"A Little Bit Hot and Cold"; Dax McCarty Breaks Down the LA Galaxy, a Disappointing USMNT Window, and What Landon Donovan Means to U.S Soccer
Dax McCarty on the LA Galaxy's Inconsistent Start and What It Will Take to Turn Things Around
The LA Galaxy is preparing to get back into the swing of MLS and Concacaf Champions Cup this week.
A home matchup with Minnesota United on Saturday, followed by a visit to Toluca for the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal. The month of April will be the month to shape how the Galaxy will be viewed by its fans and across the league.
Sitting in 10th in the Western Conference with five points, the LA Galaxy will need to start accumulating points or else be left in the dust as MLS clubs keep adding distance in the standings.
Ahead of this busy month of April, I had the pleasure of talking with Dax McCarty, former MLS player and current analyst for MLS on Apple TV. He added his analysis on the LA Galaxy and a variety of topics.
Here’s my Q&A with MLS on Apple TV analyst Dax McCarty:
Alex Ruiz: What have you been doing during the international break? Obviously, two week break in between the last time you were on MLS studio shows?
McCarty: Yeah, I honestly, I’ve been trying to watch as much international soccer as I can, just to try to get my bearings on the World Cup.
Who was going to fill out those last six places in the World Cup, which was pretty incredible. A lot of drama, a lot of tears, shed both happy tears and sad tears. For some countries that made it, and some countries that didn’t. On top of that, try to get moved into a new house. So, going through a move as well. It’s been a very eventful, very chaotic two weeks.
Ruiz: Real quickly, just your thoughts on how the US Men’s National Team did in those two games?
McCarty: I thought it was a disappointing window for the U.S. Men’s National Team. I thought that the players that Pochettino called in made sense. A lot of guys in good form over in Europe, some players not in the best form. But I really like the balance. I hoped we would see some consistent lineups in some consistent tactical solutions from the U.S. Men’s National Team, just to kind of give us a preview of maybe what we’ll see in the World Cup.
And I feel like I left that window with more questions than answers now, and so a couple of things I came away with.
Christian Pulisic, he’s got to play better if our attack is going to look as dangerous as it can be. I think Christians club form is obviously struggling a little bit as well. And so he’s got a couple of months to get back on track, to start scoring goals again, and to start being the confident, dangerous player that we know he can be. But if he’s not, if he struggles, then our attack struggles generally. I really feel that way.
And Chris Richards importance at center back, I don’t think it can be overstated just how big a figure and how important he is.
I just want to see a little bit more clarity from our U.S. Men’s National Team. A lot of questions still to be answered, and a couple of months before World Cup, it doesn’t fill me or our fan base up with a lot of confidence.
Ruiz: Moving on to the LA Galaxy. What are your overall thoughts, your analysis of the team so far during its first couple of games this season?
McCarty: It’s been a little bit hot and cold, if you will, a little bit inconsistent. And I would kind of air almost more on the side of it’s been a little bit more inconsistent than I would have liked to see from a Greg Vanney-coached team.
On the positive side, some of the new additions have hit the ground running and looked fantastic. Obviously, Joao Klaus has been excellent, and then when Jakob Glesnes has been able to be on the field, he’s been a real calming presence to that back line, and so his injury is extremely unfortunate. I think Vanney is trying to come up with solutions to replace him and to try to figure out what the solution is in the back.
I think Justin Haak has been okay. I don’t think he’s been great. I think that he needs to show a little bit more and show why he was one of the most sought-after free agents on the market, and I would like to see him get a consistent run in the midfield. I know he’s versatile, I know he can play center back, but Haak and Cerrillo, I think provide you a little bit of that steel, a little bit of that protection in front of the vulnerable Galaxy back line that I think they’ve been missing.
When all their attackers are fit and healthy and on the field, they look really dangerous in the attack. So as long as Reus, Pec, Paintail and Klaus are on the field, I think the Galaxy are going to be really dynamic, dangerous group, but there’s a little bit of a fall off after that.
I think Erik Thommy hasn’t been great. He’s been a little inconsistent. They’re not getting a ton out of Sanabria at this moment in time. I think Wynder has been a pleasant surprise in midfield, but generally, I think that you need Glesnes back healthy, play Haak in midfield if you want to get the best out of this group.
Ruiz: You know better than anyone how important it is to have a is to have a stable midfield. The Galaxy this year has rotated lineups every single game because of the Concacaf Champions Cup, and they’re likely going to do that again as they enter this stretch of the season in April. How much does it affect the player’s point of view to not know if you’re going to be starting every week and kind of having different teammates every game?
McCarty: That’s part of being a professional athlete, that you have to be adaptable. You have to be able to adjust to what the coaching staff sees fit and how they’re going to manage all these different competitions.
As a player, I always wanted to play every minute of every game. It didn’t matter if it was three games in a week, I always felt up to it, and that was, of course, in my younger days.
