Bruce Arena is now Galaxy top dog

I was tickled to read that the Galaxy thinks they've struck gold in the midst of all this Olympic fever.

They hired former US national coach Bruce Arena to replace Ruud Guillit who mysteriously quit for personal reasons.

And the headline in today's LA Times story reads, "With Arena on bench Galaxy still loses, 1-0." As a former newspaper photographer, I always thought headline writing is truly an artform but it should be balanced between reality and sensationalism.

In Arena's defense, this headline is asinine. Most soccer fans know the coach doesn't win the game, so enough said.

I predict Arena will leave the Galaxy as quickly as he arrived. His credentials are nothing compared to the players he is coaching. 

Having played once in goal on the national team as a 2nd half sub in a 2-0 loss to Israel hardly qualifies as a player of any calibre. 

When push comes to shove and tempers flare in the locker room, what does Arena say to his players when they ask, "Okay, Bruce.. how do you know this? "

USA Women show their men counterpart how it's done

The US Womens beat Brazil by a score 1-0 to win the gold medal. It took 2 over time periods. The game was within grasps of Brazil but they just didn't finish well.

Lloyd capitalized on a loose ball in the overtime period. Too bad for Marta, Christiane and Brazil. 

Sometimes even when you're talented and luck is against you, you can't win try as hard as you can.

Just ask the US mens and womens relay  team in track and field. They must have practiced the passing the baton so much, they can do in their sleep. 

Then when the big day comes,  luck is against them.

Kudos to the USA women. Congratulations.

US Mens Eliminated by Nigeria 2-1

They must have thought that Nigeria was a bosom buddy who wouldn't try at all to beat them.

They probably thought playing for a draw was a sure thing.

Well, now they've booked their tickets alright. For home!

I'd like to say I told them so but I won't. I can't comprehend how they can always say things that sound so arrogant.

Alexi Lalas, former general manager of the LA Galaxy is a prime example of someone who shoots off their mouth without thinking.

A while back when talks with signing Beckham surfaced, Lalas was trash talking himself into trouble by comparing the English Premier League as equal to MLS.

He said players this side of the Atlantic was just a good as any over in the English league.

Hopefully the new coach of USMNT (Olympics) will get it.

US Mens Soccer still shows no urgency of going anywhere

US Soccer Federation needs to seriously ask who or where they are finding its coaches whether it is for the mens or the women’s team.

No other country in the world would consider someone as a coach if the candidate does not have international player experience.

I’ve heard many Americans think they can coach a soccer team just because they are tacticians.

LA Galaxy--incompetence, mismanagement or plain arrogance

If ever there was a sugar-coated announcement of a manager or coach's firing, I'd say this one would be it.

"There are two good people that for different reasons aren't part of this organization today, and that's a shame," Tim Leiweke, Galaxy investor/operator said.

The Los Angeles Galaxy announced today that its Dutch coach Ruud Guillit resigned due to personal reasons. Also president and general manager Alexi Lalas has been let go.

I think most people who follow soccer could have predicted this without the help of a crystal ball. If management sinks so much money into acquiring David Beckham, they're less than likely to be patient to see results.

Without any inside information we can only speculate as to why Guillit resigned or was let go. No difference really except for the terms of his severance pay or lack of.

Galaxy's co-tenants at the Home Depot Center in Carson,  the owners of Chivas USA must be grinning although not in public.

The one silver lining out of this is that Cobi Jones is going to get a chance to take over the reins of the team. Hopefully there will be minimal micromanagement. 

I suspect when Galaxy wasn't winning, there were all sorts of suggestions coming from Alexi Lalas and company on how and what to do to end their losing streak.

Face Lalas, you don't know a thing about managing. You should stick to your guitar and even then you should find a day job. 

Nothing made that more obvious when you describe the English Premier League as on par with MLS. 

You went on to say, "In England, our league is considered second class, but I honestly believe if you took a helicopter and grabbed a bunch of MLS players and took them to the perceived best league in the world they wouldn't miss a beat and the fans wouldn't notice any drop in quality.''

I'm all for former international players entering management because only then can the destiny of soccer change in the US. But to a point...

Alexi Lalas is just not the right candidate to run the "office." By saying what he said about the English Premier League, he only shows what arrogance and ineptitude is capable of.

Thankfully Lalas' former national teammate Cobi Jones will have a chance to show us what he can do. 

I just hope he is given enough of a chance and the higher ups don't ruin things by micromanaging.

I think Americans owners and bureaucrats in general don't give coaches the latitude they need to call the shots especially when it comes to soccer.

I think if they did that, perhaps we'd have someone like Juergen Klinsmann calling the shots instead of Bob Bradley...