I think what this game was missing for the. Galaxy was a player like Dema Kovalenko. I'm not sure a team with Dema loses 7-0.
"My job today was to watch Schelotto a little bit because he's the guy who can make a difference," Kovalenko said. "I love that. I liked the challenge. He said to me, you know, 'It's not a war. The game is not a war.' I said to him, 'My friend, it's a war. To me it's a war.' I know it's not the only reason, but to me, we would have another star if Dema didn't have the flu one night in 2009.
Man U players had a lot to prove, with them finishing out of the Champions League spots and with a new manager to impress. We had nothing to play for. If this had been a competitive match and we had our A team I'm sure we would have won it 3-1 or something. After all, we've got Gargan and Husidic, Man U can't say that!
We all sort of rolled our eyes when we signed Dema but he was a big pickup for us and filled a huge "need." Guys didn't have an easy time against the Galaxy any more, it was a sharp departure of the "Ruud Gullit traffic cone defense" days.
I didn't find those articles condescending as much as accurate. First one Wenger says Zelalem may be the creative player with vision that the USMNT lacks. Sounds fair to me. Second one says exactly what we've been saying over on the Fire Bruce thread - LA doesn't seem to be doing much to improve while the rest of the league does continue to improve. It also says we are still a dangerous team but need a booster shot - like a Xavi, Klose, or JJones. I wish whoever wrote this was running our FO. The articles I feared were the ones that just laughed at how bad the league was - I don't mind the criticisms of LAG for the ManU game, because we deserved it.
Off topic, but WTF is Donovan's problem anyway? He showed everyone he can still play by scoring those 3 goals in 2 games after the national team snub and then proceeded to show us he doesn't give a ********. WTF
The tone in which both articles are delivered drive me nuts: "Gedion has the qualities that I believe are very important to give in the States because the national team I've seen [is missing them]. He's a creative player and he can create a spark, an opening with his pass, with his vision through the eyes and if he manages to build up his physique and his qualities, he can be a very important player." Thank you for lending us your spectacular player to a team that has no vision, creativity, spark, blah blah blah. I said the second article had a point the rest of us have mentioned, but it's littered with other annoyances: "The LA Galaxy are in danger of being left behind by their Major League Soccer rivals." - you wrote this now after the Man U game and compared it to the Seattle game against the Spurs. Fine if you make the point, don't use the whatever friendlies to do it. "they offered little fight, in stark contrast to Seattle Sounders FC's ferocious 3-3 draw with a Tottenham Hotspur side that finished above the Red Devils last term." - completely different game, different situation. "Like his club, talisman Landon Donovan is surviving solely on reputation, a detail recognised by Jurgen Klinsmann, and while franchises across the division have been hunting the signatures of Clint Dempsey, David Villa, Kaka and Frank Lampard, Los Angeles have only recruited their own Omar Gonzalez as a Designated Player since 2011." - Nice dig at LD there using JK. No mention of the quality that Keane has given us. No mention of the fact that we tried to sign Lampard. "In an increasingly strong Western Conference, they run the risk of missing out on the play-offs without serious improvement." - Have you looked at the standings lately? "However, despite winning the MLS Cup only two years ago, the Galaxy recently required a eight-game unbeaten run just to avoid being cut adrift before the season's halfway mark." - we "required" an 8 game unbeaten run? What? Does this person understand the standings? I'm fine with the points, but the overall article has a tone of hatred toward the team that I just don't understand. All sparked from a Man U loss.
My knowledge of MLS and its fan culture is rather limited. I just browsed these forums in the wake of the United match. It's cool to see the popularity of football in general is increasing in the states!
Actually, we enjoy having visitors to this forum, unless they come from the massive San Jose fan base. But, as I expect you have inferred, we are NOT representative of the general run of fans. We tend to be a little more passionate and a little more intense, or we wouldn't be spending so many hours on a soccer board.
I fear for Germany. But for their tactical prowess, depth of talent and succession of goals and clean sheets, the World Cup could have been a very embarrassing tournament for them.
