Nobody would even had a thought about saving $200K by letting the top MLS keeper go. He had a season full of injuries for Galaxy, allowed 5 goals in his last 2 games, and eventually deemed disposable as Sonders was hugely overrated. Then he had a very poor season for Montreal traded to Portland for equally poor Perkins and started collecting Save of the Week awards.
You really have no idea what you're talking about. Go back and read the threads on the Galaxy forum at the time. Almost everyone considered Ricketts to be better than Saunders. Injury prone, yes, but Saunders as playing well enough such that at the time: Saunders + $200k cap space + allocation money for Ricketts > Ricketts + Saunders He was never disposable. It was purely a case of thinking the Galaxy could stand the step down to Saunders in exchange for ~$400k in cap space to retain a championship winning side. At the time, I thought it was the right move and I still think it was. By the way, the Galaxy won the league again the next year, due largely in part from the money from trading Ricketts.
Okay, to the best of my knowledge this is a complete list of MLS/LigaMX games in official competitions: CONCACAF Cup Winners Cup CONCACAF Champions Cup CONCACAF Giants Cup Copa MercoNorte CONCACAF Champions League I have not included SuperLiga (2007-2010), but could if anyone cares. Though SuperLiga makes sense when you realize that in the three years before the tournament was created there were only two games between MLS and LigaMX clubs. The move from the CCC to the CCL definitely lessened the need. The change to three team groups has slashed the MLS/LigaMX meetings. 1997 97-03-04 L Dallas 1-4 Necaxa - CCWC Group North 97-03-08 L Dallas 1-2 Cruz Azul - CCWC Group North 97-07-30 W Los Angeles 4-1 Santos Laguna - CCC Qualifying Playoff 97-08-24 T DC United 2-2 Guadalajara - CCC 3rd Place 97-08-24 L (at RFK) Los Angeles 3-5 Cruz Azul - CCC Final 1998 98-06-28 W Colorado 1-0 Leon - CCC QP 1st Leg 98-07-15 L/L Leon 4-2 (5-3) Colorado - CCC QP 2nd Leg 98-08-14 W DC United 2-0 Leon - CCC Semifinal 98-08-16 W DC United 1-0 Toluca - CCC Final 1999 99-08-18 T/L Los Angeles 1-1 (3-4pk) Necaxa - CCC Qualifying Playoff 99-10-01 L (in Las Vegas) DC United 1-3 Necaxa - CCC Semifinal 2001 01-01-21 L (in Los Angeles) DC United 1-2 Pachuca - CCC 3rd Place 01-08-01 L Santos Laguna 4-2 Kansas City - CM Group C 01-08-05 L (in Los Angeles) DC United 0-2 America - CGC Final 01-11-21 L Kansas City 0-1 Santos Laguna - CM Group C 2002 02-04-17 L Pachuca 3-0 San Jose - CCC QF 1st Leg 02-04-10 L Santos Laguna 2-1 Kansas City - CCC QF 1st Leg 02-04-24 W/L San Jose 1-0 (1-3) Pachuca - CCC QF 2nd Leg 02-04-24 W/W Kansas City 2-0 (2-1) Santos Laguna - CCC QF 2nd Leg 02-06-30 L Morelia 2-0 Chicago - CCC QF 1st Leg 02-07-10 W/L Chicago 2-1 (2-3) Morelia - CCC QF 2nd Leg 02-08-07 L Morelia 6-1 Kansas City - CCC SF 1st Leg 02-08-28 T/L Kansas City 1-1 (2-7) Morelia - CCC SF 2nd Leg 2003 03-04-09 L Morelia 6-0 Columbus - CCC QF 1st Leg 03-04-09 L Los Angeles 1-4 Necaxa - CCC QF 1st Leg (in Fullerton) 03-04-16 W/L Columbus 2-0 (2-6) Morelia - CCC QF 2nd Leg 03-04-16 L/L Nexaca 2-1 (6-2) Los Angeles - CCC QF 2nd Leg 2005 05-04-06 T DC United 1-1 UNAM - CCC SF 1st Leg 05-04-13 L/L UNAM 5-0 (6-1) DC United - CCC SF 2nd Leg 2007 07-03-15 T DC United 1-1 Guadalajara - CCC SF 1st Leg 