Wolff-y, you came through for us big time. I'm sorry. Photo via KCWizards.com

Rather than try to exprees deep, insightful thoughts about Wednesday night’s incredible come from behind victory that kept our dearly beloved Wizards’ playoff dreams on life support, I’ll keep it simple. Actually, I’ll probably do this after most games from now on.

Sometimes, it’s just too dificult to come down off that emotional high of a huge win like this and be rational and thorough. Or, to get back up after a heart-breaking loss. I suppose after a loss, I’ll hand out the “Sad Props.”

With that said, mad props for Wednesday night’s victory go to…

First and foremost, Peter Vermes gets my Man of the Match award. It’s “Man” of the Match, not player of the match. I’ve been hard on him over the last few weeks for his lineup selection. Most notably, the decision to play Birahim Diop as a center forward. (That criticism still stands. Wednesday night’s game is further proof.)

But, the selection of Diop aside, Vermes was brilliant in this one. I, for one, didn’t think he would go with a full regular starting XI, due to fatigue after playing at Chivas USA just 72 hours prior. But, to his credit, he trotted the exact eleven men that took three points on Sunday out against Houston.

Things started not so well. Actually, they started terribly. But, it was the substitutions and tactical changes Vermes made that won this game.

Bringing on Teal Bunbury at half for Diop was a no-brainer, but I’ve thought there were no-brainers at other times this year that he flubbed up. Also, the other halftime substition, taking off the usually bulletproof Stephane Auvray for a much more attack-minded player in Jack Jewsbury, was one I didn’t see coming.

Throughout the year, Auvray has been one of, if not the, best players on the squad. Wednesday night, he had probably his worst game of the season. He was a ghost in the midfield when Houston had the ball and was a main culprit in the team going down 3-1 at halftime. Vermes saw this and got him out of there. Jewsbury came on and played well, nearly scoring a goal himself on a fairly well-struck bicycle kick.

The third substitution, though, might have just been the best of the night. I have killed Josh Wolff between Twitter and here at The Daily Wiz for much of the year. (But, with good reason.) Verme’s decision to bring off a midfielder and insert Wolff into somewhat of a second roaming midfield role – much like Davy Arnaud plays – was the straw that broke the Dynamo back.

Five forwards/attacking midfielders with goal-scoring capability on the field at the same time was just too much to handle for Houston. They were pinned back in their own half nearly the entire last 20 minutes of the game, including stoppage time. Throw in the fact that Wolff was the one that scored the 97th minute winner, and I may just have to reconsider my ultra-negative on Mr. Wolff.

For one of the few times this season, Vermes greatly out-coached the opposing manager (and a great opposing manager in this one). Even if only for a half.

Secondly, Michael Harrington was nothing short of the Superman in the second half. I’ve made it no secret Harrington is my favorite player on this Wizards team. But, I can say that he wasn’t anything to write home about in the first half. Likely, it was his worst 45 minutes of the season.

But, boy, oh boy, did he ever make up for in it the second 45? Between he and Roger Espinoza, (tonight was yet another display of why they’re the best fullback tandem in the league) nothing was happening down the flanks for Houston. The thing that seperates Harrington from most other fullbacks in MLS (for the record, Mike Chabala is an incredible leftback. He was great to watch in the first half.) is his service when pushing forward.

Though the goal originally credited to Ryan Smith, which came from a Harrington cross, was ruled an own goal by Adrian Serioux of Houston, it never happens without that great ball in by Michael. And, who do you think it was providing the perfect cross for the winner in minute 97? My boy Mikey.

If not for Vermes’ masterful substitutions, Harrington is man of the match, easily. Instead, he settles for Player of the Match.

Lastly, mad props to everyone in KC blue the last 20 minutes of the game. After the own goal in 72nd minute tied the score 3-3, I saw a Kansas City Wizards team that wanted it more than I’ve ever seen a soccer team want it before.

It was truly amazing to see guys like Ryan Smith, Davy Arnaud and Kei Kamara – guys that, at one point or another, have been criticized for their work rate and effort – sell out their bodies for max effort to win every single 50/50 ball and win the ball back when Houston were in clear possession.

More so than anyone, Smith has shown signs of frustration and lack of focus or determination this year at times. But, on Wednesday night, I’m not sure anyone was playing harder than the Wizard of Dribble, Ryan Smith. How many times this year has he gone to ground, in full extension, to win a 50/50 ball? None that I can recall. Against Houston? At least a half dozen times in 20 minutes.

