David Beckham's MLS is a Galactic Mess

He was supposed to change MLS and soccer in America forever. David Beckham’s signing in January 2007 with the LA Galaxy was supposed to elevate his new club and by extension its league to heights never experienced before. Eighteen months later all parties (except AEG, the Galaxy’s owners who have made a killing off the Beckham name) must ponder whether it was really worthwhile.

David Beckham is a true footballer and a class act. Like most English footballers his work rate is exceptional and his understanding of true football is commendable. The truth is a footballer of Beckham’s stature deserves better than the LA Galaxy or what MLS has become thanks to his presence. It is ironic that on this day when we ponder the massive overhaul of Beckham’s team, that the two dominant forces in MLS remain the two sides that have lived within their means and have promoted continuity over flamboyance and mass marketing: Those two sides, Houston and New England should be held up as examples of what MLS was at one time and should return to once the league returns to its senses. The continued of presence of Designated Players and signings of overage foreigners has done little to sustain new support for the league. While it has stimulated some new interest, much of the interest has turned the television off when exposed to a bad product, which many MLS games not including Houston or New England remain. The one designated player who has helped transform his team for the better on the pitch, Cuauhtémoc Blanco I believe could have still been signed by MLS without the DP rule. How you ask? How did the MLS sign Luis Hernandez, then in the prime of his career in 2000? How about Carlos Hermosillo signing in 1998? Carlos Vaderrama and Roberto Donadoni in 1996? You do not really believe that MLS never had Designated Players before 2007 do you?

Blanco has been an important addition for MLS and for a Chicago Fire club that was previously under performing at the gate. But I believe Blanco could have and would have been signed by MLS without the DP rule. How sure am I of this? The second Blanco was thrown off the national team by former manager Ricardo LaVolpe, rumors in Mexico began circulating that he was coming to MLS. Unlike, Europe the examples of Hernandez and Hermosillo demonstrated that for top Mexican attacking players, MLS is always an option late in your career.

I have no comment on the firing of Alexi Lalas. While I have been very critical of Los Angeles personnel moves since the untimely death of Doug Hamilton over two years ago, I am less certain than ever Lalas was actually charged with building the squad. It seems Lalas, a man of near legendary status as a player for the US was used by the Galaxy’s owners to sell their product to the world. The responsibility for finding players was not important to the Galaxy, because after all they had David Beckham.

Regarding the resignation of Ruud Gullit, this is a black eye for MLS: for the first time since Carlos Quieroz in 1997 a big name international coach was attracted to the league, and despite having an obvious tactical edge on his competitors his employment to a team that is essentially a marketing outfit, not a proper football club made it impossible for him to do his job. No doubt the critics of MLS in Europe will come out of the woodwork with Gullit departure to heap scorn on the league. However, unlike many times in the past, this go round the scorn is roundly deserved.

Major League Soccer despite the continued success of Houston and New England has become more glitz than substance since David Beckham’s arrival. The league feeling a constant need to answer critics and over sell its product have made boastful claims about its competitiveness and the value of its franchises with no real substance to back up these claims. These are the unwanted corollaries of the “Beckham effect.”

David Beckham is a class act, a great footballer. He should once and for all talk to the Galaxy brass and ask if they are going to continue to use him as a way to sell shirts and make money or if they want him to settle down and help them win football matches. Beckham should also have a role in identifying players for the Galaxy. If the club does not want to do this, it is best both parties move on. Beckham can still find a club in Europe during this transfer window and MLS and the Galaxy can pick up the pieces of its broken reputation abroad and focus on the things that made the league successful for the eleven seasons before David Beckham came to America: fiscal discipline, player development and cultivating the American soccer media.

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Sunderland Chasing Becks

The rumor mill on the Guardian website is reporting that Sunderland manager Roy Keane, a longtime teammate of David Beckham's with Manchester United is trying to lure Becks to the Northeast of England. Beckham is of course under contract with the LA Galaxy but does anyone seriously think that despite their denials, the Galaxy wouldn't want to get some return on what to this point has been a horrendous investment? Stay tuned in the upcoming weeks for more on this unfolding saga.

Time to Cut the Cord With Becks

The Los Angeles Galaxy are among the worst run football clubs anywhere on the planet and among the worst run professional sports franchise in the United States. So it should come as no surprise to those of us that follow Major League Soccer that David Beckham's arrival stateside has been fiasco. The Galaxy bought a player solely for marketing purposes and then tried to build a football club around a marketing tool and thus gutted the perfectly decent set up they previously had at the Home Depot Center. The generosity of the Galaxy management has allowed several other MLS teams to acquire quality footballers for a the equivalent in some cases of a 2 litre bottle of Coca Cola. This has made the 2007 Galaxy among the most uncompetitive squads in the 12 year history of MLS. At the very same time the little sister who pays rent to the Galaxy to share their stadium is currently sitting 27 points ahead of their landlords.

