Wizards vs. Galaxy Review

I know that it is too much to ask for a team to win every game, but is it too much to ask for the team to play smart and with heart?  As a dedicated fan I want my team, including the coach, to come into each game and play to the best of their ability.  And this is where the Wizards have let me down.  I understand that the LA Galaxy is the best team in the league right now.  And I didn’t really expect to win, but I also didn’t expect the Wizards to play with some pride and try to win.  I refuse to believe that the Galaxy is that far ahead of the Wizards in talent and skills.  I refuse to believe that the Wizards couldn’t have overcome some of the adversity in this game with some smart playing and coaching.  So, here goes my attempt to explain why I am so disappointed in “my” team.

Formation

Again Vermes decides to go with a 4-3-3 formation and again I watch the play and wonder at what point a manager realizes that this formation isn’t working as hoped and something needs to change.  Nielson was given the day off and Kronberg was given the starting nod.  This wasn’t a bad idea for a couple of reasons.  Kronberg has been playing really well lately, including the last US Open Cup qualifier, and he needs some experience if he is going to replace Nielson when Nielson retires.  Espinoza and Harrington started on the left and right respectively outside of Collin and Cesar in defense.  Auvrey was included as the central midfielder even with his broken nose and Arnaud and Zusi rounded out the midfield.  Stojcev was given a shot at playing forward with Kamara and Bunbury with Bunbury playing centrally.  Again this formation left a lot to be desired.  There was very little service to Bunbury and at times when he did get the ball he was attacking all alone because of how deep Stojcev and Kamara had to play.  There also seemed to be a large gap between the midfielders and the defenders in the middle of the field.  This forced Harrington and Espinoza to pinch in which led to 2 of the 4 goals given up.

I have tried to figure out what little changes Vermes could do to make this formation function a little bit more and I think I might have a solution.  If he were to change to a 4-3-1-2 formation this might help a little.  Now, the way I would play this formation would be to have the 3 midfielders play a more supporting, less attacking role behind the forwards.  This should help reduce the space between the midfielders and the defenders and in turn reduce the number of goals given up each game.  Playing this way would require that the outside midfielders to run side to side a lot to help contain the opposing teams wide threats.  The central forward would then play slightly behind the other 2 forwards.  This would be a prime spot for Bunbury or Stojcev to play, and would change the whole dynamic of the team depending on which player played in that spot.  Stojcev would be able to hold the ball and either distribute or shoot from distance.  Bunbury would be able to work give and goes with the other forwards as well as being in the middle of the box for crosses.

Defense

The defense didn’t play well in this game and it shows with the score line.  Giving up 4 goals is not something you want on your resume even when they are scored by 3 of the most prolific players in MLS history.  Another game under Collin’s belt and again he looked really good.  He was making tackles when needed and he was directing players when not on the ball.  He really was the best player on the field for the Wizards and the more games he gets the better he is going to get.  On the flip side of that Espinoza had his worst game of the season.  His tackle on Beckham that led to the penalty kick wasn’t good and if Espinoza would have cleared the ball instead of trying to dribble out there is a chance this goal would have never happened.  And it was Espinoza’s weak defending and weak tackling that led to Donovan’s goal at the beginning of the 2^nd half.  Harrington didn’t fare much better in this game.  It was Harrington’s late and stupid challenge of a header near the top of the penalty area that led to Juan Pablo Angel’s goal in this game.  Cesar did a serviceable job in the center, but his constant slide tackling worries me.  It has already caused him to miss 1 game and I am worried that he will be missing at least one more before the end of the season.

Midfield

The midfield played pretty well, but at times Auvrey seemed to be the only person playing defense.  Auvrey played pretty well considering he had a broken nose.  It even got hit in the first half and after that there were times when he seemed to shy away from contact.  Arnaud was all over the field and at times would bring his trademark tackling.  One time in particular was a tackle on Beckham that just made me smile.  Zusi was probably the weakest one, but even he had some moments of brilliance.  One of those being a back post run that he almost converted into a goal.  Most of this game it seemed that Zusi was supposed to play a more attacking mid while Arnaud and Auvrey played more defensive.  This is something that Vermes has been doing after the first game, and I still don’t understand it.

Forwards

Stojcev got a chance to play as a forward and it was obvious that he wasn’t comfortable in that position.  He had a hard time creating chances and connecting with Bunbury for most of the game.  But, it was Stojcev’s “cross” that forced the Galaxy defense to put the ball into their net.  Kamara didn’t have a bad game, but he wasn’t much of an attacking threat.  It is hard to tell what the reason for this was, but most of the time I saw him he was playing very deep in a more defensive roll.  I think this is part of the reason Bunbury was looking so frustrated at the end of the game.  Bunbury was left all alone up at the top.  There were a few times when Bunbury got the ball and had a little bit of space, but as soon as Bunbury would attack there would be 2 or 3 Galaxy defenders around him and there was no one for the Wizards there to help.  Teams are starting to key on Bunbury and making sure that he doesn’t get a lot of space so Vermes and the other players need to find ways to create space for Bunbury.

Overall

This was the worst game this team has played this season and is shows in the 4-1 score line.  But, the biggest problem I have with this game was the poor mental performance by the Wizards.  I lost count of how many times players made bad decisions in either passes or dribbles by midfielders and defenders in the Wizards side of the field.  Some of these mental lapses resulted in goals, and some just ended in opportunities, but all of them could have been avoided.  If there were any glimmers of hope in the performance of this team it came from Kronberg and Collin.  Kronberg didn’t play poorly and he made some very good saves that kept the game from being out of hand earlier than it did.  I would also say that he didn’t have much of a chance on any of those goals.  And like I said before, in my opinion Collin was the best player on the field for the Wizards.  Once Bravo and Smith get healthy enough for regular starts this team could look and perform a lot different.  But at some point the Wizards will need points from this 10 game road trip if they hope to make playoffs.

Category: Team News