MLS flavors of the week: 2012 Edition [MLS R's]

Discussion in 'USA Men: News & Analysis' started by EXALIFTIN, Mar 4, 2012.

  1. Berks

    Berks Member+

    Dec 22, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    He's a huge part, but he's not our only problem. At all.

    Yesterday, the defense - minus Sean Franklin - actually did well. Meyer had a solid game against Sapong. Really. Sean Franklin gave up the only goal with about the most bonehead play you could have happen. Lost his mark in the 6. Sean Franklin has looked so bad of late, LD has had to basically hold his hand he's so close on the right. Make LD play a ton of defense - guess what happens to the offense?

    Our midfield on the other hand? Ugh. Short passing game deserted us, then we resorted to long ball to our midgets up front. That is not the recipe for a win.

    Defense actually looked better yesterday. Offense became the issue.

    Sigh.
     
  2. Berks

    Berks Member+

    Dec 22, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You do realize he's coming back from a quad injury, was listed as day to day, and also basically had to camp with Sean Franklin defensively, right? At times he was a second RB.

    He had a poor game offensively, but let's not chalk it up to poor form yet.
     
  3. Altidore_Adu_Fan

    Sep 30, 2007
    Hammond In
    Luis Gil so talented
     
  4. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Yup. They just can't put it all together.

    An frankly, the attacking "core" of this team is quite old. Donovan's the wrong side of 30. Buddle's the wrong side of 30. Keane is the wrong side of 30. Beckham is soon to be 37. Hell, he's older than I am..........and my knees hurt so much at night I can't go to sleep. Dunivant is the wrong side of 30. I could go on. Is their starting XI the oldest in the league? I mean, they brought Barrett and Sarvas off the bench. Sarvas is the wrong side of 30, and Barrett is the wrong side of competent.

    Against SKC they looked devoid of any dynamism (if you'll let me use that word) on the offensive end. And a central midfield with Juninho and Stephens doesn't frighten anybody. Stephens looked lost against Salvadoran teens in Olympic qualifying. Juninho and a healthy/match-fit Beckham? Sure. But if Beckham isn't there, they looked fairly hopeless.

    I'd love for Arena to give some of his youngsters more of a run-out. Why not? I mean, you have Jack McBean on the roster. Instead of bringing Chad Barret on..........why not give Jack a try? I don't think it's humanly possible that he could be worse than Barrett.

    The guy I'm really liking right now for the Galaxy is Mike Magee. He's the guy "in his prime" that might be able to help the national team as a situational guy. It wouldn't surprise me if Klinsmann calls him up at some point.
     
  5. RalleeMonkey

    RalleeMonkey Member+

    Aug 30, 2004
    here
    This is an old guy reference, but the player acquisition of the Galaxy during the Arena area reminds me of the George Allen era Redskins, Saint's don't want Bill Kilmer? We'll take him! Rams don't want Coy Bacon? We'll take him! And, many others who my old brain has forgotten.

    Arena seems to acquire a lot of older guys who are considered "done" or close to done.
     
    1 person likes this.
  6. Matrim55

    Matrim55 Member+

    Aug 14, 2000
    Berkeley
    Club:
    Connecticut
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    And yet, for the first three years under Arena the Galaxy got younger every season, having added guys like Gonzalez, DeLaGarza, Juninho, Stephens, Magee, Cardozo, etc.

    I don't know how anyone can question his methods at this point.
     
  7. Namdynamo

    Namdynamo Member+

    Jan 1, 2005
    Outside of Gonzalez, all are average to below average players.
     
  8. QuakeAttack

    QuakeAttack Member+

    Apr 10, 2002
    California - Bay Area
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Take Donovan out of the equation and you can question his methods...Same reason Yallop won two MLS Cups. Doesn't hurt to have the best player in the league...

    Still, Arena does a great job of mixing veterans and youth in general, with a tendancy to rely a little more on the veterans. This team needs more youth...
     
  9. RalleeMonkey

    RalleeMonkey Member+

    Aug 30, 2004
    here
    I'm not questioning his methods. You must not know your NFL history. Coy Bacon, Billy Kilmer, & Jack Pardee (there's another one, there's a bunch more), were damn fine football players who helped the Skins to a Super Bowl.
     
  10. soccerusa517

    soccerusa517 Member+

    Jun 23, 2009
    Ohio
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Gonzalez makes AJ and company look good.
     
