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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Help Coming for the Galaxy?

Cory Gibbs/BBC Sport

Despite the presence of the two of the most gifted players ever in Major League Soccer, the Los Angeles Galaxy appear to be sinking without a trace. A leaky defense and poor linkup play have made the Galaxy at this point a side that is struggling to remain competitive in the Western Conference of MLS. With the sides in competition with the Galaxy making moves to improve no doubt Alexi Lalas, Paul Bravo, Ruud Gullit will be hard pressed to match what other sides have accomplished already in this transfer window.

Yesterday, Steve Goff of the Washington Post wrote that he has learned that Cory Gibbs is interested in returning to MLS and that Los Angeles possibly now sits first in the allocation line. Recall Gibbs made the 2006 World Cup squad for the US before a devastating injury in a pre World Cup friendly took him out of first team football for two years. Gibbs, a defender who has been on squads in Germany and England as well as one year stint with Dallas in MLS is an experienced back worth taking a chance on. Gibbs is left footed and could provide cover on the outside for the weak Ante Jazic or even for the inconsistent Mike Randolph. Or Gibbs could be paired inside with Sean Franklin giving the Galaxy more athleticism on the back line. As far as I am concerned the Galaxy have to take the risk on Gibbs, a player whose injury history and probable high salary demands could scare other clubs away. Right now Los Angeles is more than likely to miss the MLS playoffs for the third consecutive season after making the playoffs in each of the league’s first ten years. For a club that continues to boast about mattering more than anyone in MLS, and aspiring to be a worldwide brand, a record like that is beyond laughable: it borders on criminal.

In other words, if the Galaxy are to be taken seriously for all their boasts this is the type of risk the organization must make.

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MLS Math: Does it Add Up?

I must admit despite the speculation I was mildly surprised by the news Carlos Ruiz has returned to the LA Galaxy. I understand that the Galaxy have Joe Cannon and Clint Mathis both off the books and that the three “DPs” (David Beckham, Carlos Ruiz and Landon Donovan) only count 400k each towards the approximately $2.2 million cap. But after the three DPs, Abel Xavier, Chris Klein and Chris Albright, I guesstimate the Galaxy has about $600,000 to pay the rest of the squad: 12 senior roster players including as many as five foreigners.

But as we have so often in the past the salary cap doesn’t seem to always make sense or according to some of the more cynical fans of non big market teams, the salary cap doesn’t apply to everyone. This allegation has most often been made about the Galaxy in the past and is sure to rear its ugly head again. This is especially true because conspiracy theorists, many of whom I speak to were convinced when Ruiz was exempted from the DP rule it was not being done for FC Dallas’ benefit but for the sake of the Galaxy.

Let me state I don’t know enough about the backroom deals and politics within MLS to truly understand whether rules really are bent for the Galaxy on a regular basis, but it does smell funny to me. I found it suspicious in past years when San Jose under AEG ownership used to make seemingly one sided trades with the Galaxy: trades that never seemed to be in the interest of the Earthquakes.

Whether or not their is foul play right now doesn’t matter. Considering the suspicions within the soccer community in the US that the Salary Cap and other squad rules don’t necessarily apply to the Galaxy, the trade of Carlos Ruiz for a classic undisclosed allocation, which is vocabulary I had hoped the MLS would stop using in reference to trades. This very term makes the league look very mickey mouse not only to the Eurosnobs but to its biggest supporters as well. If MLS seeks to change this reputation, it is imperative that the allocation system and salary structure receive some sunshine as we call it down here in Florida (open records, open books) to eliminate all suspicion and talk of conspiracies.

Gullit Links Big News for Galaxy

Well Alexi Lalas said he wanted a sexy name and if published reports are to be believed he got one. Ruud Gullit may not be the right manager for the Galaxy but he certainly has a name in the world of international football, which will create yet another publicity splash for a club so lacking in on field performance but with a Hollywood air to it.

