MLS power rankings: Hollywood heavyweights trending in opposite directions

Welcome back to the Guardian’s MLS Power Rankings, where I have a beef with your specific team and your specific team alone. I’m convinced something similar goes for CF Montréal owner Joey Saputo, who clearly has beef with his own team given his near-total disregard for his roster.

Now, as a reminder, these aren’t your standard, run-of-the-mill power rankings. We’re still ranking teams from worst to first. But along with the rankings, we’re diving deep into a handful of teams from around the league who are doing particularly interesting things.

A painful reminder

29. San Jose Earthquakes

28. Sporting Kansas City

27. New England Revolution

26. CF Montréal

25. Chicago Fire

24. Austin FC

For years, MLS has been criticized for its lack of roster transparency. Thanks to the league’s score of complex roster rules, it’s often difficult to have useful discussions about what teams can do to, say, add to their squads in the transfer window. When teams couldn’t even be counted on to update their own roster pages on their own websites, it was virtually impossible to have those discussions.

“We’ve got to appeal to a broader audience, and the way that we’re going to do that in mainstream America is by giving everybody the information,” Atlanta United president Garth Lagerwey said earlier this year. “Very few people have been a GM, but they all assume they can do the job better than Lagerwey or [Tim] Bezbatchenko or [John] Thorrington or whomever,” he added.

To the league’s credit, they’re working towards that goal of transparency. Earlier this week, MLS released its second set of “roster profiles” for all 29 teams, handing out information about which players are occupying Designated Player and U22 Initiative spots, contract years and more. There’s more to be done, but these profiles are like liquid gold to a longsuffering MLS fan.

That is, unless you’re a longsuffering CF Montréal fan, in which case, looking at your team’s roster profile may make you cry.

Montréal fans already knew that there was just one (out of a possible three) DPs in their squad. Still, it hurts to see it spelled out so plainly. That one DP is Victor Wanyama, who has a grand total of 406 minutes to his name in the regular season. His contract expires at the end of 2024. Montreal owner Joey Saputo reportedly drove Wilfried Nancy, who may be the best coach MLS has ever seen, out the door, doesn’t take his roster seriously and has put his club behind the eight ball.

Sign some good players, CF Montréal. Please.

Longevity and Golden Boots

23. St Louis City

22. FC Dallas

21. Nashville SC

20. DC United

19. Toronto FC

18. Philadelphia Union

Christian Benteke needs more love. OK, fine, I don’t really know that. He’s probably doing fine, emotionally speaking. But in terms of the way he’s discussed among the other true superstars in MLS this year, Benteke needs more love.

It’s not Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Chicho Arango, or Denis Bouanga who’s most likely to win this year’s Golden Boot. No, it’s DC United’s Belgian giant. Leading MLS in goals with 19, Benteke isn’t showing any signs of leaving his pole position. He’s streaming towards the Golden Boot – and could very well be in contention for that title in 2025, too.

Related: Should the Premier League adopt an MLS-style salary cap after PSR failings?

Benteke’s longevity is key for DC United. After years of mediocrity, DC finally overhauled the front office this past winter. They changed head coaches, too. But it’s much quicker to change front office and coaching personnel than it is to rebuild a roster, which is the task currently facing DC United. With their Designated Player spots and some lofty contracts coming off the books before next year, we’ll see the next step in DC’s rebuild in the winter transfer window.

But one of the first (and most crucial) steps that this team has already taken? They signed Benteke to a contract extension through 2025 with an option for 2026. At 33, Benteke is aging with remarkable grace. His game is predicated on strength and savvy positioning, rather than speed, which means his best skills will fade far slower than others in his generation.

There’s tons more for DC to do, but keeping Benteke is progress. Now he’s got a Golden Boot to win.

Pick up the phone, Poch

17. Charlotte FC

16. Atlanta United

15. New York Red Bulls

14. Minnesota United

13. New York City FC

12. Portland Timbers

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but there’s a new manager taking charge of the US men’s national team. His name is Mauricio Pochettino, and he may be in need of a new goalkeeper.

With Matt Turner sitting on the bench in the Premier League and none of the backup goalkeepers who cycled into the squad prior to the last World Cup showing much of anything, it’s time for the US to get creative in goal. Patrick Schulte, who’s shined for the Columbus Crew this year, earned a start for the USMNT earlier this month before Pochettino was announced. For the next set of fixtures in October, it’s time to pick up the phone and call New York City FC’s Matt Freese.

