Yesterday we gave you the Guardian predictions for the MLS Eastern Conference. Now it's the turn of the West - home of MLS cup holders LA Galaxy and a host of other likely frontrunners for this season's prizes. See who we're tipping below and check back next week for the verdicts of our guest fans and bloggers from each team.

The Western Conference

Overview

In 2011, once again, the West was the best: LA swept all before them; Real Salt Lake fought their way to the Champions League Final; Seattle won the US Open Cup and renewed old Cascadia rivalries with Portland and Vancouver in vivid style, as the latter two teams and their fans brought their unique flavor to the league.

The MLS play offs had the air of a coronation. LA squeezed the life out of their opposition and at times did what champions do when they have to (win without playing well and without key players), even if in retrospect there wasn't much doubt about the outcome. When they got to the final they were at full strength though, and won with a goal fashioned by the side's three Designated Players.

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The build up to the winner included an assist by the most recent star signing from the EPL and a finish from the Golden Boy of American soccer, but the story of the night was the LA finale of David Beckham, winning MLS Cup at the last, before riding into the sunset announcing he was staying after all. When you looked past the soap opera plot round the number 23 though, the most significant event of the evening was probably the fact that a team containing Designated Players had won the MLS Cup for the first time. In the longer term, we may see a sea change in the way future team owners construct a blueprint for success.

That's for the future though. This year, again, it's hard to look past LA. Their attack is stronger and the core of the team has stayed together. Only the defense has been weakened with the loss of Gonzalez. Seattle will push them close, though much depends on whether Eddie Johnson remembers how to score after his torrid time out of the league. Real Salt Lake were the pre-Designated-Player model for success in the league: an experienced core group, complemented by well-drilled, athletic, young American players. They've also hit the glass ceiling inherent in that model - winning players want to be paid as such and one of the league's most attractive ball-playing sides may find themselves victims of their own success. Elsewhere, Kris Boyd may have found his niche up front for Portland and be a shrewd buy for them (as shrewd as Jose Adolfo Valencia was inexplicable - what with him being broken when they unwrapped him...) and they may do what Philadelphia did in their second MLS season, by making a surprise play-off push.

It'll be LA though.

2011 Results:

Regular season winners: LA Galaxy (Supporters Shield winners)

Play off teams: Seattle Sounders, Real Salt Lake, FC Dallas, Colorado Rapids

Conference Champions: LA Galaxy (MLS Cup winners)

2012 Team by Team Previews

(NB in trade summaries below, unless otherwise stated, players "In" came from Superdraft or Supplemental Draft; Players "Out" were waived or did not have their option picked up)

Chivas USA

2011: 8th (missed playoffs)

In: M Ryan Smith (trade from Sporting KC); D James Riley (from Seattle, via trade from Montreal); M Oswaldo Minda (SD Quito); M Miller Bolaños (LDU Quito); F Casey Townsend; D R.J. Allen; G Brian Rowe; D Daniel Steres; D Fabian Kling; D Kevin Venegas; G Tim Melia (free); D John Valencia (Atlético Junior); M Marvin Iraheta (Cosmos Academy); D Rauwshan McKenzie (free); M Peter Vagenas (free); F Cesar Romero (free)

Out: F Justin Braun (trade to Montreal); M Gerson Mayen (trade to Montreal); D Zarek Valentin (expansion draft); M Paulo Nagamura (trade to Sporting KC); D Andrew Boyens (Re-Entry Stage 2/LA Galaxy); F Chukwudi Chujindu ; M Simon Elliott; G Zach Thornton; D Mariano Trujillo ; D Michael Umaña (free/Comunicaciones); F Marcos Mondaini; G Sergio Arias; F Víctor Estupiñán; D R.J. Allen; D Fabian Kling

Opening Game:

(H) Houston Dynamo, Sunday, March 11, 7.00pm, ET Home Depot Center (Galavision)

Full Season Schedule

Juan Pablo Angel must be wishing he hadn't started the trend for Premier League imports. First Thierry Henry's arrival curtailed his reign in New York, then the chance to show the Red Bulls what they were missing ended in disappointment in Los Angeles, in the wake of the Galaxy's move for Robbie Keane last summer. At least Angel didn't have to move his locker contents far on his next trade - finally landing with a team where he's undisputed top dog. Of his fellow forwards at Chivas USA last season, Justin Braun may have made himself a fan favorite with the hat trick at Red Bull Arena, but he was traded to Montréal this off-season, and Víctor Estupiñán is gone too - possibly regretting his prediction that he would score 30 goals last year (he did get 1...).

