OMG that's so disheartening. And beyond what everyone has posted, why go back to the Pavon well? That's a well that shouldn't have been visited until his case was done and dusted. I don't want to be the Houston Texans, thanks. Or the Cleveland Browns. Just...UGH.
Remember when the Galaxy was hands down the shrewdest front office in the league? I mean it wasn’t even a question. Tim and then Tim and Bruce, found every loophole, put in years of bridge-building effort with players like Landon and Beckham, bent every rule, broke them in some instances and forced the league to adapt. MLS might as well have stood for Major LA Soccer. Now we can’t make a decision between an alleged rapist and a five-time Champions League winner. The worst part is this could be 100% false, but the incompetence of the Galaxy FO over the last half-decade make it entirely believable. Meanwhile … Not that I’d necessarily be upset to see Chicharito leave, things are so bad in LA that he’d want to play for free for a team in a team that from afar looks like it’s in worse shape than LA.
To be honest, if we signed Bale to a DP contract in the summer I think a lot of us would have been "same old Galaxy, signing a name player to a retirement contract, blah blah blah." Now signing Costa was obviously a big mistake and every red flag about him turned out to be true. But not signing Bale as a DP to me is understandable. The fact that Bale decided to come and join LAFC on TAM hurts clearly. Kudos to them for being able to offer him something we could not (a strong team and a chance at a title in 3-4 months). Honestly, Pavon (if the accused rape situation had never happened) would have been the ideal type and age of player to add to the team this past summer. We'd have been so much better off without Costa though.
We may never know the truth of the Bale/Pavon situation, but the one truth is that then signing Costa to a DP contract was a horrible, horrible decision.
That “if” is doing a lot of heavy lifting though. It can’t just be wished away. As Berks said the FO should have not put Pavon back in their playlist given the legal/moral clouds hanging over him. But apparently they buried their head in the sand blindly hoping he would be found innocent quickly? That isn’t planning, that is wishful thinking in service of the laziness of our ‘scouting’ department. Obviously agree about Costa.
Oh 100%. There was pre-backlash when the rumors started to gather steam last year. Same happened with Zidane. My theory is people aren’t actually opposed to those types of players, but we’ve been conditioned this FO doesn’t know what they’re doing so it can’t be a good choice. Though to be fair to the backlash, Zidane was coming off a potentially career-ending injury and Bale was frozen out of Madrid. On the surface those deals weren’t a sure thing and some skepticism was warranted. Had it been Bruce making the call on Zidane I’d guess the fan reaction would have been a lot more positive.
Those are very different colored flags. Bad injury = run away. Not breaking into Real Madrid’s lineup = yeah, and..?
Vanney mentioned they brought in Rayan Raveloson as a six but didn’t fit that. Also mentioned Rayan wasn’t happy playing that position. When Rayan first arrived at #LAGalaxy his goal was to go back to Europe. Worked for both sides. Good business. 🤝— Galaxy Fan Talk (@LAGalaxyFanTalk) August 11, 2022 Another proof of terrible scouting. You bring in someone to play in a position, he doesn't have the qualities to fit in the system, and he doesn't like to play in that position? There might a few agent things behind this.
Be aware that the Bale situation was influenced by the need for Bale to get p.t. right up to WC to stay in form. That is why he held out late to make sure he'd be with a playoff team.
I still think that the reason the Galaxy signed Costa was that he didn't cost them a lot. IIRC, the Galaxy got him on loan for until June 30th from Juve (possibly for free) and if his $3mm salary is prorated to $1.5 for final portion of 2022). Then that is a pretty cheap total cost for an alleged DP for 1 year. I haven't seen any reports for what LAFC will be paying Bale for 2023 (if he returns), but I have to believe it will be for more than the $3mm Galaxy will owe Costa for 2023. I agree with everyone else that signing Costa was a stupid decision.
Plus, Zidane hadn't actually played a match since 2006! I remember folks being split almost 50/50 on that one. Zlatan pre-injury was still in world class form, despite age. But nobody -- nobody -- knew how he was going to come back from that injury, which has ended the careers of younger men. I remember thinking to myself, being down 3-1 to LAFC when Zlatan comes up on the sideline "If this guy comes out and looks old as the hills, like Gerrard was, and we go on to lose this match, we will never, ever hear the end of it."
If you're using "anyone" as a replacement term for a DP, then I agree. However, that would be a bad look for one of the best drawing teams in MLS. Blame could actually be assigned to the FO. This way it's difficult to pin the tail on the donkey. Or look at it this way., is there any way for Beckerman to really know that Bale or someone else is a homerun hire as a DP? If you're him, isn't the cheap hire, the least risky hire?
I meant "anyone" for the open DP spot. It's pretty common for front offices to say they won't settle for just any DP and they may hold it for the next window.
Excuse my naivety, but wasn't Pavon already proven innocent or the case was dropped? If that is true, then why wouldn't we want to pick Pavon up? The guy absolutely wrecked for us, and I'm sure Pavon would be happy to return.
I can't find anything, in Engish, that indicates his legal status is clear. Nothing new about the rape charge at all this year. Nothing about it being dropped, him being found not guilty/guilty, or the case being settled like Kohl's similar charge. I can only assume that it is still in limbo. I don't see him ever returning to the Galaxy.
This^^^ Especially because the dude was signed carrying injuries and had a recent run of them. We should have waited until the Summer. We could have gotten Puig and Bale at the same time. The wait would have had fans pissed that it took so long to bring in a 3rd DP but look at the one we would have gotten had we demonstrated some patience. Sad!
I heard the same. Essentially it's all up in the air legally. Pavon claims he is innocent and that its all part of a major extortion scheme. Apparently multiple Boca players are being accused of similar acts with lawsuits following each. But I agree he will likely never play in MLS again. Even if all charges are dropped and he is exonerated.
A source close to #LAGalaxy confirmed the team's interest in RB Eli Dassa 🇮🇱. It could happen with a future sale of Julian Araujo to Europe. Let's Go! 👉🏼Both are in negotiations. All teams #MLS have until September 2 to sign free agents. pic.twitter.com/6q7K103698— Bruno Oliveira (@Brun0liveiraa) August 12, 2022
Yeah, this is really frustrating. I think Puig is also more of a deeper player than a CAM / playmaking forward, if that's what folks are expecting, too. He plays underneath the front 3. Again, not sure if that's what we were looking for of it's a case of us not really knowing what we're looking for. There doesn't seem to be an overall approach to how we play.
Here is more current info on Dasa, who seems like he could fit in either a back four or as a wingback in a back 3. Not sure whether we have an international slot available for him, though, since Puig took Raveloson's spot and Araujo leaving would only open up a roster spot. https://www.90min.com/posts/mls-clubs-considering-offers-israel-right-back-eli-dasa
Riqui Puig’s arrival: LA Galaxy “take a swing” and land FC Barcelona starboy Some interesting things from the article: