Ramblings of a Soccer Junky

I've moved.

2007-10-17T13:32:00.000-04:00

I’m not sure if it was a need for a change of scenery or if I just felt the neighborhood was better for my family, better schools or what, but my blog has now moved. Either way, I just got tired of Blogger. So, new name, new location...however, you’ll be happy (I hope) to know it’s still the rantings of the same degenerate soccer junkie.

You can now find me over here.

It's good to be a star playa....

2007-09-03T19:53:00.000-04:00

I sure made the wrong career choice. ;)

I'm sure any fine or suspension will be worth it.

Coming of age

2007-08-30T16:29:00.000-04:00

It's Midnight, my team is losing and not looking like they'll do anything except give up a couple more goals in the second half so rather than be a zombie the next day at work, I decide to go to bed. I guess I missed a good second half. Or at least a valiant effort. My Twitter on the right gives a taste of my thought process at the time.

What did we do before YouTube? Heck, a co-worker of mine came to my office to tell me he'd seen the highlights this morning on ESPN. It's sure not 1996 any more.

So, LA lost. I'll be willing to bet there weren't many who gave them much chance of winning any silverware. But, the team came back and played well from what I read. It's not the opponent was an average team...this was a Mexican team which has been winning every piece of silverware in site. The best team in CONCACAF.

But the thing which hit me the most was the fact that LA fans, the ones who have been with the team long before Beckham thought about heading to the New World, are heart broken yet proud of their boys at this loss. It's taken twelve years but that's the type of passion the league has been needing and it's coming around.

So, the season is virtually over for LA. The best bet now is to focus on next season. Rest Beckham for as long as he need to be fully fit. If McClaren wants him, so be it. But give him plenty of rest so he'll be 100% next season. Look at some of the youngsters and, heck, see if Cobi is willing to make one more tour. I know he has it in his legs if he really wants it.

Personally, I don't blame Lalas or Yallop for the failure of the team this season. Lalas is simply a puppet and Yallop an employee who hasn't had all the tools all the time to get the job done correctly. The blame rests with the money whores who own the team. Everything about this season was done to maximize the return on their investment in Beckham. Ok, they should at least break even, but it seems to me at this point they are getting that and more...much more. Of course, because of the salary cap we won't be seeing any of that applied to the talent on the pitch...so, why ruin the team buy continuing this tactic? call Vancouver and Minnesota and reschedule their friendlies for next spring. Give injured players (in addition to Beckham) time off to heal. Let the youngsters gain some experience.

Of course, AEG still calls the shots and, well, I'm not too confident about things at this point.

So, let's see if LA can build on this performance and get a good result in the Wooden Spoon Derby this weekend.

Too funny to not share

2007-08-08T08:27:00.000-04:00

I'll probably stop laughing some time this afternoon.

I'm sure it was a recipe of hers.

Norwich players laid low after barbecue

Times Online and Agencies
Four Norwich City players were among 30 people taken ill following a barbecue at the club’s training ground, it emerged today. Delia Smith, the celebrity chef, is a director of the club but sources said outside contractors were employed to lay on the food to allow staff at Delia’s Catering Company to enjoy the event.
A statement from the club read: “City today confirmed a number of its staff, including four senior professional players, have been taken ill following a social event on Sunday.
“Players, staff and their families attended an annual informal summer event at the club’s Colney training centre, following which approximately 30 people who were at the event have suffered symptoms including sickness and diarrhoea.”

...and still my wife wonders why I won't allow her cookbooks in our house.

The Jocks may have got something right

2007-08-02T12:19:00.000-04:00

SPL refs will now be able to review match tapes and issue cards to those who cheat--ie dive. I've been saying this is needed for some time. It'll be interesting to see how it works out.

The only downside is if the refs become too dependent on the replays. Say a player dives and the ref is pretty sure it was a dive needing a yellow. Is it possible he doesn't give the card then and prefer to be 100% certain after watching the tape before booking the player.

Only time will tell. Hopefully this does work and players think twice about cheating to gain an advantage.

Sorry, but the guy with the sign is an idiot

2007-08-01T16:06:00.001-04:00

It's a sporting event. Players get injured. Just cuz you bought a ticket, doesn't mean that player won't get injured. Don't you think Yallop would have preferred to have Beckham's experience and poise on the pitch last night? They sure could have used it.

Of course, I've been saying for years that the league should be promoting teams rather than players. If you're a regular reader of my blog, I'm sure you've heard it before. But the bottom line is, players come and go...but the team (unless they are in Florida or No Cal) are there forever. We as fans cheer for the team colors (whatever they are this month) and not the players.

Think of it this way. If Dallas hadn't made such a big deal about this match being Beckham's one 'appearance' in Dallas this year, they wouldn't have had to make the special offer to appease unhappy fans.

Remember, pimp the player match ups seems to be the credo of MLS marketing. Anyone remember how silly that was during the WC last summer?

But what do I know? I'm just a fan who wants to see things run right. After all, it's not my money on the line...just my entertainment...for which I do spend my hard earned money on.

Oh, and speaking of idiots, it seem the Brit media doesn't know the difference between LA and Dallas fans. If the guy is wearing a Dallas jersey, why would the print that he's an LA fan? Jeez, when I lived in England, the education system was pretty good. Guess things have gone downhill the last 20 years.

Defence was more a theory than a practice

2007-08-01T01:13:00.000-04:00

What the heck was that? Think about it, you score 4 goals in the first 20 minutes of a game on the road and still struggle to win? C'mon now, that was just crazy. Sure, it was entertaining but it was poorly played at the back for both teams.

In the half-a-day or so since the match ended, I've read everything from, "it was the greatest MLS match ever," even though it wasn't an MLS match to," it was a sloppy mess and proof MLS is crap." Now, I'm not going to take either of those extremes...hey, I'm a moderate politically so why can't I be one here as well? But the match certainly touched on both ends on the spectrum.

I'm sure those Dallas fans who showed up at PHP for the first time expecting to see that English guy were disappointed at first but had to have enjoyed the wild ride...and, hopefully, will be even more determined to use that discount they were offered for when the Becks Circus really does come to town.

Now, I've used the baseball no-hitter analogy on numerous occations when confronted with the low-scoring argument from those who don't care for the sport. I guess you can use the other extreme after last night. Those high-scoring slug fests (with or without Bonds juice) are usually brought about by poor pitching. If baseball fans enjoy it, cool. Personlly, I've a hunch it's usually one pitch who's having an off night and one teams builds a huge lead and everyone (well, they do in LA) heads for the exits. Last night, both backlines just fell asleep. I remember the last time LA lit up the scoreboard in Dallas. Harut Karapetyan (had to look the spelling of his name up cuz it's been a while...I got it right first time) put three past Dallas in 5 minutes in 1998 on the way to an 8-1 for the good guys. It could have been worse as the game was stopped early cuz a storm was on the way or the ref decided the mercy rule was needed or something. My point is, that afternoon, LA did all the scoring and Dallas....well, they didn't.

Anyway, now LA have another match to add to their already busy schedule. Looks like it'll be at the HDC as well. Will the new pitch have taken hold by then or will it tear apart and injure Becks again? Of course, if LA are playing Morelia, they may just play the match at the Q. Why not? Another town for the Beckham Circus to hit.

One other point. Landon's goal celebration was silly and probably unnecessary, but he is an emotional player and I wouldn't wanna stifle that. Bottom line, it could have been worse.

Ok, enough of that. The match was an anomaly and LA were fortunate to get through it.

So, now LA return home for a couple days before heading to the Great White North for the first time. No one knows If Becks will be involved. Personally, if he does play on their plastic turf, it'll be as a sub late in the match...where have we seen that before? Well, the same TV network will be in attandance.

Now, the fans up there have already had fun with a recent big name import.

We'll see if they can come up with something different if Becks gets to take a corner.

It looks like the move north hasn't changed the method of operation for the Jamacian Hatchet.

"TFC defender Tyrone Marshall, who started the season with L.A. before being traded to TFC in June, is hoping to see Beckham on the field.

"I'm definitely going to get over there and get a hit on him. For sure," Marshall said.

"That's my first priority. I'm going to welcome him to the league, and welcome him to Canada."

Nice to see the higher tax rate hasn't mellowed him out.

Well, that's enough for now. Tune in next wee....ah, never mind. Next week is sumer session finals. I'll be lucky if I find some time.