The Cauldron supporters section gave one of their best performances of the season Wednesday, and it seemed to show in the late efforts of the players. Those guys were gasses after expending so much energy to get level. Every time Houston scored, the Cauldron got louder and louder, and pumped the dejected players back up. Little can be said what that mental aspect can do for a team or individual when fighting back against great odds late in the game.

Mad props to you, as well, KC Cauldron. I’m sure the players would echo this sentiment – you rocked it out tonight.

So, what was supposed to be short and sweet became a thousand words on how awesome the second half was, basically. It was a worthy performance, though.

NOTE: Watch Jimmy Nielsen go leaping into the Cauldron. Epic.

Also, if you turn the quality on the video up to 720p, it’s far better viewing.

By the way, that’s Eric Howell with the birds to the “Houston cheaters.” Thanks for the ticket, man!

With that one harmless little update on Twitter tonight, Kansas City Wizards leading goal scorer, forward Kei Kamara, sent all the Wizards kingdom of loyal supporters (actually, just myself, really) into speculation over what the grand news coule be about.

Early speculations (amongst myself and another person or two on Twitter) are, but not limited to:

• Kei and the club have reached an agreement on a new contract for the 2011 season and beyond.
  I would certainly not be upset one bit if this were the case. Kei is leading the team in goals this year with a career high of nine and has become somewhat of a face of the club off the field, as well. He was feautred in a television commercial along with Teal Bunbury showcasing the new stadium. You would have to think Kei is in the club’s long-term plans. And, he seems to really be enjoying himself in Kansas City. He knows he is loved.
• Kei and Chipotle have agreed to an official sponsorship deal.
  Would this really surprise anybody? Honestly, the bigger surprise would be that something of the sort hasn’t been arranged sooner.
• The Wizards and Chipotle have agreed a naming rights deal for the new stadium.
  This is more speculation than anything, but there was a curious Tweet from the Chipotle official Twitter account. When the prospects of playing at “Chipotle Park” next year was mentioned to the account, the response was as follows:

Yeah, I am not sure what the status is but I know they were looking into something. Never know with those things though. -Bob

Again, this is mostly speculation, but there’s not a whole lot else that could be out there to announce regarding Kei. I’m very much so hoping it’s the first possibility and the club has re-signed Kei for three more years. He’s really one of my favorite players, and played an instrumental part in me becoming interested in the Wizards this year.

Whatever it is, stay tuned to Kei’s Twitter all day tomorrow to find out.

We let Luis Ángel Landín scored on us in the first matchup. #SignsThatThingsAreBAD

After Sunday night’s 2-0 road triumph over Chivas USA, the Kansas City Wizards find themselves back in a familiar position. That is, of course, looking up at Seattle Sounders FC, who sit six points clear of Kansas City for the eighth and final MLS Cup playoff spot. The kicker, though, being KC’s two games in hand over Seattle.

Wednesday night will see the first of the two games in hand played, when the struggling Houston Dynamo come to town, looking to upset the Wiz’s playoff dreams. As they got revenge on Chivas Saturday night, KC will be looking to exact another measure of revenge against a Houston side that showed them out of town with a 3-0 loss back on May 1. (How fitting it was for that disaster of a game to occur on the first of May, as it really was “May Day” for the beloved Wiz.)

Jump forward to the present moment, and Kansas City are one of the hottest teams in MLS – trailing only Saturday’s opponent, FC Dallas – in that category. The Wizards have picked up 18 of a possible 27 points in their last nine league games (5-1-3), while Houston have won just a single game (1-8-4) since the beginning of June, and have only three wins (3-11-4) since the two teams’ first meeting of the season.

If the Wizards are going to keep this gravy train rolling and track down Seattle in the league standings, they’re going to have to make it happen with somewhat of a makeshift starting XI against the Dynamo.

Due to the physical wear three games in seven days entails, look for a slightly modified starting lineup Wednesday night. The middle game of three game stretch is the most logical time to rest your top line players, especially when facing a struggling opponent. (That was my logic for starting Teal Bunbury Sunday night over Birahim Diop. If you must start Diop once in the stretch – and you likely must do so – why not the middle game against the weakest opponent? Things worked out to this point, so I’ll leave that be until Saturday night.)