Gullit's previous managerial stints have not ended well. At Chelsea he was sorely out of his league as a player but did well as a manager winning the FA Cup and having Chelsea in line to chase the Premier League title before being sacked after a dispute with Ken Bates. At Newcastle he in inherited a gutted from Kenny Dalglish (who had taken over a great team from Kevin Keagan) and didn't last very long. He clashed frequently with Alan Shearer and found himself sacked after less than a year in charge.

But Gullit is best remembered as a player. No offense to the current starlet in Los Angeles, but Gullit was a much more significant footballer on the world stage than David Beckham. Gullit was twice named world player of the year and was immensely versatile per the "Total Football" model Dutch teams employed at the time. By the time Gullit arrived at Chelsea after a long career in Italy and Holland his skills and quality had diminished but he was one of the first international footballers of note to play in England and if he comes to MLS he will be one of the first international managers of note since the early days of MLS (when several big name foreign managers graced our shores) to arrive stateside.

While MLS is clearly not at the level of the Premier League in sophistication of tactics and overall quality (but not technical ability which quite frankly was lacking in the Premiership throughout the 1990s, but has now caught up to the rest of Europe) managing in the United States will take some vetting. Firstly, managing travel in MLS is a monster for any manager coming from outside. Teams don't have chartered coaches to take short 200km journeys like they do in England. In MLS, teams fly cross country in economy class and often have shortened weeks. The fact that the Galaxy will not be participating in any international competitions next year is good for Gullit if he takes the job because that makes managing the travel less daunting. Secondly, most rank in file American players lack the tactical know how to play disciplined 90 minute football. This isn't meant as insult to our younger player but the reality is our emphasis in coaching youth soccer is very different from what is emphasized in Europe and Latin America. Thirdly, Gullit presumably faces a language barrier. I assume he does not know Spanish, but a good percentage of the players in MLS as well as the press who covers MLS speak Spanish as their native tongue. Knowing the language is essential for managing in most MLS markets.

Irrespective of these obstacles, if Gullit is hired the Galaxy would have made a very loud statement to the international football world about its place. Alexi Lalas would have also fulfilled his promise to make a "sexy" hire. Now the Galaxy need to begin playing like a football club and not a celebrity circus who acts as sacrificial lambs on every road trip to another MLS market.

Coaching Rumors Bizzare and Unrealistic

Steven Cohen of World Soccer Daily seems convinced that Steve McClaren is going to be next manager of the Los Angeles Galaxy. Why would McClaren who has the England job, albeit tenuously and managed Middlesbrough be interested in a second tier Major League Soccer job, a job that was ditched by Frank Yallop in order to take over an expansion team? I can point blank without any sources on the matter dismiss the talk of McClaren, Fabio Capello or any of the other sexy international names associated with the Galaxy job. At the same time I believe Red Bull New York who dismissed Bruce Arena on Monday, (the club was formerly know as the Metrostars) will not only end up with an accomplished international manager, but they could end up with someone whose name will blow your socks off.

These two jobs aren't comparable: The Galaxy face a multi year rebuilding effort and have taken on the persona of a traveling circus since David Beckham's arrival. The Galaxy have traded or in some cases given away the supporting talent that could have made Beckham successful in MLS. The Galaxy's best bet is to hire an accomplished assistant in MLS, a discarded Mexican League manager or let Alexi Lalas (if he has his coaching license) try his hand at the job. Again, the Galaxy are being viewed a joke across the globe, and David Beckham's continued curious behavior has many wondering if his legacy as a footballer and a man are being compromised by his strange and seemingly selfish behavior (thus very un-Beckham like) since moving to Los Angeles.

The Red Bulls on the other hand have a much more attractive situation. A new stadium and training facility opening next year with a marque striker in Juan Pablo Angel, and potentially an open DP slot with the option of dumping Claudio Reyna or engaging in a renegotiation with him into a non-DP type salary. With young starlets Jozy Altidore and Dane Richards as well as several other solid professionals, a new coach could make a run at an MLS Cup title next year with this squad. Besides, New York is the most cosmopolitan and international city in the US, and the second most cosmopolitan city in MLS behind Toronto.

