Our Competition

Discussion in 'LA Galaxy' started by skydog, Jan 31, 2012.

  1. jmaestro

    jmaestro Member+

    Mar 27, 2008
    Bakersfield
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I agree. However, I think it's a good gamble for Seattle---they have been unable to get over the hump and be competitive in the playoffs and they don't want to perpetually go out in the firsts round, so they made a move. It'll either work and make them extremely dangerous, or implode. Nobody knows. But you take risks when your team is in a rut.

    Question is: did EJ learn anything while abroad, or is he coming back to coast on talent and the speed he used to have? Time will tell.
     
  2. Poling

    Poling Member

    May 14, 2008
    Portland, OR
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I would take Edson any day over Eddie. Actually there isn't really any US striker that I would take over having Edson back.
     
  3. Geneva

    Geneva LA for Life

    Feb 5, 2003
    Southern Cal
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think a lot of Fucito too - the guy could be this year's LeToux. We'll see!
     
  4. jr89436

    jr89436 Member

    Jun 24, 2011
    I thought it was a good trade by Seattle.

    Seattle played almost the entire last season without a real forward and still managed to easily lead the league in goals by a tidy margin. Fucito, in my opinion, is about as good as he will ever be, which is a somewhat mediocre MLS forward. I've seen him play multiple times; he is a one-dimensional forward that has a hard time finishing. He might be popular with Seattle fans and reliably bothered defenders but he was never a legitimate scoring threat. Swapping Fucito for Johnson is almost all upside; the worst case is that it will be like last year and in the best case Seattle's offense is even more dangerous.

    Neagle, on the other hand, has the potential to be a solid MLS starter. He would be a great add for a lot of teams but Seattle has a deep, quality midfield. Neagle is behind Fernandez and Zakuani and Seattle just added Sivebaeck (spelling?), who by all accounts is a killer and also can play the positions Neagle played. In short, Seattle could afford to lose Neagle. He likely would have been riding pine most of the year.

    Both teams made out pretty well for their respective needs. Montreal added some experienced depth and Seattle added a (potential) real forward to complement Montero.


    The West is going to be absolutely brutal this year. Vancouver has been making some interesting changes that could make them dangerous. It remains to be seen how that gels but they are aiming to be dangerous. RSL hasn't done much that I know of but they don't need to. Colorado will benefit mightily from the management changes alone. Portland is making solid incremental improvements in their side. Seattle replaced much of their defense, which was their weakness last year, and added yet more offensive threats. I'm not sure if Dallas has quite gotten their game together in the off-season but if they do you know they will be dangerous; for Dallas it seems like a mental thing.

    While the obvious favorites, I do worry that the Galaxy may be starting this season with a defense that is not entirely what it was last season. The western conference is going to be some great matches.
     
  5. skydog

    skydog Member+

    Aug 1, 1999
    Durham, NC
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    My positive impressions of Fucito were based on very few games so I defer to someone who has watched him more. But my view of Eddie Johnson are based on many, many games. Unless he learns to be less static the likelihood he is going to add a lot of offense to Seattle isn't very good. But who knows - maybe the combination of a new start in MLS and Sigi can make him a dangerous forward again. I just wouldn't bet on it.
     
  6. Ghosting

    Ghosting Member+

    Aug 20, 2004
    Pendleton, OR
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    EJ also hasn't played in a long time. IIRC his last real stint was in Greece with Adu (I watched a couple of those matches), and both of them got dropped by Aris. Adu came back to Philly and hasn't really contributed. EJ could work out, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him out of football in the next couple of years.
     
  7. UcIceD2011

    UcIceD2011 Member+

    Jul 10, 2011
    Nor Cal
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Technically EJ didn't get dropped. I was following that saga also and Aris wanted to buy EJ from Fulham but weren't willing to buy at Fulham's asking price. EJ only had a year left on his contract and had barely suited up for Fulham but I guess they were trying to recoup as much money as they could from the initial buy. Hopefully he doesn't work out from them but I can't wait until our match-ups with them. Hopefully we still beat them so bad they issue more refunds.
     
  8. skydog

    skydog Member+

    Aug 1, 1999
    Durham, NC
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
  9. dashiel

    dashiel Member+

    Jul 15, 2000
    orange county
    Is it just me or does this look like the strongest season MLS has ever had? You could maybe make a case Colorado, D.C., Montreal & San Jose haven’t done enough in the off-season to challenge for a play-off spot, but I think it’s going to be a real slug-fest until the end of the season.
     
  10. Venturadoc

    Venturadoc Member

    Aug 14, 2007
    Ventura, CA
    There are some very legit teams in the West and NYRB and SKC are strong teams out of the East. I have all ready TIVO'd Wednesday's game. Here we go.
     
  11. TrickHog

    TrickHog Moderator
    Staff Member

    Oct 14, 2002
    Los Angeles, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yes, I think the increase in salary cap, DP rule, homegrown player rule, allocation cash for extra competitions and overall growth of the league is really starting to show itself on the field. As are the how the rules try to create parity. This season could be a real dog fight...
     
  12. skydog

    skydog Member+

    Aug 1, 1999
    Durham, NC
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Definitely. It looks like this year we've see a major jump in the overall quality of new players being brought in by several MLS teams. LA and to a lesser extent NY over the last few years raised expectations for the quality of player MLS can attract. And LA winning 2 SS's and 1 MLS Cup has shown that such high quality acquisitions may be even necessary to keep up competitively. (Personally I think Keane coming to our league in his prime was the most surprising acquisition of all.) Plus the liberalization of the DP rules and slowly increasing salary cap is starting to bear fruit. And a lot of credit has to go as well to the Canadian and the Northwest US teams and their fervent fan bases for raising the excitement level within the league.
     