The good news for Chivas USA fans is that Angel, unlike half the squad he played with last year, is back for 2012. When you think of Chivas USA in recent seasons you think of turnover - on and off the field. For practical reasons (money) Chivas tends to focus on developing young players and of course receives first look at some of the best of them (low league placement = high draft picks). But the revolving door at the club means those young players tend to become the finished product elsewhere. Robin Fraser is in year two of a building project at Chivas, but the real-politic of managing this team means he has had to pretty much knock down last year's house and start again. Angel is an exception, and so, thankfully, is Dan Kennedy. The goalkeeper had an amazing season last year, showing no signs of long-term effects of his season-ending injury from 2010. Kennedy's acrobatic saves kept Chivas in contention in many games and his presence, and that of Angel and the improving Heath Pearce at center back, should give Fraser some hope that at least the spine of the team is in good shape. Two more signings, Oswaldo Minda (SD Quito) and Miller Bolaños (LDU Quito), may be the missing link in midfield, but Fraser needs his new look side to gel fast, or they'll be rebuilding again next year.

Guardian Prediction: 9th

Colorado Rapids

2011: 5th (lost to Sporting Kansas City in Eastern Conference semi-finals)

In: D Hunter Freeman (Re-Entry Stage 2/Houston); M Tony Cascio; M Kohei Yamada ; G Joel Helmick; M Jaime Castrillón (free/Independiente Medellín); M Martín Rivero (loan/Rosario Central); D Luis Zapata (free)

Out: M Sanna Nyassi (expansion draft); D Mike Holody; D Danny Earls; D Miguel Comminges; F Caleb Folan; F/M Macoumba Kandji (trade to Houston)

Opening Game:

(H) Columbus Crew, Saturday, March 10, 6.00pm, Dick's Sporting Goos Park

Full Season Schedule

Colorado started 2011 as reigning MLS Cup champions and their season peaked 30 minutes later, as they ran up a 3 goal lead against league newcomers Portland. After that promising start, Colorado's season unravelled in a wave of recriminations and injuries to key players. Brian Mullan received a 10 match ban for a horrible lunge on Seattle's Steve Zakuani and in the return game Colorado suffered a season ending Achilles injury to Conor Casey, that removed their main attacking threat for the second half of the season. The Sounders had laid a temporary turf on top of their usual plastic, for their leg of Manchester United's pre-season tour, and Colorado coach Gary Smith wasted no time in blaming this for Casey's injury. Indeed, Smith was a confrontation waiting to happen for most of the season - most notably when his autonomy was threatened by the presence of technical director Paul Bravo and he chose to go public with his displeasure. The management pushed back, and despite being Colorado's only MLS Cup winning coach, the one-time interim coach became the former coach in the close season - with Colorado's loss being Stevenage's gain.

In the context of this upheaval, reaching the play-offs was a creditable result, but despite squeezing past Columbus Crew in the wild card game, Colorado fell apart against Kansas - Tyrone Marshall's first leg red card was an insult added to the injuries of Caleb Folan, Kosuke Kimura and Drew Moor as Colorado lost both legs easily. A season to forget.

New coach Oscar Pareja has had a quiet start, with no wholesale changes. The attacking playmaker Martín Rivero joined on loan from Rosario Central and may provide a little fluidity to Colorado's physical, if rather rigid, formation - but the key to success is Casey. If he's back and on form they'll be a handful for anyone on their day, but the lack of a plan B may make for a long season in the competitive West.