Hmm, so there is a certain rivalry between Galaxy and San Jose? Yes, I thought so. Nice to see that passion embodied by all the writing work done in these forums!
Berks: As I am sure you remember, I am not a fan of Klinsmann and thought LD should have been on the national team over both Davis and Green. Nor was I a fan of having Tim Chandler on the team. However, other than the Union game, LD has been a major disappointment to me since his return from the USMNT camp. Its almost like not making the team has gutted him. Frankly other than a few runs (less than 1 per game), I see little or no apparent effort on his part (especially and strangely on the offensive end). His refusal to take a shot has gotten ridiculous. Its gotten to the point where I wouldn't be surprised to seem him retire at the end of the season, as it looks like he has lost the fire in belly and any sense of joy in playing the game. I know you posted someplace about him yelling at the Los Dos players in the ManU game, but I don't recall seeing him do much of that. I personally thought he played for about 5 to 10 minutes and then seem to walk around (effectively) for the final portion of the game.
Wednesday's preseason friendly that saw Man Utd beat LA Galaxy 7-0 at the Rose Bowl scored 308,000 viewers on @FOXSports1.— Camellia Senemar (@CamelliaSen) July 25, 2014
I would not go as far as major disappointment after looking at the chalkboards - he has still generated chances and he has been crucial to our transition from defense to attack. HOWEVER, lest you call me a homer, I also wouldn't say he's been a success lately for the reasons that you mentioned, his lack of aggression being the biggest. He did well in the few games after camp. I'd say in the last few games though he's been disappointing. So we can agree on that. The reason for it? No idea. You could be right, it could be an undisclosed injury...who knows? I think we can all say of late we want LD to be more active. I still think the tone of the article is bizarrely bitter without any reference to many league games, digs at LD, and doesn't recognize how much Keane has brought to the table. The tone set my teeth on edge. Just a personal thing I guess.
another reason why I stopped watching these types of "friendlies" after around 2008....once I realized Arena clears the benches effectively giving up on any good result. Silly mistakes (like the one of Meyer) makes our whole squad look laughable. Perhaps this "take it easy" approach might have worked a few years ago but now it's definitely counter-productive - no doubt about that in my mind. It just unnecessarily gives ammunition to those snobs who talk all crap about MLS in general and keeps the ones who are on the verge of supporting this league away. So much hard work of so many destroyed by Arena's stupidity in barely 90 minutes. On top of it it's just depressing for everybody. I understand the difference in payroll (Galaxy's $13 mil vs Man U $300 mil.) but still - either play like you mean it for 90 min. or don't play at all. As a proud Galaxy fan who regards our team to be top in the world, I am profoundly ashamed of this result. I sincerely hope that the salary cap is significantly raised in the upcoming CBA as well as number of DPs so some quality could be injected into the team. Players like Meyer, Leonardo etc. would be great addition to our Galaxy II. team while our A team obtains some desperately needed talent.
Berks: I didn't even read the article, I guess I started getting disappointed with his performance against Carolina in the US Open cup and its been growing ever since. The comment about not getting excited about playing ManU on top of his lack luster play between the two events is what has driven me towards this opinion. I know a lot of basketball players talk about their love of the game and I have heard Robbie mention it regarding Soccer. I just don't see it in Landon anymore. Other then Union game, the only times I recall him smiling on the pitch is during the pregame walk-outs with the kids or after a goal score.
I hope you see more soon! Check out the analysis I just posted in the formation thread. It's interesting.
Guys this is a friendly between globally a little known MLS club and one of the power houses of World football. First and foremost Football is about entertainment, why don't you save your heart on your sleeve business for the league and just enjoy what is a truly rare event to see one of the greatest clubs in the history of World football. All I see banded around these threads is eurosnob this and snob that I think you need to take a long hard look at your own snobbery levels and start enjoying football friendlies for what they are.
Spoiler for ManU Roma halftime ManU 3 - 0 Roma Using the transitive property so many like to employ we are on equal footing to Roma right?