Sorry I didn't post this sooner

2007-07-21T00:50:00.000-04:00

I was on Beckham overload at the time...ok, I still overloaded. Anyway, here's a nice piece from a Sports Business News writer on whatshisname and MLS.

Beckham, Baseball, All-Stars and.....yawn....

2007-07-20T13:05:00.000-04:00

I've been defending MLS and US soccer for....well, a heck of a long time. I've defended it against Euros who still seem to think we'll make the goals bigger, play four quarters and so on. I've defended the sport against Americans who insist soccer is slow and boring--while watching a baseball game. However, the insanity of MLS/AEG reached new levels as I watch the Spiced Savior tell Rob Stone he'll probably not be playing against Chelsea while reading the scroll at the bottom of the screen claim an "insider" saying he would.

Ok, here's the deal. Saturday's match is a meaningless friendly. If you put Becks on the pitch (even more the final 10 minutes of garbage time) you stand the chance of him injuring himself worse and perhaps not have him available when the season continues (or starts considering the number of games LA has played thus far this summer)

While I'm on the subject...MLS can't take a break for the World Cup, Gold Cup, Copa America but they can have a couple of teams basically take a month off to play a bunch of friendlies. Heck LA have played a lot fewer matches than the rest of the league yet MLS was able to create a schedule which will allow them to catch up in three months.

Please guys. Give me the sport without all the optional extras. For the $400k of cap space being used to bring Beckham to LA, you could get 2 or 3 quality players...at least better than the supporting cast of rookies Beckham currently has.

If you want sports fans on both sides of the Atlantic to take MLS seriously, perhaps the league itself should do so first.

Nope, I think I'll just become a fan in hiding. I'll watch games in my new Beckham jersey from the safety of my reclier and no longer will I explain the Cobi Jones bobblehead doll I have on my desk to my co-workers. Heck, it's now in my desk drawer. No wonder even the few Metro...errr RBNY fans there were are disappearing.

...And I didn't even mention the red-headed GM/President.

Probably the last Tank

2007-07-14T08:41:00.001-04:00

Like I said a few days ago. Being the topic of this cartoon strip has to be a sign that Becks arrival goes beyond anything else the league/sport has seen so far.

My thoughts on the Beckham Press Conference

2007-07-13T15:37:00.001-04:00

After watching the 'event' I came away with one burning question.

Why does every event have to have a confetti canon?

More from Tank

2007-07-13T09:32:00.001-04:00

With all the silly media hype available everywhere you look right now (they even had news of his arrival in LA on the local morning news here) these silly Tank cartoons are a nice change and probably more accurate than 90% of the British Tabloid reports.

More Tank

2007-07-12T07:44:00.001-04:00

Paul Anka? Well, I guess it would be a change from some teenybopper group.

Becks to LA good for England?

2007-07-11T23:40:00.000-04:00

By the time he heads to Moscow, Becks could have played as many as three matches on the stuff. In typical England fashion, the media will completely over react to the surface and after the match the players will say it was no big deal.

The big time

2007-07-11T19:39:00.000-04:00

I haven't read Tank in years...well, not on a regular basis. But I'm glad I stumbled on this.

If this isn't a sign that the mainstream media is paying attention, I don't know what is. I'll be sure to check the rest of the week.

Yallop vs Lalas

2007-07-10T13:46:00.000-04:00

I've been hearing rumors to the effect that Lalas and Yallop aren't exactly BFFs. It seems a lot of the recent trades (many of which I still don't understand) are all the work of the ginger one. Now I'm finally hearing about it from a reliable source.

If you want my opinion--well, your reading my blog so your gonna get it--dump Lalas before he does much more damage to the team. My problem isn't what he's been saying to the British press--I actually enjoy the way he winds them up--it's with his player/coach management. He doesn't exactly have the best record there.

However, I'm sure AEG will see things different. What do I know?

As Ives said, don't expect anything soon...but it's gonna by playoffs or bust time once Spice Balls arrives.

I said I wasn't going to...

2007-07-10T09:17:00.000-04:00

....but I'll be wearing this shirt pretty soon. I've talked about wearing old Galaxy shirts all the time as proof I'm not some bandwagon Becks fan. But to be honest, I hope the all white (with blue and gold trim) is what LA will be wearing on a permanent basis...like after Becks retires.

And don't forget, Vicky B's TV show is on next week.

Those kids can play

2007-07-04T07:53:00.001-04:00

Freddy Adu and the boys drop the hammer on Poland. Some sweet goals.

All the fire power on assignment in Canada. Maybe Bradley could use a couple of the kids in Venezuela.

Ah the memories

2007-06-30T08:14:00.000-04:00

It seems like it was a million years ago. Yeah, we won the double since then but this one was sweet.

BTW, I still think those are the best jerseys the team has worn...but they are changing again next month.

A letter

2007-06-25T09:30:00.000-04:00

Dear Hugo,

Thank you for all your advice on how to run the team. You really know what you're doing.

Your friend,

Ricardo LaVolpe

Interesting move

2007-06-13T15:00:00.000-04:00

At first I was excited to see Yallops latest gamble was to bring Edson Buddle to LA. But then I noticed he was giving up Tyrone Marshall to do so. Further thought leaves me thinking the backline isn't the problem as much as LAs lack of goals. After all, isn't Abel Xavier already in town waiting for his work permit?

This should be a good move. Alan Gordon and Nate Jaqua shouldn't be planning a long-term stay in LA at this point.

If he wasn't injured, would Chris Albright be packing his bags? Tyrone has plenty of time to pack and get his move in order though.

On the flip side, Toronto are getting one of the best central defenders in the league. their defence just improved dramatically.

Beckham Rules

2007-06-12T12:30:00.000-04:00

I've been too busy to write (or even watch) much lately. However, I saw this and had to share.

Nice one Dave. Thanks.

'cuz Ipswich are the greatest football team

2007-06-07T08:44:00.000-04:00

Just stumbled across this great photo compilation. Brought back a bunch of memories. I can still recognize all those players from the 70's/80's. Guess you don't forget the good stuff.

Greatest small club in the world. Here's hoping for a return to the Premiership next season.

Can someone help me out here?

2007-06-01T01:19:00.000-04:00

It's Thursday evening. I got lil' PZ to bed and figured I'd check out what game is on the deuce (does anyone still call it that?) tonight. Nothing.

The only explanation I could come up with was it violated some "only one US soccer even per week" rule or something as they are showing the US-China game this weekend. OK, whatever. I can deal with no game tonight.

So, I decide to get prepared. What's going on next week? OK, who's the Einstein who scheduled the Houston - Colorado game at the same time as the Guatemala Gold Cup game? Seriously, everyone wonders why TV ratings aren't doing better then the decision makers pull gaffs like this. It's no wonder the sport isn't doing better in this country.

Another good move

2007-05-31T09:41:00.000-04:00

First it was Chelsea with a YouTube site. Then the EPL decided to sue YouTube (I'm still not sure what they hope to accomplish) and now MLS has created their own YouTube site.

It's a great move in my opinion. YouTube is a very popular source of video sharing. Anyone with an internet connection (as long as they aren't serving in the US Military in Iraq or Afghanistan) can now access the latest goals. Hopefully the programing will expand.

My only question is, why did it take so long?

More football?

2007-05-31T08:27:00.000-04:00

This should sound a bit familiar to MLS fans.

According to U.F.L. executives, Nocera reports, the new league will emulate the old American Football League – one of whose major characteristics was revenue sharing. Each owner will put up $30 million, worth a half-interest in a team; the league will own the other half. Eventually, the plan envisions that fans will become stakeholders – because each team will sell shares to the public to raise an average of $60 million per franchise. Public ownership will reduce the pricing pressure on the teams, resulting in cheaper tickets all around.

Officials are convinced they can land decent players from the get-go, and better players later on. “The U.F.L. will be able to offer most rookies, who aren’t top draft choices, far more money than the N.F.L. would give them,” Nocera writes.

Darn media

2007-05-29T12:57:00.000-04:00

I recently lived in Colorado Springs for a year. One of the most frustrating things about living in "The Springs" was that the local paper had next to zero MLS coverage. Yeah, they'd have the occasional AP article about the Rapids (only an hour drive away) when they were at home. That was pretty much it. So, I was amused to read this in the Gazette.

