The other thread got, way, way, way out of hand, trolling/abuse from outsiders or Galaxy fans will not be tolerated, those that were guilty have been warned/punished. That being said, continue discussions of the *GAME* here and leave the racist/ignorant/name calling/tirades elsewhere.
It's great that the team fought back and kept it respectable after going down a goal and losing Beckham, yet again. However, that's the highest this team will come this season. We're now out of every competition. Yes that includes the playoffs because it's only a matter of math and time, especially with yet another Beckham injury. Hopefully there will be some changes and in April we can see the Galaxy play with a decent chance of ultimately winning something.
What a hard loss. I was hoping to see you guys take the win. Very heartbreaking after such a strong fight.
Props to your team. At least they gave all they had. For a neutral observer (hey--this wasn't an MLS match! ) that was one exciting game.
LA need: 1. A better target man (a center forward that can do something with all those lovely Beckham crosses) 2. A midfield enforcer who can win balls and release Beckham and Donovan to create havoc. 3. More quality in the back four.
OK, Congrats to Pachuca and their keeper, who did the job for them but is still a goofball. It's a drag to lose on penalties, but we had other chances we couldn't convert too. Cannon was stellar, and I was glad to see the team play as if they wanted to win after such a lackluster outing at Colorado.
Overall you guys did ok. Not great a lot of missed opportunities. Vagenas own goal really put you guys in a bind but you guys battle back into the game. Losing in penalties is definetly not fun. The biggest thing you lost last night was not the $1 million prize but Mr Beckham (for pretty much the rest of the season). Now is there talk to replace Lalas? Seems like he and Yallop have mismanaged Beckham. First it was the unnecessary game against Chelsea and then leaving him on the field for a full 90 minutes after coming back from England. Maybe for this game he should have been used as a Sub and not a starter given his condition. Oh and let's not even mention the crazy schedule of backloading a lot of games. Finally it was great to read that Pachuca will be donating some of their winnings for the hurricane victims of Dean in Mexico.
Wow did you guys see your goalie complain about Calero moving forward when he moved 6 foot up to block a shot! I cant believe we actually one AGAIN in penalties when we are so dreaded with bad luck taking those.
To all Galaxy fans: i would like to congratulate you and your team on an amazing display of heart character and passion.You never gave up and never stopped trying.We all know with your injuries that Pachuca was the superior team and yet you played with all you had and made the final an instant classic.It is by far one of the greatest games ever played on American soil. I know there were missed chances but that happens in all games.But the fact that you went down early and lost Becks and still came back is awesome. Joe Cannon was almost supernatural lastnight.He gave it everything he could.I feel for him. what does it say about Beckham that knowing how much his ankle is hurt he went in for that 50-50 ball without hesitation and as hard as he could.He is a great competitor and I admire his grit and fire.He is great for this league and I wish him all the best in his recovery.And yet although he has brought attention to our league,it is games like last night that will put MLS on the map and earn us respect from around the world. I am a Dynamo diehard and would never root for LA in anyother circumstance and yet last night I found myself so engrossed in this game it was unbelievable.It was as if Houston was in the MLS Cup final all over again.I am proud of MLS and of the Galaxy. Keep your heads up guys.There is going to be alot more good for you and your team in the coming years with Becks and some roster upgrades.You will be fine. This schedule madness has been unfair to your team but I guess important for the league .Next year will be more fair and ballanced for LA im sure. anyway congrats on a classic game .You fans sounded great on TV until Telefutura lost the sound for about 45 minutes. by the way Telefutura is the worst I have ever seen.Towards the end of regulation with the intensity at its highest and the game tied they cover up the entire screen with game stats and we miss an offensive push by the Galaxy and never even get to see what happend.THey suck. take care and keep the faith Indy
Anyone mentioned the curse of Sports Illustrated to Bekcham before taking that magazine shot? geez seems like that curse never fails.
Class post, Thank you. First off, I have to make a public apology..... Yesterday I wrote that I would be embarrased if we won..... I was wrong. I missed the first half of the game and had to come in even part way through the second half, but what I saw was inspiring. We looked like we came to play and as we got closer I had to admit I wanted us to win this bad. I would not have been embarrased at all. It sucks to go out in penalties, but being a fan of the italian national team, this isn't the first time my team has been out like this....... All in all, I feel like we can hold our heads high on this one. I'm proud of my team. Now to the main point: Telefutura SUCKS!!!! The worst camera decisions consistently. I noted that same thing, team on a break down the middle and they cut to show us 15 seconds of the stats....... Consistent bad choices on what they show, such as cutting from the main action to show a player that just passed the ball walking slowly back to position or the coach yelling stuff from the bench..... I feel like I missed about 1/3rd of the action due to asinine camera decisions.
