Hey, did anyone else catch Alexi Lalas on Fox Football Fone in last night? He was in the hot seat - being grilled by Steven and Nick Webster and fielding questions from some angry LA Galaxy fans who want either himself and/or Frank to be fired, etc. Anyway, one question put to him by Steven was the rumor he'd heard that Alexi would give up Landon to SJ if they got another big name player (he mentioned Zidane). I thought Alexi didn't wholeheartedly shoot that rumor down. All he said (my paraphrasing) was that Landon is the best US player right now and that so far nobody could replace him. Sounded like the emphasis was on the best AMERICAN player but that if he could get his hands on another big internatl name he'd release Landon like the proverbial hot potato. Anyone else think that? Or maybe I'm just suspicious..
As a rule I try to avoid anything involed with Alexi the Clown as the sight of him makes me puke and the verbal diarhea he spews out is all bull.
I'm right there with you. Alexi didn't directly answer that one, or the obvious follow-up on Frank Yallop's status-when the Galaxatives don't make the playoffs, what happens with Frank? He said something weasely about re-evaluating the situation. Wasn't that so much fun? I loved it!
That would make more sense, actually. ZZ and Donovan play different positions (ie, offloading LD, means LA would have to replace him with someone else and get ZZ). It would be cool getting to meet a Juventus legend.
I thought that gAlexi was pretty clear that he didn't want to get rid of Landon. He did say that the evil, cheating, league-favored, child-abusing, degenerate, water-stealing, smog-breathing galactoposers would need another DP slot to keep Narcissus, unless the league changes it's rules. Commish Garber has said, no changes. Thus, the evil, vile, pus-sucking galactovermin will take Houston's DP slot for a fourth round draft pick and Narcissus's used tissue paper. I cannot imagine that the vermin will allow Narcissus to get away from them. Besides, they suck so badly, they will want every possible advantage for their sorry ass side. I taped it, because I couldn't suffer through the whole thing in one go. I'll watch more of it today. GOOOOOOO QUAKES!!!!!! - Mark
Hmmm...maybe altho I wouldn't trust Alexi as far as I could throw him; he is tall and I am small so I couldn't throw him far at all. Just don't be eating when you watch the tape.
So hey how does it feel now SCUM fans to be whining and complainig all the time..... and you guys use to complain about US QuAKE fans ! ! ! you bunch of scummy !o$er$ ! ! ! payback is sure a biaaaach ! ! !
I caught it too last night and as much as a clown that Alexi is, I commend him for cmoing on the show and trying to spin the disaster that Galaxy season has been (other than their SuperLiga showing). I actually wish there were more venues like last nght where management gets to sit in the hot seat and answer the fans. US soccer has grown a lot and seeing the Galaxy fans and Steve and Nick asking Alexi to answer the hard questions was great. Our expectations are higher now and fans need to have such forums to have their grievances addressed.
Say what you want about Alexi, but at the end of the day, he's just about the only one willing to stick his neck out like that and face the music. I bet Chicago fans would just love for Guppy to come out of his ivory tower and go on a call-in show. Not to mention Crew fans with the Hunt management, USMNT fans with Bradley or Gulati, etc. etc. He may screw over individual teams like nobody's business, but he's good for American soccer.
I think more interesting than the Donovan to San Jose thing was that he totally dodged the question from Steven about Juergen Klinnsman as coach. Steven asked Alexi to deny that he's had/having conversations with Klinnsman about coaching the Galaxy, and Alexi did everything but deny it.
Lalas sounded like a rank amateur who is in way over his head. It was pathetic to hear him repeat ad nauseam that Golly, this has never happened before. We learning as we go. It's a lot to deal with. I'm real happy Alexi is trying his hardest, but this is supposed to be a professional sports league competing with the NBA, NHL, MLB, and NFL for sports fans. Thank god I'm a DC United fan. At least our GM sounds like a professional when he is interviewed. The suits at AEG have got to realize that Alexi will piss away their investment if he is left in charge. The caller who cited his 30% win rate as a GM at 3 MLS clubs was spot on. Alexi must talk a good game to get these GM jobs cause he has never put together a decent team. For the league's sake I hope he gets replaced very soon. He is an embarrassment.
The funniest part was when the caller asked about the 10% price increase for season tickets. Alexi looked like he had no idea that the new prices had been announced by LAG ticket reps passing out order forms at the last game, and maybe he had no idea what the new prices were. He told the caller to call his rep and be "pleasantly surprised," but all the posters on the LA board are saying that their reps just confirmed the increased prices.
I mostly just have sympathy for Lalas. He is doing the best he can. And it would be utterly foolish for anyone to have ever thought that Alexi could do any better than he's doing. There is absolutely nothing in his resume to suggest otherwise. The blame lies squarely at the feet of those who hired him. I mean, if you hire an automobile mechanic to remove your appendix and he does a poor job, it's your own damn fault really. Why would anyone expect Alexi to be better? In fact, if he didn't have shaggy red hair and a red goatee during WC 1994 he would never have even gotten the job. I suppose you could argue that he shouldn't have accepted the job if he wasn't qualified but that's pretty unrealistic.
So how is sticking your neck out, and blowing smoke up peoples ass, good for American Soccer. Oh yeah he played in Serie A, and had a funny hairdo. The guy is an incompetent, two faced, lying sack 'O sh!t, puppet! his run should have been over long ago, but fortunate for him those that hired him are just as if not more clueless then he is.
I am not the creator of the gAlexi spelling. I can't remember who started it, but it certainly is great! GOOOOO QUAAAAAAAAAAKESSS!!!!!!!! - Mark
I have to give gAlexi Lala props for going on the Fox Football Fone-In show. Nevertheless, I don't ever want to hear OUR GM, or Coach, or anyone associated with OUR team sound like such a mealy-mouthed, cliche-ridden, blathering, idiot. It sounds like he thought of the worst questions he could be asked, thought up ways to duck them, and then went at it. This was a PR effort, rather than a frank conversation with the fans. What a turd fondler! I love that El-Lay are suffereing, whining, losing, and really sucking the big one. It's just such perfect pay back!!! GOOOOOOO QUAAAAAAAAKES!!!!!! - Mark
Well he's had 3, almost 4 full years on the job now. He ought to have learned some things, and he probably has. But the main thing that bothers me is that he'll go into his "it's a results oriented business" schtick when talking about the state of Frank's job, etc., but acts like he's somehow free of accountability. AEG won't hold him accountable because they are so enamored with Alexi as a "soccer personality" / media icon. I think the best thing for him would be to get fired, to learn some humility, and to understand that he can be held accountable also. Seriously, just drop him back down from the perch onto which he was placed by AEG, and make him learn, with humility, what it takes to get back up and really provide value to an organization beyond one-liners and provocative statements.
An in-depth interview with gAlexi and Waldo sauced in a pub would do well to reveal some truths while providing intriguing entertainment value for soccer fans. Hidden camera, film to YouTube, strange man cries about sh**y soccer team, film at 11:00. Earthquakes season tix to the one to posts it first.
Surely, you don't mean three or four years as GM of the evil, cheating filth right? He's only been there since April of '06. He became our GM <gag!> in January of '04, so three and a half years as a GM, and three teams. Yeah, you'd think that he'd know better by now. Oh, he did say that he knows he could get fired and if he does, he'll understand that that's the way the business goes. I expect that he'll get "promoted" to some other position within AEG rather than just get tossed onto the trash heap. It would be best if he remained the GM in Lalaland for another season or two, so they can continue to suck fully. I'm still hoping that they fire Frank . . . so we can get him!! GOOOO QUAKES!!!!!! - Mark