Are we going to have an MLS season this year?
No one knows!
But let's be a little optimistic and get this bad boy started.
First things first, RIP Lando
The Legend walked away with another MLS Cup (his 6th) and got
his name added to the MVP award so that everyone knows who they have to live up to.
But it wasn't just Donovan, we also saw the last of Thierry Henry on a football pitch.
Other storylines from 2014
-Seattle Sounders got back to their winning ways, winning both the club's first Supporters' Shield and 4th US Open Cup. They kept the Oba/Dempsey/Cooper/Pappa attacking squad, but may struggle with defense coming in to 2015.
-The British Strike Force Invasion was in full force as BWP and Dom Dwyer combined for 49 goals and took up the top-2 spots in the Golden Boot race.
-New England Revolution, and Lee Nguyen in particular, blossomed into great MLS products. After finishing 2nd in the Eastern Conference last season they'll look to build on that with the return of Juan Agudelo.
-Toronto FC continued to disappoint, missing the playoffs again despite dropping $10M on Jermaine Defoe and Michael Bradley. They'll hope the Jozy/Defoe swap and Giovinco purchase will be enough to finally get this squad into the post-season.
Sounders Open Cup / Supporter's Shield
And now on to 2015! So what's happened since we last had a soccer season? Well, a whole bunch of USMNTers came to MLS.
Brek Shea - Orlando City
Mix Diskerud - NYCFC
Jozy Altidore - Toronto FC
Sacha Kljestan - New York Red Bulls
Juan Agudelo to New England Revolution
But that wasn't all. Oh no, that wasn't even close. Here are a few other major additions/subtractions since we spoke last
Shaun Maloney to Chicago Fire
Kei Kamara to Columbus Crew
Cubo Torres to Houston Dynamo
Steven Gerrard to LA Galaxy
Marco Donadel to Montreal Impact
Laurent Ciman to Montreal Impact
David Villa to NYCFC
Frank Lampard to NYCFC (maybe?)
Kaka to Orlando City
DeAndre Yedlin SOLD by Seattle Sounders
Roger Espinoza to Sporting Kansas City
Sebastian Giovinco to Toronto FC
Jermaine Defoe SOLD by Toronto FC
Now, with all that out of the way what are some storylines to watch for this season?
1) How will Sporting KC and Houston do in the Western Conference? (really well and not so well, imo)
2) Is this finally Seattle's year? (nah, injuries to that defense is gonna make it tough)
3) Is Eddie Johnson going to be able to play soccer again? (seriously, he was listed as "out for 3 weeks" in January pending some medical tests,
then things got worse. He has known heart issues)
4) Which USMNTer is the next to make a Nguyen-esque leap? (Luis Gil)
5) LAG reaches into its youth ranks to fill out its attack (Gyasi Zardes - 23, Jack McBean - 20, Bradford Jamieson - 18, Raul Mendiola - 20, plus Jose Villareal's back in midfield - 21)
And finally, the Bet365 Odds for MLS Cup 2015
+400 Los Angeles Galaxy
+500 Seattle Sounders FC
+600 New England Revolution
+900 DC United
+1,000 New York Red Bulls
+1,400 Real Salt Lake
+2,000 Columbus Crew
+2,000 Toronto FC
+2,000 FC Dallas
+2,000 Orlando City SC
+2,500 Sporting Kansas City
+2,500 New York City FC
+2,800 Portland Timbers
+3,300 Vancouver Whitecaps FC
+4,000 Colorado Rapids
+5,000 Philadelphia Union
+5,000 Houston Dynamo
+6,600 Chicago Fire
+6,600 Montreal Impact
+8,000 San Jose Earthquakes
Want some advice? Fade Seattle, DC, and the expansion sides. I really like Columbus and TFC at those numbers. And Sporting KC at 25:1 is just absurd. I think they're gonna win the West this year, so give me all of that action.