Guardian Prediction: 6th

FC Dallas

2011: 4th (eliminated in wild card play off by New York Red Bulls)

In: F Blas Pérez (free/Indios de Ciudad Juárez); D Hernán Pertúz (free/Independiente Medellín); D Matt Hedges; D Alex Lee; F Walter Hines; D Ian Kalis; D Carlos Rodríguez (Tauro FC)

Out: D Edson Edward; D Jeremy Hall (trade to Toronto); F Maykel Galindo; F Maicon Santos; M Marvin Chávez (trade to San Jose); M Jackson (loan to Cruzeiro)

Opening Game:

(H) New York Red Bulls, Sunday, March 11, 3.00pm, FC Dallas Stadium (NBC Sports)

Full Season Schedule

Dallas seemed to play around 347 games last year and presented one of the more compelling arguments yet for MLS to reconsider squad rules for teams playing in CONCACAF competition. In trying to compete with the dominant Mexican sides whilst juggling the squad and salary restrictions that are the American and Canadian teams' lot in life, Dallas' victory against Pumas, on Mexican soil (the first such victory by an MLS side), was a worthy achievement. But by the end of the season viewers were wincing as a young, but overplayed, squad took the field yet again and even Brek Shea, the marauding physical specimen from Vidal Sassoon's nightmares, began to look less like the modern attacking full back/winger who'd terrorized defenses until the summer (garnering attention from Arsenal) and more like the overstretched young man in need of a rest that he actually was.

It's not that Dallas were unique in MLS in being strained like this, it's just that they seem particularly hard done by for trying to do the right thing - developing and encouraging youth with a consistency that's the envy of many other teams in the league. The other half of the youth-orientated formula for MLS success though, is strategic use of more experienced (read also, "expensive") players - and Dallas sorely missed the 2010 MVP David Ferreira after he was badly injured early in the season. Ferreira's on the mend and back in training now, but will have to play through pain in the immediate future and who knows when, or if, he'll get back to his best. In the meantime, Dallas will be hoping their new Panamanian forward Blas Pérez lives up to his billing and starts scoring goals immediately - aside from fixture scheduling, part of their late season fatigue was down to too many close games catching up with them. They need to put teams away earlier and more ruthlessly. If they do that and can bring the prodigy Shea to the boil at the right time this year, they'll push the top 3 all the way.

Guardian Prediction: 4th

LA Galaxy

2011: 1st (Supporters Shield and MLS Cup winners)

In: D Andrew Boyens (Re-Entry Stage 2/Chivas USA); D Chris Leitch (Re-Entry Stage 2/San Jose); F Pat Noonan (Re-Entry Stage 2/Seattle); M Marcelo Sarvas (free/Alajuelense); M Jose Villarreal (Home Grown); G Nick Noble (free/Ljungskile SK); D Tommy Meyer (SuperDraft); M Kenney Walker; F Bryan Gaul; M Rafael Garcia; F Yuri Gorentzvaig; F Steven Posa; D Justin Davies; F Edson Buddle (free); M Kyle Nakazawa (trade from Philadelphia)

Out: D Gregg Berhalter (retired); G Donovan Ricketts (trade to Montreal); G Jon Conway (retired); M/F Miguel López (loan expired); M Jovan Kirovski (retired); D Dasan Robinson (retired); D Chris Leitch (retired); D Frankie Hejduk (contract expired); F Yuri Gorentzvaig

Opening Game:

(H) Real Salt Lake, Saturday, March 10, 10.30pm, Home Depot Center

Full Season Schedule

Well, he's back. The "will he/won't he?" saga of the off-season (with due respect to 'Downton Abbey' and the off-off Broadway smash 'The Life of Brian of Montréal') ended with confirmation from the Galaxy that the key to their championship-winning midfield has returned for another season - where he will be joined by David Beckham. Juninho was great for LA last season - managing to be both everywhere in midfield and yet always keeping the team in shape as more illustrious names went walkabout or looked for angles for their Hollywood passes. He linked play when LA countered, marshaled the 'Carson Catenaccio' when they defended and generally wore down and dispirited the opposition with his presence. For proof of his worth you had only to look at the first fifteen minutes of the second leg of the Western Conference semi-final. Suspended for instigating Rafa Marquez's best Sonny Liston impersonation at the end of the first leg, Juninho had to watch helplessly as New York scored early and overran the midfield in the spaces he would usually patrol. But for Teemu Tainio's injury restoring a more realistic balance of power, the outcome might have been different without Juninho's crucial presence.

