Other Team Discussion Thread Part IV: A New Hope (ALL Teams, ALL Leagues, ALL Competitions - R)

FYP

 

That's a terrible, terrible thought.

 

Easy with the redhead jokes...

 

He'd just miss the money shot again anyway.

 

It just keeps getting better. RSL beats LA on a Pope goal.

 

Just wait until Beckham gets here. His presence will make goal-scoring machines of Donovan and Pavon and because they backloaded their schedule to make a lot of money, they'll have lots of points to play for.

Er, wait...

 

LA is the worst team in MLS now by 4 points, with the next highest team REAL SALT LAKE.

If that doesn't put a smile on your face, something is wrong.

 

I really don't get why LA suck as bad as they do. There's talent on that team and they certainly play well against us, but this franchise has been in serious decline for three seasons. I just don't know what to make of a team that manages to win the Double with a .500 record, gets to the Open Cup Final last year and gets to the Superliga Final this year but somehow manages to go tits up against every team they play not called DC.

 

They suck coz they have a bad mentality. They assumed everything was gonna be fine as soon as Beckham arrived.

Assumption is the mother of all fcukups.

 

I'm starting to feel sorry for LA.

But that doesn't mean I've stopped laughing.

 

There is no way no how that I will ever feel sorry for the Galaxy.
I am laughing.

I do feel bad for the homer fans. they need to choose another team.
You can watch every game now on TV, so you can pick another team now.
With the internet you can follow that team during the week too.

Just choose a good team like DC

 

Alexi took questions on tonight's Fox Futbol Fone-In.

Fair-and-balanced Fox Soccer Channel commentator Nick Webster [to Alexi]:
"We want the Los Angeles Galaxy to be the most successful thing to ever hit the American sporting landscape." [Stephen nods affirmatively]

I did not make that up.

Is "we" the Fox Soccer Channel talent? The collective American soccer fan? The Brits who've adopted the Galaxy?

At this point, seeing LA merely get humiliated by Chivas USA, Colorado, Pachuca, and Salt Lake isn't enough. I want the suck and the suffering to continue until well after Albright has been traded to the new Philly expansion team, until Donovan leaves MLS for Qatar, until Kyle Martino comes back east to manage that Bodo's Bagel barn in Charlottesville, until Kevin Harmse donates his knees and elbows to the Society for the Advancement of the Beautiful Game, and until Victoria Beckham is banned from the NBC studios.

As for the Fox show, Alexi convinced me that Yallop's going to be around for awhile.

 

LA the joke that keeps on going!

~worm~

 

If you are somehow implying that the guys on FFF or World Soccer Daily are somehow LA Galaxy or Alexi Lalas fans, you are totally mistaken. They can't go five minutes on their show(s) without attacking Landycakes or Lalas and Yallops management of the Beckham situation in general. Besides, Steven admits to being a Chivas USA supporter...

The context of what they were talking about was that they wanted Beckhams arrival to really be the watershed, world changing event that MLS had hoped (somewhat incorrectly) that it would be. Think about it, is it good for DC (and the entire MLS) if the LA Galaxy suddenly became the biggest sports draw in America from now on? I think we can agree that the answer is yes. Without question it would be good for DC (and everyone else in this Borg collective of a league) just as people are laughing at ALL of MLS for what has happened with Beckham, him doing well would only reflect positively on the entire league.

I generally get on Steven and whomever the hell is his co-host week to week, (they reveal MLS ignorance every week...my favorite is the shock and awe they showed when it was revealed to Steven and Nick Geber that DC United defeated Vasco De Gama for the Interamerican Cup back in 1998)
but I thought the Lalas interview was great. One, because they immediately took Alexi to task for allowing Donovan's ridiculous pre-penalty behavior, and they also didn't selectively screen calls. The callers were destroying Lalas (deservedly so) and Alexi replied to each caller and didn't duck questions. Steven even declared a guy who implied that Lalas should NOT come back to the Galaxy next season the "call of the week".

Im not sure if people expected the hosts to simply scream and shout down Lalas as if he were a caller on some AM radio political talk show, but they struck a fine balance between respect for a guest, and taking that guest to task for his actions and statements. Not to mention they essentially got Lalas to admit that Donovan will be GONE next season...great stuff.

I think Alexi still has NO concept of the Galaxy's place in the soccer universe, but I have to give credit to him for stepping right in the line of fire and not ducking his detractors. He doesn't have to answer to anyone but AEG, and yet he stepped up and faced his detractors in a very public forum. I respect the guy more than I did before the interview.

 

Because they are a total reflection of Landon Donovan, which is one of the reasons he felt so "happy" about playing there.