We’re going to need the biggest of horses to conquer Dallas on Saturday – a team riding a 15 game unbeaten streak – so here would be my starting XI for the Dynamo matchup:

All unearthly powers that be, help me because yes, I did include Josh Wolff in a desired starting XI for a very meaningful game again. I’m only kidding. Sort of. Wolff has been pretty good coming off the bench in games since losing his starting spot to Bunbury in mid-July. Part of that may be because when coming on late, he knows he doesn’t have to pace himself for 90 minutes, and the opposing defenders are more worn down than he, having already played 60, 70, 80 minutes.

My thinking in starting Smith is that he plays 60 minutes, helps create a goal (or three) and he can come off and recoup and be available for selection Saturday. I just can’t fathom the anemic levels of creativitiy and flash a Wizards frontline would have without Smith.

Bunbury only played 35 minutes Sunday, so at 20 years old, he should be good for 90 with ease mid-week. I would say go with Teal wide right with Wolff in the center, but he really just struggles and doesn’t quite know what to do when playing outside. That’s something Kei, and probably Wolff, cope with a lot better.

You now have my desired starters, so now…

Anticipated lineup: Smith, Bunbury, Wolff

I feel like we must have either Auvray or Rocastle in the game at all times, because without either of them, who will have the intestinal fortitude to knock a guy off the ball and take it back? I choose Auvray, because A. he’s the better of the two, and B. he’s more likely to be fit for selection, given Rocastle’s level of fitness. It’s probably really coin flip, though, because Rocastle played only 66 minutes against Chivas, while Stephane went the full 90.

Also, I’ve been somewhat at a loss for why we haven’t seen slightly more of Zusi the last couple months. He is routinely one of the more creative and dangerous players on the field, and is such from a midfield position. I see almost no way Vermes leaves him out of the lineup for this one.

Anticipated lineup: Jewsbury, Rocastle, Zusi

Michael Harrington and Roger Espinoza are, as I’ve said before, the best fullback tandem in the league. We need them on the field at all times. That said, I somewhat expect to see Jonathan Leathers start at Harrington’s rightback spot, with either Espinoza in his normal left flank defensive spot, or Harrington being shifted over. I just don’t anticipate both playing.

We haven’t seen Matt Besler since June 10, and we’ve yet to see Nick Kounenakis make his debut since signing back on July 18. Because of those two factors, there’s no way on God’s green earth that Vermes sits both Shavar Thomas and Jimmy Conrad and starts the former pair. Conrad is more likely to be fit than Thomas, and is the better of the two, so I choose him. He gets the (ever-so-unimportant) nod from me.

Anticipated lineup: Harrington, Conrad, Besler, Leathers

Oh, and that white-haired guy in goal. I hear he’s pretty good. (Despite letting the pudgy Landin in goal earlier this year.)

This just in: Jimmy Conrad is still damn good. Ya know, mid-season rough patch aside.

In game one of the Kansas City Wizards’ grueling three games in seven days stretch of MLS play, the Wizards got a little revenge for a 2-0 loss at home against Chivas USA back in July. The tables were turned, and the Wizards came out on top this time, to the tune of a familiar 2-0 scoreline at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. (Kansas City also beat league-leading LA Galaxy 2-0 at HDC on August 28.)

Some would have been happy with a draw and a road point against the Goats, but in my mind, it had to be the full three possible. Chivas are a side that a playoff team should beat, whether at home or on the road.

Goals by forwards Kei Kamara (9th of the season) and Teal Bunbury (3rd of the season) came inside the final 20 minutes of the match. The game-winner from Kamara in the 70th minute will likely be up for discussion once the season ends, for Wizards goal of the year.* Bunbury’s goal, which came in the 83rd, was all the team needed to put the game out of reach and secure a rare road victory. (3rd of the season)

How did the game get to that point when the goals started flowing, and who can we look back on and say were the players most responsible for the early struggles, and the late triumph? Read on and I’m sure to give my thoughts.

* Note: If Landon Donovan wins MLS Goal of the Week this week, (and he probably will) then the next thing you’re going to tell me is that we live in America and everyone is in love with him. No chance, right? Even Kamara’s header against Real Salt Lake was a better goal than Donovan’s header this weekend.

