This should now be in - there's a radio button to select top/bottom, right now you'll have to set it each time you create a line up.
The back four were studs tonight. Franklin showed an interesting dynamic at RB. Very well played game although we blew an opportunity to score being a man up for a while. it was a scary last 11 minutes, but i was glad we hung in. Ricketts was solid. I havent felt this good about a GK on our team in a while. Extremely happy that the powers that be got that huge ass drum in sec 101 moved to the back with the rest of the chivas scum.
The 1st SuperClasico Well even though it ended 0-0, I think we played well, i am happy Gordan got the red card, so i wont have to see him play next week, can t stand that kid, Berhalter good foul saved us for a good scoring opportunity. I cant stand the chivas, well hopefully this play will continue for the rest of the season
Lack of offensive production from central midfield is a recurring theme. There is no urgency to attack from this area of the field. For a home match against a main rival, there was was not enough attacking effort. There should have been more control after going a man up. There were hardly any scoring chances in the second half in a game where we could have really used 3 points. GK- Ricketts played great, but we can't count on him to block everything this season. He will only hold up for so long unless we can mount some kind of possession and attack in midfield. DEF- Gonzalez was outstanding, especially for a rookie. DeLaGarza also was very solid and looked much more comfortable at Right Back. Berhalter played well in his debut and could be an upgrade over Sanneh, but not by much. Lewis wasn't tested much on the left. It will be nice to see Dunivant return, so Lewis can help more in attack at midfield. MID- Tudela still looks better in defensive mode. Tudela does not look to push forward enough. He is still a keeper though. It's too bad we didn't go after an attacking midfielder instead of Kovalenko in the off-season. Miglioranzi is not the answer in the attacking role. He doesn't have the quickness to make an impact. Kirovski was a little better, but he isn't the answer either. Klein shouldn't be playing on the left side, and maybe even the on right for that matter. Klein has lost a step. This began to show last season. As with Miglioranzi, Klein doesn't have the foot speed to keep up in MLS anymore. Franklin is still new to Right Midfield in MLS, but he played well defensively and his first half cross created the best scoring opportunity of the night. FWD- Donovan cannot do it all by himself, but he should be in a withdrawn position behind the strikers until we can acquire an attacking midfielder. Hopefully Buddle can return soon. Gordon still hustles, but he just doesn't convert the chances he gets. He is better when he can impose his size on a tiring defense late in the game. He seems to play better when his minutes are limited. I'm not sure if Magee was out with injury, but he would have been a better option than Jordan. Jordan's hustle is nice, but not enough for MLS.
This game showed me 7 things. 1. Our defense finally doesn't completely suck, as proved by the last 15 minutes of the game. 2. We would have lost that game had we used our other keeper. Ricketts earned his paycheck today. 3. Chris Klien sux on the left side of the field. 4. Sean Franklin doesnt really belong in the winger position and cant cross for shyte. Yet I understand why Bruce put him there. 5. We need Beckham and Buddle back really really really badly because our offense is hurting without those two. If Donavan and Gordon are gonna be the only guys that score all the goals we are in trouble because they cant do it alone. The Other attacking midfielders and forwards need to step it up. 6. The Refs in MLS (especially the bleeder who called the game tonight) all need to receive spinning sidekicks to the chin. 7. We are going to be killed in our next game because of all the dang red cards and injuries.
Disagree a bit regarding Berhalter. Although i was skeptical at first, I was very impressed with how he organized the back line, asked for the ball and looked to push the ball forward, instead of just kicking it up the field. I think he almost scored, no? It happened right in front of me, but i was slightly distracted so I'm not entirely sure....and the foul that led to the red card was smart, it could have cost us the game. Most importantly, he showed some leadership, which had been hard to come by with the revolving door that has been our defense. He should definitely be the starter at CB.
Re: The 1st SuperClasico Unfortunately the Galaxy is just not that talented. I knew that being up a man was going to have zero effect because our midfield can't move the ball and if those are the subs this team has we're in major trouble. The teams behind the Galaxy in the standings, Houston and Dallas, should have no problem going past the Galaxy one of these days and we're going to be hurting with the extra team in the west and a good one at that.
He did attempt a shot, something that we desperately need. I liked the way Berhalter played. Even though he almost made a costly mistake, he had the quick thinking to commit the foul. I think Sanneh has also played well for us, so the depth on the backline is looking solid right now.
Anyone know what Gordon's second yellow was for? Actually, does anyone know what the first was for too?!
anyone know if Klein is still on that consecutive game streak? Bruce, just because the guy has that streak, doesn't mean you can't bench him. The boy is terrible on the left, he cannot use his left if his life depends on it. Always cutting back to use the right, it kills our attack. Bruce, please keep him on the right. Note about the game, it seems like Berhalther did very well for us, you can see his command of our defensive defense. He seems to inject a bit of energy into the backline. He even tried to get the fans pumped while running off the field after getting his red car. I think our best defense personel was on the field tonight. Lewis----Bert----Gonzo----AJ
ref was rediculous tonight, Chivas should off had 3 red cards by halftime. Klesjian should off been given a second yellow for elbowing Donovan.