Greg Vanney has to manage those rotations in those minutes. I mean, that’s clear. And I think they should put a big emphasis on Concacaf Champions Cup. The Galaxy, if you remember, qualified in the dreadful season they had last year. It was pretty much the only positive was that they were able to qualify for the Concacaf Champions Cup. They’ve looked really good in the Concacaf Champions Cup, but of course, now they come up against what many people consider one of the best teams in the competition in Toluca.
So you’re going to have to find ways to get guys sharp before that game, but also make sure guys are getting rest. So a player like Marco Reus, for example, he’ll want to play every minute of every game. But I think going into this game against Minnesota United, you try to get him 60 good minutes and then take him off so he still has fresh legs for that Toluca game. But as a player, you want to play every single minute. And I have no doubt that the big players on the Galaxy are going to want to play
Ruiz: Moving on to the Galaxy’s game this weekend against Minnesota. What do you think are the keys to the match? And also, who do you think needs this win more, the LA Galaxy or Minnesota?
McCarty: Both teams not in great form to be honest. Minnesota United going on the road, obviously, to a team against the Galaxy who haven’t looked great, it’s still a big challenge for them. You could make the argument that Minnesota needs this win significantly more and needs this game. I mean, they’ve really struggled the last couple of weeks. Conceded nine goals, obviously the six-goal thrashing at Vancouver, which can happen, but they’ve only scored one goal in the process.
They’re still trying to get James Rodriguez up to speed and acclimated. But look, Rodriguez started both games for Colombia during the international break, and he went over 60 minutes in both of those games. I think give your Cameron Knowles, you've got to get James on the field from the start. I just don’t see how this Minnesota United team is going to find chances from the run of play.
Obviously, they lost a big piece in Robin Lod. Joaquin Pereyra is back, and he’s still a very dangerous player, but they just haven’t looked like they have many ideas in the final third. So, especially against the Galaxy attack, which looks pretty good so far, Minnesota is going to have to score goals. So I want to see James Rodriguez on the field from the beginning, that midfield match up with James, and then whoever’s on the other side of the ball, whether it’s Cerrillo, Haak or Wynder, those Galaxy midfielders are going to have to be very alert at all times, because James, he might float in and out of the game. But very similarly to Marco Reus, he can hurt you if you give him time and space in the middle of the pitch.
Ruiz: One player we haven’t really talked about a lot, Gabriel Pec. He’s been really good in Concacaf Champions Cup play, but lackluster in MLS play. Do you still view him as a player that can get double-digit goals and assists, as we saw in his season in which he won Newcomer of the Year, or is that kind of maybe something that doesn’t come to the forefront anymore?
McCarty: There’s no question that he still has that quality and that ability. Gabriel Pec was one of the best players in MLS two years ago. So that doesn’t just disappear overnight.
He had a tough year last year, just like everyone on the Galaxy did. I think it was a down year across the board. And when your team is struggling and you’re a creative player, and you’ve got big pressure on your shoulders, and nothing seems to be going your way, it can wear on you. And so I think Pec looks refreshed this year, and like you said, he struggled a little bit in MLS play, but he’s been dynamic and dangerous and Champions Cup play. I think that’s the good part about being in multiple competitions, that you don’t really have a lot of time to think about bad performances. You’ve just got to go out on the training field, recover and then get ready for the next game.
When I have attacking players that may be showing some signs of inconsistency, I always want more games. I want more games to be able to get them more reps and get them on the field and get them confident.
I have no doubt that Pec can get back to the level we saw two years ago. He’s still a very talented player. And once you get all your pieces together and once you see everyone on the field together for a couple of games, he’s only going to get better. So if I were a Galaxy fan, I wouldn’t worry about Pec; he’ll be just fine.
Ruiz: For the game this weekend, the theme is Landon Donovan night. I just wanted to ask you if you’ve had the chance to maybe read his book yet, which he just released, and also what does he mean to MLS and US Soccer in your eyes?
McCarty: Landon is one of the greatest players that this country has ever produced. I can make the argument, and I do make the argument that he’s the greatest US Men’s National Team player of all time. Obviously, it’s close 1A and 1B with him and Clint Dempsey, Christian Pulisic right up there in terms of attacking talent that we’ve developed, just they just had an ability that very few players had in the final third.
Landon was a very selfless player when he was on the field. It’s why he’s got just as many goals as the top goal scorer and then leads the US Men’s National Team in assists. So he was a player who raised the bar every time he stepped on the field. He took a lot of pride in representing our country, and still to this day, one of the best players we’ve ever produced.
I haven’t had the chance to read his book yet. I do want to read his book, I’m sure it’s very thoughtful and provides a lot of great insight into US Soccer during his time there, and obviously, his childhood and his upbringing.
But I just moved into a new house, so maybe Landon can send me a housewarming gift of his new book. How about that?