Connolly: Early trends to watch
When speaking to people throughout the league, the topic du jour seems to be the new adidas ball. Every year, the official game ball forces teams to make slight adjustments. Some swerve more than others. Some seem to carry longer. In this case, the ball seems much "livelier," which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
"It's making more shots come from distance," says one coach in the Western Conference. "It's adding an additional 10 yards to the field. Thirty yards out is the new 20 yards out."
When you look at some of the long-range goals from Facundo Erpen, Kyle Beckerman and Jose Burciaga -- and even Youri Djorkaeff's controversial free kick during the opening weekend of play -- their claims seem to hold validity.
The live ball isn't just coming into play on shots from distance, but in every facet of the game.
"It has spread teams out a bit," says one starting goalkeeper. "Guys are hitting balls that can go 50 or 60 yards. Because of that, I expect the players in the middle of the park - guys like (Christian) Gomez and Djorkaeff -- to have truly great seasons with the extra room to work in."
Oddly enough, no one seems to be complaining about this, though. It's one of those "we all play under the same conditions" deals.
"It might give some of us some gray hairs," says one assistant coach. "But it's good for the league because there are more goals and it's helping to create some excitement."
That leads us to another trend mentioned by many, which is the fact that more and more teams are throwing caution to the wind and are trying to play more offensively rather than sit back in a conservative system. It's particularly apparent by the growing number of teams that are employing three forwards, such as the New England Revolution, D.C. United and Kansas City Wizards.
"There seems to be more emphasis on the attacking, but I'm not sure if it has netted anymore goals at this stage than last year," says another assistant coach. "When we watch D.C., (Alecko Eskandarian) plays like a winger as opposed to wide midfield, and in Dallas when (Kenny) Cooper played wide left a few times, it was a forward's interpretation. Maybe the rosters are chock full of good offensive players and there is a need to try and get them all on the field in order to have your best 11 out there."
That's a valid point, as many teams around the league are in search of quality center backs, and it remains a fact that left back is the most sought after position in the league. A team like D.C. United almost needs to employ an attack-oriented system in order to get Eskandarian, Lucio Filomeno, Jaime Moreno and Freddy Adu on the field together.
By looking to go forward more and possibly give up a numbers advantage on counterattacks, another assistant coach believes it is not the right solution for some of the less-talented teams out there.
"I am surprised that some teams have gone away from their traditional systems of play and have opted for more attacking lineups," he says. "I think this has led to some shaky play and lack of consistency for teams."
He could very much be speaking of the Revolution, which did not look like the juggernaut of old until their 4-0 thrashing of the Galaxy last Saturday, as the switch from a 3-5-2 to a 3-4-3 has taken some time for the team to adjust to.
Another theory behind the trend to play more offensively is that there are not too many coaches on the hot seat.
"The core of the coaches out there have some immunity because of their track record, even if they are at a new club," says one assistant coach, perhaps coaches such as Bob Bradley at Chivas USA and Sigi Schmid at Columbus. "So their teams are going to try and play. One loss is not going to put their jobs in jeopardy."
Overall, there is a consensus that the speed of play is higher and that bringing in faster, quicker players is clearly an emphasis for most every club when you look at how teams are drafting. It's making for some very up-and-down games, which forces coaches to put even more of an emphasis on fitness.
"It is, for the most part, a more direct game, apart from a team or two," says one coach in the Western Conference. "Which is what this league is based on anyways -- athleticism."
When asked about which players are catching everyone's eyes, Brian Ching's name was obviously brought up, as the Houston Dynamo striker is leading the league in scoring with seven goals in six games.
Others mentioned:
Kyle Beckerman (Colorado Rapids) -- "He's matured leaps and bounds, and is now able to play as a two-way midfielder."
Nick Garcia (Kansas City Wizards) -- "Is always overshadowed by (Jimmy) Conrad."
Brian Mullan (Houston Dynamo) -- "He's the key for Houston. He's very dangerous and can play at speed."
Ramon Nunez (FC Dallas) -- "He gives life to Dallas and unbalances teams when he comes off the bench."
Chris Rolfe (Chicago Fire) -- "Has been pretty good once again and, for me, doesn't get enough credit."
Josh Wolff (Kansas City Wizards) -- "One of our players told me after the game that this was the best form he has 'ever' seen Josh Wolff in," says one assistant coach in the Eastern Conference. "The player that said that is MLS and national team combined, and he would know."
For the most part, everyone consulted believes that the league is pretty even and that there could definitely be another surprise champion just as there was last year when Los Angeles came from the back of the pack in the playoffs to win MLS Cup. Two coaches said they believe that Houston and D.C. United are the best teams in the league, while another said that New England is still the one to beat in the East.
Being that it's not even Mother's Day, these opinions will likely change several more times before the end of the season, as will the makeup of most every team in the league. The one constant that won't change between now and MLS Cup in November: the aforementioned adidas ball.
Good luck, goalkeepers.
Marc Connolly is the managing editor of ussoccerplayers.com and regularly writes to MLSnet.com. Marc can be reached at marc@oakwoodsoccer.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs
