Are you going to go Thisaway?

It's Thisaway's turn to win readers over one last time in our final template poll.

I guess I might as well throw in my reaction to the Joe Cannon move. Personally, I liked Joe - he was a stand-up guy who would take on most any question any reporter had. It makes me a little sad to think that his honesty and my reporting what he said ever got him in trouble, because the world needs more forthright people. Joe had a good sense of humor, too, and that's always nice to have around.

In some ways, though, Frank Yallop's move to trade for Joe put him in a tough position. I mean, everybody on the Galaxy felt pressure due to the trade for Beckham and all the attention on the team. Joe, though, got an extra dose of that - he was essentially taking over for the most beloved non-Cobi player in Galaxy history (Kevin Hartman). Not to mention that the trade for Cannon had cost the Galaxy their hero of 2005, Hercules Gomez ,and of course, the talented defender Ugo Ihemelu.

Did the expectations and stress get to Joe? Probably. He's a guy who wears his emotions openly (I had one reporter tell me he thought Joe might be a little crazy. I told him all goalkeepers were considered crazy. He said, "There's weird, then there's goalkeeper crazy, then there's Cannon - and he's on his own level.") It seemed in some games that Joe made mistakes because he was almost trying too hard. Goalkeepers have to be alert, yet relaxed and confident to have their best games, and Joe rarely looked as if he hit that comfort zone.

Frankly, I don't think the whole incident with me reporting that he said he might like to play in San Jose one day would have been a big deal to him if he hadn't already been on edge. If Joe had been playing his very best, and the Galaxy were winning regularly, Joe would have mostly likely laughed off any reaction fans might have had.

He was still talented enough to be one of the top goalkeepers in the league even with his difficulties, and he still had a blinder of a game to keep the Galaxy in the match versus Chicago at the end of the season until the very, very last moments. That's what I'll remember most, I guess.

The gang's all back together

... in San Jose.

Like Frank Yallop, Joe Cannon's stay in Los Angeles was not what it could have been. Like Yallop, Cannon had long been considered one of the league's best at what he did yet neither could recreate that magic with the Galaxy.

Yallop left the Galaxy for San Jose, and he's now taken his preferred goalkeeper with him. The Galaxy received allocation money for the move which lets us know how much they wanted to part company with him.

Joe Cannon was never really a fan favorite with the Galaxy. He'd been a favorite of Colorado fans but his previous tenure with San Jose apparently was too much for some Galaxy faithful to truly embrace him as one of their own. Plus, there was that whole incident Andrea unknowingly triggered with Joe and his future intentions of returning to play in San Jose.

In the end, the trade I felt was the worst trade Frank Yallop made - the Cannon-for-Herc-and-Ugo deal - just got even worse. Yallop blew up the team in December 2006 to get Cannon (the move triggered the Hartman-to-KC deal) and now none of those figures are with the club.

I'm curious to know how Galaxy fans feel about this trade. On the one hand, Joe may feel like Yallop in that he's getting away from what turned out to be a troubling situation and is now headed away from the limelight and to something new. On the other, Joe's talent can't really be overlooked. His move does create a hole, unless Steve Cronin is mentally and physically ready to assume the duties.

Cannon disappointed

After the excessive time it took for the Galaxy to open their locker room on Thursday and being told that the commissioner's mandate was "just a sign," I didn't go in there for one second. It's too bad, because I wanted to get some player reaction about the result. Frank Yallop seemed rather upbeat despite not winning but I wanted to hear how the guys on the field felt.

I did manage to grab Joe Cannon on my way back to the press box.

Joe wasn't quite as positive as Frank.

More Joe

After the Galaxy's first two goalscorers versus Colorado went down with injuries, I asked Joe Cannon how worried he was during the rest of the match about the extent of their damage.

"To be honest, I’m so happy that they scored, that I’m not really thinking about that. I’m so relieved that we’re on top. The forwards are the last things that I’m thinking about at that point. I know that sounds bad, but after the second goal, I’m just thinking that we should hold on. Great teams, even with ten men, should be able to win with a two goal lead."

Joe dishes the dirt

In what could be a turning point in the history of our blog, we now have documented proof that some players read it - or at least have informants who read the material, then deliver hopefully accurate approximations of what we actually write.

Truth be told, I felt rather awkward standing there post-game, realizing the swing the conversation was taking. Billy Witz of the LANewsGroup took the lead. As usual, he'd been tracking the nitty-gritty of the behind-the-scenes Galaxy action. He probed Joe Cannon for more information, and suddenly, a tidbit of info I'd doled out here on the blog took centerstage.

Here it is - the complete, uncut, exchange on the topic. There was a group of us interviewing Joe, including a reporter from Germany's Bild. I wonder if he was confused as heck, or if even Bild knows about the LA Riot Squad.

(Unless otherwise noted, Joe is doing all the talking)

Our fans have been great. They haven’t booed us off the field yet.

Billy Witz: Oh, no?

Well, some have. But not the whole stadium. Some of the Riot Squad at times and other season ticket holders - who surprise, have been more frustrated than most with the year, we’ve heard some things said, during the course of the game. I was on the bench last week for the game versus Real and definitely heard some things said. But at the same time, it’s been a frustrating year for them. If you’re a fan, you’ve got every right to feel that sometimes. But give these guys credit for coming out and giving the effort and sticking with it, because after the SuperLiga game, that was a huge blow and on top of that, the Salt Lake game. Two games where we’re two penalty kicks away – from a SuperLiga title and then we’d be on 20 points, which is 8 points from a league play off spot with four games in hand. Those games are a blow. So give those guys credit and let’s just build on this.

