PDO: Week 20 Update

Last week, we talked about PDO...a lot. We likely will continue to talk about PDO and monitor it through the season. After games played this past weekend here are the up-to-date rankings. I know that Matthias usually just updates his page on Monday, but I'm actually going to make these a post so that when I want to do a week-by-week investigation later on this off-season, it saves me time. Because it's all about me.

Team	SA	GA	GA%	Sv%	SF	GF	SH%	TSR	Points	Games	PPG	PDO
Portland Timbers	83	18	0.22	0.78	93	30	0.32	0.528	33	19	1.74	1106
New England Rev.	75	16	0.21	0.79	72	22	0.31	0.490	24	18	1.33	1092
Real Salt Lake	87	18	0.21	0.79	112	32	0.29	0.563	37	20	1.85	1079
New York Red Bulls	83	24	0.29	0.71	79	29	0.37	0.488	31	20	1.55	1078
Seattle Sounders FC	73	20	0.27	0.73	61	21	0.34	0.455	24	17	1.41	1070
Houston Dynamo	76	19	0.25	0.75	76	22	0.29	0.500	29	19	1.53	1039
Vancouver Whitecaps	81	26	0.32	0.68	91	32	0.35	0.529	32	19	1.68	1031
FC Dallas	105	27	0.26	0.74	96	27	0.28	0.478	31	20	1.55	1024
Colorado Rapids	81	22	0.27	0.73	80	23	0.29	0.497	27	20	1.35	1016
Philadelphia Union	88	30	0.34	0.66	93	32	0.34	0.514	30	20	1.50	1003
Columbus Crew	90	23	0.26	0.74	89	23	0.26	0.497	23	19	1.21	1003
Montreal Impact	91	29	0.32	0.68	97	31	0.32	0.516	31	18	1.72	1001
Sporting Kansas City	56	19	0.34	0.66	92	29	0.32	0.622	33	20	1.65	976
L.A. Galaxy	70	24	0.34	0.66	100	30	0.30	0.588	30	20	1.50	957
San Jose Earthquakes	105	32	0.30	0.70	84	21	0.25	0.444	24	21	1.14	945
CD Chivas USA	107	35	0.33	0.67	63	17	0.27	0.371	14	19	0.74	943
Toronto FC	77	27	0.35	0.65	59	17	0.29	0.434	13	18	0.72	937
Chicago Fire	77	28	0.36	0.64	91	20	0.22	0.542	21	18	1.17	856
DC United	81	29	0.36	0.64	56	8	0.14	0.409	10	19	0.53	785

This week you see Montreal continue to sit somewhere rather neutral in the luck department. Interesting situation after reading Richard Whittall's weekly analytic piece on the Canadian club yesterday. Even more-so when considering some of the screaming by the press and cries about replacing possibly replacing Marco Schallibaum  at the helm...in fact I kind of think it's down right crazy. I wouldn't considered the Impact to be a Supporter Shield contender---that's just me---but it also doesn't mean they won't be. Their points-per-match total is third in MLS, and they still have one-two games in hand on the clubs ahead of them.

Speaking of the East. The New York Red Bulls continue their rise up the luck charts. Something to consider after defeating the Impact 4-0 this week and all the talk about "finally coming together". Remember this graphic is about luck, not about talent. That is to say, be careful about high and lofty dreams, east siders. I can see the Red Bulls struggling to retain that first place position.

Another riser, this one out west, is Vancouver. They are on their way up with the recent performances of Kenny Miller, Camilo and Brad Knighton. Their 1.68 points-per-game average have them quietly (or, of late, not so quietly) contending for a top-3 playoff position ahead of Dallas, LA and Seattle. Something to take note and see whether they are truly overachieving and just on a hot-streak, or finally hitting a much-needed groove.

Lastly, on the subject of FC Dallas, I think it's interesting how they've held pretty firm with a PDO over 1000. Expect them to continue to regress over the next few weeks. The number of shots that they are allowing to reach Raul Fernandez is quiet surprising, and the fact that they are producing an above average save% makes me question how much longer they'll stick around. Though, admittedly, much of that has been due to George John being MIA. His return from the hamstring strain will be crucial to stopping attacks before they get to the keeper.