Real Salt Lake will be looking for a fresh start this Saturday when they meet the Los Angeles Galaxy at The Home Depot Center.
Real Salt Lake started the season with a loss at The Home Depot Center against fellow 2005 expansion team, Chivas USA. With a record of 0-5-1, RSL is hoping a win in L.A. will change the direction of their season, as well as end an MLS-record 18-game losing streak that began last August.
"All of our problems started at The Home Depot Center," said RSL head coach John Ellinger. "Hopefully we can call that our preseason."
While online fan forums and water cooler talk might be calling for Ellinger's head after RSL's poor start, the Real players don't have much to complain about.
Last year's 5-22-5 record, and the winless start to 2006, are things that generally don't bode well for the future of a team's coach. However, the Real players are behind Ellinger and hope the fans will get there as well.
"I love his personality, and I love how he wants to win," said RSL defender Chris Klein. "A coach has to make decisions, and he's not afraid to do that."
Ellinger has caught heat from the Real fans for his loyalty to players they'd like to see either on the bench or off the team, and for sticking with a coaching style that many feel isn't well adapted to the level of play that is expected from professional soccer players.
"I think he's becoming more adapted to the idiosyncracies," said RSL captain Jason Kreis. "He's going to do what he does, and he should be proud of that."
Ellinger is not unaware of the unhappiness of RSL fans, which might have been one of the reasons he arranged a lunch with a large group of his senior players to discuss the team and its direction.
"I met with eight of the players for lunch and got some feedback," Ellinger said. "It was very positive. They honestly believe we have a good team, we just need to get that one (win), and then we're going to get more."
That could come this weekend, where both Real and the Galaxy have players headed to join their respective national teams for the World Cup and each will have some holes to fill.
"This team is very resilient," said midfielder Chris Klein. "We've had good training. The only thing that matters is Saturday night."
With Landon Donovan missing from the Galaxy lineup this Saturday, RSL is looking forward to taking the field against a team lacking the player who has scored four of the nine goals against them in the five all-time meetings between the two clubs.
"When you take away Landon you take their engine," said Klein. "It's not going to kill them but it is going to hurt them."
Ellinger knows that the absence of players is a factor in this match, but his focus is more on the ability of his remaining players than the absence of players in L.A.'s team.
"It'll be fun playing them without Landon -- we've never done that before," said Ellinger. "We've got to rely on our senior players to step up. I think the mood is positive."
Neil Wyler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
