Of course, the move didn't come from out of the blue. The Galaxy need a forward who can be effective, or the club probably won't survive the playoffs. Angel wasn't much of a force for the Galaxy at all. Normally, bringing in an overseas striker for a proven MLS performer isn't the best move, but Angel's production dropped off a cliff when he joined the Los Angeles squad.
Luis had a theory earlier in the season that Angel was unsettled because his family remained back East. They finally completed the arrangements to join him, but now he's been traded.
On the plus side, it looks like Angel is headed across the hallway to join Chivas USA. So perhaps LA's rivals will reap the benefits of an avenging Angel, who certainly didn't seem happy about the trade.
It's funny how one of Bruce Arena's best coaching moves was to bring Angel to New York, and one of his worst moves was to bring the same player to LA.
Yet it also seems to be Arena's weakness to hang on to the past glories of certain players for far too long, Jeff Agoos, Claudio Reyna and John O'Brien certainly come to mind.
It was clear at the end of last season that Angel didn't have much left in the tank. He really should retire after this season. Its sad to see a player who skills are fading as rapidly as Angel's, but its a fact the man must deal with. His body simply will not do what the his mind is telling it to do. It team should feel lucky to get 5-8 goals from him this season. We really shouldn't expect more from 35 year old forwards.
ReplyDeleteI meant "A team should feel ...."
ReplyDeleteI don't know about Keane. He missed chance after chance after wide-open chance after how-on-god's-green-pitch-can-you-miss-THAT-chance?- last year for West Ham. He should of scored those in any league. and now West Ham is paying for it.
ReplyDelete