Football Season Guide

Los Angeles Galaxy will be hoping that a change of guard will have a positive impact on their fortunes as they kick off a new MLS campaign looking to improve on what have been a disappointing last couple of seasons for the Western Conference side. Bruce Arena had put together one of the best rosters in the MLS but following their MLS Cup win in 2014, LA have struggled to impress in their last two campaigns despite showing excellent form during the regular season. LA did improve on their knockout round defeat from previous season by finishing third in the Western Conference only to be knocked out by Colorado Rapids in the Conference semifinals. The 2016 season also saw the end of Arena's reign at the club after the 65-yar old took over the US national team and LA reacted quickly by appointing Curt Onalfo as his replacement. There have been significant departures in terms of personnel as well with Robbie Keane ending his six-year stay at the club after LA declined to extend his contract. Steven Gerrard, Landon Donovan and Mike Magee have retired from the game while other regular players such as Alan Gordon, Jeff Larentowicz, AJ DeLaGarza and Leonardo have also left the club. LA have replaced their two Designated Players by bringing in Jermaine Jones and Romain Alessandrini from Colorado and Marseille respectively while Joao Pedro has also arrived from Vitoria. Despite the additions, LA will be kicking the new season off being pretty light in terms of quality with the club missing three of their first choice players as Gyasi Zardes, Ashley Cole and Robbie Rogers are all out injured and will not be ready in time for the opening game. Jones' fitness is also a big question mark, with the midfielder struggling to stay healthy last season while Sebastian Lletget and Jose Villarreal have not been consistent enough to be seen as big threats by the opposition. It will be a season of transition for LA as they continue to fine tune their roster and the club and the fans will be satisfied if they make it to the playoffs for a ninth straight season.