It was very much so a Tale of Two Halves…

The First Half

For as frustrating as much of the first half was, the team played not so terrible. The backline was nearly impenetrable (that was for pretty much the entire 90 minutes, though) and offered very little work to be done by Jimmy Nielsen. The defending between midfield and the backline was darn near exceptional. At one point during the game, I tweeted the following observation: “Conrad and Auvray had GREAT communication on that Chivas counter.Jimmy called for cover as he was forward, Stephane got their in plenty time“

With the way Stephane Auvray wins balls with such ease, I think he could be a top of the line center half in MLS if he weren’t already a top of the line holding mid. The guy just has a knack for getting his foot in at the right time and angle to just yank the ball away from the opponent. I also thought captain Davy Arnaud had a quality first half. He got forward quite a bit – something you want from an attacking midfielder, and something he didn’t do enough of early in the season – and gave great support to a struggle center forward spot for 55 minutes.

The disappointment of the first half was Craig Rocastle and his childish actions as the teams headed to the locker rooms for halftime. I fully expected him to continue down the path of “Red Card Craig” from the season’s start and get himself sent off in the second half. Luckily, he did not. I suspect someone on the coaching staff had a chat with him, as he was much more relaxed in his final 21 minutes before coming off in the 66th. It was no coincidence this team took off when he stepped his game up and dropped the red card antics. He must, must, must control himself better to be the player we need him to be for hopes of securing that eighth and final playoff spot.

As for the forwards, Ryan Smith was his regular Dance Dance Revolution champion self on the ball, Kamara picked up where he left off before leaving to play with the Sierra Leone national team, and Biarhim Diop? Well, let’s just say, “never again, Peter; never again.”

Half Number 2

I find it hard to believe that many thought we would get the breakthrough goal either from Diop, or while he was still on the field. At least, I know I wasn’t expecting it. So, for the first ten minutes of the second half, the midfield kept creating good chances for the forwards, only to make a breakthrough into the middle, where Diop would receive the ball and lack the creativity to produce much more.

Bunbury came on in the 55th minute began causing havoc amongst the Chivas backline within a few minutes. Fortunately, Kei’s goal was so good and such a great piece of self-invention, it was likely to happen whether Diop, Bunbury or myself were playing as the third striker.

Michael Harrington, who I actually thought was slightly off his game for only about the second time all year, played the great early ball into the box, Kei flicked it forward with his head, over the defender on his back, made a quick turn around the outside, his eyes never leaving the ball, settled himself under it, took the shot first time with the outside of his right foot and precisely placed it just inside the left post. Goal of the year by a Wizards player, if I’m placing my money on any of them.

Again, the backline was nearly an impermeable matter and did a stellar job of keeping tabs on Chivas forward Justin Braun – one of my keys to the game – and not giving him a golden opportunity on a mistake, as they did twice in the first meeting on July 10.

Before Bunbury’s well-earned and hard-fought clincher, I felt pretty good about holding on for the 1-0, but Teal did well to state his case to regain his starting spot by all on his own, fighting off a defender and blasting one high into the corner of Zach Thornton’s net.

Man of the Match: Kei Kamara – he had the game-winner, he ran a bajillion miles and his work-rate was through the roof the entire game. Plus, his goal celebration dance with the corner flag, something he says was paying homage to Cameroonian great Roger Milla was a joy to watch.

Know where he is. Hit him in the mouth.

Hey, this is a blog post. This is a blog about the Kansas City Wizards. That’s what we talk about in these blog posts here.

Seeing as how we’re moving to SB Nation this week (yes, it’s finally happening), I figured I should get back in the swing of things. Beginning Sunday night, the Wizards start a three games in seven days stretch that will likely determine their fate come season’s end. Come this time next week, we should be able to tell if they will have weakly pissed away a season that could have been so much more with a horrendous first dozen-or-so games, or they will have set themselves up to come back from said horrendous start on a miracle playoff run.

Either way, these three games will tell us where we go from here on out. Currently sitting behind 9 points (with three games in hand) behind Seattle, it’s must-win time. Some have said any result against Chivas will be good. I disagree; we need three points to keep pace with the Sounders. They’re far enough ahead in the standings, and with the way their CONCACAF Champions League group is going, they might just pack up shop there and focus on the league.

Must. Beat. Chivas.

How are we going to do that? That’s what I’m here for – to tell you.

Be Aggressive. B-E Aggressive.