The treatment of David Beckham by the Galaxy has brought Major League Soccer as well as football in the United States in general into complete disrepute across the Atlantic. As Times columnist Martin Samuel noted last month, " We did not expect his (Beckham's) new employers to not have any respect for his health or general welfare." This statement is very poignant. Beckham's new club for better or for worse is being judged as an outfit set on exploiting the world's most famous footballer for financial gain. Again whether this is true or not can be bitterly debated but what is true is that perception across the Atlantic where MLS needs to improve its reputation is that the team and league have taken a careless attitude towards protecting England's precious commodity David Beckham. If MLS is perceived to have destroyed Beckham's career through the football equivalent of medical malpractice (ie. putting a half fit player on a pitch on a steamy summer evening and forcing him to play 90 minutes) surely no more players of stature or for that matter those who care about their own bodies will gravitate to Major League Soccer from the British Isles. Perception is reality and judging by the British press, not only is MLS judged a substandard division when even compared to the lower rungs of the Football League in England, but now it is being judged by Samuel and others to have deliberately sabotaged a player's well being for financial gain, thus reinforcing (again rightly or wrongly) the perception many Europeans have of American corporations and society to begin with. Now the fact that Real Madrid conducted much the same sort of charade with Beckham, exploiting him for marketing and public relations purposes seems to have been lost on many across the pond despite the very open criticism by none other than Galactico Roberto Carlos himself of Real's handling of Beckham. After all Real Madrid is one of the most popular football clubs anywhere, and the LA Galaxy is well, the worst team in a bad league played over the summer months when Footballers of any stature are on holiday in the South of France. (again the perception of many in Europe)

If MLS wants to continue to be a player on the world market they must resolve this issue with a favorable conclusion for the player. Beckham has repeatedly stated that he wants the opportunity to play for England in Euro 2008. That opportunity no doubt will not be afforded to him if continues to appear in a suit on in the press box at the Home Depot Center laughing it up with his fellow Galaxy walking wounded while his adopted club gets shelled on the pitch. Beckham's legendary professionalism and his international career will both go up in a blaze of fire if he persists in Los Angeles. Even though Beckham says the right things publicly, it is obvious the circus around his arrival, the poor state of his club and the overall quality of the league in general caught him completely by surprise. The Galaxy had six months between signing Beckham and his arrival to improve its club and to prepare a world class player for the challenge that awaited him in the states, but were too busy trying to schedule out of the way friendlies and sell more tickets in order to exploit Beckham's arrival to the highest degree rather than working on the very things that could have made the long term marriage between the two parties successful over time.

Bad marriages should end before the bitterness that's bound to set in overcomes any rational thought or behavior on either side. What is obvious whether you believe Major League Soccer is unfairly maligned in the British press (as I do) or feel MLS is no better than League Two or Serie C as many of our readers believe, the coexistence of both camps is impossible. For someone like David Beckham it is unfair for his career to be hijacked by the prejudices of some back home and the negligence his current club is showing in enhancing its on the field product so that Becks does not feel he needs to tackle an opponent on a bad ankle, simply because nobody else on his bottom of the league club gives a hoot. It is unfair to Beckham, unfair to England and unfair to his Galaxy teammates to keep this circus going. For Beckham, one last bite at the England apple will be the appropriate send off for his hard work and his great career. One more chance at glory, one more chance to make a long suffering nation scream with joy when Becks and his mates lifts the Euro 2008 trophy. Beckham will only get that opportunity if allowed to play for a Premier League club again this season.

This can only happen if the Galaxy transfer list Beckham and thank him publicly for the professionalism he has shown throughout this sorry ordeal and thank him for the spike in attendance and increased shirt sales he has brought across the nation. It is unquestionably football malpractice to hold someone on a club and knowingly hurt his career in the process. While Chelsea may be guilty of this with Michael Ballack, they are Chelsea and have a little more credibility built up through decades of footballing prowess than MLS or the Galaxy. Moreover, the Galaxy has problems of a great nature that cannot be fixed under the microscope the club currently finds itself under. For the sake of the club they should cut ties with Beckham and hope to get a decent return on their investment in the transfer market.

MLS has a clear blueprint for the future which need not involve Beckham or any other highly priced European player. Despite the skepticism of the Euro press towards all things football on American soil, MLS has done a nice job in the last year of seperating itself from leagues that are rated similarly by objective football analysts. The signing of Australian A-League MVP Fred (who I must point out has had far from the impact on MLS than he did on the A-League), Cuahatomec Blanco the reigning Mexican League MVP and perhaps the nation's most popular player over the past decade and Guille Baros Schelotto the most accomplished footballer from a silverware standpoint in the history of Argentina's domestic league signal the intent of MLS to play a major role in buying the best talent Latin America has to offer. As Paul Gardner often states in Soccer America (and I am paraphrasing here) "US Soccer must turn its eyes south instead of across the Atlantic to truly capture the hearts and minds of fans across the nation." Young starlets such a Richardino and Juan Toja who have represented their nations in the U-20 World Cup also have gravitated to MLS this year giving the league an easy retort to those who call it a retirement home for washed up and overpaid footballers.

Major League Soccer made an audacious attempt to try and win casual sports fans in the US who all too often have been prejudiced against the beautiful game by soccer hating (and often baiting) sports editors and writers. The long ball attempt failed miserably to bring MLS into the American sporting mainstream and has damaged the league's credibility in the international football arena. But such a long ball need not have been thrown when the league's quality of play and other international signings have proven to any objective observer that the league is on solid footing and here to stay.

Beckham Returning To England?

The Guardian's rumor page is reporting that David Beckham is looking for the Galaxy to loan him back to an English Premier League Club for four months if England does qualify for Euro 2008. This would allow Beckham to keep match fit in a top world league in preparation for the European Championships. A loan deal could be an outright sale perhaps if Newcastle, West Ham, Aston Villa or some other possible destination club forks out some money to AEG and the faltering LA Galaxy.

The website mentions that the LAX to Heathrow commute is too much for Beckham, but this again demonstrates to me that English footballers and English managers have no idea the realities of today's world football where players travel great distances to play in matches for their nation. A good example is Nery Castillio, perhaps the best player in the CONCACAF region who plays his club football for Shaktar Donetsk in the Ukraine and flies back regularly to Mexico or the USA for Mexican National Team friendlies. The same can be said for a number of US players that perform their club duties in Scandinavia who fly back when called up for the US National Team's home games.