Really enjoyed tonights game and iI finally feel as there is something positive starting to build with this squad. When was the last time that this team had a clean sheet? I can't even remember. Ricketts was an absolute revelation tonight. He was clearly the man of the match with about 3 brilliant saves; the first on a 1 on 1 that you know that Saunders wouldn't have made. He and Berhalter make the back a lot more credible and now we can focus on the offense and our big 0 midfield. It was a shame that Berhalter turned the ball over and had to take the red since he will have to sit out next week, but as someone said earlier, he really took charge and organized the younger players flanking him. He did show some energy and smarts back there and didn't look to constantly lob the ball upfield which was a welcome change (until the end!). Dunivant has to get back soon b/c we need Lewis on the left wing. He is just not a back and klein needs to sit. I'd rather have Patterson out there at this point. Fitness is killing this team right now as Donovan is just getting killed out there without Buddle. He has to return next week or we'll be looking at Kirovski or (God fordbid) Jordan starting. Jordan is consistantly a low-light for me. Not quite sure what he brings ashe seems not to be able to control his body at all. Donovan again worked his ass off, but was usually on his own moving forward. We are not getting enough supporting and timely runs to help him out and creat chances. Gordon is simply not the answer. BTW, was it Kirovski who pulled out the bicycle kick effort tonight? Way to go. That defender saved a certain goal. Things are definitely looking up, let's just hope that we can get some improvement out the Mid-Field and soon.
Um - you did see that he kicked an unpressured ball right to an attacker, and then was only able to pull the guy down, knowing that it would be a red card. All that proves to me is that he's a ********ing liability. He's Vanney 2.0.
I thought Gordon and Berhalter played pretty well until they each lost their freakin' minds and made huge mental mistakes. And, yeah, our team isn't very good, but no question that last year's team would have lost this game....
I still dont understand why this team insists on pushing 4 or 5 attackers to straddle the opposing backline during possesion, while the back 4 knock it back and forth to each other. There is just no play building up from the midfield to the attackers, everybody just waits for the ball to sail over and hope to run onto it. Before they lost a man and after things evened up, Chivas was giving us a lesson in midfield play. IF it wasnt for Ricketts it could have been ugly. I still dont see any positives to take from the game (other than DR), but Ive always got my tinted goggles on when watching a match from the stands. Oh and the crowd was absolutely dead tonight. The ref definitely helped kill the game with all of his whistles and pauses.
Delagarza showed me something tonight and I'd like to see him continue to play. I think we also saw that Franklin is not a midfielder and Klein can't play on the left. I the future (when people aren't suspended) I'd like to see a backline of Delagarza, Berhalter, Gonzalez and Franklin with Klein at right mid and Lewis at left mid.
I was way too tired to post anything last night, but here's my thoughts the morning after (actually, afternoon after- I slept in till nearly 2). I have also came up with these before reading back through the thread, so they are somewhat unadulterated. Interestingly, the general consensus from the few people I’ve talked to seems to be that it was an awful game, a boring game, etc. But I really enjoyed it. This is probably because it’s the first game I’ve been able to catch live this year, but I thought it was a good, exciting, passionate derby match. I wish the ref wouldn’t have lost control, and I wish we could have got all 3 points, but other than that I enjoyed it. I thought staying up till dawn to watch a nil nil would have been a nightmare, but staying up was worth it last night. I was worried when I saw Alexi in the booth, but I actually thought he was pretty good. I liked the three man booth with Alexi better than the 2 man with just Harksey and JP. I thought commentating brought out more of Alexi the player’s personality, rather than the GM personality that’s brought out when he is in the studio. I like him much more as a commentator than a studio host. The ref obviously lost control in the first half, because he gave away an early soft yellow. After that, he had to give everything equally bad or worse a yellow as well, and that was practically every tackle. Landon’s bouncing barrel role after being clipped by Nagumura was hilarious, maybe the play of the game. I felt really confident at halftime, the game was perfectly set up for us. We just had to be patient and let the chances come, control the game. I don’t really have a problem with Bruce’s subs. In hindsight they look questionable, but that’s not really fair. I like the aggression he showed, he was subbing in offense for defense, clearly going for all 3 points. In retrospect maybe he should have been more patient, but at the time it seemed like an okay idea. The Gordon sending off was obviously the turning point. We were as close to dominating the game as possible for us before he got sent off, and I’m sure we would have found a goal soon. The way he got the two yellows was inexcusable. Firstly for dissent, and then literally minutes later for something off the ball (I still don’t know what he did). Just horribly stupid, selfish and catastrophic. This clearly cost us the game. Compare to Berhalters red 10 minutes later, which was an ‘okay’ red. The game changed when Gordon got sent off, Chivas started to push us, and we weren’t ready for it. Berhalter made a terrible pass, but then he had to haul down Eskandarian. He took one for the team, we would have lost 1-0 if he didn’t bring him down. When we went down to 9, I was sure we were going to lose. I expected us to lose. I felt like someone on deathrow, you know it's coming, just not sure when. The last 3 or 4 minutes of regular time and then stoppage was heart-stopping. I thought Bornsteins shot in 90+3 that blasted off the side netting had gone in. Ricketts was obviously man of the match. He had some critics and skeptics on here before he even played, but he proved he can be a top MLS keeper tonight. At least for tonight. We have to see if he can be a consistent performer before we anoint him the savior, but for tonight he was outstanding. With any other keeper we’ve had the last two seasons, we lose at least 2-0. Overall, we need to start getting wins at home. Our record with Bruce, they showed it last night, is terrible. Something needs to change soon.
