File this one under, “no duh”

In 2000 Ipswich finally reached the EPL via the playoffs after several years heartbreak.  They did this under the guidance of George Burley who’d been in charge at Portman Road for over five years and a squad of players who reminded fairly much the same season-to-season by selling only a couple of players to bigger clubs (like Keiron Dyer to Newcastle) to insure the bills get paid.  Their first season back in the EPL Ipswich finished fifth and qualified for the UEFA Cup.  This again was done with much the same core of players on the squad.  That summer everyone in the media (and those the media asked) said there’s no way they can do anything without spending money….that the previous season had been a fluke.  So, Burley and co went out and spent money….and were promply relegated.

I’ve always said, soccer isn’t like other sports where you can just plug a new player in a slot.  The eleven on the pitch need to know each other and how to work with each other.  It takes time for a team to jell.   You can have the best eleven players in the world on a team, but if they don’t know the other ten very well, they won’t be as successful as a team of players who work together as a unit.

I’ve said all MLS season  that the reason LA weren’t preforming well wasn’t because they were bad or that Yallop didn’t know how to coach.  It was because there were far too many player movements.  Too many trades.  Yeah, the finger gets pointed at Lalas but I’m pretty sure he’s just a fall guy for the AEG brain trust.

So now it seems someone else is “getting it.” Well, Duh!!!  I’ve been saying it all summer.

We’ll see what happens in the expansion draft–my bet is that we lose Martino.  But after that, I’m hoping there isn’t too much player movement this off-season.  LA have a good squad of players.  They still just need more time together and more time with Gullit (though I wish AEG hadn’t run off Yallop)

The good news is that AEG has scheduled all kinds of money making friendlies.  I’ll be shocked if we don’t hear more scheduled for after the Christmas break.  But in the long run, if these matches are in the off-season, all it does if give the guys more time together which will hopefully prove beneficial once the season starts.

Some quick thoughts

It’s been a day now since I heard about Yallop’s departure from the HDC. I still think it’s a mistake to let him go. Now, I’m afraid the AEG brain trust will make an even bigger mistake. Seriously, Queiroz did an awful job with the Metros. Why would he do any better in LA? Am I missing something here? Personally, I’m on a one-man crusade to see Cienfuego at the helm. I’m not even sure “Cien” would be interested, but who else is there that is familiar with MLS and the team? I know he was getting his coaching licenses before he retired from playing.

My belief is that the new coach has already been found and AEG are just waiting for a suitable amount of time to pass before making the announcement.

I wonder if I can talk my wife into a trip to Hawaii in February. I’m sure Beckham could fill Aloha Stadium by himself.

This just in, Colorado still have a coach.

Huge mistake

Lalas should have done everything in his power to prevent this.

Instead, it now looks like he did everything in his power to make this happen. The worst bit is the SJ will now get him.

Like I said, Huge Mistake!

UPDATE:  It looks like Arena is gone too.   Silly me, I was sure Colorado would be the first to make changes in that Department.

Coming of age

It’s Midnight, my team is losing and not looking like they’ll do anything except give up a couple more goals in the second half so rather than be a zombie the next day at work, I decide to go to bed. I guess I missed a good second half. Or at least a valiant effort. My Twitter on the right gives a taste of my thought process at the time.

What did we do before YouTube? Heck, a co-worker of mine came to my office to tell me he’d seen the highlights this morning on ESPN. It’s sure not 1996 any more.

So, LA lost. I’ll be willing to bet there weren’t many who gave them much chance of winning any silverware. But, the team came back and played well from what I read. It’s not the opponent was an average team…this was a Mexican team which has been winning every piece of silverware in site. The best team in CONCACAF.

But the thing which hit me the most was the fact that LA fans, the ones who have been with the team long before Beckham thought about heading to the New World, are heart broken yet proud of their boys at this loss. It’s taken twelve years but that’s the type of passion the league has been needing and it’s coming around.

So, the season is virtually over for LA. The best bet now is to focus on next season. Rest Beckham for as long as he need to be fully fit. If McClaren wants him, so be it. But give him plenty of rest so he’ll be 100% next season. Look at some of the youngsters and, heck, see if Cobi is willing to make one more tour. I know he has it in his legs if he really wants it.

Personally, I don’t blame Lalas or Yallop for the failure of the team this season. Lalas is simply a puppet and Yallop an employee who hasn’t had all the tools all the time to get the job done correctly. The blame rests with the money whores who own the team. Everything about this season was done to maximize the return on their investment in Beckham. Ok, they should at least break even, but it seems to me at this point they are getting that and more…much more. Of course, because of the salary cap we won’t be seeing any of that applied to the talent on the pitch…so, why ruin the team buy continuing this tactic? call Vancouver and Minnesota and reschedule their friendlies for next spring. Give injured players (in addition to Beckham) time off to heal. Let the youngsters gain some experience.