Michael Haley speculated about the possibility of David Beckham bailing on the Galaxy quickly back in June on the Major League Soccer Talk podcast, in a discussion where we also predicted the Galaxy would finish at or near the bottom of the MLS Table. Forgive me for some blatant self promotion, but our podcast brought you this insight and speculation first.

Beckham Out Sunday

Sunday's game between the floundering LA Galaxy and the Colorado Rapids in Denver has been sold out for months, but the main attraction will be missing. Thanks to some very poor decisions by England Manager Steve McClaren and the entire Galaxy front office, Beckham is now on the shelf once again. Let's hope he can play on Wednesday Night in the Superliga final versus Pachuca.

Beckham Being Mishandled by the Galaxy and England

David Beckham is the ultimate football ambassador and the ultimate competitor. But the reliance of his country and his club on him has led the not fully fit superstar to a breaking point which was obvious in the dying minutes of the Galaxy's 3-0 LA derby loss to Chivas USA last night. David Beckham's globe trotting is not unusual in the world of football, even though the English media seems to be unfamiliar with international footballers traveling great distances to play for their nation. This past February, Mexico called up 11 European based players for a midweek friendly versus the United States in Phoenix. For Nery Castillo, perhaps Mexico's best player (who was then based in Greece but now plays in the Ukraine) that meant crossing eight times zones much like Beckham had to cross to return to Los Angeles. The difference of course was that Castillo was fully fit and was able to contribute to his club's matches both weekends sandwiched around his Mexico action. (Of course Castillo also had to fly back to Greece following Mexico's 2-0 loss to the US to play for his club that weekend.) But David Beckham is far from fully fit.

What I have learned this week sadly is that David Beckham is seemingly being exploited by the LA Galaxy for marketing purposes beyond anything that is reasonable to ask of a footballer, and that England and its national coach Steve McClaren have absolutely no respect nor consideration for MLS, or perhaps for any club side outside of England.

Even though David Beckham had a great match in this past Saturday's epic loss to the Red Bulls at Giants Stadium, Frank Yallop and the Galaxy brass badly erred in allowing him to play 90 plus minutes on artificial turf. I have no doubt that the speed and intensity of that match adversely affected Beckham's ability to represent his country and ultimately paint MLS in a positive light at Wembley in midweek. But even more criminal was Steve McClaren whose own precarious job status allowed him to conveniently forget Wednesday's match was a friendly and that Beckham was not fully fit. McClaren's decision to play Beckham 90 minutes when he clearly protected other less than fully fit players who happen to play their club football in England was a smack in the face to Major League Soccer. The media outcry in London this week also once again demonstrated that the English seem to not realize that players from the USA, Mexico and other nations of the America's as well as much of Asia and Africa fly great distances constantly to play for their nation.

But what was even worse than McClaren's blunder at midweek was Alexi Lalas and Frank Yallop allowing a clearly jet lagged David Beckham and Landon Donovan (who flew back from the US match in Sweden, even further than London) to suit up for Thursday Night's Honda Superclassico versus cross stadium rivals Chivas USA. This one is more on Lalas because he has been outspoken publically about declaring matches against Chivas more important than regular MLS matches and used terms resembling an over obsessed mad man when describing the SuperClassico and his hatred of Chivas. So the pressure was on both Beckham and Donovan to race back to LA to face Chivas. Perhaps in a bit of gamesmanship or perhaps simply because he was coaching his team the right way, US Manager Bob Bradley, who of course is a former Chivas USA boss did not take Donovan off the pitch of the US game at halftime even though rumor has it that the Galaxy had requested it. Whatever the case Donovan entered the Superclassico game in the 58th minute, when he should have replaced a clearly spent Beckham but he did not. In fact Beckham played his second full 90 minutes in as many days, eight time zones away from the other. By matches end, Beckham looked about to pass out and couldn't even push forward to take a corner in the dying moments of the 3-0 humiliation for the Galaxy.

It has become obvious to me that the Galaxy are now playing out the string in MLS with a rag tag supporting cast for Beckham, Donovan and their other accomplished international, Abel Xavier. They are touring the continent like the Globetrotters but do not have the quality nor the leadership from the top to even be remotely competitive in MLS. That Chivas USA, who had arguably the worst team in MLS history just two seasons ago when the Galaxy won MLS cup is now 19 points clear of the Galaxy in the table is proof positive of what a poor job of running the organization the current Galaxy brass have done. What's worse is that they are running football's great ambassador David Beckham into the ground in what appears to be an attempt to generate as much revenue and attention for themselves this season. David Beckham deserves better than the Galaxy, and MLS deserves better than the Galaxy. Oh, and let me not forget David Beckham and England deserve better than Steve McClaren also.

The Revolution is Being Televised (Though You May Miss it in the Newspaper)

David Beckham and Juan Pablo Angel

To the average viewer of "scream" shows about American sports such as Around the Horn, Rome is Burning and The Best Damn Sports Show Period, the ongoing revolution in American sports preferences may have flown under the radar. That's because so many of the sports writers that feature on the shout shows like Jay Marrioti, Tony Kornheiser, Jim Rome and Brian Burwell have gone out of their way to ridicule soccer and to help reduce any coverage of American Soccer or International Football to the back pages of the sports sections of most American newspapers. (the Miami Herald, Washington Post, NY Times and LA Times are notable exceptions)While the vast majority of sports fans don't watch these shout shows, or read the columns they write that spew with venom towards soccer and most notably towards David Beckham (whom I would add as proper journalists they should have made an attempt to understand before despairing his career, his personal life and his agenda in moving to Major League Soccer) they are ultimately influenced by the shows and the editors of major newspapers who reduce one of the most popular sports in the nation, and the most popular sport in the world to the same status that bowling and billiards enjoy.

