Just one point. LA is the top scoring team in MLS. In the second half of the season LA has scored 33 goals in 12 games. That includes the last two games in which the team was shut out. Because of that, it has been MUCH more important that Gerrard commit to his defensive responsibilities than his attacking ones. Generally speaking, we haven't needed him to shoot. As I wrote in my article, I think the main problem with our attack is that we are bypassing the midfield and trying to just lob the ball over the top. A lot of this is Gerrard. Over the past couple of years, LA has been most effective when we soften up teams with our combination play in the midfield. Gerrard and Keane need to get on the same page for that to happen. I believe they will work all this out, and Gerrard will be able to pick his spots going forward, as he has in his first few games with the team (but not the last couple). The one thing that you say that I REALLY REALLY agree with is getting SG on the ball for set pieces. Gio's have been atrocious.
Yeah, this is another thing I don't get and smacks to me of 'appeasing the fans'. Gerrard is the best deadball specialist in the team and one of the best in the league (hard to argue the best with Pirlo and Lampard). Gerrard should be taking EVERY free kick and it could be argued every corner. I know the thinking is to change things up, but to be honest, when you have a player who can strike a ball like Gerrard, screw that, let him take every free kick.
I meant all round Freekick takers including crosses, in-swingers etc etc. As far as I'm aware, both names mentioned are direct free kick specialists, aren't they? Not all rounders like Gerrard.
I realize you haven't followed this club until Gerrard signed and the bolded parts are telling. When Rogers was brought in he started in the midfield and didn't do sh*t. Especially since we gave up a club hero for him, his ineffectiveness in the midfield made us want to burn him at the stake. It was only because of an injury to our regular LB that he got a shot there and finally started being a positive force for the squad. As for the second part, we actually won the cup last year in case you hadn't heard ...and Landon was in the midfield. I do agree with the notion of pushing Stevie forward into the attack more instead of bombing balls upfield like Beckham did. That type of play was built for our team in '12 and ended in '13. It won't be tiki taka(taco) but, its a more natural progression from our play last year instead of trying to go back to '12. I think our D does(did) a fair enough job of distributing forward. With SG back there they still seem unsure, tentative and a bit crowded. Its like they feel they have to go through him and always look for him first when a better play forward is open. If he's not available, by the time they look up, that open play is closed down already. With Juni helping and tracking back, I think something like this would work best. -----------Keane-----Gio----------- -----------------SG------------------ Lletget---------Juni---------Zardes RR--------AJ------OG------Gargan OK end rant. Freakin NFL Sundays now are pissing me off. I really hate that game now.
I honestly don't think that Gio was even thought of as a possibility at the point they came to an agreement with SG. Who knows what the tactical plan was at that point? Then when they had a chance to sign Gio, plans had to change to get all the best players on the field at one time. And, while SG is absolutely one of my favorite players, we only have him for a short time. Gio will be around for four years minimum and is just coming in to his prime. So it was hardly a mistake to sign Gio. It was more a matter of long term planning. Lastly, from a VERY UNscientific observation at the stadium the other night, the Gio shirts and Mexican national team shirts had to outnumber the Gerrard and Liverpool shirts by at least two to one, maybe more. So I can understand why Gio was a must from a marketing perspective. And I happen to think he is a pretty good player in his own right. I don't dispute that Bruce may not be getting max value from Steven using him as he is. But his job is to get the best he can from the whole team, not one guy. And the fact that SG is a short timer here, I can't fault Bruce for not designing tactics or rosters around SG.
Contrary to popular belief, I followed LA before Gerrard, since the Beckham move, but only watched the last two years as Youtube highlights. But from what I saw, it seemed Landon was a midfielder in name only. Looked more like a CF role just behind Keane. But as I said, those were highlights and more likely to show LD in an advanced position.
Yeah, he definitely pinched in a lot and the exchanges between him and Keane helped spawn our tiki "taco" play.
In 2012 and 2013 Donovan played primarily as a forward with Keane, and they worked so well together that fans coined the term "Keanovan" to describe their near-psychic level of understanding. Last year, Donovan moved back into the midfield, playig primarily as a winger on the left. He did pinch in a lot, but Zardes did a great job as a forward, scoring 16 goals. Just because the youtube highlights from last year only show Donovan in advanced positions, don't get the wrong impression. He worked very hard and covered a lot of ground. His distance from the goal is one of the reasons that he had 19 assists and "only" 10 goals.
