It's one year. I forgot where I read it but next year we return an int slot back to dc united and in return we get our slot back from the union and the timbers. Not that bad of a deal if we weren't planning on using it. Must mean the cbs in camp are looking pretty good. Hopefully they continue to develop. Let's see what Nakazawa can do.
What happened to Sean Alvardo I know he isnt on the team and from his twitter it looks like he is out of soccer completely. What happened?
I would have agreed with you that he is out of soccer and mentioned that his knee injury must have forced him out, but I saw this yesterday in Scott French's notes on the Galaxy: http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles...4/galaxy-buddle-return-might-mean-repeat#more He's not listed on the roster though, at least the one on the website.
How does our lineup look like now with all the moves? I saw last night Trick posted a 4-4-2 but cant seem to find it! OK so maybe something like... [LINEUP-4-4-2]Keane, Buddle, Nakazawa, Sarvas, Beckham, Donovan, Dunivant, Leonardo, DLG, Franklin, Saunders [/LINEUP-4-4-2] And a remote possibility Birchall could come back too.
If Burchall comes back he's a bench player and spot starter like he was last year. I'd like to see Stephens higher on the depth chart then Birchall. To be honest, I don't know much about Nakazawa, but I have to think with Magee is the starter at LM after his performance in the playoffs last year. As stated by others, Leonardo won't be ready until late spring. Who knows how long after his return when he'll be ready to start consistently. As of right now I'd think Andrew Boyens is our starting CB next to AJ.
Makes sense to have Magee in there! Some games last season our backline was shaky. Without OG and likely a younger backline, I wonder how Saunders will react now. He can only do so much as any GK with a weaker backline.
Plus we're either downgrading in Juninho's holding position or changing the midfield dynamic altogether. Beckham doesn't have the tackling or defensive positioning of Juninho and from what I gather, it doesn't look like Sarvas does either. I'm guessing Beckham will be in charge of retention and distribution, while Sarvas is employed as a box-to-box midfielder. Hopefully both can match our capacity for possession, especially if Keane will be dropping deeper to facilitate Buddle as a #9. Without the ball, we certainly appear a weaker prospect at this point. Is the Alex Bruce discussion dead?
If Becks plays deeper then he will likely return to the long flighted passes which drove us fans crazy at times. It will help to have Buddle back though since he is decent in the air and may be able to get some flick-ons to Keane, Landon, etc.
In theory, LD's loan could be extended for a price, and then he could be purchased in the summer transfer window. It's not going to happen, so don't bother thinking about it. CCL or bust.
Bueno confirms (and succinctly explains) as well: RunnerLuis Luis Bueno Birchall not returning to #LAGalaxy no surprise at all. Lots of depth there, Stephens ready to assume more duties, saves some $$$ too. 51 minutes ago
Gonna miss Birchall. Was a good guy, always gave his all. Never quite became the first-choice starter we hoped he would, and he was too expensive for what he brought to the table. Still going to miss his crazy motor, and will always remember that crazy tackle against NYRB in the playoffs this year when you knew he was either going to get the ball or a red card. Thank goodness it was the ball. Happy trails, Chris. Don't forget, Space is High, Mate!
adamserrano Adam Serrano The @LAGalaxy announce that Ryan Thomas, Dustin McCarty and Steven Posa were released from preseason training camp. 59 seconds ago Interesting that two of the three were on the roster last year. I would guess this means that Davies and Murray have done well, since Thomas and McCarty played outside fullback last year (although Thomas also played a little outside midfield too).
Here is the press release: www.lagalaxy.com/news/2012/02/la-galaxy-weekly-update-february-13-2012 I count only 32 on the roster on the Galaxy website, so perhaps they are counting the trialists in the number. My guess is that Gaudette, Murray, Davies, and Rafael Garcia are the most vulnerable as they try to get down to 30 players, although it is also possible they could trade a player like Barrett to free up a slot.
I feel bad for Posa too after reading the profile that was written about him sometime this past month. He seemed so excited to be here. Ah, well, that's life in the big city.
#LAGalaxy sign Bill Gaudette, waive Nick Noble. GK spot seems sorted out now. Gaudette should provide good cover. - Luis Bueno
Shrewd signing by Bruce. Certainly didn't see that coming, though. Gaudette is a punk, but a good player and someone you want on your side. He's likely not too expensive (~$60k) and provides a solid backup with great CCL experience. Makes me wonder about having 3 goalkeepers on our 20 man senior roster though.
Galaxy submit official roster list with 27 players + Omar on the Disabled List http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles/soccer/post/_/id/14932/galaxy-no-moves-on-compliance-day#more They simply haven't signed any of the 4 remaining rookies except Meyer and they haven't signed the trialist Murray. That leaves 5 players for three spots. I expect Murray and one other player will be let go. Probably Davies, especially since they have Franklin, AJ, Jordan, and possibly Keat who can all play right back.
Just because someone is listed on the roster does not mean they cannot be let go to make room for one of the 5 not yet contracted. Hopefully that will be the case with Jimenez and Garcia as Garcia has looked good in camp and Jimenez has not. Personally I would rather keep Davies and dump Jordan as well. Davies at least has potential. We know Jordan is never going to be more than mediocre. I think Murray's days were numbered when AJ lined up at LB the other night.
Kicking Cristman to the curb also gives us another available slot. Both Jordan and Cristman are in a similar boat, being that neither will ever bee a good MLS player, but cheap and moderately experienced backup. At least Jordan has some versatility. For me it's a no brainier letting Cristman go. I'd rather take a shot at developing a player. A player like Gaul can play up top and could easily replace Cristman as a target man, while also providing depth as a center or left back. I do hope Walker gets a contract, but we have a lot of depth at that position. We've got a ton of players who do/could play centrally. He'd be buried in the depth chart something fierce, probably looking to push Keat for the 5th string central midfielder. All in all, if waive Jordan and Cristman, we can sign all our trialists. Not that we should do that, because I have no idea if Murray is good enough to beat out Jordan, but it is certainly an option. I'd see if any clubs would be interested in either of them for perhaps a low draft pick.
Since this is sort of "roster changes" related... what does the next month or two look like for us? Donovan could potentially leave to Everton... what about Keane? Doesnt he have Euro he will be out for? And Beckham has the Olympics? That pretty much gives us the team that just lost to the Railhawks.