The List: The Galaxy’s Protected Players

By: jen | November 24th, 2008

The Galaxy announced their list of protected players in advance of Wednesday’s MLS expansion draft. So the Seattle Sounders will be able to choose from among the unprotected players, but they will only be able to choose one.

A few surprises in this one. But mostly what I would expect.

Protected players: David Beckham, Edson Buddle, Landon Donovan, Sean Franklin, Alan Gordon, Ante Jazic, Bryan Jordan, Eddie Lewis, Brandon McDonald, Alvaro Pires, Troy Roberts.

Unprotected players: Vardan Adzemian, Charles Alamo, Ely Allen, Jeremy Barlow, Steve Cronin, Eduardo Dominguez, Joe Franchino, Michael Gavin, Jovan Kirovski, Chris Klein, Mike Munoz, Mike Randolph, Josh Saunders, Josh Tudela, Peter Vagenas, Julian Valentin, Josh Wicks.

What is most noteworthy to me is the exclusion of Chris Klein on the protected list. Yes, I know he’s not a true defender. Yes, I know he is getting older (about the same age as Becks). Yes, I know his best position is as a right half, which is currently Beckham’s position. But surely there is still a place for him on this team?! I love the man! Seattle would be foolish not to grab him up right away — especially for an expansion team that needs leadership both on and off the field.

Your thoughts? Any surprises?

Some Related Galaxy Posts:

Category: Player News

« Bayern Wants to Sign Donovan | Home | Pete is Gone, and other News Nuggets »

David

Klein is wonderful. I love him. But he has no good place on this team. He is a midfield winger. We have Beckham and Lewis, both of whom are better. Klein is not a great back. He adds a boost to the attack, but can't get back fast enough. It's not his fault. He is passionate and plays hard. We just don't need him and it would be a waste to keep him just as a backup. Better to trade him and free up the salary cap space.
jen

Here's Steve's link again:

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories...
jen

Yay! Pete is gone! I like the guy a lot. A friend of mine actually knows him. But I'm glad he's gone. I will miss his sense of humor though.
Steve

Here's the link to Justin's post about waived players on the LAG.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories...
Justin

Marshall; For a defensive midfielder, Vagenas is overpaid ($144,000) not sure where you got $60,000 from. He is a great guy on and off the field but his play on the field is not worth $144,000.
Laurie

So. Wow. It's Pete. I'm shocked.
Justin

The Galaxy’s complete travel squad for these matches is…

Goalkeepers (2): Josh Saunders and Josh Wicks.
Defenders (7): Sean Franklin, Michael Gavin, Leonard Griffin*, Chris Klein, Mike Randolph, Troy Roberts and Julian Valentin
Midfielders (6): Ely Allen, David Beckham, Eddie Lewis, Brandon McDonald, Mike Muñoz and Josh Tudela.
Forward (4): Tristan Bowen, Alan Gordon, Bryan Jordan and Jovan Kirovski.

* – Guest Player

Goalkeeper Steve Cronin will remain in Los Angeles to undergo surgery to remove a plate that was inserted to his right hand in a surgical procedure earlier this year. Cronin originally injured his hand in a game against the New England Revolution on August 30.

In addition to Cronin, Charles Alamo, Edson Buddle, Landon Donovan and Ante Jazic will remain in the area to rest and receive treatment.

Jeremy Barlow, Joe Franchino and Alvaro Pires have been waived and will be available in this afternoon’s MLS Waiver Draft, while Vardan Adzemian, Eduardo Dominguez and Israel Sesay will not travel for the game.
Marshall

Agree with everyone's comments. Most astute. I believe that electing Pete is a little bit of a surprise, but not that major when you think about it. Vagenas is a good value, given the amount of MLS experience that he possesses. Most players with his tenure probably make much more or have left the league. At the time that Beckham arrived, they widely publicized that Pete was making only 60 thousand. I remember him, going back to when he was a rookie and talked to him several times, as recently as the season ticket holder's event at season's end. He was always a classy guy who represented the Galaxy well and was very approachable. There are more physically gifted players and his inclinations during certain seasons to consistently pass the ball backwards used to drive me mad. But recently, he has played the ball more positively and is capable of playing a nice through ball at times. He will be missed as one of the few links back to a time when the Galaxy were still worth rooting for. Maybe now that Sigi has won an MLS Cup elsewhere, the curse that the Galaxy have been under for all the full seasons since his unjustifyed dismissal will be lifted. Let's hope so.
Steve