  11. Berks

    Berks Member+

    Dec 22, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Even at age 30, Keane, Becks and LD are better than the vast majority of the league. Hell, two of those three were playing for premier league teams and lighting them up a total of 1 month ago! One of them was leading the premier league in assists at age 29/30 (he literally turned 30 a month ago, let's not make him 36 yet). For those three, age, schmage. It's not the issue. LD can still outrun the majority of MLS. Becks can put the ball on a dime, and Keane's intelligence freaks out defenses. Look at Thierry Henry.

    Chad Barrett is awful. I give you that. I have no idea what happened to Edson. Jack McBean is raw and not ready. He's a teenager who doesn't have the skill of Juan Agudelo. There are some rookies that will be ready in a couple of years, but who would they replace? Meyer is already getting game time.

    Right now we look like we got guys back in pre-season form who are still getting it together. Landon got knocked on his butt by horrid pneumonia for three weeks. Keane actually looks okay, but hasn't had service. Becks has looked in and out. But the three of them haven't been our problems in midfield.

    Juninho has stank. Pure and simple. Sean Franklin has also stank. Todd Dunivant stank until this past weekend. Boyens has been awful. The defense FINALLY got their act together this past weekend (minus Sean Franklin, who is having a nightmare start to the season). But Juninho is getting overrun in midfield, and since Sean is getting overrun, Landon is expending a ton of energy providing defense on the right side. Take out the playmaker, no one is giving service to Robbie Keane.

    I love Mike Magee - but he is not international caliber, and it showed this past weekend. He also does not defend or provide midfield pressure. He plays the simple pass and can occasionally finish. Great everyman for MLS. But when the midfield is being overrun, he doesn't help you. Juninho is key for us. When he stinks, the Galaxy tends to stink. The only way we overcome this is to have the offense get cracking. But so far, Arena hasn't unleashed the hounds and I don't know if he has the aptitude to do it.

    Stephens is another dmid (and I'm not his biggest fan), who did his job and we would have walked out of Livestrong with a 0-0 game had it not been for a Sean Franklin brainfart.

    All of this rant demonstrates that it has nothing to do with age for these players, and everything to do with players out of form, players coming back from injury, and no midfield unity.

    The Omar Gonzalez issue is a good chunk of our problems, but people are using him as a crutch. His being gone is not singularly responsible for our midfield suckage. A huge part of that is Juninho.

    Hopefully those things will get fixed.
     
  12. Berks

    Berks Member+

    Dec 22, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    What? Did you watch Juninho last year? And most of them I'd say are average, which is why LA went home with the MLS Cup last year.
     
  13. Namdynamo

    Namdynamo Member+

    Jan 1, 2005
    Donovan, Beckham, Keane, Gonzo aren't average, that was why LA went home with the cup last year.

    If you give Kreis, Kinnear with the budget that Arena got, they'll destroy MLS with no problem. They would probably go much deeper in the Concacaf Champions League (Kreis already did) and they'll play beautiful, possession soccer to boot.
     
  14. Berks

    Berks Member+

    Dec 22, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Juninho was the backbone of the 2011 Galaxy. Read MANY of the articles that were written about that team. He was considered in 2011 one of the most underrated players in MLS. Many people are pinning our current woes to his lack of form.

    Don't know whether or not to agree with you yet about Arena. This season will give us a clue. The man's no dope. But whether or not he can play attacking football, I don't know. Kreis and Kinnear are good, but please recognize they still do not have the record that Arena does. In particular Kreis - who is very new on the scene. I'm not saying he can't get there, I have respect for him, but in coaching years, he's a rookie.
     
  15. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Age, shmage wasn't a problem last year. But it can hit a team pretty hard, and all of a sudden.

    Many of us expect Landon Donovan to be the guy he was as a 25 year old forever. He's had a remarkably injury free career while playing just about every MLS game/USMNT game/All-Star game, etc. At some point the guy just can't do it any more to the same degree.

    I agree about Magee........he may not be "international caliber." But it's not like we have many international caliber forwards. People keep arguing about other forwards/wingers in MLS, but rarely talk about Mike Magee. The guy has played well enough over the past two seasons to at least be in the pool. He's a guy who should at the very least be given a chance to show what he can do at camp cupcake.

    Who's been playing better over the last two years.............Mike Magee or Teal Bunbury?
     
  16. Martin Fischer

    Martin Fischer Member+

    Feb 23, 1999
    Kampala. Uganda
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    When? In the last week? Early last year? Bunbury got caps for two reasons: 1. He had good goal numbers for most of the MLS season last year; and he was young. Magee doesn't have either of those going for him.
     
