I'm with Sanchez. I've felt that not just this season, but even in spells last season, our system has been more cohesive without Beckham. That's not say that Beckham is bad or that he doesn't contribute with what he does. However, for every performance like the MLS Cup, he's also had ones where he's out sync with the team's overall strengths. When Beckham was injured this season, LA Galaxy were playing some frankly breathtaking football. The passing and movement of Sarvas and Juninho in midfield with LD and Keane up front was IMO, the best I've seen since I started watching the Galaxy. Beckham had a habit of slipping into "30 yard Hollywood pass" mode at times, when the team has frequently played better as a collective, when we've generally kept the ball on the deck. This was actually the best time for him to move on IMO. He was still performing, but we showed that we were still a very good team without him. I don't see his departure as a significant on-field issue, providing we keep hold of Sarvas and Juninho.
I think people underestimate how good Juninho is at set pieces. Becks even said Juninho has a lot of skill on dead ball situations. If we retain Juninho, I think our set pieces will be just as good with Juninho.
@LAGalaxyInsider: The @LAGalaxy declines options on GK Brian Perk, D Andrew Boyens & Bryan Jordan, MF Kyle Nakazawa, & F Chad Barrett and Pat Noonan. Nothing too surprising.
Perk is a little surprising. He seems to have an upside. I hope it means we can bring in Hartman but no telling how much he is going to cost. None of the others are a surprise though. Hat's off to BJ for being a good soldier all these years but the team has definately moved on from his talent level.
Me too. I always thought he had a chance to make it as a right back in the league if he worked on his defending...but not surprised he was let go.
If all of those cut occupied the 1-20 roster spots that count towards the cap (which I assume they did), that's $534,650 off the cap. If Buddle is back, we definitely need to knock down some of his $225K cap hit with some allocation money, which we could have an abundance of next season.
I wish him well. He did exceptionally well with what he had. I always hated having to critique him as a player because you can never get away from his talent level. I honestly feel that players of his standard won't be playing in MLS for much longer, but you wan't find many in the world at any level with more heart and effort than he's shown.
From what I have heard, BJ has had interest from Columbus and Portland. He is a good guy, I wish him well.
I think Cooper could do really well for us... but I just don't like the way the guy plays. Too slow, and not tough enough in hold-up play. He's a very composed finisher, though. I like Jordan as well... I just think the quality of the league has passed him by. I agree with both of you. I've made the comment in threads earlier this season that Becks changes the tempo of the game, destroys the teams shape, and sometimes breaks up the team's rhythm. There is a mystique around his presence on the field. He brings an intensity and commitment to the game that infects the rest of the team. However, If he had been out with injury for the final, I have no doubt that a healthy Sarvas could have stepped in, and the team would not have missed a beat. That said... I'm gonna miss the guy.
Definitely wish Bryan Jordan well (assuming he doesn't re-sign with us after all!) He is one of our longest serving players and has contributed to our success behind the scenes, no doubt. Like you all, I always appreciated his high-energy effort.
With Beckham and now Jordan leaving, that leaves Donovan and Buddle as the only players who were on the team when Arena took over... And Buddle was gone for a year... And if Donovan leaves....
If we get Dan Kennedy I'd fall over. And he probably would too. Could you imagine? Course, what big item would we be giving up for that? The declines on contracts with Perk etc, didn't surprise me either. Best wishes to those guys. Omar wants a DP salary - he deserves one, but not sure where we are getting that money from with our plans.
Gonzilla has said he doesn't want to re-sign and instead wants to challenge himself over-seas... Although I guess if we threw enough money at him he might reconsider...
Perk’s salary was something like $150K, not sure if he was GA or not but if he wasn't or if his status as GA was ending 150K is a lot to swallow for a backup keeper
Noticed how we started winning when he disappeared from the lineup? Poor guy, he's just not a quality player.