And Juninho is just one player - Bruce Arena seems to have attracted dozens of them. The Designated Player trio of Beckham, Keane and Donovan might have been the story of MLS Cup, but LA's manager is focussed on exploiting every aspect of the MLS system, from late-career talent, to re-entry drafts, to being ahead of the curve on the possibilities for homegrown talent. He's been active again in the off-season. Beckham and Juninho are back of course, though Arena also has Juninho's mooted replacement, Marcelo Sarvas, and Edson Buddle to add to the embarrassment of riches up front. There's additional depth too - players like Pat Noonan and Andrew Boyens brought in with the long season and Champions League play in mind, and homegrown talent in Jose Villareal.

If there's a concern, it's defense. MLS Defender of the year Omar Gonzalez went to Nürnberg to train for the off-season and picked up a serious cruciate injury in his first training session. Last year LA had their share of games where they ground out a game by the odd goal - and that doesn't leave a lot of room for defensive error. So the young star will be missed.

That's it though - not many straws for the opposition to clutch at... The team to beat.



Guardian Prediction: 1st

Portland Timbers

2011: 6th (missed playoffs)

In: F José Adolfo Valencia (Independiente Santa Fe/Colombia); F Brent Richards (Home Grown); D Andrew Jean-Baptiste; M Brendan King; D Hanyer Mosquera (free); M Ryan Kowaluk; M Miguel Ibarra; G Doug Herrick; M Logan McDaniel; F Kris Boyd (free); M Charles Renken; M Franck Songo'o (free); GK Joe Bendik (Sogndal)

Out: D Kevin Goldthwaite (retired); F/M Ryan Pore; G Adin Brown; M Rodrigo López; M Peter Lowry; F Brian Umony; F Kenny Cooper (trade to New York)

Opening Game:

(H) Philadelphia Union, Monday, March 12, 9.30pm, JELD-WEN Field (ESPN2, ESPN Deportes)

Full Season Schedule

Portland were an absolute tonic for MLS last season - from the moment the Timbers Army belted out the national anthem at their first home game (by the way, give me heartfelt, mass, off-key singing over American Idol showcases offering improvised, self-indulgent tributes to the land of the Freeeayyyyeeeiiieeeewoaaaaaaaaaaheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee any day...), to the introduction of Timber Joey, who, love him or hate him, has a chainsaw - their fans brought an infectious and very particular glee to their debut season in MLS.

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It was an enthusiasm that spread to the players - Jack Jewsbury arrived after eight years at Kansas City, with his future supposedly behind him, but was immediately made captain and responded with a career best season that saw him selected for the All-Star game. He faded down the stretch, as did forward Kenny Cooper, whose 8 goal return saw him traded to the Red Bulls, but by then the understandably callow Timbers had begun to click and they finished the season with the whole team in good form. No visiting side is likely to enjoy visiting Jeld-Wen Field this season. It's one of those intimate grounds, like The Dell was for Southampton, that visitors would find oppressive even before the baying Timbers Army added the atmosphere. More than one nominally superior team left shellshocked: eventual champions LA Galaxy lost 3-0 in August, and Chicago Fire shipped 4 in April, as the sawdust flew.

The Timbers Army didn't fly though - at least not in numbers sufficient enough to boost the team to better away form - which was their Achilles heel all season. If the Timbers can improve on their travels though, and if new signing Kris Boyd does what Cooper never consistently did, and converts the chances made by Portland's wing play, they may challenge more convincingly for a play-off spot this year.

