As always, trades are like that proverbial bread in the oven: You gotta leave 'em alone for a while to see how they rise.
In the end, no one this side of the soccer-savvy clairvoyants can know how all the shoppin' and swappin' will play out. Trades must be judged over a few weeks, a few months or sometimes even over a year or more to fairly evaluate the winners and losers.
Still, that shouldn't keep us from attempting trying to sort out the winners and losers in personnel comings and goings. Dissection, after all, can be a real hoot - so long as you are not the dead frog splayed out in the tray.
Thursday, the ongoing Galaxy makeover pressed forward, as promising talent was moved to Real Salt Lake in exchange for veteran midfielder Chris Klein.
(Regarding that in-season makeover: four players on the field for the Galaxy season opener are gone now. One other, Shavar Thomas, was on the bench that day. He has since been traded.)
The trade makes sense for RSL, where rebuilding-minded manager Jason Kreis just collected two exciting young players in speedy rookie forward Robbie Findley and versatile, heady Nathan Sturgis. Sturgis, who played in defense and at holding midfielder for the Galaxy, was just named to Thomas Rongen's U.S. roster for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup.
In the short term, RSL will have to absorb some hostile body blows from fans in Utah, who appreciated Klein's diligent effort. In the long run, a few more "Ws" tend to make fans a more forgiving lot.
As for Frank Yallop's Galaxy: officials there believe the trade makes Los Angeles better right now - and it's hard to argue the need for improvement on the 2-4-3 team, especially when one of the two victories was a 3-2 squeaker at home just last weekend over similarly adrift RSL. And improvement is also in demand considering the Galaxy's impending status as MLS flagship. For better or worse, many global eyes will adjudge MLS quality based on what they see from the Galaxy once David Beckham arrives.
Klein has been among the league's best right-sided players for years. A string of unspectacular performances this year can be overlooked since it's hard to stand tall on a club (RSL) still seeking its first 2007 win.
Los Angeles has used Santino Quaranta, Cobi Jones and Nate Jaqua in the right midfield role in 2007. Only Jones has posed a consistent threat - and Yallop surely wants to protect the soon-to-retire veteran against overuse. So Klein, 31, certainly fills a need. Plus, he's versatile, having played right back internationally. Quavas Kirk played there last week for Los Angeles, but having Klein as an option could certainly come in handy for a team dealing with Chris Albright's potentially season-ending injury.
Finally, it's fair to wonder how Klein's salary can fit beneath an L.A. salary cap that recently added lots of zeroes. Recent, high-profile signings Carlos Pavon and Abel Xavier didn't come cheaply. The X-factor might be in any compensation for Klein that remains on RSL's books; neither club is saying publicly. Or, Los Angeles may simply remain under the cap for the time being, until Beckham's maximum salary amount is applied later in July. If that's the case, Los Angeles has another move or two to make in order to make room.
THE BECKHAM WATCH: Los Angeles general manager Alexi Lalas says he now has all the pertinent David Beckham dates in hand. Lalas knows when Beckham will report to Los Angeles, when the illustrious midfielder will begin training, when he'll first step on the field, etc. (He also knows when the club will unveil its new re-branding.)
Lalas just isn't inclined to reveal anything publicly yet.
All of this is contingent on the ankle injury Beckham sustained in his last match for Real Madrid, a win last weekend that secured the La Liga crown for Beckham and his Bernabeu mates. The injury (actually a re-aggravation of a previous left ankle ailment) is not expected to alter Beckham's MLS timetable; he remains on schedule for a mid-July arrival.
Lalas says he isn't trying to be coy or play games. He just doesn't want to hand out bad information, or premature information.
"Dates can change," he told a small group of reporters gathered at The Home Depot Center last weekend. "That's why we don't feel comfortable giving you those dates just yet."
When will the public find out? Probably within another few days, Lalas said.
Lalas said the entire timetable has been considered carefully, weighing the team's responsibility to give Beckham ample rest, the team's responsibility to allow its new midfielder time to get comfortable with teammates and the need to get the most from the England star once he arrives.
