2010 Major League Soccer thread [R]-90% Fitz and Ben

WTF are the two defenders doing? Christ that's amusing. I hope that's not the standard of defending in the MLS - otherwise, I'm coming over to start a career at 37!

 

The G's are 3 and 0, the Galaxy have had NO goals scored against them, and Buddle is 1/3 the way to the Golden Boot, but none of that matters come game day because the team has to go out and prove it all over again.

And this time, it's a rematch of the 2009 MLS Cup Final.

The in-form Buddle and still high on Engerland Donovan make this game a whole lot different than the one in November.

"Becks" means Beckerman in this game.

Clint Mathis is back to the Dark Side again.

The G's play at home.



Wha~? Hey! That's not beer..!

 

Last night, in opening round play of the US Open Cup, RSL played the San Jose Earthquakes to a 3-3 draw in 120' of regulation, then beat San Jose 5-3 in the shootout. They used their starters primarily, so I hope they are tired as hell now.

These *****s are dangerous in shootouts!

Saturday's game can end in a draw, so the G's are safe. RSL plays the Galaxy very well in Los Angeles. Mostly because RSL's striker Robbie Findley is a former Galaxy wonder kid and was cast off by one of the disaster coaches we had between Sigi Schmid and Bruce Arena and he makes the G's pay every single time he comes back.

I miss him...

 

This LA/RSL game looks to be one of the only interesting matchups of the weekend.

Some grist for the mill:



I hope the G's kick the bejeeziz out of the Utahns.

 

la are rubbish at hockey

 

Buddle just scored his sixth straigjht goal for the G's...

1-0 to the Galaxy.

Edit: 1-1 at halftime...goddammit

 

Buddle just notched his 7th!

 

After scoring hte game winner, his 7th of the 4 game season.

 

How'd that Gold Medal Winning goalie do tonight?

 

hockey is rubbish. i'm a cfl man all the way. goooo lions!

 

Good man. There is a whole new world of Canadian sporting out there for you to discover.

I know a dog musher.

 

maybe la galaxy could do a cross over with curling. i was hoping this would lend itself to a bend it like beckham type joke but i can't make it work.

 

Beckham out for the season
http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_...l-november-camerons-season-done-and-more.html

 

Even worse...AEG are thinking of bringing in a replacement, like Raul or Ronaldinho.

Story here.

 

I saw the video of that guy Kamaras miss against you guys Fitz, how in gods name?!

 

He got it in...he just had to use his arm to do it.

 

Based on that video I saw, if he is a professional footballer then I am getting the first flight over to USA..

 

Yep. Guess how much Kamara gets paid?

About $65,000 annually.

Still want to come?

Believe me, many many have tried. The low pay and high athleticism of the league means most Euro's don't make it. This is a league for athletically talented skill challenged players. Caribbean and American college players do well. People like Ljungberg or Angel who have honed their skills elsewhere do well.

 

Sorry, didn't mean to mean that offensively by the way, I think the North American football base has come on leaps and bounds!

I guess in way consider it a blessing in disguise that the players aren't idiots with more money than sense, though I'm sure in time it'll get that way.

 

That's true. Most of the MLS players are good athletes that just happen to play a sport that is not a well paying one in the US. It keeps them a lot more evenly keeled than NBA or NFL players.

Those who draw attention enough to play in a foreign league have truly hit the jackpot. A player like DeMerit who plays his way into a foreign team is extra extra lucky. He couldn't make an MLS reserve team. I really hope he gets out of his slump soon.

 

He needs to sort out his priorities in my opinion, when he's on top of his game he's one of the best centre backs in this league. At the moment though I truly believe he is playing half heartedly purely to avoid any potential injury, so that he can go off and play to the World Cup (admittedly I can see why from his POV).

I'm not impressed at his gratitude either, I know it's a cliche rolled off but we made him, the least he could do is take a wage cut to the top end of our revised budget and sign on for a couple more seasons, if we don't get the extra play out of him at least we have the ability to cash in should we need too.

 

Ah yes, the old failing-as-a-method-to-succeed strategy I hear they use in England.

It's hogwash. Malky has done right not to play him lately.

Has Team USA found a way to play out of form players when no other team in the world can?

Players who are in form play in the World Cup. They take priority over players who simply start at their club but get good minutes. Those in turm take priority over 'good' players who don't get minutes (think Adu or Eddie Johnson).

