Last years version was a big success, but also got incredibly large, so I figured i'd start a new one for this year. What do we need to do to replace Beckham? What do we do if Landon decides to move on? What about Omar? Can we fill in enough pieces with new blood to win a 3rd title in a row?
I would think/hope he would do that. He more than deserves it after that 2nd half of the season. Anyways, let the silly season commence!!!
I read that he was under contract through next season... So if he gets DP $$, it will mean he has re-upped for a longer term. It will be interesting to see how that all plays out.
Exactly. There are really only 2 moves I hope the Galaxy do. Negotiate with Gonzo and see how low will he go and, if it's not feasible, sell him to a team in Europe OVER the winter break. It would suck to have Omar for only the first half of the season next year and then have to integrate someone new during the summer. I would rather have the chemistry working from the beginning of the year and bring in reinforcements if needed.
I agree. Either work at a deal or sell him in the January trade window so the money can help bring in a replacement from the start of the season. I think you can bring in an effective attacking player late in the season in the summer trade window, but it's much harder to bring in a new central defender and develop that chemistry and trust that is required to succeed....
Interesting tidbits from LA times piece by Kevin Baxter: 1) we approached ronaldinho who turned us down and extended his contract in brazil. Where have we heard that ********ing story? Geez.. 2) "Midfielders Mike Magee and Juninho — on loan from Sao Paulo — will be out of contract at the end of the year, as will goalkeeper Josh Saunders, whose future with the team is further clouded by the Galaxy's interest in trading for Chivas USA keeper Dan Kennedy." http://www.latimes.com/sports/socce.../soccer/la-sp-galaxy-20121203,0,6847856.story
I have a feeling Saunders is shipped to Columbus or Revs , hartman comes back with Dan kennedy and perk will be mentored by both for the future......
Question is, how little will Hartman take to come back? Dallas let him go because he wanted more then they were willing to pay for him, so I'm assuming he wants more (significantly?) cash then we pay Saunders.
Chivas FO may be thoroughly messed up but I don't think they are dumb enough to give us Kennedy for Saunders without us throwing in another solid player (starter quality) as well. But knowing their history and the fact they want to go Hispanic again maybe they'll do something self-destructive like give us Kennedy for Saunders + (Jimenez or Rafael Garcia or -- better yet -- take back David Junior Lopes!). I would take any of those trades all day long. Re Hartman: My guess is that he will resist moving anywhere with the plan of being a backup. He probably thinks he can still be a successful first-teamer in this league and he may be right.
My thoughts so far. Kennedy that would be incredible if we get a goalie of that quality. About Beckham replacement. As a contributor on the field I think we are ok as long as we keep sarvas, juninjo, magee, franklin, jimenez, and chipen. They showed quite a few times with landon to be able to play through the midfield with one touch and movement off the ball. This may sound like blasphemy right now but honestly we played better whitout becks in the lineup this year. It will change the way we play, more southamerican, but with Landon and Keane I think it suits them better. Buddle needst to figure out if we are gonna see the commitment we saw in 2010 from him. I think he can but its a matter of mentality. The backline will depend on whether Omar is with us or not, and that I think will be the great unknown. I am assuming we will have the budget to bring our players back because of the extra cash of making the CCL again. Everyone is assuming a deconstruction of the team. I am more optimistic in thinking 95 percent of our core players will be back. Do you not think they know that with one more MLS Cup we are the greatest club to ever play in North America. Thats right, suck it cosmos. =)
I think we can get Kennedy, a solid keeper is necessary. Letting Ricketts go was smart short term but dumb long term I believe. If we lose Landon what about Kenny Cooper?
Can’t agree with that at all. He basically held this team together while Omar, Saunders, Robbie & Landon were injured, out or otherwise preoccupied. I can think of four or five games alone that David absolutely owned the pitch. We can certainly play very well without him (and Donovan and Keane), but to say we were better off without him is selective memory.
I don't mean to just pick on you but this goes for all of us, can we at least spell the guy's name right? It's VillaRReal. I feel bad for the guy because it's spelled wrong in fifa and in some articles on mlssoccer.
It is likely that Omar will be leaving us. He has accomplished pretty much everything in the MLS so far. He was voted the MLS best defender, he has won 2 cups, rookie of the year and playoff MVP. Beckham is gone and Donovan is probably leaving as well. Hopefully Kaka will be in a LA shirt next season and we can have Juninho and Kaka as our Brazilian duo with Sarvas helping out. I don't know who would replace Donovan. It'd need to be an American in my opinion. We need one really good US star on this team but there aren't too many available.
I think that our one touch passing was better and the boys didn't lean on him as much. I honestly thought sometimes we relied on his long ball passing too much. Maybe better was not the right word. But we absolutely played differently without him. I think we can adjust and like i stated with landon and keane this type of play the one touch and opening spaces is more to their skill set. I do know we will miss his long passes because it helped the team in that form of play. His set pieces were great though and looks like he helped Landon become far more accurate with his.