A few thoughts after taking a day to calm down.
It was a horrible afternoon, but sometimes results like that happen. A team goes down a couple and then gets routed as it throws numbers forward trying to salvage a point. If we score in the first 20 minutes or so or if McNamara had kept his shot on frame that could have tied it in the 37', things could have been different. Remember that LA got blown out 4-0 by Orlando in May and got waxed by Houston, 3-0 a few weeks back.
I think people continue to underestimate how hard it is to win as an expansion franchise, particularly in a league that has a strict salary cap. For all the attention on the famous DPs, where we were really outclassed were at all the other positions. Guys like Zardes, Lletget, Rogers, Juninho, Husidic, de la Garza, etc. Those guys are just better than our comparable group of non-DPs. Heck, LA has a forward that gets caps for the national team and comes off the bench. That kind of depth takes time to build - but I am confident we will get there.
To some extent, we played our game, holding the possession advantage 55.5% to 44.5%. Passing was basically even. Our usual problems resurfaced - lack of finishing and vulnerability on the counterattack.
Villa's frustration has shown for a couple of weeks now. While his comment that he "can't do it alone" is somewhat true, he's also trying to do more by himself than he should. He needs to keep being ready to lay off when defenses surround him. He also needs to keep his temper in check. His failure to guard against a quick restart led to LA's first goal.
The big question is whether we pair someone else with him up front. With Lampard coming back, we need someone to sit. That's probably Jacobsen. We either move Diskerud back to pair with Pirlo, or we go to a diamond with Poku up top with Villa. In the later case, we will need Diskerud and McNamara to be disciplined on the wing and to track back when necessary to provide support on defense since Pirlo will be alone.
