"The Los Angeles Galaxy looked ready to defend their MLS Cup trophy in a convincing scrimmage win over a highly experimental Blues lineup on Friday. While the Galaxy has kept the core of its 2011 team together and had a fairly short offseason, Blues Head Coach Naimo is in the process of completely revamping his squad. With about ten likely signings yet to join the team, Naimo fielded a number of trialists and used the Fullerton-based club’s first preseason match to try out different tactical ideas. In the end, the Galaxy’s superior fitness and chemistry proved too much, as the MLS side came away with a 7-2 result behind a brace from striker Adam Cristman. While the Blues’ improvised defense looked shaky throughout the match, the attack showed a lot of promise, with trilialist Cho Suhyung adding the exclamation point in the from of a well-taken goal to temporarily cut the deficit to one..." More: http://labluesprosoccer.com/home/595826.html Any thoughts on the game?
Well with the return of Buddle, I would say he's on the chopping block and really needs to produce. Does anyone know where Barret is in his recovery? I would say if he's close to being ready then Christman's days are numbered. Do you you have a list of the lineups from the game? And with the Blues coming off a fairly sucessful first season, it seems like your making a lot of changes. Would think there would be more fine tuning then big roster changes. Is there a change in the approach?
There are no official lineups for this one, as both teams made a lot of substitutions and we had numerous trialists on the field. Apologies! The consensus among the coaching staff and ownership was that while reaching the playoffs is a significant accomplishment for a first-year team, the team underachieved overall and showed considerable weaknesses in certain areas. The Blues are an extremely ambitious organization, and the feeling was that a roster overhaul would give us the best shot at improving on our performance in 2011.
I see Chad Bond has signed with the team. A former Wales Youth International who hasn't done anything really. Spent A LOT of time in very low divisions in Europe. Surprise anyone from the US even noticed him.
At this point, we are not able to confirm that Chad Bond has signed with the Blues. On a rather general note, most players don't reach their full potential until someone sees something in them and puts them in the right environment. It seems fair to say that a player's background is not always indicative of his quality.