Lalas fires Steve Sampson

Well, that only took slightly longer than I expected. Honestly, I was mildly surprised that Sampson didn't get fired after the Galaxy lost all five of their matches in May. Especially since the reigning US Open Cup and MLS Cup champs went scoreless in all five matches.

Lalas came to LA and said that winning wasn't going to be good enough by itself. Lalas wanted a team that entertained the fans game in and game out.

Well, getting shutout five times in a row and losing six straight isn't getting the job done. And given the history that Sampson and Lalas had between them, you knew that Sampson wasn't going to have a lot of rope.

The next question is where does Lalas look next? They have yet to name a replacement for Sampson.

Could Lalas be waiting until after the World Cup to see if Bruce Arena wants to step away from the US Men's National Team? Only time will tell.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and not necessarily those of the Rochester Rhinos or SoccerSam.com. Feel free to send any comments or complaints to news@soccersam.com. James promises to read (but not to respond) to all of them.