Billy: Didn’t you get into it with some fans after the Real Salt Lake game?

No, I think what happened was a misunderstanding over something I said. I think a couple of them made a comment about me going back to San Jose. I didn’t really put it into its perspective until somebody actually told me the whole story behind what was said. I think it was something that you printed (looks at me) or something.

Me: (to Billy) Is he blaming me?

No, I’m not blaming. (To Billy) She said I rambled, though. I kinda didn’t like that. I don’t mind paraphrasing, but you know. I could get to the point probably a little quicker, but I like the attention.

It’s just something, though, that I’ve always tried to have, a good relationship with the fans. Today, they threw down a scarf from them. It’s a win for them. Like it or not, they’ve been here through this roller-coaster. It’s just as tough for me as it’s been for everyone else in this room. Even the media has been associated with this. So much hype and so much potential in this season – it’s tough. (to no one in particular) Let’s go out tonight and celebrate this one and then starting Monday get ready and do it again.

Me: It’s a Riot Squad scarf?

Yeah. (Joe took the scarf out of his locker, where he'd hung it over the rod, and held it out on display. Great photo op, but none of us had cameras) They threw it to me before the game. I think it was a “no hard feelings”.

Me: Oh, it happened before the game.

Yeah. I think there was a little misunderstanding there. (to me) I’m not going to point any fingers.

Me: It’s my fault?

No, not at all. They thought I wanted to go back to San Jose, but I let it be known that I want to be here.

Me: You did say “someday”.

Maybe. I have family there and who wouldn’t want to come back and live close to your family? But at the same time, I bought a house here. It’s not because I want to leave anytime soon.

Me: Manhattan Beach?

Redondo. I live with Ante Jazic, our left back when he’s healthy. I don’t know where he is now. He’s probably in the Stadium Club, throwing a few back already. It’s good. I’ll be here for a long run, hopefully. Let’s be honest, if we keep winning, good things will happen, so let’s keep winning.

Cannon's conundrum

Practically no goalkeeper had had a longer tenure in MLS than Kevin Hartman with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Unlike the sometimes-sullen Zach Thornton, who also had a long stint with Chicago, Kevin was outgoing and congenial with fans - justifiably a Galaxy favorite for years.

It was never going to be easy for Joe Cannon to take over in such a situation, but to do so in this difficult season has only compounded the adjustment. Joe has been brilliant at times, has had some plays in which he could have done better, yet has been let down by his defense more often than not, or has been let down by his team's lack of offense going forward. It's been a tough year for someone who really wanted to make a good impression with his new club and its fans. That made the SuperLiga title especially important to Joe.

"I don’t know how to put it more plainly than to say that I’m devastated. To bring a trophy to this organization - losing this chance will be something that I’ll remember the rest of my life."

"I thought it was over. I thought – he’s automatic. This guy has taken some of the biggest PKs in this country’s history and he’s made them. I’m not going to say I wasn’t confident – I think any Galaxy fan in the crowd was thinking – what better script would you want to write? If you would have picked anyone, before SuperLiga starts, you’d have Landon Donovan take a PK. He’s an incredible player still. He feels very badly about it."

"When I was 16, in the regional semifinals, we played a team and we pretty much kicked their asses. I was playing well, it was a 0-0 game and then we lost in overtime. I was pretty devastated in that one, but professionally, this is the hardest."

"I won MLS Cup in 2001, and since then, I haven’t been in a real final. To come down to penalty kicks and you’ve played a good game and you have a chance to win. I really wanted to be part of the history for this incredible club – one that will probably become incredible again and start winning again. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be."

Joe also admitted that he'd like to one day join the San Jose Earthquakes again - but not for a while. Despite his obvious disappointment with the conclusion of the SuperLiga, he made it clear that he'd like to stay and win other titles with the Galaxy before he moves on.

More Joe

This audio clip doesn't really have to do with the SuperLiga final, well, not much to do with anything at all I suppose, as far as the Galaxy's on-the-field performances goes, but Joe Cannon talked with a German TV crew for a few minutes yesterday.

The first response is to a question about how David Beckham has affected Joe's life.

I was standing behind the new rope the Galaxy has introduced to keep the players away from us (or is it the other way around?) when Joe Cannon was set to leave. He was one of the last Galaxy players still around. Several bolted right away; Cobi Jones and Peter Vagenas were with the first group who left sometime after Frank Yallop began talking to us. Landon Donovan split right in the middle of David Beckham's chat. The team PR people had gone around and asked us who we each needed to talk to and a lot of us asked for Landon but he tuned everyone out and walked off the field. Maybe he was in a hurry to get somewhere, maybe not.

Anyway, I asked to talk to Joe Cannon and the team helped out. Cannon walked over to us but by the time he got there some German TV crew had jumped in and started asking some random Beckham questions. I only recorded the first part of it, which is above. The rest was kind of the same type of stuff.

Making it look easy

At least one person wasn't blown away by Joe Cannon's saves versus Chivas USA - his coach, Frank Yallop.

"No, it’s normal. He’s a good goalkeeper. To me, the saves he made were just normal saves for Joe. It wasn’t anything spectacular. I think the header off the corner was a good reflex, but I would be very disappointed if that went in on Joe. He knows that."

When the standard is set high, that's where it remains.