21 September 2008

First Impressions - L.A. Galaxy 5 : 2 D.C. United

The Jordan rules for the NBA were well now. But with Donovan and Beckham on the Galaxy, it is perhaps fitting that MLS adds its own twist, going for the more extreme version. Enter the LA Starfucker rules...

If it were the red card to Burch alone, that would be one thing. Burch probably was guilty of a foul, but given that you see the same thing along the touchline and goal line in every match, a yellow would have been harsh, let alone a red. It came after a yellow to Clyde Simms for a tackle on Donovan, which was harsh yellow. What's more, Terry Vaughn was not applying the same standard to both sides, which meant the officiating was utterly, utterly fucked for this entire match.

I'm not saying DC gets a win or even a draw if the officiating is a bit more rational. Hell, L.A. certainly could still have put five in the net given that our central defense is a gaping maw of suck, and that Clyde Simms was easily outmatched by Donovan (Clyde was burned on Donovan's first goal, and lost on the second). But I do know that after Terry got a few choice words from Beckham, he folded what was left of his spine into a small paper sack and decided to pass around cards like cucumber sandwiches in a Wilde play (or perhaps just Stoppard's Travesties).

There's more to be said about United, but accepting the fact that we're a mediocre at best team makes it difficult to judge. How do you evaluate against mediocre? If the team's upper limit was higher, it is easier to be critical, but if a 100% United effort is an average output at best, what more can be said? This team was better, despite the scoreline, than the Saprissa team. But our defense is shoddy, our attack is patchwork, and there's just not much there to be hopeful for anymore.

Your goat is Simms. Merit awards to Khumalo and Guerrero.

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10 Comments:

At 22 September, 2008 08:15, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for the honest post... partisan blogs are well measured in tough times as well as good times.

 
At 22 September, 2008 09:43, Blogger Justin W said...

To no small degree the play the rest of the season helps measure which players really want to be here, and which ones can be used to build on next season.

I'll hope for a few more bright performances and some indications of what might be next season....and it'll be a long off season.

 
At 22 September, 2008 09:49, Anonymous Anonymous said...

"there's just not much there to be hopeful for anymore".

How True...

I really, really tried to stay up for this, but ended up falling asleep on the chair before McTavish's goal... I guess I can be glad that I missed it.

I see absolutely no way that we win a playoff spot. It is still possible that we can back in, but it will be a one and done trip regardless of opponent. This team is done, utterly. It is time to figure out how we are going to fix this team's problems for next year.

The only thing left to debate is Did Bruce actually have anything to do with turning LA around, or is it just having Beckham and Donovan on the same field again for the first time since July 10?

 
At 22 September, 2008 10:52, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Everything I've read has said then when Beckham talked to the referee, he was actually complaining that there was no way that was a straight red foul. It might not have looked that way on TV, but it was actually a classy gesture by Becks.

 
At 22 September, 2008 15:42, Blogger The AMT said...

Brendan, I think D is referring to Beckham's own yellow card. He thought there should have been a foul called and hounded the ref while the play continued, and then got booked. After that, though, was when LA "turned it on" and the ref turned as well.

 
At 22 September, 2008 16:33, Blogger rke said...

Ouch! Missed this one and only watched the highlights on mlsnet.com.

Amazing how many clips there were of Clayton making great saves. Sure didn't look like a 5-goal game he played.

As an eternal optimist out on a limb, I still think that if we slide into the playoffs with a healthy team (what are the chances?) we could make a run of it.

We've had a terrible time filling Gallardo's void in midfield. And we've been playing these defenders so long that we've forgotten they're reserves.

No excuses, but I'm ready for someone to send in the cavalry.

 
At 23 September, 2008 14:53, Blogger Bob said...

Yeah, Clayton looked that he was playing out of his mind most of the game.

 
At 29 September, 2008 09:38, Blogger Doug said...

Are things so depressed over at the DCenters that there's been no full post-game debrief on this match and no first impressions yet on the FCD game?

Is there any way (short of winning MLS cup) that Soehn returns next year?

Is there any way Soehn doesn't last until the end of the regular season?

 
At 02 October, 2008 07:58, Anonymous Anonymous said...

sigh... this season is already depressing enough without DCenters analysis... miss you guys!
-K

 
At 04 October, 2008 10:45, Anonymous Anonymous said...

So, when begins the DCenters discussion of what DCU's off-season should look like? God knows I could use some insight because, well, damn, those last few games haven't been pretty, have they? Hopefully, the Chivas game will go better, but honestly, I'm expecting DC to limp toward the end of the season without another win. I'd like to be surprised, but. . .

 

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