Instant (Over)Reaction: LA

The title of my Sounders reviews doesn't really apply this week. There is no overreacting to a 4-0 loss. Simply put, we are not that good of a team right now. I'm not saying that we won't be a good team or that the season is over with. Fact is, RSL won MLS Cup last year with a losing regular season record. So all is not lost. But as we wake up on Monday May 10, 2010, we see the Sounders squarely in last place and must be honest with our assessment. They are not getting it done. And now some specific observations from Saturday's game

• The weather was amazing.
• The Sounders looked really good in the first 20 minutes or so. On several occasions they strung together 15+ passes and really controlled the flow of the game. My only complaint was that most of the time these passes went backwards and we were never able to get any quality shots on goal
• Keller messed up on the first goal. He will admit it. How the team reacted is what bothered me. You have two options when your leader messes up. Pick him up. Score a goal and get the game tied again. Or do what the Sounders did and completely fall apart. They looked demoralized after that first goal. They showed no heart for the remainder of the match
• El Presidente looked really bad
• The only fight that team showed was when Miguel Montano knocked down the assistant referee and then stood over him. (Ok, it was an accident, but still funny to see the ref react in the way he did)
• Only positive of the match was when Montano made his Sounders debut in the 58th minute. I couldn't tell how well he played, but he did show some energy and flashes of creativity. Here's hoping he can get some quality playing time and push Montero to play harder
• We are going to miss Alonso if he is out for any significant amount of time. If he does miss time, I think the 4-3-3 has to be scrapped because Sturgis and Vagenas simply cannot provide the bite that Ozzie brings. Go back to 4-4-2 and have Evans in the middle to provide a little stability.
• Next week's game will be an interesting psychological battle. NY lost also got pasted 4-0 by San Jose this weekend. You have to think that they are in a better mental state than the Sounder though since their loss was on the road with only 10 men. But will they come out flat expecting to win at home? Will Kasey Keller allow the Sounders to come out flat for another week? My early feeling is that Seattle will be uber motivated and will be fine on the road.
• Finally, everyone's whipping boy, Landon Donovan really has LA going. They look to be the best MLS squad I have seen in years. With all the attention on Buddle, Donovan pulled the strings and got other guys involved. We weren't ready for them. As he walked off the pitch, the Qwest faithful gave him an earful of boos to which Donovan calmly looked to the crowd and clapped. I'm sure it made more enemies, but I actually enjoyed seeing it. Look, we are in a World Cup year and he is clearly confident and a bit cocky. When you're up 4-0 on us, you can do what you please. I like seeing that from him.