The Circus is Back in Town
by tedski
The Original Winger reports that David Beckham is training with the Galaxy and they have the pictures to prove it.
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Bidding Adu
by tedski
World Soccer Reader reports that the Galaxy is on the verge of signing Freddy Adu. Well, hopefully he’s matured a bit since his go ’round at DC United.
(Reports from my DC pals were that he got thrown out of every bar in Adams-Morgan. How long can you get away with sneaking into bars when you are famous for being the soccer player too young to be in bars?)
By the way, he’s now the “next big thing” in two decades. He’s our Paul Gascoigne.
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And Now From Earth-2…
by tedski
Standings without Edson Buddle’s goals for the Los Angeles Galaxy:
| Pts | GD | |
| New York | 9 | +3 |
| Houston | 8 | -2 |
| New England | 7 | 3 |
| Chivas USA | 7 | 0 |
| Kansas City | 6 | +4 |
| San Jose | 6 | 0 |
| RSL | 4 | +2 |
| Columbus | 4 | +2 |
| Chicago | 4 | 0 |
| Seattle | 4 | 0 |
| Colorado | 4 | 0 |
| Toronto | 4 | -4 |
| Los Angeles | 3 | -2 |
| Philadelphia | 3 | -2 |
| FC Dallas | 2 | -1 |
| DC United | 0 | -9 |
No Shalrie?
by tedski
Frank Dell’apa reports via Twitter that Shalrie Joseph will not be playing in the New England Revolution’s match against San Jose this weekend.
I’m sure this is sending Rev fans into a blind panic (cue the handwringing on Big Soccer). Shalrie is, after all, “Talismanic” (TM). The Revs have had three games so far, two without and one with. The two without included a loss to Los Angeles, arguably the best team in the league so far, and a 2 – 0 victory against DC United, who no one will argue is the best team in the league. Even the loss against LA, in which the team was criticized for the lacsadaisical play in the first half, included many great looks from the Revs’ forwards.
When Shalrie played, we were treated to a 4 – 1 rout of Toronto. Interestingly, Joseph showed up only as a “secondary assist” on one of those four goals. This is not to say that Joseph is unnecessary, but that the responsibilities seem to have been spread out and not every play has to go through him.
Much of what Joseph did was to keep defenders occupied with him creating space elsewhere. This can’t happen when he isn’t on the field: it is difficult to imagine that Chris Tierney or Joseph Niouky have the reputation that creates the sort of fear that causes teams to concentrate on them. But it is useful to remember that Toronto got so flustered that they quintuple teamed Khano Smith, so who knows?
One more reason I’m not worried: San Jose has been awful this year.
Tamberino: Moreno Goal Should Have Been Disallowed
by tedski
Christopher Sullivan was a bit hyperbolic calling this thing genius. Chris Seitz screwed up, and it didn’t take much for Jaime Moreno to take advantage of it. For those that haven’t seen it, or want to see it again, here ’tis:
Quit the Friggin’ Whining
by tedski
I’ve been listening to the various soccer podcasts and I ran across one called Around the League, where various jounalists and über-fans comment on their respective favorite teams.
For the Los Angeles Galaxy, the representative was ESPN radio host Dave Denholm. According to Mr. Denholm, the Galaxy’s woes are because of David Beckham. Okay, I don’t entirely buy that, but it is a theory that a lot of fans have: that Beckham being on the team has meant that some other important players have been cast off.
Like I said, I don’t buy it. Earlier incarnations of the team took much bigger hits when Luis Hernandez and Carlos Hermosillo were brought on board, but somehow that didn’t have the same effect. Also, the Galaxy was losing games before Beckham came on board.
But never mind all that, we’ll say that Beckham coming on forced the team to get rid of decent other players (who these guys are, I don’t know) and this has made the team into a losing franchise.
Denholm’s take: that it is unfair that other teams didn’t take on a big dollar player. Why, if all the other teams blew cash on a single star, necessitating casting off worthy but moderately expensive other players, then everyone would suck as much as the Galaxy.
Eh?
Short Comments on Yesterday’s Contest Between the Los Angeles Galaxy of Carson and FC Dallas Burn of Frisco
by tedski
I suppose I should feel some sense of joy that the Galaxy were humiliated, but I actually felt sorry for them.