They have talent, and they can succeed, but they just have a piss poor work ethic, matched to an unwillingness to deliver quality on a consistent basis.

They, much like Donovan, can beat anyone in the league. But they can also slack off, hold back, and allow themselves to coast through games without passion.

The Galaxy are still stuck in 2005, where they could sleepwalk through the entire season, showing up only for the Open Cup and Playoffs.

With the improvement of their conference opponents (Chivas), lack of easy points from former pushovers (RSL, Colorado), and eastern conference competition for the last playoff spots (Chicago, Columbus)... The Galaxy no longer have a "free ride" into the post season. Match that up to a overburdened schedule from added tourneys and friendlies (nine games), and you have a fatigued team that used to count on "resting up until the playoffs", that can no longer do so.

Ain't it great...???

 

No, we can't. In fact, I find the whole thought kinda repulsive. HTH.

 

Lalas convinced me that most of the Galaxy's ills are AEG's fault.

He came right out and said that all of what was going on was "new territory" for him and Yallop, that they were "learning", and that this was unlike anything MLS had seen before.

Which raises the question, why leave Lalas in charge (in the first place) of what obviously was going to be a dramatically different situation from the MLS norm...?

Would it not have made better sense to hire (before Beckham even showed up) someone with real experience running an club in an international, high caliber, heavy media environment... Instead of "some guy" that has a spotty managerial record at best...?

Duh.

Alexi's basic defense is that he would have done things differently "if" he had known better, but at least he is trying.

The other thing that struck me as funny was he mentioned a few times that he was looking for players that sought the limelight, loved the exposure, wanted to play with passion... And I thought, "gee, isn't that what Donovan ran away from back in Europe...?"

 

Schadenfreude can weigh on one after a while.

 

I of course, would prefer that DC United be that #1 team, but lets just operate on the hypothetical that perhaps if something like an MLS team becoming #1 in US sports, it would be another team instead...

So, any MLS team being the #1 sports draw in the United States wouldn't good for MLS, and therefore good for all MLS teams?


I tend to like your posts in general, but on this one, I just think you are crazy.

 

Rob Stone? Is that you? You tricky SOB, you think putting sean is a good disguise

 

There are lots of different ways to define "good," as in "good for the league" or "good for (other teams)". Certainly LA, the league, and to some smaller extent other teams, would make more money under your scenario where "LA is the #1 sports draw in the country." But 1) making money isn't the only thing that matters in the world, and 2) there are other ways to "make more money" than by the LA Galaxy being the #1 sports draw in the U.S. (I still have a hard time seriously considering the very idea)

If the league were thriving and the owners were making money and the quality of play was really good and so forth, then why in the hell should we care whether some team in the league became the #1 sports draw in the U.S.? Are we so insecure in our likes that we need that affirmation from everyone else? Every single time some dumbass sports commentator brings up the question of whether soccer will ever rival basketball or baseball or football in this country, I find myself screaming "who the fsck cares?!" at the TV. I don't measure the league's success by how it compares to other sports in popularity. I measure its success by whether the quality of play is good, and whether the prospects for league longevity are good. Yes, I'm aware that both of those could stand a lot of improvement; but it's not like the only way for that to happen is by having LA be "the #1 sports draw in the U.S." So it doesn't matter to me whether some team in the league is "the #1 sports draw in the U.S."; and given that, I sure wouldn't want LA to be so, since I can't stand LA.

If I had a choice between

A) the league doing well, the quality of play being really good, etc.

and

b) the league doing well, the quality of play being really good, etc., and LA is "the #1 sports draw in the country,"

you better believe I'd pick A) in a flash. What possible reason would I have to pick B)?

 

That's the real trick isn't it?

I tell you what, I watched that riveting (or as close as FFF gets to being riveting) hour and know a couple things.

Lalas completely believes that LA is one of the world's elite soccer teams. This is of course, crazy-talk, (regarding any MLS side, let alone this seasons last place team) but I always sort of felt like that was something he says in public, and then when he is behind closed doors he thinks something else. Nope. He honestly puts LA right up there with the Man U's, Bayern Munichs and Real Madrids of the world. Wow. That's crazy. Though I suppose an unwavering dedication to the MLS is something you want in an MLS front office guy...though a distinct reality-deficit in your thinking might not be very helpful....as illustrated by the Gal's performance on the pitch....

I have to say, after yesterdays show, my attitude about Alexi has switched from indifference to a grudging respect (and slight stunned disbelief) at his total, unwavering, 100% dedication to his team. Either that or he is a far more brilliant actor than he ever was as a player or musician.

 

Lalas was overrated as a player. Somehow, he jumped into upper management in the league upon retirement. He is showing that he is as lousy running a team as he was as a defender.