A look at the MLS statistics could possibly tell it all. At the bottom of goals allowed column, with an average of 1.83 goals conceded per game, sit the Los Angeles Galaxy. The attack hasn't fared much better -- the club's 1.22 goals per game are only eighth-best in the league.
But the raw numbers do tell just a part of the story. Intermixed with some poor outings -- 22 goals allowed over the last eight games -- have been some good ones (shutouts of both D.C. United and Houston Dynamo). Same goes for the attacking end -- while there were four goals in the classic contest against the New York Red Bulls and a shredding of the Chivas USA for three goals early in the season, there have also been some real struggles in creating any chances.
Wednesday, the Galaxy managed to score two goals in six minutes to earn a 2-2 draw with Real Salt Lake. Three games earlier, LA had rolled over Colorado 3-1 at The Home Depot Center. But in between the two wins, the Galaxy managed just one shot on goal against Chivas and then put just four shots on frame against Houston.
It's been an up-and-down season all year long on the offensive side of the ball for the Galaxy, and things don't look like they're going to steady any time soon.
In order to gain any sort of consistency in front of net the Galaxy will need to get themselves organized in training. Galaxy training sessions are a rare commodity at The Home Depot Center these days. The Galaxy will play two games a week every week until the end of the season. Between games and travel time, there isn't a whole lot of time left over for training.
Take this last week's schedule as an example. After playing Houston on Sunday, the Galaxy had a regeneration day on Monday. A very light training session was scheduled for Tuesday followed by the team's flight to Salt Lake. They played a match on Wednesday then traveled back to Los Angeles on Thursday. They scheduled training for Friday and Saturday in advance of their match Sunday against FC Dallas. That's two full training sessions, bookended by two travel days and three matches. It's not a schedule that allows for a team to work on the details.
"We're trying to (work on it in training), but you have to make sure the players are ready for the game. 90 minutes of football is very difficult even just one game a week," said Galaxy head coach Frank Yallop. "We try to work on things that aren't too taxing on the players, but there's a lot of games coming up."
The players in Los Angeles aren't naïve. They know that things need to get better in the offensive third on a consistent basis if they are going to end the season on a high note. The problem is, a lack of training sessions coupled with a lack of healthy bodies is making it very difficult for things to improve.
"I can't even remember the last time we had a training session where things were worked on like that. More often than not there are 10 guys sitting on the (trainers) table and 12 guys outside trying to figure out how to get a training session with so few healthy bodies," said Kyle Martino.
Rotating strike partnerships due to injury and bad bounces and defensive errors on the other side of the field have heaped that much more pressure on a struggling offense. Still, confidence and consistency often go hand in hand, and confidence can't be soaring in Los Angeles these days.
"It's funny. Goal scoring is contagious. It's something you can't really put your finger on," Martino said. "It's a confidence thing and really it's an intangible."
Greg Daurio is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