The mainstream sports media gave little acknowledgement when the combined Spanish/English telecast of the US-Italy World Cup match exceeded that of three games in the NBA finals. This same group ignored the ratings achieved on Spanish Language TV for the CONCACAF Gold Cup finals, a rating two and a half times that of Game 7 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals. While the NHL's TV ratings continue to plummet, the league continues to enjoy enormous exposure on sports news shows and usually two full pages in season every day in most major market newspapers. Soccer would be lucky to even get one third of that coverage, and believe it or not most Mexican Football League telecasts beat NHL telecasts in the ratings head to head. But the sports media pleads ignorance.

Ignorance turned to venom however when a certain Englishman hit our shores last month. Those same commentators and sports editors that had made every effort to ignore or even belittle the beautiful game decided to attack the game and the very person that is David Beckham.

What makes David Beckham so special, and so threatening to the average soccer hater in the sports media? Well for one he's more popular worldwide than any American athlete save perhaps, Tiger Woods. Secondly, Beckham is a figure unlike any other in world sports today: He mixes genuine celebrity with international stardom and a speciality, his set piece taking that are unmatched by anybody alive. Besides, Beckham unlike so many athletes today is a true professional and a genuine person who has overcome amazing adversity and fan hostility to become a one of a kind footballer. How popular is Beckham among the grassroots in the United States? Let me give you some startling case studies.

• Two weeks ago I traveled to Orlando on business. While there, I visited a local sports store, almost out of sheer amusment to see if Michael Vick's jersey were still being sold. While in the store, three different people came in wanting Beckham LA Galaxy jerseys. The owner told them he had sold out of the only box sent him in ten hours and hadn't recieved a second shipment yet because of such a backlog of orders. (BTW, the Vick jerseys were gone from the shelves!)
• A friend of mine who lives in Colorado visited Dick's Sporting Goods. At the store he purchased a white David Beckham LA Galaxy T-shirt. He actually wanted a jersey, but they were sold out. He asked how well they were selling and the person working at the store told him that they had sold eight times more Beckham jerseys than Champ Bailey jerseys since the Beckham jersey was released. BTW, LA visits Colorado next Sunday.
• The other day I went to Sports Authority, again not seeking Beckham apparel, because after all I had never seen a single soccer jersey of any national or international club team on sale in any of the probably 30 plus Sports Authorty stores I have visited all over the country. I went to the store to see for myself how the new Miami Hurricane (American) football jersey looked. I was shocked to see a display with Beckham's posted and an almost empty rack of shirts and jerseys. I asked the person in the store about the blue Galaxy jersey which I quite honestly want to buy and he told me all three shipments they have gotten of that jersey had sold out in mere hours. He also told me the Beckham merchandise is selling so quickly in stores across the nation, that the warehouses cannot keep up with the demand.

Now given these nuggets of information, in addition to the epic match we saw Saturday night with over 66,000 fans in attendance, do you think this sport, which is clearly bursting at seams on the grassroots level could get some respect from the sports media? I would think it would be good business to corner the market when a sport is receiving such a surge of popularity, but it seems some of the old bulls in American sports seem at the very least contemptuous of the game or the worst threatened by it. From these writers, we hear comparisons to the old NASL, but it bears repeating that in the days of the NASL, the US National Team hadn't qualified for the World Cup in a generation and no American footballer could hope to land with a respectable club overseas. Today, the US enjoys the sixth longest streak for consecutive World Cup appearances on the globe, and has players of note competing in the very best leagues in the world. It seems David Beckham is proving beyond a reasonable doubt that soccer's time has come in this country, and regardless of how some may feel about the game itself, its place on the American sports landscape is growing more secure as time goes on.

Beckham Magic

David Beckham's wonder goal on a free kick sends the Galaxy into the Superliga finals. Much more on this tomorrow morning.

Beckham's LA Experience Souing by the Day

My excitement about David Beckham signing to play in MLS in January quickly subsided when I realized what club he was going to be playing with. Sadly the fears I had about the LA Galaxy which led me to pen this blog in May have been confirmed. Alexi Lalas' terrible record of club management which saw him destroy a championship team in San Jose, fire the future national team manager in New York and fire the former national team and MLS cup winning coach in Los Angeles have continued. Lalas' pre Beckham arrival moves of trading goal scoring threat Nate Jaqua to Houston for Kelly Gray and Robbie Findley (who has played very well for Real Salt Lake) along with Nathan Sturgis (who had a big summer with the USU-20 team) for Chris Klein, the signing of an obviously washed up Carlos Pavon and releasing of Santino Quaranta have further undermined the squad which had already been gutted by Lalas' meddling. Since Lalas took over as General Manager the Galaxy have traded or released Pablo Nagumura, Herculez Gomez, Ugo Imehlu, Nate Jaqua, Joseph Ngwenya, Robbie Findley, Nathan Sturgis, Santino Quaranta, and T&T World Cup veteran Cornell Glen. Each and every one of the players named with the possible exception of Imehlu would be an upgrade over the player currently playing the same position with the Galaxy. Alexi Lalas maybe a gifted at public relations for the sport, but his obvious inability to appreciate and hold talent have painfully obvious wherever he has worked.

