MLS: 2006 Season Preview Part One (or, Wake Me Up When September Ends)

It's been an interesting offseason...off the field, that is. When it comes to the actual teams, not a lot has changed. There's been a couple big trades, but not a lot of new impact players coming in. That's why just like in the previous year after expansion (1999), I don't see a big shakeup on the horizon. Part One: Eastern Conference (best and worst teams ranked by points per game, counting shootouts as draws) 6) Red Bull New York Best teams: 1. 2000 2. 2001 3. 2005 Worst teams: 1. 1999 2. 1997 3. 1998 Somebody has to finish last, and they seem like the best candidates. Mo Johnston breathed new life into the team last year, and they probably should've had a better record than they did, as they failed to dominate the expansion teams. But it just doesn't seem like they have the players to win a championship. Guevara and Djorkaeff are great players, but they have little depth and injuries could kill them. Edson Buddle was just added at the expense of Eddie Gaven. This is a good move for the team and fills a huge hole up front. After the top two in the Eastern Conference, the next four teams seem about even. It wouldn't surprise me much if New York finished 3rd or 6th. However, I still think the team is on course for last. Had the fourth worst defense last season, and despite Marvell Wynne, it doesn't seem like they've improved much in this area. The center backs especially don't inspire confidence. Overall, they've made quite a few changes but don't look to have improved enough. Johnston seems like he could be a good coach, and he'd better have a good game plan. 5) Chicago Fire Best teams: 1. 2001 2. 1998 3. 2000 Worst teams: 1. 2004 2. 2002 3. 2005 I hate to have the Fire missing out on the playoffs, but talent-wise, Kansas City looks better, while I have a good feeling about Sigi Schmid's moves with the Crew. Wildly inconsistent last year, the Fire have a bunch of young guys who may or may not be great players. Chris Rolfe, Nate Jaqua, Justin Mapp, Thiago, and Gonzalo Segares all had good seasons last year, and I don't know if they can all repeat that. The only real acquisition was Diego Gutierrez, who will replace Jesse Marsch. No change there. CLB, KC, and NY have all been making moves, while the Fire have stood pat. I'm also not sold on Dave Sarachan's coaching skills. Like the 2003 Galaxy, the 2006 Fire will start out on a long road trip, 9 games in a row. If they can survive that and get at least 10 points, they'll be in pretty good shape. Although that's no guarantee for the rest of the season, as FC Dallas found out last year. 4) Columbus Crew Best teams: 1. 2001 2. 2004 3. 1998 Worst teams: 1. 2005 2. 2000 3. 2003 Sigi Schmid should lead the Crew back into the playoffs after their worst year ever. Despite the loss of Simon Elliot, they've added a number of players who should contribute, especially defensively. Sigi's teams in LA were always great defensively, and I expect that to be the case here as well. In 2005, the Crew were tied for 7th in goals allowed. I expect them to be in the top 3 or 4 this year. With Ward/Pierce/Kitamarike/Leitch on the bench, they have great depth on defense. The offense is another question. Without Edson Buddle, they'll need some guys to step up and score goals. One of Wolyniec/Garey/Cameron/Hill is going to have to step up. But with Gaven and Martino in midfield, they should be able to create enough. All they need to do is score more than they allow, and they should do that. 3) Kansas City Wizards Best teams: 1. 2000 2. 2004 3. 1997 Worst teams: 1. 1999 2. 1998 3. 2002 They were easily the best team in league history to miss the playoffs, and would've finished tied for third in the Western Conference. They were also in the top half of the league in goals scored and goals allowed. Plus they've added one of the league's best forwards, Eddie Johnson. Diego Gutierrez shouldn't be a big loss, but Chris Klein will be harder to replace. Despite that, they have way too much talent to miss the playoffs again. They will have a hard time during the World Cup, as they'll be without probably at least two starters (Johnson, Wolff), and maybe up to five (Conrad, Zavagnin, Sealy). So they'll have to overcome that especially on the offensive side. Ryan Pore and Yura Movsisyan will have to step up. The x-factor will be the rumored acquisition of FC Utrecht winger Dave Van den Bergh. This guy would easily be the top foreign import in the league this year, and significantly improve the team. It looks like a done deal. 2) New England Revolution Best teams: 1. 2005 2. 2003 3. 2000 Worst teams: 1. 2001 2. 1999 3. 1998 Probably the best team in the conference, but they'll be hurt by the World Cup and they don't have great depth. So despite having everyone back, they may not finish first again. I don't see them finishing lower than second, though. They'll have a full season with Daniel Hernandez, and hopefully will get decent contributions from Tony Lochhead and Leandro de Olivera. The defense has no big stars but gets the job done, just like D.C. United. It should be another winning year for New England, although given Nicol's track record in the playoffs, I wouldn't expect them to win the title, even though on paper they look like the league's best. 1) D.C. United Best teams: 1. 1998 2. 1999 3. 1997 Worst teams: 1. 2000 2. 2001 3. 2002 If it's not broke, why fix it? D.C. had a great year ruined by the last playoff game, and they've stood pat with their roster. Kovalenko left, but everyone else is back. It's been good enough for the past two years, and should be again in 2006. They will also have a full season out of Lucio Filomeno, and hopefully will get back Alecko Eskandarian as well. Only Ben Olsen seems to have a shot at making the World Cup roster, and even that seems unlikely. So with no problems there, that figures to push them ahead of the Revs as the Eastern Conference winners. Besides that, they have a number of quality young players who should only get better: Adu, Quaranta, Boswell, etc. Of course, Jaime Moreno will have to decline someday, and that would leave a huge hole. But given his preseason form, it doesn't look like it'll happen in 2006. Tomorrow: Part two and overall predictions.