Sitting with the worst record in Major League Soccer after having made the highest-profile signing in league history, conventional wisdom suggests that heads are going to roll around the Los Angeles Galaxy. But Landon Donovan says that would be a bigger mistake than any that have come before.
Donovan is one of six holdovers from the 2005 Galaxy side that won the double, lifting both MLS Cup and the U.S. Open Cup. When Donovan looks at that team and compares it to this year's he's sees two very different sides, in more ways than just championships won.
"A couple of years ago when we won the title we weren't a very good team and we kept everybody because we thought 'we won it, we should keep everybody,'" said Donovan. "Maybe there should have been some changes made. This year is the opposite."
Despite their record, the Galaxy captain is adamant that his side is a good one that is just the victim of injuries and a tortuous schedule. LA's performance in SuperLiga should be proof enough of that, and the fact that they took Pachuca to penalties in the final galvanizes Donovan's conviction.
"I think we have to be careful (about making changes)," said Donovan. "You can't look at us lately and say this is a bad team. I don't think anyone can look me in the face and say that.
"There are a lot of good players here and if you have a fire sale and get rid of everybody you're going to be further in the hole. That includes (head coach) Frank (Yallop). I think we need to be really careful about what we do because this is still a very good team."
Donovan coming to the defense of Yallop is certainly to be expected, as the U.S. international was a part of Yallop's championship winning sides in San Jose, Donovan as a young phenom just starting his professional career and Yallop in his first head coaching role.
The team was assured of Yallop's future in the club in a meeting held two weeks ago before their SuperLiga semifinal encounter with D.C. United. In that meeting both Galaxy president and general manager Alexi Lalas and AEG president and CEO Tim Leiweke addressed the team and told it that Yallop was going nowhere.
"We had a meeting with Alexi and Tim and they both said we had the best coach in the league -- the coach isn't going anywhere," said Donovan.
Even with the grueling end of season schedule that the Galaxy still face, Donovan claims there is no quit in the team.
"Nobody is quitting for that guy (Yallop). We will run through the ... wall for that guy, all of us," said Donovan. "You see it on the field."
Greg Daurio is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
