The good news for the Los Angeles Galaxy: Edson Buddle has scored all seven of the Galaxy’s goals this season, and the club has won all four of its games.
The bad news: Edson Buddle has scored all seven of the Galaxy’s goals this season.
Possibly overlooked amidst Buddle’s torrid start to the 2010 MLS season is the support -- or lack thereof -- he’s getting from his teammates. Landon Donovan, Mike Magee, Alan Gordon and Juninho. All attacking players. Zero goals combined.
No team has thus been able to stop Buddle, but will his teammates be able to put the ball in the back of the net when that happens? The lack of balance on the scoring sheet is on Galaxy coach Bruce Arena’s mind, but perhaps only because he simply can’t avoid it.
When Arena fielded questions after the Galaxy’s 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake last Saturday, the first question was expectedly on Buddle.
“Can you just elaborate a little on the play of Edson?” a reporter asked.
“I’m a little disappointed in your question,” Arena responded. “I told the team… the first question was going to be: 'Are you concerned only one guy’s scoring all your goals?' I was waiting for that one.”
Two questions later, Arena was asked if he was concerned only one player scoring all the team’s goals.
“We have problems, what can I say?” Arena said. “We’ll try to work through it.”
Still, it was difficult to tell if Arena was straightforward or sarcastic with his response, leaving many to wonder if the coach of the league’s best team truly has concerns after all.
“When you’re losing, everyone complains that you’re not winning,” Donovan said. “When you’re winning, everybody finds something else to complain about.”
Buddle has set a new high-water mark for forwards. No other player in league history has scored as many goals through four games in any season. Former Galaxy forward Carlos Ruiz was among the handful of players who bagged six goals through four games, doing the deed in 2002 and 2004.
And if Buddle can score goal number eight in Kansas City on Saturday, he’ll join Brian McBride as the only forwards in league history to open a season with at least one goal in each of the team’s first five games.
“If Edson scores every goal this year and we keep winning,” Donovan said, “there’s no problem with that.”
