LA Galaxy Sign Ashley Cole
- Updated: January 8, 2016
Well Galaxy fans it’s happened. The Los Angeles Galaxy have signed former English National Team player, 35 year-old Left Back Ashley Cole. After much resistance from the fan base, prompting the hashtag #ThingsIWantMoreThanAshleyCole to trend on twitter the club has brought in the former Chelsea, Arsenal and Roma defenseman.
Cole has a fantastic resume just looking at his achievements in the game and where he has played, however his attitude and overall mindset about the MLS has caused him to become the league villain. How does one become a villain when he hasn’t even played a game in the league yet? Well, statements like this one sure did not help him if he was vying to become a fan favorite,
“I have had a lot of offers from USA, but I don’t want to sit on the beach just yet.”
The MLS being called a “retirement league” for players from overseas is an overused cliché that many players like Galaxy’s own Steven Gerrard and NYCFC’s Frank Lampard found out the hard way last season. The travel and weather here in the United States is something that is just simply different from the game overseas and if Cole thinks he will be sitting on a beach in LA he might want to have a talk with his ex-English International teammate Gerard.
Steven Gerrard on #MLS. Someone should have bought him a map of America. pic.twitter.com/2kGLSWdJ0A
— This Is MLS (@ThisIsMLS) November 5, 2015
This is also a confusing move as the Galaxy already have a solid Left Back in Robbie Rogers who made the move to the position in 2014 after initially playing in the midfield. What will happen to the defense of the Galaxy seems to be an issue here as the club needed a center back much more after the move of Omar Gonzalez weeks ago. While there are plenty of scenarios that could play out with players changing positions this should be an interesting development to watch from the club and manager Bruce Arena.
Another issue fans had with this signing would be the money necessary to bring in a player with as high of a profile as Cole. He demanded a salary from Roma in his last contract that gave him roughly $1.8 million per season. This type of contract would be unaffordable for the Galaxy given the league’s salary cap and the club could not sign Cole as a designated player as the team has already used the league’s maximum three spots. However LA Times writer Kevin Baxter states this will not be an issue as Cole will be signing for a fee significantly less than expected.
Looks like Ashley Cole with #LAGalaxy may be done…for far less than anticipated. No TAM money, salary well below MLS max of $457,500. Hmmm
— Kevin Baxter (@kbaxter11) January 8, 2016
While this move may have been a controversial one among Galaxy fans, for a low fee, this looks like it could be another steal for the always savvy Arena. Low-risk, high-reward could be the name of the game here Galaxy fans.
At least one more move seems to be on the horizon Galaxy fans (De Jong maybe?).
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