Weekend Predictions...

Lately, it's been tough to be a former U.S. National Team coach in MLS, hasn't it? Steve Sampson gets canned last month after a dismal season thus far w/ the L.A. Galaxy, while the Kansas City Wizards ended their 7-year relationship with Bob Gansler earlier this week as the team won only 6 out of their last 26 games dating back to last season. More and more, MLS is becoming a "what have you done for me lately?" type of league with regard to coaching, and I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing.

The patience for bad coaching in Europe and South America has a very low level of tolerance, both from the fans as well as the teams paying millions of dollars to players who are expected to get results. Until this year, MLS really hasn't had that problem. A coach gets fired, and within a month or so, became a retread in one of the other cities. What we've seen over the past 2 years is that new coaches are being given a chance to show what they can, and gain valuable experience. One of the things I've stated for several years is that the quality of the league needs to improve, but that won't start just be getting better players; there's a need for better coaching, and even moreso, accountability.

So what we've seen is Thomas Rongen fired at Chivas last year, Sampson in L.A., and Gansler in KC. These three have been fixtures in the American soccer scene for years. In addition, longtime Chicago coach Dave Sarachan is feeling the heat for an underperforming Chicago Fire team, and the Rapids' Fernando Clavijo, while not in extreme peril, might not want to make any large land investments in the Colorado area. Former U-17 Coach John Ellinger is another one whose future appears a bit cloudy as Real Salt Lake continue to struggle in their 2nd season.

Now we're seeing the advent of former players taking the reins of teams, and we've also seen 2 highly successful MLS coaches who left to coach National Teams (Bruce Arena and Frank Yallop) are making their return. Yallop's Galaxy, thanks in large part to the return of Landon "I just wasn't feeling it" Donovan to the squad, have played almost as well as any team in the league over the past month. KC's Brian Bliss has a great reputation in soccer circles as being quite knowledgeable and can draw from his playing experience in MLS to relate a little better to the players than some of the others who have been around a bit. Look at what Peter Nowak has done in 2 1/2 season with DC United. They're on pace to become the most successful regular-season team in MLS history, and there were some (like me) who were a bit skeptical when he was announced as Ray Hudson's successor. Shows what we know. Likewise, although Bruce Arena isn't going to run the show for New York until August 7th, the fact that he has enough faith that assistant Richie Williams can keep the team afloat gives the former player instant credibility to go along with the experience he's gaining. The addition of John Harkes, who desperately wanted to join the ranks of MLS coaches, will also provide some valuable insight.

Let's face it, as my colleague Brian Straus from The Post Express told me recently about this very subject, "If Germany, w/ Klinsmann, and Holland, w/ Van Basten, are able to have some degree of success at the World Cup, then it's probably good enough for Kansas City to take a shot at it."

I couldn't agree more. The fact that these coaches only recently stopped being players themselves should translate to having a better grasp on the modern game. They can relate better to the current crop of players. If you're a 20 year-old kid in training, wouldn't you be more attentive to the coach who started off a sentence with "When I was playing in the MLS Cup 2 years ago" rather than some curmudgeon who more or less resembles your grandfather?

That's just my 2 cents...

Now for this weekend's predictions:

Chicago/DC - For some reason, I have the feeling the Fire are going to end United's unbeaten streak. It's got to end sometime, and what better time than against a Chicago team desperate for 3 points at home? Pick: Chicago

L.A./Columbus - The Galaxy won't be as tired as they only played a 45 minute exhibition against Crystal Palace on Wednesday, while the Crew slipped to last in the East after losing to New York on Wednesday. Yallop seems to have righted the sinking ship. Pick: L.A.

New York/Kansas City - 2 new coaches going head to head. The Wizards have a lot of talent that just hasn't played up to par, which was the main reason for the change at the top. Here's thinking that Bliss will have the team motivated and ready to go. Pick: Kansas City

Houston/New England - This was my original pick for this year's MLS Cup finalists. Houston has been pretty steady, and is much more dangerous w/ Brian Ching back from the World Cup. New England has also looked much better w/ Clint Dempsey back, and should battle the Wizards for 2nd place in the East. Let's go w/ the home team for this one. Pick: Houston

Real Salt Lake/Dallas - Huge comeback win for Dallas in stifling heat in Chicago last Saturday. Kenny Cooper is on the verge of being a dominant player in this league. Pick: FC Dallas

There you go. I'll be heading out to Florida for a combination of business/pleasure next week, and although I'll try to post something while I'm down there, don't count on it. At the latest, I'll be back in about a week. As always, thanks for reading!