Sad news - I gulped when I read the part about his "American daughter". A heartfelt thank you to Alessandrini for his inspired and dedicated play for our team.
But JDS is not really a pure defensive CM, is he? And if he were, I would argue that our huge goals against is a pretty weak evidence for a top CDM, and quite honestly would rather spend my DP slot elsewhere. Can you name a "Top CM in League" that got 2 goals and 3 assists, in any top league (other than JDS in MLS of course)? Not just a team MVP or critical-to-his team player, but best CM in the league. I agree he's a very hard worker and breaks up a lot of plays through his workrate and positioning, and also grant that he tries to play like the star you are making him out to be, often successfully, but he's not quite there, and he gives up possession in dangerous spots too much as a result. Anyway, I see that you qualified your position that dos Santos is not REALLY the best CM in MLS, but rather a top 5 "defensive" mid. Just a little bit of a difference there, no??
Looking forward to first media availability after tomorrow's training. I wonder if we have any interesting trialists joining our group. We have a lot needs that decent MLS journeymen might be able to fill.
MLS clubs continue to zero in on South American talent. Numerous MLS clubs are scouting the South American Olympic qualifying tournament, including the LA Galaxy and LAFC. Gustavo Barros Schelotto is in Colombia for the Galaxy right now. #MLS— Roger Gonzalez (@RGonzalezCBS) January 21, 2020
Imagine... pic.twitter.com/qEAtXDIoG0— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) January 21, 2020 Imaginémonos cosas chingonas. pic.twitter.com/uYK2rxpmAH— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) January 21, 2020
Tracking the #Chicharito effect on #LAGalaxy social...Current numbers:Facebook: 2,275,000Instagram: 1,2000,000Twitter: 513,000Will update tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/C1JYkeRR19— Scott Sandalow (@ScottSandalow) January 21, 2020
Well, thanks for clarifying, but WarGalaxy said he was probably the best. I disagreed, saying that the best CM in the league can't have 2g/3a, and you said that WarGalaxy was right on this one because stats are not a good measure.
Well as predicted today is the day they officially announce his arrival. https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2020...superstar-javier-chicharito-hernandez-sevilla
I got a coworker who is a long time Chivas and Chicharito fan. He never followed MLS until LAFC arrived, and because of Vela (mainly), has become a big supporter of LAFC. I asked him if he would switch allegiances now because of Chicharito, and he said, no, I can't do that. So I really wonder how many new fans this is going to attract? Isn't the LA Mexican fan market already attached to either LAFC or the Galaxy? I doubt anyone's going to switch. I suppose if he scores bunches of goals, who cares?
Mexican striker Chicharito Hernández gave his first official interview as a member of the @LAGalaxy to columnist @dylanohernandez. Here's what he had to say. https://t.co/4E6p3RBlk8— L.A. Times Sports (@latimessports) January 21, 2020
Honestly never thought I would cheer for Chicharito, but here we are! LFG!! what a world we live in..
JDS is primarily a CDM. He can attack as well, but that has never been the thing that has made him worth signing. Also finding a CDM that also has a high stat of goals and assists is like finding a unicorn. But that's not what a CDM does anyway. But if you need a big name example of the best in a top flight league CDM here is one for you,... Fernandinho. He is ranked number one in the EPL and currently plays for Manchester City. You know how many goals he has currently scored this season? A grand total of One. With 5 being the most he has ever done since he has been on the team. His average is 3 goals a year and again he considered the best in the Prem. Here is another name Georginio Wijnaldum for Liverpool. This dude has been playing for 13 years now and had a couple magical seasons in his career where he actually achieved double digit goals. However he only scored 2 goals this season, with 3 the year before and only 1 the year before that. He averages 3 a year with Liverpool and only 6 for his career. Again CDM's are not brought in to score they are brought in to repossess the ball and return it to play for their team. Also with the atrocious play of our backline and overall team defense its not really fair to think that one man alone could stop the team from bleeding goals in the way we did. At one time Osvaldo Alonso was considered the best CDM in MLS; and during his all-star/best 11 season he only scored 1 goal. ONE! Again a CDM with CAM type stats is like finding a unicorn. I don't know what more to tell ya. But I do think you are being a little hard in your critique of JDS.
Before I forget! One of the best quotes from that LA Times article (prefer not to cite a Dylan Hernandez article here because he’s a Galaxy hater) is that GBS also wanted Chicharito. This isn’t a DtK thing. Coach and GM wanted player. If I remember correctly Klein wanted Gio and Gerard and Bruce wasn’t for it. Glad to see some consistency between our two leading men.
So what exactly do you want? Because in Zlatan we had a star that scored goals and you were claiming in 2018 that he wouldn't be a big signing. We're not getting a player like Zlatan in his prime. Nobody of that standard is going to forego playing at the highest level for the biggest prizes. Pavon is about as talented as you're going to get in terms of highly-touted up-and-comers, without having to fend off interest from the top leagues. JDS is about as good as you're going to get in terms of players in their prime with an established European career. And I call BS on anyone who claims that Vela in his last couple of seasons at Real Sociedad looked any more significant than our current 3 DPs.
But we're not talking about the best CDM. The contention was that JDS was the "best all-round CM in the League". It comes down to one's own opinion, but I doubt that you would find any polls that show Fernandinho or Wijnaldum as the best CM in the PL.
I like that Chicha interview. As a side note, I think the uniform looks better on a player then I thought it would. The silver seems really subtle although the lighting in that interview room is really bright so maybe that won't be what it looks like on the field.
I think we have established he is a top CDM (#1 in your book, not quite there in mine). But that was not the question! He is not THE BEST CM in MLS!!!
Sorry for replying to you 3 times in a row but I feel these all warrant a response: This guy is giving the only response an actual supporter can give. Like you said, he didn't pay attention to MLS but started following due to Vela and has adopted LAFC as his team. Having reached that point with them, what makes you think that he'd switch allegiances? The kind of fan who switches from rooting for LAFC to the Galaxy based on a signing, isn't truly a fan of either club. Chances are, if LAFC pulled off a miracle and signed Raul Jiminez or Chucky Lozano in the next couple of years, they'd switch back in a heartbeat. From a marketing perspective, this more about attracting the potential fan that your colleague was pre-Vela. And to clarify, I'm not saying that you don't necessarily want to cash in on the type of casual fan that switches allegiances, I'm saying that your colleague wouldn't be an indicator of how many people like that are actually out there.