Official: 2018 Rumor and Roster Moves Thread

Discussion in 'LA Galaxy' started by TrickHog, Sep 21, 2017.

  1. TrickHog

    TrickHog Moderator
    Staff Member

    Oct 14, 2002
    Los Angeles, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Remember in past seasons when we struggled with which 12 players to put on our protected list ahead of an expansion draft?

    Yeah, not so much this time around.

    Time to begin thinking about 2018.....

    If we have to keep our 3 DP's, then the only other players I want to make sure we have next year are Lletget and Boateng.

    I'm not sure what to do about Sigi and Dom, but Klein and Vagenas clearly need to go....
     
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  2. Lazy Assed Assassin

    Jul 21, 2015
    As the one of the most level-headed posters here that’s one of the sternest rebukes I’ve seen to date.
     
  3. WarGalaxy

    WarGalaxy Member+

    May 29, 2011
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It will not surprise me if Alessandrini submits a transfer request. After the team he was put on this year, I don't think this is what he envisioned being a Galaxy player was like.

    Also his baby mama is having difficulty picking up the language. Probably a scary thing when you're a new mother and can't communicate with the doctor very well. I could see her wanting to move back to France with their baby.
     
  4. rokstedy

    rokstedy Member+

    I love commieball
    Apr 20, 2001
    Northwest Orange County
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'd add Romain on my to-keep list but like WarGalaxy I wouldn't be surprised if he wants to transfer.

    I'd keep Sigi and Dom for the remainder of their contracts; I hope they can pull something off.
     
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  5. JPAR

    JPAR Member

    Aug 21, 2013
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Where do you even start? It's such a disaster. Clearly we need a whole new backline, that's priority one.

    Gio is a cancer, and in my opinion it's addition by subtraction. His quote from last night's game "I can make a run, but if your teammate doesn’t see you then your run doesn’t matter,” said dos Santos, who hasn’t scored in a league match since May 27 and has only six goals in 2017. “There are a couple things right now that we’re still building on. If you see last year, I remember my numbers were different. This time, I’m working harder than last year. I’m making good runs, but not getting recognition from the team"

    He can't beat anybody one on one, he creates very little, he cannot be our highest paid player.
     
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  6. Lazy Assed Assassin

    Jul 21, 2015
    I wish the reporter had followed up with: “You were unmarked in the box, 3 yards from goal and you put your shot wide of the goal.”
     
  7. soft tattooed millionaire

    LA Galaxy
    United States
    Sep 11, 2017
    The powers that be need to open up their eyes and see that the longer that this embarassing faliure continues, the less value they will receive when "hopefully" they try and get rid of players.
    This is the result of a closed door meeting?
     
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  8. MPNumber9

    MPNumber9 Member+

    Oct 10, 2010
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Not sure we'll see Klein and Vagenas out, but I do think it's likely at least one of them (Pete) is not in the same role next season. It'd make sense for Sigi to be the new GM, with Dom as the head coach?
     
  9. TrickHog

    TrickHog Moderator
    Staff Member

    Oct 14, 2002
    Los Angeles, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Luckily there isn't a new team starting up in LA next year, so we have some time to right the ship.......
     
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  10. The Beautiful Gamer

    The Beautiful Gamer BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 26, 2008
    Minneapolis, MN
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The Galaxy Town Hall Meeting
     
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  11. LEM-LAG

    LEM-LAG Member+

    May 28, 2011
    Club:
    Olympique Lyonnais
    2. Van Anholt : release, too much risk to take and he may not be ready at the beginning of next year.
    3. Cole : good bye.
    4. Romney : keep. I think he can be a good defender in a solid MLS team, and we already have too much work to do on the defense.
    5. Steres : keep for depth.
    6. Husidic : keep for depth.
    7. Alessandrini : keep, no need to explain.
    8. Jona : see what I say for Gio.
    10. Gio : can do a lot better, but can he bring what Landon, Keano and Becks brang to the team? No. Ideally, keep Jona and sell Gio, but it looks difficult for many reasons. That said, he looks more and more frustrated, so not impossible.
    11. Zardes : hard to see him starting next year at any spot (except maybe as a second striker if we sell Gio). Trade bait if the price is right, we need money to rebuild.
    12. Rowe : keep as cheap depth.
    13. Jones : release and retire.
    14. Rogers : hard to say. I'm not against keeping him as depth at a low salary, but only as depth.
    15. Lassiter : keep, can still progress IMO.
    16 : Smith : back to G2 and give him another chance.
    17 : Lletget : keep.
    18 : Diallo : release. Could be OK cheap depth if he didn't count as an international.
    19 : Jaime Villarreal : back to G2 and give him another chance, though I'm not sure he could be first team material one day.
    20. McInerney : release.
    21 : Arellano : keep, has shown good things with G2, only 19.
    22 : Kempin : keep, cheap depth like Rowe.
    24 : Boateng : keep.
    25. Garcia : release.
    28 : Ciani : hard to say after two games, but right now it's "release".
    31 : Diop : release, too many mistakes.
    32 : McBean : trade him while he has still value?
    33. Jose Villarreal : I like him but for his own good, I could see him request a trade.
    38. BJ4 : keep, not his biggest fan though.
    40. Mendiola : hard to see him make it to the first team on a regular basis, trade if the price is right.
    88 : Joao Pedro : back to Portugal/trade him. Can't play as a 6 in this league and we already have Jona at the 8 position.