Let’s remember that we’re the team that hasn’t played a competitive game since September 4. In the same time frame, Chivas has played three – two league and one friendly mid-week this week. If we come out flat the first 15-20 minutes and not winning every 50-50 ball, the boys just don’t have it in them and don’t want it badly enough.

If they can’t get up for this stretch run after two full weeks rest, it will be a damn shame.

Where is Justin Braun?

Before the first KC-Chivas matchup this season on July 10, in which the Goats took a 2-0 victory in KC, Braun had amassed four goals in his first 13 appearances on the season. Including his two goal performance against KC, and since then, Braun has found the net five more times in just nine appearances.

He’s still young (23) and if the US national coach weren’t Bob Bradley, the US national coach would probably have thoughts of Braun in the back of his mind by now. Scoring the two against KC really kicked his season into full gear and he’s been a constant threat ever since.

That said, let’s keep tabs on the kid, and hopefully see more of Jimmy Conrad marking him, rather than the living, sometimes-breathing human statue, Shavar Thomas. Frustrate and/or shut down Braun, and you tell me where Chivas are going to create a goal.

Peter Vermes figured out the winning recipe almost two months ago now. Stick to the recipe, don’t fuck around changing it anymore.

When Craig Rocastle and Teal Bunbury came into the starting XI back in mid-July, things took a turn for the better. Somehow Vermes got it in his head that since Birahim Diop scored a couple of goals against New England, he’s a bona fide starting center forward in the 4-3-3 formation. News flash, Peter: he’s definitely not.

If we see ANYTHING other than Smith, Bunbury, Kamara from left to right in the XI, Peter must go. If we see anything other than that, he’s still drunk from his DUI.

The midfield, I worry about not. Captain Davy Arnaud and vice-captain Stephane Auvray are shoo-ins. You have to think Rocastle, as well. The backline – well, we all know I prefer Matt Besler to Shavar, but it ain’t happening, so I’ll let it rest.

Going back to the first key, Michael Harrington and Roger Espinoza can dual-handedly set the tone for the entire game in the first 10 minutes. When they win the ball on defense, start the attack the other way and bust their asses down the outside and provide an outlet for overlapping runs. There isn’t a better fullback tandem in the league when they’re on their game. Even when they’re playing less than stellar, they still might be the best.

KC Soccer Stadium > San Jose's Prospective New Stadium

This Saturday night, our beloved Kansas City Wizards take to the road for their first matchup of the 2010 MLS season against the San Jose Earthquakes. Kansas City will host its leg of the home-and-away tie on the last night of the regular season, October 23.

While last week’s match against defending MLS Cup winners Real Salt Lake was called “the biggest game of the year so far” by fans and players alike, this week’s trip to the Bay Area is even bigger for a completely different reason. At present moment, the Quakes sit two places and 3 points above KC in the league table. As was discussed on Wednesday, head to head matchups with playoff competitors are the quickest way to climb the table. Anything short of a draw on Saturday, and a golden opportunity will have been wasted.

As always, I’ve got three important questions the Wizards have to answer en route to the result they want.

1. Will the finishing improve?

To put it honestly, and without regard for feelings, this team is borderline awful when it comes to finishing and actually putting the ball in the back of the net. Since the insertion of Teal Bunbury into the regular starting XI, the creation of chances and pressure on opposing defenses is there, yes. That goes without saying. But, as was pointed out in the Byline 2 Backpost podcast this week, our forwards’ finishing abilities are less than stellar. Kei Kamara, for all his other skills and his great size, is probably the worst finisher of the lot of them. Forget the ultimate miss against Los Angeles Galaxy this year; that was a freak thing. I’m thinking more about multiple opportunities that you see most MLS forwards finish. At times, it seems he gets uber-excited and “finishes” prematurely, if you know what I mean. Just calm down, Kei. We’ve all done it.

Now, the fact that Kei has struggled to finish this year, yet still has amassed 7 goals on the season makes it slightly easier to swallow. (Hopefully the “finishing prematurely” joke is out of your mind already.) That said, there’s a small bone to pick with Ryan Smith. It’s rather simple, actually. Dude, just shoot the ball. Whenever you are darting into the box, dancing around defenders and looking for an opening to shoot, here’s what I want you to do. Decide when you think you need to shoot, and let it rip one touch before then. How frustrating was it against Salt Lake to see him run defenders raged and stupid over and over, only to take one touch too many and fire a shot into a defender who was given just enough time to recover and regain a bit of self-pride?

