A New Hope... I Hope

As training camp starts to wind down and the rosters are trimmed to fit the minuscule cap it is that glorious time of year. A time for hope. Gone are the days of Chris Klein trying to play defense, Alvaro Pires trying to run down an opponent who had just disposessd him, and the days of Ely Allen making a good run only to miss the open goal completely. Bruce Arena has indeed begun to put his stamp on the team. Mike Randolph, Brandon McDonald, and Troy Roberts all serviceable MLS pros were let go for various reasons (I hope one of those reasons was not Tony Sennah). In comes rookie hopefuls like Omar Gonzales and AJ Delagarza the Maryland pair that lead their squad in the College Cup. And Yohance Marshall, who before a horrific MLS combine was expected to a first round draft choice, who the Galaxy signed as an undrafted free agent. And it looks like through no fault of his own Landon will be back. It should be a glorious new year for the LA Galaxy.

Oh... Umm... Wait... We still have Alan Gordon trying to play target man. And Klein may not be on the backline but Eddie Lewis, another natural midfield player is (I know he has played on the back before). A pair of cast offs will be holding down the center of the midfield in Miglioranzi and Magee, or we may be lucky to see to creative genius that is Josh Tudela. And we still have Gordon, did I say that already.

So it looks as though hope is a good word to describe this time of year, let's hope that the rookies play like the future stars we are told they will be. And let's hope Jovan Kirovski can find some good form or at least something that looks like four years ago. And let's hope that Landon is not too disgruntled and looking for a summer transfer back to Europe. Let's hope it's not "wait until next year" or "we are on the right track... it just takes time." Let's hope AEG realizes this is L.A. and we are the GALAXY.