OK, they did have a reporter at most of the local PDL teams home games and they did have someone cover the national team when they had a camp at the Air Force Academy so they weren’t as bad as the paper where I live now. Not a single MLS article (though the World Cup coverage was not bad) that I’ve seen even though I’m only an hour from Bridgeview.

Oh well, at least some progress is being made.

Losing Donovan for the next month is bad enough

2007-05-29T12:17:00.000-04:00

Those who have read my blog or my posts on BigSoccer for a while will know that I feel pretty strongly that MLS should not by playing matches on dates set aside by FIFA as International Dates. So far, no one has paid any attention to this bloggers opinion. However, the British media (ya gotta love them) have managed to create several stories related to this.

It started off positive enough. Becks has played well the last 5 months and done well enough to be considered for a recall to the England squad for a couple of matches next week. Of course, the fact that England have played like crap since McClaren took over I’m sure helped.

Now, that’s great news for LA Galaxy and MLS right? Heck, Alexi Lalas even said, "Ultimately, we look at it as a statement on the Galaxy. The fact we have a player who's been called into the English national team says a lot about who he is. We couldn't be happier for him."

Of course, all this does have its downside. Ya see, MLS and AEG (and, of course, the Galaxy) are making a mint off the signing of Beckham already. Wouldn’t it suck if he missed a few matches which sold out based on the fact that Becks would be in Green and Gold--or whatever the new colors are going to be when Becks dons the colors?

Lalas spoke with BBC Radio 5 a few days ago. In that interview, he basically said what managers like Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger say when their players are called up for meaningless friendlys in Africa or somewhere which isn’t around the corner. We’d rather he didn’t go, but it’s ultimately up to him. Or at least that’s the paraphrase I got out of it. That sounds reasonable enough. It seems t be that international coaches usually talk with club managers and try to work something out that works for everyone involved.

Now the British hacks (gotta love ‘em) started “finding” all kinds of interesting stories. The Daily Mail seems to think he could go to Newcastle (or Spurs, or Everton or Blackburn) on a three-month loan. No need for a vacation or rest or anything. Of course, the article is pure speculation. There are no real quotes from anyone involved. But sometimes fiction sells more papers.

So, back to the first point, Beckham being recalled for England. It seems someone in the British media decided to go to FIFA and get a quote from them about Lalas preventing Becks from joining England for games this fall.

"The same rules apply for everybody," a FIFA spokesman said. "For all national associations, for any club, for any player.

"Players must be released for friendly or competitive games if they are on the international calendar and the required notice is given.

"The only difference in competitive and friendly games is regarding the time frames. All players are equal."

Like I said above, it's no different than anyone else. I still don’t think Alexi ever said he wouldn’t let Becks join England. He simply shared his frustration at the business issue this creates for him.

So, what are the matches in question?

England		LA Galaxy
9/8/07	Israel	9/8/07	Colorado
9/12/07	Russia	9/13/07	@ Chivas
10/13/07	Estonia	10/13/07	Toronto
10/17/07	@ Russia	10/18/07	New York
11/21/07	Croatia	11/21/07	MLS Cup Final

All the matches are at the HDC so that shouldn’t be a huge problem…well, except for the Cup Final.

So, back to my first point, why does MLS still schedule matches (especially the MLS Cup Final) on International weekends? They used to say it was because of stadium availability. Honestly, I’m having a difficult time believing that one now that over half the teams now have their own stadiums…and that percentage is growing. Of course, events like the X-Games get to bump matches, but that’s another topic.

MLS/AEG has no one but themselves to blame here. They over promoted and over promised with Becks just like everyone did when Freddy Adu joined the league. When will they learn?

Of course, they weren’t as outrageous as Harrisburg, but that’s a whole new level…guess it work, they sold the match out. Anyone know when the 3^rd draw is?

Just one last thought, at the start of the season in 1999, LA were performing poorly. My belief at that time (well, still) was that coach Octavio Zambrano was putting together a team which was built around Luis Hernandez who wasn’t arriving for a couple of months. Before Hernandez could show up (we know the story there) Zambrano was replaced by Sigi Schmid.

I hope Frank Yallop isn’t counting on Beckham's arrival improving LA that dramatically. Otherwise, McClaren won’t need to worry about Lalas wanting to keep Golden Balls when they face Croatia. But wouldn’t it be what MLS deserve, if LA makes the MLS Cup final and not being able to have the leagues most influential player cuz he has to play a match in London the same day. C’mon on Garber, you are still running MLS like it’s a second-tier league. Forget about NFL, NBA etc. You should focus more on other soccer leagues and schedule appropriately. Otherwise, you be creating more messes.

Told ya so....

2007-05-27T06:48:00.001-04:00

I always said including Herc in the deal to get Cannon would come back to haunt us Galaxy fans.

Galaxy Locker Room

2007-05-24T12:29:00.000-04:00

Sounds about right.

Thanks for the laugh Longshoe.

Rent-a-fan???

2007-05-23T13:27:00.001-04:00

Perhaps Red Bull should take note.

I'm resisting a rant

2007-05-22T13:49:00.000-04:00

Another meaningless mid-season payday for LA.

The whoring of the team is going to cost them by the playoffs. it's all well and good that LAG and AEG are raking in the money needed to sign Beckham...however, what good is it if the team misses the playoffs again?

So, for the 1,638th time, put a team on the field which will win consistently, and the fans will show up. How much longer until AEG have gone to this well too many times?

We're #4!!!???

2007-05-22T13:27:00.000-04:00

It wasn't that long ago that I followed the NHL. I've attended more than a few Kings games at Staples Center, I'd catch games on TV when it's on and I usually know whats going on in the playoffs. This season, even though I'm a marginal fan, I've about as much of a clue whats going on in the battle for Lord Stanley's Cup as I do about the NBA playoffs...and I have zero interest in the NBA.

The last few years have been tough on the NHL. They expanded quickly...too quickly. They had a sweet TV deal which is now a thing of the past and they seem to be fighting to maintain their foothold in most of the US. Currently, the national TV deal they have is with VERSUS...a channel I only watch in July--Tour de France. Unless you are a big fan, chances are you haven't seen much NHL on TV this winter.

Even with all that, it seems things have reached an all-time low. For all the complaining posters on BigSoccer have done over the years about games being delayed or preempted for other events, ESPN hasn't done anything like this to any MLS game for a long time.

Some interesting points from the blog post I liked to above.

Several months back the NHL and NBC agreed to an over-the-air network extension along terms that where similar to the current – no money down, pay as we want to agreement (Call it what it is – community theatre – we’ll pass the hat around revenue generating plan).

Mmm....kinda makes the time-buy coverage MLS used to have look a little better.

Television ratings for Game 7 of this year’s Stanley Cup finals dropped 21 percent from the final game of the National Hockey League's last championship series two years ago.

Ouch!

By comparison, the first game played by the United States in the World Cup soccer tournament was a much bigger ratings hit. The June 12, 3-0 loss by the U.S. team to the Czech Republic earned a 2.4 cable rating on ESPN2, which translates to 2.14 million viewers. What made it more impressive is that the game was played at noon Eastern Time on a Monday, when many people are at work.

Which I'm betting is a large part of the reason why MLS is now getting paid for their content.

Amazing as it may seem, Red Wings and Ducks 40 percent of the homes in Detroit and Anaheim respectively have been unable to access Versus and therefore watch their teams pursuit of Lord Stanley – par for the course for the Tier II National Hockey League. And for the NHL – you reap what you sow – the only real issue who needs to be held accountable for the shame the NHL is saddled with as the league gets ready to host its championship.

It really seems like NHL has made some very poor decisions and are heading in the wrong direction. I've a feeling contraction (remember when MLS got rid of Florida?) isn't too far away.

Of course, even if MLS were considered now more popular than NHL, that's still not saying to much considering the current situation the NHL is in. But it's still a step in the right direction for MLS and soccer.

We should have seen this coming

2007-05-21T22:43:00.000-04:00

Red Bull Stadium opening delayed 60-90 days.

Joost what we needed

2007-05-20T23:21:00.000-04:00

If you follow new things on the internet you may have heard of this start up called Joost. Basically, it's a sign of the direction TV will be going. You download their software and you can watch one of about 50 (I haven't counted them...but the number keeps growing) channels. On of the current channels is US Soccer which has clips of relevant interviews. Well worth checking out for soccer fans.

