Galaxy Thoughts

Random thoughts as I head out to LA Galaxy training today

* If David Junior Lopes works out, he could really give the Galaxy some flexibility. Part of the problem for the Galaxy is that certain players have to play in certain positions. Last year, Sean Franklin was able to play in the midfield sometimes while AJ De La Garza could play in middle, out wide or take a breather for a game or two. That is a luxury thus far this year as there is nobody to entrust right back to aside from Franklin... and he's not doing that hot either back there. Lopes in the middle could free up Franklin to move to the midfield as a potential Lopes-Meyer or Lopes-Leonardo pairing may do well there.

* Yes, I'm trying to see the optimistic person's point-of-view from the Lopes-Cardozo trade. Not really feeling it though. My guess is they ease him in this weekend but that they will want him to push for a starting spot by next weekend, the April 21 game at Colorado. Bruce Arena told me last year "When you bring in a player you expect him to produce right away."

* Edson Buddle has been "just okay" according to Bruce Arena. This is a far cry from the amazing things many felt Buddle and Robbie Keane would be able to accomplish together. It's fallen off pretty badly that by the fifth game of the season many are clamoring for Chad Barrett to start. I'm in that camp, not because I think Barrett is better than Buddle but because there needs to be shakeup and since Buddle isn't scoring or playing well, start there.

* If you do bench Buddle though does that send an even greater blow to his confidence? And does it disrupt whatever rhythm he has going on? He's not the kind of player to bring in off the bench and expect much from. He's just not. He's better from the start. My guess is that Arena sticks with Buddle this weekend, and if he cannot score against a susceptible defense, then maybe he sits in Colorado.

* If I'm looking at players who have underperformed, I'm also looking Juninho's way.

* And Franklin.

* And De La Garza.

* And.... um, we could go on and on.

* It's not time to start panicking yet as there are still quite a bit of points to contest but the Galaxy needs to start winning games. The team has always said they hold themselves to a higher standard, so playing well but not winning (which they have yet to do this year) or playing with an improved effort from last game but not winning is not good enough. Wins and points are necessary. Good performances with one or zero points are useless.

* One thing I've been kicking around... did last year's team have so much success and cast such a giant shadow that these players are performing poorly because they are trying to match that success? Yes, Omar Gonzalez's absence is a huge one but the team's lack of confidence is what's been so troubling. This team wilts under the pressure, time and again. Teams have killed them from the flanks and torn apart their defense and the shoulders sag right after - heck, they are sagging before that happens. Something's definintely amiss in the confidence department.

Galactic Aftertaste: Thoughts On LA's Loss To KC

Some things to take away from the Galaxy's 1-0 loss to Sporting KC

* Bar Has Been Lowered? The Galaxy did not give up much to Sporting KC. The hosts had maybe a few decent chances to score in the first half, one of which was a goal, and another of which Josh Saunders exquisitely dived and parried away. This seems to be a major step forward for the Galaxy, who had given up seven goals in league play thus far. Does that mean the Galaxy's expectations are lowered? Has the club gotten to the point where efforts like Saturday's are acceptable? Obviously the result is not and never will be acceptable but if players and coaches feel good about how things went on the field aside from the result itself then the club will be in for a long season.

* No Early Goal: Players have lamented their lack of finishing, and it seems that in every game the Galaxy has an early chance that just does not fall. AJ De La Garza told me as much this week about the ealry chances.

"If you look at every game we’ve had a chance to score first, we’ve had the better scoring chances first and we just haven’t capitalized. We kind of fall back and let them get one and we start breaking down. We’ve just got to finish our chances and defend them on the other side."

There's some truth to that. Edson Buddle and Robbie Keane combined for a chance very early in the loss to New England and if Keane buries that one, who knows? While the Galaxy have had a multitude of defensive breakdowns and tactical mistakes, the club ihas also suffered through a loss of confidence. Perhaps an early goal would give the team a shot of confidence. Then again, look at the DC United match. The Galaxy were up 3-0, comfortably heading towards a win when DC United scored late and then all of the sudden DC started buzzing and nearly got a second. An early goal would help for sure but until they get one, there's no guarantee that that will help turn things around.

* Still Salivating? The buzz around the Galaxy's strike force before the year began was loud.

"Robbie Keane and Edson Buddle, with Landon Donovan and David Beckham behind them? This team could score three or four goals a game!"

Well all that is gone. Keane has looked extremely pedestrian-like while Buddle is the Buddle of 2009. Not only is this not one of the best strike pairings in MLS history, it's not even one that is among the best right now. It's actually among the worst. Keane has three goals, Buddle one but their play has been stagnant and their partnership has not yielded a thing. It's really time to shake things up in that unit. Chad Barrett has had his chances - including a late one in the loss to KC - but it's time to give him a start. Or perhaps it's time to move Donovan up top, pair him with Keane and plug in his hole in the midfield. Either way, Buddle-Keane is not putting fear in anyone right now.

* Shell Shocked: The way the Galaxy is playing right now reminds of me of the way the club played for the last several months of the 2010 season. The Galaxy had an awesome start to the season but around July other teams had figured out their defense. Puerto Rico did a number on them in a CONCACAF Champions League qualifier and then others started to tear down their defense. Even though the team wound up winning the Supporters' Shield that year, the end result of the year was a bad 3-0 loss to FC Dallas.

The difference between then and now of course is that the Galaxy had amassed enough points to where they still cruised into the playoffs and walked away with hardware. This time around, the deer-in-headlights look the Galaxy has given is happening way too early for their own sake.

Buddle not bigheaded

He may be tied for the league lead in goals, but Edson Buddle didn't seem to be letting that puff him up too much.
He still doesn't like turf, though he'd like to play in the All-Star Game. He's especially self-deprecating when talking about his national team chances.