I guess the problem wasn’t just Abel Xavier del Bac.
Best Goal.com Comment Ever
by tedski
This was posted by a fellow named Victor from Los Angeles in regard to a story about Abel Xavier del Bac’s trashing of his now former coach, Ruud Gullit.
i think abel is a good player a lil slow for mls but he has loads of talent where he could be good for young defenders to learn from , i hope he decides to stay on in the US maybe USL.
Weekend MLS Roundup
by tedski
Yes, yes, SPAIN BABY! Okay…but what truly are the footy stories this weekend?
- The Red Bulls defeat the for-real-Chivas, but draw Chivas Lite. So, tell me what is up with that? What happens if Chivas USA beats Guadalajara in the Superliga?
- What was encouraging in the Revs defeat of Toronto was how it wasn’t because the other team was so bad. Lately it seems that the defense is so sloppy that the Revs win by dint of Matt Reis. This one, they were actually the team that they could be.
- Okay, ‘cept for the own goal. Funny thing, I get those cell phone updates (in case I can’t watch the game). When the goal was originally reported, the message I got said “TOR Goal! Edu (Guevara) TOR 1 – NER 2.” Okay. About twenty minutes after the game was over, I got a message “TOR Goal! Joseph (Own Goal) TOR 2 – NER 2.” Weird, really.
- DCU 4 – LAG 1. Hmm. Missed it. What the heck happened there? I am going out to LA to see them play against New England. Either this is the first signal of LA’s collapse, of they will have something big to prove on the fourth. Ya know, given the Revs’ record when I am at their games…I am afraid of what the answer is.
Fair’s Fair
by Hoover Dam
Said I’d post my picks when Tedski posted his, so:
Chicago Fire: This is about the last team for whom I’ve got anything kind to say after last night’s game, but: Chris Rolfe. He’s Nicol’s kind of player; it’d be easy to see him as a Rev, though you’d have to imagine the trade price there would be too high.
CD Chivas USA: This one’s harder, given the rules on no USMNT regulars, because my favorite guys on Chivas are also Bob Bradley’s favorites–Guzan, Bornstein, Kljestan. I could cheat and say I totally liked those guys before they got a senior US look, but I won’t; instead, I’ll note that Maykel Gallindo is always fun to watch.
Columbus Crew: Alejandro Moreno, particularly in this season to date.
Colorado Rapids: Do I put Burciaga here even though it’s not as a Rapid I know him best? Nah, this team’s an easy call: Bouna Coundoul. That man is like treasure, and I hope he sticks around Denver for years to come.
FC Dallas: Juan Toja’s almost too easy to pick here; he was just so damn fun to watch last season, plus Tedski already picked him. So I’ll go with Dax McCarty, who’s been steadily maturing into a very solid player, and who provides us endless hours of Pete and Pete jokes.
DC United: Bryan Namoff, one of those guys who quietly gets the job done.
Houston Dynamo: Used to be a running fan joke called the Steve Ralston Line, the measurement of guys who were so consistently good for their MLS teams, but just couldn’t crack the MNT regular lineup, for whatever reason. This, of course, was before Ralston did land a regular slot for the nats, but anyway, that line might as well be renamed for Brian Mullan–dipped a toe or two in the US pool, but consistently works his ass off for the Dynamo.
KC Wizards: Jack Jewsbury, no question. Would have been Nick Garcia except for that whole “got traded” thing.
Los Angeles Galaxy: Same problem here that Tedski had–just about everyone is either off-limits for this exercise or strictly a comedy option. Everyone, that is, except Chris Klein, who’s been able to stand next to Beckham just as well as Donovan has.
Red Bull New York: John Wolyniec. Every time he’s available, he’s always got it out for the Revs, and he genuinely seems to fight for a team that’s never known stability.
Real Salt Lake: Nathan Sturgis; even with the line above about Klein, I don’t think LA have even begun to realize what they lost on that trade. I get the same feeling from him that I do McCarty–these guys will be the Ralstons/Mastros/Conrads/Olsens of the new generation.
San Jose: Gotta go with a seemingly obvious sentimental favorite on this one and pick Joe Cannon, who’s never failed to entertain me.
Toronto FC: Todd Dunivant, who didn’t get enough credit at either LA or NY.
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