vs Time: Saturday, September 12th 7:30pm PDT Venue: The Hub TV: TWCS, TWCD The 12th is a ways away but, I'm bored. Montreal, currently in heat of it for the final playoff spot in the east. They should be hungry but, they're from the east...and this is our house. WE BETTER F'N WIN! Hope is still alive for the shield but, I don't think its likely. I'd rather we win The Cup of course but, we haven't exactly clinched a playoff spot yet in the wild west so JUST WIN BABY!
Montreal has been on a bad, bad spiral lately. They should have solidified their playoff spot by now, but they have taken the initiative and fired their coach. We'll see how the new regime performs this weekend. Overall, we should handle this team. Also, Drogba! If he's healthy. Novelty time.
To the point of someone in the other thread, Omar will be back and it will be interesting to see him go against Drogba. I don't want to think about Leo going up against Drogba.
i don't think you have to worry about Leo playing in this game... of course AJ vs Drogba doesn't exactly give me warm fuzzies either.
Thats why it will have to be a combination of both. Omar to man up on him and AJ to recover if Omar is beat. Good test for them
An yet you all just know that this man will get, at minimum, a brace against us. If Omar shuts down Drogba he will have officially gotten his mojo back. Can't see it happening though. We are going to have to outscore this team to have a chance at victory and I am at least confident we can do that much this weekend without issue. 3-2 LA Book It!!
First page. Hope I can be as early to the game. No touches in the final third for Drogba and it won't matter, let him run into the ground searching for possession.
The Galaxy will be without Leonardo for Saturday’s match, because of the red card he got against San Jose. So, I think the Galaxy should start A.J. DeLaGarza at center-back next to Omar Gonzales, with Dan Gargan at right back. The other two options to start at center-back are Tommy Meyer and Dave Romney. I would start DeLaGarza over them. He is much more experienced, quicker, and a more proven passer out of the back. He also is faster than Meyer. In addition, DeLaGarza and Gonzales have worked very well together at center-back when they have been the two center-backs. For instance, the Galaxy’s regular season record when Gonzales and DeLaGarza have started at center-back together is very good. Finally, DeLaGarza makes very few mistakes, especially mental mistakes. His experience and guile would be helpful against Didier Drogba. In fact, even if Leonardo were able to play against Montreal, I still would -- assuming DeLaGarza is fully recovered from his trip halfway around the world -- start DeLaGarza at center-back against Montreal. DeLaGarza is quicker, faster and less clumsy than Leonardo. And Leonardo is still too mistake-prone. For instance, in the Galaxy’s last game, Leonardo was beaten by Quincy Amarikwa. He then fouled Amarikwa. Leonardo should not have touched him. Omar Gonzales might have caught up to Amarikwa to prevent him from getting a clean shot off. And even if Gonzales didn’t catch up to Amarikwa, Donovan Ricketts would have had a decent chance of making a save or of forcing Amarikwa to miss the target. Ricketts was coming out to close down Amarikwa’s angle. And by Leonardo’s fouling Amarikwa, he put himself in a position to get a red card. After the red card, the Galaxy were going to have a very hard time getting any points out of the game. Here is a link to the highlight of the play: http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/ma...-earthquakes-vs-la-galaxy/details/video/48273 On a different note, here is an article by Adam Serrano on all the miles that DeLaGarza traveled from August 28 until September 9: http://www.lagalaxy.com/post/2015/09/10/infographic-aj-delagarza-travels-end-world-and-back-guam That’s a lot of miles. Though I would still start DeLaGarza tomorrow, perhaps Bruce Arena is uneasy doing so, because of all of DeLaGarza’s recent travel or for some other reason, for instance, DeLaGarza’s lack of size. If Arena does not start DeLaGarza at center-back tomorrow, should he start Dave Romney or Tommy Meyer there instead? Meyer is much more experienced than Romney. Meyer has played 36 regular season games for the Galaxy, with 26 starts. He also played 90 minutes in all 6 of the Galaxy’s matches during the 2012 MLS playoffs, including the MLS Cup Final against Houston, which the Galaxy won. In comparison, Romney has played only 2 MLS matches, with only one start. But I tend to think I would start Romney. First, he seems faster than Meyer. Meyer -- though he has good qualities -- lacks speed. In addition, over the last two months, Romney has played more minutes than Meyer. Including friendlies, Romney has played six games for the Galaxy over the last two months, namely: 1. He played the second 45 minutes Against Club America on July 11. 2. He played the second 45 minutes against Barcelona on July 21. 3. He played 90 minutes against the Houston Dynamo on July 25. 4. He played 90 minutes against Central (in the CONCACAF Champions League) on August 6. 5. He played 90 minutes against Comunicaciones (in the CONCACAF Champions League) on August 18. 6. He played 33 minutes against the San Jose Earthquakes on August 28. In comparison, Meyer played 30 minutes against Toronto on July 4. He came on right after the Galaxy went ahead 3-0. He also played 45 minutes against both Club America and Barcelona and 90 minutes against Central and Comunicaciones. So, Romney has played more over the last two months than Meyer. Also, in all six games that Romney has played for the Galaxy, he has played at least solidly. He hasn’t made any major mistakes, his positioning has been good, and his passing has been good. And in the game against San Jose, the Galaxy were playing down a man the entire 33 minutes that he played. In fact, I would say Romney has played better over the last two months than Meyer. I remember them playing about equally in the two friendlies and the two CONCACAF Champions League matches. But Romney was better in his two MLS matches than Meyer was in his one MLS match. Meyer was fine against Toronto. But Romney impressed me against Houston and San Jose. I remember saying to myself, “Wow, this guy is pretty good.” His passing, positioning and tackling were all good. Although he played left back against Houston rather than center-back, he still was defender, and he played well. And he has played center-back in some of the other matches, for instance, against Central and Comunicaciones. And, against San Jose, he played left back in a 3-player backline, with the Galaxy down a man. So, he does have some decent recent experience at center-back. In addition, although Meyer is a smart and steady player, Romney seems to be one as well. He hasn’t made any crucial mistakes that I can remember in the 6 games he has played for the Galaxy. And Meyer has made a number of mistakes that I can remember over the course of the last three seasons. However, Romney’s lack of experience would be a concern for tomorrow, especially going up against Drogba. Also, Romney's good game against Houston came as a left back. He has never played an MLS match -- regular season or playoffs -- as a center-back in a 4-player backline. But, by a narrow margin, I think I would go with the player who has been playing better recently rather than the player with more experience. Also, Meyer’s lack of speed is a concern. It’s a tough call. It would depend partly on how they look in training.