New York has a history of attracting top international managers. Carlos Quieroz and Carlos Alberto Parriera both managed the Metrostars in the its early years and later Bora Milutinovic and Bob Bradley managed the club. Ironically the most successful New York manager has been the unheralded Octavio Zambrano.

But New York is an attractive job. Let me speculate about some possibilities:

Lothar Matthaeus:

The former Metrostars libero is now coaching the Red Bulls sister club in Austria. He loves New York and would fit the job like a glove.

Carlos Quieroz:

The former Metrostars manager is now Alex Ferguson's right hand man at Manchester United. With Fergie's implication that he'd like to manage a few more years, Queiroz may look to bail out and this would be a perfect opportunity


Roberto Donadoni:

The former Metrorstars player could be in trouble as Italy manager if the Azzuri lose to Scotland and do not qualify for Euro 2008.


Raymond Domenech:

France's World Cup finalist coach is in serious jeopardy of losing his job and Red Bull management may have a n easy big name target if he losses his job which is likely to happen even if France qualify for Euro 2008 through the back door.

Fabio Capello:

He's reported to have attracted previous interest from MLS and of course he was caught by the British press meeting with Sunil Gulati in London about consulting for the USSF.

Ricardo LaVolpe:

Former Mexico and Boca Juniors manager is tactically savvy and would probably relish the opportunity. Now managing Velez Sarsfield and is a bit of a long shot, but who knows?

Yallop Headed Back to San Jose

Frank Yallop's short troubled stint as manager of the Los Angeles Galaxy has ended according to SI.com. The website is reporting that Yallop agreed to return to the site of his greatest years as a manager in the Bay Area with the newly reformed Earthquakes franchise. This will end speculation that Dominic Kinnear, a longtime Bay Area resident and Yallop's successor as the manger of the Quakes, now the Houston Dynamo will leave the franchise this year.

Red Bull-Galaxy Live Blog

Jonathan Starling keeps us posted:

Pre-Match Thoughts: Well the big matches continue for LA and the big conundrum is will David Beckham get on the pitch? Do you want to mess with the confidence of this side right now by inserting Beckham back into the line up? Sure he's on the bench, but with the run this team is on, why bother? New York is already in the playoffs and the line up on the park looks that of spoiler. New York is playing it wise by keeping Mathis on the bench The one big question I have is why is Abel Xavier on the bench.Pre-Match: Nice to see Kobi Jones honored for his service to the Galaxy and to MLS. Also apologies for getting this up late...the EPL Talk Show started late.Minute 1: LA kick off and Landon Donovan has to do that kissing bit...STOP IT! Kyle Martino sails one well high.Minute 2: Angel denied from Joe Cannon. Angel takes the centering pass but Cannon was right there to deny Angel before he can get the shot off. The ball is out for a corner...Minute 3: That Stammler takes and LA partially clear. Stammler gets the ball on the edge of the eighteen and his ball into the far post is perfectly placed for Angel, but his shot goes just wide of the near post...he didn't miss by much.Minute 4: Richards does well to get by Randolph and his cross into the edge of the six is deflected out for a corner. Stammler takes and Parke misses the open header. The possession ends when Stammler miss touches the pass in.Minute 6: LA with some possession. However Parke prevents Jones from getting to the ball and New York clear. Minute 7: Free kick to New York off a hand ball. Wolyniec does well to force LA into conceding a corner. The corner is wasted when Freeman is baited into fouling Donovan. Minute 8: Parke mis handles Conway's pass. Martino does well to keep it in play, but no one is there to help and Conway safely collects. Minute 9: Richards gets down the wing, but Randolph holds his ground and LA get a goal kick. That match up appears to be the big one tonight.Minute 11: Richards does well to stay onside but he loses the ball and and concedes a free kick after fouling Ange Jazic. A bit of a dive but after the foul was given. Minute 13: Angel cuts through the defense, but it's Chris Klein who is there to stop the attack and clear it out for a throw.Minute 14: Pavon does well to deflect the ball out for a corner. Donovan takes and Altidore clears. Minute 15: GOAL LOS ANGELES. DONOVAN GETS THE BALL AFTER ALITDORE ONLY CLEARS TO THE TOP OF THE ATTACKING THIRD AND HIS CROSS TO THE FAR POS IS SIMPLY DEVINE. CONWAY IS TOO CLOSE TO THE NEAR POST AND IT'S TROY ROBERTS WHO HEADS THE BALL IN AT THE FAR POST. LOS ANGELES 1 NEW YORK 0.Minute 16: AND WE'RE TIED! OFF THE RESTART, VAN DEN BERGH GOES DOWN THE LEFT AND CROSSES IN. WOLYNIEC DOES WELL TO MAKE THE RUN NEAR POST AND IT GIVES JOZY ALTIDORE ALL THE SPACE IN THE WORLD TO HEAD IN FAR POST. LOS ANGELES 1 NEW YORK 1. Minute 17: Donovan off the restart goes just wide of the far post.
Minute 18: Richards tries the centering pass, but Roberts is there to clear it out for a throw in
Minute 19: Note to ESPN2...IF WE'RE WATCHING MLS WE DON'T CARE ABOUT AN UPSET ALERT IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL!
Minute 20: Donovan's shot is deflected out for a corner...that is cleared out from Parke for corner number 2...Minute 21: That corner is just poorly taken from Donovan and New York break...until Angel's pass is cut off . Minute 22: LA try a give an go with Carlos Pavon...the give was good...the go was just too long for Pavon to get to.
Johnathan says: Minute 23: Mendes stops Donovan in his tracks. The back pass fails Mendes and New York is lucky it's only a corner.Minute 24: Conway fists out the corner. Pavon on the ball back in cannot control the ball.
Minute 24: Conway fists out the corner. Pavon on the ball back in cannot control the ball. Off the goal kick, LA tries to break, but Pavon ends up offside.Minute 26: Donovan tries to find Pavon, but the ball is headed out. LA keep possession and Freeman blocks another LA shot towards goal.
Minute 28: New York earns a free kick after Altidore is fouled. Dave van den Bergh takes but Angel's volley isn't hit well and Cannon collects easily. The goal kick ends up out to touch for a New York throw
Minute 30: New York offside. Time to reflect on this first half hour. LA is starting to take control of this game after the first few minutes were controlled by New York.
Minute 32: Well we have to see Don Garber and not the action on the pitch...I know ESPN loves to do this, but it has to stop. If your going to do the interviews, put them up in the booth so we can see the game.
Minute 33: New York needs to stop the back passes, it is going to hurt them in the end. On the other end, New York fail on the cross and LA gets the free kick.
Minute 34: Nights like this make me wish I had a laptop. My head is already getting a knot in it. The ball is stuck in midfield hell right now.
Minute 35: Klein from the byline forces Conway into a parry save. LA keeps possession and until Roberts tries to go though Altidore and New York earns the throw in.
Minute 36: Jones with a couple of touches, but nothing comes from them.
Minute 37: Kyle Martino gives LA a free kick after he is taken to ground. They do nothing with it and now this game is starting to get bogged down in the midfield.
Minute 38: Donovan gets on the open run but the ball just makes it to Conway first. He clears for a throw in. Pavon ends up offsides to end their possession.
Minute 40: Wolyneic gets down the wing and finds Angel. He gets set after putting Randolph to the ground but puts his effort over the crossbar.
Minute 41: Martino gives LA another free kick. Donovan was offside though.
Minute 43: Jones with a good cross, Freeman with a better clearance. Martino ends up over the back and is called for the foul.
Minute 44: QUIT TALKING ABOUT THE DAMN ENGLAND QUALIFER!
Minute 45: Joe Cannon is forced to clear as Angel was rushing in on him. When will teams learn to quit with the back passes?