07-03-15 W Houston 2-0 Pachuca - CCC SF 1st Leg 07-03-03 L/L Guadalajara 2-1 (3-2) DC United - CCC SF 2nd Leg 07-04-05 L/L Pachuca 5-2aet (5-4) - CCC SF 2nd Leg 2008 08-04-01 L Pachuca 2-0 DC United - CCC SF 1st Leg 08-04-09 W/L DC United 2-1 (2-3) Pachuca - CCC SF 2nd Leg 08-09-30 T UNAM 4-4 Houston - CCL Group B 08-10-01 L DC United 0-1 Cruz Azul - CCL Group A 08-10-21 L Cruz Azul 2-0 DC United - CCL Group A 08-10-22 L Houston 1-3 UNAM - CCL Group B 2009 09-02-24 T Houston 1-1 Atlante - CCL QF 1st Leg 09-03-03 L/L Atlante 3-0 (4-1) Houston - CCL QF 2nd Leg 09-08-26 L DC United 1-3 Toluca - CCL Group B 09-08-26 L Cruz Azul 5-0 Columbus - CCL Group C 09-09-16 L Pachuca 2-0 Houston - CCL Group A 09-09-23 L Columbus 0-2 Cruz Azul - CCL Group C 09-09-30 L Houston 0-1 Pachuca - CCL Group A 09-10-22 T Toluca 1-1 DC United - CCL Group B 2010 10-03-09 T Columbus 2-2 Toluca - CCL QF 1st Leg 10-03-17 L/L Toluca 3-2 (5-4) Columbus - CCL QF 2nd Leg 10-08-17 W Toronto 2-1 Cruz Azul - CCL Group A 10-08-24 L Santos Laguna 1-0 Columbus - CCL Group B 10-08-25 L Cruz Azul 5-4 Salt Lake - CCL Group A 10-08-25 L Seattle 0-2 Monterrey - CCL Group C 10-09-21 W Columbus 1-0 Santos Laguna - CCL Group B 10-09-21 T Cruz Azul 0-0 Toronto - CCL Group A 10-09-22 L Monterrey 3-2 Seattle - CCL Group C 10-10-19 W Salt Lake 3-1 Cruz Azul - CCL Group A 2011 11-04-20 T Monterrey 2-2 Salt Lake - CCL Final 1st Leg 11-04-27 L/L Salt Lake 0-1 (2-3) Monterrey - CCL Final 2nd Leg 11-08-17 W UNAM 0-1 Dallas - CCL Group C 11-08-23 W Monterrey 0-1 Seattle - CCL Group D 11-09-13 L Morelia 2-1 Los Angeles - CCL Group A 11-09-13 L Colorado 1-4 Santos Laguna - CCL Group B 11-09-14 L UNAM 4-0 Toronto - CCL Group C 11-09-21 L Dallas 0-2 UNAM - CCL Group C 11-09-27 T Toronto 1-1 UNAM - CCL Group C 11-09-28 W Los Angeles 2-1 Morelia - CCL Group A 11-10-18 L Seattle 1-2 Monterrey - CCL Group D 11-10-19 L Santos Laguna 2-0 Colorado - CCL Group B 2012 12-03-07 W Seattle 2-1 Santos Laguna - CCL QF 1st Leg 12-03-14 L/L Santos Laguna 6-1 (7-3) Seattle - CCL QF 2nd Leg 12-03-28 T Toronto 1-1 Santos Laguna - CCL SF 1st Leg 12-04-04 L/L Santos Laguna 6-2 (7-3) - Toronto - CCL SF 2nd Leg 12-08-28 L Toronto 1-3 Santos Laguna - CCL Group 1 12-10-24 L Santos Laguna 1-0 Toronto - CCL Group 1 2013 13-03-05 W Houston 1-0 Santos Laguna - CCL QF 1st Leg 13-03-06 L UANL 1-0 Seattle - CCL QF 1st Leg 13-03-12 W/W Seattle 3-1 (3-2) UANL - CCL QF 2nd Leg 13-03-13 L/L Santos Laguna 3-0 (3-1) Houston - CCL QF 2nd Leg 13-04-02 L Seattle 0-1 Santos Laguna - CCL SF 1st Leg 13-04-03 L Los Angeles 1-2 Monterrey - CCL SF 1st Leg 13-04-09 T/L Santos Laguna 1-1 (2-1) Seattle - CCL SF 2nd Leg 13-04-10 L/L Monterrey 1-0 (3-1) Los Angeles - CCL SF 2nd Leg 2014 14-03-11 T San Jose 1-1 Toluca - CCL QF 1st Leg 14-03-12 W Kansas City 1-0 Cruz Azul - CCL QF 1st Leg 14-03-12 W Los Angeles 1-0 Tijuana - CCL QF 1st Leg
I will agree with you that Ricketts was deemed disposable and Saunders was overrated. But the REASON they had to make that assessment and pull the trade was the need to free up CAP space. At no time did anyone ever think that Saunders was better than Ricketts. They just thought that, for his much much lower salary, Saunders was a better value. So we sacrificed depth and quality at goalkeeper because of salary constrictions, which is what this discussion originally started from....
