Your Right Geneva, I guess i'm just trying to look at it in the positive way. But as far as Europe I don't think he was gonna go anyway. He's been to Greece and did not make it. His only other options were really Mexico or South America. I guess all we can do is hope that this season will be a good one.
What the Galaxy and Dallas have shown is that they will not hesitate do dump the Fish, Carlos needs to learn his place because I think at this point any team in the league would dump him if his actions became a distraction. He has lost his shine, this season will show if it is time for him to go back to Guatemala.
I don't think it will be that big of a problem. He considers Albright like a brother so I would expect Albright will be a very steadying influence with him. The guy is going to see better service than he has seen in a very long time. That alone will limit the diving he does and get him focused on just putting the ball in the net. I watched him in person several times last season and he still can play. No worries there. I am all for having him back, just concerned about how much salary he will actually eat up.
He wasn't a distraction at FCD. Not at all. Fans who didn't like him didn't like him for the diving. I think those fans are idiots, personally. One problem was that with Cooper hurt, and our midfield distracted, he didn't have a compliment this season. He was cold this season but still gave a solid effort every game. He is not going to be a cancer. The biggest issue is whether he regains his scoring touch. Age, not spirit, is a bigger issue.
It's good to hear good words from someone who saw him in person. I hope you're right. I don't know if anyone knows for certain, but I think the best guess is he's $325,000 against the cap. That's quite a bit - 15%. He'll be worth it if he can score 15 goals, or distract the defenses while Landon does.
Didn't he do his disappearing without team permission act once this past year? I thought I remembered that. If not, maybe he's matured.
The good news is, I guess I can stop hating Dallas now. The bad news is, I really wanted to support LA..... Too bad
Yeah, but to be honest, I don't care that much about disappearing as long as it isn't the playoffs and as long as he explains it to his teammates. To me, that is much different than the cancer who has issues with his teammates or coaches.
Why do we have so many houston Dynamos on this thread....they are just hating because el pescado and beckham (Fish and Chips) will destroy their defense and snatch the cup from them. I can't wait for the MLS season to begin...it's going to be awesome.
First reaction: Eeewwww, I need to take a shower. Second, well, yesterday's news that I need a total hip replacement is no longer depressing me; THIS is. Third, my spouse says we need a Central American player for the MLS Final. So, maybe it's OK.
This is ridiculous. If we don't (barring injuries) absolutely walk through the league, it's something other than the players available. Ruiz only sucks if the opposing team can cut off passes to him. That won't happen with Beckham in midfield. Either two players try to stop Beckham which opens other midfielders to make the passes, or Beckham makes them himself. Cronin will prove to be at least a decent MLS starting goalie Xavier's not leaving right? So, one of the best defenders in the league is on the team, too. The other likely starters are at least decent by MLS standards, and some have huge potential. Yes, Ruiz will flop and try to get penalties and free kicks. We will not be happy about that, except when Beckham puts them away. The potential is there for this to be a team the league remembers.
You're an optimist, that's for sure. Hope you are right about Cronin, but there is little evidence to support that he'll not have a tough period of adjustment to the life of a starter. As for X...well, he was a part time player last season. Who wants a starting defender who refuses to play on turf? After all, 4/13 of the league uses that surface. Not to mention his effectiveness faded very quickly after he had played about 6 games for us. To think we can expect to walk through the league is insane. Winning is a habit and unfortunately it's a habit the Galaxy haven't really had since the Rose Bowl. The first month of the season is absolutely critical for us. If we start out slowly, all the questions and accusations could very quickly KO this very fragile group. We need to get on a roll from the start.
Two words why I have some optimism about this move: Randy Moss It's a risk, for sure, but if being around consumate professionals like Becks and Donovan can bring out the best in him, he's shown that he's a deadly finisher. And with Donovan and Beckham on the field, the Fish is going to get a lot of service. Just think how many sitters Pavon blew last year. Now take him out and put Ruiz in the same position.... Yeah, see what I'm saying. If we had given up some field starters for Ruiz, I'd be pretty upset. But trading, in essence, Cannon for Ruiz sits a little better with me. I guess the question is -- is the drop in quality from Cannon to Cronin more or less than the increase in quality from Pavon to Ruiz? I'd say there is a pretty good chance that Ruiz + Cronin > Pavon + Cannon. Anyway, I always look at the quality of the bench to see where we stand. Without a single other roster addition, and with everyone back healthy, we'd have something like this: ------------Ruiz --Donovan---------Klein ---------Beckham -----Tudela----Harmse Randolph-Harden-Xavier-Albright -----------Cronin That's a 4-3-3. You could swing Tudela out left and slide Donovan inside to a 4-4-2. You could replace Tudela with Gray or Martino perhaps. But that's basically our best starting 11. Now, if everyone is healthy, look at what we have on the bench: Forwards: Buddle, Gordon Mids: Martino, Kirk, Gray, Vagenas D: Jazic, Roberts I see at least 4 players last year that we were relying on as starters now being on our bench. Meaning that our starting lineup is better, and the subs coming into the game are better. Obviously, we need some more guys still. A second keeper to challenge Cronin, a true left mid, a dedicated d-mid and another central defender since Xavier's health can be iffy... But I think if you take that starting lineup, and just find a tougher, more experienced d-mid to replace one of those guys, and if everyone plays to their potential and stays healthy, that team could be playing for MLS Cup 2008... P.S. Let's not forget that we now have both of the players who carried us on their backs to our two championships in '02 (Ruiz) and '05 (Donovan). Plus, we all know that the Galaxy can only win MLS Cups when their is a Guatemalan on the team.
The leagues biggest flopper and the leagues best free kick taker on the same team. This could work out.
I hate that aggrieved look Ruiz gets on his face everytime he doesn't get a call. With Beckham on the team, I think I will come to love Ruiz's self-satisfied smirk every time he does get the call.