Nowak, Blanco, and Schelotto were all 34 when they came to MLS. I don't think acquiring them was very dumb.
At the time it wasn't. Beckham wasn't dumb either. But Lampard? Gerrard? Yeah, really dumb. Hopefully the Galaxy and NYCFC get stuck paying out the contracts to these retirees so they learn a lesson.
Teams need to avoid signing aging midfielders that will be expected to run box to box and break up possession for the other team. Even Queretaro, a team that played yesterday, fields a 40 yr old Sinha, but his role is really well defined. He's not there to play defense. He's there to play a great ball to the forwards.
On paper, the Galaxy starting 11 is as talented, if not more talented, than Santos which begs the question: why did they get destroyed last night? Is it fitness (schedule)? Is it tactics (Arena)? Is it desire (mental toughness)? Its not skill, that is for sure. Can someone please explain HOW they lost so badly?
Fitness.....ummm....they were down 3-0 by the 36th minute. Mental toughness....ummmm....Gerrard, De Jong, Gio, Keane they have all played at the highest levels...so probably not. I think the gap in quality between the starts and the rest of the team is just to much.
Yeah, except they weren't retired back then (Keane still plays tough, the others not so much). Back when those guys were playing in CL and the WC they clearly gave a shat. No shats were given last night. They have zero incentive to play rough, why risk an injury or train hard when you're in the final years of your career and are guaranteed several million dollars? I do agree that there's greater disparity from roster spots 5 on down, but the Galaxy's big guns were big guns. They sure aren't anymore. And I think they're OK with that.
Does that apply to dos Santos as well? I quit the game early on so I can't judge performances, but he certainly has incentive to perform considering he's only 26.
I was thinking more like this.... That's on Garber. That salary cap structure is so stifling that essentially sets up teams to fail against more balanced and well paid MX rivals. You're spending all your money to attract the a couple aging "Pele" star power to attract the audience. And the team has to do roster gymnastics to fit the rest of the league under a stifling 4 million cap total, because the small market teams, who don't even use the DPs as they're intended, wouldn't be able to compete. Garber can't expect results if He won't let MLS have super teams with well stacked rosters like Liga MX has.
I know you guys and us disagree on this, but it is clear to us MEX fans that Dos Santos doesn't care anymore, Dos Santos is to young to retire. He left Europe for MLS' money and lifestyle in LA. I don't think Gio give any more shats than Gerrard or De Jong or any other retiree.
Which is surprising. Maybe the borracho thing is true. It sure looks like his national team days are done. I'm not sure why people here would disagree with that, he's playing like he already bought his ticket to Cambodia.
Recently, Jose Ramón Fernandez and company commented on how the apparently less talented (Chicharito) out of his generation (Gio and Vela) is the most successful by far based on his work ethic and ambition. Gio seem to have found a comfort zone.
What don't you understand about 'he used to play in the premier league'? It says right there in the CBA. Rule #37 'If you have played in the premier league circa 2002-2007 you are entitled to larger salary than all other team mates combined'
Question #1: Would the Galaxy and/or MLS ever bench a guy making over $5M a year? Question #2: Would said guy give a crap? Question #3: Is a 100% Scrubby McWannabe better than a 50% Gerrard or Dos Santos?
I am completely fascinated by the Liga MX teams ability to just kinda look at an MLS team and go "ok, time to end this" ... Then score three or four goals in quick succession. EVERY ... FVCKING ... TIME ...
Happens to Central American teams too. Herediano came into the second leg @ Azteca with a 3-0 lead.... in 30 min they were down 5-0..... Tigres has a very tough game this weekend vs Monterrey. I wonder if they will want to put away RSL with a quick goal before the 15 min mark and then cruise the rest of the way.... or assume that 2-0 is enough and cruise from the beginning.
Queretaro and Santos are no Superclubs. There are plans to turn Santos into one, but it's still in the future. LA is more of a Superclub than they are. How many "cheap" players did the Galaxy start yesterday?
The only stacked team in Liga MX that is arguably stacked atm is Tigres. And is not that much more expensive than Monterrey, Club America and Cruz Azul. Queretaro and Santos are far from being big spenders among the league.
LOL. By what definition? If you mean, "LA is historically the most winning team in MLS" then yes, you are correct. But if you mean that this current Galaxy team is the soccer equivalent to the Travelling Wilburys, then sorry, no. Well, maybe age wise. But they are certainly not guys in their prime.
All this talk about dos Santos sucking... of course nobody remembers that he was tearing the league up last season. Apparently he is ready to hang it up because his header was saved well by the Santos keeper. I am just not sure if Gerard came to play though. Keane is the first, and so far only DP that is giving 100%.
LA's 4 highest paid players on the pitch last night are making slightly more than the top 9 in Liga MX Player Club Annual Base Salary Steven Gerrard LA Galaxy 6.2 million USD Robbie Keane LA Galaxy 4.5 million Giovanio Dos Santos LA Galaxy 4 million USD Omar Gonzalez LA Galaxy 1.2 million USD 15.9 million USD Roque Santa Cruz Cruz Azul 2.6 million USD Oribe Peralta Club America 2.5 million USD Darwin Quintero Club America 1.8 million USD Ronaldinho Queretaro 1.8 million USD Angel Reyna Chivas 1.7 million USD Jesus Corona Cruz Azul 1.5million USD Marco Fabian Chivas 1.5 million USD Paulo da Silva Toluca 1.2 million USD Dorlan Pabon Monterrey 1.2 million USD 15.8 million USD (Caveat my arithmetic is crap)
It's amazing Omar made the trip up from Pachuca. EDIT: Actually, let me post something somewhat constructive. Instead of looking at what a player is being paid, look at what their transfer fee would be, because that's generally a better indicator of their soccer playing worth. Going by the sometimes dubious but generally not that far off Transfermarkt we see that Santos' total transfer value is estimated at $33.9M http://www.transfermarkt.com/jumplist/startseite/wettbewerb/MEX1 compared to the Galaxy's $26.73M. http://www.transfermarkt.com/jumplist/startseite/wettbewerb/MLS1 That indicates two things. One, MLS teams are over paying for their talent, and two, MLS clubs get guys who are declining in value while Mexican players are generally appreciating in value. They're younger guys with more upside potential who are signed early enough to be relatively cheap. This isn't really rocket science. EDIT #2: Sorry, that's in Euros.