P/I/P Season 31 Game 4 - LA Galaxy vs SKC, 3/14/26, 6:30 p.m. PDT - Apple TV

Oscar Pareja is available right now.

 

And Nancy.

 

I'll take one of those, please.

 

I can understand Vanney’s choice to start Tommy (as a ex KC player) but better choice would have been to start Cuevas in Pec’s position.

AND, we missed Glesnes in the back.

 

Nancy>Vanney>Pareja

 

so I went to the Galaxy’s website to try to find the match report, which is where they’ve been printing post game quotes and it’s nowhere to be found.

which is why I didn’t like that arrangement in the first place because you know that as soon as things undeniably suck, the Galaxy will stop providing the post game quotes and things like that.

 

There is a lot of contentment with the performance running through these quotes that I do not share (at least not from my perch in 234) sometimes I miss a lot when watching live.



LA Galaxy Postgame Top Quotes

LA Galaxy Head Coach Greg Vanney

On the match:

“It came down to a little bit of a game of moments, especially for them. They didn’t have too many chances at all, a couple in the transitions. For us, I felt like at times we were rushing things and then there were times where we needed to play with a little more urgency but not necessarily rush attacks. We tried to play maybe too fast. We had a couple of chances early where we win the ball in the transitions, and we play it back across the front of goal. We need to make them pay for stuff like that. The second half we came out and we tried to put one a little higher. First it was Erik Thommy who was taking up a higher position, we brought Elijah [Wynder] a little higher, so we added an extra number into the attack because they were going lower, and I think we started to create some problems for them, but then we give up the second goal. Then I felt like urgency really kicked in after that, and then I felt like we were into some really dangerous areas throughout the latter part of the second half. A lot of them came off the same play that ultimately ended in the goal, but in the end we have to do better with our opportunities. We let some slide the other night, and tonight you have to make do with some of those opportunities. They made do with two out of the three and a half that they had.”

On breaking down a defensive minded team’s setup:

“It does become more challenging. Or we need to be able to put balls into dangerous areas and win some crosses, win some things in front of the goal, as I think a little bit our goal ended up a melee of sorts of two or three, three or four chances before we finally got it into the back of the net. I think the biggest thing ideally is you've got to manage transition moments, and you've got to get ahead in those games, and you've got to force the opposition out of that posture. But when they go back to five in the back, I still think with our crew, it's how do we recognize that and get an extra number up high but still be able to control the counterattack situations. Again, we looked better, I thought more dangerous when we were able to get an extra number higher or a little later, but we still have to be able to defend the counterattack.”

On looking at the schedule ahead and squad rotation:

“We've tried to go through rotations so that we can keep guys fresh. I was mindful of a guy like João. It was a debate whether we were going to start him or not. He was feeling okay, but we didn't want to push him too terribly wrong. The risk isn't worth the reward on that one. So, at 60 we knew he was probably going to come off, so keeping an eye on a couple of other guys through the game. So, trying to balance this out at this time of year is always the challenge for all of us, all of the teams that are doing this. Then you just hope that you're not dealing with injuries at the same time that you're trying to balance off minutes for guys, because you're trying to keep guys healthy and fit.”

LA Galaxy Midfielder Erik Thommy

On the team’s creativity without Gabriel Pec and Joseph Paintsil:

“I mean, if you look at the stats, more shots on goal, more possession. I think we controlled the game over almost 90 minutes and gave up almost nothing. We had opportunities. Like I said, I think 20 shots or whatever, and you need to finish them. Then the game looks completely different.”

On what his most comfortable position is:

“Almost everywhere, to be honest. We have great players around me who can play also positions. You said it before. I didn't mention it. Obviously, we're missing Joe and Gabby, great players, individual good players, who can create something, especially on the wing. When it comes to my position, I can play almost everywhere up in front. So, wherever Coach needs me, I'll be there.”

