I had forgotten that Joao Pedro was just away on a loan TransferMarkt shows him under contract for the 2018/19 Greek season. Since I assume he signed the typical 3 year contract with a team option for a 4th, does that mean that he would return to the Galaxy under contract until December 2019?
Alessandrini is the type of player that will do a job for us no matter who is playing around him. He did it with McBean, Zardes, Zlatan, Kamara, etc. He is a player we must keep.
Alessandrini is one of the guys I definitely keep, being of the few bright spots on this team. He is very productive. Even this season which included a dry spell he has scored 10 goals and 7 assists in the equivalent of only 19 games. Thats a rate of .52 goals per 90/min and a .87g+a/90m clip. For a point of comparison Kamaras scoring rate is .39g/90 and .50g+a/90 (so overall Romains g+a production rate is ~75% higher than Ola's). And Romain is doing this from a winger position where he has some (admittedly not much) defensive responsibility. And this isn't a flash in the pan - over two seasons Romain has produced 42 goals+assists in 54 games. An good rate for most forwards and he's done it despite playing for a mostly crappy team, especially in 2017. You remember when we were getting those strange road wins under Onalfo? Well a lot of that was because of the 25 goals and assists Kamara has produced on the road. Bottom line is that the only reason we have any playoff chances is because of our excellent offense - and a significant portion of that offense comes from Romain's abilities in the final third. The other vital ingredient that Alessandrini brings that has been in short supply on this team is competitive fire. We have so many jogging around role players who seem to shrug when they make a mistake. This team needs more players who really want to actually take responsibility when we are up against a wall. And who on our team would you say plays with more "fire in his belly" than Alessandrini? Spoiler alert - no one, that's who. The only downside to Romain is he has been a bit injury prone - he missed only 4 games last season but 8 games this season. But on the plus side he's only still only 29yo and should have a few more good years in him. Bottom line for me is this team has so many lazy non-producers - get rid of them, not Allesandrini.
I tried to get on board with Gio when we signed him. I Bought one of those nicer t shirts with his name and number. Now it hangs in the closet collecting dust until the inevitable date it gets stuffed into a goodwill giveaway bag.
Not that it's a big deal, but if you itemize this is a "charitable contribution" that will only go down in value. Better to donate it now and free up some closet space.
I’d never send my Gio shirt to an American Goodwill store. That’s why I sent mine to a refugee camp in Uganda. Some cute kid there is wearing his oversized Gio Galaxy shirt next to his brother wearing a Falcons 2016 Super Bowl Champs shirt. /s
Looks like Tab Ramos is taking over the USMNT. At least according to twitter rumors. That opens the door for Berhalter. I'd love Schellotto here. Don't see how Benedetto fits though with Kamara and Zlatan.
What has Tab Ramos done to earn the USA coaching job? I'm not a fan. Berhalter has way better credentials. Bring in Schellotto!
I'm with you - I will be very disappointed if Ramos is the new USMNT coach. I've watched Tab play since he was at NC State and have always admired his technique on the field. But I've seen nothing since then that suggests Tab is close to being the right guy for this job at this critical time.
This is 100% true, and LAG will likely sign Boca boss Barros Schelotto as well as a defensive midfielder or center back from the Argentine giants as well. https://t.co/SNLdubMCuH— Eric Gomez (@EricGomez86) October 18, 2018
Whatever happens I think we should retain Kinnear in some sort of associate head coach role, a la Sarachan during Bruce's tenure...
That's a good idea, at least if Kinnear is willing to take a step back from #2 to more front office or advisory (apparently GBS is bringing his assistant if he comes to MLS). Kinnear, for all his faults, had the guts to bench $1.5m in defense and has actually brought some semblance of stability to the team. While I don't want him to be the head guy next season, he'd be a good resource.
I'm not sure GBS would leave Boca Juniors for Columbus. The Galaxy head coach position is the most desirable job for an up and coming coach due to the profile of the club. Despite our bad 2 seasons we're still the leagues flagship team.