NGR: Wahl's Latest Piece on Gordon

Discussion in 'LA Galaxy' started by hav77, Aug 31, 2012.

  1. hav77

    hav77 Member+

    May 31, 2010
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
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  2. FlapJack

    FlapJack Member+

    Mar 3, 2006
    Los Angeles
    Good for Gordon. I'm not surprised he's doing well now that he's put Chivas and Toronto in the rear view mirror.

    I think a lot of us knew he'd be productive if he could stay healthy and get gametime.

    Of course my favorite Gordon story is his line to Beckham when they first met.
     
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  3. dashiel

    dashiel Member+

    Jul 15, 2000
    orange county
    Can’t forgive him for his goal celebrations. Call me old fashioned, but you don’t rip off your shirt to celebrate against a club that stuck by you far longer than your talent merited.
     
  4. FlapJack

    FlapJack Member+

    Mar 3, 2006
    Los Angeles
    Yeah. That was pretty classless. He must have been pretty pissed at the Galaxy. I forgot about that. I retract my "Good for Gordon" but stand by my comment that it is no surprise that he could be a productive forward. Too bad for him he's unlikely to to make it more than a couple more years in MLS.
     
  5. jeff_adams

    jeff_adams Member+

    Dec 16, 1999
    Monterey, Ca
    To be honest with you, I don't think he's ever been pissed with Galaxy fans, just Bruce Arena.
    Bruce never rated him or gave him a chance. I think Alan raises his game every time he plays against Arena because of that. Alan loved playing for the Galaxy.

    On why he's having a career year, he says it's because of desire and fitness (basically injury free). I think it has more to do with his calmness under pressure. I remember him getting plenty of goal scoring opportunities in LA and just blowing too many good chances (but finishing more difficult ones). Now, not only is he scoring at a high rate, but even the ones that don't go in are forcing some great saves from opposing keepers. His ratio of shots on frame is close to Wondo's and maybe the highest in the league.
     
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  6. Jazzy Altidore

    Jazzy Altidore BigSoccer Yellow Card

    Sep 2, 2009
    San Francisco
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Count me as one completely surprised that he became a good forward. He must be newly sober or something.
     
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  7. Cyclonis

    Cyclonis Forza Juve

    Jul 12, 2007
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Juventus FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    I still believe we would have beat RSL in that final if Arena had subbed in Gordon. :mad:
     
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  8. The Cadaver

    The Cadaver It's very quiet here.

    Oct 24, 2000
    La Cañada, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Don't know about newly sober or what, but I too am flabbergasted. I never saw him coming around, and I think Bruce gave him more than enough chances to prove himself - which he flubbed here. I guess he must have left his clumsy-shoes elsewhere. On the other hand, I am not sure he ever would have come around if he had stayed in an LAG shirt, and I like our forward tandem pretty well as it is and without him.
     
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  9. TrickHog

    TrickHog Moderator
    Staff Member

    Oct 14, 2002
    Los Angeles, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yeah, something clicked, or he's just having one magical year.

    8 prior seasons in MLS -- 22 goals.

    So far this season -- 11 goals.
     
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  10. Hachiko

    Hachiko The Akita on Big Soccer

    Jun 8, 2005
    Long Beach, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Late-bloomer.
     
  11. Beakmon FC

    Beakmon FC Member+

    LA Galaxy
    United States
    Jan 10, 2002
    The OC
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That. And there's no pressure or expectations in San Jose. Also the reason it's a perfect fit for Yallop.
     
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  12. The Cadaver

    The Cadaver It's very quiet here.

    Oct 24, 2000
    La Cañada, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Maybe true at the start of the season. Not true now. If they blow the supporters shield after this start it will be an epic choke ( Which is also a good fit for Frank Yallop).
     
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  13. 73Bruin

    73Bruin Member+

    Jul 12, 2008
    Torrance, California
    +1

    I remember his all too often playing the target forward and being unable to control the passes that came his way. It seemed like he had feet of stone.
     
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  14. jmaestro

    jmaestro Member+

    Mar 27, 2008
    Bakersfield
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yeah, I'm with this. I think his stint with the Galaxy pretty clearly showed that he had opportunities, got games (although not as many as he would have liked) and that he just wasn't productive enough. He just plain lacked finishing ability, even though his work rate and attitude were great. I think his short stints with Chivas and Toronto bear this out.

    I am not sure exactly what changed, because his finishing is just vastly better this year. I like the guy, so I am happy to see him doing well, even for a competitor. It may just be as simple as getting a few good goals, getting confidence, and getting on a roll. Only time will tell.