First half thoughts: Los Angeles survived a shaky opening 10 minutes and are starting to take the game to New York. Los Angeles though have to do a better job marking Angel as he will eventually put one of those chances in. LA will also be kicking themselves in the backside for giving up that equalizer so quickly after getting the opener. LA look poised to win this game in the second half, should they do a better job marking Angel and not leaving him with open chances. I wouldn't play Beckham right now. LA are pushing New York back enough with the 11 on the park right now. If Beckham is subbed, I hope he isn't subbed for Jones, to me that would be disgraceful.


2ND HALF

Minute 46: Conway does well to collect Martino's cross without parring the ball. Leitch is on but they said for whom too fast.

Minute 47: Leitch unable to keep the ball in an LA wins the corner...Donovan takes and takes it short. The far post effort is out for a goal kick

Minute 49: Donovan and Pavon are unable to link up. New York look very shaky right now. When I say that, Roberts has to block Angel's shot off the pass from Richards.

Minute 51: Richards does well to beet Freeman and Klein does better to clear.

Minute 52: Seth Stammler goes well high. Beckham is starting to warm up.

Minute 53: I would gladly trade Coke Zero for a Sobe No Fear right now.

Minute 54: Richards with a drive and Cannon does well to parry the ball out for a corner. The ball was going to end up in the side netting but wise to be sure. Pavon clears the corner.

Minute 55: Kyle Martino booked for his challenge on Hunter Freeman. Challenge was late, but Freeman made that look worse than it was. Cannon gets up and catches the free kick.

Minute 56: Donovan unable to link up with Pavon.

Minute 58: Martino out for Glinton. Wise sub.

Minute 60: Pavon offside...again.

Minute 61: Free kick for New York in a dangerous position. Angel gets the net...the side netting though.

Minute 62: Vagenas takes the ball in the midfield and and they end up getting the free kick when Randolph is fouled by Dane Richards...who rightfully gets the yellow card

Minute 63: The free kick ends up right in the hands of Conway

Minute 64: Oh my...Pavon just unable to get to Donovan's cross across the face of goal. That should have been 2-1 to LA. Conway was in no mans land and Pavon should have done everything to get to that ball. Now he's off for Edson Buddle.

Minute 65: Richards is down in the box and did Cannon get him? The replay shows that should have been a penalty. Horrible call from the referee and all those who will say this game is rigged will be out in full force should LA win this now. Should have been a penalty. Had Richards not gone to ground as easily as he did, the ref would have had no choice.

Minute 66: Conway denies Peter Vagenas. The centering pass was perfect...the save even better. The corner from Donovan is eventually cleared. Buddle was the man who should have got that ball.

Minute 67: Beckham will be LA's final sub...I give Yallop credit for gambling with attacking options, but they could easily be exposed at the back. Beckham coems on FOR PETER VAGENAS? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!

Minute 69: Beckham gives New York a free kick with his first challenge. Leitch takes the free kick and the ball ends up out for a corner when Altidore shot is blocked by Roberts.

Minute 70: Sinisa Ubiparipovic on John Wolyniec out. The corner ends up in the hands of Cannon.

Minute 71: Chris Klein just offside.

Minute 73: LA free kick and they look content playing the ball forward from the back...Conway gets the ball first though.

Minute 74: Beckham gets possession and Jones keeps the possession alive. Glinton though fails on the cross and New York clear.

Minute 76: Glinton's cross was to no one...but off Leitch for a corner kick

Minute 77: We all know who's taking this one. Beckham plays it to Tudela who's shot is parried out for a corner...that is out for corner number 3

Minute 78: Poor Beckham corner and New York clear...for the moment.

Minute 79: Los Angeles earn another corner kick, Beckham goes near post and his touch fails him. It's all Los Angeles right now.

Minute 80: Beckham finds Jones but Jones tries to do too much and New York end up with possession. Angel nearly got the ball to Richards on the diagonal run.

