Welcome to my guide for the 2009 Major League Soccer Fantasy Challenge. Why should you read what I have to say? Here's my resume, as an intern for the league office last year, I finished first in our league. So I beat out a whole bunch of people who are supposed to be the most knowledgeable about the League (Garber didn't have a team, but he's no expert about the on-field product). I can't remember where I finished in the overall standings, but I think it was a little over one-hundred. I think I would have done better if I weren't a D.C. United fan (oh Marcelo Gallardo), anyways, if you see any D.C. players in my line-ups, realize that I have a home team bias. I'm currently playing in "The FIL" league, (feel free to join) and my team name is DJibouti FC, so look for it in the standings to track how I'm doing. Anyways lets get started. First let's look at the new scoring system:

Scoring Breakdown
Forward
Goal 20
Assist 10
Match Winning Goal 15
Shot on target 1
Hat Trick 20
Yellow Card -2
Red Card -10
Midfielder
Goal 30
Assist 15
Match Winning Goal 20
Shot on target 2
Hat Trick 30
Yellow Card -2
Red Card -10
Defender
Goal 40
Assist 20
Match Winning Goal 30
Hat Trick 50
Clean Sheet 10
Team Goals Allowed -1
Yellow Card -2
Red Card -10
Goalkeeper
Goal 70
Assist 40
Match Winning Goal 100
Save 2
Penalty Kick Save 15
Clean Sheet 20
Goal Allowed -2
Yellow Card -5
Red Card -10
Coach
Win 20
Loss 0
Tie 10
Yellow Card (*) -2
Red Card(*) -10

(*) - Yellow cards/Red cards are on a per player basisLast year there was no question that goalkeeper was the most important position on the field and forwards and midfielders were scored essentially the same.

This year things appear to be more balanced. Last year I almost exclusively used a 3-4-3 formation, this year it is not as clear to me which formation is going to be most beneficial. I like the scoring for midfielders, so I think I might go with a 3-5-2 or the trusty old 3-4-3 this year.He is my list of the top players for a fantasy team at each position (in no particular order):

Goalkeeper:
Will Hesmer, Columbus Crew, Good 'keeper, but I like him because of the team in front of him.
Jon Busch, Chicago Fire, ditto, probably the best defense in the league.
Matt Reis, New England Revolution, I'm more nervous about this recommendation, let's see how they do without Parkhurst.

Defenders:
Jimmy Conrad, Kansas City Wizards, Started all 30 games last year, scoring six goals, great defender on a solid, if young defense.
Chad Marshall, Columbus Crew, Started 29 games last year, four goals and two assists. Great team around him.
Eddie Lewis, Los Angeles Galaxy, on a weak team and defense overall, but he will probably spend a fair amount of time in the midfield and has a good chance of scoring and getting assists on a pretty good offensive team.
Jonathan Bornstein, Chivas USA, another player listed as a defender who will probably spend a good amount of time in midfield. If he can produce like he did in 2006 (six goals, four assists), he'll be an invaluable member of your team.
Gonzalo Segares, Chicago Fire, with two goals and two assists last year, he might not be the offense threat that the rest of these defenders are, but he does play on arguably the best defense in the league.

Midfielders:
Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Chicago Fire, seven goals, 11 assists, impressive numbers that could be better with a whole season with McBride.
Sasha Kljestan, Chivas USA, five goals, seven assists, he had a break out game with the national team, scoring a hat-trick and trained with Celtic over the summer. His confidence should be high.
Robbie Rogers, Columbus Crew, six goals, three assists, with another year under his belt he should increase his production.
Dwayne De Rosario, Toronto FC, seven goals, two assists, let's see how thing go now that he isn't in Houston. Should get a boost playing in his hometown.
Javier Morales, Real Salt Lake, 6 goals, 15 assists, as Movsisyan establishes himself, Morales should boost his assist numbers.
Steve Ralston, New England Revolution, eight goals, seven assists, we'll see how Ralston does in a 4-4-2 this year. He might have to work more defensively this season.
Darren Huckerby, San Jose Earthquakes, six goals, four assists in less than half a season. Let's see what he can do in a whole season.

Forwards:
Landon Donovan, Los Angeles Galaxy, 20 goals, nine assists, Donovan is a fantasy player's dream. He should be sharp coming into the season after training with Bayern Munich during the off-season.
Kenny Cooper, FC Dallas, 18 goals, three assists, the big man should get some better service with the addition of David Ferreira. He'll hopefully fill in the void that was left since Toja's departure.
Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Columbus Crew, seven goals, 19 assists, no question Barros Scchelotto is a talented player, but the switch in fantasy position from midfield to forward will make him a little less desireable.
Juan Pablo Angel, New York Red Bulls, 14 goals, three assists, If JPA is healthy, I imagine he will improve on last year's pretty awesome numbers.
Edson Buddle, Los Angeles Galaxy, 15 goals, three assists, Buddle has had some pretty good years before, let's see if he can consistantly put up good numbers.

Ok I'll have my starting line-up for week one posted later today.