I didn't really blame Frank Yallop for a lot of what went wrong this season. I felt he had a lot to deal with, with Beckham coming over, and virtually nobody to help him prepare for that. Plus, when you toss injuries into the mix it's asking a lot from anyone to survive that. Yes, he made a lot of deals and I think the Ugo-and-Herc-for-Cannon deal was not a good one but there was still enough on the team that had injuries not decimated the side could have gotten better results.
Anyway, here's my column on Yallop's resignation. I threw in Yallop's Top 10 Galaxy games which wasn't too hard a list to come up with, simply because there weren't many games to choose from. Sigi Schmid's top 10 Galaxy games, well, that might take some time to compile.
The one game that was probably number 11 that maybe should have been on there was the Galaxy's 1-0 win in Houston at Reliant on Aug. 9, 2006. That one probably should have made the list but I didn't see the game as I was in Mexico at the time and it just kind of faded away, unlike the 5-2 win in D.C. when I listened to it on the radio on the way to a Chivas USA game, goal after goal after Galaxy goal.
2 comments:
Speaking of Herculez Gomez, what a bad year he had! He began the season with a visit to Republica Deportiva and was a starter and number 10 on his team. But after that call up to Copa America, his season went to crap.
Any plans to write an article on players who fell off in 2007?
There's one thing about discussions of the club's last and coming season that makes me wary. Whenever I hear any organization he's involved with talk about Beckham creating a circus, or being a distraction, I think of Louis in Casablanca accepting his winnings with a hand behind his back while using gambling as an excuse to close down Ricks Café: "I’m shocked, shocked, to find that gambling is going on in here!"
The Galaxy isn't the first team to create a promotional circus for Beckham to appear in, in order to expand into new (in this case their own) markets, and then blame him for its existence or hide a multitude of sins behind it. The Galaxy made no secret of hiring Beckham as much for his marketing value as for his skill on the pitch. And there’s no way Galaxy management have lived in the football world for this long and know any less about the size of the press corps that follows Beckham, or the size of the crowds that follow him, than I do. So anyone in that group claiming they “didn’t know what to expect,” is full of crap and certain to be hiding a press release and ad copy behind their back.
As for other clubs he's played on, Real Madrid never complained while they made $600 million (that they’ll admit to) on Beckham merchandise. But the England set-up reeks of hypocrisy. When Beckham joined up he was said to be the face of the "new” England, which would redeem its image around the world from years of being associated with violence and hooliganism. There was nowhere he wasn’t trotted out, sent as an ambassador or spokesperson, or generally promoted like crazy. So it was a farce when McClaren partially blamed the distraction of the Beckham “circus” when he dropped him from the team. (Now he’s looking for that distraction again, either to save him by helping England win or to toss to the angry crowds if they lose, he’s not bothered.)
I doubt Beckham pays much mind to who's charged with creating what circus, he seems to keep pretty good blinders on except when his family gets trashed, or he's accused of letting down fans. But I still like to know when I'm being mislead, just in case I'm asked to trust what someone says again. Lalas, for example may as well speak in tongues for as much credence I give his words.
Good grief I went on! Preparing for the Galaxy "spin cycle" I guess.
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