Don't know if anybody caught this one yet, but according to Birchall's twitter, he won't be returning to LAG next season. http://twitter.com/#!/chrisbirchall7
Im not Disappointed either , tho he did have some good playing moments he was just taking up space. Bruce shouldn't have any problems finding his replacement hopefully another on Loan player from Europe or a future American star
Got to say that he is pure class on his twitter account. He never seemed to hit full stride in his 3 years with us. Am I the only one who felt that? I always thought he had another gear but could never get there with us. I would not be shocked if another MLS team takes a shot at him. Surely he could go back to England and make as much or more playing in the lower divisions if he wanted to.
Birchall always gave his all - I enjoyed having him on the team. He would probably be back if he hadn't taken time to explore his options, and just signed up a la Sean Franklin, but I certainly don't blame him. These guys have short careers, and I'm sure he's missed his home. All the best, Chris, you'll always be part of our 2011 championship year.
My guess is he lands with another MLS team... ...and like other former Galaxy players that have preceded him, he will score on the Galaxy at home.
I thought Birchall was his best his first full season with us. He had some good moments at defensive mid and right wing in 2009, although those are distant memories. His passing accuracy actually seemed to deteriorate in 2010 & 2011. And it's too bad all those hopeful shots at distance missed their target this last season. I wish the lad well though. Always seemed like at team player and a cool guy.
Good luck in your future endeavors Birchall. I'm sure you'll land on your feet somewhere. When you do, tell them you want to play defensive center midfielder, and not winger. "Space is high, mate"
Birchall was a pretty decent defending mid for us. Bruce wanted to get Birchall playing time so he put him at RM but that obviously wasn't his best spot. Sad to see we lost him. He is a great depth guy to have.
Birchall was a good signing when we were playing the destroyer style of defensive mid and we needed someone to replace Dema Kovalenko. That was when we played Beckham out on the right side of midfield. Once we moved to a system with Beckham in the center where we needed a box to box midfielder who played off of David, moving forward and back, depending upon where he was, Birchall was not as good a fit.
We'll miss you Chris. The team could always count on you to leave it all on the field, each and every time you played, 100% effort, heart and soul, whether in the middle or on the right.
I got that feeling too, that he spent a little too much time on the fence and it made him the odd man out. I would very much have liked to have had him for depth, but with our current style Stephens probably is a cheaper option as a backup. Still too bad for us and the league to see a team player who fit in well move on because of salary cap.