Mike Randolph is a "friend" of mine on facebook. At 4:05 PM on 2/23 he set his status to 'Michael Randolph is no longer wit the Galaxy." (Spelling was his not mine.) I liked Mighty Mike and thought he had potential, and he was definitely good to the fans. I guess this means Eddie Lewis will be at left back this season which certainly does not provide a speedy left back.
Damn. I'm not too happy with this, but not shocked. If Eddie is really going to play LB, we also have dunivant, so Randolph becomes somewhat expendable. But I always liked him, and thought he had potential. I'm not a fan of Bruce bringing in mediocre players he likes, and cutting mediocre players we already had. But more than anything this makes me worried about Brandon McDonald. I can hardly sleep at night I'm so worried. . If Bruce cuts him, or trades him...
mike didnt tell me he changed his myspace "my dream is to be your worst nitemare.lol im no longer wit the L.A. galaxy " sorry mike
This is my biggest problem with Arena. He seems to be playing favorites with his old guard. I wonder if he still has an eye for new talent? Randolph had his moments... How is Randolph off the team but Elly Allen still here?
He did drop off last year and we didnt really see that potential we saw at the end of 2007. But with that said, I think what we are seeing here is nothing new. New coach, dropping the old coaches players and signing in the people he wants. Lets just hope Bruce Arena™ can do a better job than Alexi Lalas™. I wont feel confident until we open the season with a win and do well from then on out. Remember, Gullit did this also. He cleaned house a bit, etc and we were in 1st or 2nd place for a while last year until we got into a funk for three months.
I'm very happy to see Randolph gone and hope Ely Allen follows him out the door. I think that Allen had potential, but we don't have the roster space for long-term projects, with the elimination of so many developmental roster spots. Hopefully both will find soft landings at USL sides.
The reason he was let go is they already finished the deal for Honduran Osman Chavez. They will be anouncing it soon.
That's great. Would you know if they're planning on playing him at left back (in case Dunivant, Lewis, Griffin and DeLaGarza are not enough) or in the middle of defense?
I was not a Mike Randolph fan. To me he stagnated last year and I didn't see improvement in his game. I hate, however, losing our kids. I feel bad for him and hope he finds a soft landing in the USL to hone his game. I hope (if rumors are true) Chavez is the man, because if he's another Dominguez I'm going to lose it. I only hope Becks buys himself out of his contract and we make a play for Beasley. Maybe Bruce has a plan. Go G's.
I'm sorry to see him go. Outside of Lewis, I don't see a whole lot of left-footed attacking option anywhere. Mike didn't have the best season last year, but he had some very good games in 2007. I remember him matching up really well with Dane Richards one game and giving NYRB a tough time. Apparently Bruce doesn't remember that, though.
I think we're all forgetting how wonderful Randolph was in 2007 as our left back. One of the few bright spots. Let's hope Franklin doesn't suffer a similar poor sophomore slump.
Trapdoor Sad news for Mikey. hate to lose that speed but no skills, no height, and horrible possesion gets you a ticket out the door. Soon to follow him are the following: Ely Allen, Leonard Griffin, Josh Tudela, Mike Munoz.
I remember those games, too. He showed some real guts for us that difficult year. Tudela ditto. Good luck to Mike Randolph. God, I get tired of seeing the majority of our team turn over every year. When will it end?
We've let plenty of guys go who had talent, especially young players. Randolph had his downside, I admit, I don't really blame Bruce, and signing Chavez seems like a good idea, although we need a centerback more than a left back. Ah, I'm babbling, now I'll stop. I'll check back when I actually have something coherent to say.
I guess the team just had so much pace that we had to get rid of some. New rumor: LA just signed Wynalda, but he won't start until 2017.
I liked Randolph, but he really lacked touch and composure on the ball. I think his strengths were his speed and his positioning (sometimes). However, I think last year we saw that his touch never really improved, and that made him a real liability. I hope he does well, but I think Dunivant is a better option (as is Lewis, if he's healthy).