San Jose aren’t airtight in defense. Chances will present themselves. We just have to learn to finish. We didn’t do so against Salt Lake, and we dropped 2 points. A draw here isn’t the end of the world, but 3 points are better than 1 any day of the week.

2.When, oh when, will this run of superb midfield play come to an end?

The midfield trio of Davy Arnaud, Stephane Auvray and Craig Rocastle has been exceptional for going on nearly the past month now; the driving force of the team, if you will. Possession has heavily favored the Wizards in that time span and it has directly correlated into an undefeated streak of over a month.

As has been discussed ad nauseam of late, Rocastle was dreadful and out of his head for the first half of the season. Cards, fouls and giveaways were his M.O. Then, it all changed. His holding/defensive/linking/countering partnership with Auvray has given the team not only the boost in possession, but a bit a tough nose. As long as the midfield continues to win the ball the way they have, results are always within reach.

3. Will we finally see a different starting center of defense combination?

Shavar Thomas started and played 89 minutes for Jamaica on Wednesday night. We saw what happened on a Saturday at Colorado when he played a full 90 minutes mid-week and started again at the weekend. In case you don’t remember, he slogged along the entire second half and allowed Conor Casey – yes, CONOR CASEY – to run him into the ground, score the equalizer late and what should have been the winner, as well.

I’ve been holding out hope since the release of Pablo Escobar that that would lead to a Matt Besler start sometime. It’s yet to happen, and with the addition of Greek center defender Nick Kounenakis in July, I’d imagine we’ll see him start a match before we see Besler in a starting XI again. I’m fine with that. I’d rather Kounenakis over Thomas, given Thomas work rate this week already. Actually, I’m just hopeful we’ll start anyone but Thomas along side Jimmy Conrad.

“Why is it called ‘SBNhanced’,” you ask? Well, there a bit more to it and it’s slighty different from your typical power rankings, thus being deemed enhanced. Basically, it’s a power rankings poll done weekly by all of the SB Nation MLS blog leaders. (This is actually my third of fourth week participating, but the first I’ve posted results here for some reason.) Seeing as how there is yet to be an MLS blog on the network for every club, there are currently 7 voters. Beginning next week, there should be 9, with the additions this week of Dynamo Theory (Houston Dynamo) and Eighty Six Forever (Vancouver Whitecaps) to the network. By the way, the poll is conducted and run every week by Martin Shatzer over at Black And Red United. (DC – yack.)

Rather than a straightforward 1 through 16 ranking system, (there actually are no numerical rankings) each team’s power ranking is determined by being placed into a tier that each voter believes said team fits into. Their are four tiers, and they are as follows: Teams Contending for Cups, Teams Likely in the Playoffs, Teams on the Outside Looking In and Teams Competing for #3 Draft Pick. A voter can choose to put as many or as few teams in each tier as they like, all based on where they think they fall into the pecking order.

Moving right along, here is this week’s poll:

Thoughts? Agreeances? Disagreements? Complaints? Truly, the greatest thing about a blog on the SB Nation network is not the writing and the posts itself, (thank God for that, right?) but the broad community of sports fans it brings together and how a blog can sort of take on its own personality and feel more like a “place” than a site. Feel free to share your thoughts, because once the move happens, commenting is incredibly easier and free-flowing.

Results since the 0-2 home embarrassment to Chivas USA on July 10

• For what it’s worth, this is also when I created The Daily Wiz, and coincidentally, the team hasn’t lost a match in all competitions since. Hmmm.
• Columbus Crew 0-1 Wizards – At the time, Columbus was on a roll and we were struggling mightily. KC killed some nasty, nasty streaks that night. It seemed to be little more than a slight blip in an otherwise disappointing season.
• Colorado Rapids 1-1 Wizards – 4 points in 4 days. Too bad we were set to be slaughtered by the mighty Manchester United in a meaningless friendly our next match, and lose all present momentum.
• Wizards 2-1 Manchester United – 52,000 people at Arrowhead, victory over the world’s largest sporting brand, but was it best for the team?
• Wizards 1-0 Toronto FC – Another three points against another playoff side. On. A. Roll.
• Wizards 1-1 Real Salt Lake – Should have been three more points, but a draw against arguably the best team in the league and defending champs; I’ll take that.

