2007 MLS Week 12 Power Ratings

Week 12 saw a number of the teams at the top stumble while one side in the West burst through. The East still looks to be the strong of the two conferences but Houston is starting to challenge the notion that none of the best rest in the West. Anyway, here is the power of the league as I see it 12 weeks into the season.

1. New York Red Bull (Last week - 2) -The Bulls had the week off and Angel still managed to score a goal.

2. Houston Dynamo (6) - Sad is the team that gives the Dynamo an inch because they will make something of it. The passes are connecting, the defense is standing strong and the goals have arrived, but will the return of their regular starters actually hurt this side?

3. DC United (3) - United just can't seem to win in Salt Lake. They unvalued their competition and it bite them. Still, their improvement in the second 45 showed more of the team from the past few weeks, so this might just be a bump.

4. Kansas City Wizards (1) - First a road loss to Columbus, then a home defeat at the hands of the Dynamo. Bad week and way you look at it, but the worse news of all is that they owned the Houston match but still came away with nothing. The question of offensive strength is starting to pop up again.

5. New England Revolution (5) - What a way to destroy Toronto but best of all they did it by better work on defense and a nice outing by Reis. If these two things are back, New England will have made it out of their slump.

6. FC Dallas (7) - Even playing without much of anything anywhere, they were able to get points out of Colorado. Ruiz does seem more into things so maybe there are better things to come but not every team is just going to fall over like the Rapids.

7. Toronto FC (4) - This club can only make it happen at home which will make the next month feel extremely long (they don't play a home MLS match again till 29 July). If they can't pull something together on the road, they will be a shell of a team by the time they return to BMO.

8. Columbus Crew (10) - I don't know what Sigi is giving his guys but it is finally starting to pay off. The offense is looking threatening and the midfield is coming together but their defense is still very loose. Tighten up a bit and they might just make a run at the playoffs.

9. Chivas USA (8) - Last week I wondered if I was placing Chivas to low on the list but noted that they take too long to make things happen and that they stink on the road. Sure enough both of these items came into play against Houston. They had a couple good chances but just knocked them away. Could Chivas be the Western Conference's Toronto?

10. Colorado Rapids (9) - It is only due to the poor play of others that the Rapids are not at the bottom. Quick summary, they stink. They have no offense and suffer from a severe lack of creativity on the pitch. The worst news is they don't seem to be making trades to improve their situation.

11. Real Salt Lake (13) - It is amazing what a win can do for a club. Their attack was looking sharper but they still suffered from their post-85th minute problem of letting the opposition score. If they can't close that gap, it is going to be a long time till they get another win.

12. Chicago Fire (11) - In memory of former coach Dave Sarachan, the Fire had the week off and only suffered three injuries in the process.

13. Los Angeles Galaxy (12) - Even with all the chances one could ask for, LA can't make things happen. The slight improvement from the previous week was erased by sloppy play and poor communication. Still, they got their wish and Donovan is not going to the Copa, but will it be anywhere near enough to turn things around?

Week twelve is now done.