Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Much Ado about Dan

Yesterday when I talked to him, Ruud Gullit didn't seem to understand the fuss that kicked up about the Galaxy ticket rep that was brought in for a recent reserve game, as reported by the Times of London. (By the way, Ruud has no fear about shaking up developmental systems he believes aren't working.)

We had one game where somebody in the office had to play. That’s just a statement that it happened, nothing else. The club is working on that. They asked me what has been a surprise and that has been a surprise, but it’s not a big deal. The interview was about what more than that, but they pick out one thing. I think that many teams are struggling with the reserve teams. We’ll try to make it better, bring it attention, and maybe accelerate that process.

The ticket service rep called in to help the shorthanded Galaxy reserve team, Dan Cerwinske, was a college teammate (Dayton) of Chris Rolfe, the Chicago Fire star, (Chris writes a blog, too) and he still plays in a local league. I actually met Dan the day I grabbed a beer with fellow reporter Martin Rogers. Dan looked to be in decent shape - and I can attest to his bonafides as a Galaxy enthusiast, because he was wearing an Angel City Brigade T-shirt that evening. Apparently, Dan can help patrons purchase passes (310-630-2221 dcerwinske@lagalaxy.com) and also play on the pitch.

Not to say that there shouldn't be a better reserve player system, of course. That's across the board for MLS, but I also remember when the system first came into existence. That was 2005, and before that, there were no reserve teams or games at all.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm actually glad Gullit said what he did, mostly because I get the sense that he meant it. Any time a coach will publicly say anything that doesn't come from The Coaches' Handbook of Banalities is a pleasant change of pace.

I have no idea whether it will have any effect, though. I hope so, but I figure that nobody's going to do anything important about roster size or salary cap until the CBA, and those are the only things that could fix the underlying problems of MLS' reserve team system. My hunch is that Gullit could have said that they had to field one of Horace Burrell's girlfriends in a reserve game, and there still wouldn't be any way to fix the situation.

Joseph D'Hippolito said...

As I've mentioned before on other threads in this blog, Gullit is just trying to cover himself from the flak his bosses might want to drop on him.

Gulilt's posterior-covering is out of character for a man who accepted one of his player-of-the-year awards in the name of Nelson Mandela -- not a politically correct thing to do at the time.

More and more I'm convinced that the Galaxy tries to castrate anybody in its leadership. That's why Lalas has become such a jerk. That's why Yallop had so many problems; he was trying to retain his dignity and was failing. He had to get out for his own sanity.

A.C. said...

It's hard for me to imagine that Gullit is intimidated by anyone in Galaxy management. His reputation, and, as you point out, Joe, the causes he has taken on in the past, are much bigger in the soccer world than anyone else in a Galaxy suit.

A.C. said...

Ruud didn't seem defensive, by the way. His general tone was of slight annoyance - like, "You press make a big deal of stuff", very similar to Beckham's tone at the press conference after the Toronto game when he was telling the media not to panic.

Anonymous said...

We at the ACB certainly love Dan. Apparently he's good on the field as well as off it.

As far as fielding a full reserves side, what exactly is stopping us? Is it the limited roster, or finances? And would our youth system be able to help our reserve schedule out for home games?

Anonymous said...

I would love nothing more than to see Gullit become GM and get rid of Lalas...

Looks like whoever went out and got Franchino was a smart man...now let's get a central defender...

A.C. said...

No, I asked about that. Youth players can't supplement reserve sides right now - not unless they're already signed to a pro contract.

At least that's how I understood what I was told. i prefer to have things written down so I don't mix them up or misremember, so I'll try to hunt down a written version of the reserve team rules.

A.C. said...

Anon, what if Lalas was the one who went out and got Franchino? I'm not saying that's what happened, but I'm curious as to how that would affect your opinion of either the man or the trade.

Anonymous said...

Yes Jason. We Love Dan. Dan is the Man. Is thanks to him we have anything over at the ACB!!
Go Dan Go! Go Dan Go! ...

Anonymous said...

Lot's of "love" for all the Galaxy supporters. Wonder why?

Oh yeah, I forgot it's the Galaxy.

Anonymous said...

Dan looks amazing in jeans too



just saying

Anonymous said...

On reflection, I think that I agree with Andrea. Unless the other teams' reserve systems are radically better, which I doubt, the improvement must come for every MLS team, not just the Galaxy.

I am sure this was all a bit of a shock to Gullit, who came from a country with a well-established league and a good system for player development. But it is what it is. The best way to look at these comments is constructively to look for ways to upgrade the reserve system.

As for the guy in sales who got the call to play, it may reak of amateurism, but boy, what I would not give to have 15 minutes on a professional pitch. It's every rec league player's dream come true. If the media wanted to write an interesting story, they would have interviewed this guy about his experience.

Joseph D'Hippolito said...

Anon, what if Lalas was the one who went out and got Franchino? I'm not saying that's what happened, but I'm curious as to how that would affect your opinion of either the man or the trade.

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Let's wait awhile before we anoint Franchino as the next Chris Armas, let alone the next Claude Makelele.

Joseph D'Hippolito said...

It's hard for me to imagine that Gullit is intimidated by anyone in Galaxy management.

a.c., it could just be as simple as Gullit wanting to put up with as little bovine excrement as possible. We've all had bosses who have made our work lives more difficult. Gullit certainly doesn't need this job; he can do fine as a television commentator. Perhaps the Galaxy "management" teams needs to understand that.

Anonymous said...

hey anonymous - your comment should be about how great a soccer player dan is and not how good he looks in jeans. believe me, i know how good he looks in jeans - of ALL people i should know - but i also know how great he is on the field. posting a comment like that is like saying "yeah, she's smart, but did you see her rack?" have some taste.