The offseason is underway for the Los Angeles Galaxy. It promises to be an offseason of change, but how much change? As silly as this may sound, the Galaxy were two goals away from the playoffs.
On Saturday night, the Galaxy wrapped up their first-ever season without postseason play and bounced conference champion FC Dallas, 5-2. It could have easily been 10-2 in favor of the home side. That's how much they dominated this match.
"It's good to finish on a high like we did tonight," said head coach Frank Yallop. "Our movement and our appetite for the game, I thought were great. I still don't think we played that bad against Dallas last week, but we were not able to finish the game with a win. Tonight, however, our overall performance was excellent."
This brings up a feeling that a lot of people had at The Home Depot Center. All you have to do is go back two Saturdays ago and see that if this Galaxy club took care of business at Dallas, they'd be playing Dallas two more times. Then, there was the tie against Colorado. The result versus Houston at home didn't help. The disaster at Toyota Park hurt too. There was also game one of the season against New England. Thank Kyle Martino for depositing a goal against the Galaxy while playing for Columbus on April 22 in a game the Galaxy dominated. It should not have mattered. The Galaxy should have had five of their own in that match. Those three points could have put them in the MLS Cup Playoffs as well.
Pick a loss, any loss and you can blame that result for not advancing to the playoffs. In truth the Galaxy earned fifth place in the Western Conference in 2006. As bad as it sounds, it's the unfortunate truth.
This Galaxy had so many chances to get over the hump, yet, someway somehow they managed not to. It's hard to figure out, but once you look at the standings it is crystal clear ... 39 points with an 11-15-6 record. It's not the record of a playoff team and if MLS is to have any credibility, no team should qualify to play for the MLS Cup with those credentials.
But for one final night it didn't matter. The Galaxy of old showed up and outclassed their opponent as they so often did back in the day at the Rose Bowl. The defending champions were brilliant on this night. Was it pride? Was it embarrassment? Was it two missed penalty kicks by the referee that motivated this club? Did Dallas really come to play? Whatever it was, bottle it up and bring it back in 2007.
And in 2007, how many of these familiar faces will be in a Galaxy uniform? Some say this club has been in need of a house cleaning for a while. In my informal survey of the Galaxy media, the common response was only one player is safe. Everyone else is up for grabs and if Frank Yallop and Alexi Lalas can improve the club by moving the others then that will likely happen. I do not believe the Galaxy will change as dramatically as that. The starting 11 just might.
It's no secret the Galaxy have needed better balance in the midfield. Does this mean a true No. 10? I think it means finding the best combination in the middle that consistently links the attack from defense to forward. A true No. 10 is very difficult to find and so one player will likely not be the answer there.
Scoring goals is an inherent problem in this sport. Those who have scorers keep them. The Galaxy needs them and they'll have to either develop one or find one. I'm not sure they have the luxury of developing a striker at this point.
Defensively, the club was solid down the stretch, but the back four did let them down when push came to shove. I'd have to say something will happen there too. But here is where the Galaxy might be the deepest. Troy Roberts impressed before an injured groin ended his season. Prior to Roberts, rookie Kyle Veris was a starter in central defense. It's fair to assume both will only get better. The same goes for Ugo Ihemelu. His defensive skills are solid. Fouls at the wrong places on the field can be fixed as well as better distribution out of the defensive third. Ante Jazic was brought in to be here for a while at left back. Chris Albright was the Galaxy's defender of the year. Tyrone Marshall battled injuries all season. Might he become the enforcer at defensive midfield? That position would allow him to roam a bit. Will his body hold up?
In goal, Kevin Hartman made strides in returning to the caliber of goalkeeper Galaxy fans have been accustomed to. Nine shutouts and a 1.14 GAA is more than solid, but there were times where goalkeeper and defenders were not on the same page and some goals could be called soft. Steve Cronin did get some time in goal as well and have to think he's chomping at the bit to get another chance at the starting job.
My view on goalkeepers is they only get better with age as they begin to see the game better and better positioning takes the place of their athleticism. I also believe the goalkeeper needs to anchor the defense and a lot of times are where the buildup of the attack begins. There were many times in 2006 where it just didn't look like the defense and goalkeeping had trust in each other.
All of this together produced 11 wins, 15 losses and 6 ties. These numbers will lead to what is to come and that means some will be former Galaxy members.
KIDS TO WATCH
Santino Quaranta tops my list. Here's a player with all the physical tools. I think he camped out at midfield a lot early on as he worked himself back in to match fitness. I can't wait to see him at the start of a season, healthy and ready to go.
Kyle Martino returned for some action in the final match. Here's another young player looking to live up to expectations. A true offseason in L.A. should do him good. The question is, what type of player is he? Is he a wide midfielder? Is he an attacking midfielder? He probably would play the position Cobi Jones did down the stretch.
Nathan Sturgis. This kid has a lot of confidence when he's out there. He showed skills beyond his age. He certainly did not play like a rookie.
COBI JONES
We wait to hear what Jones plans on doing. He's 36 years old. He had a goal and three assists against Dallas. The assist on the Quaranta goal was vintage Jones.
He's been dealing with an Achilles injury for most of the last two years. Some media members attempted to ask Jones about the future only to be told those questions would be answered in the offseason.
Not every player deserves the right to pick how his or her career will come to an end. I believe Cobi Jones, for what he has meant to this team and this league, on and off the field, has earned that right.
Will he be a starter at age 37? Reasonable minds would say no, but I'd hate to have to be a Galaxy opponent knowing that around the 70th minute Cobi Jones could be coming on to the field to wreak havoc with a defense that is already getting tired legs. At this point in his career he's perfect to help nurture the kids.
I hope to see him back for one more run in 2007.
MLS IMPORTS
I'm not the first to say this or the last. This league has reached the point where they should compete for and bring in better talent from abroad. I'm not saying you have to bring in the Carlos Valderramas of the world who are heading toward the twilight of their careers. The American player needs to be challenged to become better. Too many imported players come in highly touted and can't play in the states. Uh, Thiago was supposed to be this marvelous forward who was going to light up MLS. He couldn't make the reserve squad.
The league has matured to the point where it should not take chances on players just because they are from Brazil or Argentina or Central America. In a lot of cases the talent here is already better than those coming in. It's time to compete for real talent. I'm talking about players who will make others better.
AND THAT BRINGS ME TO DAVID BECKHAM
Becks has been rumored for some time to be coming to the Colonies. With the Beckham Academy being housed at the HDC, it's no wonder many believe he'll be joining the Galaxy at some point. Others frown at the potential of a so-called "Beckham rule" where each club can bust the budget to bring in a superstar. Old timers will tell you that was the eventual demise of the NASL. That was then. This is now.
Today, the sport is entrenched and has the ownership and television packages capable of sustaining such players. Also, fans in this country are waiting for their top flight to rival those in Europe. Europe is the true benchmark. It's time to compete at that caliber of play.
Joe Tutino is in his eighth season as the English radio voice of the Los Angeles Galaxy. He can be reached at jtutino@aol.com. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author's, and not necessarily those of the Los Angeles Galaxy or Major League Soccer.