The first yellow was for dissent. The second yellow was for pushing Talley to the ground. The guy sitting behind me saw it go down. He said Talley was grabbing all over Gordon, and Gordon pushed him. He should have known better, that Talley was provoking a response from Gordo. On a side note, Klien should not be playing on the left. How many times did he stop coming down the sideline, cut inside, and try crossing with his right foot?
Yep. If only Sean Franklin would have done that last week, we get a point out of that game too. Edit: Ah, I see Jorge beat me to it.
I just read through all the posts and wanted to give my two cents worth. First off, I really wanted to be in the stands. I was nervous as hell watching the game from home. I have no confidence in the lads at this moment. We lost the midfield battle, enough said. I thought the defense was solid. I like AJD on the right better, but I think Franklin is a defender. So where do we plat both? Klein so far this year is the weak link. He's on the down side of his career. Overall, we just dont have enough talent in the midfield. The defenders are trying to play the ball out of the back and look up and see a static midfield. We are in desperate need of an attacking midfielder who can control the tempo and spray the ball around the field. We need wingers who have pace so we can widen the field and let Donovan do what he does best and run the channels. Donovan is not seeing the ball enough. We need Buddle ASAP. Gordon despite his moment of insanity did not play well. He's better coming off the bench and his lack of talent over a 90 minute period is noticeable. I think we can platoon Kovalenko and Tudela in the defensive mid role and therefore do not see the need for Birchall. We need a crafty attacking mid who can then spray the ball to Lewis and Becks on the wings and feed our offense. The effort was there and we would have lost that game last year. DR was a stud last night. If he can perform like this over the season, that is a huge plus, but will be the only nondrafted player that BA brought in thats a game changer. Kiro, Migs, Magee, kovalenko are not starters. Sorry for the long winded rant. Cheers and happy Easter Sunday.
I haven't read this thread yet, but thought I'd post my thoughts: Overall -My favorite Galaxy game of the year. I thought the first half was fantastic and the best we played all season. Still, despite that, we were lucky to be tied at half time as it seemed they had the very best chances. Second half was frustrating, we didn't know how to attack with the man advantage and then we were left holding on for dear life. Player thoughts: Rickets -9 Was a stud. Will singlehandedly earn us points this season. Earned us one last night. Such a tremendous upgrade over our recent keepers. Lewis - 7 Omar -8 Berhalter 9 AJ 7 Defense was solid. I still think we'll get burned on a counter or over the top and we almost were a few times last night but Berhalter was fantastic in my book. I loved the way he played last night and loved that he took the red card for the team. Klein 4 -He sucks as a right back. He sucks at RM. And surprise, he sucks at left mid. He is not a starter. He should be coming off the bench for 15 minutes. Tudela 6 Miglorazi 6 I thought bothe Migs and Tudela did their job tonight. I didn't like seeing Migs coming off for Kiro in the second half. Franklin -7 All he offers us in midfield is pace. We desperately need some pace so I'm cool with him in midfield. Wish we had some actual pacey midfielders. Donovan -7 Strong game from our best player. Should have scored. Gordon -6 Could have done more. Should have scored. SUBS: Kiro -2 HE SUCKS, CUT HIM. I CAN'T STAND HIM Jordan - 4 Not good enough. Hustle is not enough. Sanneh - NR Bruce -6 I liked his line up, felt that it worked pretty well in this game. I felt his subs made us weaker, rather then stronger. 2 points from 3 home games is not a good thing but I feel like last night was a step in the right direction.
Wow. I am almost line by line with this review. I would score Gordon a little lower, maybe a 5. I would score Kirovski even lower - he sucked the life out of what meager attack we had when he came on. Otherwise spot on. Interesting surprise: Migs. He wasn't really good, but he sucked less than I expected. Given Dema's proclivity to miss games, Migs may serve a purpose. I, too, was pleased with Berhalter's play. While he may not be much faster than Sanneh, I constantly saw him directing traffic, telling people where to pass, calling for the ball, etc. In other words, he actually was doing the organizing and on-field "coaching" that a veteran should do. And it was a "good" red card, except that he was the guy who coughed up the ball and created the problem. Will we ever play a game where the defense does not have one major screw up? Omar was everything we were hoping for, and AJ is begininng to answer the questions that were raised about how much Bruce gave up to move up in the draft. But, as noted, 2 of a possible 9 points at home is not going to cut it.