The busy week ended with a change on top only with goal difference....
Galatasaray perhaps is the best team of the week, in my opinion....
They have beat, two important opponents in four days, last week...
Galatasaray scored six goals and only allowed only one goal.

It is that time again for the player ratings based on a 1 to 10 scale. 1 being bad and 10 being epic.

• Rodney Wallace - 5 - Really thought he started out really well but faded as the game went on
• Futty Danso - 7 - Without him and Brunner the Timbers would have lost
• Eric Brunner - 6 - Got turned way to easily on the goal but saved another one
• Eric Alexander - 6 - I really thought he relieved a ton of pressure and got out of tight spots, once he was taken off it was back to the kick and chase

It is that time again for the player ratings based on a 1 to 10 scale.

The Portland Timbers continued their quest for the playoffs by venturing to the nation's capital to meet D.C. United, who also had slim playoff chances. Originally scheduled for August but moved because of Hurricane Irene, the Timbers and United played one of the most intense, exciting and exhausting matches under windy and rainy conditions.

Angel's Goal Sealed the Deal the Last Time Philly Played a League Game at RBAI exchanged three questions with Scott Kessler, editor of Philadelphia Union SBNation blog The Brotherly Game, in advance of tonight's big game at Red Bull Arena. You can find my responses to his queries by clicking here.

After a rough home defeat to the Houston Dynamo on Friday, the Portland Timbers trained today for the last time in Portland before the end of the season. Despite the overcast weather the mood in practice was light and optimistic as the Timbers kept it light as they recovered and prepared to travel to the District of Columbia for Wednesday's match.

In the long history between these two teams (winners of the first five MLS Cups), there has never been an ending quite like this. The Chicago Fired dealt DC United's playoff chances a major blow while keeping themselves alive for ...
Visit http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com for the rest of the story.

In the long history between these two teams (winners of the first five MLS Cups), there has never been an ending quite like this. The Chicago Fired dealt DC United's playoff chances a major blow while keeping themselves alive for ...
Visit http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com for the rest of the story.

Via a really well written Jason Quick piece. I wish he would write Timbers more often. In addition to this stuff, there's some quality stuff on Paulson himself. Great article. Juicy article.

There has been some fairly scary (to me, anyway) financial talk in the past, but Paulson sounds really ambitious in this article:

"We are already looking at three to four guys who will be big, big additions in this offseason.

Ted and Chris return, without a wire (aka, their producer), to cover the midweek action and delve in to the playoff chances of all the clubs still in the mix. They also discuss the future of MLS after an spirited debate/argument on Twitter. CSRN MEDIA PLAYER

It was a big night for the Dynamo as both the midweek results when their way. DC United wasted another of their games in hand and the Fire couldn't get points at home against Dallas. The Dynamo's playoff chances are looking a lot better, but there's still work to be done.

Results:

Chicago Fire 1 - 2 FC Dallas
Vancouver Whitecaps 2 - 1 DC United

Playoff Standings:

Team Points (Max Potential Points) Games Played (of 34) Points Per Game GD ss-LAG (W1) 64 (70) 32 2.

Chicago 1 - Dallas 2 Two teams going different directions at Toyota Park in suburban Chicago. For the Fire, it's a realistic end to their playoff chances. For Dallas, it's the playoffs. Dallas led 2-0 with goals from Jackson in the 41st minute and Daniel Cruz in the 52nd. After Chicago's Pavel Pardo was ejected in the 78th, Sebastian Grazzini ruined Kevin Hartman's shutout attempt in the 85th minute.

Around 11:30pm CT on Friday evening, we'll know a great deal more about the Houston Dynamo's playoff chances for the 2011 season. All those missteps and dropped points throughout the long summer have culminated in a massively important match against the Portland Timbers at Jeld-Wen Field.

As if the game itself wasn't enough, there's the added storyline of Mike Chabala and Lovel Palmer waiting for their former comrades in orange to arrive.

The playoffs are so close, and yet so far away for the Portland Timbers. With the players healthy and coming off a big win away against the Vancouver Whitecaps the Timbers are in a good position to make the playoffs. In this bye week for the Timbers with only a few games going on we can take a look at the way the playoff run-up is taking shape.

So New York pulled out a win over LA on Tuesday night closing the gap on KC to only 2 points with two games to play. The game next weekend in KC is going to be huge. It's an absolute must win for KC if they want a top 3 spot. And while losing won't crush KC's playoff chances it certainly will not help.

Much has been made about the Vancouver Whitecaps relishing the opportunity to spoil the Portland Timbers' playoff chances. The Whitecaps' grand entrance into BC Place has also garnered some attention, as if their newly renovated giant sea anemone next to False Creek will solve the myriad problems that persist throughout their organization.

The New York Red Bulls needed a win against Toronto FC on Saturday to really boost their playoff chances, but for a team with just two road wins all year, a draw was probably the more realistic goal.

Toronto FC nearly left the Red Bulls with zero points, but Thierry Henry stepped up to save New York one more time, collecting a Dax McCarty' corner kick and hitting a perfect turn and shot in the 88th minute to help the Red Bulls salvage a 1-1 draw at BMO Field.

