It's game time bitches!!!!!!! http://www.lagalaxy.com/blog/beat/2012/11/27/injury-report-update-delagarza-upgraded-questionable
Even if AJ was still injured wouldn't you want him to be listed as questionable at least to f* with the Dynamo's head? Sounds like standard Bruce to me. I hope it's true though, but I dunno if you remove an on form Myers for him
I meant more for everyone is off the injury report except the usual suspects, most notably Donovan. Personally I would leave Meyer in and bring AJ if we are protecting a lead.
I was just thinking about position by position how we compare to Houston. Goalkeepers: HOU: Talley Hall LAG: Josh Saunders I think you've got to give Houston a bit of an edge here. Hall has been very good this year and Saunders has been solid. It's not a huge advantage, but it I were picking players for our team, I take Hall over Sunders Defensively we have: HOU: Sarkodie, Boswell, Taylor, Ashe LAG: Franklin, Gonzo, Meyer/AJ, Dunivant Defensively, I think it's pretty close, but I give us a slight edge. I'd take Franklin by a nose, Gonzo far and away, Meyer or AJ is a push with Taylor, and Ashe with a slight advantage over Todd because of his speed. However, if I had to choose between the two total packages, I wouldn't hesitate to take the LA D. In the midfield: HOU: Garcia, Clark, Moffat, Davis LAG: Chippen, Becks, Junhi, Magee This is another close one. I'd probably take Garcia over Chippen, but Junhi and Becks over Clark and Moffat in a heartbeat. Magee and Davis is a tough one, but Davis probably gets an edge. As a result, the midfield may be a bit of a push. However... Attacking: HOU: Bruin, Carr LAG: Donovan, Keane It's not even close. Donovan and Keane are the best strike force in the league, while Bruin and Carr are both good solid MLS guys. Bruin is a lot like Barrett, Gordon, and the other big goalscorers scattered around the league. Carr adds some speed to the equation, and they can bring in Kanji, who can be a handful at times. However, Donovan and Keane are lightening in a bottle. Not only are they impossible to contain, they often drop back into midfield and switch with Magee and Chippen to create matchup problems in the middle and attacking thirds of the field. If we need a bigger, more physical guy, Buddle (who is better than either Bruin of Carr) is waiting in the wings. In summary, I think if we come out and play our game: patient posession and maintain strong defensive shape, waiting for any positional mistake by Houston to get Keane or Donovan in hbehind them... then we will get the better of the chances. We lose this match if any of the following three things happen: 1. We don't come out with enough intensity, 2. We have a mental breakdown on the defensive side of the ball, and/or 3. We don't finish our chances.
Houston's away record was atrocious this season. Lineup wise I would just prefer Sarvas over Willy...
I'd go with Willy to save Sarvas for the latter parts of the game. And I go with AJ over Myer. I just have faith in the lemur
I'm thinking Sarvas is the odd man out, partially because Wilhelmsson has sucked coming on as a sub and therefore needs to start if we're going to use him at all (which I think we do so we can attack the flanks), and because Sarvas is the best guy we could bring off the bench if we need to lock down and better control the midfield. I also watched that vid of all the playoff goals and almost every goal Houston gave up resulted from good off-the-ball runs. So I think we have to put Buddle on the bench and let two of the best off-ball movement players in the league carve up that Houston defense. So barring last-minute injuries, I expect (and want) to see: -------Keane-----Donovan The Magee----------Wilhelmsson -------Juninho--Beckham Duni---Meyer--Gonzilla--Franklin -----------Saunders Subs: Buddle, Sarvas, AJ, Stephens, Villareal, Gaul
Stephens will be remembered as the guy who came on for golden balls in his last MLS game to protect a lead for 10 minutes and well, loudest reception ever at HDC...
FOX Soccer did this same thing and they gave Houston GK and defense. Midfield we had by a little and FWDs we had by miles
Yeah... We really need to figure out a way to take advantage of our attacking superiority. That may have a lot to do with how the ref calls the game. If he lets Houston rough up our guys (especially during their off-the-ball runs) it could be a long night for us. If he nips that stuff in the bud with some early calls and maybe a yellow, we should be OK.
Courtesy of LARS. I do worry about his match sharpness following the absence. Need to be sharp at the back and I would stick with Omar and Meyer.
Couldn't of said it better myself. Sarvas has a better style to come off the bench, then Wily does. We need to trust in Keane and Donovan to solve to Houston puzzle. If you recall, once Christman left the game, in the last final, and Donovan moved up top with Keane we started to really look dangerous all around and finally broke through with a goal. This lineup listed is the one that we used to beat down Seattle at home in the first leg of the last series. That team looked scary good that night. Ideally, I would want Sarvas, AJ, and Buddle all to log some some minutes as subs because of what they've done for this team and franchise at some point this season. However, if it's close late and we see only Sarvas and Stephens in for Beckham and Wily then I'm okay with too.
Just curious, did they elect to build the grandstand seats above the corners like they did last year? Haven't heard much about how sold out the game is. But then again, I haven't been paying too much attention.