Match Day 8: LA Galaxy at FC Dallas
May 16th, 2008 . 7:44 am . By: Jason BenfieldLos Angeles FormationAlthough Gullit is a big fan of “sexy football”, the horrid Galaxy defense forced him to reign in his ambition a bit at the beginning of the year. In the preseason game against Dallas, where LA actually had the run of play, he brought out a 4-5-1 formation, relying on the counter to create opportunities. Since then, the Galaxy have benefited from having a run of games at home to start the season. This allowed the backline to solidify a bit and allows the side to push numbers into the attack. LA now prefers an up-and-down, fast paced game which takes advantage of their offensive skill players as well as the improving overall fitness of the team. The results may not show it, but the Galaxy have been attractive to watch this season, and if their defense can take another step forward, they may be a pretty good team by the end of the year. The Galaxy will line up in a 4-4-2, but the formation is very fluid, and players are given the freedom to drift around. In the back, the Galaxy encourage the outside backs to get forward and join the attack. At the start of the season, Gullit tried young players on the outside and experience in the middle, but now has completely switched his philosophy. The Galaxy hold back in the middle with fast, athletic, young players who can cover for the outside defenders making runs up the field. In the midfield, the two central players play more of a holding role and sit back. They are normally bypassed when LA go into the attack, as the ball is usually either played direct or up the wings. The outside midfielders are asked to help out on defense a bit, especially when the defenders move up, but are primarily supposed to play aggressively and get involved in the offense. On both sides, the mids are given the freedom to either stay wide or dive into the middle based on the space given by the defense. In fact, during the course of the game, the formation will often mold into a 3-5-2, as Beckham plays centrally for a spell, Klein slides up on the right, and one of the central defenders moves outside. This fluidity allows the team to adapt to their opponents and put pressure on the opposing goal. At the top, the Galaxy play with the traditional target forward paired with speed. This works well with the desire to have a flexible attack, because they have one player to run down balls played over the top, and one player who can be a target when the ball is taken up the wings. In practice, however, it creates a team that doesn’t have a real strength. When they go over the top, Donovan is typically the only player who has the speed to do anything with it. And when they bring the ball up the wings, they only have one player in the game who is an effective target for the cross. When they do maintain possession, they get a lot of players into the box. However, for all of the movement forward, over the course of the game, it doesn’t necessarily translate into a large number of quality opportunities. LA Galaxy RosterJust a reminder of the rating system: 1 = Developmental player Ely Allen – 2 – Rookie got a lot of time in the preseason when Donovan missed a few games and at the beginning of the 2008 campaign when Randolph was in the doghouse for not being fit. Is okay for a rookie, makes quick decisions and is athletic. Nice work rate, and does have some speed. Not overwhelmed when in the game, just doesn’t make much of an impact either. Alvaro Pires – 3 - Brazilian import is a first choice for one of the central midfield spots. “The Buffalo” has picked up a knee injury and has not been available for the last few matches. Hard tackler and very strong on the ball. Good passer. Not a lot of speed, but seems to fill the holding position well. Was starting to impress before picked up his injury. Could move to a 4 level as the season moves along and he gets in better shape. David Beckham – 6 - Picked up a knock on his ankle a couple of games ago, but has been fantastic this season. Showed some human qualities last week when his free kicks were left short, but otherwise has been outstanding. Is extremely fit and has been all over the place, checking back in the middle to bring the ball up as well as racing down the wing. Make sure you show up early and watch the guy warm up – he puts 50 yards balls on a dime consistently. Fantastic crosser, great vision, and has also finished well this season. Has even played well defensively. Playing at an outstanding level. Edson Buddle – 3 – Second string target forward has never taken advantage of natural physical tools. Nice size, decent speed, and was a strong finisher as a youth, but game has simply regressed since his first days in MLS. Very lazy off the ball, and hasn’t had good fitness for years. Has always been a poor passer, which makes him a liability when he is not scoring. Was starting to be a little more effective before his hamstring injury, which will probably keep him out of the Dallas game. Steve Cronin – 2 – Starting keeper simply isn’t ready for MLS. Has good size and hands, but lacks confidence. Has no understanding of when to come out and when to stay home, so