I saw one speculation that Gasper could be a good fit as the left back in a 3-man backline, which then allows us to activate the TrickHog-Sure-To-Work 3-5-2 with Edwards and Araujo running amok up and down those flanks...
This was my line of reasoning when hearing about this trade, it seems like such an overpay for a position that's currently more than secure with Edwards and (soon) Villafaña. But then I saw that he has good size for a LB (6ft tall) and it hit me: what if Vanney is finally gonna start putting out the 3-5-2/3-4-3 on a more consistent basis? Gasper as the LCB, Williams CB and Sega as RCB? Araujo and Edwards as the wing backs, Delgado/Raveloson plus either Vasquez, Efra or Costa, and of course Chich and Dejan up top? Or do you guys think another move/cut is coming?
We've compained for years for having a terrible defense, that's why I will never be against signing a proven MLS defender. Edwards can't play all season long and based on his career, I'm not sure he's that trustable even if he has been wonderful so far. Villafana's injury is worrying, he has barely played for the last year so there's possibly smoke here. But as others have said, the biggest improvement Gasper can bring is a switch of formation. Maybe Vanney has finally found the CB he wanted to switch to a three-man defense, something he has been strangely reluctant to do after all the success he has had with this formation in Toronto (with guys like Vazquez, Edwards, Delgado or Zavaleta...). Our scouting is dreadful, so take that for what it is and try to sign proven players within the League. Our foreign signings have been more "miss" than "hit", but our record with MLS players has been solid since Vanney's arrival : Delgado, Edwards, Leerdam, even Villafana was good when he was not injured... The only bad one was Oniel Fisher. I think it's a little bit strange to say signing Gasper is a bad idea while saying "we sould have signed Rusnak".
Woah, Trick, why you do your buddy like that?? I spent half of last season railing on about why we needed to switch to a 3-5-2 and I’m left out of the credits? Typical Hollywood cutthroat elite.
C'mon - calling it the "SkyDog-then-stolen-by-TrickHog-Sure-To-Work" formation is just way too long and clunky. Gotta keep it short and catchy!!!
I don't know, it doesn't seem to me like what was holding us back from a 3-5-2 was a left back. You need a left wingback, but Edwards is already that and we're paying too much for this guy to be on the bench. My crazy lineup: An asymmetric 4-4-2 ----------Dejan-------Chich Edwards---------------------------------- -----------------Raveloson-------Grandsir -------------------Delgado----------- ----------------------------------------------Araujo ---Gasper---Williams---Sega- -----------------Bond Gasper is more stay-at-home than Araujo which lets Edwards play higher than Grandsir in a more creative role. It has Costa and Cabral on the bench, which is a waste of DP money, but money aside, that's where they should be. Alvarez and Costa sub later for Edwards and Grandsir depending on the circumstances.
Ok, I’ll meet you halfway. “SkyHog-Sure-To-Work formation” and we split residuals 60-40 my way. Anything less and you’ll be talking to my lawyer as soon as he gets through representing Johnny D.
In all seriousness, we can't lose when our defense doesn't allow the opposition to score. Defenders that can keep an attack from getting into our 18 yard box will always be welcome. @TrickHog, I have been a fan of the 3-5-2 formation since the late '90s. Three solid defenders in the back, a pair of speedy box-to-box wing-backs that defend hard, and five attackers to put the goals on the board. Maybe we're on our way to finding the right players.
In Toronto, wasn't one of the "2" Giovinco, a trequartista who could playmake and score? Still our biggest hole. I remember Vanney saying the squad wouldn't really be championship-ready and done rebuilding until year 3; hopefully that means locking in a top-notch 10 some time next year.
Reddit shoutout to u/Syllogy for posting this as I had not seen it on The Athletic and for the quote below: Link behind paywall: https://theathletic.com/3296382/2022/05/06/la-galaxy-greg-vanney-mls-toronto-fc/ "Vanney said he felt “nothing but support,” after being hired last January after his shock decision to depart Toronto FC. But while the club was ready and willing to take the team in whichever direction he preferred, that flexibility also indicated the major problem in LA. Those familiar with the Galaxy over the last few years have described the club as lacking any sort of long-term vision since Arena’s departure, oscillating between roster-building strategies and working without a clear hierarchy in the front office. There have been two constants in the front office in that time — president Chris Klein and technical director Jovan Kirovski — but other figures have rotated in, from Onalfo to Schmid to Dennis te Kloese, all of whom tried to modernize a team that was once considered the MLS standard, but had fallen behind other MLS teams in the soccer operations department. All of them found internal challenges along the way; a lack of continuity and a too-many-chefs approach in the front office which created confusion and led to little permanence in regards to infrastructure. That led to problems like a lack of coordination on player signings and a two-year period in which the Galaxy didn’t have anyone in place to run the academy. Vanney said previous coaches had been given the green light to build things out, but that when those coaches departed, there wasn’t much left behind. His goal, he said, is to create departments at the Galaxy that remain with the club when he leaves — from sport science, to the academy, to scouting infrastructure. This encompasses some basic things; like a room where the team can watch video together, which didn’t exist before he arrived, but also more technical areas related to sport science. That building process has been underway for a year now. The Galaxy recently announced the hire of a head of scouting, former Galaxy midfielder and U.S. Soccer scout Michael Stephens. It has also hired a new director of sports medicine, director of high performance and innovation, director of cognitive performance, assistant of high performance and director of methodology and development." the parts in bold really stood out to me, the two constants during this dark period of the Galaxy is klein and jovan, you'd figure they would be gone by now, and its obvious ownership is fine with the status quo as long as a profit is turned' the second part is something a lot of posters here have mentioned and it is something so glaring anybody that is paying attention can see but nothing was changed for years the third part is hard to believe that a storied franchise like the Galaxy did not provide their players first class support and amenities, an organization like the Galaxy should be at the forefront and be a trailblazing organization and its not, it is run like a PDL organization and to not have a person in charge of the Academy blows my mind. I'm willing to give Vanney some time to right the ship but I feel at the end he is going to stretch himself too thin and it will all collapse again and the vicious cycle will repeat itself.
