TV: FS1, MLS Live No notes or injury lists out there yet... First 18,500 into the stadium get a free scarf courtesy of Chik-fil-A For the degenerate gamblers like myself, surprisingly to me, right now(4/6) we're heavy favorites. Moneyline: LAG -130 POR +320 Spread: LAG -1 (+140) POR +1(-170)
Oops... this is game 5 but, I can't change the title now. Can a mod please help with that? Thanks in advance.
Predicted lineup : Gio Zardes Magee Husidic De Jong Lletget Cole Van Damme Steres Rogers Rowe/Kennedy Bench : Rowe/Kennedy, AJ, Romney, Garcia/Larentowicz (when will Jeff be available?), Boateng, Villarreal, Gordon. I don't know if Kennedy will be available and if he is, will Bruce start him? Like I said in the other thread, personnally I would start AJ over Rogers but I don't see Bruce doing it anytime soon. The front six will surely like this but not necessarily in these spots : Zardes finally at his best position while Keane is injured? Or as a winger to help the defense? Can Magee still deliver on the wing? Is the Lletget at forward experiment over?
Page 1. Gotta be quick with all those wasted posts on the title! Thought the poster was a joke. No, just a bait and switch? Come see at least two of these guys sitting in a luxury box! And we may show them on a big tv screen! Lineup. Same back four, GK and DeJong. Legit and Zardes. After that I am not even going to guess.
I agree, I guess it's our best tandem. But it's hard to bench Steres given his performances so far. I think we'll have to wait one or two mistakes from Daniel before Bruce considers to bench him, he won't do it by himself. By the way it's amazing how many games AJ was on the bench during the last few months, although he was a better defender than the starters (Rogers this year, Gargan and Leonardo last year...). You know a player we don't miss right now? Leonardo. If Steres continues to impress it might be the time to trade him.
I have a feeling this is AJ’s last season in LA. Bruce likes big central defenders persisting with Leo over AJ through many substandard results. AJ is quite expensive, justifiably so IMO, but $200K in MLS is a chunk of change. AJ signed a new deal October 2014 so his contract may be up at the end of this season, he’ll also be eligible for free agency at the conclusion of 2016. There were also at least two games last season where Bruce & AJ were not happy with one another.
It can be quite possible, although I think AJ is the type of player Bruce loves. I remember an article this offseason about AJ being the longest-tenured player and the staff seems to have faith in him (here is the article : http://www.lagalaxy.com/post/2016/0...draft-pick-la-galaxy-s-longest-serving-player). What can help us to keep AJ in LA is that he seems to love this club and this city, and everybody loves him. He's very underappreciated so I don't see him leaving MLS. But yes I won't be surprised to see him leaving soon.
Notes and injury report are out The Galaxy return home following their second shutout on the road this season, playing to a scoreless draw with Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday evening at BC Place. The Galaxy have scored seven goals in two home wins this year. The Timbers suffered their second consecutive loss on the road and saw their winless run stretched to three games, following their 4-1 defeat at Orlando City SC on Sunday evening. The teams evenly split their three meetings last season – each scoring five goals in winning one contest. The Galaxy had five different players score in a 5-0 victory June 24 at StubHub Center; Fanendo Adi netted yet another brace as the Timbers rolled to a 5-2 win Oct. 18 in Carson. The teams reached a 2-2 draw March 15 in the lone meeting at Providence Park. The Timbers victory in the last encounter snapped a five-game winless streak vs. the Galaxy (0-3-2). It was also the Timbers first win ever at StubHub Center; the Galaxy won six of the first seven meetings there, with one draw. The Galaxy haven’t won on their last four trips to Portland, with the last two ending in draws. The only Galaxy victory all-time in Portland came July 14, 2012 – a 5-3 victory. LAG OUT: GK Dan Kennedy (partial groin tear 3/8, out 1 month) - REPORT OUT: F Robbie Keane (knee surgery 3/31, out 4-6 weeks) - READ OUT: M Steven Gerrard (calf injury) - REPORT F Giovani dos Santos (left leg injury, DNP 4/2) M Jeff Larentowicz (groin injury, DNP 4/2) D Leonardo (leg injury, DNP 4/2) por OUT: D Andy Thoma (knee injury 3/10, out 6 weeks) - REPORT OUT: D Liam Ridgewell (hamstring injury 3/11, out 4-6 weeks) - REPORT OUT: M Ben Zemanski (groin injury) - REPORT
IIRC, AJ also had a negative comment/tweet about Omar's transfer to Pachucca which was pretty much a direct jab at Bruce and the rest of the Galaxy front office. IMO, he was correct, but I doubt Bruce and the rest liked him rubbing their noses in the collective failure from a soccer perspective that was Gerrard's signing and possibly Dos Santos's.
Portland is going to be desperate for a result. With Ridgewell out, their back lone is a bit porous. Expecting to see some goals in this game.
Much love brotha @Omar4Gonzalez 😢 pic.twitter.com/sO14dZjJ86— AJ DeLaGarza (@AJD_20) December 22, 2015 One last thing before I take a nap... 34-9-16 when paired in central defense 🐸🍺 pic.twitter.com/FwTk2jyawV— AJ DeLaGarza (@AJD_20) December 22, 2015 I only found this, but it was enough to bring me tears.
I don't remember his tweets being pointedly critical. Maybe I missed one, but the ones I remember were more supportive of Omar and disappointed that he was being let go. I could be wrong,
I'd hate to see AJ go, but I would understand AJ's frustration. I saw AJ at Stubhub during the off season and I asked him if he was going to play centerback this season. He said that that he didn't know. But, I sensed a "don't effin' ask me" vibe to his answer. And, he didn't have a smile on his face. Possibly very big changes when Bruce retires and AJ seeks free agency at the end of the year. Gotta win the Cup.
BTW... I'm in LA for the next couple of days. If this game had been on Saturday, I would have extended my stay and gone to it.
It’s 100% pure speculation on my part, just a couple of dots and I love nothing more than idle speculation. I guess if it happens, the silver lining is he’ll be back in Galaxy colors when he’s what 33, 34. I took AJs tweets similar to our reaction here, just disappointed friends & teammates were moving on. I mean he & Omar had been teammates for what 12 years? Most marriages don’t last that long. When Juninho got traded: pic.twitter.com/UxAwmf6FYO— AJ DeLaGarza (@AJD_20) December 24, 2015