Zlatan “bland?” I’m happy to have Chicharito. I thought a lot of problems in defense last season were due to coaching. I’m hoping a focus on team defense AND new additions help. Getting Pumped...
Seems to be official now: https://www.goal.com/en-us/news/chi...ansfer-from-sevilla/syns9eunpydg1lvdv3121wev7
Kind of funny how defense has clearly been our problem the last 3 straight seasons, and we still have done almost nothing to fix that yet again.
DtK / Schelotto have signed like 7 defenders over the past two season: Polenta, Araujo, Traore, Gonzalez, Acosta, Insua, and pursuing Zambrano. Maybe you could argue none of those are upgrades, but I don't think you can say we have done "nothing".
We clearly need one more “ marquee” defender expected to start or play heavy minutes. Wonder what the latest on that Zambrano fella is.
A couple of werks ago, we were rumored to be after Brazilian GK Ricardo Friedrich, who plays in Norway. So far, nothing besides the Eric Lopez signing. I thought Eric was a year away from the first team. He is 20, so they either will have sit and learn for a year, or loan him. I would rather see anybody over Bingham. Would like to see some actual competition.
You clearly didn't watch Vela's career in Europe. He had one, maybe two strong years in Spain and that was it. Even then, his production in Spain had a precipitous drop after that spell. There's a reason that at age 30 he's entering his 3rd year in MLS. I'm as big an advocate of MLS as you'll find but let's be under no illusions here: Vela has benefited from the weaker level of play here, just as Bradley Wright-Phillips (barely a journeyman at EFL Championship level in England) and Clint Dempsey (very solid run in England but he was doing freaking stepovers during his time with the Sounders) did. I'm not sure how much Hernandez has declined but if he's got anything close to his prior instinct for runs, positioning and finishing, with the right service he could be lethal. I take it your comment about Alessandrini, who has been injury-prone since before he got here, is hyperbole to reflect your displeasure at the prospect of signing Chicharito? Oh and if we get any player that is nearly as productive as past-his-prime Zlatan, I'll consider that a success.
I'm with Skevin - we've done too little for defense. Since GBS has been here: Polenta - his best addition, really helped last season but left team. No help now. Gonzalez - skilled defender but struggled a bit last season. Araujo, Traore - not recruited, just promoting young Academy/GII players to let them dip their beaks in first division play. Araujo has potential to be good but I don't see it with Traore. Acosta - part time player who fell out of favor with both RSL and Orlando. Insua - strong resume, starting in the Bundesliga until Fall '19 when he only had 6 appearances. Not sure if loss of starting position was related to his play or his competition or injury. Zambrano - wishful hope at this point. So our defensive changes so far for 2020: Lost one A player (Polenta), added one possibly A/B player in Insua and added an MLS reject in Acosta. Did nothing about questionable goalkeeping. Hopefully we get Zambrano.
So my point is we have no longevity in that position and I am talking even 2 seasons. I am more disappointed in our recruiting than anything. Every single off-season is always seems like defense is never the priority despite us clearly needing more there. Our defense keeps coming and going likely because there is no long term plans from what I have seen.
Rumblings that the Chicharito deal has hit some bumps in the road and may not happen. Could be quite embarrassing this late in proceedings. Whether it goes through or not, there's a lesson here for the Galaxy FO about allowing such a saga to unfold so publicly. I assume they're the ones providing updates to Corner of the Galaxy's Josh Guesman.
We're in the "Sevilla or Chicharito are trying to extract more from the Galaxy" stage of the deal Galaxy is concerned the potential Chicharito deal could fall apart at this stage, sources tell CBS Sports. #MLS #LAGalaxy 😮— Roger Gonzalez (@RGonzalezCBS) January 16, 2020
We'd better hope that's all it is because this story has dominated the media and the narrative has basically been that it's formality. I have to wonder if we've sold any season tickets based on this assumption and what the backlash might be. As it is, a failure to get this guy, who is seen as one of the biggest draws in the world for the North America, would be a marketing disaster. This is why big clubs manage expectations until the deal is done.
I think Josh makes good points at his CofG blog: http://cornerofthegalaxy.com/2020/0...ransaction-and-rumor-tracker-2019-20-edition/ Sevilla already signed his replacement. Hernandez isn't going to get the $5-7m per year that the Galaxy are reportedly paying him anywhere else. I think those two facts line up with him signing with us. I think this is just a final shake down. I get the frustration at the cat getting out of the bag on this one but in today's social media age I don't know how you can avoid it. I mean, all the Galaxy FO has officially done is say "it will be a hard deal to pull off" about a week ago. Everything else is coming from outside. Unless the FO is saying "done deal" to those people I'm not sure what their fault actually is.
Your right about the PR issues but selfishly I'm more concerned about the implications for our on-field product. Getting Chicharito gave me optimism about the offense this season. If we whiff on a dynamic striker then I see little hope for this team until June and at that point it may be too little, too late to salvage the season. TBH I'm getting older and losing patience for the Galaxy to get it's act together. I don't have forever!
FYI: Aleksander Katai is the only @LAGalaxy player scheduled to speak today. No @LAFC players scheduled.— Delmy Barillas (@DelmyBarillas) January 16, 2020 MLS Media day
Oh, I agree 100%. As it stands, our roster is worse than last season, which is starting to get worrying. Ultimately, I'm not too worried about butts in seats beyond facilitating our ability to produce a strong team. If we're still poor on the field, I don't care if Messi himself is starting for us. It's just that this deal has been so pervasive and so sold as a "done deal" (and credit here to J Guesman in being diligent about saying "the deal's not done til it's done"), that it could have a significant fallout. I hope the FO hasn't all been sitting in Spain all this time and neglected to make progress on shoring up the defence. As we saw last season, you can have the best forward available and it won't help if you're hemorrhaging goals.
Start ringing up that plan B striker we apparently were looking at in the premier league. If Hernandez or Sevilla is trying to get more money, then we need to start looking elsewhere. Hernandez shouldn't be the only option we have.
Katai will be wearing no. 7. Pretty self explanatory. #LAGalaxy— Delmy Barillas (@DelmyBarillas) January 16, 2020 That probably means Romain is definitely gone.
Crap, do that if only to hammer the point home that we've got options. Another issue with letting the hype machine roll: Sevilla and Chicharito have basically spent a week being told that he'll arguably be the biggest signing in MLS since Beckham. That gives them a lot of leverage.
Latest on Galaxy and Chicharito: Player still hasn't agreed to terms, and am told there have been a couple bumps in the road. #MLS #LAGalaxy— Roger Gonzalez (@RGonzalezCBS) January 16, 2020 It seems the bump in the road is vs Chicharito. He is not going to get paid MORE from anyone else.
Not sure JDS would have any special knowledge but fwiw... Just sat down with Jonathan Dos Santos. Said he is hopeful Chicharito will join the Galaxy and stressed what it would mean for the team and for the Hispanic community. #LAGalaxy— Roger Gonzalez (@RGonzalezCBS) January 16, 2020