The fact that Beckham has played only twenty minutes of league action in three matches is just as well. I can think of nothing more humiliating for one of the great footballers and football ambassadors of our time than to be thrown to the wolves with such a clearly outclassed bunch of team mates. Landon Donovan and Abel Xavier notwithstanding, it is tough to find any quality in the Galaxy field players comparable to the teams they will be competing with to make the MLS playoffs. With such a large investment riding on Beckham being fit and playing in the playoffs, had it ever occurred to Lalas or the Galaxy that meddling with the squad too much would destroy whatever chemistry and continuity the team previously had. This after all is a club that won the US Soccer "double" (The US Open Cup and MLS Cup) the season before Lalas became the boss. Since they have failed to make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history and are now poised to repeat that feat this season.

David Beckham deserves better. Perhaps as his Real Madrid days ended, he was as ignorant as to the quality of both MLS (which is better than many give it credit for) and the poor quality of his future side as the European media. A player of his stature sitting helplessly on bench gloomy looking at his outfit being absolutely outclassed even by an expansion team (Toronto FC) and essentially taken to the woodshed by two of MLS' better sides (DC United and New England). One thing people forget about Beckham is that he has always been surrounded by superior talent which has allowed him to play his role to perfection with his previous clubs. In Galaxy, he joins a club which is arguably the worst in MLS, whose lack of continuity and understanding of one another is painfully obvious whenever they play. MLS' quality is not as poor as many believe, which is why the Galaxy's plight is worse than many realize. This club has almost nothing going for it on the pitch and looks as if it has a bunch of players who show no urgency or interest in the situation at hand. That partially changed for twenty minutes at RFK Stadium when Beckham entered that match, but last night the Galaxy despite being down a goal could not mount anything in the way of a challenge to New England's superiority the entire second half.

Major League Soccer has benefited from David Beckham's arrival stateside. But from Beckham's perspective the experience must be a sour one. He had no idea what he was getting himself into when he signed with such a poorly run club. With upcoming trips to Red Bull New York, Columbus, Houston and Kansas City on the docket, one must wonder how much more humiliation the great player that is David Beckham will be able to take. In each of those matches the Galaxy would have to be considered a major underdog. I have to believe Beckham when it's all said and done will either want out of L.A. or will want to build the squad himself, bringing in his own front office staff. (I'm not sure AEG will permit this, but may have little choice) If he requests a transfer, let's hope Major League Soccer can step up and keep him in the league by moving him to a more competitive team, a team that plays for trophies and is in FIFA sanctioned international competitions. (While we don't have the Champions League in North America, we do have the Champions Cup and Copa Sudamericana, two events that top MLS clubs participate in). Otherwise Beckham could be heading back to Europe to finish out his career before you know it, and his entire LA experience will serve to undermine the credibility of MLS abroad.

Beckham Debut Causes Ratings Jump

Last night's DC United-LA Galaxy match attracted a 0.8 rating on ESPN2 the highest rated MLS regular season game of the season and more than twice the normal rating for ESPN's Thursday Night MLS package.

Beckham May Play Tonight

Media reports indicate yet to be fully fit David Beckham may make his MLS debut tonight at RFK Stadium versus the league's signature club DC United. Steve McClaren, the manager of the England National Team will be among those in the sellout crowd.

Beckham Circus Counterporductive for MLS

Major League Soccer in many ways has gotten what it asked for when it signed David Beckham to a ridiculous contract in January. By making the league appear desperate for a savior when it need not have, rearranging the schedule to showcase Beckham and making one of its worst teams the symbol of the league abroad, MLS has appeared to this point to strike out on all three counts. That’s a pity because this season from a quality of play standpoint has been the best in the history of the league. Contrary to the spin that comes from the league, the level of play has NOT consistently improved throughout the twelve years of MLS’ existence. In fact I would strongly argue the league’s play was of a much higher standard in 2000 than in 2005. Not only do I believe that is the case, but results of MLS clubs in international competitions and in friendlies versus clubs from bigger and more prestigious leagues bears out that reality.

Despite its bluster about constant improvement in the league, I suspect Don Garber and the brass of MLS realized that they had to make great strides in 2007, especially following the fashionable bashing of MLS in the press after the US bowed out of World Cup 2006 with just one draw and two losses. MLS made the moves it had to acquiring quality internationals like Juan Toja, Pablo Richetti, Guillermo Baros Schelotto, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Paulo Wanchope, Luciano Emilio, Fred, Juan Pablo Angel, Carlos Marinelli and Abel Xavier this season. These signings are a big reason why MLS 2007 has been a pleasure to watch, and the aforementioned names represent the best collective group of international signings by MLS since at least 2000, and perhaps ever in the league’s history. This is in addition to the Superliga Tournament which showcased MLS’ clubs in an ultra competitive international competition where the league’s clubs more than passed the test of demonstrating the quality of MLS in 2007. Additionally, the league is in better financial standing than ever before, with a lucrative TV contract (negotiated before David Beckham signed) and more and more Soccer specific stadiums being erected around the league.

But in a major marketing folly, based once again on winning acceptance with the anti soccer sports establishment rather than winning respect and acceptance among Latino and European soccer fans in the US, the MLS has put everything on Beckham. That’s too much for one player to burden, albeit a world class player of unmatched professionalism and personal character like David Beckham. Nor is it fair, considering MLS has done what it had to do in order to improve its product with or without David Beckham. Now with Beckham injured and not playing in front of sold out stadiums on the road, MLS has become a laughing stock and has given additional fodder to the anti soccer sports media establishment who bashed Beckham (without knowing anything about the man himself) and MLS with the precision of well planned air strike on a defenseless city. By making Beckham, and not the ultimate improvement of the league the issue, MLS has helped to dig its own grave with the US Sports snob establishment.

