A quick scan of the stories in local papers regarding the Clasico reveals that not a lot of local papers have their own stories on the game.
There are some good stories out there, though. Here's a short, short list of them.
Grahame Jones of the LA Times talks about the team's identity shift and talks to Peter Vagenas about identity issues and such.
Phil Collin of the Daily Breeze talks about the Galaxy's shift from Ruud Gullit to Cobi Jones. He also tells us that Sacha Kljestan will be arriving later this evening so don't get your hopes up that he'll step off the plane and into the right side of the midfield.
Collin's colleague Nick Green also has plenty of tidbits on his Cien Por Ciento Futbol Blog.
The people who destroyed the Galaxy's chemistry were Lalas and Leiweke. Remember all those trades Lalas made when he got here in 2006? I'm sure he was acting under Leiweke's directive -- especially when you consider Leiweke's recent remarks, in which he threw the players under the bus, covered Lalas's sorry behind and absolved himself of any responsibility for this fiasco.
ReplyDeleteRemember Doug Hamilton firing Sigi Schmid in 2004? That was probably under Leiweke's direction, as well. The desire to play "sexy football" under Gullit is just an extention of the dissatisfaction w/Sigi's style not being "attractive enough."
The Galaxy will never win another championship as long as Leiweke is connected with the organization, Beckham or no Beckham, Donovan or no Donovan. Leiweke is too quick to blow people out. Moreover, as I've said constantly, he's the one who fosters the climate of constant intimidation and suffocating pressure that defines the club's corporate style.
Why do you think the team got rid of such people as Cannon, Martino and Albright? Because they spoke their minds and wouldn't be bullied by corporate idiots.
Why do you think Frank Yallop almost had a nervous breakdown last year? Because management was trying to intimidate him, and he didn't know how to handle it.
Why do you think the Galaxy is open to getting rid of Donovan, arguably their most creative player? Because Donovan (until recently) has had the temerity to speak his mind.
Why do you think Lalas lasted so long despite his obvious incompetence? Because he was the ultimate corporate suck-up w/no backbone.
Think, people. Think about what your favorite club is becoming.