Guardian Prediction: 5th

Real Salt Lake

2011: 3rd (lost to LA Galaxy in Western Conference Final)

In: M Enzo Martinez; D Diogo de Almeida; M Sebastián Velásquez; M Andy Rose; F Emiliano Bonfigli; F Oliver Kupe; D Leone Cruz (trade rights from Seattle)

Out: G Tim Melia; M Collen Warner; D Robbie Russell (trade to D.C.); M Jean Alexandre (trade to San Jose); M Arturo Alvarez (Re-Entry Stage 1/Chivas USA); M Andy Williams (retired); D Nelson González; D Rauwshan McKenzie; M Blake Wagner; M Andy Rose (trade to Seattle)

Opening Game:

(A) Los Angeles Galaxy, Saturday, March 10, 10.30pm, Home Depot Center

Full Season Schedule

A cruel goal and a cruel injury within a week of each other, nearly did for Real Salt Lake's season as early as May. Even the most partisan supporters of other teams were probably secretly urging RSL on when they brought Monterrey back to the Rio Tinto in the second leg of the Champions League final. A 2-2 draw in Mexico meant that the Americans had a great chance to be the first MLS team to win the title, and with the added advantage of playing at home (where they were unbeaten in 37 matches), expectations ran high. Salt Lake duly peppered the Mexican's goal in the early stages, but did not score and a first-half injury time goal gave the cup to Monterrey. A week later playmaker Javier Morales suffered a horrific leg break and RSL's season looked to be collapsing around them. Morales was the creative pivot of the side and his loss put more strain on an already exhausted (and aging) midfield.

Despite this adversity, RSL bent but did not break. They used all their nous to keep going into the play-offs, where they eliminated the favored Seattle (highlights: Saborio's dagger-to-the-heart of a backheel in the first leg, Beltran's instinctive goal line headed save in the second), before a fascinating tactical battle with LA Galaxy in the Western Conference final. RSL lost that one, but in doing so played their part in one of the games of the season, in terms of technical quality on both sides - it's a compliment to Real Salt Lake that they seem to bring out the best qualities of their opponents.

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LA and RSL meet again on opening weekend, though in two different stages of their dynastic cycles. Whereas LA seem to have strengthened a winning team, RSL lost some key players to trades, retirement and the expansion draft in the off-season, and Jason Kreis is experiencing the longer term implications of the salary cap - you build a winning side on modest resources and before you know it, you're negotiating the salary cap with a squad of winners. If anyone's equipped to rebuild though, it's the technical staff at RSL - young players, such as the promising draft signing Enzo Martinez, will benefit from the training regime, a system where players are clear on what's expected of them, and an open door to the first team for those who show their worth. They won't overtake Seattle or LA, but they'll stay in close touch this season.

Guardian Prediction: 3rd

San Jose Earthquakes

2011: 7th (missed playoffs)

In: M Shea Salinas (trade from Vancouver); M Jean Alexandre (trade from RSL); M Marvin Chávez (trade from FC Dallas); D Víctor Bernárdez (free/Anderlecht); F Sam Garza; M Jacob Hustedt ; G Chris Blais; F Cesar Diaz Pizarro; D David Tiemstra; D James Kiffe; D Tyler Krumpe; F Sercan Güvenisik (Preußen Münster); M Tressor Moreno (free); M/F Simon Dawkins ( loan)

Out: D Bobby Burling (expansion draft); M Matt Luzunaris; M/D Bobby Convey (trade to Sporting KC); D Chris Leitch (Re-Entry Stage 2/LA Galaxy); M André Luiz; M Jacob Peterson; F Scott Sealy; G Andrew Weber; F Chris Agorsor; F/D Donny Toia

Opening Game:

(H) New England Revolution, Saturday, March 10, 10.30pm, Buck Shaw Stadium

Full Season Schedule

Ssshhh, be very quiet...don't wake up Chris Wondolowski. Wondolowskis get cranky if you wake them up before September... For the second successive year, San Jose's fortunes were tied to a late season revival and Golden Boot-challenging surge from the forward, whose goal tally for the season equalled that of the next three Earthquakes players in the standings put together. This time though, it wasn't enough to edge the Earthquakes into the play-offs, following their horrendous mid-season slump - so no Bobby Convey heroics a la 2010 ...and no Bobby Convey for 2012 either. The Quakes' star player was traded to KC during the off-season in what will be a significant move for the organization, however it pans out.