David Beckham ultimately will play and contribute to the continued improvement in the league’s quality. But the circus atmosphere that surrounded his arrival and the way his signing way handled by Major League Soccer ultimately has been counterproductive to the continued growth of the league and the sport in the United States.

What we Learned from the Friendlies

This past week the United States became the epicenter of the club football world with numerous friendlies involving large clubs from all over the world, as well as the unveiling of David Beckham as a member of the Los Angeles Galaxy. Now that the lights have faded and most MLS clubs are back to league action or off to Superliga, let's evaluate what we've learned this past week.

Asia Trumps the US as a Market for European Clubs

Manchester United has clearly determined what Chelsea now should. Having a preseason tour in Asia is a much better way to sell tickets, develop new fans and sell merchandise than touring the United States. Chelsea may have fine tuned the chemistry of their squad on this tour, but they could have quite frankly done that in Europe. Chelsea was overshadowed by Club America in the first match (which happens anytime Club America plays in the US), played in front of a near empty stadium in its second match and got caught up in Beckham mania hype in its third match.

Everton's first match of its US tour, a 2-0 loss to Real Salt Lake provided RSL's second smallest weekend evening crowd since the franchise began MLS play three seasons ago. Chicago's friendly with Celtic was played in front of a half empty Toyota Park and according to some reorts MLS gave away tickets to the All Star game Thursday Night (versus Celtic) to make Dick's Sporting Goods Park appear full on TV.

The bottom line is simple. While a few years back crowds flocked to see European clubs play on American soil, the novelty of these matches has worn off and right now event promoters are better off booking big Mexican clubs who come with a built in fan base wherever they play in the USA than European clubs who may or may not sell tickets.

Chelsea Will Be Alright

Unlike last season when Chelsea's poor performance against the MLS All Star showed the team suffered from post World Cup fatigue and a lack of cohesion, this trip showed Chelsea can find different ways to win matches against different types of quality opponents. John Terry despite a broken toe anchored a strong back line, and Didier Drogba worked to create space up front. While Jose Mourinho still has lots to learn in terms of using his flank players properly (including newly signed Florent Malouda) Chelsea's possession game versus Los Angeles was impressive, and save some great defending by former Liverpool and Everton defender Abel Xavier, Chelsea could have picked its scoreline.

Celtic's Slow Starts are Worrying

Gordan Strachan must be concerned about how lethargic his Celtic team looked in the first half against both the MLS All Stars and the Chicago Fire. Artur Boruc's heroic goalkeeping single handily kept Celtic from being blown off the pitch in the first half of both matches. The latter part of the second half of both games however were dominated by Celtic, which is somewhat confusing considering it was the second teamers that looked sharp. But the fact that Juan Pablo Angel, Juan Toja, and Eddie Johnson found so much space for the MLS All Stars in the first half versus Celtic and that Chicago's Cuauhtémoc Blanco appeared to be toying with Celtic the whole time he was on the pitch for shows Celtic's defense could be severely tested in the Champions League this season.

European style Fixture Congestion Has Come to the US

With the advent of Superliga, and all of these international friendlies MLS clubs are beginning to run into some serious fixture congestion. It was interesting to observe today how both DC United and Houston protected certain players knowing that they will play as many as five non-friendly matches in the next two weeks. The LA Galaxy schedule between the two friendlies this week, the MLS All Star Game, Superliga and MLS Regular Season is nothing short of cruel and unusual punishment. The Galaxy is a mess as it is, but may need two seperate squads to survive this brutal stretch.

Cuauhtémoc Blanco will Improve Chicago

The jury is still very much out on whether or not a specialty player like David Beckham will actually help the struggling LA Galaxy, or whether the team will completely sink in the circus surrounding Beckham's arrival stateside. But today we learned the second highest profile MLS addition of the summer, Cuauhtémoc Blanco has already developed an understanding of his team mates in Chicago and has taken on the #10 role with the Fire. Blanco clearly is relishing being the focal point with the Fire he was with Club America and his performance against Celtic was nothing short of spectacular.

The Galaxy Are Discrediting MLS With Their Performances

In the same week that bottom of the table Real Salt Lake beat Everton and last place Eastern Conference team Chicago drew with Celtic the L.A. Galaxy seeking to become North America's signature football club was humiliated in front of the world's eyes. The British media assembled to watch David Beckham's future club lose to a lower mid table Tigres side 3-0. After this match the Galaxy were described as a "pub team" by one British media outlet. The truth is the Galaxy is not much better than a semi professional team right now and in fact lost to a third division team last week.

The Galaxy is under a microscope and despite the fine performances of other MLS clubs and players this past week the Galaxy are the team the European press is watching and they did little to redeem themselves against Chelsea last night again showing a lack of quality in the attack and poor touches and clearances from the back line and midfield.

South American Signings Have Changed MLS for the Better

Four names for you: Angel, Scheletto, Toja and Emilio. Each of these new additions to the league have a quality and flair that has been sorely lacking in MLS since the early years of the league. Three of these four signings were below the radar so to speak but each player has improved the team he is on. The MLS for marketing purposes and to improve the quality of play on the pitch must continue to mine the best talent it can from Latin America and bring them stateside whether they are young prospects like Toja, old veterans like Scheletto, world superstars like Angel or journeymen like Emilio.