Congratulations guys on a great effort. Like Indy's post earlier, I could care less if you guys win or lose under normal circumstances, but last night I was rooting hard for you guys. In a short time span of less than a year, we have developed a little rivalry with Pachuca and they have really gained my respect. You guys hung in there and never quit. The fact that they never scored a goal till the PK's says a lot about your effort last night. Again, congratulations. Does anyone know how bad Beck's knee is?
Congrats to Pachuca. I thought it was relatively clean match, played in a good spirit. Ref kinda sucked, but in a global sense. After a wholly dispiriting first half, I was amazed at the heart the boys showed in the second. I'm not sure if we had 2 shots on goal in the first half. Beckham was making a real difference, even though he wasn't at 100%. Seeing him go down was a huge blow. Klein played some excellent D all night. He still blew a few too many crosses, but ..... Wow. I thought we had the next Pando moment. Alas . . . Cobi rocked it from the moment he stepped on the pitch. I never thought Donovan and X would miss. I knew Pete would miss and if Gordon stepped up I was sure it would probably hit Joe Cannon. But to have the trophy in our hands -- and give it away, really hurts. And for the record: All the Cannon haters can eat a bag of dicks.
http://sidelineviews.blogspot.com/2007/08/yallop.html Great stuff from Yallop in the press conference. What I learned last night..... this team does indeed have heart and they finally played like it last night. We have a pretty good "tournament" team. It's a shame we are going to miss the playoffs because this team does pretty darn well in a tournament format. Our best rookie isn't named Ty or Kevin, his name is Mike. He has been a revelation these last few weeks. LB is his. LD is not the human PK machine after all. I hope that lights a fire in him for the rest of the season. I feel sorry for Pete. Sure his own goal and and missed pk killed us but erasing that he actually played a pretty decent game last night by any standard. Our d held up pretty darn good against one of the best teams in the hemisphere. After conceding 11 goals in the last three games he hold Puchuca to a single own goal. Not too shabby. We still need to shore up the middle a bit. Roberts needs to be more consistent if he wants to stay on the team let alone a spot in the lineup. He made some great plays last night but if not for Cannon he could have been the goat once again. Judging by X's reaction after the extra time he was pleased with Roberts. I know most here hate Roberts but I think if Harden develops as hoped and Roberts plays like he did last night on a regular basis then we will have a tight rotation with them and X. I am actually looking forward to the rest of the season. Boy I am a glutton for punishment.
One thing I noticed... several players on the team were heavily panting BEFORE the first 90 ended. Im not even talking about 30 minutes extra time. People like Pete just should not be on the pitch anymore. Hes not a rookie, he screwed up several time last night, and on top if it, he looked like he couldnt even do 90 minutes. definitely proud of the rest of our team. Cannon came through. X defended well all night, Randolph is a new favorite, Donovan did work hard all night. For Becks 30 minutes, he had a few nice crosses we blundered. It definitely was a fun game!
Check this out. Frank dropping the F-bomb like it was going out of style. Beckham sez he could be out for a good stretch of the season - depends on a scan of his knee. Linda Proud to have been at the HDC
Cannon is the only reason the score wasn't completely lopsided. He made save after unbelievable save, and was the star of the game. Whatever he makes, double it. The defense needs major work, but his performance masked that. Overall, it was a tough loss for the Galaxy. They played with heart, but just didn't have enough in the end. 1. Klein had a great game, and he has a career highlight with that goal. 2. I'm glad Yallop let some of his real personality show in the press conference. He's a way better coach than the results have shown. He's going to take it in the neck for Alexi's incompetence. (How does that man keep getting employed?) 3. Will Landon finally get rid of his little OCD display before PKs?
Don't need to apologize to me. I have been there.... back in the regular season of 2005. Something about an own goal at Dallas. Boy did the playoffs teach me a lesson. Anyway, you have to let the losses only affect you a couple of days. Get back in the game come game day. "Don't give up, don't ever, ever give up" StillKickin might have been upset. I am just sad for you if you missed the first half cause you couldn't bear to watch. Its almost like my second rant was going to play out perfectly. Heineken hates soccer!
