important signings have been made.
The New York teams, Red Bulls and
NYCFC, continue to promise much and
achieve little.
The Bulls, formerly the MetroStars,
were one of the founding teams back
in 1996 but they have never won the
title. They have now lost key striker
Bradley Wright-Phillips who, after six
years and 108 goals, departed as a free
agent for LAFC and the Bulls appear to
be banking on home-grown players
coming up through their academy.
NYFC is yet another team with a
stadium problem. They have spent their
first five years as an MLS team playing
home games at Yankee Stadium, which
is an excellent modern facility but one
designed for baseball. A soccer pitch
does not fit easily into a baseball stadium
as it is a yard or more too narrow, so
some of the fans are seated at quite
a distance from the field. However, a
solution may be at hand if, as rumoured,
WORLD SERVICEa deal to build on land nearby has been
reached. The site is ideal as it is in the
Bronx, is part of New York City and it
has a subway stop right next to it.
But NYCFC’s frailties can hardly
be blamed on the stadium problem.
Results have been good, with the
team finishing once in third place in the
Eastern Conference, twice in second
place, and, in 2019 in first place. But
each year they have been knocked out of
the championship race in the semi-finals.
This is a team that was never quite good
enough, that always had a weak link, and
there is no reason for thinking things will
be any better in 2020. New coach Ronny
Deila seems a strange appointment in a
league that until now has had virtually no
Norwegian involvement.
The lack of major signings leaves
about half of the MLS teams making only
slight revisions in playing strength, which
means there is little to suggest that such
as Philadelphia, DC United, Dallas,
Cincinnati, Colorado, Kansas, Columbus
or Real Salt Lake can offer more than
they did last time out, when none of
them looked like a serious challenger.
Coaching, however, could make a
difference at four clubs.
Bruce Arena has had a year at New
England Revolution in which to shape a
team to his liking so they should not be
ruled out as potential champions.
At Houston, the new boss is Tab
Ramos, who was one of the USA’s most
outstanding players between 1988 and- Since 2009 he has been a US
Soccer staff coach, mostly with the
national under-20 team and – although
at 53 he has left it rather late to join a
pro team – his enthusiasm, knowledge
of the game and ability to identify and
get the best from skilled players may be
just what Houston need to get back to
winning ways.
At Montreal Impact a really big name
has moved into the coaching position.
Thierry Henry is no stranger to MLS,
where he played for four-and-a-half
seasons with the New York Red Bulls,
but his short managerial career has not
been a great success story, lasting only
three months in his most recent job with
Monaco. Montreal have shown a liking for
skillful soccer, so Henry’s declared wish to
have his teams play like Pep Guardiola’s
Barcelona makes him a fitting choice. He
will be the seventh Montreal coach in
eight seasons, but the club has to know it
is taking on a temperamental character.
At Chicago Fire the new man in charge
is Raphael Wicky, and thereby hangs a
curious tale. In March 2019, Wicky – a
Swiss coach unknown to most Americans- was suddenly put in charge of the
US under-17 team. In October of that
year he led the team in a disastrous
performance at the Under-17 World
Cup in Brazil, where the USA were
quickly eliminated after two losses and
one draw. Barely two months later Wicky
takes over at Chicago, who will be
without former German international
Bastian Schweinsteiger who has
announced his retirement.
All of which leaves Los Angeles FC
as the most likely winner of MLS Cup
- To succeed they must get another
extraordinary season from Vela, who
last year broke the MLS single-season
scoring record with 34 goals. But if his
2020 season is half as good as 2019,
it should also do the trick.
Optimism is in the air at Galaxy due to the signing of Javier
“Chicharito” Hernandez, the all-time leading scorer for
Mexico with 52 goalsGone...New York Red Bulls will
have to make do without the
goals of Bradley Wright-Phillips