A Must Read

Great read by our friend Bill E Shears. (Not the one of Sgt Pepper fame!)


http://epltalk.communityserver.com/blogs/billeshears/archive/2007/07/13/Fulfilling-It_2700_s-Own-Prophecy_3A00_-How-the-American-Media-is-Setting-Up-Beckham-for-Failure.aspx

Does Beckham Really Make a Difference?

The hype around David Beckham’s arrival in Los Angeles is far greater than I anticipated in the mainstream American media. It seems the celebrity of Beckham is trumping the actual analysis of what this does for the football on the MLS pitch. In its simplicity and ignorance, the American media has decided to compare Beckham’s arrival to that of Pele’ in 1975. In no way shape or form is this signing by MLS similar to the signing by the Cosmos of Pele’, claiming they both arrived on American soil as “saviors” of the game in this country.

For starters in 1975, the US hardly was able to field a national team, and had not sniffed World Cup qualification in a quarter century. Now in 2007, the US are regulars at every major international event FIFA hosts, and in fact team USA boasts the fifth longest streak for consecutive World Cup Finals appearances in the world. In 1975, the game did not exist in any form on television in the US . Fast forward to 2007, and you have two 24 hour channels based in the US whose entire programming is dedicated to the beautiful game in addition to countless other matches of both international competitions and the domestic league on mainstream cable channels. In other words, American soccer doesn’t need a “savior” as the media portrays. Lastly, Pele′ is the greatest player to ever play the game. While David Beckham is certainly a world class set piece taker, he isn’t the sort of football player average Americans ignorant of the sport understand. You need to appreciate the game to appreciate David Beckham as a footballer. Pele′ on the other hand transcended the sport and was easily admired by all.

Major League Soccer is well established league unlike the NASL in 1975, even if some of MLS’ business practices are somewhat peculiar for the tastes of international football fans like myself. However, MLS has an existing business model that has worked well, and while Beckham enhances that product from a financial standpoint, other questions remain. Contrary to the opinions of some in the British press, the league has had its fair share of top international players in the past. What David Beckham does to improve the quality of play MLS, which is the stated goal of Commissioner Don Garber, is subject to debate. In the history of MLS, no single player with the possible exception of a highly under rated Canadian named Dwayne DeRosario has single handedly shifted the balance of power within the league. This is a league that has had such international stars as Carlos Valderamma, Marco Ethcheverry, Lothar Matthaus, Luis Hernandez, Roberto Donadoni, Hugo Sanchez, Branco, Carlos Hermosillo, and Yourri Djorkaeef. True, some of the above mentioned players were near the ends of their career when they came to MLS, but their quality cannot be questioned. In addition future European based international players such as Shaun Bartlett, Simon Elliot, Junior Agogo, Ryan Nelson and Stern John spent the formative years of their career in MLS. I will admit however, that MLS took a definitive step away from spending on big name international players in 2002. It is no coincidence that at the very same time young American national team players like DaMarcus Beasley and Bobby Convey began looking for their first ticket out of the league as well. MLS has now corrected that error and thus the level of play has once again reached the standard of the 1996 to 2000 time period, which was the best in league history. (From 1997 to 2000, MLS clubs played in the finals of five international club competitions. Since 2001, MLS clubs have played in NONE).

As I have stated on many occasions recently, Beckham is now playing for one of the worst run franchises in the history of MLS. Since the untimely death of Doug Hamilton, the former GM of the Galaxy (and of the Miami Fusion) in a plane crash last year, the Galaxy have turned over its entire roster save four players and have already dumped a number of players they brought to the squad in the last year. Last season was the first time in club history they failed to reach the MLS Playoffs, and despite the acquisition of a world class midfielder, I have my doubts they will reach the playoffs this season.

While I’m excited to see a world class player in person on American soil, the signing of Beckham has been widely overstated on both sides of the pond. American Soccer is well off with or without Beckham in MLS, and Beckham’s arrival doesn’t indicate an upsurge in quality of play in the league either. It’s simply the signing of another top player and indication that after several seasons of curtailing spending on big name players (from 2002 thru 2006), MLS is ready to compete in the international transfer market much as it did from 1996 to 2001.

Galaxy Acquire Pavon and Klein

Carlos Pavon who scored four goals in this year's CONCACAF Gold Cup signed with the LA Galaxy yesterday. Pavon will compliment new acqusition Edson Buddle in the Galaxy attack. Today the Galaxy traded for US National Team veteran Chris Klein. It's obvious that Alexi Lalas finally realizes that the squad is bereft of talent and that several moves need to be made before David Beckham's arrival stateside for the Galaxy to have any chance to keep Beckham beyond this season.