Rumor has it that they are/have been/will be talking to MLS about adding content as well.

Now for the catch. It's still in beta and you hafta be invited. But, here's the good news, I can invite people. All I need is your email address and I can send you an invite to check it out. So, either email me or leave it in the comments below if you're interested.

Bunches of stuff...

2007-05-20T21:46:00.001-04:00

It's easy to tell myself, "Ah, I'll post that tomorrow," and then do the same thing the next day. It's easy to get well behind...much like school work. Anyway, I've got a little time so let's get caught up.

The MLSPU gave out a list of all the players salaries a couple weeks ago. Don Garber made some interesting comments about the difference in salaries. At the time, I thought they were a bit out of line. He's hardly comparing apples to apples here. The union then responded with a solid argument. There's no denying that the lower players are working for nothing. If nothing else, part of this can be addressed by giving those players under $30k a playing bonus of $1000 or something like that each time they play for the first team. However, the whole thing makes me think everyone is posturing for a new CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) which will need to be worked out sometime in the next 2 1/2 years.

What is it with all the investment by American Investors in British clubs? At least the ManUre style protests aren't involved of late. I thought the Glazier takeover would kill ManUre...sure didn't seem to hurt them this season. So close to the darn treble.

It's funny. I remember back in the 70's comparing the experience of going to Portman Road for an Ipswich game and to Jack Murphy Stadium (as it was then known) for Padre and Charger games and comparing how different the experiences were. Lately tough, the experience in England seems to becoming more Americanized. Corporate Boxes, better game concessions etc. are vast improvements in ways of generating income for teams in England. When ManUre and the Yankees announced their big marketing deal a few years ago I figured we'd see more cross over. We probably have and I just haven't been paying attention. But you'd have to think that with the advent of DVRs that American sports would want to find ways to market their sponsors in-game more. Give it time. There's money to be made all around. Just make sure you're willing to shell out the bucks as a consumer.

On a similar note, it looks like the G14 will soon be expanding. What a very American way of forming things...giving the clubs the power rather than a central governing body. Let the owners vote on decisions. Personally, I believe they will continue to bring in more teams until they are large enough for a league in each country and then will allow the top teams from the remaining leagues in each country to replace the bottom clubs in the big league. The champion will be decided by a competition run concurrently with the regular season made of of teams who finished well the previous season...not too unlike the current format we have. Actually, until Ipswich are invited, I could care less.

Amando Guevara is gone. Will his attitude be missed?

I hafta admit, as an LA fan, I'm happy to see Xavier heading to the HDC. He should shore up the backline very well...and I'm thinking his look/style will be right at home in LA. With all the extra matches LA will be playing the second half of the season, they need all the help they can get.

Yet another MLS team has their shirt sponsored by a company I've never heard of. Money is money I guess...and hey, maybe they'll get me as a customer if I ever need paint. At least they aren't some pyramid scheme.

OK...ten years ago I could see some big name playing in an All-Star game even if they don't play much (Luis Hernandez) but Beckham? C'mon. Then again, I never watch the All-Star game so who cares. Besides, the whole thing just reads like someone trying to create a story outta nothing...sounds like the British tabloids.

BMO Field is falling down, falling down, falling down...ok, that's not funny. With the speed it went up, I guess things like this could happen. Thankfully, it seems no one was hurt and everything has now been taken care of. I finally got to see a TFC game last week(?) and gotta admit, the seat cushion flinging was quite amusing.

I've know Dan Loney for several years (first met him at the MLS Cup Final in Columbus) and enjoy his writing a great deal. However, I'm not buying this scoop. Of course, I didn't believe he actually sez it's the "Galaxy" logo anywhere.

I guess it's a good thing for Chelsea they don't read the local Ipswich paper. I can't believe I paid $25 to watch that match. It wasn't that great IMO. I wish Chelsea had scored in the first half so things might have opened up more in the second half. Oh well, at least we got to see the new Wembley in action.

WooHoo...no PPV needed to watch the Copa America. I'm really glad it was GolTV who got the broadcast rights. I know they'll do a great job. Of course, ESPN will probably now wanna make sure they hold the rights next go 'round.

When Kreis announced his career change the other week, I knew it was just a matter of time before he was no longer #1. I know some are pointing out that a large number of Moreno's goals were spot kicks but he still finished them.

Wow, I got married in '03. We spent our honeymoon at resort just south of Playa Del Carmen--an hour south of Cancun. I remember talking with a couple of the guys who worked there about local teams (they'd noticed my Galaxy jersey--poor guys were Luis Hernandez fans--and I'd been hoping to see at least a lower league match if possible--if the wife allowed it) but their response was pretty negative. All the teams near them sucked (or words to that effect) They were all Chivas, America or Cruz Azul fans. Well, guess they have a team now. Actually, I'm thinking this is a good move. Getting away from the crowded Mexico City (sharing the massive Azteca) will help with a new identity for the team. Also, yeah, Cancun is a tourist spot (and an awesome one at that) but it's a rapidly growing city. if Atlante put down some roots, they should grow a decent fan base...and who knows. Beyond that, I now have added incentive to try and talk my wife into a Mexican vacation.

When did the Romario reaching 1000 goals jump the shark? Seriously, he's hardly even playing now. Yet, he's hanging onto the hope of reaching the mystic number. Why not wheel him on for a penalty in a meaningless match then sub him off after he takes the shot and hope it's all over. He was a great player in his day...but now it's just becoming a joke. UPDATE: Looks like he got it today. Too bad FIFA sez he needs another 71 though. He'll be playing with a walker if he's ever gotta get that many more.

Bored yet? Ok, I'll try and post more in the next couple of days.

Holy Kreis...what just happened?

2007-05-03T14:33:00.000-04:00

I'm a bit slow today...did this really just happen?

The MLS all-time leader in goals scored retires from playing and just takes over for the departing (forced out?) John Ellinger? Wow. Oh and the GM, Steve Pastorino looking for a new gig as well.

Well, something had to happen eventually. They can't go on as the worst team in the league forever...oh yeah, Toronto are now playing.

That Amando dude

2007-05-02T18:13:00.000-04:00

When Guevara was taken off by Preki on Saturday night, something just didn't seem right. I had wondered at the time if his move to LA wasn't working out as planned--much like his time in NY. Now it looks like my suspicions were right.

The guy is a talented player. Hopefully he'll do better in Toronto. It's good to see Nagamura heading back to LA...too bad it's with the goats.

UPDATE: Perhaps it's not happening. However, LA Soccer News is pretty reliable so I'm guessing it was negotiated and something put a stop to it. Either way, something is up with Guevara and Priki...I just know it.

Schools Out ...

2007-04-30T15:41:00.000-04:00

Finals are over (finally…well, I have to turn a paper in by tomorrow night, but it just needs to be proofed and it’s done) and I now have a little time before summer session starts to actually watch a little soccer. Man, has a bunch happened since I entered study hell.

Heck, where do I start? Ok, NY got themselves another Designated Player. I’ve always been a JPA fan so I can’t see how this won’t pay off for them. Heck, they already have the best record in the league-there’s a first. JPA should only help them on the pitch (which, as I always say, is what will eventually help things in the stands)

Ipswich is safe in the Championship for another season despite all the money problems at Portman Road. I have to laugh at the possibility of Leeds going down. I’ve always hated Leeds and this is…well, funny. Their fans didn’t help matters on Saturday. They should be docked points for their fans actions on Saturday. (See video...the quality isn’t the best, but you can see what the event looked like to traveling Town fans)

So, I actually got to see the SuperDuperClassico on Saturday night. Wow, Landon showed up to play. Nice one. Actually, I probably would have enjoyed the match as a neutral. One thing though, can someone please explain to me why LA (the home team) was wearing their road colors?

I commented on this before, but the Galaxy schedule is a joke. They’ve played 3 matches so far this season. It’ll be a couple weeks before they play another match. Then, they have all their matches jammed into the second half of the season (along with matches against Chelsea, Vancouver, and probably just about anyone willing to fork out a few bucks to have Beckham play. The good news is that they have 4 points from the 3 matches so far. I’m not going to hold my breath about the chances of making things happen this season. Heck, Yallop thinks the Open Cup is a cause of the team missing the playoffs last season…of course, I’ve always contended that if LA hadn’t won the Open Cup in ’06, they wouldn’t have won the MLS Cup…but what do I know?

