5.31.2007

Yallop Not Worried By Slow Start

Los Angeles Galaxy head coach Frank Yallop insists he's not worried about the team's underachieving 1-3-2 start, even with captain Landon Donovan about to miss some serious playing time while he joins up with the national team.
Last year at this time, the Galaxy were 2-4-1 under then-coach Steve Sampson when Landon Donovan was called in for national team duty and the team sank to 2-8-1 before a coaching switch was made.. Without a win against D.C. United this Saturday, the Galaxy will have fewer points than last year's struggling team. So is Frank worried?

"I'm not worried at all, because you've got to do your job and stay positive. We've just got to keep soldiering on. We've got thirteen healthy guys for the weekend. We're going to try to get a result in that game," said Yallop.

Donovan isn't the only one who will be missing for a stretch of games. Called in for Canada's national team are starters Ante Jazic and Kevin Harmse, leaving a defensively woeful side just a little bit thinner than before. Kyle Veris and Ian Russell, both of whom have seen limited action in 2007, will be called on to fill in the holes on the back line.

For his part, Landon Donovan says people should give Frank some more time before judging him too harshly: "At a minimum, he needs a chance to get all his players here and show what he can do. He's good enough and he's been around long enough and been successful enough in this league that he knows what's going on."

Still, a loss against a struggling D.C. United on Saturday night will likely have some Galaxy fans calling for Frank's head.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

DC isn't struggling. They were the only undefeated team in May.

TJ said...

In the sense that they are fifth out of seven teams in the Eastern Conference, where as most people had predicted them to run away with the Supporters Shield, I'd say they are still struggling. Those PKs keep bailing the team out. Keep up that optimism though.