Tuesday, May 25, 2010

MLS Power Rankings Updated: The Big Two

By MJD

I've been out of the office for the last week but have finally had a chance to catch up on things in the MLS. We suggested in an earlier post that MLS parity might be a thing of the past, and the updated numbers continue to support that claim.

Both LA and the Crew enjoy a substantial advantage in the LM and especially in their respective Z-scores relative to the rest of the league.  Note also that there seems to be a large number of middling teams and three to five absolute bottom feeders.  Here's how we'd divide up the league:

The Big Two: LA and C-Bus
The Great Pretenders: RSL, SJO.
The Mighty Middle: Dallas, Colorado, Houston, Chicago, Toronto, New York, Seattle, Chivas, KC
The Vanquished if Not Relegated: Philly and D.C.

You can slice and dice it however you'd like, but there clearly has been a shift in the relative strengths of the different clubs.  Finally, the West continues to dominate the rankings and the single table.  Six out of the eight top teams in the LM are from the West; as are five out of the top eight in the single table.  Again, it ain't about the two conferences, which are a joke, it just adds to the overall impression that the era of parity in MLS is over.

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