Let's face it: the Galaxy are not as good of a team without Landon Donovan.
Yeah, I know, I am bold in my statements and not afraid to go out on a limb. Next, I will tell you all about how the sky is blue.
Still, it is important for the Galaxy to realize that they must play games during the season, important games, without their best and brightest.
Here's another not-so-bold statement: the Galaxy has relied too much on Landon this season. A quick look at the team statistics reveals as much. Landon leads the team in goals with two and is one of two players who have registered an assist (Peter Vagenas is the other but Landon also got credit for an assist on that play). Landon has two goals and five assists. The Galaxy has scored seven goals this season. Do the math.
Assuming he is gone for the Gold Cup, he will miss four games. If he is also on the Copa America roster, he will miss six league games overall. He probably will be called into the US squad for the Aug. 22 game in Sweden which means he will miss the next Super Clasico, scheduled for Aug. 23.
Seven games without Landon face the Galaxy. How do they fix the problem? Well, they can't. You don't lose a player like Landon and not miss a beat.
If Santino Quaranta is match-fit and able to play 90 minutes, he should start on the left flank. Kyle Martino is playing well and is healthy. He seems more suited for a central role so he should slide into the center.
I've only seen Kevin Harmse play a few times but I like his energy. He needs to harness it a bit. He was pretty much a non-factor against Chivas on Sunday, though. I also like Vagenas and his stability in the middle of the field. I don't know, however, how comfortable I feel with both Vagenas and Harmse there. I don't know if Harmse can play on the right.
The Albright-at-right-mid experiment lasted 45 minutes and Cobi Jones is good for about that much so that is an area of the field that needs to be addressed. Still, with a 4-3-3 you have Robbie Findley and Nate Jaqua available to fill that hole.
I've been disappointed in Jaqua. He's essentially Peter Crouch without the finishing touch. Alan Gordon and Gavin Glinton need to get healthy.
With Landon, I still think the Galaxy are somewhat strong if they can sort out some issues. Without him, I can't say I'm very confident in their ability to gain points.
Worse, Landon might not be the only player gone. Ante Jazic, Harmse, Joe Cannon and even Martino could go. Chris Albright is probably out, whether by injury or national team duty so that is another hole to fill.
It's going to be a long June for the Galaxy, unless the U.S. craps out of the Gold Cup earlier than expected.
"[Nate] Jaqua [is] essentially Peter Crouch without the finishing touch."
ReplyDeleteOuch! On the Peter vs. Nate scoreboard you have the fact that Nate doesn't look like an alien. So that's a plus. But you can't discount the appeal of Peter's robot dance. It's a tough call.