Avoiding the Drop

New England Revolution v. Columbus Crew (Saturday)

To have a chance at the post-season, New England need to take four points from their final three matches. Normally this would be tough, but it would be “achievable.” Unfortunately for the Revolution their last three matches are against Columbus, Chicago, and Columbus (again) and they’ll have to do it without Steve Ralston and with other players (Shalrie Joseph, Jay Heaps, Edgaras Jankauskas, etc.) who will be at less than 100% health. On the positive side, Columbus has already clinched a playoff spot and may feature some of its weaker players in order to rest its starters. At least that’s what I’m hoping, because Chicago will be out to clinch their own spot in their match against the Revolution and that will make three points tough to get in that match.

San Jose Earthquakes v. Toronto F.C. (Saturday)

Thanks to their midweek loss to Dallas, the Earthquakes have been eliminated from the playoffs…finally. San Jose has actually put together a pretty solid second half of the season, so one hopes that they will put forth a full effort in their final three matches to keep their momentum going into next season. Meanwhile, Toronto need to take at least one point out of this match to still have a chance of earning the 42 points that will likely be the absolute minimum that will be needed to finish in one of the top eight places- and that assumes that they would be on the “winning” side of any tie-breakers with teams that also finish with 42 points. Fun Fact: Before Toronto F.C., Toronto was home to at least ten other football franchises…they all failed.

Kansas City Wizards v. Chivas U.S.A. (Saturday)

Chivas U.S.A. are in the best situation of any team that hasn’t yet clinched a playoff spot. They are currently in the playoffs (sixth place) and they have four matches remaining. One win, or maybe even two draws in those four matches should be enough to guarantee them a spot in the post-season. However, they would be well-served to take advantage of their matches this weekend and next weekend (San Jose) to get those points as their final two opponents after are Chicago and Houston. As for Kansas City, well, they have to figure out some way to pick up all nine of their remaining points while making sure that no team above them gets to more than 40 points. While that remains mathematically possible, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that this is, at best, an unlikely scenario.

Charlton Athletic F.C. v. Oldham Athletic A.F.C. (Saturday)

Here we have the first of two League One matches between teams that used to be in the Premiership- think of it as an update on several teams last seen in our, They’ve Fallen And They Can’t Get Up feature. In this case, it is entirely possible that both teams could find themselves back in the Coca-Cola Championship next year. Yes, it’s early days yet, but Charlton Athletic currently sit in second place (automatic promotion) and Oldham Athletic are only two points out of one of the league’s four playoff spots. You know, it’s got to be rough for supporters of these two teams- both of which used to used to furnish players to multiple national teams- to now be so far down in England’s football pyramid that it is seen as “safe” for them to play matches on a weekend full of international matches.

Swindon Town F.C. v. Millwall F.C. (Saturday)

Our second match featuring teams from League One pits the Robins of Swindon Town against the Lions of Millwall. On that basis, Millwall should be run away winners, but let’s take a closer look at things. First, Swindon are currently in one of the league’s playoff spots while Millwall are not- they’re in eleventh place. Of course, as usual, Millwall have other things on their minds, don’t they? Ten days ago they were charged with “violent, threatening, obscene and provocative behavior, racist behavior, and throwing missiles, harmful or dangerous objects on to the pitch” as a result of “events” which took place during their recent Carling Cup match against West Ham United. On that basis, I think I’m going to have to take Swindon for the win, Peter.

Ross County F.C. v. Greenock Morton F.C. (Saturday)

After several disappointing cup ties the Staggies return to SFL action when they travel south to Greenock to face “The Ton.” Greenock are in seventh place and have the worst goal differential in the league- it’s almost twice that of last place Ayr United. This does not augur well for Greenock’s remaining in the First Division next year. County are in third place but have a game in hand over the teams above them. A win and they’ll be back in first. Last week I was worried about County having to ground-share with ICT if the Staggies were promoted to the SPL- strike that. RCFC have announced that if they are promoted they can have an all-seater stand built in 11 weeks and be ready for the SPL. Fun Fact: In the 1990s Greenock wore tartan patterned kits- and that is all kinds of awesome.