Whose bright idea was it to have only last names on jerseys? Thankfully, it seems that matter has been resolved already.

Even one of my favorite writers isn’t he same. I never saw that one coming. All the best to Mike/Christine.

Well, that's all I can think of now. Hopefully I'll have more time this week to post.

Crazy Turks

2007-04-10T20:28:00.000-04:00

All systems go...

2007-04-07T20:54:00.000-04:00

The stadium looked good. Undersoil heating? That's not exactly a new concept. They've used it in England (and probably other places in Europe) for years. I enjoyed the game...but about 5 minutes after Kickoff, I had to mute the TV because, 1) my son was taking a nap and I didn't want him to wake and 2) I just could not stand listening to the drivel O'Brien and Foudy were spouting. Any chance they could just forget about commentators and leave us with just the crowd sounds?

Was that really EPL highlights at HT? Wow. Not one snide comment either. Times are changing.

Still, it was entertaining. Glad to see Herc get the first goal at the Dick. Yeah, LA got Cannon, but they gave up a lot to get him. I'm sure Herc will score a bucketful this season. I've always been a fan of his. Fun to see DC get one back late in the game. It was cold...but not that cold. Granted, I don't live in Colorado anymore. But those temps shouldn't be enough to keep that many ticket buyers away...oh yeah, it was on ABC, never mind. ;)

I'm so glad the season has started. Only an hour til we see what FSC will offer.

D-Day (MLS Style)

2007-04-07T07:33:00.000-04:00

WooHoo!!! MLS season starts today. It's been a long winter (sure, it's still snowing here but it is Spring right?) of having to listen to Ipswich matches over the internet. The way Town have been performing, it's almost a good thing their season is almost over...mid-table obscurity, I guess it could be worse.

With the start of the season comes all the season preview pieces. Everyone is doing it. This season seems different. The media is all over the place...and it's almost all positive. Beckham, new stadiums, new team in a new country and those new TV deals all seem to have even mainstream hacks taking a closer look at the league/sport. I've a feeling there will be a lot of packed stadiums this weekend. My DVR is set and I'm ready to go.

MLS teams still have the same record against Mexican teams on the road. However, both DC and Houston put up great fights this week. Both the matches were exciting and what the Champs Cup needs. I just wish the seasons meshed better and we could something closer to UEFAs Champs League. Oh yeah, there's the SuperLiga. Um...after the battles we saw this week, do we really need the SuperLiga? Too bad CONCACAF runs the Champs Cup.

Oh Waldo, what have you done? Now, I have to admit, even before this was published, I have been agreeing with most of what Waldo's been saying of late. Yeah, every soccer fan in the country will agree with your comments about that Radio host. After 15 years of his little "Cloneopolis", you'd think he'd move on by now. About 10-15 years ago, I used to listen to Rome all the time. I always did disagree with his opinions on soccer. I'm certain it's all an act, Rome has entirely too many "takes" on soccer to not be actively following the sport. The reason I stopped listening to his show was because it really is too predictable. I'd check out ESPN.com, see what stories were in the news and know what he'd be saying during his show. Anyway, unfortunately, even Waldo's public apologies (Press Release, call into Rome's show) don't seem to be enough right now. He's not going to be enough. It seems he's not going to be in the booth for today's game. Foudy? See what you'd done Waldo. We-the MLS fans-now have to listen to her for 2 hours. Couldn't they have got Alan Hopkins to replace Waldo? Just had to ask. So, let me get this straight, Waldo insults a host and he's suspended, Rome insults a sport, those who play and follow it and he's applauded. Yeah, we've still got a long way to go. But, it's one more way the sport has got some media attention on the eve of the season, any publicity is good publicity...or, at least that's what they say. Of course, Rome knows how to play the sensational comment card.

Also, in the article about Waldo's suspension (thankfully it's only a suspension) there's this.

ESPN will add a superimposed graphic showing the offside line — like TV football's virtual first-and-10 line — and replays showing the speed of kicks. Off-air, the radar gun was tested during a recent game and found a Landon Donovan goal reached 92 mph.

ESPN asked to mike refs and goalies but didn't get the go-ahead for now. But it has the green light to ask permission for in-game talks on the sidelines, including with coaches.

To be honest. I don't have a problem with the "offside line" or the radar gun as long as they aren't cutting away from live action for too long. Putting a mike on the ref? I dunno. Maybe it'll work. However, those in-game interviews always suck. You can always tell the coach just wants to get the interruption over.

Actually, I'm more excited to see the coverage FSC are going to give the Chivas-Toronto match tonight. Pre AND post-game coverage. Now that's the right direction.

Now, I'm going away (I have a final exam in an hour anyway) and planning to relax and enjoy a could matches today and then tune into Sportscenter tonight to see if the new TV deal will actually get us some MLS highlights on there.

...and it's still three months until the Spice Crew arrive.

Just a quick 'hi'

2007-04-01T22:55:00.001-04:00

Haven't posted much lately cuz things have been a bit hectic chez PZ.But what's there been to post about besides a US game which shouldn't have been scheduled (I was reminded of non-league teams going for a 0-0 hoping for a replay at home to make a little extra coin....zzzzz)

Anyway, MLS starts next week. I've got my Tivo set and I may actually convince my wife to let me get the Direct Kick PPV package this year. However, there may be a few more excited sports fans this summer. That's a good thing.

How nice of Chicago to give me another reason to hate them. Tickets in LA and Chicago will be tough to find this summer. Maybe I'll get to watch on TV.

Anyway, that's it for now.

UPDATE: Ya know. I went to bed last night thinking about Chicago signing Blanco and have had a change of heart. Rather than hate them--I still don't care for Blanco--I'm now feeling sorry for them. I mean, the guy is 34, he's slower than just about any MLS defender and MLS refs aren't going to give him a ton of calls. Is that really the best Chicago could do with their DP slot? My money is on him blowing his top a few times this summer. I'm thinking he's gonna work out slightly better than Campos on the pitch and (hopefully) better at the ticket gate.

They're starting to get it....

2007-03-28T09:25:00.000-04:00

I haven't had the chance to be online much the last few days so when I saw this report about ESPN's new media blitz for the upcoming MLS season...well, I had to make the time.

But before I was able to post anything, I found that my buddy, Mr. Fish, had already tracked down the ads online. Check them out...they're as good as I'd hoped based on the earlier report. The ads are focused on attracting non-soccer fans. Anything to dispel the myths that the sport is just 22 guys kicking a ball around is a positive step...well, that's my opinion.

Ok, so it took a couple days (had to work on Sunday) but I finally got to see Sunday's game. I've read a ton of blog posts on it. Basically, all I have to say is that it was a good performance. Landon was in top form which I found interesting this early in the season...and the Interim Tag should be removed for Bradley's title soon. Oh, and his son surprised me with his performance too.

Add Portland to the list of potential expansion locations. I almost moved there a couple years ago.

Oh, back to my school work...

It's not quite the same kinda global brand I'd associate with CitiBank

2007-03-24T07:03:00.000-04:00

Until recently, I'd never heard of Herbalife. Heck, I've now heard of them but still don't really have a clue what they sell. Maybe that's why they are forking out all this money so people like me will buy their product. I dunno. I think I would have preferred to wear CitiBank on my chest. However, the money is good, though not what had been rumored a few weeks ago. Bottom line, they sealed the deal.

Now, I guess I can't really have too much of a beef on the Herbalife deal. I mean, back in my youth, I'd have probably jumped at the "Herb O' Life" name in a StickyGreen/420/KGB kinda way. But I'm grown up now (well, unless you ask my wife) and that type of thing doesn't bring quite the same humor. Well, I was a Beavis and Butthead addict as well....but I'm probably admitting more than I should.

Actually, I really shouldn't complain too much about the name of sponsors on shirts. Back in the early Nineties, Ipswich had a local company named Fisons as their sponsor. Why not? They are based in Ipswich (well, before they were bought out) and produced a product which was used in the area. However, when you realize that Fisons was a chemical company who produced fertilizer....well, it really was an invitation to rival fans to comment on how "shit" we were.

But money is money and as I'm not paying the bills, I guess I'll just have to shut up and advertise a company I know nothing about.