If you don’t know a ton about Freese, he’s in the midst of his first full season as a starter in MLS. The 26-year-old Pennsylvania-native served as a backup for the Union before being traded to NYCFC. Freese won the starting goalkeeper job last fall and shined in his 10 starts, becoming the obvious No 1 for 2024.

So early into his career as a starter, he still has the occasional bad outing – Wednesday’s loss to the Union was one of those. Still, Freese has shown he’s one of the absolute best shot-stoppers in the entire league – to the point where he’s the primary reason for New York City’s success. Sure, Santiago Rodríguez is the big-name attacker and Maxi Moralez is the sage, creative midfielder. But it’s Freese’s under-appreciated work that paints NYCFC as even a slight playoff threat.

According to FBref, Freese has saved 6.2 more goals than expected this year, good for first in MLS among players under the age of 30. He’s saving nearly a quarter of a goal from finding the back of the net every single game. Give him a call, Mauricio.

A Scottish reunion

11. Real Salt Lake

10. Colorado Rapids

9. Seattle Sounders

8. Vancouver Whitecaps

7. Orlando City

6. Houston Dynamo

The list of things that MLS needs to do to become a more popular league in the crowded global soccer – and American sports – landscape is long. Attracting and signing better players would help. The current playoff format that features 62% of the league making the playoffs severely devalues the regular season. Soccer-specific stadiums need to be built.

But one specific thing that belongs high up the list is the simplest one of all: MLS needs more great stories. As sports fans, we love stories. Narratives, memories, personal touches. Those things are all huge parts of what makes sports so special.

The Vancouver Whitecaps have one of those stories right now.

In desperate need of a third Designated Player to shrink the gap between themselves and the best in the West, the Caps signed Scottish midfielder Stuart Armstrong. Sure, the former Southampton stalwart is a valuable addition for Vancouver because he gives them one more weapon before the playoff race. But he’s also a fun addition. A decade ago, Armstrong and countryman Ryan Gauld were teammates at Dundee United.

This sport has brought them back together, where their chemistry is already paying dividends:

Is Armstrong going to be a high-level DP? I’m skeptical. But he adds quality and a charming storyline to Vancouver. The Caps became more likable when Armstrong and Gauld reunited – and that’s progress.

Related: Pochettino will bring stardust to the USMNT but appointment is still a risk | Tom Dart

Hollywood slapstick

5. LAFC

4. LA Galaxy

3. FC Cincinnati

2. Columbus Crew

1. Inter Miami

LAFC are an incredibly talent-rich team with a sky-high ceiling and more legitimate trophy aspirations than almost every MLS team. But they sure do have a weakness to address before the playoffs get rolling.

Namely, they’ve struggled defensively too often in 2024. The first big warning sign – one so big that it caught the attention of drivers on both sides of the highway – was LAFC’s 5-1 home loss to Columbus Crew in July. Steve Cherundolo’s team was picked apart by a vastly superior unit. LAFC’s lack of defensive focus bit them in the Leagues Cup final, again against the Crew, where poor defending reared its ugly head. Then there was that 2-0 home loss to Houston, where the Dynamo carved through their press like a hot knife through already slightly melted butter.

And then there was Saturday’s El Tráfico, where LAFC blew a 2-0 lead, conceded four unanswered, and left Carson with nothing.

Under Cherundolo, LAFC have been content to play in transition. They have the third-fastest direct attacking speed in MLS, according to Opta, and want to let Denis Bouanga drive at backpedaling defenders en route to creating their best chances. Fair enough. Defensively, though, their love for playing on the break necessitates a strong foundation. If you’re going to let the opposition have the ball for more than all but five teams in MLS, you’d better be good at limiting their chances with it.

There, folks, lies the season-defining problem for LAFC. They’ve been far, far too leaky. There are half a dozen damning clips that I could pop in here, including one from their disappointing 1-1 home draw with Austin on Wednesday, but this one against the Galaxy feels the most revealing:

Slapstick really is the word that defines LAFC’s play without the ball – and that has to change before they should feel good about winning anything in 2024.