You ride with AJ as you starter in the center as he is the most experienced and most comfortable with Omar. Tommy and Romney are subs only, and are a toss up when it comes to form. If you don't plan to play AJ and Omar the whole 90 you go with whichever younger guy looked best in training. Because Omar didn't really get any major minutes with the Nats this time around, he will likely go the entire 90. AJ maybe the one that gets the 65 minute substitution if anyone of them has to come out of the game. The bigger concern for me is Zardes. Do you play him the entire time and in what position. He is likely to start in midfield and then get subbed for Gordon with Gio moving to the wing around 65 or 70. We will see what takes place; but don't be surprised if Omar, AJ and Gyasi all go 90 with the way Bruce tends to sub guys.
I always feel Rogers plays better with AJ behind him. They have been playing together with Omar since Maryland so its a good strong mix in the back. Should be a strong left side with Lleget on the left at mid.
I think Gerrard will be a hell of a manager when he hangs his boots up. From the pieces I've read about him he loves analyzing players and games. His comments in the vid about dealing with Drogba were specific, spot on, and would actually be helpful to a his teammates. Keane's comments were.... well, typical Keano. Respect the opposition, play hard, try to get a result. Rinse and Repeat. Love it from him as a player. Not as helpful if coming from a coach. (I know, they weren't really coaching, but just sayin'...).
Thanks for the post. I agree that tonight Bruce Arena should keep an eye on Gyasi Zardes to see that he doesn't wear down too much. Over the course of the last 8 days, Zardes played 135 minutes for the National Team. But he is young and in such good shape. Also, it's not as if he played 90 minutes two days ago. He played 45 minutes four days ago. So, he may play well for 90 minutes tomorrow. On a different note, here is a link to an article by Scott French at mlssoccer.com in which some of the Galaxy players indicate that they are going to focus on containing Didier Drogba: http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...ng-defensively-aware-vs-world-class-montreal- According to French, Arena isn’t revealing who he will be starting at center-back next to Omar Gonzales. Montreal will probably start in a 4-2-3-1, with Drogba as the one forward. From what I can tell, this season they have started in a 4-2-3-1 in all but one game. And in the one game under new coach Mauro Biello, which was against Chicago on September 5, Montreal started in a 4-2-3-1. Partly because Montreal got an important win in the last week, I suspect that Montreal’s starting line-up tonight will be the same – or very similar – to what it was last week. Here is a link to the line-up Montreal started last week: http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2015-09-05-montreal-impact-vs-chicago-fire/lineup I think Omar Gonzales should be given the primary responsibility of marking Drogba. Gonzales is strong, experienced, and great in the air. Also, on June 13, the Galaxy played the Columbus Crew in Columbus. The Crew have MLS’s leading scorer, Kei Kamara. In that game, it seemed that Gonzales was the Galaxy player that marked Kamara most frequently. And Gonzales basically shut Kamara down. Kamara didn’t have any goals or any really good opportunities that I can remember. Maybe Gonzales can do the same thing against Drogba, who has some of the same qualities as Kamara, including physical strength, aerial ability and leaping ability. Another player for the Galaxy to focus on is Justin Mapp. He likely will start at right wing. He is fast and a good dribbler, who is good at beating players to the endline. Mapp has been injured for most of the year. On March 10, he sustained a dislocated and fractured left elbow that required surgery. He started playing again for Montreal on August 12. He has played in every game since then and started the last game for Montreal at right wing in a 4-2-3-1. Assuming Robbie Rogers starts at left back, he will have to be aware of Mapp’s speed and dribbling ability. But I think Rogers has the speed and the one-on-one defending ability to neutralize Mapp as long as Rogers stays focused and plays up to his ability.