LA Galaxy v. NE Revolting IN/POST match [R]

Discussion in 'LA Galaxy' started by Chupacabra, Jul 27, 2005.

  1. jscott23

    jscott23 Member

    Manchester United
    United States
    Jan 24, 2003
    Poway, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Boy aren't we feeling sorry for ourselves today. And not the least bit self-righteous either. Listen, the team isn't playing well and nobody around here has to like that. All coaches get hired based on what they did "in the last millenium" and fired for what they did last night. Wednesday was a glass half-full for you but half-empty for most of the rest of us. Deal with it.

    The facts are incontrovertable: This team is in third place and playing poorly. Steve Sampson (for better or for worse) was hired when this club was in first place (and playing poorly as well), with the promise of more entertaining, attacking soccer than his predecessor provided. One little detail that has been overlooked is that Sigi actually won an MLS Cup title (the only one in franchise history) and an Open Cup and a CCC title. As a season ticket holder I reserve the right to bitch whenever I see fit. They cashed my check, they have to live with the consequences.

    SS2 has not given us what Doug Hamilton promised, plain and simple. Whose fault is that? Mine, I don't think so! Is it too much to ask for a road win once in a while? There was one for the taking on Wednesday, and who's going to tell me that I can't be disappointed when we didn't. What's more, we sat back for the last half hour and made no effort to take all three points. That's not what Doug Hamilton promised me, and I'm sure as hell not going to sitr here and take it sitting down.

    You don't like the fact that these boards have become more whiny than SJ's. Well I don't like the fact that those ba$tards have two MLS Cups to our one, AND I had to watch those fvckers win the second one in the house I helped build. As someone else pointed out, SS2 has the worst record of any coach ever to sit on the Galaxy bench, period! Until that record starts to change in dramatic fashion I reserve the right to call out the coach, the GM and any other pu$$y that tries to tell me this emperor's new clothes look good.
     
  2. DogmaticFtbolFanatic

    Apr 25, 2005
    Huntington Beach, CA

    We have the largest salary in the league regardless. That should mean we have top notch players which should also lessen the burden on one player. Yes Donovan is the main gun but Kiro is paid very very well. We also pay Pando and Naldo, both of who were selected by Sampson, good money by MLS standards :) . While I personally believe Kiro is a good player I don't think he plays to his salary. Both Pando and Naldo have also not lived up to expectations although Pando may yet work out. The worst part of the salary issue is the lack of team chemistry across all players that make up that salary level. We definitely have the players to compete better than we do.

    When you select your team you must deal with the consequences. In this sense Steve must have known that his players would be doing GC and WCQ duties. That is a part of reality. Why select so many players that will do NAT duty? What was his plan when they were called away? What about the teams that don't have so many nat team players? Or who have been hit with injuries. SJ is a great example of a team that should be in the dumps this year. You have to give credit to their coach and players for stepping up. (You don't have to like it however)

    At this point my biggest gripe is that we aren't playing to the level we are capable of playing and part of that has to do with the players and a portion is the coaches fault. They all practice as a team and should gel like a team. The reserve games should be of help there as well. Obviously it is more difficult to gel given the change in personnel but how does the National team do it? It can be done and the reserve matches should help. Just look at how Enfield and Gomez have played together.

    Given Steve's track record of turning the NAT team upside down before his departure and then leaving the Costa Rican team in a worse state than he found it was not a good omen. He did have a couple of good wins but I don't think those wins trump his overall track record.

    I would be happy to eat crow on this board and say what a fantastic job he is doing. And you are right...early in the year the team showed promise. But we are playing well below what we are capable and much of that rests on his shoulders. If this was only a few games I could live with it. This deep into the season we should be playing better and we aren't. If you like what you see when we play then wonderful for you. I feel like as a supporter I can vent my frustrations when I don't believe we are going in the right direction.

    If we were playing well and were just unlucky it would be one thing. That is simply not the case here. We have a lot of room for improvement.
     
  3. bhlightnr

    bhlightnr New Member

    Jun 18, 2005
    Pasadena
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
     
  4. Geneva

    Geneva LA for Life

    Feb 5, 2003
    Southern Cal
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    My, it's getting pretty contentious here. Just for the record, calling Femfa a troll is going way overboard.

    Hey, about the game, and about the Galaxy's play - what they need is better, stronger, faster PASSING. We could lay this at the coach's feet, but we did see some better stuff earlier in the year. But a lot of the teams I watch, the Revs, DC, San Jose especially, are much better at opening up for teammates & moving the ball around. The Galaxy have Donovan, Dunivant, Vagenas, Kiro who are excellent to good passers, but Cobi is pretty bad, and Nagamura misses quite a few, and Pando, while capable of it, doesn't really want to. Too many hospital balls, not enough movement. This was true under Sigi as well. It might have even been worse. I'd love to see them fix this, with personnel changes if necessary, but I think they could improve it with work & style of play.
     
  5. cleschke

    cleschke Member+

    Aug 16, 2004
    Fullerton, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I havent moved past the fact the Steve was a moronic coach back then because he continues to be the same moronic coach now.

    Those who do not learn from their past mistakes or remember them are doomed to repeat them. This seems to be one of the key symptoms of the dreaded Sampsonitis that has been described in great detail in many places on this board.
     
  6. ChiBear

    ChiBear New Member

    Feb 14, 2002
    CA
     
  7. bhlightnr

    bhlightnr New Member

    Jun 18, 2005
    Pasadena
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
     
  8. Sean...

    Sean... Member

    Jul 23, 2005
    Ireland
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    We need an entusiastic coach who has a passion for the game, someone who will get involved and shout from the sidelines. When does Sampson ever do that, he just stands there scratching his ass.
     
  9. The Cadaver

    The Cadaver It's very quiet here.

    Oct 24, 2000
    La Cañada, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Agree that Steve has shown some courage by playing Ugo, a rookie, in central defense. And the Dunivant move has been the success of the season. Plusses to SS2 on these.

    Jury still out on Nagamura. Does a great job as a "destroyer" winning balls and breaking up plays. But, at least half - maybe more - of his passes after getting possession go right back to the other side. Sometimes he is the most frustrating player on the pitch.

    Kudos to SS for giving Hercules a chance, BUT how many games did Hercules sit on the bench or play in the reserves while Naldo got the PT? Frankly, I think putting Herc back on the field was forced on Sampson by injuries, call-ups and rubbish play from Naldo. I don't give Steve much credit for Hercules given that he wasted Herc's talents on the bench for so many games without a whiff of playing time.

    On talent evaluation, don't forget to put Chinchilla and Umana on the negative side. Those are two international spots that have been virtually wasted on players that contribute little and are often lost causes on the field. Your international spots are supposed to upgrade the team and add a little pizazz and style - we get a couple of plodding out-of-position defenders that contribute squat.

    And lets at least concede that Steve "hasn't gotten the best" out of Grabavoy. I think Ned has talent and would flourish with the right coach and opportunity. But at least that's an open question.

    So, at minimum, SS2 get a C+ for a grade on talent evaluation - he has screwed up at least as often as he has shown insight.

    And the fact that Steve's won-lost-tie record is the worst of any LAG coach is a fact, no matter how you try to spin or excuse it. So there is at least some reason to think that - for whatever reason - these players (his players!)are not responding to his coaching. And that, by the way, is EXACTLY what caused Sigi to get fired. Only it took Sigi 6 years to wear out his welcome, but Steve has done it in a year. No wonder so many of us think that SS2 is the "weakest link."
     

Share This Page