement and attacking intent.

Fast forward six months and one of their DP’s – Shaun Maloney - has already returned to Europe. While David Accam has done well when healthy and Kennedy Igboananike has found form recently with 5 goals in 7 games, there are still numerous problems at the club.

Playing the role of victim as Didier Drogba netted a hat-trick on his full MLS debut, this past week also saw a former player criticise the current front office. Hunter Jumper tweeted a number of bold statements and critiqued everything from the decisions of hierarchy to the quality of coaching in what seemed a very composed evaluation by a frustrated former player.

Leaving Saturday’s game against Orlando City with a 1-0 defeat, it left the team rooted to the bottom of the Eastern Conference and with an average of 0.93 points earned per game and the only team currently under 1.0. No sooner had the final whistle sounded than the press were speculating about when Frank Yallop would be dismissed.

The announcement came late Sunday evening and saw Brian Bliss named Interim Head Coach. The challenge for Bliss is to give this season meaning. The current side have set a club record for most losses in an MLS season and many are suggesting another overhaul is in order.

An unbalanced squad there is definitely talent in the ranks. The emergence of rookie Matt Polster is exciting as is the potential of David Accam. However the days of seeing a packed Toyota Park are quickly escaping into the distance and that’s a shame. The hope now is that the club can begin to get itself in order and restore a pride that has been in short supply this season.

Giovinco on course to be a record breaker as Toronto FC hang onto play off spot
It is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore Sebastian Giovinco in these pieces. The little magician is like watching a video game character and he continued that trend this weekend.

Notching two goals and an assist against the Colorado Rapids, he is now one goal from being the first played to record 20 goals and 10 assists in a single season (he is currently on 19 goals and 14 assists). Vying for the accolade with Kei Kamara who sits on 20 and 8 assists, Giovinco has dragged Toronto into the play-off picture and so if they do make it for the first time in their history so much of that will be down to him.

Withdrawn amid chasing his hat-trick, it seems wise to rest the little Italian as the business end of the season begins to commence. While you wouldn’t tip Toronto to be favourites in the post-season, their chances are considerably better with Giovinco in the side.

New York City FC avoid Big Apple Crumble to keep faint playoff hopes alive.
“My form and fitness is better now, it’s just too bad that we’re getting towards the end of the season,” Andrea Pirlo said after his side’s 3-2 win over San Jose Earthquakes.

Nearly scoring from a corner, it was another long haired midfielder that took centre stage on Saturday as Ned Grabavoy netted a brace. The recent months have been an eye-opening period for NYCFC and they’ve had to ask some tough questions of themselves. Touching on that in his post match comments, Grabavoy said. "I had to put my pride aside a bit and figure out what changes I need to make to improve, even if that means taking fewer touches”

An admirable admission, there is a faint chance that the club can still make the play-offs in their debut campaign. Requiring bad results for Orlando City and the Montreal Impact, it may prove a bridge too far for the club this year. However With teams often learning more in defeat than success, NYCFC will now know what steps need to be taken moving into the 2016 season.

They have the core of a good squad and while their star men may be a year older, they will also be fully adjusted to life in Major League Soccer. While a shock lurch into the top six is unlikely, it may make for a great piece of New York sporting history. Meanwhile congratulations are in order for city rivals the New York Red Bulls. They confirmed their play-off place with a win against the Portland Timbers on Sunday.

Week 29 Results

Friday
Sporting Kansas City 3-1 FC Dallas

Saturday
Toronto FC 3-1 Colorado Rapids
New York City FC 3-2 San Jose Earthquakes
D.C. United 1-2 Columbus Crew SC
Vancouver Whitecaps 0-3 Seattle Sounders
Montreal Impact 3-0 New England Revolution
Chicago Fire 0-1 Orlando City SC
Real Salt Lake 3-0 LA Galaxy

Sunday
Portland Timbers 0-2 New York Red Bulls
Philadelphia Union 2-0 Houston Dynamo