Registered: 07/23/00
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Loc: East Orange, NJ
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Galaxy sign Jamaican 'keeper Ricketts
Carson, CA (Sports Network) - The Los Angeles Galaxy signed Jamaican goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, the Major League Soccer club announced on Tuesday.
Ricketts joins the Galaxy after previous stints with Village United of the Digicel Premier League in Jamaica, Bolton Wanderers of the English Premier League and Bradford City of League Two in England. The 31-year-old will officially be added to the Galaxys roster, pending receipt of his P-1 Visa and International Transfer Clearance.
"I have known Donovan for a number of years as a goalkeeper with the Jamaican national team and have always been impressed with his physical qualities," Galaxy General Manager and coach Bruce Arena said. "After a closer examination of the player, I am absolutely amazed with his abilities both on and off the field. It is also a position that we felt the need to improve and believe that he will be a great addition to our team and has the potential to be one of the best goalkeepers in MLS."
Registered: 06/21/04
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Loc: Smyrna, GA, USA
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This is great news for Donovan Ricketts, the MLS and the ReggaeBoyz. I believe that Ricketts is good enough to be the best Goalkeeper in MLS for the next 5 years. This also keeps him sharp and paves the way for another young Jamaican goalkeeper to be signed by MLS in the future. There is no denying that the MLS and team USA produces some of the best goalkeepers in the world (Freidel, Keller, Howard, etc). Good luck Donovan!
Tennisman, I agree 100%. Great move, mainly for the boyz and Ricketts himself. Ricketts can definitely be a good keeper in the MLS (not sure about the best)...
[quote=tennisman] I believe that Ricketts is good enough to be the best Goalkeeper in MLS for the next 5 years.
Great!! The U.S. produces some of the best keepers in the world, and this will be great for Ricketts. He was not going to get back to England any time soon, and the National Patty League is too weak to give him the training and competition that he needs to improve and to stay sharp. We won't mention that the pay should be "slightly better" than what he would get in JA.
Great News ! Donovan Ricketts is a Good Goalie . He's able to perform at full potential and if LA Galaxy give him a Chance to settle down and fits in lA Galaxy team it is a good investment .
He is a Good Shot Blocker , Throws the Ball and covers his area very well . His best ability is to read the game and create plays , that is why he is still Reggaeboyz number 1.
Well Rounded Goalie , and he seems to improve with Time . Most Experts will say , a Goalie best years are around their mid 30's . Cheers Galaxy , Cheers Ricketts !
Check the irony of the quotation marks jray. Of course, the pay will be much better. And why is it that when our domestic clubs face MLS clubs the bush league boys seem to stroll to victory? And oftentimes the MLS clubs are barely into preseason training, while our gang are in midseason form.
Registered: 04/18/01
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Loc: just roun'd di cahna
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oonuh young yout defensive bwoy....MLS, aka bush league is a long running debate here, thus the likkle winkie, winkie, thing. As for the pay business...oh what the hell who cares, carry on.
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Man with money meets a man with experience, man with experience ends up with more money.
haha jr gong is the biggest revs fan, but angel is still going to light up Ricketts in the big game... also it might b a difficult move for Ricketts considering LA's terrible defense last year
too bad he didn't go to tfc, i heard they were looking for a new keep, it cudnt have been Reggae Boyz fc
Registered: 03/25/01
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Loc: Miramar, FL, USA
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Outstanding news, as Bruce Arena has always respected Ricketts shot blocking ability since 2001. Ricketts is a professional on and off the field. Arena molded Dane Richards and he provided Ricketts guidance in MLS.
Bruce Arena has long recognized and respected the talents that Jamaica produces and it is good for him to give Ricketts a chance to make a little money as I am sure it is more that what he makes at Village.
It is time that the NON PLAYERS stop talk about MLS is bush League and realize that it is a chance for players to leave Jamaica and experience a professional league with international players.
Registered: 10/21/99
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True Jagga. While I have some problem with big man getting 10 thousand a year but MLS has provided an oppurtunity for our players that no other league has provided.
it has build so many of our players that have not seen as the best but have entered colleges and have grown.
Players like Dane Richards, Tyrone Marshall, Zaide, Omar Cummmings, Damani Ralph just to name a few. Without the MLS many of these players wouldn't have a pro career muchless make Jamaica national side.
