2011 FC Dallas and MLS Season Predictions

I've had a number of people ask me, "so what do you think is going to happen this season?" Well here's my take on the season of both FC Dallas and MLS.

FC Dallas

Dallas will give up fewer than 25 goals this year, leading the league in goals against. An MLS goalkeeper of the year candidate with a backup who is no slouch himself. Then, you've got these options for your back 4: Jackson, Loyd, Shea, John, Ihemelu, Benitez. Five players who have spent time with their national teams. 

That's the deepest defensive rotation in the league and you've still got Daniel Hernandez, Eric Alexander and Andrew Jacobson in the midfield to muddle things up. The defense is going to be very very good.

Keep reading

Five 0-0 games this year. Last year, FCD played in just two 0-0 games, and I think that goes up in 2011. Yes, that means five games in which David Ferreira doesn't have a goal or an assist. The offense is going to look like Barcelona in some weeks and others Stoke City.

That's the nature of young attackers and while Castillo, Luna and Chavez will form one of the most exciting partnerships in the league, the problem with youth is that it's inconsistent. The defense will bail out FCD in some games to earn points. The 0-0 games won't likely be boring though, I can tell you that.

Rollercoaster ride offensively. As I eluded to in the last prediction, look for games where FCD scores 3 or 4 goals almost effortlessly while there will be other games in which FCD is gameplanned perfectly by the opposition and gets shut down. While FCD is the deepest team in the league defensively, there's not a whole lot onces you get past Milton, Luna, David, Avila, Castillo and Chavez. Ricardo Villar could be a spark plug, but I'm not ready to anoint him yet. 

Andrew Jacobson will have a breakout season. Those of you who are avid readers know I really like this kid. From everything I've been told, AJ was not used properly in Philadelphia and should thrive under Schellas Hyndman who knows exactly how to use the kid due to his relationship with Andrew's college coach at Cal. 

Dallas will make another trade from their defensive depth to acquire a forward midseason. This won't be a blockbuster trade, but I see FCD getting a proven forward from within the league at some point this season. 

FCD wins the US Open Cup. This is an extremely risky prediction as I can see Schellas go either way with his squad selection for the tournament going with the "play the kids" style of Arsene Wenger or the complete opposite knowing that he needs a trophy this year. Dallas is such a deep team defensively, and tough to beat on any given day which will help them in this tournament. Ruben Luna tends to dominate younger defenses and I think he ends up as the leading scorer. 

Dallas advances to the Western Conference Final losing at Real Salt Lake. Without the distraction of Champions League in 2011, RSL makes a late run to win the Supporters Shield and defeats FC Dallas at  a raucous Rio Tinto Stadium. 

MLS 

Predicted finish: 

Western Conference: Real Salt Lake, FC Dallas, Colorado Rapids, Seattle Sounders FC, Los Angeles Galaxy, Portland Timbers, San Jose, Chivas USA, Vancouver Whitecaps 

Eastern Conference: New York Red Bulls, Houston Dynamo, Kansas City Wizards, Columbus Crew, DC United, Philly, Chicago, New England, Toronto

WCF: RSL def FCD

ECF: NY def KC

MLS Cup: NY def RSL

Kansas City is my surprise overachievers, LA are my underachievers. I like a lot of what Kansas City has done this offseason. Their attacking core of Bravo, Bunbury, Arnaud, and Kamara will be sneaky good. Their defense is a bit suspect, but that can be fixed very quickly(See FCD midseason 2009). I love what the ownership in KC has done with that team in changing the culture of everything and I think they're going to be a force come the end of 2011. All they need to do is survive their long road trip to start the season. 

On the other hand, I see LA as a big disappointment. A ton of what they want to do rests on the shoulders of Juan Pablo Angel in 2011 and I'm just not sold on how much he has left in the tank. He'll probably get a nice amount of goals but try to do to much, killing the LA attack in the process. Donovan and Beckham will be a force, but will their minds be wandering towards Europe starting in the summer? I think so. This one is going out on a limb, but I think they're going to end up struggling. 

MLS Golden Boot Winner: Alvaro Saborio

MLS Defender of the Year: George John

MLS Coach of the Year: Jason Kreis

What do you think of these predictions? Have any other questions you'd like answered? What are your predictions for 2011?