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Mike Magee earned the nickname "Mr. November" during his playing time with the L.A. Galaxy because of the way he showed up big in crucial playoff games. Even though the trade that sent Magee to the Chicago Fire happened back in May, the LA Galaxy are answering questions (again) now that November is here and the playoffs are in full swing. Last Friday, prior to L.A.'s first playoff game, the MLS website ran an article asking Robbie Rogers about the trade:
"I can't pay attention to that kind of stuff," said Rogers, a Southern Californian who wanted to stay close to home. "They can say all they want about Mike Magee, but the truth is that Mike Magee asked for a trade and Bruce [Arena] said, 'Look, I wouldn't have traded Mike if he didn't ask for a trade.'
"That puts pressure on me -- I wish, you know, I guess, that wouldn't have happened, because it puts more pressure, but people can say that if they want. If they want to blame something, you know, I don't care."
On the one hand, I feel sort of bad for Rogers. It's not always easy for players to make the transition to the MLS, even if they had already played a couple of seasons here before going away. Some players need time to adjust and maybe 2014 will be a better year for him. On the other hand, I'm still pretty miffed at the way the he handled the situation and how he snubbed the idea of coming to Chicago, so I like to see that he is under a bit of pressure.
The article also has an interesting quote from Landon Donovan:
"I think any team wants the MVP of the league on their team, so, yeah, we would like Mike here. But the reality is Mike's not here, and we're all happy for Mike, and there's no guarantee those things [Magee achieved in Chicago] would have happened had Mike stayed here."
Donovan has a good point. With Robbie Keane, Landon Donovan, Jose Villarreal, Jack McBean and Gyasi Zardes all on the roster as forwards, Magee would probably be stuck back in the midfield where he might not have had the same success as he has with the Fire.