That’s harsh man. In the words of the ineffable Louis C.K. “Can you give it a minute?” He didn’t change the game, he opted to shoot a couple of times when he should have passed, and passed when he should have shot, but if we’re writing off players based on last night we’re gonna be awfully thin Vancouver next week.
Dude please. Yeah he took a break but at the end of the day he came back and has helped. Yes he missed the penalty but Landon is the LEAST of the Galaxy's or the USMNT's problems by a country mile. I had my issues with Landon taking time off this offseason and was among the first to say that Robbie should be made Captain of this team; as there was no indication of a return time and his break had lingered over into the season. Now with that being said, nobody and I mean nobody with half a sense of a soccer IQ can say with a straight face that Landon Donovan isn't one of if not the single hardest worker in the game and didn't deserve an extended vaction. Again he is the least of anybody's worry.
Cochrane had an excellent game but I would have LOVED for him to take a guy on and pass a bit more often than cross into the box. Watching Magee and LD fight for headers made my heart wilt. It was pointless.
And the amount of work that has to go into properly taking care of your body/muscles and nutrition when you're not at work. You can't just go to your local take out joint and pick up whatever. You also have to manage your sleep schedule and rest. Plus, if you have any analytics bent whatsoever (which LD does), you can also spend some of your time analyzing tape and tactics. It's absolutely a full time job and then some, not showing up for 3 hours of training for 4 days a week.
Now that I've had a night to cool off, this loss was not really surprising when I think about it: Our starting forwards, talented as they are, were mostly contained by more experienced Dynamo centerbacks We may have been a little (unconsciously) overconfident, having beaten RSL 2-0 underhanded It seemed like (haven't checked the stats, just my impression) we tried too many crosses into the box instead of passing the ball around patiently and splitting the Dynamo defense with speed. Houston generally do well defensively on aerial balls (as proof, we had 10+ corner kicks with no good chances on goal) To be fair, Houston seemed to do well with their possession and managed to put enough pressure to put us off our game without running themselves ragged (like Sporting KC did recently). Overall, it should be a good learning experience for Zardes, Rugg, Villareal (and hopefully a wakeup call for the veterans who underperformed).
Just what ive said over and over again. you guys get too hysterical after one performance. they are youth for a reason, they might be good here and there but they definitely cant perform week in week out just yet.
Ok after a horrendous night's sleep I've calmed down a bit and I have some thoughts on our loss. First off The negatives because I wanna end on a good note, Franklin Franklin Franklin where do I begin? He is quickly running out of credit for services rendered and championships won, A senior starter cannot put on a pathetic display like that dog and pony show he put on. I think a league game on the bench and a reserve match should get the point across. I can't give LD a pass either I know he's just back and is working on getting fit and sharp, But it was his decision and it's certainly unacceptable to miss important PK's when your the assassin from the spot that you have been for years. Juni and Sarvas had an ok game but not up to standard. Now the passing was awful! And that's including the majority of the starting XI, It needs to improve and improve now! not later or it's a work in progress but now damn it! The positives Gonzilla beast, AJ had an above average game I liked his speed and football IQ in this match, Villareal was a speedster and got us a PK work rate was outstanding, Rugg was running and trying to be in position to contribute will improve I hope, Zardes looks like he's a pure scorer and with more work and familiarity with the starters he can become a dangerous threat up top with keano, magee was a pitbull out there, carlo was decent and I don't fault him for the goal because he had faith in franklin. And my main man cochrane is showing wonderful promise and he is gettting me to a place where I would feel comfortable with replacing dunivant, He may need more work and a little more experience but he has a tremendous upside dare I say he can maybe be in the running for ROY if he continues to improve? Only time will tell us that, but I am gonna stick with him because the boy has game, speed and heart. With those tools all you need is time and a chance to flourish.
OH YEAH, BIGGEST POINT: SEAN FRANKLIN STINKS. I dont care how much you all will yell at me about this but case and point he has always been very mediocre and going forward his decision making is atrocious. He killed 99% of our attacks tonight with HORRIBLE crossing and his marking is what gave Houston the goal. I would HAPPILY sell him bc he is eating too much salary cap for too mediocre of performances ...this isn't about last night, this is about his career with us. i think he was always sheltered by AJ and Omar
Maybe I bought into the hype too much for Zardes, I expected his ability to see the play with a wider vision. To be honest the biggest problem I had was once his shot was blocked he stopped running. As a rookie to me that is the sign of death. His first game in and takes the luxury of turning his back on a live play like your job was done. If I was Landon I would have ripped him a new one and remind him that he may have been a star in College but this is the pros and he is an unproven rookie. It showed a lack of commitment and hunger from him. Compare that to Rugg, Villareal, and McBean who all played their balls off and never stop chasing the ball. So either Hustle of Learn to play MUCH better.