So, at present moment, the race for the 8th and final playoff spot looks like this*:

Obviously, that leaves KC 6 points back, with a game in hand or two to be countered in the final dozen league matches. Work to be done, for sure. How we can accomplish said work after the jump.

* I’m aware Houston are level with KC on 20 points, but given their recent form and results, they are sinking quickly while everyone else are on the upswing.

The four teams in which I consider KC competing with for the final playoff spot are Colorado, Toronto, San Jose and Chicago. Those four, along with KC, are bunched up within just a 7 point gap. The race to the finish is going to hard-fought for whoever ends up making the playoffs. As usual, matches against the teams with which you’re competing will be huge, but in my mind, remaining strength of schedule may play an bigger part in the chase for late fall soccer. You can only pick up so many points in a small number of games.

The number of games against fellow playoff chasers for each team are as follows:

Colorado - 0

Toronto – 2 – at Chicago, vs San Jose

San Jose – 4 – vs Kansas City, at Toronto, at Chicago, at Kansas City

Chicago - 3 – vs Toronto, at San Jose, vs Kansas City

Kansas City – 3 – at San Jose, at Chicago, vs San Jose

Conclusions: San Jose have the most remaining matches against teams also fighting for the playoffs. They have the greatest opportunity to win the head-to-heads and build a little breathing room. KC and Chicago – two sides seperated by a single point in the table, but with Chicago having a pair of games in hand – each face three matchups against these opponents. The two teams with fewest games remaining against these opponents – Toronto (2) and Colorado (0) – also happen to be the two sides currently occupying playoff places in the table. Perhaps their plethera of already played games – not to mention getting results – against these teams correlates directly with their positioning. That said, with absolutely no games against middle of table teams left, Colorado’s remaining schedule is going to either be against the very best in the league, or the very worst.

The average number of points earned on each team’s remaining schedule for the five teams:

Conclusions: As I suspected before running the numbers, Colorado’s remaining schedule – with no matches against their four playoff hopeful foes – is haevily weighted against the current top of the table. Four combined – home and away to Salt Lake, and away to both Los Angeles and Columbus – against the top three in the league make up a third of their remaining fixtures. If it weren’t for a combined four – home and away to Philadelphia, and home to both New England and DC, I would say they’re fighting a very uphill battle.

Toronto is somewhat a special case the rest of the season. They’ve advanced to the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League, thus lining themselves up with an additional six games to be played between now and late October. At some point, Toronto head coach, former Wizards great and newly inducted National Soccer Hall of Fame member Preki will have to decide how much worth to place upon the CCL and his team’s remaining league games. Toronto will also be doing a fair amount of travelling the rest of the way, as they have two more away games left than at home – same as KC. Couple that with trips to Mexico and Panama for CCL away ties and Toronto just might run out of gas down the stretch.

You have to like, if not love, San Jose’s chances going forward; the weakest remaining schedule and more games to be played at home than away. More so than any other team in this grouping, the Quakes hold their destiny in their own hands. Four games against these opponents, including a key home and away tie with KC which begins this Saturday, really allow San Jose to make their own luck. Right now, I’d place a small dollar figure in their name to be playing come Halloween weekend.

Having two of three remaining matches against playoff chasing opponents at home is a huge coup for the Fire. No other team plays multiple games against them at home. Couple that with their two games in hand over Colorado, Toronto and KC and one over San Jose, if they can string together a few good results in a row, the points can really add up quickly. Don’t count them out, but don’t count them in. Of the five sides, I can really predict the least confidently what Chicago will do.

And, finally we come to the Wiz; sitting behind all applicable sides in the playoff chase. If you go strictly by the numbers – two less at home than away remaining, current points total and no games in hand – one would likely just say, “ah, they’re done for.” But, more so than any other team in this conversation, they are playing inspired soccer right now and reeling off posititive results one after another. One could also argue that KC has the most talented pieces on their current squad – without the addition of a Designate Player, nonetheless – and they are finally just now beginning to show glimpses of their collective potential. The home and away with San Jose will be huge. That’s a series where they will need to pick up a minimum of 4 points. Holding fort at home and stealing one on the road are critical. Also, you can’t lose at Chicago. Perhaps the greatest thing in KC’s favor – and the reason their remaining standing of schedule is so low – is zero remaining against Salt Lake or Columbus. Only the trip to Los Angeles looks to be an indefinite definite loss.

