Yes, it's that time again. First official friendly in less than a week. Here's our schedule as of now : - Saturday, January 30, 2016 7:00PM PST : LA Galaxy - FC Shirak at the StubHub Center - Tuesday, February 9, 2016 7:00PM PST : LA Galaxy - Tijuana at the StubHub Center - Saturday, February 13, 2016 7:00PM PST : LA Galaxy - San Jose Earthquakes at Cashman Field - Wednesday, February 17, 2016, TBA : Seattle Sounders - LA Galaxy at TBA Players who are in camp but not signed with the first team : Josh Turnley (Draft pick), Joe Franco and Ari Lassiter (G2). And for those who missed it, here are the jersey numbers of the new players : #1 : Kennedy, #18 : Magee, #21 : Larentowicz, #24 : Boateng, #31 : Diop, #44 : Steres.
Nothing like preseason. Your favorite players* joyfully reuniting on the pitch, catching up with each other, reminiscing about their shared glory only a few months prior.... *Hey, I know Mike!
I do love seeing the photos of all the boys back together. Heck of a lot better than seeing Stevie G. in a Liverpool jersey or Rogers in a hammock.
It's near Downtown (aka old Vegas). I think it's technically still Las Vegas not N. Las Vegas which are two different cities. That whole area (and a bit north) is where special interest groups are trying to revitalize with non-gaming businesses. Cashman Field is where the minor league team the las Vegas 51's play. Which used to be the Dodgers affiliate but it's been the Mets affiliate since 2013 unfortunately. Jason Ader of Sands is trying to redevelop the site for soccer. Which is why they're trying to host more friendlies there. It's a good location. I actually know Jason and people working on that project. As always though, knowing Vegas how I do, if there's any public money or even public assistance it's not happening. The casinos are the only ones immune, which is why the Vegas economy hasn't been that diverse.
Cashman Field is apparently a dump with crumbling infrastructure and exploding toilets. http://www.reviewjournal.com/opinio...admonishes-lvcva-over-crumbling-cashman-field In other words, it will be just like any other place in San Jose for the Smurfs.
From what we saw in this clip plus this good piece by the CoG staff (http://cornerofthegalaxy.com/2016/01/28/la-galaxy-training-observations-january-27th), we'll likely have this lineups against Shirak : First lineup : Keane Magee Boateng Gerrard Garcia Gio Romney Leo AJ Rogers Kennedy Second lineup (less sure) : Villarreal Gordon Jamieson/Lassiter Mendiola Maganto Husidic Turnley Steres Gargan Sorto/Franco Rowe/Diop
The author said that not much stood out in terms of play overall. One of his few evaluative notes was this: Dan Kennedy drew the unenviable task of getting to warm up in-front of the media and he did so with LA Galaxy goalkeeping coach, Matt Reis. Reis and Kennedy went through multiple drills where he showed that it was indeed preseason and there were lots of things to work on. Bruce Arena even came over to give Kennedy a tip or two. I know it's a teeny preseason comment but it still isn't what I want to hear, especially because it's so in line with what I fear. But to Dan's credit the writer also mentioned his communicating stood out. A great goalkeeper who cleans up others mistakes can help a newly gelling team's confidence immensely. Unfortunately the opposite is true as well. If only Rowe could get rid of his blunders because otherwise he's pretty athletic. Wonder how Diop is looking?
My guess is that Arena sees Villareal (and Magee for that matter) as more of a forward in the Keane mold than a winger. Boateng's speed is probably intriguing on the wing. He could be a late-game speed sub for some games.
I don't know if this has been posted somewhere but I just saw on LA Galaxy's snapchat of all places that the game tomorrow will be streamed at 7 pm.