Italia Shooters v. Trois-Rivieres Attak (Saturday)

There is still a Canadian Soccer League…for now. Toronto is in MLS, Vancouver will be joining next year, the Montreal rumors just won’t die, and now there is talk of putting a team in Ottawa. For the moment, we will treat the CSL as a real, top tier, national football league. This match is one of the two semifinals being contested this weekend. I’m assuming that the top four teams in each of the two divisions make the playoffs, because Italia finished third in the International Division and is now looking to win a semifinal match. Here’s a little bit about each team. First, the Attak are the reserve team for the Montreal Impact (who play in an American league, not a Canadian one). Second, the Shooters have changed their name five times in the eleven years since they were founded.

USA v. Honduras (Saturday)

How is this match not on television? No, seriously. What’s worse, nobody “important” (except the geniuses here at Avoiding the Drop and other well-regarded footie websites) seems to be too concerned about this. The USSF has nothing on their website except a list of pubs where the match can be watched on “closed circuit” television. Sam’s Army, the most prominent USMNT supporters’ organization has nothing on their website except the time and date of the match with “TBA” listed where the television “situation” would normally be listed. And MLS, which won’t even halt play on international dates, well, never mind them. So, I guess if the U.S. is able to win and clinch a spot in World Cup 2010 we’ll just have to watch for the smoke signals coming from San Pedro Sula.

Scotland v. Japan (Saturday)

What do you do when you’ve bowed out of World Cup qualification and you are about to begin the journey toward the 2012 European Championships? You serve as an “opponent” for Japan, a team that did qualify for South Africa 2010. The upside is that you get to take a look at some of the younger players who may feature in 2012. Due to injuries and the “traveling flu,” most of Scotland’s squad has five or fewer caps, including a number of players who will be looking for their first senior cap: Jamie Langfield (Aberdeen), Lee Wallace (Hearts), Graham Dorrans (West Bromwich Albion), Craig Conway (Dundee United), Ross Wallace (Preston North End), Stephen Hughes (Norwich City), and, most importantly, Don Cowie (Watford) who played 176 matches for Ross County.

Argentina v. Peru (Saturday)

When the CONMEBOL World Cup qualification fixtures were released I don’t think there was anyone who thought this match would have any implications for either side. Peru would be, as they are, out of the running, and- of course- Argentina would have long ago punched their ticket for South Africa. Oops. Here’s what has to happen to guarantee that Argentina are able to earn a playoff spot against the playoff team from CONCACAF: they must defeat Peru AND Uruguay lose to Ecuador AND Venezuela lose to Paraguay AND Colombia do not defeat Chile. Yikes. Fun fact: Max Bretos and Christopher Sullivan of FSC like to pronounce “CONMEBOL” and “CONCACAF” with a Spanish accent even though they are acronyms, NOT ACTUAL WORDS! Jackasses.

Germany v. Russia (Saturday)

As the helicopter pilot at Itchy and Scratchy Land once said, “Nothing could possibli go wrong…” If only these two long time enemies could make some sort of pact with each other, one that was as strong as steel…but I digress. There’s actually a lot on the line here so let’s run through the various permutations. If Germany win, they win the group. If the match ends in a draw, Germany win the group. If Russia wins, they win the group. No matter what, Russia is guaranteed to enter the UEFA playoffs as one of the best second place teams. For those of you scoring at home- or even if you’re alone- Germany won the previous qualification match between the two teams, 2-1. This match, however, will be held in Russia and we all know how that usually turns out for Germany…

Brisbane Roar v. Gold Coast United (Sunday)

I chose to preview this match from Australia’s Hyundai A-League as a “shout out” (I hope I used that correctly) because Brisbane is the closest team in the league to my aunt, who lives in Ballina, NSW. She is currently reeling from the loss of her beloved Parramatta Eels to the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League’s “Grand Final.” Both Brisbane and Gold Coast are in the playoff hunt at the moment, and that would mean a great deal to my aunt if she cared about soccer at all- which she doesn’t. What would really make her day is if the Red Sox could have their series against the Angels wrapped up in three games. Fun Fact: In the late 1960′s and early 1970′s- before she moved to Australia- my aunt babysat for at least two Red Sox players: Mike Andrews and Rico Petrocelli among them.