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Week 23 wasn't particularly kind to our Boys in Black, who only managed one point from a Midwest road swing, despite a stated goal of four points. As Martin contemplates self-medication (I figure next week's "what are you drinking" will feature a lot of whiskeys, served neat, in rapid succession), I'd rather take a step back and look at things more objectively, with math! That ought to help me forget about a couple pretty poor performances from United.
Here's the Black & Red United MLS Mathematical Power Rankings following Week 23:
|
Full Table |
GP |
Pts |
PPG |
L5 |
Pwr |
Last Wk |
||
|
thru Aug 21 |
Pwr |
Pos |
||||||
|
1 |
Los Angeles Galaxy |
26 |
51 |
1.96 |
2.40 |
.690 |
(.680) |
(1) |
|
2 |
Columbus Crew |
25 |
40 |
1.60 |
2.40 |
.600 |
(.535) |
(5) |
|
3 |
Seattle Sounders F.C. |
26 |
45 |
1.73 |
2.00 |
.599 |
(.587) |
(3) |
|
4 |
Colorado Rapids |
27 |
41 |
1.52 |
2.20 |
.563 |
(.601) |
(2) |
|
5 |
Sporting Kansas City |
25 |
36 |
1.44 |
2.00 |
.527 |
(.459) |
(9) |
|
6 |
Houston Dynamo |
26 |
35 |
1.35 |
2.20 |
.520 |
(.456) |
(10) |
|
7 |
F.C. Dallas |
26 |
43 |
1.65 |
1.00 |
.497 |
(.563) |
(4) |
|
8 |
D.C. United |
24 |
31 |
1.29 |
1.60 |
.456 |
(.474) |
(7) |
|
9 |
Chivas USA |
25 |
31 |
1.24 |
1.60 |
.443 |
(.446) |
(11) |
|
10 |
Real Salt Late |
23 |
36 |
1.57 |
0.60 |
.441 |
(.509) |
(6) |
|
11 |
Portland Timbers |
25 |
29 |
1.16 |
1.40 |
.407 |
(.366) |
(12) |
|
12 |
Philadelphia Union |
24 |
34 |
1.42 |
0.60 |
.404 |
(.470) |
(8) |
|
13 |
Red Bull New York |
26 |
32 |
1.23 |
0.60 |
.358 |
(.360) |
(13) |
|
14 |
Chicago Fire |
25 |
24 |
0.96 |
1.20 |
.340 |
(.251) |
(18) |
|
15 |
Toronto F.C. |
27 |
23 |
0.85 |
1.00 |
.296 |
(.304) |
(14) |
|
16 |
N.E. Revolution |
26 |
23 |
0.88 |
0.60 |
.271 |
(.302) |
(15) |
|
17 |
San Jose Earthquakes |
25 |
25 |
1.00 |
0.20 |
.267 |
(.294) |
(16) |
|
18 |
Vancouver Whitecaps |
25 |
18 |
0.72 |
0.80 |
.247 |
(.254) |
(17) |
No doubt some surprises in there. We'll break out some quick hits and open things up to your comments after the jump.
Non-surprise the First: LA is still at the top of the heap, despite a lot of turnover behind them. I don't know whether the Keane acquisition will automatically lead them to glory, but with or without him, they're still the team to beat (a feat only one team has managed to do in their last 17 games).
Non-surprise the Second: Vancouver has dropped back to their rightful place at the bottom rung. Vancouver is a lot of things, but "good at winning MLS games" ain't one of them.
Biggest Double-Take: RSL down at #10. They were in the sixth spot last week, but a loss at surging Houston dropped their points per game over the last five games down below 1.
Second Biggest Double-Take: Rise of the East. Columbus jumps into second spot this week, while the Sporks and Dynamo jump into the top third of the table. With their jump, backed by this weekend's win over Philly and a 2.4 PPG mark over their last five, the Crew take over from Colorado as the League's Hottest Team This Week. They're no real threat to catch the Galaxy in the next couple weeks, but if LA's form drops and Columbus keeps it going, they could find themselves on top of the rankings (though any dreams of taking this year's Supporters' Shield are likely to stay just that).
Best Team Ever Assembled On Paper Update: No movement for Red Bull, who remain moored to that 13th position. Their Pwr score is actually almost unmoved, too - a mere .002 drop from last week after their draw with New England.
No points chart this week, as I didn't have time to generate it and get it uploaded this morning, but I think there's plenty to talk about without it. I doubt many other rankings will have Portland above Philly or Chivas USA ahead of RSL - I certainly don't think I would have myself, but the numbers tell their own story here. Let us know what catches your eye in the comments.