often gets caught in the middle. Awful in the season opener, and has not recovered. The Galaxy defense is not great, but he makes it look worse, and has not made any game-changing saves this season. Worst starting goalie in MLS. Landon Donovan – 6 – Forward has been outstanding this season. Could still have more consistent impact, but is playing much more aggressive. Sometimes when forwards are switched to a second position (in this case outside midfield), they experience a renewal when they move back into a central forward role. This certainly seems to be the case with Landon. He has his top speed back, is making very quick, strong, aggressive decisions on the ball. Not afraid to take players on, is showing back for the ball, turning, and pushing the ball up the field. This is the Donovan of two years ago who dominated at both the National Team and league levels. Is inconsistent on free kicks and often leaves them short, but otherwise has been great. Finishing well, and looking to take shots from distance. Has always been better when the pace of the game is higher, and Beckham’s presence allows for that – he always has someone available to move the ball to quickly, and is also getting the ball in situations where he can shoot on the first touch and not have to constantly create for himself. Joe Franchino – 2 - Defensive midfielder was buried on the roster in New England for a reason, but is a starter right now in LA. Provides some bite in the midfield, but is likely not a first choice player once other midfielders return from injury. Is not fit at all. Does nothing for large stretches of the game. Will make the touch, physical play in the right spots and knows when to foul to break up a counter, but is not really effective otherwise. Doesn’t have the speed or ball skill to hold the ball when moving forward. Often bypassed when the team moves into the attack, and when involved will give it a way. Sean Franklin – 3 - Central defender has started the past few matches. The coaches rave about him. Seems to have good speed and size. Decent tackler, but can be a bit reckless at times and will commit fouls near the box. Speed allows him to provide cover for other defenders. Being given a chance; it will be interesting to see if his speed and upside can continue to keep Xavier on the bench. Michael Gavin – 1 - Left back started against Dallas earlier this season, but is really a third or fourth choice at the position. Will miss this Dallas game to be with the U23s. Decent pace, but is overwhelmed by the speed of play. Extremely nervous on the ball and can be beaten pretty easily in 1v1 situations. Not ready for MLS action, which showed as he made Bobby Rhine look like an all star in the preseason. Alan Gordon – 3 - Target forward is really third string behind Buddle and Ruiz. Inability to push past Buddle should be a sign. Good size and does hold the ball up pretty well – has soft feet for a big player. Is not a good dribbler, but passing is improving. Lacks athleticism of a Ching to really take advantage of size. Has height, but not a great jumper and not overly aggressive in the top. Finishing has improved, but still not effective enough on a consistent basis. Ante Jazic – 4 - First choice starting left back hasn’t played yet this season, but is probable for the Dallas game. Will most likely come off the bench. Has all star potential in the league. Is a prototype fit for this type of scheme as he defends well, but is also a threat getting forward. One of the best outside backs in the league. Excellent on the ball, both when crossing the ball and distributing from the back. Slipped in form a little last season after an outstanding initial season, but should bounce back with improved personnel around him. Bryan Jordan – 1 – Rookie forward will miss the Dallas game to be with the U23 team. Athletic player with good speed, but hasn’t shown much in the league so far. Probably behind Allen at this point in serving as a backup for Donovan. Chris Klein – 3 – Starting right back finally started getting used to his new position at the end of last season and has made further improvement this year. Has made strides in his positioning and tackling, but still has room to grow and was caught out of the picture on the game winning goal last week. Gets forward and supports the attack well, but crossing can be inconsistent. Defending needs to improve a little more before move up to a 4. Brandon McDonald – 3 – Has started the last several matches as a central mid, but will likely head back to the bench once players recover from their injuries. Good size, but is inconsistent on the ball – sometimes he looks comfortable and composed, other times he panics and gives it away. Doesn’t provide much offensively. Was unable to stay with his player coming out of the midfield last week against New York. Doesn’t have great speed. Will be taken advantage of by a veteran midfield. Was very average last week against New York even though their central midfield was composed of reserves. Mike Randolph – 3 - Made his mark at the end of last season as a left back, but has been moved into the midfield this year. Can play in the center, but has been mostly