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The latest on the Galaxy mess

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                                                                                       Photo by ISIphotos.com

You knew things were bad in Los Angeles Galaxy land after Sunday’s loss to San Jose. Now, we have some insight into just how bad things have been.

SI.com’s Jonah Freedman has uncovered some juicy background on the state of the Galaxy, AEG president and CEO Tim Lieweke visited the Galaxy locker room last week and issued an ultimatum that if the team didn’t straighten things out that there would be "dire consequences."

Well, with a loss to last-place San Jose on Sunday, and a showdown with arch-rival Chivas USA in two weeks, you have to wonder if Lieweke is going to do something now or wait to see what happens against the Goats.

Freedman cited an L.A. Daily news article that revealed, among other things, that Gullit and Lalas are not getting along. Funny, haven’t we heard that somewhere else before?

I asked it last night, and I’ll ask it again. Who, if anybody, should be sent packing in LA? I’ve never been a fan of mid-season shake-ups, particularly when it comes to coaches, but given the constant rumors of AEG’s unhappiness with the Galaxy, you can’t help but feel that something will happen this month unless LA starts winning some games.

What do you think? Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Lalas should go. Lalas should go. Lalas should go. Lalas should go. Lalas should go. Lalas should go. Lalas should go.

    Or not…as a Quakes fan, I’m loving this!!

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  2. Lalas must go.

    Gullit is staying, he is currently dealing with what he has as players. Donovan is either gone in the winter to Europe or will be in another uniform next year making more money. Gullit will be able to trade and bring in his players and make this his team. A team is not made in 4 to 6 months. Gullit is giving guys who try and are coachable time over other players, i.e the developmental player on the bench after impressing Gullit during the Galaxy staff/development team game in Dallas. We are giving Africans a look see and will probably be making a few drops in players and bringing in young Africans and Cubans for much less. Lalas brought in old MLS rejects from other teams, Vanney Franchino Vagenas all are too old for this league. None do their job well and suck up the roster spaces and money.

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  3. Seattle Sounders FC general manager/minority owner is Adrian Hanauer. He is the current USL Seattle Sounders general manager/owner as well. The Seattle Sounders Fan Membership will vote to retain or retire the general manager every 4 years.

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  4. Gullit is okay…his results were mixed and fairly mediocre. Personally, I think the Galaxy should have gone for a “world-class” manager rather than the “big name” they advertised… I’m not saying he should be fired–he’s good enough to coach the Galaxy–but I wouldn’t classify him as a “great” or even “really good” coach.

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  5. One man holds the answers to all of the Galaxy’s problem…Paul Mariner.

    As an English legend he would command Beckham’s repsect. He could also bring in the 3-5-2, and let Beckham create on the wing while having 2 defensive midefielders to cover for him (granted they would need to trade to get 2). Mariner is the mastermind behind NE’s great drafts, and he would provide a steady stream of young talent to the club. Mariner was also key in the club bringing in young internationals who have thrived this year.

    Mariner is the man who needs to be in charge of the Galaxy. Either as a GM or coach.

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  6. Its pretty obvious that the consensus is Lalas needs to go. While this won’t help right away, it will prevent further decline, i.e. MORE bad trades. [Oh, for clarity I am a Fire/Crew fan.] Give Gullit a chance to coach, it takes a while to figure the MLS ‘system’ out. Dropping Ruiz, Vanney, Vagenas, etc. should enable the team to find some defensive & GK talent and make the most of this season without mortgaging next season.

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  7. LA could have an all-star back line and an all-star goalie but the problem is a midfield that cannot control the ball.

    If they can get a couple of midfielders that can play, they can be the best in the league and nobody would have to worry about job security.

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  8. By the way, Guillet is a good coach, dont judge him on half a season. Relax the wage cap rules, see how the ginger performs and make a judgement after the season, if need be.

    … Every club needs a ginger.

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  9. Galaxy should have hired Darren Huckbery and then your left would be as good as your right. A more balanced team, with absolutely exceptional wide players, you would simply win by scoring more goals than you concede… forget about your defence play and just win by attcking.

    In fact both Beckham and Huckerby should be considered regular Engalnd players…

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  10. The first person to go should be Leiweke. He’s the one who hired Lalas. More importantly, he’s the one who fosters this atmosphere of arrogant entitlement, intimidation and constant pressure that saps the potential for excellence. Why do you think Lalas made all those trades when he first got hired? He was under pressure to please Uncle Tim, der Obergruppenfuerher.

    There’s a reason why Leiweke made it clear that Lalas, Bravo and Gullit will make the decisions. It’s called “plausable deniability.” That’s what allows him to save his sorry posterior — despite the fact that he’s done nothing about the stadium situation in Houston, and despite the fact that he was so obnoxious in negotiations w/Red Bull over a new stadium that Red Bull had to pay AEG $50 M to vacate negotiations (right, Ives?).

    Get rid of Leiweke and you get rid of most of the Galaxy’s problems.

    Reply
  11. @sonic

    well…it’d didn’t stop him from hiring Rongen after destroying New England and DC and proving useless at Chivas. I don’t want this to turn into an argument about Rongen, but I will say, the USSF has made some pretty silly decisions in the past…

    Reply

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