2008 MLS Power Ratings - Week 5 and Columbus rules

Is the West even worth talking about? Of course they are, but the way they are playing at the moment, it doesn’t look good. The fact that all five bottom spots are held by Western teams is a bad omen for things to come.

That said, this upcoming weekend should see some movement in both conferences as there is only one match between the two.

So here are the ratings:

1. Columbus Crew (Last week 3) - The Crew are on top! The Crew are on top! They managed to eek out a victory even though they gave Houston lots of time to take it away. Smart play if they could pull their midfield together a bit more, they might be able to hold this spot for a little while. Congrats to Sigi on his 100th MLS win.

2. Chicago Fire (4) - The problem is still the same, they need to find more goal scorers but with a defense that is near the top in the league, they are a contender.

3. New England Revolution (5) - Way to match into Texas and take what you want. They still lack power in the final third and their defense makes Reis work for it, but still looking good.

4. Toronto FC (7) - Another game where they let the other side control large parts of the game, which is bad, yet they still came out a winner. It is a dangerous style but the Leafs seem to make it work.

5. FC Dallas (1) - Just when FCD started to have me convince that they we solid in all areas, they play like they did Thursday night. Nothing on offense, confusion in the middle and mismatch in the back. The good news? That still might be enough to win the West this year.

6. Kansas City Wizards (2) - In many ways the better team against Toronto but not on the scoreboard. The fact that they could not finish anything might just be a horrible sign of things to come.

7. New York Red Bull (8) - How could it take them so long to put away San Jose. Jozy again saved the Bulls but even few teams with give them so much time to make it happen.

8. Colorado Rapids (6) - It took going down a goal to get this team going, yet they still couldn't keep Mapp under control. Biggest worry, where are the goals going to come from. They are the only team in the league without a two or more goal scorer so far this season.

9. DC United (14) - Got a small gift against Real but over all it didn't matter. The team was finally hitting the feet with their passes and creating mischief in front of goal.

10. Los Angeles Galaxy (11) - Finally Donovan is playing like everyone wants and expects him to. This gives them an option up top, even when Beckham shuts down for large stretches of the match. Still, any decent offense would have converted three more goals from all the galactic defensive errors.

11. Real Salt Lake (9) - They got cheated on one of the penalty calls, but there is still no reason for the beating they took in DC. They lost their patience and their game fell apart.

12. Chivas USA (10) - What was that? Giving away balls, letting Donovan have space and failing to convert all but one of the many defensive mistakes LA gave them. Even with Razov back in the lineup, the goats looked mighty weak.

13. San Jose Earthquakes (12) - The good news is they held off a better New York team for most of the match. The bad news is if Ronnie O'Brien is having an off night, San Jose has no offense.

14. Houston Dynamo (13) - They had their best game of the season and still came up short. They created plenty of, as DeRo called it, 'half-chances', but without an added threat up top, it was not enough. Good news is their defense only made one major mistake on the night. Bad news, it cost them a goal.

And that's the week as I knew it.