Up $24 for the season... actually maybe it's only up $20. I think last increase was like $10 or 15 last year.
I think we should hold off making any drastic moves till this offseason. Let sigi assess what we need (striker) and then let him sign whoever he wants. I'd like to see us get K. Jones from Atlanta. If we can get ride of our Jones, then I think we are in a good spot.
When Sigi was successful in Columbus he had Ale Moreno at the 9 and Schelotto as the playmaking forward. I could see him trying this here with Gio for Schelotto. If so, we would need to get a #9 on a TAM salary. Zardes for Kamara, straight up. Would you do this?
Schelotto didn't always dribble into three defenders before losing the ball. Not sure Gio is a good or even close Schelotto equivalent. And while I would absolutely hate to lose Zardes, Kamara for all his quirks is pretty much the kind of player we're lacking.
Straight up for the end of the season, yes. But for next year, no. Kamara will turn 33 next month, and has been overrated since his one great year with Columbus when he had the team playing for him (i.e. solid crossers). Solid MLS player for sure, but not good enough to be a starting striker in a team supposed to be one of the best in the league. Using all our DP spots will be a problem, because you don't get elite strikers like Villa, Keane, Henry, Giovinco or Drogba with TAM. We'll have to be smart and find a Cubo.type player.
Did not realize Kamara was 33. Thanks for the info. That surely makes me revise my willingness to consider an even up trade for Zardes. The main point remains - an efficient #9 is needed. Even a Will Bruen would be a big upgrade at this point. Better run clubs find ways to bring in at least serviceable players at that position.
Call me greedy, but I would love it if we could find a way to get a true, quality #9 AND keep Zardes. His ability to play up top and on either wing makes him a valuable utility player. I know he costs a lot for that role, but I wonder if we couldn't take the salary from releasing Cole, Van Damme and Jones, along with the Arriola TAM, and turn that into a new left back, and new center back and a new target forward. And maybe maybe maybe a goalkeeper upgrade (no offense, Rowe, I really like you as a person but....) ------------------New 9 Boateng---------Gio------Alessandrni ------------Lletget------JDS NewLB--Romney--NewCB--VanAndolt -----------------Rowe (or new) First guys off the bench: Zardes (offense) Pedro (midfield) Steres (defense) I mean, with a good coach, that team should be able to compete and have a little depth on the bench for call ups and injuries..... Other great thing -- not a player on the field in his 30s or near the end of his career. That would be a solid core entering or in their prime who could play together for many years if the FO can massage the salary cap correctly...
If you're talking about Ola Kamara, then hell yeah! Ola Kamara is exactly the type of striker we need; the the right age range and price range too. Hopefully our scouts can identify a TAM player like that in the off season.
I am all for this and can't really see a reason why we couldn't pull this off outside of idiocy in the front office or the players we want not wanting us back.
A deal to send #LAGalaxy defender Jelle Van Damme to Antwerp is "99% done" says Belgium media outlet HLN. No confirmation from Galaxy— Kevin Baxter 🇺🇦🏳️🌈 (@kbaxter11) August 16, 2017 Still depends on Ciani according to the article. Two years contract.
I really don't like us signing Ciani at the end of the season like this. The guy is a major unknown. Can't seem to cut it in any of the leagues he was at, and he presumably is not fit. He likely can't just walk into our XI and do the same job as Van Damme. Plus if we give him a 2 year deal, we are stuck with him. If he is crap, that is someone's wages we will pay and will effect our potential signings for a couple seasons. Let's face it, this season is over. We aren't making the playoffs. I'd rather have us wait till the offseason to sign a replacement for Van Damme. We can just let Steres, Romney, Arellano, and maybe Jones play center back. Let them get experience, and in the offseason we can make a calculated signing, and not just us scrambling to immediately replace Van Damme.
Isn’t the sticking point LA only wants him through the end of the season, but he wants an 18 month contract. I’m fine with the former and depending on cost even the latter. If he works out, great sign him on for a 2 year, if he doesn’t it’s not a big loss.
I'll miss JVD. He wasn't the best defender we've ever had, but he played like he cared. I'll always remember his enthusiasm. Wish we would have gotten him a ring.
The point is that he might not get fit enough to prove that he's worth a contract beyond these last few games. Might be best just to hold off and bring him into camp next year, if he's still a free agent.
Sounds like another K&P bad decision in the making. I've never seen Ciani play - just know that he lasted less than a month at his two previous clubs despite signing 2 year contracts with each. Those are gigantic red flags.
The front office is not the same without Bruce. LA needs to snag some veteran MLS front office guys...but none are available. Maybe Bruce can come back after the WC. It looks like there is going to be roster turnover next season (it's starting now) and with this front office I don't see them getting it right.
My understanding is that Sigi told the supporters groups that he was calling the shots on player movement. If so, decisions are not going to be made by the same crew that had been doing it. He can see what this team needs pretty clearly - watch his post-game presser. Lets see what he can do about it.
Sigi with a full off-season means we could credibly make a Cup run next season. Question is, how does he balance the team? If you trust Kevin Baxter, the Galaxy are still in the hunt for Zlatan, which means they still see forward as a big need. I think, if you're going to bring in a forward at this point, they should be a DP-level. But we do have two forwards that have scored 10+ goals in MLS. Conceivably, there are formations / set-ups where those players can start and score goals against MLS defenses. A bigger hole (but perhaps easier to fill) is we currently do not seem to have a defensive midfielder good enough to start in MLS.
Ask and you shall receive. Let's see what the highlight reels look like on him shall we? Now if this version of the dude from this video shows up to LA then we will be in great shape.
This is the kind of thinking that got us here. A real forward has special skills and physical attributes that no one on our team possesses. Gio is not a true forward (last years #'s were great but I have to think they were a fluke based on his style of play and history) and Zardes has a lot of major holes in his game in that department. And picking up extra goals from midfielders is meant to complement what forwards do, not replace them. I do agree with you that defensive midfielder is also a big need. I would say both are required if we expect to compete in the upper echelon of MLS. It will take some clever recruiting to fill these needs given our 3 DP positions are already locked up. I would suggest looking in South/Central America or Africa - there seem to be a bigger possibility of picking up bargains there than from Europe.
So I saw Baxter's article saying that LAG will let JVD go back to Belgium after two more games - just before the Euro transfer window closes. This was the first time I saw that JVD has separated from his wife, do his need/desire to be closer to his kids is more understandable and LAG is doing a humane thing. The season is most likely shot anyway so there really is little cost from a soccer standpoint. Having said that, what do you say, Jelle? Last game. Closing minutes. One more RED CARD for the road?