P/I/P: #27 - LA Galaxy @ Montreal Impact; Wed 9/10/14; 4:30pm PDT

Montreal has scored a total of 29 goals this season. The Galaxy have a goal differential of +27. I hope by the end of this game our GD is greater then Montreal's GF.

 

If we are to keep pace with Seattle, then another ass-kicking is in order.

I want the Shield, and home final against DC United for the Cup. Hope Montreal is just another speed bump for the Steam Rollin' G's.

And…

I hope we win.

 

I wouldn't put too much stock in Montreal's lack of scoring earlier in the season because they have added a lot of scoring punch with their recent DP acquisition of the Argentine Piatti. They have scored 9 goals in their last 4 games (counting their 3-2 CCL win playing a man down in El Salvador).

 

I'm putting stock into Montreal's lack of scoring either way. Winning 3-0 would do it, so would winning 9-3.

 

They definitely are better on offense. If this was at our house I would say it would be an easy win but because it is going to be away I am a little apprehensive. Don't we only have 1 away win the whole season, not counting Chivas games?

Edit: Looks like it is 3: SJ, SEA, and then the COL barnburner. Still, even though we are playing at a scorching hot level for so long eventually we will cool down a bit. Hopefully this isn't the game. We need this one and the next one.

 

I thought the same thing at first, but didn't LD explain himself a little more right after? Something along the lines of...when you are playing really well, you want to keep playing as much as possible.

So, it wasn't so much of a dig at Montreal, but more about keeping the momentum going. This is more in line with his attitude than trash talking.

 

So what is our back 4 if Rogers, dunivent, Riley and AJ can't play due to injuries/personal issues? Meyers to outside back? Could be a problem.

 

Riley was on the bench last game...could we get 45 out of him?

 

I bet Bruce starts 3 defenders and when questioned somehow he explains it's still a 4-4-2 and btw reporters just aren't that bright.

 

Will Keane and Pinedo be back for this game and/or the SJ game on Sunday?

 

I wonder when AJ will return to the team? He is in Maryland right now I believe.

Rough time for him, but we need him back and hopefully he will return the same player.

I know stuff like that can ruin a player. Just look at what happened to Adriano.

 

From what I have seen, AJ is going to be OK. He really had a balanced view of it, and seems to have great family support. It will always affect him, but I don't see him crawling into a shell. It's not his personality. If I am the Galaxy, I say "take as long as you want or need." I think he's the type of guy who finds comfort in work and routine, and I think if they give him that, at some point, probably soon than later, he'll say "I need to get back to this" and he'll be ready to go. But honestly, if he said "I need to sit out the rest of the year" they should let him. He won't---he's going to want to be a part of Landon's last playoff run, but they should let that be his decision.

 

I read somewhere Keane will be back for the Impact game but Penedo will only come back for SJ.

Don't know what to do with the LB position. If AJ is back that's fine, otherwise maybe it's a good game to get Riley back in for 65-70 minutes.

 

I didn't take it that way at all; it seemed to me Landon was saying the team is really clicking/buzzing and enjoying the way they were playing, which in turn is making them better and more excited to play more games. In fact, it sounded to me like LD was describing Flow:

It would not surprise me if Donovan was fully aware of Flow as a psychological phenomenon, even if he's not aware of the technical explanations for it. Based on how he describes playing and how he plays at his best, I think he is a player who understands how and when to access Flow and has tried to create the conditions for himself when possible. I plan to write more about this soon, specifically in the context of Donovan and Arena's 2014 Galaxy, but this team has achieved something special that few ever do at any level. The future of football (and all sports) is finding out how to get all your players to achieve Flow, which happens when they are centered, and unencumbered by anxiety and other mental pressures: basically when they're comfortable, which goes against the conventional wisdom of certain NT coaches. When in Flow, players are living in the creative moment, when answers will come easily without effort. In team sports, players can even become mentally aligned and even achieve Flow as a unit. One can see the benefits for soccer, specifically.

There's a pretty interesting piece about it here :The Flow of Football: Approaching a new understanding of how football moves and operates (Part 1)

Sound like anybody we know? I've been thinking about this for awhile based on the way the team is playing, but LD let the cat out of the bag in his interview Friday night.

 

I'm tempted to start a LAndycakes Psychoanalysis thread.

 

If this last month hasn't proved how cerebral LD actually is as a player, I don't know what will. What's crazy is the level he achieves allows other players to channel into it.

 

As Landon Donovan goes....

 

Sad, but true.

 

Rogers traveled to Montreal so I'm guessing Rogers/Omar/Leonardo/Gargan will be our back line.

Not ideal but hopefully we will have AJ back and Leonardo can sit down before we start coming up against more serious competition in the home stretch.

 

Who has been playing outside back at the USL level for our team? Any options down there? Glad Rogers traveled. Hope he's not hurrying back. Can't afford any additional injuries right now.

 

Hopefully that means he's fit to start. If Rogers can go 60-70 minutes and Riley can sub in for him, that might help both get back into form and game condition. Which we're going to need with Dunivant likely done for the season.