The problem isn't so much that they haven't had a person who was called Academy Director during a period overlapping with the pandemic when much of the operation was shut down. The problem is that they have generally appointed former Galaxy players as Academy directors who did not have the experience for the job and appeared to have been given it simply because they played for the Galaxy and someone in charge wanted to do them a favor (past Academy directors falling into this category are Chris Klein, Pete Vagenas, and Kevin Hartman). There have been two legit Academy directors. The first was Mike Munoz (another former Galaxy player), who helped start the LA Galaxy Academy School, which was a major innovation at the time, and brought over the first wave of strong Galaxy prospects from Chivas USA when their Academy ended. Problem with Munoz was that he kept his job as Academy Director when he was also given the job coaching LA Galaxy II. That was too big a task. The second legit Academy director was Juan Carlos Ortega, who was hired by Dennis te Klose to oversee all of youth operations, but although he was hired to be Academy Director, he was quickly shifted into a bigger role overseeing both the Academy and the G2s (Director of Methodology and Development) and Hartman was named Academy Director. Hartman was not very well thought of as head of the Girls Academy before it shut down and this appeared to be a case of failing up, but at least Ortega was a hands-on guy and he really knew the kids and kept things on track, while thinking big picture. Plus, Hartman was named Academy Director in the middle of the pandemic in summer of 2020 and the job was a bit simpler then because games and recruiting were largely on hold. Ortega left before DtK did, though, and much of what he did was unwound. Then, Vanney moved Hartman to GK coach, which tells you everything you need to know about Hartman's value as an administrator and big thinker. Vanney only recently brought Munoz back, but in the Director of Methodology and Development position that is bigger picture than just the Academy. He just started in January. Common theme is that except for Ortega, everyone involved with running the Academy has been a former Galaxy player. The Academy needs stability, direction, and someone who has a firm grasp on both the Socal youth environment (including the Mexican leagues etc) and the pro game. Munoz is really the closest we have gotten to that, so let's hope he can right the ship, but we still have the perpetual Galaxy-style nepotism problem of Academy teams serving as soft landing spots for former Galaxy players looking to coach and player spots being taken by the kids of former Galaxy players (and Vanney hasn't exactly changed that, placing his own twins on one of the teams).
I think this may mean the Galaxy got some budget relief to sign Gasper as a season-ending injury replacement player #LAGalaxy Defender Jorge Villafaña has been placed on Season-Ending Injury List.— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) May 8, 2022
The @LAGalaxy have placed D Jorge Villafaña on the season-ending Injury list with an osteochondral lesion of the left knee. Villafaña, 32, did not appear in a game this season but made appearances (20 starts) last year. Per @MLS rules, the Galaxy will receive an open roster slot— Kevin Baxter 🇺🇦🏳️🌈 (@kbaxter11) May 8, 2022
I had to google Osteochondral lesions and it sounds like a terrible injury to have and from my limited aka no medical knowledge it sure sounds career ending https://www.cedars-sinai.org/health...hondral-lesionsosteochondritis-dessicans.html "Osteochondral lesions or osteochondritis dessicans can occur in any joint, but are most common in the knee and ankle. Such lesions are a tear or fracture in the cartilage covering one of the bones in a joint. The cartilage can be torn, crushed or damaged and, in rare cases, a cyst can form in the cartilage."
It does sound like a really bad injury. I hope Villafaña can get good treatment for his future mobility.
That article linked by @Dawdler says that outcomes tend to be very good after surgery. Hopefully he does that and comes back better than ever.
No kidding. Lay out a 442 diamond (idea being to play 2 strkers, Javi and Jo) and one sees the problem. Aguire is nowhere ready yet afaik. ---------------javi/grandsir---Jovelijc/cabral --------------------------vv/efra/javi ----------------delgado------------rav ----------------------------???? --rah/gasp--williams/depuy/sega/zavaleta--jules/leerdam Definitley need to beef up the midfield.
Form that Amid role, somebody said Pozuelo "is out of contract" at Toronto. He signed March 2019 which makes for typical 3 yrs plus and option. Transfrmkt doesn't have a contract ending date. Not sure how I feel about it. He'll be 31 in September. He is a better dribbler but not as surgical as VV.