    And just speaking about starters, we need : a GK, RB, CB, LB, DM, striker, and maybe LW (shared between Seba and Ema for 2018?).
     
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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
    Good analysis, but you are a lot more generous about who you would keep than I am. Too much carry over of negativity if the same faces show up. Clean house,
     
  13. L.A. Native

    L.A. Native Member+

    Aug 1, 2013
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Does anyone feel better after watching that?
     
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  14. rtdavide

    rtdavide Member+

    Apr 20, 2005
    Whittier, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't think it would be productive to jettison everyone, though I'll admit I was singing that tune after watching that first half at ATL.

    I still believe we have good midfield talent on this team. WAY better midfield talent than the results show. That probably means that the particular talent doesn't fit as well together in real life as it does on paper. But if everyone is available, we have Lletget, Jona Dos Santos, Jermaine Jones, Alessandrini, and Gio Dos Santos. there are five really talented players there. I know the counter arguments and grant them, but all I'm saying is that there is no lack of talent in our midfield

    What I do see is defensive breakdowns and once conceding, that feeling of "it's happening again" where the head goes down and the heart goes out of the game.

    Maybe the talent we have in the midfield isn't as interested in playing defense, but it needs to be. I have to admit I don't have enough tactical acumen to spot the exact weaknesses, but we seem to get caught up field and stretched, and then the midfield is unable/unwilling to get back. I remember when Bruce came in, he had to restructure the thinking of the team to a team defense- EVERYONE get back and play your defensive positions. If we're getting that kind of team response to defense, the actual defenders aren't as overwhelmed.

    But....our defense- we are just weak here. There are some serviceable parts, but overall, we're too slow and not tough enough for the current league. The defense needs an overhaul, starting with at least one major upgrade at center back. I like Romney and maybe he could play there as the second, but given he'll probably need to move out to left back, we may need two CBs. Right back- I did like VanAnholt and would maybe be willing to keep him around for when he finally is able to play again, but we for sure need an upgrade there too at least for the start of 2018.

    It wouldn't bother me if none of them were here in 2018, but it's easier said than done to just go out and buy a young, fast, cohesive and solid defense from scratch with the restrictions we have in MLS.

    I've been ok with Kempin for goal. He looks like he has really good reactions and stops shots that I think he won't. But the poor guy has been overwhelmed with the lack of defensive effort in front of him. But I don't really worry about him making the kind of mistakes we saw plague Rowe and Diop earlier this year.

    Striker- definitely need some speed and finishing quality here. I really wish it could be Gyasi, but nothing to date says that it can be.

    IF we get the defense sorted out and stop bleeding goals.... and that includes a team defense mentality, and get a striker who can finish some goals, then we can start to play with a little more confidence, and my guess is that some of these misfiring parts will begin to really shine.
     
  15. JPAR

    JPAR Member

    Aug 21, 2013
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Just for the record, I hate Romney as a left fullback. He is ok there in an emergency, but he is not a true fullback. It's time to stop forcing square pegs into round holes.

    Klein is a smooth talker, but the results say he has to go.
     
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  16. TrickHog

    TrickHog Moderator
    Staff Member

    Oct 14, 2002
    Los Angeles, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I liked Romney as a back-up left back / center back. His versatility made him valuable as a bench guy. Is he a starter in upper table MLS team...? Not sure about that....
     
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  17. TrickHog

    TrickHog Moderator
    Staff Member

    Oct 14, 2002
    Los Angeles, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Man, if we could just unload Gio and use that DP spot and all the allocation cash and roster space we'll free up from unloading Jones and JVD and Cole, etc. We have several pieces in place for a really nice 4-3-3

    ---Zardoateng---------------NewDP9-------------Alessandrini
    --------------------Lletget-------------------JDS
    ---------------------------------NewTam6
    NewLB----------NewCB-------BestCBwehavenow-----NewRB
    --------------------------------NewGK

    That would be 6 new players. Maybe a tall order to find 6 starters... but man that puts our current good players in their best positions. But Gio sorta screws that up because I don't see him as the front-runner 9 in a 4-3-3....