Pete gone? Too good to be true.
Justin

I am shocked the took Pete here is the list from Ives
Here is the list of players chosen by Seattle:

*

Nate Jaqua (Houston)
*

Brad Evans (Columbus)
*

Stephen King (Chicago)
*

Jeff Parke (New York
*

James Riley (San Jose)
*

Khano Smith (New England)
*

Jarrod Smith (Toronto FC)
*

Nathan Sturgis (Real Salt Lake)
*

Peter Vagenas (Los Angeles)
*

Tyson Wahl (Kansas City)
Steve

Jazic can be great, better than Randolph. He showed some world class ability this yea. (and he's not international anymore)The shocker is protecting Gordon and leaving Klein exposed. I have a feeling Chris will be gone by noon. Unbelievable.
Justin

I do not think they will take anyone from our roster with the selection of players from the other teams.
Laurie

Then never mind about Jazic. No idea why they protected him and not Klein. :-)

I bet they take Ely Allen, though. He's a University of Washington kid. I'm guessing they take him, along with Nate Jaqua from Houston.
George

The information I got about internationals is from the official blog, and on their list Jazic is not listed as an international.
Justin

Jazic is not an international anymore, I thought we were told before he had gotten his green card.
Laurie

Evan, yes. Jazic is Canadian, so they couldn't leave both he and Dominguez unprotected.
Evan

And a surprise to me is that Jazic is protected--does that have something to do with the rules for internationals?
Evan

"I agree that Klein is one of those players who gives his all, so why wouldn’t the Galaxy get rid of him?"

Marcus, the Galaxy aren't getting rid of him. They're just leaving him unprotected in the expansion draft. This is just something that happens every time there's an expansion draft--you can't protect everyone, Klein is up there in years, and the Galaxy has a lot of promising young players that are worth protecting. I doubt there are any hurt feelings.
Marcus

The LA Galaxy are so pathetically decimated by their owners, Llas poor player decisions, manager lack of spine, and the kiss-ass approch to Beckham, that it seems to me to be a 2-3 year process to hope to rebuild this team. I agree that Klein is one of those players who gives his all, so why wouldn't the Galaxy get rid of him? The trail of destruction for the Galaxy started with Ziggi being fired during a winning season, to letting Hartman, Finley, Marshall, Albright go, to Beckham's 1st season hype that was a $$ ploy by management. Donovan leaving is good for him and the USA team, so I am in favor of this, but who is going to make this team work? IMO Beckham is more a distraction than a benefit to this team and to the MLS. Other designated players have made a more significant impact to their teams, case in point the MLS Cup champs and Schelotto. He far outperformed Beckham, as did other DP's in the league. Personally, I am looking "forward" to the end of his tenure here in LA. It is sad, for the fans and for the players on the team, the non-high profie players, who work their butts off and have to live with the bad management off the field and the pampering of Beckham.
Laurie

I'm amazed they left Klein unprotected but protected Gordon. Makes no sense to me.

On the bright side, Seattle already has Kasey Keller and Freddie Ljungberg, so I don't think they're going to be snagging any high-paid players. (At least I hope they've learned from LA's mistakes.) If they take anyone, I'd think Josh Tudela or Mike Randolph?
jen

Ah, thanks George. That makes more sense then.
Kent

http://www.latimes.com/sports/...

Looks like we're getting ready for Donovan's departure.
George

Pires was protected they're only allowed to leave one international unprotected, and they picked Eduardo Dominguez.
Colin

I would have liked to see Klein protected, Gordon leave (either in the draft or on a one-way train). I don't know why they just traded a draft pick for Kirovski and then made him available in the draft. Seems kinda dumb to me.
Soto

I agree with David, I don't understand why they protected Pires, He never showed much promise. I would have kept Randolph over Pires.

And though I appreciate Klein's history with the team, I have assumed for awhile that his days were numbered with the Galaxy.
David

Why Pires? The man needs to go