"Things have unraveled spectacularly for Los Angeles," says ESPN Soccernet's Steve Davis, "and the foul-ups in Galaxy Valley have become too numerous to count." Top of his list is an astonishing number of injuries brought on by a grueling end-of-season schedule that would test any of Europe's biggest teams (note that they have the depth to deal with those situations-and they still complain). The Galaxy has played eight games in 27 days, so Davis says it's no surprise that eight starters missed Sunday's 3-0 thumping by the Colorado Rapids.

"They can't expect to dump this on us, with all the traveling, and expect us to win," striker Landon Donovan told Britain's Independent. And it won't stop there; even after two mid-season tournaments and having to play the bulk of its schedule after Beckham's arrival, Galaxy owner Galaxy owner AEG scheduled two meaningless matches against the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Minnesota Thunder during the season's final stretch in October.

But it's not just the schedule, the team's roster is also inadequate, says Davis filled with "not good enough" players, including the entire backline, minus Abel Xavier and the still-injured Chris Albright, and veterans Cobi Jones and Chris Klein, who are "no longer difference makers or roster cornerstones." Then there's Coach Frank Yallop, whose "funereal" expression says it all. But Yallop's decisions should be scrutinized, too: no professional player-especially an injured one-should play back-to-back 90-minute matches across two continents.

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