Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Teeing Off, Time Off and Toronto

It's been a few days since we checked in over here as we all continue to lick our wounds from Saturday's loss and prepare to get back on track starting with Saturday night's game against Toronto FC.

For those of you who are masochists, you can relive the result both here and here and get reaction from the locker room here.

The players were off on Sunday and then made their way down to Fullerton on Monday for the Galaxy Foundation’s annual Day on the Links Golf Tournament. All the players and coaches were on hand

The off the field work continued in Orange County on Tuesday morning as David joined forces with KIIS FM, Ryan Seacrest, Shakira and a host of other celebrities to visit young patients at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County, brightening up their days, passing out some Galaxy gear and making more than a few families Galaxy fans for life we’re sure. Listen to David's interview with Ryan Seacrest here.

The time away from the field seemed to do wonders for all the guys as they returned to the training field on Tuesday morning full of focus and determination to correct the wrongs from Dallas. Larry Morgan caught up with a number of the guys to see how they have gone about putting that result behind them and concentrating on the task at hand, a massively important six-pointer against Toronto FC, who will have their new Designated Player, Julian de Guzman, available for selection for the first time.

Bruce Arena’s squad are 3-0-4 this season when playing against a Designated Player, beating Juan Pablo Angel and the Red Bulls twice, as well as Cuauhtemoc Blanco and the Fire once. They played to a draw with Luciano Emilio and D.C. United twice, Guillermo Barros Schelotto and the Crew once and Freddie Ljungberg and the Sounders once. The Galaxy did lose 2-0 to Seattle on August 15, but Ljungberg did not play in that game because of an illness.

Tuesday also saw a return of sorts as Sean Franklin was activated from the Disabled List, making him available for selection on Saturday. He remains on the club's injury report as Doubtful, but he continues to train at full speed as he gets closer and closer to match fitness. His return gives Bruce yet another option at right back should A.J. DeLaGarza not be able to go on Saturday night.

After scoring the first goal of his MLS career, A.J. was forced to leave Saturday's game at halftime with a bone bruise on his knee and is now listed as Questionable on the injury report. Be sure to check back at lagalaxy.com later in the day for a full look at the options at right back ahead of Saturday's game.

Finally, in a welcome piece of Galaxy related news, MLS announced today the format for the 2010 season, including the fact that the league will take a two week break during group play at the World Cup in South Africa. You can read all the details about the upcoming season and its schedule here.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Glad to see AJ's injury wasn't as bad as we all thought. Franklin coming back is awesome, especially when we get to the playoffs! A backline of DeLaGarza-Gonzalez-Franklin-Dunivant is going to be very tough to beat for a lot of years to come!!! Young, fast, athletic, and GOOD!

Let's show TFC this weekend that the FC Dallas game was a FLUKE!!!

GALAXY = 2009 MLS CHAMPS!!!!!

charlesj27 said...

Anonymous (commentor above) - dude, I admire your optimism and outlook. Props to you, if Bruce actually decides to field a back-line as you stated. If last weekend's game taught us anything, it's that when a team decides to unleash an attacking combo of three(3) speedsters towards the goal-net... they will find a way to penetrate our defenses.
This paragraph from the blog staff:
"Bruce Arena’s squad are 3-0-4 this season when playing against a Designated Player, beating Juan Pablo Angel and the Red Bulls twice, as well as Cuauhtemoc Blanco and the Fire once. They played to a draw with Luciano Emilio and D.C. United twice, Guillermo Barros Schelotto and the Crew once..."
It should be noted that in all of those cases it's teams where the DPs are in mid-30s. In Toronto FC's case, Julian De Guzman is probably mid 20s. That means much more spring & athleticism in his moves and runs. We are going to face a Toronto FC team on Saturday that have: Julian De Guzman, Amado Guevara, Ali Gerba, & Dwayne De Rosario - these 4 guys can form a very effective threatening diamond attack. It would be foolish of Bruce & Dave to be stoic and monumental in believing that without utmost resilience, attention, and incredible marking they can achieve a home win. If we do NOT win this game - we will be left in the dust. There are NO breaks / NO sympathies in this league! NONE! Our guys need to play to win back what they lost last weekend - HONOR at home! Players know when other players are faking / shaking / re-making. I wish the best for this team & club, as always - I do hope we get to see the team that stuck it to Chivas in the final SuperClassico game.

Anonymous said...

charlesj27, the game vs chivas wasn't that great a performance. Sure the galaxy ultimately got a result but if you're calling that the benchmark for the galaxy your aim is off. how about leaving off the micromanaging and worrying? all year you've been on about pitch quality and listing reasons you're concerned. the players are big boys who can manage their own diets and fitness without your worrying your pretty lil head. you just sit in the stands and enjoy, k?

Anonymous said...

TB...where's the Golf vids???

Anonymous said...

any golf pics?