After last week's Soccer Notes piece (check it out here if you missed it), it's now time to return to the basics. Which players are on the up and which are on the down slide? Want to be in first place in your fantasy league? Read on, trade on, game on.
Good Buys
Tom McManus (Forward, Colorado Rapids) - The Scotland native had an impressive outing this weekend, albeit against a very weak New Jersey (er, I mean New York) team. I wasn't sold on him from early viewings but he has continued to improve as he's settled into the season. For the season McManus has banked over 100 fantasy points, which is a great value considering he costs only around $60K. There is a pretty decent chance that McManus could find himself on the score sheet again next week as his side visits the dead last San Jose Earthquakes.
Emanuel Ekpo (Midfielder, Columbus Crew) - With goals in each of his last two games, the Nigerian international seems to be finding his form. It certainly helps when you have Robbie Rogers and Guillermo Barros Schelotto there to provide you with excellent service, and Ekpo has taken advantage with a couple of opportunistic goals in the last two weeks. The Crew are unbeaten in four straight so Ekpo and his Columbus teammates will look to make it five when they visit Real Salt Lake in Week 16.
Nat Borchers (Defender, Real Salt Lake) - Another 90 minutes, another shutout for Borchers and the RSL defense last weekend. Is Borchers the most flashy defender in MLS? Heck no. Is he the most skilled? Ha! Does he provide the occasional offensive stat like a goal or an assist? Only VERY occasionally (one assists so far this season). But none of that matters because he's reliable, durable, and most importantly, pretty cheap. The Colorado native is a great value at around $46K.
Josh Wolff (Forward, Kansas City Wizards) - Buy this U.S. national team veteran after Week 16's matches, as he doesn't become available for selection until the Wizards' July 17 match at Columbus. This is a player with a proven track record of scoring goals in MLS and there is little doubt that he'll be eager to remind the loyal fans in Kansas City of his work rate and finishing abilities. Having Claudio Lopez to partner with will help, as defenses can't focus on just one threat.
Bad Buys
Andrew Boyens (Defender, New York Red Bulls) - The Bulls looked more like a Thanksgiving turkey on July 4; the Colorado Rapids simply carved them up. Boyens, a lanky Kiwi, had a stinker of a game, which pretty much put him on par with the rest of his team. What's worse (at least for Boyens) is that he could be relegated to the bench as Juan Carlos Osorio starts transfusing some much-needed new blood into his team.
Bakary Soumare (Defender, Chicago Fire) - Soumare, who is even lankier than Boyens, has gotten a lot of time in his rookie season. Needless to say, it has been a learning process for University of Virginia product. One important lesson he learned last weekend: when Schelotto is on the prowl, get the ball cleared. The Argentinean, who is about a foot shorter than Soumare, picked his pocket and set up the Crew's first goal. To make matters worse, Soumare later picked up a pretty silly yellow card and will miss Chicago's next league game, a Saturday drive at Toyota Park against Toronto FC.
All D.C. United players - After singing the praises of the high-flying Black-and-Red the last several weeks, now is the time to dump them all. Why? Because Tom Soehn's side has only one MLS match in the entire month of July, a make-up game against the Houston Dynamo two days before the All-Star Game. Keep the likes of Jaime Moreno, Luciano Emilio and Devon McTavish on your watch list so that you remember to plug them back in later on.
WOW (Worst of the Week) Award
Honorable mention goes to the grounds keeper at The Home Depot Center, where the field looks like it was flown in from Kuwait. But the honor goes to Chicago Fire forward Calen Carr. Reasons include his horrible haircut (or lack thereof), ridiculous spandex shorts, super fly headband and horrible goal celebration, which basically boils down to twirling his headband around his finger. Wow indeed.