Minute 81: Jozy Altidore just unable to bend the ball under the crossbar...it bent once it went over the crossbar. This game is on a razor's edge and poised for one hell of a finish

Minute 83: Jones trying to go for one hell of a pass to Klein...and missed him by 5 yards

Minute 83: Troy Roberts denies Angel very well. Beckham unable to link up on the forward run and Conway collects.

Minute 85: Beckham's corner is cleared away and out for a New York throw in.

Minute 86: Pavon cuts away from Randolph. He fails to find Klein and New York counter. Altidore unable to keep the ball.

Minute 88: Buddle called for handball...New York free kick. New York wastes it, but Beckham's cross is blocked and New York clear

Minute 90: Freeman finds Angel. Freeman has a streamer thrown at him as New York earns a throw in.

Minute 90+1: Corner for New York...Ubiparipovic will take it and it's time to put the ball in the corner and keep it there.

Minute 90+2: Jozy oh so close just missing wide of the far post. LA blows it when Jones ended up offside and couldn't play the through ball intended for him. Conway plays it long but LA get it back...until Donovan tries to go over Mendes. Conway kicks it central and that's it.

Final Thoughts: Well LA are in with a shout...but the task just got harder. The mission...win against Blanco in Chicago. LA though had their chances, had the majority of the possession and in the second half closed down Angel extremely well. New York was content to try and counter but they were unable to do much with the ball. While LA had the majority of the possession, New York had the better scoring chances and in the end the 1-1 was a fair result.I would like to thank Kartik for posting this on the US Soccer Spot blog and hopefully soon on the MLS Talk Blog. I would also like to thank those who left comments on this blog tonight. Until we do this again, I'm Johnathan Starling. Thank you, good night, and remember feedback is always welcomed and appreciated!

Yallop Proving He's a First Class Coach

Three weeks ago many people including here on this site speculated aloud as to Frank Yallop's coaching future and whether or not he'd be able to motivate his last place Los Angeles Galaxy team for the remained of the MLS season.

Well guess what? Yallop and the Galaxy are on a roll, having won four games in a row and they are doing it Yallop's way. Let's look at the contributions of certain players who have found form at the right time.

• Joe Cannon

Many including myself questioned the decision to bring in Cannon. The last month he has been unbeatable except by the best strikers and right now is best goalkeeper in MLS.

• Kevin Harmse

The Canadian international is giving gritty performances and serving an important function as a ball winner.

• Chris Klein

He's found the Fountain of Youth and is making some spectacular runs down the flank.

• Cobi Jones

Simply put, Jones is still at 37 the Galaxy's most important player. He should reconsider his retirement.

• Gavin Glinton

The former Galaxy player who spent a long period in the USL looked woeful much of the year and I wondered aloud why he was even in MLS. Now, Glinton is a specialist coming off the bench late in matches providing the Galaxy with great runs and even better finishing.

Yallop now is comfortable with the personnel assembled by Alexi Lalas and is getting results. It would be a mistake to re-introduce David Beckham to this team with it playing so well and would be an even bigger mistake to sit either Klein or Jones for Beckham. We'll learn in the near future whether the football people or marketing people are in fact running the Galaxy.

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.

The Club of the Americas

Pachuca is the little club that could. Late last night in front of a sellout crowd at the Home Dept Center they one their fourth trophy in nine months as they defeated a disgracefully outclassed LA Galaxy side in a penalty shootout. Landon Donovan missed an opportunity to win the match for the Galaxy when his pk in the 5th round was saved by Miguel Calero. But the game shouldn't have been in doubt as Pachuca missed several chances to finish fairly easy opportunities in regulation. Joe Cannon again proved last night that the standard of MLS and American goalkeeping is far above that of let's say English goalkeeping with a performance for the ages. He alone kept the Galaxy in the match so that Chris Klein whose bicycle kick goal was a thing of beauty could even the match in second half stoppage time.