a) I don't believe that it's a waste. One of the biggest notes as to why: GDS will be with LA ideally longer than Gerrard due to his age. b) Juninho is at his best playing destroyer out of the back and having some late runs. His partnership with both Beckham and Sarvas was based on that. It was before your time here, but this is the position he has played the most - where he plays today. c) No one here wants Gerrard to go home, so not quite sure why you're saying he hasn't been afforded the same timeframe. Everyone wants him to be successful and wants him to gel. I just don't think he's MOTM every game. d) No salary cap based on positions on the field. But there usually isn't enough money once you stock a couple of DPs in other areas. It has been somewhat easier to find defenders in this league (and in other nations) than attacking players. And yes, easier to find exciting attacking players to draw fans. But that doesn't mean that defense is an afterthought. This is a well known quote in this league: "defense wins championships." And it's something Bruce Arena is well known for. e) GDS is useful as well for DEPTH. That is something your subsequent post doesn't take into account. In particular now with Zardes (over Giovani Dos Santos which is a mind boggler) being a frequent member of the US national team. f) GDS/Zardes will shift positions. It's something Landon did a ton while he was here, and it helped unsettle defenses. Another bullet in the attack. I don't think you should be tying Gerrard to GDS in an "he's extraneous" argument. It's a good issue for us to have i terms of depth. One final note: Bruce tried Landon in the deeper playmaker central role at the beginning of 2014. It was painful to watch because it stunted the Galaxy and robbed us of one of our most dangerous players in the box. That said, we still needed that person linking the defense and offense *badly* - which is why he was moved there. Sarvas reclaimed his rightful role, and all was right with the world once he went back to his normal position. The person that plays that role is super important to how the Galaxy operates right now. Having Gerrard's skills there is incredibly important for ball movement and pressure relief. We're just worried about his legs. But that IS the role he was brought in for because it's an instrumental one for how the team operates. Moving him would cause some major dominos to fall - and in my opinion, not so great ones. I don't like moving Juni, and I don't like backfilling him with a different DM (in theory, Husidic or Walker). EDIT: Pair my post with Ghosting's and Cadaver's above. EDIT x 2: I also would be okay with trying the more diamond midfield listed above and pushing SG forward. But not with putting Gerrard with Keane as Robbie's sole partner upfront. That isn't using the rest of the team properly imo. (and if I misunderstood you, let me know)
Yeah, it's always been my view that you can have a decent team defense by getting good enough players and have them work together for several seasons so they develop an understanding. Combined with the fact that the US produces enough of these players (look at Romney, he's giving us minutes and probably makes 60k per year) this is the place to economize and you have to economize somewhere. On the other hand, the ability to be in front of the goal and control the ball and not panic and have your shot go where you want it to is such a rare trait that this is where spending money can make a big difference. I agree with Rafa that Gerrard/Gio/Zardes don't fit well together, but that's just the way it is. Management wants stars and so we get stars and Bruce does the best he can with that. He's probably the right kind of coach for this anyway. He doesn't really have a system, he has the players he likes and will build around them. It's hard for me to complain. The Galaxy put so much money into soccer operations (not only the DPs but also the reserve team and the academy) that I'll forgive the things they need to do to generate revenue.
I’m going to file this discussion in the same folder as the ones about LA’s early season performances, and firing Bruce. 370; that’s the number of minutes Gio, Gerrard and Zardes have played together. If you consider that sufficient to draw any sort of conclusion – well, Vincent Tan is a co-owner of LAFC, that club might be a better fit.
BTW, I’m too lazy (rim shot) to go look it up now, but after Keane’s quick start in 2011 he went several games without scoring and I know for a fact people here were complaining about how he integrated with the team.
QFT. Give Gio and Gerrard time to get accustomed to playing with this group of guys, and vice-versa. There's no reason that Gio shouldn't be able to play well with this squad moving back and forth between a wide midfielder and a second forward. If he and his teammates are patient, he can keep a positive attitude, and Arena brings him along slowly, he should be fine.
....and the bye did not help much either. Keanne, Zardes. AJ and Omar would have benefited by this break but were on the move.
The team played much different this match. I cannot count the times they tried to thread the needle to Keanne instead of working the ball in. They now have the horses to do this so there is no excuse. Gerrard was a big help on defense this match but he needs to be more Sarvas-like or its a wasted effort. I was also expecting SG to handle the set pieces. One point on Rogers in the second half-he was calling for the ball alot, had plenty of space but was not getting any service. I would take advantage of that.
I agree with this post, Berks and several others here. Gerrard as Striker was tried in LA and though the move proved effective at times, it cost the team service out of the midfield. Serious side question, if the idea of SG as striker was such a great idea why did it not happen in Liverpool? Why didn't Rogers put SG in this position if it would have helped the man and the team? I agree that Zardes should be a striker; but because of our lack of starting wingers and because this kid actually plays defense, has speed and a decent cross, he can be played in that position with positive results. Also Gio has had only one bad game and is far from the problem. And Gio hasn't really played winger with this team. Now correct me if I am wrong, but I believe this game was the first time he played winger for the team outside of his debut right? Bruce was likely thinking, "Let's try him in that spot just in case Zardes struggles I can swap the two." Remember Zardes had his worst game of the season last game out on the wing. We all thought the two should switch. Unfortunately for Gio he then goes on to have a bad game as well in the same spot. I don't think this means we should remove him from the midfield forever though. LA practically plays that 4-4-2 diamond as shown above anyway once we get moving. But the issue here is that like Beckham before him, Gerrard likes to drop back to deliver the deep ball, so he needs to be forced to stay more forward. I have been rethinking the formation and think we need to try 4-1-3-1-1 with Gio as a true#10. It would be the idea formation to force Gerrard forward and it would retain a midfield that can maintain possession and create quality service. What do you all think? Somebody wanna call a meeting with Bruce? ------------RK ------------SG SL--------GDS-----GZ -----------JUN RR---LEO----OG---AJ
At the end of the game, I must admit my first inclination was to boo. I didn't. But, quite a few people in the stadium did.
The only thing I can think as far as why SG isn't taking the set pieces is that he is tall and can get his noggin' on the ball, and other than Gonzilla and Zardes (and Gordon when he's in the game), we don't have a lot of big boys on the field… so maybe Arena is thinking that another 6-footer who is a legitimate threat in the box is the more important thing… that's the only thing I can think of...