No player movement since the season ended had as much high-profile impact as RSL's trade with Colorado for Jeff Cunningham that sent Clint Mathis to the Rapids. But RSL's acquisitions of FC Dallas players Carey Talley and Scott Garlick could be just as vital on the field.

"The difference between the best team in this league and the bottom team is not that much," Garlick, a nine-year veteran, said. "It could be just a couple of players."

Doubtless, it will help that Garlick and Talley have experience playing together after two years in Dallas. The pair also spent a year on the same team with RSL team captain Jason Kreis.

"One of the keys to this league is the team chemistry," Talley, an eight-year veteran, said. "It's a good thing to have guys that are familiar with each other."

But just being familiar with each other, Garlick said, is not enough. Once the first game of the season kicks off, all that matters is what happens on the field. RSL's newest players will have a big job turning the franchise around after it went 5-22-5 last year.

"That's an exciting challenge for me," Garlick said. Garlick will start most of RSL's games in goal, and Talley should start as a center defender or midfielder. Coach John Ellinger said the team's new acquisitions will make a big difference.

"These guys are fierce competitors," Ellinger said. "We need to get more players in that category of five-plus years of MLS experience, just to win some games. And more importantly, we need people that know what it takes to win games."

Both Talley and Garlick have rarely experienced a losing season in Major League Soccer. Talley, 29, played four seasons with D.C. United before being traded to Kansas City for two years. He then was traded to Dallas for the 2004 season.

Garlick, 33, is on his fifth MLS team. He started his career with United, then spent time with the Tampa Bay Mutiny, Colorado and finally Dallas two years ago. Although older, the players' experience should translate into more victories.

"I've been around winning," Talley said. "Nobody likes to lose, but when you are used to winning, you don't let yourself drop to a level where you lose at."

Garlick said he has been blessed with "a hatred of losing, or of not doing my best. And the guys that they brought in are the same way."