New thread for the new G2 season. Following two disappointing years, we can hope Los Dos will be interesting again with DTK impulse. Maybe some players will be useful for the first team one day... Only one move announced so far : midfielder Adrian Vera has signed a new contract with G2. Opener is March, 9th, at home against the Colorado Switchbacks.
https://www.lagalaxy.com/post/2019/01/09/la-galaxy-ii-exercise-2019-contract-options-five-players Moves have been announced. Gone : Amaya, Engola, Zanga, Appiah, Hamilton, Aguilar, Jonathan Hernandez, Dhillon. Roster at the moment : GK : Eric Lopez RB : Shultz. CB : LB : Traore, Requejo, Fiddes. RW : CM : Vera, Acheampong. LW : FWD : Zubak, Frank Lopez.
I'm not shocked by who's leaving, all these guys had little chance to reach the first team. As I said in my 2018 review, I don't understand we gave Eric Lopez's minutes to Hamilton. Not convinced by Shultz. We also have a lot of LBs, it can mean one of them will play in another spot (maybe Fiddes, but I fear it could be Traore, who's better at LB than CB IMO). Vera and Acheampong have been average at best. Players to follow next year as it stands : Traore, Eric Lopez, and Zubak. Hopefuly Arellano will play a lot of minutes too. Even if we have Araujo and Hernandez-Foster in the Academy, I hope at least our first two picks tomorrow will be defenders.
So, we passed on all of our draft picks today, which suggests we didn't even want to draft some roster filler to stash with the GIIs. We have 9 GII players currently on the roster. Assume the 2 players the Galaxy drafted last week will either sign with the GIIs or be with them on a year-long loan. That gives us 11. Any thoughts on where the other 6-7 players on the roster will come from (I expect we'll still have Galaxy senior roster players who play with the GIIs as well, including Vom Steeg, Hillard-Arce, Arellano and perhaps Jamieson and Alvarez on occasion)? I'm assuming we'll bring in at least a few South Americans since we have 7 int'l roster slots and I think we've only used 3 (Traore, Acheampong, and Lopez).
That was my first thought. Crazy eager to get back to work this year ⚽️🧤 Can’t wait to leave it all out on the pitch this season for the shield on my jersey, our families, and our fans! #losangeles #lagalaxyii #grind #godisgood pic.twitter.com/Oi9LTN2Uu7— Eric Lopez (@EricLopezGK) January 13, 2019 I hope this season Lopez can secure the #1 as his
NEWS: #LosDos sign forward @augiwilliams → https://t.co/FDU7cQpXlb pic.twitter.com/IF08YX1rGs— LA Galaxy II (@LAGalaxyII) January 28, 2019
📝 NEWS: #LosDos sign goalkeeper @AIRabraham1.Details → https://t.co/HzPpwuoC7E pic.twitter.com/YA4SsIpxDN— LA Galaxy II (@LAGalaxyII) January 30, 2019 Two young exciting keepers between him and Lopez, I like it.
Galaxy II sign former UCLA Bruin and RSL homegrown MF Jose Hernandez. https://www.lagalaxy.com/post/2019/02/01/la-galaxy-ii-sign-midfielder-jose-hernandez
Here's a bit more info about Hernandez A creative attacking option from RSL has joined Los Dos. 💙💛 https://t.co/V2DUUVLTI1— LAG Confidential (@LAGConfidential) February 2, 2019
All these signings with G2 - does this signal an intent by DTK to actually pay and build a good development squad? If this is true it could really pay off in a few years.
I don’t know. It seems like we brought in two players who were dropped from other academies and a college player who has no mls future at his position.
I think it signals that we have a gap in our development pipeline and they're trying to plug that gap by taking some fliers on potential lottery tickets while they rebuild the Academy and wait for the next group to be ready.
End of our U18 @ussoccer_ynt camp in LA - Thank you @LAGalaxy @LAGalaxyII for the hospitality and for a great game vs the Galaxy II - Also, big thank you to coaches Gary Lewis @garyl3wis of the @PhilaUnion and Cristiano Scapolo @cscapolo of @LAFC for assisting during this camp! pic.twitter.com/76x4E6vCzB— Tab Ramos (@RamosTab) February 6, 2019
2-2 draw in a scrimmage against US U-18 NT : https://www.lagalaxy.com/post/2019/...sharp-scrimmage-against-us-u-18-mens-national A lot of trialists, a few guys who played in USL but also a few guys from England, and a lot of Academy players.
2-1 loss against Fresno in a friendly last week. Hugo Arellano was the goalscorer. Romero and Lopez shared the GK duty.
✍️ #LosDos have signed defender Michael Gallagher: https://t.co/TSIfJWQ7lB pic.twitter.com/qdNjPnjP5v— LA Galaxy II (@LAGalaxyII) February 14, 2019 He mainly played as a CB with his last two clubs. Hopefully he can be as useful as Steres in the next few years.
This is interesting he parted ways with Real Monarchs in Sept “As a club, we can’t thank Gally enough for his contributions the last two seasons,” Egner said. “He’s always been professional in his approach, and we felt this was the right thing to do in order for him to pursue some new opportunities outside of soccer. We wish him nothing but the best as he moves on.” https://www.rsl.com/post/2018/09/17/real-monarchs-slc-mutually-part-ways-michael-gallagher
1098003161128808448 is not a valid tweet id El panameño Carlos Harvey se puso la del LA Galaxy...💣💣💣 pic.twitter.com/SSxBrqFz3M— Álvaro Martínez (@duroalhueso) February 20, 2019 Carlos Harvey, new panamanian international defender, is apparently on his way to G2. Rumor is a few weeks old. Ernesto Walker, another panamanian international (CM) is also rumored to join LA.
https://www.lagalaxy.com/post/2019/...la-galaxy-ii-secure-win-over-orange-county-sc 1-0 win against Orange County. Goal from Zubak. Brian Iloski played in this game, as did Ernesto Walker (see my post above). Defense could be really interesting with Lopez and Romero in goal, Araujo on the right, Gallagher and Arellano in the middle, and Hernandez-Foster (and maybe Traore) on the left (not counting the young Harvey and Requejo). Exciting. Also, Harvey's club (Tauro FC) tweeting this : Queremos desearle toda la suerte del mundo a Carlos Harvey, que hoy realizará las pruebas médicas con el @LAGalaxy 🙏🏻¡¡¡Vamos Carlos!!! 🇵🇦#OrgulloTaurino 👊🏻🖤 pic.twitter.com/vuW3iiBQAz— Tauro F.C. (@TauroFC) February 21, 2019
https://www.lagalaxy.com/post/2019/02/21/la-galaxy-ii-acquire-midfielder-ernesto-walker Official for Walker, who's described by DTK as an "attacking option".
I really enjoy the direction Los Dos is going. It's clear that DTK is using his connections in Central America to bring in young players. It's a great way to develop and discover talent without risking too much with the first time. Hypothetically we find a gem that can make a real contribute to the first team, he'll already affiliated with the Galaxy and be part of the way through the process of becoming a domestic player so they don't take up an international spot. Imagine being able to find a 19 year old Panamanian right back whose as good as Feltcher and only have to pay him a fraction of the salary and after a season or two he won't take up an international spot. We can dream right!?
I believe DTK spoted Walker and Harvey during U-20 game Panama - Mexico last November. Walker had a brace.
What is this weird feeling I have as I watch our GM develop a long-term plan for developing talent at the club..... .... is it..... hope?!?