  17. Sandon Mibut

    Sandon Mibut Member+

    Feb 13, 2001
    This is getting off topic, and it's pedantic as hell, but Coy Bacon neither played for George Allen with the Redskins nor played in a Super Bowl with them.

    George Allen's last season as Redskins coach was 1977. Bacon joined the Redskins in 1978 and played with them till 1981, Joe Gibbs first season as Skins HC.

    The Redskins made the Super Bowl after the '72 season and again after the 82 season, before and after Bacon's tenure with the team.

    Bacon did play for Allen, but it was with the Rams when they drafted him out of Jackson State.

    Despite Bacon being a delicious flavor, it's still off topic so I'll return this theme to it's normal direction and demand a cap for an MLS player who had a good game. I'm thinking... Zach Loyd!
     
  18. RalleeMonkey

    RalleeMonkey Member+

    Aug 30, 2004
    here
    Ok, take Bacon off the list, add these old guys to Kilmer & Pardee: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Over-the-Hill_Gang_(American_football)

    hmm...... Arena spent quite a while in the same stadium those guys played in ..... think it rubbed off?
     
  19. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    But Mike Magee is only 27..............not 32.

    He scored 10 goals in 36 appearances across all competitions.

    Bunbury scored 12 goals in 32 appearences.

    Bunbury's stats are slightly better.

    So Bunbury's in everybody's pool............but Magee isn't in anybody's?

    I'm not some diehard Magee enthusiast. I just think he's done enough to at least be mentioned.
     
  20. Sandon Mibut

    Sandon Mibut Member+

    Feb 13, 2001
    I'd have no issues giving Magee a look. He's a versatile, experienced player with a winning pedigree who has a history of playing well in the clutch who is in his physical prime.

    But, I doubt he gets a look simply because there are so many other options. I thought coming off a championship season that Camp Cupcake was his best chance to get a look from the Nats and when that didn't happen, I think his window closed dramatically.

    Instead, I think Magee will challenge, and likely surpass Carey Talley's record for most MLS appearances without a senior team cap - 315 games. Among active players the only player ahead of Magee's 200 games without a cap is Jack Jewsbury (231 games) and Magee is 3 1/2 years younger.
     
  21. Berks

    Berks Member+

    Dec 22, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That's my answer. Teal Bunbury isn't the right comparison. Our other options at LM (where he plays for the Galaxy) are. And Magee can't crack the 18 knowing that list.

    The Galaxy traded away a midfielder for a CB today. Trying to construct the defense, or shuffle folks around in the defense to create more options (AJ to RB?).
     
  22. deuteronomy

    deuteronomy Member+

    Angkor Siem Reap FC
    United States
    Aug 12, 2008
    at the pitch
    Club:
    Siem Reap Angkor FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Your lad, RF got the hurt and stuck it out in England. . .

    Maybe it's just me, but I think you make too many excuses for Cooper.
    Certainly, he's proven to be a stud in MLS, a dud nearly everywhere else.

    No need to continue to bash, Findley.
    He's still across the pond chasing his dream . .
     
  23. Berks

    Berks Member+

    Dec 22, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Great article illustrating what I was talking about earlier: it's not just about Omar Gonzalez right now for LA.

    http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2012/04/10/central-winger-new-way-visualizing-beautiful-game

    Take a look at the Opta charts - SKC pounded LA's right side all game long. Two impacts:

    1) Go at the weakest LA player in defense right now - Sean Franklin.
    2) Make LD play defense a good chunk of the 90 minutes (he still is one of the largest circles, illustrating his positional movement) - essentially taking him out of the game. (when he switched to the left towards the end of the game, made a difference)

    Other than that also shows you Arena bunker ball - LA attempted to clog the middle. Add the fact that Juninho and Stephens made mostly lateral and backward passes? Add to that Edson Buddle and Robbie Keane are right on top of one another? 1-0 SKC.

    It's not all about Omar. Still a big part, but not all.
     
  24. Scotty

    Scotty Member+

    Dec 15, 1999
    Toscana
  25. Martin Fischer

    Martin Fischer Member+

    Feb 23, 1999
    Kampala. Uganda
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Actually, I don't think Bunburry is really in the pool except on depth charts that go real deep. And the other issue is timing - Bunburry had a good run at a time that got him a look while Magee is a fairly consistent player. Now that a full year has occurred, you are right, other than age (which is a factor as four years do matter), they are kind of similar and both should be at the end of the conversation - like if they start playing better for a while, maybe they will get a look in the next January camp. But not now.
     

Share This Page