DeMerit neither gets good time in the field of play, nor is in good form. Why do think this will help him get on the Team USA?

It's truly mind bottling thinking from you limeys.

If he could play well now, he would.

EDIT: I tend to agree with you on your second point. I have no idea what he's got in mind, but he does owe WFC. On the other hand, objectively speaking, if you were a player on the squad playing through the last few seasons of disarray, plug in plug out transfers, diabolical ownership and unsure future of the club, wouldn't you be looking to get out? Honestly? I don't blame him, but how you leave is just as important.

 

I'm not a limey!

Anyway, I know what you think about that opinion, read it elsewhere in your spouts with a certain someone.

I just think it's on his mind maybe a little bit, that if he flung himself into certain challenges in his usual Jay DeM way, he could come out of it hurt, putting his WC place at risk... maybe it's just people (including myself) clutching at straws because he isn't scoring hat tricks and blocking penalties off the line.

 

Union-Red bulls round 2 tonight at 8.. god i hate the redbulls....
Here a link to watch if you fancy some US Cup action. http://nytv.neulion.com/mlsvp/

 

1-0 Redbulls.. Time for Seitz to take a seat

 

la are rubbish at hockey

 

I kinda like the Red Bulls. Looks like they won 2-1...

I am especially grateful that they are making the Union tired and injured for the game Saturday against the Galaxy.

It looks like Le Toux got stretchered off late in the game? That sucks. He was maybe the only bright spot for the Union so far.

 

RBNY have signed a Danish player - Brian Nielsen. Well, he's signed for both NY and Salzburg. The idea is to hone him in NY and then bring him to Salzburg in a year. Keep me updated if you please.

 

It's a tough situation that the club should never have put itself into.

Allowing Jay to enter the last year of his contract with a WC coming up is just silly. There was no way he would sign an extension or accept an offer from elsewhere.

He can ensure he's set for life if he has a good WC and gets a good deal with a nice sign-on fee.

The fact that we "made" him is to me irrelevant. We made him but also got his best from him. The fact that he leaves on a free after 6 years or so at the club is a shame but he's put in his time. He's been loyal. And to be honest - he turns 31 in December - it's not like he has lots and lots of years left to play.

The solution in my mind would be sign sign him for another year on a reduced deal but with a release clause with is quite small. That way he still can get a decent sign-on fee and the club gets a little for making him who he is.

I hope he finds his form and plays great in the WC. I'm not a fan of the US but I have always had a soft spot for Jay. The rags to riches story is the stuff of dreams... a Hollywood film in the making...

 

http://www.bigapplesoccer.com/teams/redbulls2.php?article_id=23481

 

Is he any good? He was known here as a big talent who never quite seemed to fulfil his potential - most likely because he was looking to get a big deal somewhere.

 

No impact yet. But the season is just getting under way.

 

Los Angeles Galaxy vs Philadelphia Union
Saturday, May 1st, 2010 – 7:30pm
Victoria Street
TV: FS West
Radio: AM 570, 1330 AM​

Quick Hits


Los Angeles Galaxy
Points: 13
Conference Position: 1st
League Position: 1st
Form: W-W-W-W-D
Last Match: 0-0 vs. Kansas City Wizards
Next Match: @ Colorado Rapids

Philadelphia Union
Points: 3
Conference Position: 7th
League Position: 15th
Form: L-W-L-L
Last Match: 1-2 @ New York Red Bull
Next Match: @ Real Salt Lake​

Last Meetings:
--

The new kids in town come to L.A. this Saturday as Philadelphia Union visits Galaxy in this Week 6 match-up. Galaxy look to continue showing off a stingy defense and stretch the undefeated streak to 6. Philadelphia on the other hand, already 10 points behind league leading Los Angeles, will be looking to add by 3 and keep themselves from falling out of contention so early in the regular season. Looks may be a bit more than deceiving for L.A. Galaxy, however, especially if Edson Buddle continues to be the only player on the roster able to find the net.

​

 

THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF THE DISAPPEARING NO. 10

It has been a long time since the story has been told of the prodigious player, said to be poised to take the league by storm. An attack-minded midfielder, the likes of whom had never been seen in America before, characterized by speed, vision and a killer instinct that had one Achilles heel: his “comfort” level.