    In any case, if/when we meet SJ in the playoffs, I hope Omar smothers him and crunches him a few times in the process. Can't have him getting TOO uppity.
     
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  15. Hachiko

    Hachiko The Akita on Big Soccer

    Jun 8, 2005
    Long Beach, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If he gets the Mullan treatment, that's fine with me. Don't care if he's from my home town, either.
     
  16. New Mexican

    New Mexican Member

    Jul 5, 2005
    Albuquerque, NM
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I am glad that you are doing well.
     
  17. UcIceD2011

    UcIceD2011 Member+

    Jul 10, 2011
    Nor Cal
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'll echo what everyone else is saying. In terms of why he is doing well this year, he actually talks a little about it in the article. He said this is the first year that he was able to focus entirely on soccer. The other years he had to have 2nd and 3rd jobs just to pay the rent and eat. I know I'm beating a dead horse here but if MLS wants to get to where the higher ups profess they want to be, the salary structure is going to have to be larger. Of course the chicken and egg conundrum occurs when trying to find those extra revenues. Even though I always gave him a hard time when he was here, I'm glad that everything is starting to click for him. But when we meet in the playoffs I hope he turns back into the Galaxy Gordon.
     
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  18. Dawdler

    Dawdler Member+

    Apr 2, 2005
    Los Angeles,CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    it obvious he's on the PED's :)
     
  19. The Cadaver

    The Cadaver It's very quiet here.

    Oct 24, 2000
    La Cañada, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    What a weak excuse. There are a LOT of MLS players who are in the same economic circumstances that Alan is complaining about. And not all of them suck the way he did before this year. SOMEHOW they manage to focus on soccer.
     
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  20. UcIceD2011

    UcIceD2011 Member+

    Jul 10, 2011
    Nor Cal
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Oh, I definitely agree with you.
     
  21. Revived fan

    Revived fan Member

    May 9, 2010
    Sunny So Cal
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I liked Gordon when he was with LA. However, not to take anything away from his recent form, I will wait to see if he still can do this next season before saying that he has turned the corner. Any player will one time or another hit a hot streak in form, but seeing him play here for so long, I am not sure.
    And yeah, I don't like his celebration when scoring on us either. It is understandable that he didn't like to be traded away, but that is the nature of the business. I also don't like how little some MLS players got paid, but they have the choice to make a living doing something else, unless they choose to stick around to improve their performance and get paid higher.
     
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  22. Topper

    Topper BigSoccer Supporter

    Oct 19, 1999
    SoCal
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    He's a smurf.

    That makes him dead in my eyes.

    It also explains the cheesy tats and hugging that fuzzy headed fruit pie.

    There's a few reasons why he was able to celebrate by ripping off his shirt in our house. One of those reasons was named Perk, our 3rd string keeper, who should have either punched away the ball or Gordo's head. The other reason was because Gordon got what he deserved after several seasons of blowing easy chances and scuffing sitters over the crossbar. There was a long stretch during his tenure with the G's when he couldn't have scored in a nickel whorehouse. Bruce was right to let him go.

    It's interesting to bring up all the former G's who have come back to bite us in the ass. The list of those who faded away quietly is much longer - - Simon Elliot, Pass Back Pete, etc etc.
     
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  23. FlapJack

    FlapJack Member+

    Mar 3, 2006
    Los Angeles
    Yes.

    Absolutely Yes.

    I think the way we ditched him quickly to try and bring in a player wasn't done all that well - in that I don't think we ended up bring anybody in. However, we did right by Gordon. Trading him to Chivas, although anybody going to Chivas is going to be disappointed, was the least disruption to him. We let him stay in LA and the HDC. His sense of bitterness is childish. It was Chivas, anyway that shipped him to San Jose. It's them he should be angry at.

    And the Galaxy are absolutely better off with forwards of Keane, Donovan, Buddle, Villareal, McBean. Gordon would get virtually no minutes with us. He could only outperform McBean on that list, and with McBean being younger than some of Gordon's T-shirts, McBean has a lot more potential.
     
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  24. TrickHog

    TrickHog Moderator
    Staff Member

    Oct 14, 2002
    Los Angeles, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yes, we traded him to free up the roster space for our failed attempt to bring in Juan Pablo Angel...

    Not sure why we had to consummate the Gordon trade before the JPA deal was done -- but I know that that Galaxy thought the JPA deal was imminent and it fell through at the last moment...

    Of course, seeing how it went for us after we did get him in the off-season... maybe it all worked out for the best...
     
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  25. respite_cdd

    respite_cdd BigSoccer Supporter

    Feb 12, 2009
    Harrison, NJ
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    What's a "Gordon"?
     
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