Goalkeepers/LA Pregame

As promised, here is my latest entry, where I will discuss the Crew's goalkeeping situation, and look at the upcoming LA game.

Everyone seems to have a very strong opinion about who should be between the pipes for the Crew. Some people think it should be Andy Gruenebaum. A lot of people believe that Hesmer is better than the Hebrew Hammer. Some people think that all three Crew goalkeepers are inadequate, and that the Crew should bring in someone else to tend the nets for the remainder of the season. Which is the right decision? It's really hard to say at this point. All three keepers are around the same age, and all three have shown a fair amount of potential. Up until recently, Gruenebaum looked to be the #1 keeper for the Crew, and he showed some great athleticism and pulled off some great saves, but ultimately, his decision-making and positioning led Sigi to start the now-healthy Will Hesmer in goal. Is Hesmer an upgrade from Gruenebaum? It's hard to say at this point; a few more games will tell us much on the subject.

Now, it's really hard to guess what Sigi's train of thought was when he traded a partial allocation for Hesmer, who was Kansas City's backup goalkeeper until this season. How can you tell if one backup goalkeeper is that much better than another team's backup goalkeeper, given that each backup will only play a handful of games throughout the course of a season? It was a move that was (and quite frankly, still is) rather puzzling. If Sigi was going to make an upgrade at the goalkeeper position, he probably could've gotten a better upgrade than Hesmer. But the past is the past, and now the Crew find themselves with three goalkeepers who are all looking to seperate themselves from the rest of the pack. I am fine with Sigi giving Hesmer a chance, and over the next few games, we'll see how Hesmer does. My personal opinion is that unless Hesmer does spectacularly over the next few games, Gruenebaum should be put back in. Andy's problems stem from poor positioning and a few bad decisions, which are problems that are remedied by experience and good coaching - he's shown that he has the ability, and if he can figure out how to work on his weaknesses, he could be a great keeper.

That being said, I won't be terribly upset if Hesmer is given the #1 spot. I also won't be found crying in a corner if the Crew sign someone with more experience. Even turning back to Wild Bill Gaudette wouldn't be the worst thing in the world in my mind. I also hear there's this fantastic keeper out there named Dan Popik...

Whichever decision Sigi makes, I think it's best if the decision is made sooner than later, and that Sigi sticks by his decision. It won't be good for the team if the Crew rotates their keeper every few games, and whoever wins the starting keeper spot will need all the experience that they can get. I think it's great that all three keepers seem to get along with each other real well, and that they all want each other to succeed. Hopefully that mentality will continue after Sigi makes his final decision, which hopefully will be sooner rather than later.

Moving onto tomorrow night's game against LA, this is absolutely a must-win for the Crew. Although the Galaxy will be boosted somewhat by the additions of Xavier and Pavon to their squad, they remain Donovanless and Beckhamless, and there is never a better time to beat the Galaxy. Aside from RSL, there probably isn't a weaker opponent for the Crew in MLS right now, but that doesn't mean that it will be an easy game - LA is still a decent team, and even without Donovan, they can be dangerous.

The biggest lineup issue for the Crew is Rusty Pierce returning from suspension. It will be interesting to see whether or not Sigi reinserts Rusty into the lineup, given the way the backline played against Kansas City. My guess is that Pierce will indeed start, and Miglioranzi will be dropped to the bench, but it's possible that Sigi could name an unchanged lineup from Wednesday's game. Other than Pierce returning, Thomas, Herron, and Virtuoso are still out, so the rest of the lineup looks set.

Despite LA's new additions, a Crew team on the upswing will take down a Galaxy team who haven't beat the Crew in MLS play since 2004. So I'll pick the Crew to win 3-1. Kool-Aid for all! Thanks for reading!