Which leads me to 2 final comments. 1) Herbalife is spending a lot of money to get their name out yet I really don't know much about them (nor do I have the desire to) I must not be in their target demographic. 2) They sure have a ton of cash available in their marketing budget...there's got to be a decent markup on their product.

UPDATE: My buddy Dan Loney has now caught me up to speed with his piece(s) on Herbalife. I kinda wish I hadn't read them now.

Let's go shopping

2007-03-21T12:36:00.000-04:00

So, Nike and US Soccer have released a new 3rd Jersey which the team will wear for the first time on Sunday. I can't say I'm really excited...then again, it's not awful either. It's just... I dunno. Pinstripes? Aren't they supposed to make you look slimmer or something? Better check the roster to see which players on the squad need the slimming agent.

teams. If it were my decision, I'd make sure next seasons jerseys are ready to be ordered for Christmas (or whatever gift giving event you celebrate that time of year). Heck, with only a few weeks until the new What I really don't understand is the timing. Why bring out a 3rd jersey now? Aren't 3rd jersey's supposed to be a merchandising tool to part fans from more of their hard earned cash? MLS and US Soccer always seem to release these at strange times. It's March now. Why didn't they release something four months ago before Christmas when parents/friends/spouses of soccer fans are looking for things the soccer fan in their lives would enjoy unwrapping? It's the same for MLSMLS season, has anyone seen the new jerseys available anywhere? Maybe I've been looking in the wrong places...heck, does anyone know what colors LA will be wearing, or are they going to change mid-season?

What do I know? I'm only a customer.

NOTE: Image used without the permission of US Soccer or Nike in case you are wondering.

And now...the end is near....

2007-03-20T07:48:00.000-04:00

I wish I could remember more about the match like who it was against and the result. However, I'm pretty sure it was in July of 2002 and it was against KC or Columbus or someone like that. LA lost a match at the Rose Bowl and just looked awful doing it. I watch the match from my seat in Sec 5 Row 13 (right on the halfway line...great seats) thinking it was going to be another disappointing playoffs.

The next day I read in the paper (I'm pretty sure it was in the LA Times) that once in the locker room after the match, Cobi Jones had written the words "PRIDE" on a chalk board and gave an impassioned speech to his teammates about having pride in their team, their teammates and the city they represent--or something like that. Either way, LA's season got back on track and finished with Cobi grabbing the MLS Cup and running across the field with it to share with the LA fans who had made the trip to Boston for the final. What a great leader.

We all knew this day was coming. Mr. Galaxy has announced his retirement.

I've followed Cobi's career pretty much since he first played for the US. We are the same age, about the same height, back then I had long hair as well and I played in and outside attacking roll. The differences, he was a good player...and I wished I was a good player.

I followed his unsuccessful season in Coventry as best I could. I knew he was in Rio with Vasco but could never find much information..probably cuz there wasn't any. When he signed with LA, I pretty much decided I'd be going to games at the Rose Bowl.

During his time with LA, my opinions of his performances fluctuated greatly. A lot of the time, I didn't think he was giving his full commitment , that he wasn't trying. I was certain he took his position in the starting XI for granted. Weather it was true or not, as a season ticket holder attending every home match and watching the road games on TV, that's the opinion I'd formed. However, when I'd really be down on him, he's suddenly come to life and turn in a great performance.

The last few years, LA fans have known he'd have to hang up his boots eventually. That day will come at the end of this season. As much as I at times have wanted him to do this sooner, I'm now sad realizing that #13 won't be playing in 2008.

I know retiring of numbers in MLS is something which probably won't happen...and probably shouldn't. However, I'm not sure it would be right for anyone else to wear Cobi's number.

Thanks for 12 great seasons Cobi. I'll be in Bridgeview (closest MLS team to me now) to see you play one last time.

A new Club vs Country twist

2007-03-19T06:20:00.000-04:00

I think Landon has actually earned some more respect from me.

"I don't want to be gone all summer," said Donovan, who was called up on Thursday for games against Ecuador and Guatemala later this month. "I want to be here when Beckham gets here. I want to be here for a lot of the games. This is a big year for us, for the Galaxy."

To focus on the Galaxy, would Donovan then consider declining a possible invitation to Copa America?

"Yeah, I would," Donovan said. "It's kind of like a slippery slope because you don't want to turn down an invitation to play for your national team. But I am trying to make it pretty clear the importance of being here this year and being a part of this team this year. It means a lot to me. That's as simple as I can put it."

I realize that a lot of people who read my blog and about 90% of the posters on BigSoccer (though I haven't polled anyone) would probably disagree with me. However, I believe that Bradley should send an "A" squad to the Gold Cup and an U-23 or team made up of "bubble" players to the Cupa America.

None of the coaches for any player Bradley names to both squads will be too happy about their players involved in two tournaments in one summer. In addition to coaches, GMs etc., MLS fans should not stand for any of their teams players being gone for 2 months in the middle of the season. That just won't work.

Like it or not, the Gold Cup is our regional tournament. We should go all out to win that. The US is an invited guest at the Copa America. As it's being played so close to the Gold Cup, we should take a second squad down there. Give some younger players exposure to big-time international competition. It really is the best solution.

What's most important?

2007-03-14T18:07:00.000-04:00

The other day I asked...

I've waited over 11 years so far, how much longer will I need to wait until winning the MLS Cup is more important than making money?

It's nice to see I'm not the only person asking that question...

Apparently, protecting the integrity of the MLS regular season is beneath the notice of decision makers at AEG and the league office. Unbalancing the league schedule of one of its clubs, the putative "Jewel of MLS", in fact, appears to be a small price to pay to secure a couple of ticket-window windfalls. One can only wonder whether the possibility of a split-season schedule was ever seriously considered in the league office, because the Galaxy's schedule would fit almost perfectly into such a format: league, Open Cup, and CONCACAF Cup matches in April-June, July off, then league matches from August until November. Thirteen teams, 12 matches per season, home and away, less fixture congestion, MLS Cup at the end of November between the two champions of each split-season, or playoffs, if you must, between the top four sides.

Urban goes on to ask...

Should the Galaxy fail to make the playoffs, will the blame be laid at coach Frank Yallop's feet? Will Alexi Lalas be the fall guy for galactic failure?
Or will blame be properly laid at the door of those who placed commercial interests ahead of more mundane considerations like a fair and balanced league schedule?

Great question. LA fans should be demanding more. I thought something was up when the schedule finally came out and every MLS side was going to have a chance to see Beckham. It mean that roughly 2/3rds of their road games would be played in the second half of the season.

I really want the sport in this country and MLS to succeed. However, how are we the fans supposed to take the league seriously when those bringing us the league don't? More time has been spent promoting individual players than promoting any individual team. Outside of Cobi Jones, no team has any player they had in '96. Attendance hasn't changed much since then. All these games against money-spinning teams and the signing of big names (except Beckham) hasn't exactly brought in more than single match ticket sales.

I've been saying it for going on 12 years now, until the league and the teams focus on putting the best possible team on the pitch that has a sole focus on winning championships both domestically (MLS Cup, Open Cup and maybe Supporters Shield) and internationally (I'm still waiting for an MLS side to knock a Mexican side out of the Champions Cup) they aren't providing the fans with the best possible product. Give the fans of each MLS town something to be proud of and to want to support rather than providing two hours of entertainment and hoping they'll come back.

On a related note, I've said for some time that I don't care when the season is played, as long as no matches conflict with International Dates--AKA MLS matches where the big name stars won't be present. Brucio over at the always great du Nord has what I think is an interesting idea. Move the season up a few weeks. There's a lot of positives to this idea. MLS teams playing in the Champions Cup will be better prepared. The season would end before the North American Championship of Baseball (not to be confused with the famous "World Series") Also, any team sharing their stadium with a football team won't have as many date conflicts. It's not like all the teams haven't been in LA or Texas or Florida or something the last few weeks. Open the season at southern locations for a few weeks before teams in the cooler climates have their openers. But I'm sure there's some explanation why this wouldn't work.

OK, enough rant. We all know the most important thing is financial survival (profit?) for the teams/league etc. But I'm still entitled to my opinion.

Good luck to Houston and DC tonight.

MLS ahead of it's time again?

