Galaxy Problems.

The Los Angeles Galaxy were the heavy favorites to repeat as MLS Cup Champions after an off season with much uncertainty. Everything fell into place though, Sean Franklin signed a new deal, Juninho returned after his dreams of playing for hometown club Sao Paulo never came to fruition, Beckham opted against a return to Europe to play for French giants PSG, and if that wasn't enough fan favorite Edson Buddle was brought back from an unsavory spell in Germany to provide even more fire power alongside Irishman Robbie Keane. The only negative was losing MLS Defender of the Year Omar Gonzalez for nearly the entire regular season, but surely the Galaxies impressive depth from last season would carry over and help cover up the loss.

Looks can be deceiving though as the Galaxy have slumped to a three, five, and one record, and went crashing out of the CONCACAF Champions League in pathetic fashion losing to currently win less Toronto FC. Perhaps the most embarrassing loss though came last weekend when the Galaxy lost at home against severely undermanned New York Red Bull team after resting a lot of key players in a midweek match against the Seattle Sounders. The marquee match up for the league, the same Red Bulls that the Galaxy dispatched en route to a famous MLS Cup run that saw them dominate the regular season and win the trophy in front of their home fans in Carson California.

So what is the problem then?

The biggest problem has to be the defense. Losing Omar Gonzalez, probably the best defender in the league, has had a much bigger impact than initially expected. Gregg Berhalter isn't around anymore so the Galaxy brought in Andrew Boyens and drafted Tommy Meyer. Neither were expected to challenge for a starting role, and neither are capable after seeing them play this season. Boyens got the starting job originally but was quickly phased out in favor of rookie Tommy Meyer. Meyer should have had the job from the start, simply because his ceiling is much higher and he could become a decent MLS defender down the line from what I have seen. The biggest strength of Omar Gonzalez and AJ De La Garza's pairing is that they have played together for so long and know each other so well, by constantly rotating the two defenders Bruce Arena never gave either a real shot to lock down the starting job. Arena made a move and brought in Chivas USA defender David Junior Lopes. He's known for lapses though, one of which has already cost the Galaxy 2 points in a game against F.C Dallas that should have been all 3 instead of 1. Los Angeles will also welcome back defender Leonardo from a long term injury. He will give Arena yet another option to work with and could end up being the answer until Omar Gonzalez can get back on his feet.

The attack hasn't been stunning either considering the amount of attacking weapons Bruce Arena has at his disposal. Even as a defense minded coach there is no excuse to have an offense that is so poor. Edson Buddle and Robbie Keane's partnership is the biggest problem, clearly. They're both forwards who like to touch the ball and this doesn't work well when they're both on the field as Buddle is isolated up top and often looks like he doesn't know exactly what he should be doing. The fact that the offense looked a lot better when Chad Barrett was on the field, a much less talented but much more direct forward, says a lot about the problem. But the Galaxy are in a bind here as both are in situations that make them tough to trade and or dispose of. Buddle would be the more likely of the two but even then hes probably on a decent salary that most teams won't want to take on for a player that hasn't shown a whole lot since coming back from Germany.

Maybe these questions will be answered this weekend when the Galaxy take on league newcomers Montreal tomorrow in their only meeting of the season. A loss here could be devastating, at this point a squad and or personnel change up can't be ruled out if this trend continues. This team is simply too good and too star studded to fail.