I didn't think that chemistry would be lost so quickly after the Galaxy run last season. I also don't take Barrett as a particularly good source for a perspective on chemistry. He acts and talks as if he is an insider, one of the core members of the team. I don't buy it.
We've seen this situation from Bruce in the past. When is first World Cup team played well, he opted to retread the same team four years later with disastrous results. His loyalty to individuals seemed to cloud his soccer judgement. Looking at the team from the outside you can't really see what is going on, but LARS is all about speculation, so here goes:
Bruce may have thought that getting Beckham and Buddle back, adding Sarvas to replace Juninho and getting Leo healthy would make the team as powerful as it was last year, even without Omar. He didn't really seem to drive the team very hard in preseason. It was always, "I'm pleased with the team's progress at this stage of preseason." I would rather have heard, "We have a long ways to go to be able to compete in this league. The young guys aren't close to where they need to be."
Now the G's look about as good as when he took over from Gullit, and we don't hear anything from him. Some of this is on Bruce, I'm not sure how much.
LD has been absent. The last time the team played like this he publicly called out Sir Beckham and the team turned around. With all the talk about playing nice and being professional, I am convinced that LD's public statements helped to change the mentality of the team. Bruce has always relied on his leaders to lift the team. LD hasn't done it thus far. It is as if he doesn't want to have the leadership role any more. He seemed comfortable at Everton where he can play a supporting role and be adored by the fans.
LD talks about his skills diminishing now that he gets older, how he isn't going to score as many goals. That's a pile of crap in my book! LD can be as good and as productive as his mind will let him. If he is injured then he needs to take care of the injury, but his leadership doesn't have to be injured.
Note: Has anyone else noticed that LD was never injured before he began to go to Europe on loan. The last couple of seasons he has been injured more often. I think there is a connection. I'm not sure I buy Klinsmann's idea that players need to play 10-11 months per year. Perhaps a shorter season allows players to recover and American sports know something about player development after all. (Not speaking of parent-run soccer here).
The only significant additions to the team have been, Buddle, Sarvas and Keane. The significant subtractions has been Berhalter, Ricketts and to a lesser extent Birchall. Personnel changes don't seem to explain the current lack of chemistry. I think it has to be something deeper, at the core of the team where Bruce, LD, Dunivant, Magee and Beckham live.