On how the team can find a rhythm amidst a busy schedule:

“Obviously the training sessions [are important]. Even now it's all about recovery and going to the next game. It's always challenging for the coach. Also, for us as players. Then you need to travel six or seven hours to get to another country, a different time zone. That's obviously hard. That's not an excuse. It's like that, and it's part of our job. It's also great because we love to play, and it's better than training. But obviously, if you just look at me, for example, I'm with the team since two and a half weeks. I'm getting used to the rhythm, and getting used to the players. It takes time, and we don't have that time. Like I said, we are professional enough. Also, today if we would have won the game, everybody would have been happy and would be completely different. Yeah, we are looking forward for the game in Jamaica, and the good results will come. If you play like that because, like I said, the stats were good, we had a lot of good things in the game, and we just need to finish them better.”

LA Galaxy Defender Maya Yoshida

On what he sees that needs to change for the team:

“In terms of today, the final third. Obviously, we needed to score in the first half. Big opportunities in the second half. Instead, they have only three, four shots on target, and they score two. It was very soft, as well. As you know, we shouldn't have lost today. I don't get it. Same way last season. They didn't get a shot on goal. We lost 1-0. It's very difficult to accept today and the last game, as well. Today especially we play well and dominated the game. We play almost double time passing against them, but the finishing is most difficult and important part of soccer. Only the solution and the best solution is winning. Jamaica we win. Portland we win. We come back. This is the best way to get back from this chaos right now. That's my feeling.”

On what he saw from Justin Haak after playing next to him tonight:

“He could play both the six and the center back. I think the Coach is thinking about rotations of [Justin] as a center back and midfielder. So he has to be ready for both position, which is not easy, but as I say, he has been already long time MLS enough, and he has good experience and skills and potential. Playing midfield is very important for him, because any time you can come back in the future. Also, having the playing time, especially with me with Jakob, that's another important thing for him to get experience as the center back, because center back has to be mature and midfielder has to be more mobile. So he has good potential, and he has good mentality. I think he has a great mentality so far.”

On being a leader in the locker room and keeping spirits up after a difficult loss:

“Things are easier when things are going well, when we're winning. I think leadership is tested during difficult moments. Last season I would say it was very difficult for me to lead the team, because we couldn't make results. Also, my performance wasn't good enough probably, I would say. As a leader, I often talk with Marco and some [of our] key senior players, or players who have been [in the league] a long time, like JT, Jakob, Edwin as well. Of course, that's important to talk individually to young players, but also, they have to show the desire, because I'm not here 24/7 for him, for somebody, but I have seen many good players who improve a lot. They are already very passionate. They are thirsty to improve. They want to grow up as quick as possible. So, I don't have to talk. They come, and still, they are watching; they are checking what they need from Marco, from me, or experienced players or even Coach and what Coach wants from them. This is coming from a natural way.”

 

Yeah, I was really hoping this year was going to be different but it is shaping up exactly like every other year that Vanney has missed the playoffs, which is most of the years he has been our coach!

Every season is exactly the same. The guys come out looking like they didn't really have a preseason while Vanney tries 700 different lineups until he finally gets things to click how he wants. But two thirds of the season are gone and we are 12 points behind the playoffs line and the playoffs once again elude us.

I don't think ownership really understands or even cares about how damaging it is to the club for us to be unable to make the playoffs two seasons in a row. When is the last time we made the playoffs two years in a row? I honestly cannot remember off the top of my head.

AEG needs to wake up, can this guy, and get serious about making the Galaxy an elite club in MLS again or we will be DC United in 10 years as LAFC grabs every new soccer fan in Los Angeles.

 

This is what I was thinking. I really felt for the fans who came out. It should have been an easy win and some satisfying goals for the home team. Instead it's defensive ineptness as usual and the main cheers for the guy who was once our star forward. This is a franchise in a big rut, maybe even big trouble.

There were some bright spots out there. I thought Cerillo had a good game. Wynder is doing really well. Miller is really talented.

Yoshida's comments after the game really bothered me - problems are in the final third? We really should have scored in the first half? Really? Your job is to lock down that defense and it was an utter failure, again. Wake up, young men.

Reus should be a cog in the wheel, but not the center. Vanney is getting our lineups wrong.

 

I think the only thing Micovic potentially is above MLS average in is going after high crosses in the box (he caught one at its highest point last night that McCarthy would not have gone for or probably would have missed and Marcincowski might have had to parry). That's not nothing given our difficulties with crosses and corners in recent years, although Glesnes, Klauss, and even Haak help with that, but we need to have a keeper who is a top shot stopper too. I could see Vanney prioritizing distribution from a GK, but there's nothing about Micovic's distribution that is special, whether on the ground or in the air. Marcincowski delivers a better long ball.

