MLS: Troubles Ahead For Ruud Gullit's LA Galaxy

Only one week has passed for new LA Galaxy manager Ruud Gullit and he already finds himself with a mountain to climb. Following a shocking 4-0 away defeat in Colorado, Gullit suffered a slough of setbacks through the injury of key striker Carlos Ruiz and the sending off of Portuguese center back Abel Xavier.

The absence of Ruiz will definitely hurt the Galaxy's chances of making the post-season as the team currently lacks the depth necessary to make a strong bid for the MLS Championship. With three players in David Beckham, Landon Donovan and Carlos Ruiz holding 'Designated Player' type salaries, Gullit has been forced to field a rather inexperienced team under a 2.3 million MLS cap salary.

The decisions to let Kevin Harmse, Chris Albright and Joe Cannon could potentially come back to haunt the Galaxy as draft picks Ely Allen and Sean Franklin will most likely be called into action despite possibly not being ready for the pressure that a full Major League Soccer season will bring. Losing the reasonably price players have brought question marks as the overpaid Edson Buddle still finds himself donning the blue and yellow.

It certainly doesnt help matters when a player of Carlos Ruiz's calibre are out for 4-6 weeks or when David Beckham travels across the pond to play a friendly match or two with his international team. Landon Donovan, himself, will be involved with a number of American internationals as there will be friendlies and CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying rounds to attend to. 

While the three lucrative salaries are causing the Galaxy depth problems amongst the squad, management has tried to do something about it during the offseason. Former Chelsea and Newcastle fullback Celestine Babayaro was signed on a free transfer but left shortly after playing only half a game for Gullit's men. 

Last Saturday's match could be an indication to a long and tough season for David Beckham and Co. With all the lofty expectations that comes about from being a former Manchester United and Real Madrid star, Beckham's teammates will need to show better composure if they are to remain potential title contenders in a somewhat weakened Western Conference. Landon Donovan had no right to be putting a hand to the Ciaran O'Brien's throat after a hard challenge resulted in Ruiz's injury. The phantom penalty call against Abel Xavier didn't do the club any better and the club eventually secummed to an embarassing 4-0 defeat.

However, the LA Galaxy are not to go down without a fight. Bringing in a man with extensive experience with prestigious clubs such as Newcastle and Chelsea, Gullit will be expected to help his club overcome adversity. Now moving abroad to a different country, he'll need to show his quality as manager--this time for the LA Galaxy, a club already riddled by injuries and a lack of depth.