For those just tuning in https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=12619573&postcount=80 Toot toot. Beep beep. That's my own horn, yeah. Got it right down to the TequilaJoal feeling his oats.
ummm, I didn't miss the first half because of not bearing to watch.... i missed it cause I had another responsibility... I'm a pastor at a church and wednesday night is our midweek service.... so I couldn't get home in time to watch till 20 minutes through the second half..... I would have watched the entire match had it been a different time, but.... and the public apology goes out to StillKickin too.... my bad. dave
I fell asleep [east coast] at about the 80 minute mark [how awful..I know..thankfully I tivoed it and will watch it tonight]. Having said that, even prior to the last minute heroics, what a great game. Back and forth, lots of attacking by both teams. And quite honestly, I thought Donovan looked fantastic. Redbulls fan, but I rooted for LA last night.
A few thoughts from attending last nights game: The Negative: 1. We lost. We had it at our fingertips and we lost. Pachuca couldn't even score in the run of play and we still lost. We missed dozens (maybe less) of opportunities and paid for it with a loss. 2. We lost Beckham. Perhaps even deservedly so. (Yes I said it.) We've been using him like a broken crutch to sell tickets, inspire teammates, give ourselves hope, and sadly the desire of that crutch and the weight of the expectations proved to be too much and cost him/us a significant injury most likely for several weeks if not the remainder of the season. Having said that however, that 50/50 ball happened right in front of me and both men went at it hard and both had to leave the game after that challenge so perhaps he would have hurt himself regardless of whether he was previously injured. 3. The Pachuca fans. Never have a been surrounded by a more obscene fan base than this. All night long my fellow season ticket holders and I were told that our mothers and sisters were whores, America is a piece of shit, the Galaxy are all **** ****, we had beer spit at us, we were constantly told to go ******** ourselves, we were told that us and our American relatives should die, and I don't even speak much Spanish and picked up all that. I'm kind of glad I didn't understand the rest. But it seems to me that Mexican soccer fans in general have pure hatred toward the U.S. teams, (which is fine) but the express it in the most vulgar, debasing, and even political way that they possibly can and they forget all about the beautiful game. The pure elation they let out when Beckham went down was disheartening and disgusting. They didn't even realize or care that one of their players was down at the same time, they simple took joy in the misfortune of others and that is exactly the opposite of what the Beautiful Game is about. 4. The Ref...and to some extent the linesmen. (Enough said. You can't blame the ref for losing if you miss that many chances on goal by yourself and score for the other team.) The Positive: 1. The overall heart shown by the entire Galaxy organization. By which I mean the players and fans. (Screw the F.O.) We gutted it out, stayed to the end, and regardless of winning or losing definitely felt a hint of accomplishment at the end. (And a majority of that was done without Beckham last night.) 2. The atmosphere. Not taking in to account the actual things that were being shouted last night, and simply listening to the roar of the crowd as the game ebbed and flowed, I finally felt like I was watching a professional soccer er...football match. With the limited number of seats available it was FANTASTIC to see those seats still filled up until the very last PK. We could hear both the Pachuca fans and LARS very well last night and the few times that the entirety of the G's fans there started Galaxy chants was great fun! 3. The tournament as a whole definitely has some excellent possibilities in the future of filling up larger stadiums than the HDC. I look forward to seeing what this grows in to over the next 5 - 10 years. 4. WE ATTACKED!!! I couldn't believe my eyes when we came out attacking in the 2nd half. It happened in the Dallas game, and it happened in the NYRB game recently. When we convert our conservative 4-4-2 into a somewhat less conservative 4-3-3, we create chance after chance on goal. It was so thrilling to see that happen in person. I feel as though American soccer in general is far too conservative in this department, (talking to you too Mr. Bradley), but to see us not only attack, but also to not allow the opposing team to score, should just be a clue to Yallop that we need to do that more often...and keep it up. Something tells me the back line wouldn't feel as much pressure to perform if they were defending a lead as opposed to preventing one. (And this is the part where we EXCLUDE the Dallas game. ) I have a lot more to say, but I'm sure its all been said before. Thanks for taking the time to read my rants, thoughts, expressions, yadda yadda yadda. P.S. I STILL love the Galaxy!!!