WVHooligan - Soccer Blog

So while my website has had some server trouble today (sorry for any trouble it’s caused you today) I got to thinking of the situation out in LA with the Galaxy. Carlos Ruiz goes down with an injury over the weekend against the Rapids and will be out for a few weeks. So what does this all mean?

I can say this, watching the game against the Rapids last week Ruud Gullit has a lot of work. Okay, maybe those words should be in caps, but I think you get where I am going with this.

A lot of factors go into why the Galaxy looked so bad. Beckham looked uninterested in the game, Ruiz couldn’t connect or remember how to head a ball on goal, the midfield was a disaster, the defense is old and slow and we now know that Steve Cronin is not the best option at goal.

So what does Gullit and Alexi Lalas do? For one figuring out what to do with their midfield should be a start. Beckham needs to be on the wing and not in defense like he was on Saturday (though I think fatigue on his part was because of that). Maybe plugging Chris Klein back in the midfield instead of the defense could be a start. I noticed in the preseason Klein played in defense way more than I had ever seen him play before, which may be another reason why the Galaxy defense is looking so slow and old.

Gullit also needs to quickly teach his style of play to the young guys that were drafted this winter. Getting them ready in a hurry to fit his style of play is vital for this club in the long run this season. It may be a gamble to play them early right now but that may be for the best.

Gullit has a huge task in front of him and maybe redrawing what he originally started would be a good thing to do already at this point. This club should still score goals with Donovan and Beckham, so its not the offense that Galaxy fans should be worried about over the next few weeks with Ruiz out of the picture. Its all about the defense and the midfield that needs to take better shape.

Its either a formation switch or just replugging in players until something sticks and works.

When it comes to their defense, starting over may be tough but I think it’s time to put Abel Xavier on the bench for a few games and plug someone else in his place. I still think Greg Vanney is a vital leader in the back but Xavier may have to sit out and cool off a bit before he can go again. His actions against the Rapids should warrant a few games on the pine.

I know the excuses after last weekend’s match were that the Galaxy players were tired due to the wide field and altitude in Denver. Weak excuses but that’s what Gullit and the Galaxy were saying. So they should be better tomorrow night against the expansion side from North Cali.

We can’t write this club off all together for the season just yet after one game. But that one game was pretty damn convincing to make some of us want to do so. The playoff format in this league however does reward strong play late rather than early but the Galaxy cannot afford to get in a deep hole this early in the season.

What do you all think the Galaxy could do to get back to the Galaxy that we all know and (probably) hate?

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