Why is Ryan Suarez not starting, or getting any play time for that matter? When we aquired him, I was very excited, I loved watching him play for the Burn, and he has a great bit of skill. We could use him. Anybody know the reason why he is not playing? I know he had a slight injury (muscle strain of something) but he is listed as healthy now.
I think once you get in Sigi's doghouse, it's tough to get out of it. Suarez actually played well in both games he started for LA, both of which were wins, but in the first start he gave up a late PK to Kamler on a 50-50 call then had the foul on the ill-adivsed bike in the box that led to the only Burn goal. While those were the only two mistakes he made when he started, they were big ones and Sigi apparently doesn't feel comfortable with him out there anymore. He now appears to be fifth on the depth chart, behind Lalas and Marshall, both of whom are slower and less skilled than Ryan is. With a likely playoff matchup looming with the Rapids and they small, speedy attackers, I would think having faster backs would behoove the Galaxy. But, as long as he's in Sigi's doghouse, I don't think that's gonna happen with Suarez.
I would hope that he is having trouble with the injury? To many times, Sigi doesn't play the best player, or trades quality players away. Just do some research and see who the Galaxy have actually traded away, some of whom were never given a real shot and playing with us. Razov, Beasley, Armas, Ching, Mullan just to name the few that I know off the top of my head.
Ah...so you weren't worried about Suarez. This is just another Fire Sigi thread in disguise. For the record, Ratface and Armas both left LA long before Sigi was in charge. Beasley was never going to come to LA and we got Danny Califf in return. As for Ching and Mullan, they did nothing while they were in LA (Brian did have a good first season) and they had a good run at the start of this season but haven't done much lately...well, injury didn't help much.
Obviously Ching's out for the season, but I guess you haven't kept up with Mullan much, PZ. He's still having a great season, still in the top 10 in MLS points-wise and 3rd in assists...if that isn't doing much lately....!
Ryan Suarez normally played man marker right side defender for Burn. We have one of those - Danny Califf. Playing time issue is not a lot more mysterious than that. Let see if Califf re-signs with LAG. If not, lets hope Ryan can fill that role.
I'm not saying fire Sigi. Generally I am happy the way he has run the team since his inception. All I'm saying is that some players *seem* to not get a decent shot at playing time, and in turn improvement. I'm not pretending to be some big soccer coach know it all, but that's the way it *seems* to me, I may be wrong. For example, Elliot has not had a very good year (last year was bad as well), I just think we may want to get on with it and give some younger player a try there. Not one game, not two games, but time enough to prove his value on the pitch. Several teams have rookies every year that step in and help out, in some cases exeptionally (Damani Ralph). We never seem to have that new rookie player that can step in and contribute. Is that a consequence of players not working out or players not getting a chance to work out. That is the question.
Started off on fire and then went quiet. You don't need to tell LA fans that about Brian. We've seen it all before.
The probable answer as to why Suarez is not playing is that his attitude and lack of willingness to control his behavior on the field has once again cost him an opportunity. Unneccesary or cheap fouls, dissent, etc., the list is long. This is not new nor is it likely to change. His history is one of sometimes brilliant play followed by stupid mistakes that occur when his emotions get the best of him. No one has ever questioned his ability, only his committment to correcting these issues. When a player cannot be trusted in an important game, there isn't much future. Everyone was hoping a change of scenes would help but it doesn't appear as though it has. Too bad. The talent is still there and he is young enough to still have a successful career, but he needs to start putting it together soon.