Burn-Gals post game [R]

In fairness, none of our forwards were very good.

Have we tried to thread the needle with one of our forwards even once this year? I've only seen the other side score five or so goals against us this way this year.

 

We're still not generating enough offense. Oscar hasn't yet proved to be the savior, but he gets a free pass since it was his first game back.

Memo to Coach Jeffries: Can you just have the guys practice all the time on trying combination plays through the center? I mean all those goals being scored by getting the ball out to the wing and crossing it in to our monster target forward are just too much for our opponents.....

Buzz, can you forward that one along?

Beyond the offensive problems, this team has to take a goal before it gets excited, and that is a bad reflection on Coach Jeffries IMHO.

 

After his fine season last year, Chad's off to a pretty mediocre start in 2003. I'd like to see Davis and Pareja team up in the middle for a game or two to see how they fair.

The Burn's forward play was disappointing. EJ struggled and Rhine didn't do any better. I'd say our best bet might be a Kreis/Cerritos pairing up top.

 

Huh. I thought Chad looked lots better today than he did last year, when I thought he was overrated by Burn fans. I usually am looking for anyway to get Stone in there. This time, I thought our defense setup and midfield set up was flawless.

I just wanted Graz back to close the deal now and then. XXXX, I would have gone for somebody like blond Hernandez in there -- any non-American to get it done.

I thought Cerritos had some good runs, which of course were missed by his teamates. I'd start Cerritos and Kries for the time being to see if the team and Cerritos can adjust to each other.

Absent another allocation, maybe you just start Davis at forward to get your best guys on the field.

 

I know you couldn't tell tonight but they do practice that. And are usually quite good at it, but I would agree that the splitting pass was either missing of not working.

LA plays that bunker back with 8 defenders and counters. That makes it hard to find that splitting pass, escpially when forwards are man marked, and Lalas is kicking everthing and everyone in sight.

 

Anybody checked out Davis's goal on video yet? You won't believe the knuckling on that ball. Hartman sees it coming off his foot, and judges from the angle of ascent that it will end up in the parking lot. Next thing he knows, it's in the back of the net!

On Suarez, frankly I think he's had this coming for a while. Either this or an own-goal on one of those back headers. I really hope we can bring someone in who will play well in his absence. That might be just the thing to help him get his head together.

And Wanderer, I couldn't agree more that it is a great discredit to Jeffries that this team can only get animated after they go down a goal. To me this team plays most of the time with no visible evidence at all of coaching.

 

Also, check out the body language when he turns around and sees the ball in the net. He actually looks startled, as if someone had snuck up behind him and yelled BOO!!!

Priceless.

 

I'll agree, but I don't think the way to beat Lalas, Califf, Hendrickson, et al is by crossing the ball in.....

 

Exactly! God, that was really frustrating when we just kept banging crosses into the box where of course we were beat on headers every single time.

 

It got better in the second half, I wonder if that was Jeffries' idea?

 

Cerritos looked totally out of sync w/ the rest of the team and did more to disrupt the burn attack by playing retreating balls on the few touches when he actually showed. Vaca had a lot of time on the ball but he wasn't very dangerous. In fact, I think it would do some good to sit him for at least a half so he can focus better. Countess stood on his head & saved the day time & time again. Chivas doesn't seem to trust Broome's erratic distribution as he ignored every overlap & either took it himself, or played the ball elsewhere.

I haven't read it anywhere, but Saurez played the entire game on the flanks while T-bone was back in the middle. Early on, LA would bunker ball and launch long balls into Gavin & il Pescalito right a t-bone. But then, they started playing the possession game and that danger passed. Pescalito completely vanished after then.

 

Just making an observation about how two opposing team supporters see things entirely different.

1. I remember commenting to a friend about Glinton's goal when I noticed the Lalas / Suarez fracas on replay. I said, "Damn, did you just see Suarez tackle Lalas? He should be playing for the Cowboys."

2. No difference of opinion here. Davis' goal was nice. As I recall he had some similar moments of late game magic for the MetroStars last year. Also, I thought he was one of the better players for the U-20 national team that played in the U-20 world cup in Argentina in 2001. I'll trade you Elliot, Victorine, and Allbright for Davis. Can't beat it!