Convey was an unsettled presence during 2011, falling out with coach Frank Yallop over what the music industry euphemistically likes to refer as "creative differences" ("You're a Left Back", "I'm a Left Midfielder", "You're a Left Back", "I want to play Jazz Fusion" - repeat to fade...). After a late season outburst about the whole San Jose organization's professionalism, there was no way Convey could stay - and after that trade a fair amount of salary cap space was opened up for Yallop to shape the team with more malleable talent.

It's a work in progress, but unless Wondolowski comes out of hibernation early this year (and in fairness he carried his 2010 form briefly into the start of 2011), the time it takes a new look Earthquakes to gel may leave them with another big ask to make up ground in the West at the end of the season.

Guardian Prediction: 7th

Seattle Sounders

2011: 2nd (lost to Real Salt Lake in Western Conference semi-finals)

In: G Michael Gspurning (free/Skoda Xanthi); D Marc Burch (Re-Entry Stage 2/D.C. United); D Adam Johansson (free/Göteborg); M Christian Sivebaek (free/Midtjylland); D Andrew Duran; F Babayele Sodade; D Tim Pontius; F Jason Banton; F Abdul Aman; D Wes Feighner; M Andy Rose (trade from Real Salt Lake); F Cordell Cato (free/Defence Force FC); Eddie Johnson (trade from Montréal)

Out: G Kasey Keller (retired); D James Riley (to Chivas USA, via expansion draft); D Tyson Wahl (trade to Montreal); GK Terry Boss (retired); D Taylor Graham (retired); F Nate Jaqua (Re-Entry Stage 2/New England); F Pat Noonan (Re-Entry Stage 2/LA Galaxy); M Erik Friberg (transfer/Malmö); F Mike Fucito (traded to Montreal); M Lamar Neagle (traded to Montreal)

Opening Game:

(H) Toronto FC, Saturday, March 17, 10.00pm, CenturyLink Field

Full Season Schedule

Not quite the finish to the season Seattle and Kasey Keller were hoping for. The veteran goalkeeper bowed out with a clean sheet in a 2-0 Western Conference semi-final/cavalry charge against Real Salt Lake at CenturyLink Field. It wasn't enough to overturn a 3-0 deficit from a mortifying first leg at Rio Tinto though, and it's somewhat understandable that, just a few months on, that last doomed death-or-glory stand has been airbrushed from Seattle's popular history, in favor of the memory of Keller's last regular season home game.

A record 64,120 crowd turned out for that one, to pay tribute to the much-travelled goalkeeper back in the region where it all started for him (no one seemed to mind that that start had been at Portland Timbers). Keller didn't disappoint on the night - coming up with a sequence of four consecutive saves that won him the MLS save of the season award, though in some ways, the evening belonged just as much to the crowd, celebrating where they now found themselves, as much as the man who'd done so much to bring them there.

So where did they find themselves? Well, they were the Open Cup champions again, for the third year in a row - yet that particular achievement in knockout soccer just made yet another post-season choke in the MLS Cup all the more puzzling. That first leg at the Rio Tinto was one of those games that history will call a mauling, but which for long periods was closer than the scoreline suggested. But there was something about the way that each of RSL's goals came at crucial tipping points in the game that Seattle must learn from, if they want to make the next step to dominate in MLS. Saborio's backheeled second and the fatal third just as Seattle fans were telling each other that 2-0 wasn't a bad score to take back home, were tough lessons for Seattle on how to kill off a crucial game, but ones they perhaps need to learn. The second leg might have showcased their spirit and swashbuckling attacking style, but we knew about that. The first leg was one of those games ambitious teams only want to experience once.