Of course, AEG still calls the shots and, well, I’m not too confident about things at this point.

So, let’s see if LA can build on this performance and get a good result in the Wooden Spoon Derby this weekend.

Yallop vs Lalas

I’ve been hearing rumors to the effect that Lalas and Yallop aren’t exactly BFFs. It seems a lot of the recent trades (many of which I still don’t understand) are all the work of the ginger one. Now I’m finally hearing about it from a reliable source.

If you want my opinion–well, your reading my blog so your gonna get it–dump Lalas before he does much more damage to the team. My problem isn’t what he’s been saying to the British press–I actually enjoy the way he winds them up–it’s with his player/coach management. He doesn’t exactly have the best record there.

However, I’m sure AEG will see things different. What do I know?

As Ives said, don’t expect anything soon…but it’s gonna by playoffs or bust time once Spice Balls arrives.

Tractor connection in the Beckham saga

Anyone who has read my blog for a while knows my first love in pro soccer was when I visited Portman Road for the first time. I’ve been a loyal fan ever since. LA became my second love only because I was forced to move so far from my first love. It’s a tragic love triangle. Add to it the fact that Ipswich’s biggest rival (Naaarch {spit}) wear the same colors as LA. Also, LA’s biggest rivals (SJ…though they don’t exist anymore) wear the same colors as Ipswich. Well, you can see why I’m as confused as I am. I’m not sure why I posted all that…must be the coffee.

Anyway enough rambling. What I think I was getting to is that two Canadian former Ipswich players are still good friends who keep in contact and obviously share information. One happens to be the Manager for LA Galaxy the other is….actually, I’m not sure what Craig Forrest is doing these days. However, the other night he was on some soccer themed radio show in Toronto (that’s in Canada for the SJ fans) and mentioned according to his former teammate a move for Beckham is getting closer. Thanks to the Toronto MLS Blog for information.

Ok, I haven’t had the chance to listen to the audio–but I will sometime today–so I don’t know precisely what was said. However, this is certainly conformation (at least in my opinion) of what we already know.

A couple quick comments this morning

The first thing I want to mention is the passing of Lamar Hunt. I never met the guy, never supported any of his teams. However, his commitment and vision played a large role in giving us fans the NFL and MLS we see today. If not for him, neither would probably be as successful as they are. I hope he left us knowing how much enjoyment he brought so many in this country.

A very different loss was announced last night when one of my favorites, Kevin Hartman, was traded to KC. Galaxy fans shouldn’t be surprised. We’ve seen this coming from the time Joe Cannon arrived. However, Yallop has managed to trade three fan favorites in the last two weeks. LA fans have loved Hartman from the time he beat Jorge Campos out of the job. Yeah, he’s had his critics especially when the 2000 Cup final is discussed. However, I still content his is the best shot stopper in the league and he does organize his backline well. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what Yallop got in return in this deal.

I really don’t know what to make of this one

Yallop has made a move that I’m not sure I understand. LA traded fan favorites Herc Gomez and Ugo Ihemelu for Joe Cannon. There was also the trade of draft picks, but I’d put a beer or 3 on neither of the picks playing more than a handful of MLS matches ever.

Of course, Cannon said all the right things…

“I am overwhelmed and very excited to play for one of the best franchises, maybe the best franchise in the league,” said Cannon. “It is an incredible opportunity and I just hope that the fans will give me a chance to prove myself. I don’t think that I have won too many games in Los Angeles as a visitor, so I am really looking forward to playing for the home team.”

So, I may be able to get over the fact that we now have another Smurf now playing for LA.

So, that’s one more striker gone and we are looking pretty thin at the back. We also have one too many keepers. My guess is that either Joe or Kevin Hartman (my money is on Hartman) will be traded for a Designated Player spot.

I’m really sorry to see both Herc and Ugo go. They were both solid players and gave their best every match–unlike a certain megastar on the team. A change of scenery may do them good though…especially Herc who didn’t have the best of seasons in ‘06. Though I’m not sure Clavijo is the right coach to bring the best outta him though. Good luck to both of them…except (of course) when they are playing LA.

On another note, Gavin Glinton signed a new MLS contract. Could he be added to the LA roster?

So, Yallop is making moves. We expected that. However, now that the moves have started, I have no clue what direction he’s going. I just hope he doesn’t mess things up.