used on the left side of midfield. Was left on the bench at the start of the season because of fitness concerns and quickly landed in the coach’s doghouse. Finally has climbed his way out and looks good. Has good speed and passing in the midfield has impressed this year. A little confused about what to do once he gets close to the opposite box. Plays well defensively and does a good job covering back when the outside defender moves forward. Has a lot of upside with speed and athleticism and should develop into a quality player for years to come. Troy Roberts – 3 – Has been on the verge of breaking into the starting lineup for a couple of years now, at both center back and right back. The bad news is that he has not been able to break through on one of the worst defenses in the league. Physically, he looks the part because he has good speed and good size. However, he is a bit of a soft player, makes mistakes with his positioning, is not a great passer. On the first goal against New York last week, the vast gulf between him and Altidore athletically was abused when Altidore turned on the ball and he just couldn’t react quick enough to make the shot more difficult. With all of his issues, he seems to have pushed past Vanney and Xavier in the pecking order because of his recovery speed. Calros Ruiz – 4 - First choice target striker has only played in one game this season because of a knee injury and is expected to miss the Dallas game as well. Was ineffective in the season opener. Has not been fit for several season, and it will be interesting to see if he can combine with a great forward in great form like Donovan, or if he will just disrupt the attack. Has never been overly effective in a two forward lineup; most of his success in the league came in the 4-5-1 during his first tour with the Galaxy. Excellent finisher in the box. Plays as a target, but doesn’t have the height, work rate, or passing ability to be effective at the highest level, and lacks the speed to play as a second forward. The improvement in the speed, size and athleticism of MLS defenders over the past few seasons has caught up to him and rendered him much less effective. Josh Tudela – 2 – Defensive midfielder saw quite a bit of time in the preseason last year, and all reports were that he looked very good for a rookie. Was not used much once the season started. Finally saw time at the end of the season, and looked like he had potential. Strong tackler and an underrated passer who doesn’t panic on the ball. Made his share of mistakes as a rookie, but generally played sound in the middle of the field and served as a good transition point in getting the ball out to the wings on the attack. Has been strangely absent for most of this season, but may have had some injury concerns. If he has truly fallen behind MacDonald and Franchino, that isn’t a good sign. Peter Vagenas – 3 - Two way central midfielder has been injured for most of the season thus far. Probably a first choice to pair next to Pires. Has shown flashes of being a very good central midfielder in the league, but is very inconsistent and injury prone. Has a good first touch and is a solid passer, but doesn’t make his impact felt on a consistent basis. Is not a very physical player and his lack of size is probably a reason for his injuries. When healthy, has a good work rate and should be a good fit for this system as he will just be asked to link into the attack and not be creative. Greg Vanney – 3 – Former US International started the season as a central defender, but is now playing left back. It will be interesting to see if he will reclaim a central spot when Jazic comes back, or if he will be relegated to the bench. Has never been an exceptional marker, which hurts him in the middle of the field. Is a very strong crosser, an attribute that is wasted in the middle, but serves him well when he plays on the outside. Lacks pace and doesn’t turn his hips well, however, which is a liability out left. Youth and speed in the middle has provided cover for him playing on the outside, and has been pretty effective over the last few games. Abel Xavier – 3 – Former EPL central defender has been relegated to the bench for the past few matches. Strong in the air, but has lost a lot of speed, can be turned easily, and has been clumsy on the tackler. Positioning helps him out a lot, but with the outside backs attacking with such frequency, was often being exposed in 1v1 situations in space, which is not a strength. Would do better in a system like Chivas where the defense stays back and is extremely well organized, but that is not the Galaxy way. Being a healthy scratch for two young defenders who haven’t shown much is not a good sign. Adzemian, Alamo, Bolkan, Higgins, Sesay, Valentin, and Wicks are all developmental players I have never seen and as such I have no report to give. EXPECTED LOS ANGELES LINEUP
EXPECTED DALLAS LINEUPI think FCD will stick with the 3-4-3 from last weekend. Toja was used on the left in preparation for Wagner and Shea leaving and in anticipation of facing Beckham. And FCD really don’t have anyone to take his spot as a central attacking mid with Dax out and Ricardinho injured.