    Sigh...
     
  18. L.A. Native

    L.A. Native Member+

    Aug 1, 2013
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Klein makes it pretty apparent here that all 3 DPs are staying and probably 6 or 7 starters total that we have now under "guaranteed contracts." o_O

    cued:


    #KleinVagenasOut
     
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  19. skydog

    skydog Member+

    Aug 1, 1999
    Durham, NC
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    #19 skydog, Sep 23, 2017
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2017
    Keep Alessandrini, Boateng, Lletget and JDS (if he would stay w/o Gio) and plan for them to start. Try to find better than Romney so we can move him to a depth player. Keep Diallo, Rowe for the bench. Do everything you can do to get rid of the rest and start over.

    And I don't care that Gio and Jonathan are brothers - tell the former he needs to find a new club if he wants to play. And tell GDS we still want him and let him make the choice. I know they have contracts and AEG might have to shell out some bucks but there are ways to make players go away. Send Gio on loan to some LigaMX team and/or offer to pay part of his salary if someone will take him off our hands.

    We can't afford to be soft "nice guys" anymore. The team is being run like a rec league. Letting JVD leave when he did was a gigantic mistake. I know he was unhappy and it was awkward but a) he is a professional, b) LAG supposedly is a professional team and MLS is supposedly a professional league, c) he had just asked for and signed a contract extension in February, d) JVD waited until the summer transfer window was closed before he asked to be released. Sorry, at that point he should have been told "No. You should have come to us sooner - we can't replace you at this late date and its disrespectful to the team to let you just quit now. You can wait the two months it will take to finish out the season and then we will help you go where you want." and e) It also sent a message to the rest of the team that the FO doesn't take this team or winning that seriously. Oh, you miss your family and want to leave us high and dry three quarters through the season? No problem! We are just going through the motions anyway.

    This is just more evidence that Klein has to go before this team has shown it really wants to get back to being the "elite of MLS" that it used to be.
     
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  20. skydog

    skydog Member+

    Aug 1, 1999
    Durham, NC
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Klein doesn't get it at all. He is terrible at evaluating players and will continue to run the team poorly as long as he's here.
     
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  21. skydog

    skydog Member+

    Aug 1, 1999
    Durham, NC
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    #21 skydog, Sep 23, 2017
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2017
    Agree with a lot of what you say but since it's a discussion board I'll point out the few things I don't agree on.

    Talent in the midfield isn't enough. Motivation, discipline and a winning attitude matter as much. Gio and Jones fail miserably on those traits.

    Kempin looks like an ok keeper if you don't look too close. He has fine reactions if the shot is waist high or higher -- almost everyone of his "great saves" have been of that sort. But - like Kennedy before him- he isn't agile and is poor at getting down on low shots. Some keepers who have a similar problem at getting down quickly compensate by being great at kick saves but for some reason Kempin isn't very good at that either. Also his positioning is often poor and passive - he often gets caught half way out, in no-mans land and seldom forces a forward to rush his shot. The net result is that he makes it especially easy for forwards to pass the ball around him on the ground and inside either post, something we have seen happen several times already.

    I think Rowe is quicker and has better range. If you go back and look at some of the goals he was blamed for this season you will see they very well taken, hard hit and partially shielded shots from close range that just catch the underside of the crossbar. They looked like a bigger mistake than they actually were. Don't get me wrong - Rowe still isn't a great keeper - I would grade him a B- at best. But I would give Kempin an even lower C- compared to the keepers we face in this league.
     
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  22. TruffleShuffle

    Dec 7, 2011
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    unfortunately, neither is the future at keeper. either would make a great backup tho.
     
  23. LEM-LAG

    LEM-LAG Member+

    May 28, 2011
    Club:
    Olympique Lyonnais
    For the record, it's exactly the same thing with Hugo Arellano based on his G2 performances (and his first team performances too, the San Jose game was a nightmare, he was much better against TFC last week).

    I say this because I can see the FO saying we have depth at LB with them. It's not completely wrong but I would like two true LB at this spot (Rogers being the backup?).
     
  24. The Cadaver

    The Cadaver It's very quiet here.

    Oct 24, 2000
    La Cañada, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Rogers? Really how much value is there going to be in a guy who hasn't played for a year? Time to cut him loose and look for alternatives.
     
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  25. JPAR

    JPAR Member

    Aug 21, 2013
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
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