Thread: Beckham - does anyone care?

Originally Posted by nki

Gotta love the myth that soccer is soft. Oh and there are hardly any helmets or pads here.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=QfUs_XB55IM

or boring...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=GWxHfmGKLlY

http://youtube.com/watch?v=P-bWsOK-h98

It's all fine if NA doesn't like it, just don't bash the sport and make stuff up. I don't like baseball either, but i won't make stuff up about it to support my claim.

Those videos prove nothing. Of course I only watched the first 30 seconds of each one. Sorry but that is all I could stomach.

Originally Posted by Gator Mike

We'll agree to disagree. I'm thinking a team like Houston would certainly hold their own against the likes of Watford.


...because he was hurt, not because he couldn't cut it. And let's not forget that it's very difficult for American players to qualify for work permits. There are probably only 15-20 guys who could even qualify for a work permit in England.


For every Juan Pablo Angel, there's a Shaun Bartlett, who went from the MetroStars' bench to a part-time starter for Charlton. Or a Steve Howey, who was one of the worst MLS defenders I've ever seen. Or a Lothar Matthaeus, who went straight from Bayern Munich's starting lineup to being a huge disappointment in New York.


Steve Nicol has won exactly nothing in MLS.

Congratulations, being just as good as Watford would get Houston relegated. I happen to have a long term view.

Teams like Watford are the LA Clippers equivalents. They develop or sign young talents on the cheap, move up and then get relegated because they can't afford or not willing to buy/sign/retain better players. The Clippers would have been relegated long ago had the NBA ran the same system.

Fair point on Bobby Convey. However, he, along with any MLS and American players have a long way to go before making an impact the way Tony Parker, Dirk Nowitski, Pau Gasol, and Yao Ming are in the NBA. There are not 4 American or MLS players who can make that kind of impact in the world of futbol.

And if there were, I'll bet you anything clubs would arrange for them to play in other leagues to get their EU permits before working in England. Inter Milan wanted to move Freddy Adu to Italy when he was 12 years old. Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and many Brazilians played in French Ligue one or the Bundesliga before moving on the big clubs.

There are other ways around it. i.e. Manchester United got their new signee, Anderson, an "exceptional talent" exemption from the British government.

Shaun Bartlett became a part time starter at another relegated club. I bet you were content with the fact that the LA Kings didn't finish last in the NHL.

Lothar Matheus was 39 when he joined the MetroStars. The MLS back in those days were *****. Only an idiot would expect anything from a 39 year old soccer player.

Steve Nicol led the New England Revolution to the MLS CUp title, and won Coach of the Year the same year.

Beckham wasn't brought in to sell soccer to the US.

He was brought in to sell Galaxy jerseys in the rest of the world and to bring international sponsorships to the league.

His play and now debatable skill are secondary.

Originally Posted by El Cochino

I couldn't give two ****s about Beckham... He is going to realize (like Gretzky did), in this market, he is a small fish in a HUGE pond.

I think you partially missed the point of why he came here. In Europe, he was EVERYWHERE. Tabloids and other media were all over him. But here, he can rub all the elbows with all the "right" people he wants and still be relatively anonymous. He wants to be the small fish in a huge pond. And he's still making millions doing it.

Originally Posted by redxalonso

Alexis Lalas is just trying to get more attention for the MLS. Any EPL teams on tour in America are in preseason form whereas MLS teams are in mid season form when they meet.

Actually, Lalas said he thought MLS could compete with the lower division / relegation teams, not actual Premiership teams -- 2nd and 3rd division. Whereas, as SBU said, 5-10 years ago the league was complete crap. He was making the point that the quality is rising and that brining in guys like Beckham will raise the league's level of play and credibility even higher.

Not officially announced YET but expansion is on the very near horizon. San Jose will be here in 2008 I have heard twqo more teams in 2009, Philly and Seattle or Portland. The addition of THREE teams in 2 years will dillute the talent pool, much like the NHL in the mid 90s. I fear we will see a dip the level of play

Originally Posted by SuxBeingU

Not officially announced YET but expansion is on the very near horizon. San Jose will be here in 2008 I have heard twqo more teams in 2009, Philly and Seattle or Portland. The addition of THREE teams in 2 years will dillute the talent pool, much like the NHL in the mid 90s. I fear we will see a dip the level of play

MLS should do the regulation/promotion thing like the rest of the world. It is the only way expansion can work.

Originally Posted by go

MLS should do the regulation/promotion thing like the rest of the world. It is the only way expansion can work.

While I agree how does MLS relegate the "star" team of MLS, LA Galaxy? they would be relegated this season if things don't change. this is exactly why it will not happen in the near future.
I would love for MLS to buy or merge with the USL and have a relegation/promotion relationship.

Originally Posted by darby27

Beckham wasn't brought in to sell soccer to the US.

He was brought in to sell Galaxy jerseys in the rest of the world and to bring international sponsorships to the league.

His play and now debatable skill are secondary.

Agreed Completely, I think he was brought in by Real Madrid for the same reasons, but I thought Becks was doing well recently with the national team. He had a resurgence of sorts. I'm anxious to see him play with the Galaxy.

Originally Posted by darby27

Beckham wasn't brought in to sell soccer to the US.

He was brought in to sell Galaxy jerseys in the rest of the world and to bring international sponsorships to the league.

His play and now debatable skill are secondary.



I think you partially missed the point of why he came here. In Europe, he was EVERYWHERE. Tabloids and other media were all over him. But here, he can rub all the elbows with all the "right" people he wants and still be relatively anonymous. He wants to be the small fish in a huge pond. And he's still making millions doing it.


Actually, Lalas said he thought MLS could compete with the lower division / relegation teams, not actual Premiership teams -- 2nd and 3rd division. Whereas, as SBU said, 5-10 years ago the league was complete crap. He was making the point that the quality is rising and that brining in guys like Beckham will raise the league's level of play and credibility even higher.

Beckham is not here to sell soccer to the US? What the hell do you think Galaxy jerseys stand for? Are you really that stupid?

The international sponsors he brings in are going to first make sure soccer sells in the US before they make an investment, and Beckham is in Los Angeles to do that.

I don't know where you got the story of Beckham is in LA to be a small fish in a big pond, but you are out of your mind if you think the A-Rod contract wasn't the main reason he came to LA.

Alexi Lalas said the MLS could compete with the Premiership.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/st...439873&cc=4716

"The fact that a segment of the world worships an inferior product in the Premiership is their business,'' Lalas said in an interview with The Guardian published Tuesday.

"In England, our league is considered second class, but I honestly believe if you took a helicopter and grabbed a bunch of MLS players and took them to the perceived best league in the world they wouldn't miss a beat and the fans wouldn't notice any drop in quality.''



Stop making **** up.

Originally Posted by Snape

Agreed Completely, I think he was brought in by Real Madrid for the same reasons, but I thought Becks was doing well recently with the national team. He had a resurgence of sorts. I'm anxious to see him play with the Galaxy.

So you don't know.

First, you need to watch some of his matches with Real Madrid, and then make a comment.