Columnist Nick Green has written 100 Percent Soccer
since 2005. A
native of England, he began writing about soccer in
the mid-1980s and in 2000 permanently exchanged a seat
in the stands for one in
the press box. He lives six miles from Carson's Home
Depot Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas
USA and the training headquarters for U.S. Soccer.
Married to a long-suffering soccer widow, he has a cat
named Pele.Tuesday's Column, the Galaxy Waive Three & More
Today's column looks at Monday's roster and salary budget compliance day in MLS, but it wasn't until this morning that we learned the Galaxy has waived Celestene Babayaro, Kyle Martino and Kelly Gray.
The latter two aren't much of a surprise as the column points out, but Babayaro getting cut is. At age 29, the former Newcastle United defender can't make an MLS team? Salary was undoubtedly an issue, but he hasn't shown an awful lot anyway and the Galaxy don't seem to have room for him on the back line (he played in midfield last weekend).
Here's the (edited) Galaxy release:
The LA Galaxy waived three players on Monday, the day that all teams must be roster and salary budget compliant in accordance with MLS rules. The club has waived midfielders Kelly Gray and Kyle Martino, as well as defender Celestine Babayaro. All three, as well as players waived by each of the other 13 MLS clubs, will be available in an MLS Waiver Draft, which will be held at noon today.A native of Kaduna, Nigeria, Babayaro had spent the last month training with the Galaxy, playing once in last weekend’s match against FC Seoul. The 29-year old Nigerian had spent time with Belgian club Anderlecht, as well as English sides Chelsea and Newcastle United prior to training with the Galaxy. A Gold Medal winner at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Babayaro also represented his country at the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups.
Gray originally joined the Galaxy on July 3, 2007 in a trade that sent Nate Jaqua to the Houston Dynamo. A six-year MLS veteran, he appeared in six regular season games, as well as three SuperLiga matches and one Open Cup game for the Galaxy last year, but missed most of the final two months of the year with a pair of calf injuries.
Martino played in 35 games in a year and a half with the Galaxy, scoring three goals and adding two assists. The 2002 MLS Rookie of the Year with the Columbus Crew, Martino led all Galaxy field players with 26 appearances for the club in the 2007 regular season, as well as playing three times in SuperLiga and three times in the Open Cup, where he scored once.
Meanwhile, over in China it really is Beckhamania.
Comments
Thanks for the update and the link to the Breeze article.
Btw, I like the edited press releases, most of it is for nothing really anyway :)
Posted by: Ben | March 4, 2008 7:31 AM
I just don't understand why, why Pete Vagenas and Alan Gordon are still part of the LA Galaxy team.
God, it fri@#in' annoys me to no end! Really, is their game, style, and talent that stunning and special? Good Lord, there is so much better, stronger, faster, younger talent out there for the LA Galaxy than holding on to to these two mediocre players.
Come on LA Galaxy - do what is necessary to get our team back into MLS Conference contention. We can't afford to be "soft" and "understanding". The on-field product must speak loud and clear!!!
Posted by: charlesj27 | March 4, 2008 8:30 AM
I feared this was going to happen, and of course the Galaxy blog has yet to be updated. Couldn't they just try to re-do the contracts so the players could have stayed (although two factors probably stand in the way, like the coach's decision to keep said player, and players decision to keep said money).
I'm not going to expect much from the Galaxy this season after getting my hopes up for this season. Maybe they'll surprise me.
Posted by: Jason | March 4, 2008 2:46 PM