Concluion of the conclusions: I said it last week – this Wizards team is going to make the playoffs. I stand by that today. Sure, that’s an incredible homer statement, but the proof is in the puddin’ and they are playing better than everyone they are chasing. Give this team a healthy final 12 league games – that means no more knocks for Ryan Smith and Shavar Thomas picks up one himself – and they will take 21 to 24 points from their final dozen games and sneak into the playoffs. As of right now, I’ll put a dollar on San Jose in the 7th spot and a nickel on KC in 8th.

Ned Grabavoy flung himself in effort to slow down Ryan Smith - a common sight Saturday night.

Before every Kansas City Wizards upcoming game, I do my own version of the three keys for a Wizards victory. I call it “Three Questions.” It occured to me that I was asking the questions, but leaving them unanswered. I know how much it irritates me when I ask someone a question, but to no response.

Therefore, starting now, I’ll be answering my own Three Questions following every game.

1. What will the different effect of having both starting full backs against RSL make compared to the first matchup?

In short, it made a world of difference. As I mentioned when proposing the question, where Real Salt Lake killed the Kansas City defense in the first matchup was predominently on the right side of defense with regular right back Michael Harrington playing left back in place of Roger Espinoza, who was training for the World Cup with the Honduran national team.

This time around, Alvaro Saborio found far less room to roam and bar the complete gaff on Robbie Findley’s goal (which was a handball, admitted by Findley) the defense was nearly airtight. It was, of course, the center of defense with the momentary lapse of focus that lead to the goal, which Wizards fans have become accustomed to.

The defense as a whole was above their average performance level and did a fairly good job of minimizing the necessity of Jimmy Nielsen heroic saves. Actually, Nielsen may have been so well protected this week that he may not have had opportunity to create and entry into the MLS Save of the Week competition. Well done, backline. Shavar Thomas and Jimmy Conrad played a passable center tandem for the third game in a row; while Harrington and Espinoza were great, as usual, both in defense and pressing forward out wide. They pick and choose their spots so well. That went a long way in picking up the result against arguably the best team in the league.

2. Does Craig Rocastle have another overachieving performance in him?

Games are often, if not always, won and lost in the midfield. Rocastle’s recent rise from mediocrity and its correlation to the team’s much-improved play has been well-documented here at The Daily Wiz. While he wasn’t quite as good as he was against Toronto FC last week, Craig came with another high work rate performance and did a good job of winning the ball back early and often.

I’ve said that his partnership with true holding midfielder Stephane Auvray has been the real spark to the recent run of results. Again on Saturday, Rocastle could be found winning the ball in the KC half of the field, then also pushing into the final third feeding of forwards Teal Bunbury and Ryan Smith all in the same counter attack. Rocastle and Auvray have formed a very nice partnership and chemistry that one of them always covers back in defense while the other is the fourth or fifth man forward in attack.

For all the flack (deservedly so) Craig received early in the year for his rash behavior on the field, he has toned himself down and gotten himself to a level of fitness where he can be a regular contributor. Also, after listening to Dave Borchardt’s sit-down interview with Rocastle on Monday, I can’t help but really start to like him and get a little excited about his prospects.

3. What is the status of Wizards winger Ryan Smith for Saturday’s game?

Smith was in the starting XI on Saturday and boy, was he ready to go. It was vintage (can you call something only months old, vintage?) Ryan Smith.

He was to the Wizards what Saborio was to Salt Lake in the two side’s first matchup of the season. For my money, I’d say no on in MLS has the shifty ability of Smith, or his ability to go, stop, go quite as quickly. When he is at full effort and not jawing with opponents, (and being carded for it, as he was on Saturday) he’s nearly imposible to defend.

What are you supposed to do with someone who can blow by you out wide, dance circles around or cut inside and dash past two defenders to the top of the 18 yard box? Ryan’s assist on Kei Kamara’s goal in the 21st minute was a direct product of his hustle tracking down an over-hit cross in the corner, using his trickery to wiggle free momentarily and putting the ball back into the box. He’s got to be Man of the Match as far as Kansas City is concerned, right?

Anytime you’ve got three key points like that coming into an important game and your players step up to the challenge and answer them like the Wiz did on Saturday, you’re going to get a result. Whether you feel you deserved the full three points or not, you have to be happy with the draw and move on to the next one.