2007-03-14T16:54:00.000-04:00

Wow, I never thought I'd see the day when the Football League (that's everyone below the EPL and above the Conference) decided to do away with ties and go to a shoot-out. We all know how well that turned out over here. There were too many injuries and, well, people (ie fans) just didn't like it. It's bad enough to kiss your sister (silly phrase about a tie) but to drop an additional 2 points in this way really is frustrating.

Maybe I'm wrong, but didn't I read last summer where FIFA wants to do away with penalty shoot-outs to decide games? Perhaps I read it wrong.

Either way, I don't like this idea. Heck, without a few ties, Ipswich would probably be in worse trouble than they are. It didn't work for MLS, it didn't work for NASL, why would it work in England? I never thought it added anything.

Did Hell freeze over?

2007-03-10T11:20:00.001-05:00

Wembley is finally done!

Enough with the use of this World Series name

2007-03-10T09:43:00.000-05:00

Can't anyone think of anything original? C'mon now, the World Series of Soccer? How pathetic is that? Ok, so it's a nice little money spinner in the middle of the season to coincide with the arrival of the Spiced One (well, if Gretzky is the Great One...)

What really gets me about this whole thing is that in the rest of the world, do you think teams would make a commitment like this in the middle of the season? Six years ago, I had my flight book, hotel reserved and match tickets bought for a friendly Ipswich was going to play in Charleston against the Battery. Ya see, Ipswich had a two week break towards the end of the season (International Weekend or something) so Sheepshanks and Burley decided to take the team on a quick break to South Carolina and include the match. However, as the dates of the trip grew close, the decision was made to cancel the trip. Of course, fans like me were out the airfare, but Town players didn't risk the chance of needless injury right before the end-of-season run-in. Sure, I was disappointed but what was more important? Playing a meaningless match or qualifying for Europe. (Ipswich did qualify for the UEFA Cup and even managed a 1-0 vs Milan at Portman Road before getting stuffed at the San Siro)

So, back to my original point, I've waited over 11 years so far, how much longer will I need to wait until winning the MLS Cup is more important than making money?

First there was Old Spice...now there's...

2007-03-07T10:38:00.000-05:00

Did they consider the name "Beckham Spice"?

My son wasn't feeling well last night. So, being the good daddy I am I went out in the snow (yeah, it was snowing here last night) and made a visit to the local drug store to get him something to help him with his illness. I walk into the place and right there in front of my on the first group of shelves was a cardboard ad for Beckham's fragrance.

It's only been a couple of months since the announcement that Beckham will be heading to LA. The marketers are already trying to get money out of this move. I've a feeling we are going to seem Beckham all over the place by Christmas. This is only the beginning.

Bottom line, if it sells more match tickets and merchandise, I'm still thinking this will be a good thing.

ITFC-NASC is back online

2007-03-06T15:53:00.000-05:00

It's been a couple of years but the North American Branch of the Ipswich Town Supporters Club have finally got a sit back online. It's not much and we are still putting it together...but it's more than we've had for a while. So, at least we've got that far.

If course, the timing is pretty good. Town are currently winning 2-1 at HT away to Hull. Our first away goals in 2007...can we hold on and get our first away win? Fingers crossed.

Anyway, the site is at ITFCNASC.com If you are a Tractor Boy (or Girl) and wanna get to know some of the most loyal fans in this part of the world (well, we have to be) feel free to join in.

Like him or not....

2007-03-05T09:24:00.000-05:00

...you hafta feel sorry for Beckham. First he signs a deal he can't pass up to join LA. (If someone offered you the chance to make that kinda money you wouldn't pass it up either). Now he takes a bad knock and could be out of action for a while. However, I'm sure he'll be fully recovered by the time his deal with Real is done.

What really caught my attention in that article from the Times was the quote from Lineker.

"Of course, bringing back Beckham … could only be considered a short-term fix because, when he moves to the United States in the summer, he is going into semi-retirement. That is what is happening. I know what it is like because I went through it when I moved into Japanese football.

"The standards will be lower and he will be a long way from home. That will definitely be the end for him."

I have nothing but respect for Lineker as a player, but he's basing that opinion on information from almost 15 years ago. The sport has changed a lot in those years. You see a lot more players from Asia and North America in the Premiership now...where there any back then?

Anyway, weather or not Becks makes it back in McClown...errr McClaren's lineup is something he has no control over. Just like he didn't have a ton of control over Capello's decisions. But he's already won one manager over, who knows what else he can do.

He's still handling all this controversy in a classy manner and who knows what he's capable of. In this non-English person's opinion, there really aren't too many others capable of performing better for the Three Lions. Perhaps someone else will be naming the English squad in the near future.

Either way, I'm hoping Beckham has a fast recovery and he proves many more doubters wrong.

Scouse Red XI

2007-03-05T09:18:00.000-05:00

A friend sent this to me and I had to share it.

This deal keeps looking better

2007-02-24T07:29:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I know there's more to post about than Beckham. Things like DC's promising win in Honduras or Houston's tired legs in Costa Rica. But this Beckham deal just keeps looking better all the time.

So, LA are rumored to be signing a shirt sponsorship deal worth around $10 million/year. And we'd already come to believe that Beckham's playing contract was worth about that same amount. Now that the real numbers are coming out.

David Beckham's playing contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy is worth about $27.5 million in base salary over five seasons, according to a person familiar with Major League Soccer agreements.

Whichever AEG/MLS executive who said that the total agreement could be worth up to $250million sure got a lot of bang for his buck. As things now pan out, LA look to be getting a really sweet deal out of this. Here's where the $250 million came from.

"The deal to bring Beckham to America is thought to be the biggest in sporting history, with industry experts estimating the worth to the player in excess of $250 million," AEG's news release said.

Beckham's contract, according to several people familiar with the details, is a complex and probably unique arrangement that gives the 31-year-old midfielder a percentage of club sponsorship, merchandizing and uniform sales contracts. Promotional arrangements also are included.

I wonder if Zidane's people seem foolish asking for $15 million/year now? I doubt it.

Been there, done that, got the shirt....

2007-02-21T15:21:00.000-05:00

Yep, this post is about Beckham as well...sorta...

At the end of last season there was an announcement by MLS that teams could sell shirt sponsorships on their jerseys as long as it was worth at least $500,000 per year.

Well, I'm guessing that the addition of Beckham to the roster had a lot to do with this but it looks like CitiBank are getting it's checkbook out.

A more likely blockbuster announcement from MLS is the jersey sponsorship for David Beckham's Los Angeles Galaxy. Two sources have confirmed that the bidding is down to Citibank and Herbalife (and, interestingly, not Beckham sponsor adidas). The Citibank offer to have its name across the front of Galaxy shirt, the sources said, is a monster: five years, $49 million. A decision is expected any day.

Now, first of all, this is only a rumor but Mark Zeigler is one of the better soccer writers in this country and I consider him pretty reliable.

Second, remember all those editorials on both sides of the Atlantic saying how crazy AEG and the Galaxy were to pay Beckham that much money? Well, I've already posted a more realistic look at how the deal is worked. And if that is even close to being accurate, then it looks to me like LA are getting Beckham for nothing. Citibank will pay his salary and the rest is all endorsements. What an incredible deal for LA and MLS.

Of course, LA would have probably only got about $1 million/year if Beckham hadn't joined the team.

...European soccer giant Manchester United, which signed a four-year contract
with AIG to put the U.S. insurance company's name on its shirts for about $25
million.

Wow! LA have a better paying shirt deal than ManU? What is happening to this world?

UPDATE: According to Ives Galarcep, the Citibank/LAG deal is for 10 years. Not sure which is correct (if either is) but gotta post this version as well.

Burgers for Berger

2007-02-21T14:02:00.000-05:00

The latest rumor for signing under the Beckham Rule is Patrick Berger.

While he's not Beckham, he'll improve any time he's with. Let's just home he doesn't ask for Zidane money.

Will he coming with the right attitude and without injuries?

Homeless in LA

2007-02-21T10:46:00.000-05:00

I usually try ignore the human interest type things. However, the news that the Familia Spice is having difficulty finding living accommodations in LA which meet their needs is...well, amusing. I lived in LA for 10 years and can't say I ever found the perfect place to live there...then again, I didn't (and still don't) have the budget they have to work with.

Anyway, Andrea Canales gives the Spiced ones some help.

Speaking of Becks, first it was Capello who changed his mind about his form, now it's McClaren who's having second thoughts.

How long until the Fleet Street hacks start talking about Becks in the England line-up for the Euro in the Alps...if McClaren can get the team qualified.

