Hobbled legend

Despite all the Beckham buzz, I'd like to point out that Cobi Jones is having a pretty amazing final year for the Galaxy. Even when occasionally coming off the bench, I'd argue that Cobi has been LA's most consistent player, and his contribution has been vital to the struggling club. He's tied for the team lead in goals and he brings an energetic effort to every game that belies his age.

I wondered before why Cobi couldn't follow in the footsteps of Preki and play even longer, but Cobi's nagging heel issues make his steps painful at times. He's not going to give any less than his best, and he probably wants to leave on that high note of still being able to do that.

Here's what Frank Yallop said of Cobi after the right winger had come in as a sub and scored two goals versus Kansas City - and nearly put in another, missing just by a foot or so.

"I think he’s probably the best sub in the league, to be honest. He feels the game pretty quickly. We put him in late because he’s got heel problems. One of the reasons he can’t train properly is because of the pain in his heels. You have to rest him quite a bit. So it’s hard to get his fitness level as high as it should be for ninety minutes, but he’s played well in our 90 minute games as well, though. But he obviously can’t do the things he used to. But the quality of Cobi coming in and nearly scoring all the goals we need to win it – the quality of competitor that he is, brave. He does all the things you’d want him to do. He headed one away on a corner, right on the last tick of the game. It says a lot for Cobi – what he means for this club and what he does for this club."