I’m back from the brink. The brink of debauchery that is… I missed last weeks Galaxy coverage due to my pressing need to be in Vegas for a bachelor party. As any guy knows, it is against Bro Code to turn such opportunities down. Let me tell ya, I partied like I was Joey Franchino at a midget tossing competition serving a free Schlitz for every bulls eye. It’s all good anyway, because I spared my eyes the fugliness that is the Rice “Kankles” Stadium. Seriously, is there an uglier field anywhere else in the country? In my opinion the fact that his goals happened on that field, probably cost Beckham goal of the week.
Anyway, onto the New York game. The Galaxy return home after a tough earned draw on the road last week. I have one word that describes my feeling going into this week’s game: Nervous. You have the league’s worst defense in LA. Going up against an under-achieving NYRB offense that is looking to finally explode. The Angel-Altidore tandem has not met expectations yet, but you know it is there, just waiting to come out. And Saturday at the HDC may be their opportunity.
The matchups don’t look that bad on paper for LA. The one place Abel Xavier has looked good this season is in the air, so hopefully he should be able to negate some of Angel’s stellar play from his head. Along with this, Sean Franklin’s speed can definitely keep pace with Altidore’s, but where Altidore gets him is in size. Franklin has great hops, but he’s giving up at least 25-30 pounds to Jozy. Luckily for Franklin his counterpart is coming off a week that saw him miss two days of training due to an allergic reaction, so he may not be 100%.
LA has caught a few other breaks this week as well, with both Claudio Reyna and Seth Stammler not making the trip to the Golden State. The good news? The loss of these two players will make New York far weaker through the middle of the field. The Bad News? The Galaxy doesn’t have the personnel down it’s own center to take advantage of this. Unless, of course, Ruud chooses to slot Donovan into the midfield, but his league leading eight goals makes that highly unlikely.
Los Angeles instead will have to try to work from the wings, just like New York. This week we are treated to some of the best wide players in the league going head to head. The Galaxy’s combination of Klein and Beckham has been potent all season so far, and their ESP gets stronger every game. Klein’s ability to get forward, however, will be severely hampered by his need to keep Dave Van Den Bergh honest on NY’s left side of midfield.
On the other side of the field the Red Bulls have to love the idea of watching Dane Richards torching the stone feet of Greg Vanney. Look for Ruud to adjust by giving Michael Randolph a lot more defensive responsibilities so that Vanney gets help. He is going to need it.
Finally, don’t forget it is Mother’s Day this weekend. I’m taking my momma to the game, so don’t let her down G’s! Let’s keep this train rolling.
