Having attempted to break down how the Galaxy offensive machine works, it seemed worthwhile to try and apply our admittedly very basic rubric to a Galaxy scoring play from the outfield. Admittedly, I'm turning the players into cartoon characters in breaking down their roles, but sometimes cartoons are helpful.

The goal we're going to look at is the Robbie Keane goal against the Vancouver Whitecaps. The replay starts as the ball crosses the halfway line and that's where we'll pick up the action.

Here's how the Galaxy arranged themselves at the start of the play. Juninho is dead center as a safety valve, Beckham has moved out into the wing. Donovan and Keane are on either side of the top corner of the box, and Todd Dunivant has come up from the back to take the pass from Beckham and run it up the line (attacking fullback).

Mike Magee is running toward the top of penalty area, and Hector Jimenez is on the right wing, but they're both uninvolved in the play for now. There are five Vancouver defenders making up the back line. One is marking Donovan, one has to pick up the streaking Dunivant, two is marking Mike Magee who is now inside the penalty area. Unmarked is Robbie Keane, who's just outside the eighteen yard box, though a defender fifteen feet away is pointing at him.

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Good morning Galaxy fans! As we continue the hype march toward Saturday's California Classico, let's see what's being said on the training ground. Beckham thinks things are starting to come into focus. Landon Donovan is carving his name in the MLS record books. And the Quakes have to take their explosive form into San Francisco for an Open Cup match this evening before training for the Galaxy begins. Read on, you cool cats:

Landon Donovan Scores 120th Goal, Nearing Assist Milestone: Fan's Analysis - Yahoo! Sports
From Yahoo! Sports: Los Angeles Galaxy captain Landon Donovan scored his 120th regular season MLS goal in the Galaxy's 3-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps on June 23.

Beckham: Galaxy putting the season in focus - Soccer Blog - ESPN Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES -- Last season you could make the argument that the Galaxy were the greatest team in MLS history, after they won the Supporters' Shield...

Earthquakes continue explosive form - MLS News | FOX Sports on MSN

Earthquakes continue explosive form

It was the day of the CONCACAF Gold Cup final. I was waiting in front of the Rose Bowl press entrance, as the guards were not opening the gate. Grant Wahl was there, with his sport coat pulled above his exposed head. A group of United States fans were singing in front of a line of Mexico fans. It was uncomfortably hot.

Finally we got in and I got up to the press box to see that Donovan Ricketts wasn't in goal. He had left the match with an injury, the details were fuzzy. There was Josh Saunders, picking up the ball. Lenhart knocks it out of his hands, because he used his head he thought he had gotten away with something cute and not cheated. Lenhart got a yellow for his actions, but Saunders got a red for fending off Lenhart with his elbow while reaching for the ball. Look at the lead photo, in still it looks like a WWF punch.

This is when the legend of Mike Magee was born. With no keepers left on the bench, Magee had to come in to goal. He made four saves as the Galaxy were able to hold on for a 0-0 draw. Some guy on the internet started the hashtag #MikeMageeFacts. It lives on to this day.

Saturday for the LA Galaxy, Landon Donovan tallied an assist and scored a goal as part of the team's 3-0 victory. On Wednesday against Real Salt Lake, Donovan managed a brace and an assist to give the Galaxy an unexpected come from behind win. The North American Soccer Reporters have voted him player of the week for these performances.

At Real Salt Lake, Donovan made a heads up play to take a loose ball and score the Galaxy's opener. He found Mike Magee for the equalizer. Then he scored the winning goal when Magee found him on a dead run. Back at The Home Depot Center, Donovan found Robbie Keane for the Galaxy's second goal of the match. Missing two sitters, Donovan was able to redeem himself knocking in a penalty. This gave Donovan three goals and two assists on the week.

The Galaxy now head to San Jose where they hope to continue their three match winning streak against the best team in MLS. The Galaxy went from second worst point total in MLS to tenth with their streak of 9 points in seven days.

Talking tactics is not my strong suit, but I want to get better at it. I read a bunch of zonal marking articles on how tactics have changed in the last decade, and I'm going to try and apply them to the Galaxy 4-4-2. Ultimately, I hope to show how all the pieces fit together, and why one piece is no longer as valuable as it once was.

Before we can argue Galaxy tactics, we have to define just what kind of players the Galaxy starters are starting with the center backs. Honestly this is something I should have done day one on this blog, but hey better late than never. Which is all to say, if you do know something about tactics, I'm not going to break any ground here.

Looking at this Zonal Marking article, we can identify three types of center backs. Tough tackling defensive midfielders, classic #10 creators, and the deep lying playmaker. Since Bruce Arena typically deploys a 4-4-2, we can assume that his CM's are either tough tacklers or creators. It's called the destroyer-creator model, and with David Beckham and Juninho typically deployed in the middle, let's see what type they are.

