I did not see that happening. Edit: I guess in a Mike Magee type way Sean goes on to a team where he’ll be one of the bigger fish and help define the club. Sort of reminds me of what happened after LA’s initial dominance in the league and for a variety of reasons we had to start shipping out players who became mainstays of others: Reis, Franchino, Mathis, Ching, Mullan, Armas are just a few that spring to mind. Hopefully with some consistency at the top we can re-build in a slightly more coherent way. Edit 2: Sean in some ways was for me the player who signified the era of success we’ve had since 2009. I know he started in '07, but while the circus was going on he just kept being a professional who played a game more mature than his year. If there’s a complaint it’s that his early form was so good his improvement was less pronounced.
Yeah, that was a surprise. I guess if DC isn't going to spend a lot of money in the next year on other players, they might as well take some domestic players.
Wow. I did not expect Sean to go at his current salary. I guess we cannot complain too much because I honestly think he would have been overpaid this coming year and the cap is always looming. Still, it always hurts to see a guy go who you watched get drafted, have a great rookie campaign, have ups and downs but in the end win 4 trophies with the team. I'm more bummed than I thought I would be.
Better DC than having him go to Chivas and facing him three times a year. You don't build a club around your right back, even an above average one. Looks like that is now AJ's position to lose, which was made possible by the development of Opare. It does clear more salary space for us to make additional moves where we need them.
Portland taking Zakuani is a little scary. If he gets back to form and continues to develop, he would be heck of a weapon in Caleb Porter's scheme. Seems like Seattle is clearing cap space for something, doesn't it? Guessing ownership is re-tooling again to avoid a flameout with the same players as the last 3 years.
Again being the operative word. Seems every season Seattle is lauded for their “savvy” trades/off season moves.
Sad to see him go. Makes sense given his salary and our options in that position though. I assume the cap space will be used to acquire a solid RW.
I wouldn’t mind a third option in the center of the park, if nothing else than to push Juninho. Right wing could conceivably be covered by Landon, Zardes or Rogers.
Man, I understand why we couldn't keep him at his current salary, but I always hate to see players that I like, for what they bring on AND off the pitch, shipped off elsewhere. Hopefully this ends up being a win-win for club and player. We get salary relief and don't lose much on the field, as AJ finally gets to secure his best position, with a young up-and-comer in backup behind him (Sorto). And Franklin gets another 2 years of making big bank, and a chance to experience a different part of the country (he's a born and bred SoCal kid). But, why oh why did it have to be DCU? Best of luck, Sean. Except, of course, when it comes to playing us...
This year, the re-entry draft actually did its job. In the past, a player like Franklin would have stayed tied to the Galaxy and we could have told him to lump it if he didn't like our salary offer. His only other option would be going overseas since we would have held his MLS rights. In the past, most players in the re-entry draft were considered overpaid by everyone, which is why they skipped through Round 1. This year, several players got picked up at their current salaries, which means the marketplace kind of worked. The problem in Franklin's case is that it's not that DCU really thought he was worth the salary in a capped market; rather, it's more like the surprise CCL allocation left them with house money to burn.
I love AJ as a defender of course but he doesn't have many skills going forward, not even Franklin level attacking skills. Neither does Dunivant. So as of now we have no real outside back attacking options.
May not have always been the best full back but he really helped us out over the years and I thank him for his services. Definitely made the Galaxy a better club on and off the pitch.
I liked him as a fan, but this was a smart business decision. We just couldn't afford him, and the development of Opare was a good thing. Not sure we have enough of a sample size to determine this. I felt like AJ was finally figuring out his role (he himself says he was learning to be a better attacker) right when he got injured. I want to see him as the starting RB for a longer term period last year. Looks like Bruce and Jurgen were consistent with where they saw him long term - at RB. Sad to see Sean go as a fan, but my head says this was the right decision.
I really agree with this. AJ has always had to work around his physical limitations and play smart. He adapts well. He words hard. He does what he needs to do. I'm honestly pretty confident that he will work hard on combining down the wing, the balance between defense and attack, getting his passing up to snuff for that position, and learning the position. He is too smart and too hard working to struggle for long, and he's fast enough that he can get up and down the win at a decent rate. Of all the changes this year will bring, this one bothers me the least. AJ will figure it out, and he'll be a good RB.
I think your right about AJ. What I seem to remember about his attacking skills is him making the diagonal runs into the box and not being effective crossing the ball. That skill would seem to work better with our current forwards. Don't think we will ever see a goal from him like Franklin's last goal for the Galaxy
No real surprise here... he doesn't perform to his salary, surprised we gave him that kind of money honestly
He was the MLS rookie of the year and he was on the national team's radar a couple of seasons ago. Lets not forget that Franklin used to be considered one of the best right backs in the league if not the best. Give him some credit. He seemed to trail off in his last two seasons and couldn't live up to the expectations. I wish him the best at DC and hope he can find his form from the the 2010-11 seasons.
I still think Sean is a top MLS RB. I'm not as confident as others that AJ will fill his shoes, especially when I think of moments like Sean and Landon marauding down Houston's right side in the 2011 final. I'm not sure AJ will match that presence, but I think he brings other stuff to the table. He's much better on the ball in tight spaces, for example.