Ah, I see the Xavier announcement was nine days before the Albright injury. The idea of Xavier to replace the defensive leadership of Albright made the most sense of any of this year's trades, but I guess that move was just very fortunate. Those two together would have made an awesome defense.
Here's something to keep in mind. And that was without Becks. All is not lost. Yet. http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20070810&content_id=110839&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp
While it is true LAG is ahead of last year, and while it is true that 39 points almost made the playoffs last year, do not forget the playoff rules have changed. LAG could get in last year by finishing 4 in the Western Conference. Not this year. The top 8 teams in the league go into playoffs, not technicaly a single table but close enough for all pratical purposes. So, we need to catch teams in the east as well as west. No, all is not lost. But it looks pretty darn grim. Particularly if Beckham's ankle has flared up again after only a few minutes play against DCU.
If I were manager, Id probably be inches from sacking this season as a bad job and starting to rebuild for next year. First to be shown the door would be Pavon, Vagenas, Klein and Jazic. Cobi will be gone so the signings will be key. I wonder if we will be lobbying MLS to extend the salary cap. I think we need a balance of experience and youth and talent and Pete Vagenas. I imagine Glinton will be leaving, and so too Alan Gordon, so we are looking at virtually a new team for next season. I can't see us making up the difference. We would need a dramatic upturn in performance and a great deal of luck. I desperately want to be wrong, but somehow I think not.
If in the future LAG decide to part company with Yallop, will his replacement be a straight forward hiring of a new coach or is it subject to the same limitations such as salary cap, etc ? Maybe the way to make the leap to being a true contender is to consider bringing in a seasoned coach from either Europe or South America ? One of the things that is frighteningly apparent is some almost schoolboy niave defending - im sure this must be getting to Abel and will rile Beckham. It seems mad to start bringing in such class players (along with some great home grown talent) whilst having relativley poor backroom staff .
Coaching salaries are not counted against the salary cap. There is no limit on the salary for the coach other than what the team is willing to do.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH YOU GUYS SUCK SO BAD IT"S CRAZY. It's not that you guys do not have a bad squad. On paper it looks alright...but don't let the names fool you. For example-Kyle Martino- This guy needs to just give it up, he is useless in the final 3rd. I get sick just watching him play. I have always said; ever since Frank was going to go with a 4-3-3. YOU DO NOT HAVE THE SQUAD TO GO WITH A 4-3-3. It does not work with this team. FC Dallas, Yes. LA, no. You have not scored a goal in the run of play in years it seems! Yet you still go with the 4-3-3. You guys will not make the playoffs. Galaxy are doing it to themselves. LA is a sinking ship...
I'm still hoping you guys make the final playoff spot. Lord knows Colorado dosn't deserve it. It just hurts to see the team the whole world is watching lose, it makes all of us look bad. I was at the 6-5 shoot out, cracking game, wrong team won though.
Lalas needs to go. Yallop needs to go. Any other season, they would have been gone a long time ago. Landon needs to go so we can spend the money on a better central defense, and a playmaker. And bring back Findley, Sturgis, Ngwenya, and Jaqua you idiots! CHRIS KLEIN?! Are you freaking kidding me?!?!?!?!?! This guy defines "suck." Why is he here? His time on the national team left me in tears. Why is he on my team?
One of the dumbests posts ever. Bring back Jaqua?? Has it been so long that you have forgotten the turds he layed all over the pitch before we shipped him out? Get rid of Donovan for a better central defense? Xavier has arguably been the best CB in the league since he got here. Roberts was slated to be one of the premier CBs in the league before he got hurt to start the season. Kyle Veris is also a very bright prospect @ CB. Both are better than Ty Harden and if Albright were healthy we'd have had Roberts @ CB instead of Harden. Hopefully Veris and Roberts both get healthy soon.
Sure; because every year, the MLS all-stars look like complete crap after 3 days of practice together. What about international squads that train for just a couple of days - many times there are new players in the squad that don't have a history on the team. Seriously - it's one thing to bring your game to an A+ level over time and learning each other's movements. But it doesn't take any time at all to play basic, solid defense, learn to possess the ball, and then just play with some HEART and emotion. I don't see it on this team. Perhaps exhaustion is part of it, but from what I hear, the management staff does little for conditioning of the team. Inexcusable. Especially before a 78 day road trip.
Yeah, I know. I'm grasping at straws really. It is more difficult now to make the playoffs when you're playing poorly than it was in the past. Which is a good thing. I'm just hoping that before the season is over we actually score some goals and start playing like a team - because let's not forget, we're going on tour after the season so the whole world can be treated to our gloriousness live and in person.
The small print at the bottom of our website clearly stated that the stars were not GUARANTEED to align. That was only subject to star availability. You can also blame global warming...