Landon Donovan signed for Los Angeles Galaxy as a star, the brightest that Major League Soccer and US Soccer had ever produced. Unfortunately, at age 24, Landon already had a rap-sheet to beat Shane Falco. Everybody in America knew that Landon: only played well when comfortable, disappeared from games, didn’t take the game seriously, and the all famous hack-a-Shaq strategy, if you hit Landon, he would fade away from the game.

5 games into the season it’s hard to argue that Landon Donovan is falling into the same old familiar pattern, especially since he’s made a strong case to the contrary during the past two seasons, but something is certainly rotten in the state of Donovan.

Perhaps Landon is dreaming of better days when he aspired to 5th place in the English Four-Team League, or perhaps he longs to play again in a stadium built during the administration of President Benjamin Harrison, or maybe it’s just fatigue from a lengthy MLS season followed by an action packed 10 week loan in England.

No matter what we may speculate however, it seems fairly evident that Landon Donovan is, at least temporarily, not the player he was last November. Once again, the striker appears distraught during games, his passing and vision are not as crisp as he has taught us to expect, and he’s employing one of the oldest tricks in his rotation: the disappearing act.

And yes, while Landon “leads” MLS in assists with four, two of those were set plays, one was a hockey-esque “secondary” assist and only one came in the run of play. And again, those ‘magic moments’ from number 10 came out of the blue in games where he was more noticeably absent than otherwise.

And in the five games, to date, where Landon has managed to break out of his own mire and shine, he has only done so momentarily in order to inexplicably miss one-on-one opportunities the likes of which he has made a career out of exploiting. And certainly they have not been “sitters” or “tap-ins” but they have certainly been the type of plays that one considers to be all but guaranteed at a certain point, much in the way one felt that Landon taking a penalty kick at MLS Cup was a guarantee.

It remains a latent possibility that Landon is simply “off” his game at the moment and that it is only a matter of time before the captain finds his stride again, but for all involved it better be soon. Landon is still the team’s go-to guy, and it’s hard to imagine Galaxy finding true success this season if number 10 continues to disappear.

​

THE EDSON BUDDLE DILEMMA

On the one hand, when you look at the shallow pool of forwards available for the U.S. National Team, it’s hard to make any argument in favor of leaving Edson Buddle out.

On the other hand, when you look at the number of goals Los Angeles Galaxy has scored without counting those from Buddle, the “arguments” just seem to come to life.

He doesn’t have national team “chemistry.”
He’s never been tested at that level.
He’s just streaky and will be sure to cool off by then.
He may be a better option for the next cycle.
He probably won’t even get to play, so why bother.
He was probably born in Jamaica and not eligible. Anyone seen his birth certificate?
Etc. etc. etc.

And while many of those arguments against his inclusion in the national team roster (or at the very least, the national team camp) don’t hold water, it remains true that the possibility of losing Edson Buddle to National Team duty over the summer presents a dilemma for Los Angeles Galaxy.

Hypothetically speaking, if we were to remove all of Edson Buddle’s goals this season, we’re sitting closer to Philadelphia and DC United in the league standings than our temporary throne. But if both Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan are both called into the National Team Camp, the latter obviously almost a guarantee, Galaxy will have to face the reality of having to play anywhere between 5 and 8 games without both players.

As the season progresses, it may be a matter of time before the other players begin to find the net, but until that day, Edson Buddle’s continued success will continue to generate both calls for his inclusion in the US squad and cringes of concern about what the team will do if he goes.

​

PHILADELPHIA

A season ago, an expansion team established a blueprint to follow, most notably in all efforts made off the field, but much more importantly, on how an expansion team must be developed within the white lines.

Five games into the season and it is unequivocally clear that Philadelphia is no Seattle. The 'hoagies' are an expansion team, like many before them and many that will follow, challenged by all the usual suspects in terms of growing pains which franchises in similar standing tend to endure.

There is a captain, but no apparent leader, there is a coach, but no apparent vision, and there is a following, but no apparent team to follow. And thus it proves difficult to know whether it is most appropriate to describe Philly from head to toes or toes to head quite simply because the team at the moment seems to have neither.

Their “goalkeeper of the future” Chris Seitz so far has been questionable, at best, their forward Alejandro Moreno has been showing the signs of aging, and while former Sounder Sebastian LeToux has been effective, without support it is difficult to imagine that he will find many opportunities against a defense as miserly as Galaxy’s.