Robbie Findley (sorta R)

Just watching the game, Findley was a big mistake imo, yes we got Klein (iirc) but he was a goalscorer, and is now one of the players we miss. We could do with a striker that gives us the option to play LD in midfield, with a bit of pace to play alongside Edson.

 

Is it me or does it seem that we always give up on young forwards?

 

It's been over two years...turn the page and stop whining. At least no one is still bitching about us getting rid of Sturgis. Dude sucks.

The BEST thing that could have happened for Robbie Findley was getting traded OUT of LA. That was the height of all the initial Beckham madness. There is no way a young striker like Findley could have honed his game under those circumstances.

He would have seen little or no time under Yallop, played a few reserve games. Findley would have ended up getting cut and toiling away in the USL or whatever the hell it's called these days.

Instead, he ended up in a a less-pressurized environment, with a former striker as his coach. Now, he's thriving to the point where I could see him as a viable replacement for Charlie Davies.

That NEVER happens if he stays in LA...no effing way.

 

Findley played great, i am surprised we gave this guy up too. He's got game.

 

like beakmon said i rather him get playing time than be on the bench for galaxy, maybe bradley can take some looks at him.

 

Didn't we give up Sturgis and Findley?

 

In the Squad, we called him "Irish".

I miss the dude, but I agree that he wouldn't have reached his potential in Cirque Du LA.

tm

 

This.

If Findley did stay, I bet we'd all be griping about him as much as we do with our current forwards. But look at this: Buddle has found his scoring touch and I'm confident that he and the rest of the team will do the job this Sunday.

 

We didn't "give up" on Robbie. Lalas (and/or Yallop) WANTED Klein and in a trade you have to give to get.

 

I support the decision to trade Findley for Klien. Findley wasn't going to help us at the time. Klien was arguably and often the best player on the team in years prior. Maybe not so much today, but I still think he's a better option at right half than Birchall. IMO, Birchall's passing and crossing doesn't come close to that of Chris Klien.

Findley sure does look to play the part now. But I still think the Galaxy, built for today, beats RSL when and if it comes to that. Winning is all that matters now, and even with Findley, the Galaxy are the better team.

 

I disagree. While Klien may have been better in 2007 when Findley was a rookie, I think he would have played a lot in 2008 under Gullit. Probably would have been our starting forward paired with Buddle. This would have allowed Landon to move to the left or center mid. This probably would have stopped the stupid trade of Chris Albright for allocation money in 2008. We probably would have scored more goals and given up fewer last year.

All in all, this is another example of the terrible effect that Lalas and Yallop had on the Galaxy.

 

I thought it was a dumb trade then, and I still think it was a dumb trade now. And I don't think anyone was surprised we made a dumb trade. That was the front office modus operandi under Yallop, Lalas, Bravo, and Gullit.

Findley might not have developed as well if he'd stayed, but I'm certain 2008 and 2007 were wasted seasons with no tangible results so who cares if Klein was better then. We weakened our roster long term for a short term fix, it didn't work and people were fired. If he stays, he counts less against the salary cap than Klein now and he has more trade value, and could even be played to build around. For those of you who love what Klein offers (and I like him as a player), in an alternate reality where we don't make that trade we probably could have picked up an aged Klein this offseason for not much at all.

 

I agree with most of what you wrote, except I think it was a smart trade getting rid of Albright. I was sad to see him go and of course we wasted the allocation money, but the fact was he was an MLS all-star RB recovered from injury who still had trade value. As a GM move it was shrewd. Since the trade he's predictably had more injury problems and never been worth his salary. Also we had drafted Franklin and gambled that he'd turn out solid. That gamble played off - he's been good. Of course are defense was so thin that he was forced to play at CB, but that's an entirely different problem.

 

Hindsight is always 20-20. Me..I never look back. I'm not going that way.

 

This wasn't about hindsight. This was about a front office that traded a very promising rookie (16 goals in 18 games in the PDL) for an aging veteran with two to 3 years left in the tank. Between his two goals in 9 appearances as a sub with the Galxay (the same as Klien's Galaxy total) and 6 goals in 16 appearances with RSL is pretty clear the trade was a disaster before the first season was over.

Now if you are Alexi Lalas, who invented the idea that Klien was the 2007 MVP after the media voted Landon the award, then I can understand if you might disagree.

IMO the trade was a perfect example of the old Branch Rickey rule, its better to trade a player a year too soon then trade him a year too late.

 

I think that's the idea of looking back. If the Galaxy front office looks back at some of the horrendous moves of the past, hopefully they won't be going back that way again.