When you add all that to Micovic's int'l slot, which effectively cost us $400K+ this year in GAM, and the fact that domestic GKs like Pulskamp for SKC, Feree for San Diego etc were just sitting in our backyard and available to us, we need a thorough review of our goalkeeping scouting and development from the Academy to the Pros in addition to a quicker fix of trying out Marcincowski as the starter and looking to offload Micovic in the summer window.

 

During Vanney’s tenure he’s had multiple front offices, has been the GM, has worked under a GM, has gone through several goalkeepers, has attempted at least 2 rebuilds with large scale roster changes all while working with one of the largest salary budgets in the league.

At this point it’s clear that struggling to middling teams is Vanney’s MO because the only thing that’s stayed constant since he arrived is he himself. He’s the common denominator.

So the question at this point is, is waiting for him to catch lightning in a bottle every once in a number of years acceptable?

Not if we want to be a premier team in MLS or even our own market given LAFC’s success since they joined the party in MLS.

 

In an MLS coaching world with free agents like Nancy, Curtin and Pareja…. better make room on that bench for Coach Porter

 

Porter? Man, that would test my loyalty to this team.

Crazy that Nancy is available. I’d take him in a heartbeat.

 

Highlight Time Folks

A couple observations.

1) I miss DeJan. I really really do.

2) This is yet another example of why Marco Reus should not be starting.
He was invisible up until the poached goal. Also he was at least the only guy in the last few games to nod the ball downwards and not up and over the goal for the header.

3) Micovic sucks. He is very slow to react. He needs to see the shot coming a mile away. Marcincowski is better and needs to challenge for the starting role.

4) We did not have enough attack going forward. Klauss requires service. I did not see him successfully create his own shot once this game. He is too tall to not be able to play with his back to goal and move into dangerous areas more consistently. He drops way too deep and that needs to stop. I am nowhere near ready to throw him off the team yet. I just need coaching to have this conversation with him.

Frustrating to see possession without enough attack behind it to be a goal threat. We are going to be better next game as we will get Pec back which will indeed help.

OKAY!!!
On to the next fight!!!!

 

Things come undone for Columbus while Portland's struggles continue | Matchday 4


7. The Galaxy have a long-standing issue with their rest defense, and Sporting KC took advantage of it twice in their 2-1 win at Carson on Saturday night:

By “rest defense” I mean the shape they leave themselves in when they’re in possession, pushing forward and getting into spots where they might turn it over. Do they have big gaps between the lines? Do the attackers have support near them – behind them, or next to them – who can win the ball back quickly (or at least force the first pass sideways) if a turnover actually happens? Are there clear rotations behind the ball to prevent breakouts heading in the other direction?

https://bsky.app/profile/mattdoyle.bsky.social/post/3mh4tjs454223


The answer, too often, is no. Twice in the clip above, it was no.

There is nothing fancy about this – just a case of being ready to take advantage of what an opponent gives you. Sporting were, and got three points because of it.

 

For me the thing that makes it a little challenging to gauge Vanney's tenure with the Galaxy is that the majority of it took place under Chris Klein's stewardship of the club. So it is difficult to say whether 2021 and 2023, and part of 2022 (it was trending to be another playoff miss until Puig and Brugman showed up) were all down to Vanney being bad at management/coaching or down to Klein's catastrophic roster building and overall management of the sporting side of the club.

But the problem with rest defense has always been there even in 2024. It wasn't until Garces became a starter and brought his raw speed to the backline in late 2024 that we stopped getting crushed on the counter. This data point that we have never been a good defensive team in the now 6 seasons Vanney has been in charge of this team leads me to believe that Vanney just isn't a good coach. Or perhaps the guys on his coaching staff that he has tasked with drilling his defensive ideas into the team are not doing a great job with that.

It's not that he doesn't have good ideas in regard to how to approach the game. I think he just can't get them across to his players. Which is why we consistently look shaky and disorganized with ever changing lineups to start the year, and why it always seems to stabilize too late to make the playoffs.