The off-season trade pattern suggests that Sigi Schmid believes that the team is just a little short of the next step up - less talk of consolidation, more moves designed to have an instant impact. Most telling is the trade for Eddie Johnson that sent Neagle and Fucito to Montréal. Once the next big thing, Johnson is back in MLS after bouncing around Europe for a few years (including a stint at American clearing house, Fulham) without doing much to enhance his goalscoring reputation. Schmid is obviously still convinced of his pedigree though, and with Sivebaek and Johannson filling in crucial gaps in the jigsaw, and Keller's replacement Michael Gspurning installed at the back - the conditions, if not the omens, are there for Johnson to be a leading scorer. And if Mauro Rosales performs in a manner proportional to his well-deserved pay increase (2011. Bargain. Of. The. Year. Anywhere...), it could be their year. LA's off-season prudence still has them as favorites for me, but Seattle will go very close.

Guardian Prediction: 2nd

Vancouver Whitecaps

2011: 9th (missed playoffs)

In: M Bryce Alderson (Home Grown), D Lee Young-Pyo (free); M/F Lee Nguyen (weighted lottery); M Matt Watson (free/Carolina); D Martín Bonjour (free: Rampla Juniors); F Darren Mattocks; D Chris Estridge; G Brad Knighton (Carolina); D Geinier García; D/M Greg Klazura; G Andrew Fontein; D Mark Fetrow; M Jun Marques Davidson (free); F Sébastien Le Toux (trade from Philadelphia); M Barry Robson (free: Middlesbrough, arriving in July); F Etienne Barbara (free/rights acquired from Montreal)

Out: D Jeb Brovsky (expansion draft); D Bilal Duckett; M Nizar Khalfan; M Alexandre Morfaw; M Shea Salinas (trade to San Jose); D Greg Janicki; M Pete Vagenas; D Jonathan Leathers; G Jay Nolly (trade to Chicago); D Geinier García (trade to Montreal); F Mustapha Jarju; M Philippe Davies

Opening Game:

(H) Montréal Impact, Saturday, March 10, 6.00pm, BC Place

Full Season Schedule

A rather more traumatic opening MLS season for Vancouver than for their Cascadia neighbors, Portland - though like the TImbers, the Whitecaps began showing signs of settling at the end of the season. It all started so well for Coach Teitur Thordarson, as he oversaw a 4-2 victory over Canadian rivals Toronto on opening day. Sadly it was a result that said more about Toronto's prospects than Vancouver's, and there were no more wins for Thordarson. He was fired in May and Director of Soccer Tom Soehn took over for the remainder of the season. Vancouver weren't humiliated often during the season (though their series with LA ended up in a 7-0 aggregate for the eventual MLS cup winners), but it wasn't till the final month of the season that they managed consecutive wins, including an eye-catching 3-0 defeat of Real Salt Lake.

It's probably no coincidence that those wins came at their new home of BC Place - new coach Martin Rennie will be hoping to build on their home form this year. Not that he's trusting to pure home enthusiasm propelling the Whitecaps - the ambitious young Scotsman came to Vancouver from NASL league winners Carolina Railhawks, as perhaps the best coach in North America working outside MLS. He has hit the ground running, and seems to have galvanized the club. 12 players were cleared out and 15 added, in an echo of the overhaul Rennie had performed at the previous under-performing team he had inherited.

Of those who arrived, the stand out is former Philadelphia forward Sébastien LeToux, who in the space of a few days saw his likely destination shift by 6000 miles, as Vancouver moved swiftly for the player Bolton had passed on after a trial. He'll be joined in attack by the speedy Darren Mattocks, who just delivered a pre-season riposte to Montréal, for their surprise choice of Andrew Wenger over him in the SuperDraft, by scoring against them in a 3-0 victory. Of the rest, Rennie has brought Matt Watson and Brad Knighton with him from Carolina and Middlesbrough midfielder Barry Robson will shore up the midfield when he arrives at the end of the British season. It looks a solid signing. Robson comes from a club with the type of system-orientated development that should help him adapt quickly to a new club and culture. Vancouver will be hoping their own adaptation to MLS kicks up a gear with all these changes.

Guardian Prediction: 8th



MLS 2012 Season Preview: Part one: Eastern Conference

Parts 3 and 4 of our MLS season previews - the fans' views of the East and West - will be online next week.

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