True Jagga. While I have some problem with big man getting 10 thousand a year but MLS has provided an oppurtunity for our players that no other league has provided.
it has build so many of our players that have not seen as the best but have entered colleges and have grown.
Players like Dane Richards, Tyrone Marshall, Zaide, Omar Cummmings, Damani Ralph just to name a few. Without the MLS many of these players wouldn't have a pro career muchless make Jamaica national side.
The MLS might not be Serie A, La Liga, the Bundesliga or the EPL, but it is a solid professional league, which means that it is far above any Jamaican league. It presents our players with opportunities, as those of us who are informed know. I hope that more of our local players will have a chance there in the future, because Europe has not always been fertile ground for them.
Sass and Jagga, you are bang on: Bruce Arena did nurture Dane Richards, and he has always paid respect to Jamaican players when the U.S. came up against them.
Congrats to Ricketts, he has his flaws (like commanding his penalty are and dealing with crosses) but from what i have seen as he gets older he gets much better. I hope he learns as much as he can from the training he receives in the US coaching system. Somehow they manage to produce world class keepers consistently.
This is something we should emulate we should focus on a the young and instill not only the basics but find a method of achieving optimal results with the plethora of talent at our access.
Wouldn't it be beneficial if we had a defender's program or a goal keeping program? I know it sounds rather simplistic and it has its obvious drawbacks, but if we can specialize in certain areas i believe we can aid in the development of the whole program and the players as well.
Imagine jamaica producing world class defenders on a regular basis, think of the possible positives and spin offs. I'm not saying we should focus only on certain positions but it would hurt to have specialist coaches and trainers who can groom players from they are young. In the long term this will serve to only benefit the team.
Good points, Fan4life! The Americans might not yet produce individuals of the calibre of the major countries, goalkeepers excepted, but they are second to none in training and professionalism. What they have achieved in football they have done through hard work, preparation and systematic thinking. Our ballers are only exposed to the latter two when they journey abroad. What our ballers who get to foreign leagues achieve they achieve through their own hard work and sweat; rarely, are they provided with the developmental coaching and facilities in the island. By the way, here is another report on Ricketts:
Galaxy Sign Jamaica 'Keeper Donovan Ricketts
The Los Angeles Galaxy have finally made a more to shore up their league-worst defense by signing Jamaican goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts.
Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy have made their first winter signing, bringing in a new goalkeeper, Donovan Ricketts.
The two main goalkeepers for the squad in 2009, Steve Cronin and Josh Wicks, gave up a record number of goals.
At 6-foot-4, Ricketts is a commanding presence in the box. A member of Jamaica’s 1998 World Cup squad as a 21-year-old, Ricketts has made 67 international appearances for his country. He boasts an solid 11-7-6 record in 24 World Cup qualifying matches, including all eight of Jamaica’s games during qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
“I have known Donovan for a number of years as a goalkeeper with the Jamaican National Team and have always been impressed with his physical qualities. After a closer examination of the player, I am absolutely amazed with his abilities both on and off the field,” said Galaxy General Manager and Head Coach Bruce Arena. “It is also a position that we felt the need to improve and believe that he will be a great addition to our team and has the potential to be one of the best goalkeepers in MLS.”
Despite recording three consecutive shutouts at the end of the qualifying campaign, including one in a 1-0 win over Mexico in Kingston, Jamaica on October 10, Ricketts and the Reggae Boyz narrowly missed out on advancing to the final stages of the 2010 CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying, losing out to Mexico on goal difference. Earlier this month, he helped lead Jamaica to the 2008 Digicel Caribbean Championships where they defeated Grenada 2-0 in the final.
A native of Montego Bay, Jamaica, Ricketts started his professional career playing for his hometown club of F.C. Waddadah before signing with Village United, who plays in Jamaica’s top league, in 2002. In January 2004, he moved to England, signing with Bolton Wanderers of the English Premier League. Ricketts never played a game for Bolton and in July 2004 was signed on loan by League Two side Bradford City, who then signed him on a permanent basis at the end of that season. He spent four years with the Bantams, appearing in more than 115 games for the club before returning to Jamaica to again sign with Village United this summer.
As is customary with Major League Soccer, terms of the contract were not released.