KEY TO THE GAMEIt will be interesting to see how LA plays. Most of their games have been at home so far. They continued to push forward against RSL in their last road game, but as we saw last week, RSL pushes forward in numbers at home and encourages the opposition to attack and open the game up. The Galaxy have played an entertaining, open game this season so far, but they could resort to the counter knowing that Dallas don’t send too many numbers forward and don’t have the quickest backline. Because FCD doesn’t press forward enough to push the pace of a game, this could bog down into a defensive game, especially with the heat expected on Sunday for the first time this season. The key to this game will be the Dallas central midfield. On paper, the central midfield of Dallas are much better than LA. With Rocha and Toja pinned back defending the wings, and the LA central midfielders no threat to attack, it will be imperative that Saragosa and Ricchetti be involved in the offense. If LA does pack it in, having three players going forward for Dallas isn’t going to cut it. The midfield will have to be involved in the attack, and the central midfielders will be the players who free up to go forward. 10 Comments Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI Leave a comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I’m expecting another 0-0 draw out of this one. I hope I’m wrong.
LA will score but they will likely give up a few chances as well. I say 2-1 probably LA since we don’t seem to have an attck anymore.
As much as I hate to say it, I would take that score over 0-0, as a high scoring affair would help PHP a lot more than a big goose-egg on the scoreboard. It looks like the game will definitely sell out. If I were management I’d make all seats for the next 2 games $10 – for the remainder of the night. I’m sure you’d sell at least 1000 tickets that way.
Looking at the expected FCD line-up I see a tight game with L.A. totally in control of the m/f. Toja wide left with his hands full with Beckham, Ricchetti and Saragosa shielding the back “three” which will actually be four as Rocha will have to play right back as Drew Moor will be marking Gordon. Davino, unable to mark anybody will be “free” and once again his uniform won’t need washing. Cooper and Alvarez will be constantly tracking back (Alvarez not so much as he hates defending) leaving Abe up top to forage on his own. So, with 7 defenders,Sala and a two man m/f of Kenny/Arturo I see L.A. dominating the game and it’ll be a question of how long FCD can hold out.
Ditto what the ‘other alex’ said.
Great analysis unfortunately.
I hate to say it, but I agree with you, The Other Alex. The only reason we even stayed in the game during our last LA match-up was because our goalkeeper stood on his head…and that was a game for charity.
And Jason, is Ruiz playing or not? You say it’s doubtful but then wonder if he’s going to disrupt the attack. If Ruiz is playing, this one is going to be ugly. Hell hath no fury like an ex-FCD player scorned. I’m sure Ruiz wants to rub this one in Morrow’s face.
Yes, DJ Moose Mbenga McDowell, I am in full agreeance (nod to Fred Durst). This is one of the rare times when being an MLS fan trumps being an FC Dallas fan. I would gladly accept a Hoops loss in exchange for an exciting well played match that entertains the futbol novices sure to be in attendance. But, I fear that this team will come out and cough up another fur ball, as they seem to always do when the spot light is on.
FCD 6 – 5 LAG
The big crowd wakes up Alvarez and Toja.The heat slows Bex.Franchino gets ejected.Everybody’s happy.
I have to say that I agree that being an MLS fan trumps being an FCD fan on Sunday. That being said, does anyone know any details of the LA injury situation? Looks like half of their team, aka Donovan, is listed as questionable for the game. Also, I was semi shocked to find out that Ruiz may suit up for the match. Why aren’t we more excited for the opportunity to beat our old pal?!
cough…cough. What an embarrassing display. Yet again. If FC Dallas wins a game and no one is there to see it, does it still count in the standings? Maybe we should all go to the practices and the games should be closed to the public.