Man was this painful to watch. http://www.lagconfidential.com/2015/9/20/9359007/positives-and-negatives-la-galaxy-at-real-salt-lake Not good enough. I'm pissed at Gerrard. He looked off tonight (as did a lot of other guys). I find it inexcusable that he skipped practice this week to go to the UK and be on TV. He still hasn't figured out how to be effective with this team, and until that happens, he needs to focus on LA. Let him be a talking head in a booth. Let him go when the seasons over. Hell... if he's playing well I don't mind too much if he goes. However, his performance the past three matches has not been good enough for him to do anything that hurts his on-field production. All the other guys that looked bad tonight were at least with the team all week working towards this match.
What. The. Hell. I will echo what someone said earlier in the thread. This keeps going we are sitting in 6th and biting our nails. Forget home field advantage. The only passes I'm giving tonight are Rogers and Ricketts. That's it. A good chunk of the forward corps was invisible. Lleget couldn't get in the game. Robbie was trying to hard. Gio had a bright start when he first joined us, and since then including this game can't seem to figure out his teammates. Zardes had bright spots and was almost okay except he looked tired (thanks Jurgen - and if Gyasi is tired now, this is going to be a HUGE problem for playoffs) and didn't close down Morales on goal #1. Gerrard couldn't pass worth beans. Juni had a stinker. Both CBs gave up goals, and AJ was ineffective. So...yeah. Rogers and Ricketts. But beyond that, I've never seen our off the ball movement look so stale. Everyone was standing around (and even with that our passing game sucked). We have to get it together. If we don't, no MLS Cup this year. And with the loss, FCD likely just earned a CCL spot. That game next week just got even more important. ****. Fix. It. Bruce.
Oh, and one last note. RSL TV broadcast, could you please make your effing score chiron just a little smaller. It takes up a giant amount of screen. Ridiculous. **I'm also irritable and crabby after that crap.
Matthew Doyle @MLSAnalyst 6h6 hours ago Matthew Doyle retweeted Pat Cassa Omar sleeping, central MF balance is weird, zero hold-up play or chemistry in possession. #RSLvLA
Salty Bruce Arena: http://www.lagalaxy.com/post/2015/0...-la-galaxys-3-0-defeat-real-salt-lake-insider
relax, better to win the last 2 games of the season, and go into the playoffs on fire then breeze it and start to lose form. LAG know they have a problem and will work hard to fix it
So painful to watch. My impressions, which differ a bit from some expressed above: Ricketts: MoM? No way. The 3rd goal that killed all hope should have been saved and would have been saved by a goalkeeper with decent reflexes (sad to say -- a Penedo for example). It was headed from close range but it also was about a foot and a half from his right shoulder. Ricketts just doesn't have the reflexes he had when he was younger. Rogers: Some of you are saying he wasn't as bad as the others. Disagree - thought he was awful. He turned over the ball repeatedly with bad passes and had the lowest pass completion rate of all the starters other than Keane. That's hard to do when you are a defender where passing stats are padded with simple uncontested passes among the back four, gk, and your DM's. Then there was the foul throw in (which was probably a turnover if the ref had been watching) immediately followed by a "what the hell was he thinking" throw-in directly to RSL that not only killed a moment of good momentum we had going but also launched a quick counter-attack for RSL. And he is 100% lazy on the first goal we gave up. Check out our positioning immediately before their first back breaking goal: Omar is by himself at CB with 3 RSL attackers on the edge of the box ( a half second earlier you can actually see him looking toward the left side of the field, and pointing at the problem, asking for help). So where is his help? Well Leo is on the far left of the field, running back toward the center (he had let himself get sucked out all the way to the touchline defending a cross a few seconds prior*). Rogers is jogging around purposelessly. Lletget is running away from the 3 RSL attackers (wishing Omar good luck presumably). Meanwhile Zardes is too far back, marking no one rather than pressuring the ball the way a right midfielder should. A couple seconds later RSL is ready to cross the ball and our positioning/marking are so bad that the RSL attacker is literally waving his hands to yell "HEY, LOOK!! I'M ON THE EDGE OF THE BOX AND YET STILL WIDE OPEN!!" : First mistake was Leo getting sucked out to the touchline a few seconds before the play. The second mistake was for Rogers failing to recognize that Leo was pulled out and making little effort to cover for him by sliding to the middle. Third