The Galaxy's loss further emphasized the point that the club has been gutted by inept player personnel decisions and that the circus surrounding David Beckham's arrival with the Galaxy has killed club. Beckham for his part played 28 minutes and was injured again. Now Beckham may have been a world class player for Manchester United and a slightly above average player for Real Madrid but in those places he had an enforcer who gave him cover in the midfield. Paul Scholes and Roy Keane played that role with United and with Real he had any number of talented and tough ball winners around him. What we have learned is with Beckham playing with a poor group of surrounding players, against much more accomplished teams like Pachuca.

Pachuca is one of the best clubs in the world that nobody in the European media seems to be aware of. A small city team, they have built a super club through an extensive network of scouting in Latin America and even through MLS rejects like Damian Alvarez. In all deference to Boca Juniors, I'd love to see Pachuca take on the best from Latin America and Europe. They are simply that good, and that special for as a small club they have broken the big club monopoly in Mexico and dominated the league recently.

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.

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.

Pachuca, LA Advance in Superliga

Pachuca has Chivas number. For third time in four months, the goats have been eliminated from a knock out competition by a much less glamorous and less well supported Pachuca club. Los Angeles without David Beckham won Group A after a 6-5 win at Pizza Hut Park versus FC Dallas. The game was marked by some classic finishing combined with sloppy defending and two teams playing for three points to try and advance to the knock out stages of Superliga. A true classic ended with the Galaxy winning and advancing.

Superliga Wrap

The inaugural Superliga Tournament once again gave us some great action Saturday Night as FC Dallas was unfortunate to draw with Pachuca. Clarence Goodson appeared to give the Hoops a one to nill lead right before halftime but the goal was incorrectly judged offsides by the official. After Carlos Ruiz did score a goal to put FCD ahead 1-0, the Hoops conceded a penalty which Pachuca converted to draw level. Dallas had several chances down the stretch to win the match but failed to convert. Now sitting on two points, third in the group, Dallas needs to defeat Los Angeles in its final group game to advance. Dallas should feel hard done once again: They should have beat Chivas if not for a missed hand ball call on the Guadalajara goal, and now another controversial draw. Nonetheless, I believe Dallas has shown themselves already to be the class of Group A, even if they are currently in serious jeopardy of not advancing.

In the second match a disappointing crowd of just over 37,000 (some reports had claimed as many as 70,000 would show) saw Chivas of Guadalajara dominate the outclassed David Beckham less Galaxy. Joe Cannon had another solid game between the posts for the Galaxy single handidly keeping LA even at halftime. In the second half, Francisco Rodriguez put Chivas ahead, and sensing a tired and outclassed LA squad, Jose Manual De La Torre saw an opportunity to bring Omar Bravo off the bench and get him some playing time. Bravo, who played in both the Gold Cup and Copa America for Mexico was held out of the first Superliga match in order to give him some break time. Bravo scored a wonderful counter-attacking goal in the 82nd minute, after Carlos Pavon of LA had mishit two headers that could have equalised the match. Landon Donovan scored a spectacular goal late but it wasn't enough. David Beckham was in the match squad and available but was never called upon. Even more curious was that Cobi Jones who singley changed LA's stalemate with Pachuca in the first group match was left on the bench while Frank Yallop opted to bring on Edson Buddle and Gavin Glinton late. For my money, Cobi Jones even at 37 is five times the player either of those two subs that were used will ever be, and Yallop's decision making has to be questioned. In addition, after announcing David Beckham would be held out of the match due to his injury, why was he dressed and availible? Was Yallop anticipating a late free kick to win or equalize the match and just wanted him availible for such an occasion?

NOTES

• It appears Freddy Adu's time in MLS has ended. He wasn't in the lineup tonight for Real Salt Lake and the Washington Post and ESPN report he is on his way to Portugal to meet with Benfica club officials.
• Tomorrow night's DC United vs Club America clash is a virtual elimination game in Superliga. Surprising considering these are the two most decorated clubs in their respective leagues both domestically and internationally. But Moriela and Houston both outclassed their opponents in the first match.

