Preseason Prognostication: Line-Ups With And Without David Beckham

By: NathanHJ | February 15th, 2009

If you guys are like me you are getting weary of the Beckham transfer saga and are looking for something else to talk about for a season that starts in about five weeks.

So I thought I’d give us something to have fun with. Let’s predict opening day lineups for our clash with DC United. I’m going to do this a few times between now and the 22nd of March so that we can assess progress by new acquisitions and make modifications, since it is folly to think that what we say now will still be in play at the end of pre-season.

Case in point: Will Golden Balls still be with us come March 9? The Galaxy and AEG say “Yes”. AC Milan says, “What? We’re not yet begun to negotiate.”

So let’s incorporate that into our little game. Here’s the challenge. Come up with at least two lineups. One with Becks and one without him. For those of you wishing an advanced challenge, throw in Landon for your with-and-without prediction.

Here is the current roster of players (I’m using the position in which they are listed on the official LA Galaxy website, not the ones they are likely to play in order to group them below. But there is one headscratcher here. Dema Kovalenko listed as a forward? Really?):

GK: Steve Cronin, Donovan Ricketts, Josh Wicks

Defenders: A.J. DeLaGarza, Todd Dunivant, Sean Franklin, Omar Gonzalez, Brandon McDonald, Mike Randolph, Troy Roberts, Julian Valentin

Midfielders: David Beckham, Leonard Griffin, Chris Klein, Eddie Lewis, Josh Tudela, Kyle Patterson, Stefani Miglioranzi

Forwards: Ely Allen, Josh Boateng, Edson Buddle, Landon Donovan, Alan Gordon, Bryan Jordan, Jovan Kirovski, Dema Kovalenko, Mike Magee, Israel Sesay

In looking at this amalgam of players, things don’t really look all that much better than last year. The midfield is better, but the back line is still full of question marks. And, frankly, if Donovan does stay in Europe, I don’t see a lot of sparks up top.

What I see is a lot of talent concentrated in attacking midfield/forward positions, so I’m tempted to roll out a 3-5-2 instead of the traditional Galaxy 4-4-2. In fact, that’s what I’m going to do.

My Beckham-Donovan lineup:

GK: Ricketts
Defenders: Dunivant – Valentin – Franklin
D-mids: Kovalenko – Miglioranzi
A-Mids: Lewis – Donovan – Beckham
Forwards: Buddle – Jordan

My No Becks Line-up:

GK: Ricketts
Defenders: Dunivant – Valentin – Franklin
D-mids: Kovalenko – Miglioranzi
A-Mids: Lewis – Donovan – Klein
Forwards: Buddle – Jordan

My No-Becks-No Donovan Line-up:

GK: Ricketts
Defenders: Dunivant – Valentin – Franklin
D-mids: Kovalenko – Miglioranzi
A-Mids: Magee – Lewis – Klein
Forwards: Buddle – Jordan

My reasoning is thus. Ricketts is obvious. Backline has good, seasoned vets in Todd Dunivant and Sean Franklin (Rookie of the Year!), but the middle is a mystery. Some say Gonzalez could be MLS-ready. I don’t know. But I put him there anyway because I’ve seen Troy Roberts play. I don’t have Brandon McDonald in the back because last year he played midfield and seemed to be making progress there. But I could be persuaded to put him in as a center back. But because there are so many questions about the back line, I went with three instead of four, hoping that the center back could step-up and that the two d-mids could protect and distribute. This is probably not the best reason to change formations, but no one ever accused me of getting coaching decisions right.

Midfield: Crowded with middling talent, which is a step up from last year, but still needs defensive bite. Kovalenko is a superior choice here and it will be interesting to cheer for him instead of against him. But after that, I’m at a loss. I went with Miglioranzi because he has d-mid experience, but I guess I could have included Griffin or Tudela there as well. Attackers were a bit easier. If there were a 3-5-2, then the attack would go through Donovan because of his vision and soccer IQ, with Lewis and Becks as wingers.

Forwards. The wings would feed Buddle and Someone Else. I chose Jordan because he was playing very hard nosed soccer at the end of last year, though his finishing and footwork still need work. But I like him better than anyone else except maybe Magee, but Magee needs to step up and show something. He was no where on a Red Bulls team that desperately needed a second forward last year.

Those are my choices. What are yours? And why? Let us know and we can get on with something more satisfying than watching giant corporations to a legal dance for the services of a right midfielder.

UPDATE: I just realized I didn’t follow formation convention in this posting. So. Read each line left-to-right (eg Dunivant – Valentin – Franklin means Duni at leaft back, Valentin in the middle, Franklin on the right).