Personally I think Vanney has an approach to the game that requires everyone be very tidy on the ball, positionally disciplined AND be ready to make constant off the ball runs that have to be perfectly timed. I think in MLS you can consistently get players good at 1, maybe even 2 of those things, but very rarely do you get all 3. Puig was such a genius on the ball and had such incredible vision and range of passing that he almost single handedly made it so that if our players were deficient in one of those areas it didn't matter.

Without that talent on the field this whole thing doesn't work right and we end up watching soccer that is brutally boring and often loses games. I hope he turns it around and this isn't a repeat of the 3 playoff miss years. I will be thrilled if that is the case but I don't have a lot of faith.

And on a selfish note of just wanting to be entertained by my favorite soccer team, I think I am ready for a change of manager. I want someone fresh with some new ideas that have me going to the stadium thinking that we are going to win today. We can't even beat SKC at home if we have to rotate players or are without our DP wingers. So right now I can't back us to beat anyone at home or away till I see us rattle off some consecutive wins.

If we were to replace Vanney with Porter I think I would be done for a good long while. I'd need to just take a break until his inevitable failure got him sacked.

We already have the nice version of Caleb Porter managing our team.

 

Whenever I hear the Sack Vanney talk I always ask the same 2 questions. Who is better and would they actually take the job? So,..."Who is better and would they actually take the job?" Unless we are going to kidnap my man Michael Carrick from Man United and force him at gunpoint to run this team, I have nobody other than Greg in mind at this moment.I honestly wouldn't even bring back Bruce "Almighty" Arena to run LA at this point.We are 4 games into the season and are 2 L's, 1 W and 1 draw. There is still hope but we need a W next game or I fear the Sack Vanney talk is only going to get louder so very early into the year.

 

I get where you're coming from on the "who is better" question. I would take a shaky rest of 2026 with Wilifred Nancy if it means he gets a preseason and can carry us to the same heights he took Columbus (MLS Cup, Leagues Cup, CCC final). I would say Jim Curtin is probably also a good option given his long history of doing a lot with very little at Philadelphia Union.

Other than those two, I think that is where I would hope Kuntz and a now presumably fleshed out front office could get to work casting a wide net to find the right fit for us over the next 3-5 year period. There has to be good candidates out there that those of us who are not paid to run a soccer club are missing.

Finally, as far as the "Vanney out" talk being early, I think we need to understand that in the context of missing the playoffs in three out of five years as our manager. Even with the injury to Puig I don't think Vanney was ever going to get a lot of grace after the disaster that was 2025. The 2024 MLS Cup basically saved his job in 2025, but that is in the rearview mirror now. The Colorado loss is understandable given the silly red card Pec picked up, but even with a diminished roster we should have been able to at least draw at home to an SKC team that is very likely to pick up the wooden spoon in the West. As you say a failure to win at Portland is just going to turn up the heat from the fans. It will also continue to have the stadium half full for every home game.

 

Nancy and Curtain are two available managers I’d take right now. I’m not a fan of Pareja’s or Porter both would be lateral moves. I’d take Bruce in a heartbeat. He may not be among the elite anymore, but he whipped an awful New England in to shape and is doing the same with San Jose even in their loss to Seattle yesterday they looked so much more cohesive than we have in any game I’ve seen this season.

And I’d be willing to take a look in unconventional places. I don’t think many people had heard of Mikey Varas, but he’s showing that rookie season wasn’t a fluke.

 

Well as one who has been watching this team and the state it was in before Vanney got the job until now, I can safely say that Greg Vanney is often blamed for way more than is actually fair. The team was on a steady incline after his hiring and went on to win the title. The team doesn't get Puig without Vanney and we've all been watching the squad struggle without him despite the presence of Kuntz's additions still being available to play, yet each one also suffering their own individual player setbacks.

Now I agree that this 2026 season is almost certainly going to be the one that can cause the organization to fire Vanney despite his squad still being without it's version of Messi. A young player with the speed and stamina of a teenager, who can dribble through multiple defenders on a consistent basis and can pass from distance on a dime. Puig opens up tons of room for other creative players by drawing defenders, and he elevates the attack from just okay to an elite degree. Sadly this will be the 2nd year the squad will be without him since the 2024 title season.