Superliga: Night Two

Well my predictions about this competition at least to this point look laughable. Pachuca my pick to win the Superliga controlled the match versus L.A. Galaxy but some fantastic individual play by Landon Donovan and Cobi Jones cost them the game. Then last night, DC United the team I picked to face Pachuca in the August 29th final struggled at home and finally ended in a draw with 10 man Moriela. Recall, that I said that both Moriela and the LA Galaxy did not belong in this event and that both had been included solely for marketing purposes.

Match two last night had a great atmosphere at Robertson Stadium as we saw Houston really take the match to Club America. A great piece of work from Stuart Holden set up an easy finish for Nate Jaqua, and Dwayne DeRossario and Joseph Ngwenya really frustrated Club America's defenders all night, capping off what was a dominant performance in a 1-0 victory. Eddie Robinson and Craig Waibel also deserve praise for an outstanding night for the Dynamo.

Superliga: Night One Wrap

Superliga is everything we hoped for and more. While the upset of the tournament has already taken place with Mexican Clausura Champion Pachuca defeated in a somewhat lackluster match 2-1 by the Los Angeles Galaxy (who just a week ago was referred to as a "pub team" by a leading English daily), the real fireworks took place in the intense high level match between Chivas Guadalajara and FC Dallas.The match had the feel of an international of some note, or at the very least a major club match between two old rivals. Both teams attacked early and often with many chances being created. FC Dallas' two top players, Captain Carlos Ruiz and MLS All Star Juan Toja were both playing very well, but it was Arturo Alvarez who scored a wonder goal to put the Hoops ahead 1-0 early in the second half. Sadly, minutes later Chivas equalized on a very controversial goal which should have been disallowed on a hand ball, but in fairness the FC Dallas players should not have stopped playing to try and sell the official on the call. Then minutes later a major fracas broke out as Drew Moor was decked in the face, but he retaliated and was seen by the official and sent off. Following this incident FC Dallas Captain Carlos Ruiz already carrying a yellow card was in the officials face and came close to be sent off. Towards the end of the match Ruiz went down easily in the box trying to draw a PK, which would have been a fair make up call for the illegitimate Chivas goal, but Ruiz didn't get the call. The match ended in a frenzy as Dallas down a man kept attacking and Chivas continued to pile on the pressure. The 1-1 result wasn't just for the Hoops but it does keep them alive in Group A, where the Galaxy's 3 points lead the group thanks in large part to some great play off the bench by Cobi Jones, who has made a career of frustrating Mexican clubs.

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.

Galaxy Lose Yet Again; RSL Crushes UEFA Cup Bound Everton

Another match, another loss for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Despite the red carpet, Hollywood setting and 19 ESPN cameras the Galaxy looked pedestrian in a 1-0 loss to Chelsea in front of a packed house at the Home Depot Center. The star attraction of the night David Beckham did not debut until minute 78, but his succesor as England captain, John Terry had already sealed the match for Chelsea in the 49th minute with a laser strike that beat Joe Cannon. As usual the Galaxy looked weak going forward but outstanding efforts from Cannon and former Liverpool and Everton defender Abel Xavier frustrated Chelsea all night. Nonetheless, the Galaxy effort was decent by any standard, but once again the Galaxy failed to convert chances when the match was on the line.

In the other friendly between MLS and EPL clubs Saturday Night, Everton was fortunate to have escaped Salt Lake City with only a 2-0 loss. I just got done watching this match on Tivo (I had not realized I actually recorded it until I got home from our EPL Talk get together for the Galaxy/Chelsea match), and really believe RSL (currently last in the MLS table) could have easilyscored five or six first half goals if not for some poor finishing. Carey Talley, a classic MLS veteran and recent Galaxy castoff Robbie Findley scored the two goals for RSL. What was most impressive the almost constant assault Real Salt Lake put American International keeper Tim Howard under during the first half. This attack led by Findley, who clearly the Galaxy could use did not look like one that has scored the least goals in MLS this season.

Andy Johnson who I am a big fan of for Everton seemed to be rusty in this match, but Toffee fans should be encouraged by the play of newcomer Phil Jagielka who frustrated the RSL reserves in the 2nd half with some excellent midfield play.

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.