Randon MLS Thoughts

• It's a shame that Alexi Lalas didn't spend much time this offseason working on solidifying the Galaxy's porous defense. Less than a minute after Tyrone Marshall tied the match yesterday, Taylor Twellman responded with a goal that gave the Galaxy yet another home defeat.
• How bad will it be for the league if David Beckham ends up on a team that losses early in the playoffs or worse yet fails to qualify for the playoffs. The season is early, especially LA's season but the Galaxy have a lot of question marks, and may just be too young to win anything this season.
• I think Jason Kreis has already gotten through to the underachieving Real Salt Lake side. Freddy Adu had possibly his best game in MLS on Thursday Night, with several dangerous runs down both flanks and some spectacular footwork. Also the defense was much better organized and held its shape than it had under John Ellinger.
• Joe Cannon is the best keeper in MLS, but for a team lacking in consistent attacking options, I do not think LA should have traded Herculez Gomez. Gomez is almost single handidly keeping a shaky Colorado side in every match. Well Gomez, and Roberto Brown (one of the best foreign acquisitions this year nobody noticed) are keeping the Rapids afloat.
• Even though Red Bull NY lost midweek to the Galaxy in a US Open Cup qualifier, it was nice to see Juan Pablo Angel score on his debut.
• It was no shock to see Danny Dichio score a goal and get sent off in the same match today. Dichio is one of the more accomplished players MLS has signed in recent seasons, but the reason he was available is that in his native England he has developed the reputation of a thug. I asked an English friend of mine via email today after the match what he thought of Dichio and he responded, " Dichio is a dangerous psychopath who can score goals but should not be allowed to walk the streets." I think that sums it up. No word on whether MLS will attempt to sign disgraced Man City midfielder Joey Barton who like Dichio can score goals but also must be placed in the dangerous psychopath category.
• As much as I raved about DC United before the season, I'm beginning to believe they are one of the worst teams in the league if they keep their current roster. Their backline seems to be wearing down, their midfield doesn't play well together, and they lack a clinical finisher beyond Emilio. Besides every other team in the East seems to have a certain spark that DC thus far has lacked. Perhaps after a grueling CONCACAF Champions Cup United is just going through the motions, but even in their win against Chivas USA I didn't see much to convince me that my prediction of a runaway title winner was a very smart one.
• The inconsistency of FC Dallas is due to the relative youth of the midfield. Steve Morrow knew his team would have growing pains when he dumped Ronnie O'Brien and Richard Mulrooney in the off season, but by year's end I remain convinced that the Hoops will be among the league's elite.
• What a great night it must have been for Kansas City to break the magic 10,000 fan mark! Right now soccer lovers all over the San Fransisco Bay Area and state of Florida are wondering what exactly they did to lose their MLS teams. (okay, maybe in Tampa they are wondering why they lost their team but in south Florida many may not have known the Fusion ever existed.)
• Guillermo Barros Schelotto had his first MLS assist tonight and he should help to turn the Crew into winners in his time in Columbus. Schelotto is exactly the type of player MLS had to sign from a quality standpoint even if he doesn't bring any marketing ability with him. (Jeff Rusnak the well respected soccer writer stated last year that he'd rather see MLS sign Paul Scholes than David Beckham for exactly the reason why Schelotto needed to be signed by the league.)

Blanco to MLS?

SI.com is reporting that Cuauhtemoc Blanco, a legendary Mexican striker who was dropped from the national team by former coach Ricardo LaVolpe prior to Germany 2006 (but has subsequently returned to the squad under Hugo Sanchez) is close to a contract with the Chicago Fire. Blanco would be a "Beckham Rule" designated player.

Beckham Move a Major Step Forward for MLS and US Soccer

Not since the days of the NASL has a signing of a foreign player provided so much promise for the growth of soccer in America. Given the state of Soccer in America today, as compared to the days of the NASL, the signing of David Beckham has the potential to create permanent, lasting affects that benefit the game here in the U.S.When the NASL was in its heyday, many of the clubs were popular in their local market, but Soccer as a concept or an international game was unknown in this country. Not only was the US National Team not competitive, but little awareness existed of the historic nature of the clubs teams that populate the European and South American continents.

The NASL ushered in a growth era for American Soccer which has resulted in consistent World Cup appearances for the USA, live television for European Leagues and the most popular youth sport in the country. The one thing missing however, is consistent support and interest in a domestic league. When MLS began play in 1996 this was supposed to change, but ultimately the fanfare of the first few years wore off as more and more soccer fans began to see the product offered by the league as an inferior one.

While David Beckham is a one dimensional player, and will not make the impact on the overall quality of play in MLS as someone like, let's say a Deco or Riquelme, he is the most marketable athlete in the world save Tiger Woods. The marketing power of someone as recognizable as Beckham is immense for a game that gets little respect from the mainstream media in this nation, and will force those snobs who consider soccer a "foreign" sport to pay some attention.

David Beckham's international career with England is over. Now he moves on to a missionary task where he alone can provide the last link between the US market and international soccer scene. Beckham will fulfill his end of the bargain, but MLS must capitalize on the gains made by this splashy move and use it to solidify its place on both the American sports landscape and in International soccer scene.

What Moves Will MLS Make?

Two months after MLS passed the so-called "Beckham rule" to allow each club to buy one high priced international star, the league has yet to make a single big acquisition. With the transfer window now wide open, one would have expected MLS to make the moves they failed to make right after the World Cup, obtaining a few marketable international stars. Luis Figo, who was thought to be a top MLS target has signed with a club in Saudi Arabia, so cross him off the list. Is either Ronaldo or David Beckham a realistic target? I personally do not think they are at this point in time, especially right in the middle of the European season.

What about bringing home an older top American from Europe like Claudio Reyna or Brian McBride? Quite frankly, both players seem to be cemented in their current clubs, and neither seems ready to go to the MLS retirement home (which is basically what it became for American players who come home after several years in Europe like Tony Sanneh, Ernie Stewart and Jovan Kirovski)

MLS has signed in the past many top Mexican stars, none of whom helped attendance, and all of whom seemed to have trouble acclimating to the league. So scratch out that possibility. Considering how MLS' season is misplaced with the International calender, it is tough to see how MLS takes advantage of its rules changes and brings in a top international star. Perhaps the rules change was made just to encourage additional foreign investment in the league and the hope that someday a big time investor would be willing and able to lure a true international superstar to the league?