3. Galaxy fans are equally as disgusted by Ezra getting sent off for two soft yellow cards. Are we pillow fighting here or playing soccer?

 

Nothing new. Typical LA.

I want Cerritos starting with Kreis. EJ doesn't seem to play with heart. Heck WE NEED ATTACKERS WITH HEART.

Maybe Big Red wants a piggy back ride.

Beautiful goal. Hartman's facial expression after that was priceless.

And the Oscar goes to the human pinata (with the bad hair).
BTW the ref was also a crock to believe that crap.

Thank God.

Thank you DJ. And to think early in the season we were worried about the goalkeeper being our weak point and our defensive back four as our strengh. Now it seems to be the opposite.

Is it too late to go back to the Cotton Bowl?

At least we're not the Rapids.

 

Just watched the whole game on tape, the view from the GA section leaves something to be desired. On the LA goal Suarez totally wrapped up Lalas from behind, and MAN it was beautiful to see that red head snap back in slo mo whiplash! If there had been no goal there probably would have been a PK.

This is why I dig Suarez; he's a hot-head like me. He's always right, the world around him is always wrong and his insane glare makes Deering look, well, normal.

I loved watching him pound Cobi like a Mexican National in WC'02! The red card was on a total Cobi patented dive. Watch the ankles collapse AS the arms go up in the air. But Ryan had it coming. Sitting out against NY will be a drag but it will give him time to focus on Dema, like we all should be doing.

I liked watching Ryan kick over the sign board in the 2nd half, anything that dismantles this stadium in even a small way is a positive. BUT there was a family with a little girl walking right on the other side and the board came really close to catching the girl's leg.

Even though Ryan's a firecracker I know it would have devastated him to cause any harm to a fan, let alone a child. The guy is finishing his degree and is planning on running his parent's day care facility in CA after he retires.

Now THAT would make a great reality TV show!!!!!!

Finally, I hope a trend develops of Burn players rushing the GA after scoring in the East goal. Feel the love baby!

 

Ronald's game is no mystery.

His two-man style can be played with the a-mid understanding it or no. But just as important is his forward partner understanding it.

Cerritos likes to get the ball from midfield, whether he's heading the ball down to the a-mid, or down to the other forward... it's relative to the 'give-and-go' play that most are aware of. Even if the ensuing run from Ronald is used as a decoy, it remains an effective ploy for the a-mid/forward to have the choice of going back to Ronald or sending it wide to a breaking wing-mid.

In theory, the a-mid is supposed to know what his options are BEFORE he gets the inevitable ball back from Cerritos. With a poacher like EJ, this becomes dangerous... or a cutter like Kreis, it is STILL dangerous.

But it's up to the a-mid to be AWARE of the options. I'd much prefer this style as opposed to sending the ball wide every time from midfield if we're facing an LA sized defense. Crossing the ball into the box deep is foolishness with LA (see Davis' goal and you'll see a nice shot from a PRIME position against not only LA, but against most teams who tend to collapse into the six-yard box expecting crosses... USE DAVIS FROM THE EIGHTEEN AND HAVE HIM RIP IT!!!... or just put another beautiful shot into the upper corner... it's all good) and the constant crossing into the box is a sign of poor coaching. If the coach has a good 'feel' for the opposing defense and can communicate with his players, this debacle of crossing into 4 6'3"+ defenders wouldn't have dismayed so many fans (and probably a lot of 'purists' too).

With the grossly mismanaged man-marking of Klein the week before, and the ridiculous four-tower crossing this past game, I'm getting more-and-more annoyed with MJ. I thought after I talked with him last year about utilizing the 'high-slot' option for more quality shots, well, I really thought he'd practice this with Davis/similar crusher-of-da-ball.

Granted Brad has put himself in this position regularly, but I'm guessing it's on his own volition, because he wasn't 'letting-it-go' in the past couple of games (well, not 'effectively', anyway... he did 'try' a couple in this position, but they certainly should not be counted amongst his 'best efforts' where blasting-the-ball is concerned).

I'm going to post another thread about how I would like to see Davis played in the lineup.

Maybe I should be happy that Brad can get himself into this position now and knows he can be productive doing it.

I just hope this doesn't turn into a trend of - "don't worry coach, we'll figure it out on the field".

