A look around a Los Angeles Galaxy training session these days doesn't reveal many familiar faces. With the recent trade of Tyrone Marshall to Toronto FC, there are now only three players with the Galaxy that have been with the club for longer than two full seasons -- midfielders Pete Vagenas and Cobi Jones and defender Chris Albright.
Albright is currently on the injured list after undergoing hamstring surgery a couple weeks ago. Jones has announced that he is retiring at the end of the season.
And so it all leads to the question: Is Los Angeles in a rebuilding stage? Players and coaches hate to use that term, but these days in Carson, it's becoming a reality.
"I don't want to say it's a rebuilding stage but we've definitely got some issues here that we're trying to figure out," said Santino Quaranta, who joined the Galaxy toward the tail end of last season. "I think Frank (Yallop) and Alexi (Lalas) have a general way they want to go and we're going in that direction. That doesn't mean it's a rebuilding stage; I think it's a stage of trying to get the best mix of players."
Vagenas is adamant not to label this season as a rebuilding year. Even when he looks around and sees that he is one of the last remaining Galaxy veterans, he insists that this team is thinking about the present, not the future.
"That being said, I don't think this is a rebuilding year," said Vagenas. "I would tell you if I did, but I don't think so."
Still, the number of new faces in the Galaxy media guide doesn't lie. Since his arrival, Lalas has completely reformed the club. It started with the hiring of Yallop and has continued almost nonstop ever since. The massive changes are something that even Yallop can't ignore.
"I hate to say that (we're in a rebuilding stage) eight games into a season but I think it's the natural turnover of players that happens in a lot of clubs. It's not just the guys who have been here awhile," said Yallop.
"It's getting the right chemistry and getting the right salary cap situation with the players. We are looking at another player at the moment. We're trying to make the right moves."
Results tend to dictate mass changes in a team's makeup. The standings don't lie and for the past couple of seasons, the Galaxy have struggled to get results.
Abel Xavier was cleared for action on Friday, and at least one more new face is known to be arriving in the way of David Beckham -- with maybe more coming with the international transfer window opening up on Friday. Once all the pieces are in place, the Galaxy will have a chance to develop team chemistry, something that made past Galaxy teams champions. The hope in Los Angeles is that they can develop that chemistry in time to turn this season around.
Greg Daurio is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