  13. Hachiko

    Hachiko The Akita on Big Soccer

    Jun 8, 2005
    Long Beach, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  14. jmaestro

    jmaestro Member+

    Mar 27, 2008
    Bakersfield
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    So, now that we are done with preseason, anyone have a preseason top 10 power rankings heading into the year? Got a feel for who our best competition will be now that signings are done, games have been played, and lineups are set? The top teams have to be, in some order, LAG, RSL, SEA, SKC, NYRB, HOU, or something like that. Vancouver and Portland and Philly are fighting to be on the list. What's your top ten? Curious how much everyone feels our competition have improved.
     
  15. Berks

    Berks Member+

    Dec 22, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    1. LAG
    2. Seattle
    3. RSL
    4. SKC
    5. FCD
    6. NY (assuming they get their act together)
    7. Houston
    8. DCU

    Beyond that, it's a bit of a crapshoot for me. Think Union will be interesting if they can get their youth sorted out. Portland could also be a contender.
     
  16. tys0n28

    tys0n28 Member

    Nov 23, 2011
    San Diego
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
  17. Berks

    Berks Member+

    Dec 22, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well, this is refreshing.

    Fan viewpoints of the teams and their finishing rankings at The Guardian:
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/mar/06/mls-2012-season-preview-western-conference-fans

    Note that every team picks us to win the Western Conference minus....wait for it....

    Seattle. (They want the treble while they are at it.)

    Beyond that, some difference in who wins the MLS Cup, but that's not surprising really. A good chunk of the Eastern fans pick us to win the MLS Cup.
     
  18. jmaestro

    jmaestro Member+

    Mar 27, 2008
    Bakersfield
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I like where they rank Chivas. Frasier is a good coach, but it's going tot ake some time for him to sort out that mess. BTW, did they los Valentin in the expansion draft? It hink that's how he left. He is young, cheap, and already turning into a stud...no idea what they were thinking on that one.

    Toronto is rated as having a great offense and no defense...which is pretty much where we are as well, so looks like we're going to have a high scoring series. Fun.
     
  19. Geneva

    Geneva LA for Life

    Feb 5, 2003
    Southern Cal
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yes, they left Valentin exposed in the expansion draft and Montreal gobbled him up. Chivas was blindsided by the league graduating him from GA, and with his higher salary they didn't rate him as someone to protect. Big mistake, IMO. They traded for Riley after they lost Valentin.
     
  20. skydog

    skydog Member+

    Aug 1, 1999
    Durham, NC
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Frasier may be a good coach but their FO made a botch of the offseason trades/acquisitions as far as I can tell. Most MLS teams added some potent players and upgraded their rosters for this year. As far as I can tell Chivas added little of note and they may actually be weaker than last season. A great coach still needs the horses. I'm think Chivas may have too many ponies instead.

    Speaking of competition - I thought Seattle looked excellent in their CCL game. Montero is playing the best I've ever seen him play, Estrada was impressive and scored a beautiful goal, and a healthy Olonso gives them an awesome midfield. Also I was impressed with their new goalkeeper Gsplgrlng or whatever his name is. Their big issue will be whether Estrada or Johnson can become consistent goalscorers to help out Montero. If so they will likely have a very good season. If not they will be like in the past - good at possession but not as dangerous up front as they need to be.
     
  21. jmaestro

    jmaestro Member+

    Mar 27, 2008
    Bakersfield
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    BTW, serious question: As we stand today, do you think our team is better, the same, or worse than last year at the end of the year? We've added Buddle and Sarvas, lost some veterans and Omar and Ricketts. As it stands right now, not assuming Omar is back fully healthy, where do we stand comparatively? It's an interesting question.
     
  22. Berks

    Berks Member+

    Dec 22, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Completely agree with this. They scared me a bit. They are going to compete with us this season. No doubt about it.

    Started to wonder if Santos would be easier to play against, then I remembered going down to Mexico and the reffing down there. No thanks. Seattle is going to have to pull off an epic 90 minutes to get through.

    But in MLS play, our games against them are going to be *good* and important measures for playoff season.
     
  23. Berks

    Berks Member+

    Dec 22, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'll better be able to judge once our CBs get playing, but for now, better.

    The key additions being Buddle and Sarvas.

    Losing Omar is HUGE, but if we can score the way we look to be able to, that'll be somewhat assuaged.
     
  24. juniorLA

    juniorLA Member

    Mar 4, 2008
    El Lay
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Very much agree, regarding Montero. He's looking like he could really put it all together this year and break out in a way that everyone believed that he could. If EJ has a good year, Montero could have a great year.
     
  25. juniorLA

    juniorLA Member

    Mar 4, 2008
    El Lay
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    But for the loss of Omar, this would be an easy call. We became younger without any drop off in quality and some material improvements.

    But that Omar loss....it's just huge. As I've been saying, it's not an easy hole to fill and, quite frankly, we haven't made serious efforts to fill it because we expect Leonardo back within about a month's time.

    If Boyens/Meyers/Gaul can step up and at least not be a total liability and Leonardo can come back well and stay healthy, I think we will have a very good year. And we'll need to, because the Western Conference looks EXTREMELY good this year.
     

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