mistake was Lletget abandoning his position goal side of the attackers just as the kick is about to be taken. Fourth mistake was Rogers being soft when challenging for header. Fifth mistake was that as the play progresses Omar ball watches - for the rest of the play he never moves from the position you see below: AJ - One thing I can tell you about this first goal is this - if AJ had been the other centerback we would have never ended up with Omar facing a 3 v 1. AJ wouldn't have gotten sucked out wide, and whenever he does get pulled out he scrambles his ass off to get back in position. But AJ wasn't our cb, he was our right back. And I think he is mediocre there. He has few moves to advance the ball up the field and in fact for most of the game we couldn't work the ball up the right side. Gargan was much better at getting our attack started. Omar - I've always been an Omar defender but he really isn't showing any leadership in the back. He still takes forever to decide what to do when the ball as at his feet and can't start the transition from defense to offense. He just thinks for a few seconds and then long balls it. His long balls have become a little more accurate but still. Leo - First goal conceded says it all. Juninho - I actually thought he was having a pretty good game, was hustling more and passing better than anyone else in white until the costly mistake. He had the right idea, but his timing was wrong there goes another goal to RSL. SG - Had some good moments (great pass to Keane, almost great shot to score) but absolutely killed two counter attacks by passing behind Zardes. What's up with that - passing is supposed to be his thing. Not good enough for a man of his talent. Lletget - Killed us defensively. As pointed out earlier was in position to help Omar on the first goal but inexplicably abandoned him. On the third goal - same thing. He was man marking Sandoval nicely but then just let him go a few seconds before he scored. Offensively he doesn't get much service from our team and he and Rogers have lost all their chemistry. When one of the should zig, he zags and vice-versa. Gio - Had some nice moments, like when he created that close range shot from nothing, but then choked the shot. Before he came here I said a lot in his record suggested he was an "almost" player. A player who "almost" scores the goal, or almost makes the brilliant assist. But then he hits the centering pass 6" too high for Keane to reach or shoots just wide of the post, or... you get the idea. Every team he's played for he has done great on his debut but then faded a bit. I think that is what we are seeing. He has the talent - it's just a mental block to finishing the play right. Keane - Still making a mess of some simple plays. But absolutely brilliant shot he got off that Rimando saved. At least he show passion and plays hard all the time, unlike the rest of the team. (Actually Gordon also shows passion all the time. And Juninho and Zardes play hard all the time. But the rest of the rest of the team don't.) Subs: Who the hell knows. I quit paying attention after the third goal. Tactics: We aren't as good with AJ at right back and Gargan on the bench. Since we've made this switch the team has had a very difficult time getting an attack going starting from the back. Gargan was very reliable at working the ball up the flanks. This in turn opened up opportunities for the rest of the team to get involved in the attack. His forays up the right side even helped Lletget and Rogers get involved. Because Gargan would pull the opposing team to the right side of the field and then he would make either a cross that the weak side could attack or he would find Juniho who would shift the ball to the more open weak side. But AJ just gets pinned in and ends up having to do a little looping ball over the top (the opposing defense loves when that happens) or he makes a predictable pass. (Don't get me wrong - if someone does get AJ the ball at the far end line he can make a nice dangerous pass into the box, I'm just saying he can't get himself to the endline very consistently.) The problem with Leo in the center this season hasn't been as much with bone headed plays ( those still happen but are rarer) but its when he starts wildcatting and leaving his spot close to Omar. Last night he went way wide for tackle (to be fair, Rogers was nowhere to be found) and as soon as he did it I thought uh-oh, danger time. But in other games he's hurt us by pushing way up (leaving Omar 10+ yards behind him to make a tackle) and then too often he misses the tackle. The end result is him fouling which leads to a dangerous free kick and/or a card. Or it leaves our remaining defenders facing a counterattack when they are outmanned (a 2 v 1 or 3 v 1 or 3 v 2). If Leo is going to be next to Omar (and Bruce seems intent on that) then by god he needs to stay next to Omar. Go Galaxy?!