 

Kinda unfair to criticize Jeffries for not building the tactical scheme around a player whom none of us expected to be an opening-day starter. And he can't really build that into the 'system' because Oscar, Vaca, Deering and Stone don't have that kind of shot from the 18.

One thing is clear though, Davis needs to be on the field. I'm not sure where. Right mid or forward, I guess.

DJ was phenomenal. Bonseu and Broome looked good.

Morrow was ok. Suarez, my favorite player, was a liability, both on defense and going forward. Maybe MJ should swap Suarez and Morrow.

Forwards. Eh. Not much production, but then, they still didn't see too much of the ball near the LA goal. They checked back for the ball well.

Not sure what the answer is here. Cerritos looked no better than EJ. EJ needs to shoot more, and look to pass less.

 

It's even more unfair to expect Kreis to be able to get high enough to out-head the LA towers. Cerritos can jump with the best-of-them, but Kreis has to lunge and dive... and almost crack his skull doing it.

Yes, an 'involved' coach can stop this trend. It didn't happen until Davis lined one up.

Coaches are supposed be in charge of 'scheming' before AND during a game. One cannot go without questioning what MJ's level of 'involvement' is during a game. Some criticize him for being overly 'stoic' on the sidelines. Others might call 'just that' - poor coaching.

 

notes from the game

Entertaining parts that may not have made it on the little screen.

From my spot on row HH, we could hear Suarez drop a gigantic F-bomb when he went in for a late tackle and got a soft ball sized cherry burn on his right thigh. Wear biker shorts underneath next time. Not that I was enthused, but all the ladies were treated to him flashing his rump for a few minutes w/ his hiked up shorts. Easy Ryan, there're kids in the audience.

Then later, Deering played a dangerous ball in the box over the touch line for a corner. Apparently DJ called him off, because he yelled at him and shoved him.

production audio melt down of the wk: the poor kid singing the National Anthem didn't have his mike on.

they painted the lines a darker orange!

live dot race. hope it catches on.

 

1. The situation at forward is going to get worse with Cerritos in. All he did on Saturday was to get called offsides like 7 times. Play EJ to give him a look and sub in Rhine or RC. Besides, its not like they are getting the greatest service in the world. The only reason Kreis has a couple of goals is that he has made outstanding plays to get them. Look back at all of the Burn goals this year, there are no "softies" created by dynamic passing sequences.

2. For all the bitching about the defense and the forward line, the midfield was supposed to carry the team this year. That was the jewel in the crown. But the midfield has been pathetic. Vaca/Martinez on the outside play NO defense. Deering took a vocal role in the first game, but has been quiet since, less of a leader, and is not having a strong year. Pareja finally supplied some nice passes forward on Saturday, but there has got to be someone else who can do that in the middle. Hopefully Davis keeps getting healthy. At this point, I would like to see more of Stone to add some energy to the midfield, I thought he did well in the first game.

3. Ryan Suarez is a hack this year. He is playing awful. He shouldn't be anywhere near nats consideration right now. Matt McK left the league and his soul took over Ryan's body.

 

Stone can come on as a sub when we're actually WINNING. Otherwise his square balls will do little to bolster the attack. He's not tactically ready yet for 90 minutes, and I'm not sure he has the concept down of pacing himself for an entire game either. This summer is going to be suck big donkey you know what in terms of temperature.....

Suarez is not consistent, don't know if he'll ever get there. He's not reacting quick enough to attacks at times...

 

Dallas was lucky to get a draw. LA hit the crossbar, they also had balls cleared by a defender on the line; once by Pareja and once by Morrow; not to mention a couple of point blank shot that countess somehow got to.

Dallas was totally outplayed until the two things happened in the middle of the second half. EZ got the red card, and LA pulled Cienfuegos. LA decided to bunker at that point and Dallas got the space to create some chances.

Great shot by Davis. He completely fooled Hartman. Nice celebration too.

T-Bone back in the middle was awesome. He was always able to get the last toe poke in to foil several quality chances by LA.

Deja-vu? Crossing balls against the LA trees is not very effective considering the size of the Dallas forwards. Why don't they mix in a few attacks up the middle? and why are they afraid to take the midrange shot? The only one they took went in.

Interesting substitution trick in OT with the switcheroo. Gbandi almost won it with the final cross he sent in that Marshall hit towards his own net.

... and the stadium still sucks!