Five Released From Galaxy

Six months after filling the team's head coaching and general manager vacancies, Bruce Arena is finally starting to put his fingerprint on the Los Angeles Galaxy, releasing nearly a half-dozen of the team's younger players on Wednesday. Goalkeeper Steve Cronin, defenders Mike Randolph and Troy Roberts, and midfielders Ely Allen and Brandon McDonald were all cut from the squad, making room for some of the team's newer additions like Mike Magee, Dema Kovalenko and Jovan Kirovski.

The roster moves should come as no surprise to those familiar with Arena's approach to building a winning franchise, in that he tends to include veteran players in his squad more so than the younger, inexperienced guys. Given that most of the team's off-season acquisitions were of the veteran variety, and combined with the MLS senior roster reduction, space on the roster became extremely limited for the younger guys.

A brief summary of the now-departed Galaxy players:

Steve Cronin (GK, 25 years old)
Career stats: 28 GP, 7-13-7 record, 1.93 GAA
Became expendable when: The Galaxy signed Jamaican international Donovan Ricketts in January. Cronin's play as the starter last season didn't do much to distinguish himself from the crowd, as back-ups Josh Wicks and Josh Saunders posted similarly poor stats when Cronin missed the last part of the season with a hand injury. What's disappointing is that the Galaxy stuck with Cronin as the starter last season - even in bad times - to help him develop as a professional, but will likely not be able to reap any of the reward now.

Mike Randolph (D, 23 years old)
Career stats: 39 appearances, 0 goals and 4 assists
Became expendable when: The Galaxy traded for veteran left-back Todd Dunivant. Eddie Lewis is also capable of playing on the left side of defense and rookie AJ DelaGarza looked decent in that position when filling in for an injured Lewis during the Pan-Pacific Championship. While Randolph's speed was an asset for the club, he was just a little too inconsistent for The Bruce's liking.

Troy Roberts (D, 25 years old)
Career stats: 61 appearances, two goals and one assist
Became expendable when: Omar Gonzalez was drafted by the Galaxy, allowing Sean Franklin to be used out wide, if needed. Roberts averaged between 14-17 appearances a year in his four-year run with the club, receiving playing time mainly when others went down with injuries. He never looked calm or collected on the ball, however, and was often out of position, contributing negatively to the Galaxy's backline chaos.

Ely Allen (M, 22 years old)
Career stats: 12 appearances, one goal and one assist
Became expendable when: His recklessness on the field finally outweighed his potential. In his only season with the Galaxy, the former second-round draft pick developed a reputation for picking up the stupid foul. Allen committed 25 fouls and suffered only 11 throughout the course of the year, not a flattering tally for an offensive player. A lone bright spot came in June when he scored the game-winning goal in the Galaxy's 3-2 victory, a win that catapulted them into first place in the West. It was all downhill for both Allen and the Galaxy after that.

Brandon McDonald (D/M, 23 years old)
Career stats: 16 appearances, one goal and one assist
Became expendable when: Los Angeles acquired Dema Kovalenko in January. Thrust into the starting lineup in his first season with the team, McDonald initially earned rave reviews for his play as a holding midfielder. Injuries would ultimately sideline him for about half the season, but McDonald returned with a vengeance in October, earning Goal of the Week honors for his strike against the Colorado Rapids. Ultimately, Arena decided to go in a different direction and bring in a more established enforcer in Kovalenko, leaving McDonald to search elsewhere for employment.

From L-R: Cronin, Randolph, Roberts, Allen, McDonald

* photos courtesy ISI Photos