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After Robbie Keane took the pass from Landon Donovan, and dribbled through two defenders on his way to strike on goal, he sprinted toward the sideline. It's a move fans have seen before, and many expected him to cartwheel, tumble, and shoot his excitement. However, he didn't still he got to the sideline, and was handed a custom jersey from one of the coaches.

It's common from forwards in soccer to have t-shirts under their shirt with a message they wish to convey to the world should they score. The custom Galaxy kit Keane held up had a simple, classy message "RIP James Nolan". Nolan was a 21 year old Irish fan from County Wicklow who traveled to Poland with friends to watch the Euro 2012 tournament.

James Nolan went missing last Sunday, and his body turned up in a canal in North Poland on Sunday. The drowning was ruled accidental. Robbie Keane, captain of the Irish team, made a point of calling his family and offering his condolences. An extremely classy move, which shows to the character of the man made Galaxy vice-captain this year.

"It was for a young fan who went to Poland, 21 years of age, he drowned," said Robbie Keane. "It was very, very sad. I called his father today to send my condolences, send my thoughts to him and his family. Irish people are very close and stick to each other through good times and bad times. He was a big soccer fan and it was a shame, it was just a bit of respect really. I may give (the) shirt to his father, if he wants it."

On another note, when Landon Donovan came off just before stoppage time last night, he took off the armband and gave it to David Beckham. Beckham immediately walked over to Robbie Keane, holding out the armband, but Keane told Beckham to put it on. Great to see that level of camaraderie amongst the Galaxy's three DPs.

Good morning Galaxy fans! Nine points in one week, quite an accomplishment. From last place to fifth, but the work isn't over yet. The Galaxy now have an incredibly important match to prepare for, as a win over San Jose on Saturday would move the team back into contender status.

"It was an important week for us," said David Beckham, "because we've come up against Portland, obviously a good team and then Salt Lake in Salt Lake. It's always going to be a hard game. And tonight, Vancouver are a good team. I think our first half performance killed them off completely. So, it's a great week for us."

While the team certainly is hot right now, the lack of draws (only two on the year) during their slump means the team is still two victories below a .500 win percentage; five points behind the Sounders (who play later today) and six behind the Whitecaps who each only have one more win than the Galaxy. Still, now is time for positives:

"We could have gotten more goals," said manager Bruce Arena, "but I don't want to be greedy, at this point. I think we are slowly becoming a good team. And, I think that inside our locker room we understand what it takes to become a good team. It was an important week for us. We are back in playoff contention. And, there are going to be a lot of difficult games ahead."

The match against San Jose will mark the midpoint of the Galaxy's season. While they're still two results behind the teams directly above them in the standings, they now have the opportunity to be playoff pacesetters. Chivas, directly behind the Galaxy in the standings, is off next week while Colorado has to go on the road to Portland. Also potentially advantageous for the Galaxy, San Jose have to play Seattle on Tuesday in a US Open Cup match.

"Unfortunately we're still up against it," said Landon Donovan. "We're not in the position to relax and chill out so we got to keep going and we have a few days off to rest and then we have a big game against a really hot team."

It's hard to underestimate San Jose's hotness. Three victories in their last five matches and a goal differential of 12, the Earthquakes are playing amazing soccer. The most sobering part is how much of it is come from behind victories. The Galaxy experienced first hand that quick turnaround ability as San Jose scored three unanswered goals to defeat the Galaxy 2-3 at The Home Depot Center just before the international break. However, the Galaxy back line has improved, and the Galaxy pulled that same feat on the road at Salt Lake Wednesday.

"Our backline is improving," said Arena. "I think [David] Lopes had one of his best games of the season. Nice to have Josh [Saunders] there. So, I think we are moving forward, but we have a long way to go."

Lopes, who's been a question mark on the back line will have to continue improving. Leonardo is back to being listed as out with knee inflammation. Boyens is out, Gaul is questionable. If Lopes can prove himself capable of being the everyday man long enough for someone to come off the injured list, the Galaxy might be back in this thing.

What a difference a week makes. Just seven days ago there were articles about if this Galaxy would repeat the feat of the 2006 Galaxy and miss the playoffs after winning MLS Cup. Now the Galaxy are in fifth place in the West, taking nine points in seven days. The best part, they did it three different ways, showing a diversity the likes the Galaxy haven't seen in a long while.

Mike Magee knocked in the first goal, and was terrible active all match so it shouldn't surprise that he finished with the match's highest Match Impact Rating at 113.7. Landon Donovan, who was snakebit on frame but showing off his quickness all night finished with 102. Robbie Keane, who scored the second goal finished with an MIR of 91. The men up top for the Galaxy played their tails off and it showed on the scoreboard.

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Matchday is upon us again and there was no update of the Match Impact Rating* this week. It's time to rectify that now. The minimum number of minutes to make the leaderboard was 590. There was no change at the very top, but there were changes overall. A viewable full leaderboard is still in the works so please be patient on that.

Discussion below the jump.

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