Galaxy’s mistakes should be familiar to MLS observers

With so many new signings and a great improvement in play, we really should be back to Earthquakes-related items today. But our attention is still captured by the slow-motion train wreck occurring some 400 miles to the south in Los Angeles, after the coup de grâce was applied to Ruud Gullit and Alexi Lalas by the Quakes on August 3. The Galaxy have finished in fifth place each of the last two years and are currently out of the playoff picture again this year, too. They are now on their fourth head coach in three years and are searching for a fifth. At the rate their going, they should just go ahead and drop the Galaxy name for something more appropriate, like “MetroStars.”

Or even “Clash.” MLS must still hold the rights to that name, don’t you think? They could modify the logo just a bit (see illustration, left) and fans could type it “cLAsh.” Kewl.

There are some new stories in the press about the departures of Gullit and Lalas today, and each of them offers some interesting insight on what happened. Grahame Jones of the L.A. Times, the dean of U.S. newspaper soccer writers, spoke with AEG head Tim Leiweke about the Galaxy’s changes, and Leiweke’s comments are not exactly going to ease the team’s transition into the post-Gullit era.

“Unfortunately, you can’t fire 22 players,” he told Jones. “I think they’re all responsible. What I told them this morning was, ‘Now no one has any excuses.’ I eliminated all excuses. Now it’s up to Cobi to straighten it out with the team and on the pitch, and for us to make a decision on how we structure this organization going forward so we no longer have the split we clearly have.”

Hey, here’s a thought: Why not eliminate the guys who do nothing but point fingers and blame everyone else for the team’s failures? Maybe that behavior contributes to this split he’s talking about? Besides, it would hilarious watching Leiweke try to fire himself.

But hey, it could be worse for Galaxy fans. Leiweke could be pointing fingers at David Beckham, too. Oh, wait — back to the L.A. Times:

“Ruud was (Beckham’s management team’s) guy, so Ruud resigning and us accepting that obviously is not a great day for them,” Leiweke told the paper.

Oops. Looks like Leiweke has dissed Golden Balls, too. Maybe he’s trying to unite the team by volunteering himself as a common enemy? Could be — it certainly helped the Quakes to a Supporters’ Shield in ‘05.

MLSnet has a story on the resignation/firing, too, in which the following quote from Gullit appears:

 ”In truth, it has proved a lot more difficult than I anticipated for my family to settle in the area and the club has been very supportive and understanding of my decision,” Gullit said. “I would like to thank the players and the fans for their fantastic support and I wish the LA Galaxy much success in the future. I would now like to spend some time with my family before considering any other position in football.”

Yes, he’s stepping down to spend more time with his family. Who knew covering MLS would ever be so similar to reporting on Washington politics?

The best story by far, though, comes from Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney, the dean of the U.S. soccer magazine writers, who takes a look at the Galaxy’s situation and suggests the following help wanted ad:

“Job listing: Major League Soccer Head Coach. Must manage ambitious and clueless subsidiary of global entertainment empire. Modicum of experience necessary, ambition a plus, ignorance required. Salary commensurate with nothing but whims of those at the top and their well-connected entertainment pals.”

The problem in L.A. epitomizes one that has been ingrained in MLS since the league’s birth, and that problem is a lack of respect for the game. Leiweke’s emphasis of flash over form shows the same mindset that considered larger-than-standard goals for higher scoring games* and brought us the shootout, along with marketing-savvy names like Burn, Wiz, and yes, Clash. It’s still with us today, every time a player steps up to take a corner kick and is pelted with rolls of crepe paper or, as we think of them here on the blog, “tiny banners with no words written on them due to a lack of imagination.”

We’re not anti-commerce. We understand that one element of sports is entertainment, and we understand that teams need to be profitable for the league to exist. We applauded the Beckham signing as a great step for the league, and we’re still happy he’s in MLS. He’s an icon whose worldwide popularity is unmatched. The thing is, though — he can play. He’s one of the best free kick takers on Earth, and anyone who has ever played with him will tell you that he’s as professional as they come. What makes the Beckham signing work is that he puts the game first. Yes, he does the underwear ads and hangs out with Hollywood celebs, but the root of everything he does is his performance on the field.

Compare that to Gullit. He was a great player, he’s colorful, and he’s got enough media savvy to come up with phrases like “sexy football,” but he never demonstrated that he’s a very good coach during his stints at Chelsea, Newcastle, and Feyenoord. That didn’t matter to Leiweke, who jumped for style over substance. In choosing Gullit, he failed to put soccer first.

The Galaxy’s next move will be interesting. Will they bring in another coach whose reputation is greater than his ability, hoping to make headlines around the world, or will they bring in someone who actually knows how to coach American players and how to deal with the Byzantine regulations of MLS? Soccer by Ives suggests that Peter Nowak and Bruce Arena are on the shortlist, so maybe there’s hope for the Galaxy yet, but we have confidence that they’ll find a way to screw up even a good hiring. The potential for a Leiweke/Arena shouting match is just off the charts if Arena gets the job.

Or, they could go the other direction and simply hire the biggest celebrity they can find, whether they know anything about soccer or not. Paris Hilton? Britney Spears? Miley Cyrus?  The Jonas Brothers?

How about a compromise? Someone who has a history with the Galaxy but is famous for other reasons as well. Quick, get Andrew Shue on the line!

* Yes, the league’s head honchos actually considered at one point in the mid-90’s.