After last night's game, I'm starting to feel as though Franklin is expendable..am I wrong? We can move Franklin, use AJDLG at RB and move Meyer into CB. I love having AJ in the middle with Gonzilla, but Franklin is not showing consistency.
Haha, sure he was off a bit on the hours, but its not like these guys are working real jobs, come on... they lead quite pampered lives.
“A sign of death”? Come on this isn’t Memo Gonzales we’re talking about here. He’s played a grand total 72 minutes. Half in a game where he was playing lone striker in a bunker ball situation, and half in a game where our veterans had set the tone with lazy play well before Zardes came in. Not sure why you’re holding him to a higher standard than Magee, Donovan, Juninho, Sarvas, Rugg, Jiminez and Franklin who were all guilty of being lax and lazy last night. I’m not a slave to stats, but in last night’s game they don’t really bear out your conclusion. LA has 19 shots, 2 on goal and one of those was the PK (yeah the boys were that bad last night). Magee - 5 shots (2 blocked, 3 misses) Sarvas - 4 shots (3 blocked, 1 miss) Zardes - 3 shots (2 blocked, 1 saved) Juninho - 2 shots (1 blocked, 1 miss) Villareal - 2 shots (missed) Donovan - 1 shot (PK saved) Franklin - 1 shot (blocked) Rugg - 1 shot (miss) Zardes was the only player to get a shot on goal, it wasn’t a great shot, it wasn’t a great opportunity, but at least he got it on frame and forced Tally Hall in to a save, something no one else on the Galaxy had done for 65 minutes. On a night when 75% of the players in white were well below average, Zardes is way down on the list of players in line for criticism. Like I said you need to give the kid a minute before writing him off.
I have a feeling the root of our problem is training/practice. We haven't looked cohesive for the last couple of matches, like we haven't been practicing hard together. Perhaps our staff is focusing on our youngsters too much and our veterans are pulling up in practice and not staying sharp. Conceivably because Keane and Dunivant haven't been able to train with the team there might not be a veteran out there holding everyone accountable; and Donovan might not feel comfortable being that voice in practice yet. There is so much talent on this team, that the games should seem easy, compared what they're showing each other in training.
Doubt it’s practice/commitment nothing over the past 5 years suggests to me the coaching staff are going to allow for players to coast. Very few spots on the field are guaranteed and most positions have at least one person competing for it. Notable exceptions Robbie & Omar, maybe Landon. I suspect the fact we’ve had so many different line-ups is playing its part and our failure to replace Beckham. Juninho and Sarvas are very good players, playing a below par if you ask me, but neither has shown a consistent ability to find that one killer play to drag the team and themselves out of playing like crap. It doesn’t always lead to a goal or a win, but it’s usually because of an amazing save, interception or screw up by a team member (not to pick on Landon, just the first example that came to mind, but think of that miss in last year’s MLS Cup)
Man alive, boards are hoppin' today. My thoughts: 1. Whoever the dude from Houston is who wants to know "what's up" with Donovan for the USMNT, wants to debate his time off, wants to compare his work schedule to his, blah blah blah blah. Dude, go to the USMNT thread. We are done with that issue here, we don't need your viewpoint (which is basically: "dddduuuuuude, I work hard, why can't Donovan? Why??? He owes the National Team to play for them so why is he taking time off??") and you're either flogging a really, really dead horse or are about a month late to the party. Give it a rest. 2. Zardes is fine. He's a rookie, he's getting his first bits of time, he's only in the lineup because McBean and Keane are out. He is not ready, he has a lot of potential, and he is going to be good. You can't read too much into anything with him right now, he needs time, games, minutes, and general development. I guarantee he's never played in a fast ball-movement system comparable to the Galaxy, and he needs time to adjust, learn when to shoot and when to pull the ball back, etc. It ain't Bakersfield anymore, and that's OK. He seems like he's got the tools and the attitude, but he DOES need time. 3. For the absolute last pick of the 2013 draft, Cochrane looks like a baller. He wasn't perfect, made some mistakes, but good grief: 4th round rookie, and he looks GOOD. 4. Donovan's confidence isn't back yet. He's played 1 good game so far. He's not back yet. Again, just give it time. That's Bruce's fault for letting him take penalties so soon. He needs games, he is going to go up and down a bit, but he should be fine. Playing with Robbie would help, I think---he's pretty good at telling players to get their heads out of their butt when they get mentally out of the game. 5. Can we cool it on Franklin? He had a terrible game. He knows he had a terrible game. He'll be better next week. We don't need to trade him, we don't need to bench him, Bruce needs to say "Hey, how can we help you get your head straight? Because THAT was a turd." 6. If you'd told us, entering the games against RSL, SKC, and HOU that we'd have 6 points afterwards while Keane, Donovan, Dunivant, Cudicini, and McBean all missed significant time we'd be saying "I'll take that." Team is OK, we had a stinker, we've had injuries, the season is young. 7. We could use some creativity in midfield. I hope the 3rd DP comes through over the summer and I hope it's a midfielder with some flair.
