anything! -- that can add some points improve placement in the standings.
But the problem is that players frequently aren't comfortable with so much midstream zigging and zagging. And athletes who aren't completely comfortable are reacting instead of acting. That little glitch, that instant of hesitation, can make all the difference.
Look at some examples from the weekend of close matches in Round 27, one that included four ties, a pair of slim one-goal margins and LA's two-goal win, which was really a one-goal margin with a late insurance goal.
Take that match at The Home Depot Center, where the Galaxy outlasted Toronto, 2-0. One team is mostly settled. One is still introducing talent. Guess who won?
Julian de Guzman is on board now for the Reds, and he already looks like he'll be the classy player everyone expects. The Canadian international clearly has touch and vision. In addition, you can see that de Guzman has terrific awareness of space, always making those little adjustments, moving a few yards here and there to maintain the optimum midfield passing distance of 15 to 20 yards.
But there are issues to be worked out. First, others aren't as adept at working so rhythmically to keep that proper spacing. So they are sometimes working in opposition to de Guzman, bumping into each other.
De Guzman set up as a central midfielder, roughly alongside Dwayne De Rosario at the upper end of a central midfield "v" shape, with Amado Guevara holding as a defensive screener behind them. But the partnership with Guevara will need time as he and de Guzman occasionally struggled to sort out the defensive assignments.
None of this is anyone's fault, necessarily. Absorbing a player such as de Guzman, a skillful and savvy sort still in the prime of his career, is good idea no matter when it happens. But, again, there is a price for imperfect timing, for indoctrination at such a late point of the season. In a close match, as Saturday's was, with the road team still in contention for splitting the points until the Galaxy's 83rd-minute insurance strike, the little differences matter.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy haven't changed shape all year. Bruce Arena has stuck with the same 4-4-2 and diamond-shaped midfield that he's always preferred. Some minimal defensive personnel tinkering and a bit of movement on Landon Donovan's role have marked the only real changes for the Galaxy. Well, those and David Beckham's belated introduction.
On that point, Beckham just keeps settling into his role with the team, now to the point where he has gained full speed. His eighth start -- all in the same role -- was his best yet, as his passing and movement helped keep the home team moving in the right direction. Plus, all that good work in possession gives Beckham the confidence and opportunity to get forward and maneuver nimbly through traffic (as he did for the first goal) or supply those calm, precise services (as he did for the second goal).
North of there, Seattle dropped points at home in a match where all three points were desperately needed for the expansion side. The 0-0 draw with Chivas USA represented the fourth consecutive MLS home contest in which Seattle has failed to score -- an amazing stat considering Sounders FC's speed in attack and desire to get players forward.
So what's the problem? Part of it lies with Freddie Ljungberg and Seattle's inability to locate the best role for him. He played behind Fredy Montero on Saturday as a second forward, as Nate Jaqua took a seat on the bench. (Jaqua is usually the target man, with Montero roaming in the hole in front of the defense.)
Ljungberg has been set up this year as an attacking midfielder, sitting behind the two forwards, and even more often as a wide midfielder. So, he's had three different roles this year.
He could probably play any of those positions -- but he and the team simply haven't settled into roles. And it's showing. Yes, Zach Thornton had an amazing game and turned back several good Seattle opportunities. And, yes, Chivas USA manager Preki had his team playing quite defensively. It's tough to break down an organized side that has stubbornly settled into such a defensive shell.
Still, Seattle needed to find a way, but never did.
Kansas City and Dallas met in what amounted to an elimination match. Both teams had only the slimmest of hopes coming into Saturday's match. Only the taking of all three points would keep any realistic hopes alive.
Since his appointment as interim K.A. manager last month, Peter Vermes has set up the team essentially the same way, with a simple 4-4-2 alignment and more of a "straight line" midfield. He's tinkered minimally with the personnel.
Meanwhile, Dallas' Schellas Hyndman continues to toggle formations, even in middle of matches. For the second consecutive contest, Hyndman aligned his team in a 4-1-4-1 look to start the match, then added a defensive midfielder at halftime (Daniel Hernandez in both cases) and went into a 4-4-2 setup.
Dallas more or less controlled the first half, matching the Wizards' one goal as Dax McCarty ran the show from his deep-lying playmaker spot. The second half changes seemed to unsettle matters for Dallas, while Kansas City stayed the course and gradually gained its footing, seizing control and holding its tenuous spot in the playoff race with a big 3-2 win.
Players and teams generally require comfort zones. Teams that haven't settled into them by Week 27 are paying the price.
TACTICAL CORNER
"I think that Sean probably learned a lot from observing the last couple of months, from watching games. He played a very intelligent game tonight," Arena said, noting how hard Franklin worked over four months to regain the required conditioning. "He looked like a lot more mature player than I saw last year, and again, I think he is the kind of kid that he observed and learned something over the past four months, and it was evident tonight that he is going to be a player that is going to help us."
The more interesting change was moving Landon Donovan back into a role as a withdrawn forward and partnering him with Edson Buddle, who got back into the starting 11. Last week against Dallas, Mike Magee and Jovan Kirovski were the selections at forward.
Meanwhile, Chris Birchall played on the right side of L.A.'s midfield Saturday, making his second spot in the position occupied recently by Donovan. With Birchall happy to slot in behind Beckham when the England international went forward, the Galaxy had more defensive cover in those instances.
It's a good plan on the attack, as Guevara can surely manage the distribution duties required of a holding midfielder. On the other hand, Cummins might need someone else in that spot, a player who prioritizes defensive position above all else. Such capably players are on Toronto's roster right now. Plenty in fact in Carl Robinson, Sam Cronin or Amadou Sanyang, who can all handle the responsibilities. All have their strengths and weaknesses, too, of course. But they would be more likely to fully embrace their role of sitting deep, organizing the midfield defensively and breaking up the opposition attack.