Now I like all the moves made by both Vanney and Kuntz in the off-season and expect the team to improve, but not without the growing pains that come with new hires. What sucks for Vanney (and soon Kuntz as well) is because the fans have had to wait so long to even be deemed good again let alone elite, nobody is going to want to hear the excuses for failure no matter how legit those excuses might well be for a 2nd year in a row. When our fan base is one that is rarely humble and only demands excellence at all times while often ignoring the constraints on teams caused by the league itself, such staffing dismissals are going to happen when being just an okay team is not going to cut it. I give Vanney until June to before we will all pretty much know if he can survive the season.

As for Nancy, he has proven to be a solid coach during his short MLS tenure. He also has proven so far to never stay settled with a team for a significant amount of time. He should have never left Columbus. I really want to know if coaching Celtic just seemed like a bigger deal and a chance that he just couldn't resist. I also don't think he is ahead of Vanney at all as a coach. I feel the same way about Jim Curtain as well frankly.Yes Nancy was a coach of the year and also won an MLS Cup, but Vanney has done that as well and got the cup twice even. So for me, the ability to win a league title is not only a stat that you must have, but you will need to have won more overall titles than Greg Vanney as a whole before I'd consider you worthy of the LA job over him at this point.

 

I have also been watching the team since before Vanney took over. I am well aware of what things were like before he was hired. While we did win a title and I won't try to take that away from him, we also have not made the playoffs in two consecutive seasons since 2015-2016. If he shares the praise for winning the title, he also has to shoulder part of the blame for missing the playoffs three times in five seasons in a league where it is not difficult to make the playoffs.

I think as a club we can't afford to just keep missing the playoffs for the promise of maybe getting a title under Greg Vanney every 3 to 5 years. Maybe if MLS hadn't dropped LAFC into our backyard we could afford to be cavalier about missing the playoffs, but with them on the rise we need to treat making the playoffs with the utmost seriousness in order to stay relevant in our own city.

If Vanney turns it around and we hit a PPG pace that sees us in the playoffs no one will be happier than me. For now though I have to respectfully disagree with your assertion that he is the best possible option right now based on the totality of his time coaching the LA Galaxy.

 

I feel like Porter is at least on Par with Vanney, however if that is a lateral move then we may as well stay with Vanney because I think Porter is better than both Curtain and Wilfried despite each having the MLS Cup on their resume.

 

Vanney didn't take over the team until 2021 and had to spend 3 years rebuilding it. Outside of the 2025 fiasco there was no way the team was going to be good enough (even on paper) to go to the playoffs back to back prior to the that 2024 season. The days of this league being so easy that anyone that simply tries even a little bit can make it into the playoffs are pretty much over which is just a hard fact that many aren't willing to see. Yes LAFC is here, but they and others are not getting any weaker anytime soon; and thus all teams are going to need to be able to maintain their best available players for as long as possible. Vanney and Kuntz were able to smartly recruit several awesome players to fit into the budget, but other teams are attempting to do the same, and this will remain part of the juggling act for the time being. For example, LA is almost certainly going to have to let Klauss walk next year because the current MLS rules won't allow LA to keep him on the roster at his current wage without losing a DP. Money is solely the reason 2025 saw the team lose 3 signature starters from the 2024 MLS Cup game. Beast mode players that were lost solely to inability to cut the required checks to keep them and not due to ownership being unwilling to make the payment. Now again Vanney and Kuntz made several solid signings that are so far playing up to the paycheck, so if the team is not looking good by the Summer then sacking the guy will be talk I'd seriously entertain. That being said, unless the team can sign a true beast of a manager, the idea of replacing Vanney right now and especially after four games of the 2026 season is frankly overkill and doubly so when taken into consideration all that had to be done, and all that was accomplished from 2021 to Today.

 

Vanney has a top 5 in the league budget, there is plenty of talent on this team, we should be comfortably in the playoff hunt and winning these games at home against KC. We are not small market/small payroll. What's so frustrating is he has the exact same weaknesses in the team that we have had for 6 years! How do we always look so bad to start the season? What are they doing in the off-season, in training? It's time for a change, call Nancy and see what it will take.