15Mar/120
LA Galaxy vs. Toronto FC: Rating the Galaxy Players
You know, when it comes to player ratings, I think of myself as a professor and the players of Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy as my students. Every match is a class project. A win is akin to a well-done project, solid and well-thought out. On the other hand, a defeat is similar to a plagiarized or poorly-constructed project: not well-thought out, unoriginal and downright uncompelling. I want you to keep this in mind when I post these player ratings on the Galaxy players for the rest of the year because in professional sports, or any profession, nobody is inclined to hold your hand, and I would not bother to hold the hands of these players if I could. With this out of the way, let's take a look at the player ratings for the LA Galaxy in their 2-1 defeat to Toronto FC. Josh Saunders 6 Saunders may as well have been the only player to have done something all night. He made saves, but in the end, he could not do enough of them. Saunders is in a slump, and he knows it. Question is, will he snap out of it on Sunday against D.C. United? Sean Franklin ...15Mar/120
Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Toronto FC: 6 Things We Learned
If this was Europe, and this was a European competition, Los Angeles Galaxy manager Bruce Arena would be sacked after a horrendous 2-1 defeat to Toronto FC. But, this is CONCACAF, so the bar is a little lower, and it's only the CONCACAF Champions League. However, results like this against teams that are not expected to contend for hardware in Major League Soccer raises a red flag. Ladies and gentlemen, there is a possibility that it could be 2007 all over again, when winning was as foreign as Esperanto to the Galaxy. (Of course, they had Ruud Gullit at the time, but that's a different story.) Here are six things we learned after this appalling/shocking/epic result at the Home Depot Center on Wednesday. 1. It is official, these Canadians can play! I never thought I would live to see the day that a Canadian club would progress this far in the CONCACAF Champions League. Forget Isidro Metapan (assuming they hold off Pumas UNAM), Aron Winter's Toronto FC may come into the semifinals as a team of destiny. Not only do they fly the flag for Canada—a nation whose only relevance to world football lies in its women—but they also fly ...13Mar/120
Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Toronto FC Live Blog: Play-by-Play Analysis, Reaction
Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy are left searching for answers on Wednesday night at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. as they take on Toronto FC in the second leg of the 2011-12 CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals.Los Angeles holds all the cards in this leg, up two goals on the away-goals rule and knowing that a 1-1 draw or a win will be enough. As for Toronto, a victory or a draw of at least 2-2 will suffice.Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Soccer Channel. The live blog will begin at approximately 5:15 p.m. PT/8:15 p.m. ET.Stick with Bleacher Report for continuing coverage of the 2011-12 CONCACAF Champions League and all things world football.Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com13Mar/120
2012 MLS Power Rankings: Week 1
Ladies and gentlemen, readers on Bleacher Report: Week 1 of the 2012 Major League Soccer season is in the books. We've had numerous player transactions and preseason matches since the preseason power rankings, and as promised, they will be reflected in this week's power rankings.Real Salt Lake rise to the top as the No. 1 team on this list, while the brand-new Montreal Impact remain at the bottom.Let's take a look at this week's MLS power rankings.Begin Slideshow12Mar/120
Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Toronto FC: 10 Bold Predictions
Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy will be coming into the second leg of the 2011-12 CONCACAF Champions League against Toronto FC gasping for air. After a 3-1 defeat to Real Salt Lake to open the Major League Soccer season, the G's are left searching for answers. Bleacher Report will provide some of those...in the form of 10 bold predictions. 1. The match will end in a draw I have consigned myself to a reality as cold and hard as the frozen North: nine times out of 10 a match between Toronto FC and the Los Angeles Galaxy will end in a draw. But just exactly what draw that will be...well, you will have to read on to find out. 2. A scoreless first half That's right, both teams are going to struggle in the first half. Mostly the Galaxy, as seen in their lack of finishing tough and their inaccuracy. This is where Toronto will have to make the Galaxy pay for their lack of finishing touch. 3. Toronto will score first This should not be a surprise. I predict that Luis Silva will have a bit of a happy homecoming by scoring the first goal of the match if ...11Mar/120
LA Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake : Rating David Beckham’s Performance
It would be easy for me to say that David Beckham had a terrible game on Saturday night against Real Salt Lake only because the offense couldn't finish and the defense could stop Real Salt Lake from leaving it late. Indeed, the set piece slot machine, which I refer Beckham's series of set piece chances per match as, did not pay very well, and it reflected in the tenacious defense the RSL backline exhibited at the Home Depot Center en route to a 3-1 victory for the visitors. But there is a silver lining to this: He did get his first assist of the season, in the 71st minute on a great ball to Edson Buddle, who headed it home. This shows that the man has not lost his touch, and if the slot machine decides to pay the man, out goes the money. When asked of manager Bruce Arena taking responsibility for the humiliating display of football, Beckham disagreed. “It’s not down to the coach once the players are on the field," Beckham told reporters. "He picked the team that he feels is a strong team and is ready to play and then it’s down to the players. It’s ...11Mar/120
LA Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake: Rating the Galaxy Players
Perhaps the Long Beach State women's basketball team should be blamed for this effort from the Los Angeles Galaxy. After the 49ers lost the Big West Conference Tournament Final to UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, I knew that a lot of people at the Home Depot Center would leave the stadium with long looks on their faces and questions to answer. With that said, I have an important announcement to make. Attention, members of the Los Angeles Galaxy first team. You are in the 2012 Major League Soccer season. After a solid 2011 campaign without a single loss at home, I am stripping you of your status as the "only club that matters in MLS" and designating you as a club on par with the other 18 teams in the league. Dismissed. But before I dismiss all of you...here are the player ratings. Josh Saunders 6.5To be fair, Saunders worked his tail off in stopping shots for a majority of the match. However, he simply could not stop enough of them. This score is a testament to a subpar defense that never really got it together late in the Second half. Sean Franklin 2It's amazing how one poor clearance can ...11Mar/120
LA Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake: 6 Things We Learned
This isn't a shock score by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a crystal-clear example of how tough the MLS Western Conference is in 2012. Real Salt Lake begin the year in impressive fashion, defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy 3-1 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Here are six things we learned: 1. Bruce Arena took a gamble...and lost The hope for Galaxy manager Bruce Arena was that he would be able to see from his first team a similar effort from last Wednesday against Toronto FC. I predicted that he would rest the starters on Saturday, but it looks like I was wrong on that. And Arena paid the price by seeing them burn out late. 2. The Galaxy are their own worst enemy The fans at Victoria Street found out that their own team can be their own worst enemy. Case in point: the own goal by Sean Franklin that triggered the comeback for Real Salt Lake. A poor 73rd minute clearance attempt by Franklin resulted in a howler that would effectively turn the tables on the home side. 3. Welcome back, Edson I think it's safe to say that as long as Edson ...9Mar/120
Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake Live Blog: Play-by-Play Analysis, Reaction
2012: A Galaxy Space Football Odyssey. The journey begins for Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy as they begin their 2012 Major League Soccer campaign on Saturday, March 10 against Jason Kreis's Real Salt Lake at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.The Galaxy are coming off a hard-fought 2-2 draw with Toronto FC in CONCACAF Champions League play and will look to record their first win of the calendar year.Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET. The game will be televised locally by KDOC-TV.The Live Blog will begin at approximately 4:45 p.m. PT/8:45 p.m. ET.Keep it right here on Bleacher Report for continuing coverage of the 2012 Major League Soccer season.Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com8Mar/120