Highlight Time Folks. Again You are going to have hard time convincing me that this team wins anything this year. We need to start mixing up the midfield rotation again. If Jose Villareal is okay again then we need to get him some minutes on the wings again. Then maybe bring in Zardes or Lleget in the second half to put their fresher legs up against tired opponents.Or just make JV the first sub off the bench for the wingers. Shutdown wing service and shutdown LA. It is sad we can't score without the wing play. Especially because we have Gerrard and Juninho. They just aren't doing enough in the center. We are going to need more out of them. If Gargan is fine then we need to get him back into the lineup because the Leo/Omar pairing has done more harm than good for this team over the years. I have seen enough out of our other CB's to warrant Leo's trade. We could probably get a nice piece for LEO too. The Omar/AJ tandem has won titles. It is tried and true. WHY IN THE FRICKING FRICKITY FRAK DO WE KEEP GOING AWAY FROM THIS?!?! WHY??? I get it if Gargan is hurt but if this man isn't hurt play him; and even still, give the youth a chance to compete for the starting spots.
I had to miss this game - sounds like I didn't miss anything but sucktitude. What is happening to us? Whatever it is, I don't like it.
Said it before, I'll say it again. Play Gerrard further up the pitch, you start winning again. He didn't play well at all and yet most dangerous situations came through him. The one two where he burst into the box on the right and crossed to Keane (who was offside.... again). The powerful shot on frame. The throughball to Keane for his turn and shot. Rather than Bruce playing him ridiculously deep, if he sticks him at the point of a diamond formation (behind Gio/Zardes and Keane) where he's not obligated to track back and so can conserve his energy, you'll win. Bruce being afraid to shuffle the pack is what's screwing you over. As much as the players on the pitch.
And I will say it again, not the answer. It completely throws the rest of the team for a loop - and requires Juninho to be superhuman. We have to think about the XI, not just Stevie G. Bruce isn't afraid to shuffle the pack, he's putting the best XI on the pitch (with the possible exception for the CB conversation we continually have). Gerrard was brought in to play midfield. And frankly, Gerrard needs to suck up to the club right now after gallivanting to the UK. I think folks are being too hard on Omar who has had a better season than we seem to write about here. I've done a lot of analysis on him of late, and there are days I think we take him for granted. Anyhoo, I sure hope we fix our midfield problems. Because right now we can't keep the ball, which means pressure on the CBs. I didn't realize Rogers pass completion rate was so low, thanks for that @skydog. So I take it back, the whole team sucked. But I think this is a domino effect of our midfield right now. (Or just read Doyle's tweet who said it more eloquently than me. )
I looked and didn't see your "re-quote" did I miss it? Or did you try to Johnny Cochrane another Stevie G "if it don't fit, you must acquit" defense again. Because besides your screen name and your all to obvious nut-huggery of all things Liverpool and Steven Gerrard, quite frankly you don't know sh*t about the Los Angeles Galaxy. If you were truly honest with yourself you would see that most of the Galaxy fans that watch the games and that have seen the results would concur that Steven Gerrard has been pedestrian at best. If he (Steven Gerrard) was lighting the league on fire, then there would be no reason to question his actions on and off the field, but he ain't! and he is slowly becoming what we MLS fans call a euro-snowbird. A retiree looking for a "fat" pay day here, while putting out minimal effort and producing little on the field, not helping his team, and in some instances bad mouthing their experiences here. He hasn't bad mouthed the team or the league YET. But the TV gig in the middle of the season, and especially during an important stretch of games is the kinda non-verbal "eat me... i'll do what I want" type action that does not win you fans when you come back and get an ass-whipping 48 days after. I will say this, Beckham also did that crap when he was here, but dude never loafed and almost felt like he needed to make it up to the team, the coach, and the fans the very next game to show he was 100% committed to them. Whether we won or not, he wasn't going to show that us that he was tired, even if he was exhausted. Of course championship's change perceptions of the past. If Stevie G. can help bring an MLS Cup or CCL than these type stories will be just cute musings in his next autobiography. Of course if he doesn't we have a secret hall of shame for all foreign players who came here under huge fanfare and crashed out.
