Just How Good is D.C. United (and Dallas)?

(First of all, did you notice the new favicon? If you're using Firefox, that's the little symbol next to the site's name in the tab and the url. I think you can see it in IE only if you bookmark the site. It was really easy to add. If any of you other soccer bloggers want one, email me and I'll explain it.) D.C. United, despite a roster than has largely been unaltered from 2005, is on pace to become one of the greatest MLS teams ever. That goes for FC Dallas too, who are now only six points behind with a game in hand. Dallas is also a team that has changed little. So how are these teams dominating the league? Other than Kenny Cooper, neither has added anyone of consequence. Both have a number of talented young players who will only get better, especially DC. In addition, both have enjoyed the return of a healthy superstar (Alecko Eskandarian, Richard Mulrooney). That's like an acquisition in itself. But not much HAS changed. DC was a great team last year (21st best MLS team ever), while Dallas started off at an incredible pace only to suffer injuries and a Summer swoon. They were still three games over .500. What I want to do now is show you how many points these two teams need to break into the top ten all time, and exactly how many they need to finish in each top ten position. As you can see in the link above, the greatest MLS team of all time is the 1998 Los Angeles Galaxy, with 2.19 PPG (or 70 points). Currently, DC and Dallas are at 2.14 and 1.95 respectively. DC has 45 points from 21 games, Dallas 39 from 20. In order to break into the top ten, they need a PPG better than 1.82, or 59 points. Here's exactly what they need: D.C. United 45-Current points total 11-Games remaining From those games, points needed to finish: 1 26 1-tie 25 2 21 3 20 3-tie 19 4 18 5 17 5-tie 16 7-tie 15 8-tie 14 F.C. Dallas 39-Current points total 12-Games remaining From those games, points needed to finish: 1 32 1-tie 31 2 27 3 26 3-tie 25 4 24 5 23 5-tie 22 7-tie 21 8-tie 20