On the latest edition of the Philly Soccer Show podcast, co-hosts Greg Orlandini of KYW NewsRadio and Eli Pearlman-Storch of the Philly Soccer Page were joined by Philly Soccer Page writer Adam Cann for a roundtable discussion of the Philadelphia Union's playoff chances. During the discussion, Eli devised a grid projecting the final season standings for the Eastern Conference that included projected points earned in each of the remaining games.

Just a quick post this Thursday morning to update Dynamo Nation on how last night's matches affected Houston's playoff chances. Sporting KC's victory over Columbus move them in to first place in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the Dynamo, while the Crew remain in third place.

Colorado faces Isidro Metapan tonight in El Salavador at 8pm MDT. The game is delayed until 10:30pm on FOX Soccer Channel but can be watched live on the CONCACAF Champions League site. The supporters groups are gathering at the British Bulldog for this one, presumably to watch the live stream on big screens.

Despite some sub-par play against the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday, there were high hopes for the Portland Timbers' playoff chances coming into the weekend. However, only a few days later and the Timbers have lost ground on the pack with all three of their main playoff rivals winning.

Doesn't want to face Pumas eitherTHE BUZZ:
The only real prize for the winner of tonight's match will be for overly optimistic Goats or Robins supporters (yes, we are trying call TFC "The Robins" for sh*ts and giggles) to pretend for one week longer that they have a playoff hope.

Hi Kids, Joe the Curmudgeon here again while Brucio is living the high life in NYC. I hope he's having a good time and will take a snapshot or two. Bruce is there to see the Portland Timbers visit to Red Bull Arena and their match against the New York Red Bulls. Perhaps he'll be seated next to Rafa Márquez.

After a three-week layoff, RBNY prepares to play the league doormat at home, and Dave & Mark set up the match. Then we get into the Red Bulls' playoff chances with Dan R of MetroFanatic. Lastly, we answer some super listener mail. 8 to play! CSRN MEDIA PLAYER

The razor's edge. The precipice. The thin line. That's where the Union stands now, having infamously fallen from the uppermost echelon of the Eastern Conference table into the murky gray area of 4th-ish place. While our be-snaked boys in blue cling valiantly to our playoff chances, our enemies circle.

Portland hosts Chivas USA in a big battle tonight. (Getty Images)

There are a couple good CONCACAF Champions League matches tonight but there is one good MLS match to look at. I linked a preview of tonight's game earlier today on how big tonight's match is for the Portland Timbers and Chivas USA.

I always found it odd that Chivas USA was named as such given what the word "chivas" actually means. For those that don't know chivas in Spanish means "goats." So, essentially, the Portland Timbers are playing a team called Goats USA tonight. Obviously it's all about the branding being carried over from their sister club in Guadalajara, but it's still funny regardless.

It's been a long season for the New England Revolution (4-11-10, 22 points) who find their playoff chances all but gone with nine games remaining. For the Revs closest rivals, the New York Red Bulls (6-6-13, 31 points), the last four months have almost equally as torturous.

When the two sides face off at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night (7:30 p.

Joel Lindpere and the Red Bulls hope to help their playoff chances in New England. (Getty Images)

It is finally Friday. Moving into the weekend phase of this week is something I've been looking forward to since well...last weekend. In all seriousness though, Major League Soccer shifts into their weekend phase after three decent midweek games.

The US based teams in the league went 4-0 in the CONCACAF Champions League (CCL) this week. The Sounders did their part with a come-from-behind 4-1 victory over CSD Comunicaciones of Guatemala. Church was in session for the second half as Mike Fucito showed why he deserves more playing time. Meaningful, south of the border, FC Dallas secured the honor of winning the first competitive game for a U.

As the 2011 MLS Season rounds the turn to the final stretch of the regular season, we've been talking about playoffs quite a bit here. We've looked at playoff position and playoff chances based on the current MLS table, based on a simulation, based on a target number of points, based on points per game standings, and so on.

Last Saturday, D.C. United gutted out a 2-0 at San Jose. Dwayne De Rosario's two second half goals gave D.C. a lead in a frustrating game for both teams. It was only after Andy Najar was sent off for a professional foul that San Jose seized the initiative, but a committed rear-guard performance saw D.

By JOHN BOSCHINI

Time is running out on the Atlanta Silverbacks and the Montreal Impact.

Both teams sit six points off the final playoff spot currently held by the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, and it doesn't get any easier as the bottom dwellers face trips to the top two teams in the league.

As of the end of this weekend's games we're almost exactly a third of the way through the MLS season. Out of 306 total, we've played 106 (assuming my math is right). Obviously some teams have played more than others. MLS was true to its word that teams that qualified for the Champions League would have frontloaded schedules to help with fixture congestion once CCL play starts, and so the teams that have played at least 13 games already include CCL qualifiers Seattle Sounders, Los Angeles Galaxy, Colorado Rapids, and FC Dallas - along with (inexplicably) the Houston Dynamo.

Hey there.

I know a lot of you are already leaving this team for dead and saying crazy stuff like "need a win to resurrect their playoff chances", "we should trade Nyarko" and "what about firing the coach?". Obviously everything is carved in stone right now. The results of 26 more games are clear and definitive and not covered in the fog of flares.

This past weekend the Chicago Riot faced a critical match-up of playing the Omaha Vipers away on Friday and then here in sweet home Chicago on Sunday. Lose both games and face almost certain playoff elimination. Win both games and take the driver's seat. Split the games and... well that's why you read these kind of things.