told you told you told you. sorry i couldnt help myself. IF Zardes becomes what we hope he can be it wont' be for another couple seasons, they are all kids now give them time.
This In games and in practice you can't undervalue how important it is to have a veteran, vocal leader. We don't have one now. Donovan can barely hold his own game together he has no time for everyone elses
Re Zardes: I think it's reasonable to note he could have done a better job with his two breakaways but I wouldn't make too big of a deal of it. We saw Keane blow two complete breakaways a couple of games ago, and I'm not quite ready to release him either. Anyway Zardes was coming off the bench for the 2nd time in MLS, probably some nerves involved, and now has racked up a grand total of 72 MLS minutes, not much data at all to judge a player's finishing ability from. Looking at his college stats might be more useful. Success in college means certainly doesn't come close to guaranteeing success in MLS. Obviously some guys do great in college and sputter at the pro level because they are just better athletes than their college counterparts, but that advantage disappears in the pros. But we all saw that Zardes speed isn't just outstanding at the college level, it is also outstanding at the pro level, and that's a very good thing. So how did he do in college? In his last two years at CSU Bakersfield he scored 33 goals in 37 games, an amazing strike rate at any level. In 2012, his last year there he played 17 games, scored 15 times and added 9 assists. Those 9 assists are a good sign - they suggest the guy does get his head up and finds teammates, some of the time at least. A previous poster also worried he would just be another Oduro - a fast player who doesn't finish well. That is possible but their college records suggest they aren't the same player. For comparison Oduro played 41 games at VCU, tallied 18 goals and 5 assists total, totalling 41 pts in 41 games so 1.0 pt/gm. Zardes played 37 games, tallied 33 g's and 11 assists total, 77 pts in 37 games so 2.1 pts/gm. Bottom line Zardes scoring rate in college was a little over twice as high as Oduro's. Then add in the fact that Oduro played on a top team (VCU often won their conference) while Zardes played on a team that had never made the NCAA playoffs until he arrived. Harder to score when you play on a weaker team, so more evidence in favor of Zardes' abilities. I guess I'm just saying there is probably a valid reason he was expected to be the #1 pick in the draft. And - to me at least - so far his promise looks to be every bit as good as advertised. Not CR7 good, but he looks like he might terrorize MLS defenses in the not too distant future. And yes, despite all this, he still should show more composure and get his head up more in the box.
it all comes down to the same thing ive said over and over again. he is a kid, give him time. there is no reason to say yay or nay now, he is being forced to play more minutes than he should due to injury. The bigger story line to me here is our lack of real experienced depth. We have our starting xi and then we have our youth squad. i dont care how much people laud our youth they are just that, youth. they are not a solid bench...
Great post Maestro. I agree completely with about 90% of it. About Franklin, though... He's had a humongous weak spot in his game forever... his crossing, of course. His inability to correct this, and the coaching staff's inability to correct it is very worrisome. His defending is not good enough to make up for this deficiency, especially with his cap hit. Not saying trade him, necessarily, but something has to change.
How do you think that he is good enough with his cap hit? His cap hit is pretty darn sizeable... 160K? Franklin's defending is good not great, his ability going forward is average at best and his crossing is horrible. Here is what kills me... How the hell can you be such a bad crosser when you just played 4 years with the best crosser in the world!