I think this reflects an increasing imbalance in MLS squads, more so than improvement in talent. I don't think Vela is better than Giovinco, for example (Or Valeri, Keane etc.); it's just gotten easier to create big chances and score. I get that people think lots of goals = exciting, "fun" football, but this, along with the increasing home team advantage, are bad trends for MLS, IMO.
Why would scoring be easier these days? In theory the league should be getting better and better defenders and gk's given the steady growth of salaries across the league. On the offensive end we do have more regular season games than a decade ago and that would explain growing season goal totals but it wouldn't explain increases in goals per game or goals per 90 min. Edit: Ok, I see you are attributing this to increasing imbalance across the league. I guess that could be true. I don't know what the data says though. Do we have evidence that on average the difference in quality from the top to the bottom has increased from earlier days?
Apparently not understanding defense is an occupational hazard for great goal scorers who become coaches.
I know it may be sacreligious, but I don't have Robbie in my all-time Galaxy 11. I had Zlatan up front with Landon on the left and Beck's on the right. Cien as the attacking mid with Jona and Sarvas as the box to box mids. For the back 4, I was really uncertain. I had Dunivant, Fraizer (who I never saw play) Gonzalez and AJDLG. Hartman is my keeper. Ruiz, Keane, Jones, Juninho, Marshall, Rogers and Ricketts as subs. The only way, I can see fitting Robbie in is to move Landon to the attacking mid.
When I create the poll this summer, the first rule will be that you can only assess the player from their time with the Galaxy - so the team is comprised of players playing from whatever level they played at during their Galaxy stint. But some really good players are going to be left on the bench....
You took my heart then you took my pride away I hate myself for loving you Can't break free from the the things that you do I wanna walk but I run back to you, that's why I hate myself for loving you I could not help myself!
A possible explanation? https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...ith-brilliant-attackers-or-terrible-defenders
I think its more of an offensive trend in soccer/football. Teams in general seem to be focusing more on attack, and a lot of the acquisitions tend to lean in that direction. Vela has always been considered one of Mexicos better players of this generation, it just doesn't show because he keeps choosing not to play for his national team, and hes not as "flashy" as Giovinco. Plus LAFC's overall team is clearly better than Toronto, so that is always going to color the stats in a League like this. Do we honestly think Schweinstiger sucks because his stats suck? Or is it he unfortunately has hitched his wagon to the dumpster fire of Chicago.
Thanks for the link. It's a confusing article though. They talk around the issue but are sloppy with their analysis. They compare season totals "But of the five most prolific goalscoring seasons in MLS history, four have come in the last seven years" but never mention the obvious explanation - more games per season. They claim that years when we add expansion teams/weak teams average # of goals increase (which sounds reasonable), but give no overall stats to prove it, just some cherry picked examples. They follow that statement by pointing out that scoring was over 3 goals per game in six of the first seven MLS seasons and that the all time peak was 3.65/gm in 1997. How does this square with expansion teams being the cause? Because "they were all expansion" teams. For seven seasons? Yeah, right. They sum all of this up with this wishy-washy conclusion: It may well be easier to score in MLS now than it was a few years ago. Whether that is the product of an increase in attacking potency or a decrease in defensive quality is largely down to interpretation, but if goals are the currency of the sport then MLS is particularly rich right now. I'm inclined to buy the expansion team explanation but would like to see the overall #'s. We need a comparison of ave goals/gm in expansion years vs non-expansion years. Add in a comparison of seasons when multiple expansion teams are added. But I'm too busy (lazy) to do the work now.
Interesting. I noticed in the game he was passing very conservatively. Only got one cross in, but it wound up being a goal. I hope he gets some more opportunities.
I haven't done any research myself on this topic either, but how about the DP and other foreign acquisitions that tend to be midfielders/attackers while defenders tend to be MLS vets?
I'm not quite ready to put Jona in there as a starter on this squad yet. I'd rather start with Juninho. TBH Beckham would be a sub for me. He was good but well past his prime during the Galaxy years. Keane would replace him on this list.
Methinks whoscored doesn’t penalize defenders for allowing forwards to get off really dangerous crosses. If they did then there is no way Feltscher would get an 8.2.
whoscored ratings ARE skewed towards offensive stats. I'm sure its harder to track defensive stats. You would think "they would have the opposite (as you say) allowed shots (on goal" or "allowed key passes", etc...
I think it has more to do with more and better top end talent. We have never had so many DPs and TAM players. And not just at the Galaxy, but throughout the league. Or is that the imbalance you're talking about? More top level talent, but the bottom level on each team hasn't really improved as much (though I would say they have improved). There is very little imbalance between the teams. This year seems to have more parity than the past.
True dat. I thought of a different way to get at it. Below are all the “key passes” (passes leading to a shot) for SKC. Notice how many come from Feltscher’s side. The most dangerous ones are the ones originating deep in the box, especially from near the endline:
I think the coaching across the board has improved a lot as well. Teams are better drilled, have more defined systems and patterns of play. That’s also had a big impact as well.
I think better coached teams should on average improve on defense at least as much as offense. Probably even more since defense relies more on teamwork and coordination of effort. Offense tends to be more dependent on individual skills. See Ibra as a great example..