Whether that's true or not, it's still preferable to being a plastic fan like yourself. Real fans want their players and new signings to do well, but a quick trawl through your previous posts shows you wanted Gerrard to fail from the start (I invite anyone to check themselves). You're a fake. One of those so-called fans who'd rather be right than see their team win. Hence why you celebrated when you perceived the Houston heat had got to Gerrard. And if you were honest with yourself, you'd admit you can't read. Which can be the only excuse for not only missing the post where I didn't even have Stevie in the top five LA players in the last match, but conveniently missing the fact that just two posts above, I said 'He (Gerrard) didn't play well at all'. Sound nut-huggery (?) to you, Einstein? And yet, disregarding yesterday, most would have him in the top three LA players in every game he's played in. And the pundits are impressed with his progress. That's the knowledgeable folk. Not the knee-jerk reaction, armchair pundit, plastic fans like yourself. But I'm sure you have a good reason for reveling in what you perceive as weak performances that won't make you seem like a fake fan who wants the team to lose just to prove a point Oh, the comment (just one of many against SG) in question- Sound like a real Galaxy fan to anyone else? Me neither.
Gerrard and Junni are BOTH playing too deep. This leaves a big empty space to fill behind the forwards.
Totally agree with you about Gerrard positioning. In this game I would have pulled Gerrard early though. He had to be tired from the international travel.
Absolutely. Gerrard needs to be higher or Gio needs to be farther back. Geo can play a 10 with Keane free to roam high. But Keane would have to make a point of not getting pulled back so as to leave no one in the box.
I don't think midfield position is the issue. Gerrard being too deep isn't what caused his passes to be behind Zardes on multiple occassions. It didn't cause our defensive lapses either. I think the team needs to continue to work together and figure out an aproach to the game that consistently creates dangerous posession. We are no longer a counter-attacking team, but we seem to want to play like one. In that sense, maybe Gerrard sitting deep and trying to lob balls over the top is part of the problem, but I think that's more of a decision-making thing than a positioning thing. It looks to me like other teams have figured out a strategy to shut us down in the midfield. Lletget often seems to fail to go to the ball, and if he tightly marked he regularly gets beat to passes to his feet. Gerrard looks for the long ball instead of short combinations. Keane seems to always be running towards goal instead of checking back and looking for the combination play. It's like we're trying to take shortcuts to the goal when that's not our strength. Our players have the skillsets to execute tiki-taco, but they aren't trying it. They need to get comfortable with one-another. I really didn't think I'd be saying this once we got Gerrard, Gio, Lletget, Keane, and Gyasi all on the field together, but we are REALLY missing Donovan and his ability to read the game at speed, connect the pieces, and create scoring chances. We are also missing Sarvas' bite and hustle. We definitely have the potential to get it together. The question is whether or not that potential can be realized in the remaining games and playoffs. EDIT: BTW... I totally agree with @Berks analysis of Omar. He's made some mistakes, but I think we're only this hard on him because our expectations are so high. He has been very good this season, just not perfect.
Great points on the midfield. We also have two players still adjusting to MLS. We are giving them time and hopefully we get it together. Coaching task for Bruce...
Yeah, I've been racking my brain trying to figure out the main problem. But, there are many small ones and there's no simple player switch fix. Gio seems to want tiki-taco. He's not racing off in transition. But, Gio in the middle doesn't seem to be working. Keane wants the ball into space, but not too much space. Gerrard moves the ball simply yet quickly. But, he's not passing and making the quick off the ball move. As much as Gyasi loses the ball, I don't consider him the problem. His movement is fine. I've considered moving Lletget to the hole with Gio and Gyasi outside. But, DaBoy would have to pass the ball while in the box, so that probably wouldn't work. For me, it's a frustrating puzzle right now.
Or maybe, just maybe this league, especially the West has an insane amount of parity. Three weeks ago Seattle looked like they were going to miss the playoffs, Montreal & RSL looked dead in the water and LA only winning by 3 was considered a disappointing showing.