I miss superliga... Was I the only one who liked that tournament? I know it wasn't comparable to CCL and teams didn't always field their best teams, but damn was it entertaining. Thought it served as a nice piece for teams not in CCL. It also balanced out the schedule in the sense more teams were playing extended schedules. Which means the top teams weren't punished as bad for qualifying for CCL.
Last I checked my team still gets revenue for the tickets. Not to mention, that's still LA fans representing a good chunk of the attendance (didn't look like an away game on television for what it's worth). I don't understand why you are griping about this. CCL is in it's infancy here. Getting further in the campaign would help. Not sure why you think 20,000 people in LA are going to show up tomorrow during a weekday CCL game - the regular season has issues drawing on a weekday, let alone a competition that's still gaining traction. SKC is not a great basis of comparison for a whole host of reasons. Gripe about our marketing of CCL versus SKC's if you want, not about the attendance level which has a whole host of reasons for why it is what it is. Not to mention maybe we can get those folks that are based in LA to come back some time and buy more tickets. A thought: maybe the issue is your expectations? I'd suggest resetting them. I'm really happy that more and more people care about CCL - in LA included. Just recognizing it's not going to be immensely popular quickly. Old tired argument (wherever the US plays it's an "away" game, blah blah blah). I'd rather focus on how to make it even better for the next series than "woe is me" about it - hopefully LA gets there!
You got no clue whether i have an idea. I've been here. Rickets was bad in late 2010. Saunders looked much better. Galaxy had a choice which one to keep and chose Saunders. In 2012 Saunders was mediocre and Rickets was horrible: 52 goals in 33 games while looking and moving like Like Zach Thornton on a bad day; so Galaxy wasn't unhappy at all. Even if they decided to keep Rickets through 2012 they would drop him after that season anyway.
Tijuana's home field advantage isn't as much about the fans as it is about the playing surface, though.
I completely support the return of SuperLiga at this juncture. The gap between leagues is small enough now that it would be a lot of fun. Its really why we watch CCL at all. New England, Portland, Vancouver, and Seattle all play on the fake stuff. Pretty sure it won't surprise LA....
When does Libertadores start and when does it finish (when it does not stop for Copa America or the World Cup). 1. It is to cold in USA/Canada when it starts (Libertadores) and 2. playoffs are all in full swing when it ends (Mexico and C.A.).
From Kansas City (roughly the center of the country) to Montevideo (between Brazil and Argentina is 5,700 miles. I'm pretty sure MLS teams don't really want any part of the Copa Libertadores - and I'm guessing the South Americans don't want the added travel of coming to the U.S.
As far a SuperLiga - I was a fan of that competition, too. I only wished they played some of the games in Mexico. Especially with MLS pushing north of 20 teams next year, having an opportunity for teams 6-9 to get annual international play isn't a bad idea. EDIT: Damn tournament names, can't keep'em straight.
I Agree, but the comment was about why the CCL takes so long (with the break) and why can't Concacaf follow a Schedule similar to Copa Libertadores I was just replying that a similar schedule to CL would run into issues over here.
Interliga was the Liga MX only tournament played in the USA for $$$$$porting reasons I think you mean Superliga. I kind of want to see the Pacific championship / Hawaii invitational come back in a more competitive more serious format. Something like the top teams from China, Japan, Korea, MLS that are not playing in international cups some time in February. But it was probably a money loser tournament that is why it went away.
Just so we can clarify, your argument is that the cap/retaining other players played no part in the Galaxy trading Ricketts in 2011? That it was purely a decision of picking one or the other based on who they thought was they better keeper? That Galaxy fans and the front office honestly though Saunders was the better keeper?
Just because you expect it doesn't make it easy to play on. My point is that a bunch of Tijuana fans at the StubHub isn't going to replicate the same sort of home-field advantage that they'll enjoy at Estadio Caliente.
CCL - MLS Cup winner, Conference winners (Reg. Season), USOC winner Superliga - Next 4 in overall regular season table (including Canadian teams, if applicable) Pan-Pacific: Next 2 in overall regular season table (including Canadian teams, if applicable)
Early TV coverage for next week's matches: March 18 - Tijuana v. LA Galaxy - FS2, Spanish: Unclear March 19 - Toluca v. San Jose - FS2, Univision Deportes March 19 - Cruz Azul v. Kansas City - FS2, Spanish: Unclear March 20 - Arabe Unido v. Alajuelense - FSP, Univision Deportes Since LA and Kansas City aren't explicitly listed as being on Univision Deportes, I'm holding out hope that they'll be on either Galavision or UniMas.