A Big Question:Can Guillermo Barros Schelotto play a 4-3-3 with this roster?
For the record: I think GBS was a perfect hire for the LA Galaxy. He's won with a small-ish club in Argentina, and he's won with the biggest club in Argentina – Boca Juniors is a freaking cauldron, and in its way the most pressure-filled job in the world. Managing the Galaxy is a pleasant summer stroll in comparison.
He has experience in MLS. He has credibility both in the locker room and on the international transfer market. He has managed players with global profiles and matching egos, and he has consistently brought young players into his squads. LA fans should be thrilled.
My only concern: Through basically his entire time as manager, first with Lanus and then with Boca, his team played either a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3, and in both instances those teams were heavily dependent upon their wingers for creativity and finishing.
In a vacuum this is fine and is a very modern way of playing the game. In Carson, however, it brings to light an immediate selection problem, as neither Zlatan Ibrahimovic nor Ola Kamara can really play on the wing (Kamara tried last year, and was generally not effective). Both guys should start. Both guys probably have to start. But in a 4-3-3? Or a 4-2-3-1? Ooof.
For the last four seasons the Galaxy's M.O. has been to just collect talent and throw it out on the pitch and hope that it all sort of just works (it hasn't). To win in this league (and any other decent league) you need fit and balance as much as you need talent, and a front three with Kamara on one wing or the other doesn't provide that. He's a center forward, and playing him out of position is inherently limiting.
Schelotto may have to adjust his preferred approach before he manages a single game in MLS.