Beckham left earlier this week for vacation with his family. Where did he go?
"I don't know," Lalas said with a chuckle while sparring a bit with English writers already on the scene and reporting from Los Angeles. "That's none of my business."
MORE ON THE RSL-GALAXY DEAL: The ripple effect of Thursday's swap between Los Angeles and Real Salt Lake likely can't be good for one recent, touted draft pick.
Nik Besagno was Real Salt Lake's first draft selection, taken with the No. 1 pick overall in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft. Besagno has started just four games in three seasons in Utah so far, including only one start this year.
When he was selected with that top overall pick in 2005, Besagno seemed to be penciled in as the club's holding midfielder of the future. He was just 16 at the time. Today, at 18, he still has plenty of time to carve out his place in MLS.
But it doesn't look good for him at Real Salt Lake, where Nathan Sturgis now seems to have the inside track as Kreis' future steady-eddy in the holding midfielder role. Nor can it be particularly encouraging for RSL fans to consider some of the fine players selected after Besagno back on Jan. 14, 2005.
In order, the next selections were Brad Guzan, Chad Barrett, Danny O'Rourke, Ugo Ihemelu, Drew Moor, Hunter Freeman, Troy Roberts, Michael Parkhurst, Jack Stewart, Scott Sealy and Tim Ward. Most of those other first-round selections from 2005 are starters; all except Ward have started most of the games for which they have been available for their current team in 2007.
COOKE IN THE KITCHEN: Colorado is back at Dick's Sporting Goods Park this weekend, seeking once again to improve a below-average record at home. The Rapids, with a 2-1-3 mark, are currently tied for the eighth-best winning percentage (.583) at home.
Rapids flank midfielder Terry Cooke, never afraid to proffer an opinion, believes his side can do more to pressure opponents on that huge (120 yards x 80 yards) field in Commerce City.
Cooke believes his Rapids should take better advantage of the altitude and spacious pitch. Instead of moving the ball deliberately through midfield, he'd prefer to see the club immediately pressure teams, using a few more balls over distance and diagonal efforts into the forwards.
"Let's make the defenders run a bit, get them uncomfortable, play balls in behind them that they have to run after," Cooke said. "After 15 minutes of that, I think they'd be dead. Then, we can move the ball through the midfield a little more, if we wanted."
Neither can Cooke, a product of the Manchester United system, understand the lack of width that seems epidemic around the league right now. Cooke is one of Major League Soccer's best servers from the right. He's an advocate of the early cross, when it's available.
"I was taught that when you get the ball wide, as soon as you get 30-40 yards from goal, you start looking for the cross," he said. "I don't understand why more people don't do it."
CREATORS AT CHIVAS USA: Chivas USA are arguably better off without restless midfielder Amado Guevara. On the other hand, the team is clearly missing a creative influence that Guevara often supplied.
The problem isn't so much that dynamic players aren't on the roster. Rather, it's getting the potential creative influences to express themselves.
Paulo Nagamura and Jesse Marsch are reliable holding midfielders. Sacha Kljestan and Francisco Mendoza are young, potentially dynamic flank players. But both are young; Mendoza is the older of the pair, having recently turned 22. So neither has been able to consistently supply the techniques that break down defenses: beating a couple of defenders with a special moment on the dribble or opening the back line with the occasional killer pass.
Chivas USA have scored more than one goal in just two of their last eight matches. Preki's club hasn't managed more than two goals in a match since April.
"In tough games, we know we need Panchito or myself to step up and be that guy," Kljestan said.
Preki says he encourages both young players to be assertive. The cover is there, with Marsch and Nagamura dutifully recognizing where the balance needs to appear from moment to moment. Marsch, too, said he has encouraged the pair to take some risks. But knowing when that is prudent comes with age and experience, he said.
"It's not easy," Marsch said of the nurturing process. "I learned from a legend in Chicago, from Peter Nowak."
Now, Marsch knows it his turn to pass along some of that valuable tutelage.
Steve Davis is a freelance writer who has covered Major League Soccer since its inception. Steve can be reached at BigTexSoccer@yahoo.com. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