It's lonely at the top

2007-02-20T14:39:00.000-05:00

My Chargers just hired Norv Turner to be head coach??!!!! What's Spanos thinking???!!! I mean, this has to be....errr...sorry, wrong football.

So, Zidane isn't greedy. After all, he doesn't want Backham money. Someone needs to explain to him that Beckham isn't being paid to play. Perhaps MLS should structure a deal just like the one Becks has. Half of shirt sales etc. Nah, he's French. It's not as if the French are arrogant or anything.

Speaking of Becks, does anyone feel sorry for their current house hunting plight? Finding the right home for the right price in LA isn't easy. Besides, why are they so opposed to remodeling? I'm sure they could have everything done by July.

Now that the US is playing in Copa America, people are still complaining. Ok, so it's only Jamie Trecker. Problem is, he's missing the point. First thing, the coaches of the players who are with teams in Europe probably aren't too excited about them playing in two tournaments this summer. It's much easier for him to justify playing them in our own competition than in a tournament where we are invited guests. Second, the World Cup is now 3 1/2 years off. Most of the Gold Cup players have played in big events and have that experience. The younger players he'll be taking South for the most part won't have that experience. Why not give them a chance to get their feet wet in games which don't mean anything to teams from our Confederation?

The reason the Gold Cup (and Open Cup) is perceived as meaningless (as Trecker pointed out) is because hacks like him make it out to be that. Well done to Bradley for doing this right.

Could the World Cup be returning to these shores? I'd be willing to bet it will sooner rather than later.

Is that Harchester United?

2007-02-19T00:31:00.000-05:00

I don't think the writers of Dream Team could come up with something this good.

Then again, you'd expect something like that from Bellamy...after all, he spent time in Naarfeck. Serves him right. But c'mon guys, fighting over karaoke? You're supposed to be drunk and out of tune...if you're sober, you should be smart enough to leave.

Ah, wouldn't it be great to be young and have a shitload of cash to blow. Must be nice.

The Beckham show

2007-02-18T09:29:00.000-05:00

The global media attention around MLS and the Galaxy in particular has never been anything close to what it's been the past few weeks. I mean, TV camera's reporting on Open Tryouts at the HDC allowing a kid from England to fly over to LA, spent an hour on the pitch, receive his 15 minutes of fame in the process and now have the ability to tell his grand kids we had a trial with a team David Beckham was on. Don't get me wrong, I don't blame him...it's just that 2 months ago, there wasn't enough media around to find that story. This summer we'll be seeing an unprecedented amount of media types at the HDC. Looks like MLS is getting some Return on their Investment already.

However, there is a flip side to this. Regardless of what many on the other side of the Atlantic are saying, Beckham is still in his prime...at least that's my irrelevant opinion. The way he has handled the turmoil of the last few weeks is incredible. I could see a lot of players folding under what he went though. Last week he created quite a bit of news when he scored in his return. This week, however, things didn't go quite as well for Becks. Personally, though I am a bit bias these days, I thought the card was pretty harsh. However, two things got be about this. First, the fans in Madrid were positive about Beckham's performance. To go through what he has the last few weeks and still come out with a reception like he got just shows the personality and determination of the guy. I can't wait to see him in LA. Second, have you noticed how much attention the US media is giving Beckham? There's been talk about the US being the last place the "Beckham Brand" hasn't taken over. Looks to me like he'll be a household name before he arrives. Think about it, how many people do you know who don't watch soccer mentioned the signing after it was announced.

This is gonna be a wild summer, between Beckham, los Copas America y Oro...and, of course, MLS. Now, if only the snow would melt.

So much going on

2007-02-17T22:35:00.000-05:00

I haven't been able to post for a while. Who knew Grad School would take up so much of my time? Yeah, I knew it would but I'm sure no one reading this cares about my study habits.

A sure sign of the times in MLS is the announcement that Matchnight will be shutting down. Yeah, I'm sad to see the site go. Lee and Shane have done a fantastic job of informing the fans with a professional looking site. I'm certain they ran the site on a shoestring budget (if any budget at all) and devoted a lot of their time to the site. For all of that--and the fact that I've even had a couple of things I wrote published there--I thank them. However, the league and the sport is growing in this country. More "traditional" media are covering the league. It remains to be seen if they'll do as good a job as sites like Matchnight. The only bad news is that it means I'll need to remove the widgets on the right of this page. Thanks guys.

Another sign of the future is the launch of the new Chelsea YouTube page. Honestly, this is a idea which should have come to life some time ago. At a time when so many media companies are threatening legal action if their content isn't removed from YouTube or similar services, it's good to see Chelsea embrace this media. I hope other teams (and MLS) follow suit with something similar. Folks, the Internet isn't going anywhere and it's only going to become a bigger part of our lives so you're better off using it rather than fighting it. Back when Metallica (well, Lars Ulrich) was fighting Napster I thought it was a big mistake to take those actions. After all, Metallica probably never would become as well known as they did in the mid-eighties if it wasn't for illegal tapes of their early recordings being circulated. I'm sure Radiohead would agree with me. So, to sum up what I'm rambling here, more stuff on the internet means more attention to your product which means more people willing to fork out money on your stuff. What am I missing here. Fingers crossed MLS will be doing the same sort of thing soon.

AEG/MLS/LA Galaxy have spent (are spending?) a lot of money to bring a certain one-footed freekick/corner taker to the HDC. At this point, I'm not sure there's any chance the deal can go wrong. MLS (and the Galaxy in particular) are getting more publicity than ever both here in the US and worldwide. Has a bunch of has-beens, could-bes and never will-bes got this much attention before? I'm sure everyone involved are happy with the deal. Hey, and Capello is now eating crow. I wonder what odds I could get on an LA Galaxy player wearing an England shirt in the next year or so?

Could Zizou be next? If the worlds media went gaga over Becks to LA, Mr. Headbutt would have the US media (at least the majority who don't know anything about soccer) waiting in anticipation for his next headbutt. I'm not sure that would be a bad thing...at least Jim Rome and his clones would be tuned in.

A few weeks ago Ipswich made it to the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time in 11 years. I had started this rambling about the romance of Cup competition. Then went on about how Ipswich could be in for some good money (and a possible TV appearance) with the right draw. Too bad we drew Watford--little money from the match and a trip home without a spot in the sixth round. However, about the same time, US Soccer announced the format for the Open Cup this summer. So, LA, Columbus, NY, RSL, Arse...um Colorado and KC will have "play-in" games against each other. This way, only eight (two of the previously mentioned and the other six teams) will be in the actual Open Cup. Now, while I like the idea of MLS teams playing each other earlier on giving smaller teams more of a chance to move on, I still wish the match-ups were more random. Why can't there be a random draw? This can be done on a regional basis. Divide the country into 4 regions. Try and align even numbers of teams (regardless of their league) in each region and have random draws for each round. Then with they reach the last eight, or sixteen, make the competition national. On top of that, why hasn't US Soccer been able to find a naming sponsor for the Cup? They've got plenty of sponsorship contacts. Nationwide, there are plenty of people who come out to games, it's not like the sponsors name wouldn't be used quite a bit. I'm sure the rights would be enough to sweeten the pot for the winners (and other teams doing well) and also not put smaller teams in financial difficulty...or maybe they just don't care. At least Naarich lost today.

RIP Mr. Adler. I never knew you but you brought joy to every armchair coach. I know my life (and viewing habits) would be very different if it wasn't for you. Thank you.

Finally, if you are reading this at work and are missing the big game on FSC, click here.

Never play again huh?

2007-02-11T07:07:00.000-05:00

After being told he'll never play for Real Madrid, Becks scores in his first match back.

I can't wait for him to bring those freekicks to the HDC.

Wonder what the British media will say if he does well the rest of the season in Spain?

Only a game?

2007-02-11T06:58:00.000-05:00

I'm thinking there was more going on during the match that we'll never hear about.

2-0

2007-02-08T00:21:00.000-05:00

Yep, it's that same scoreline again. I doubt I'll ever get tired of it either. Now, if only we could do that South of the border...but why am I being negative. It's the scoreboard that counts tonight. We'll dissect the actual performance later.

Catching up on some things

2007-01-26T09:56:00.000-05:00

I’ve got a little time today so I thought I’d quickly mention some things which has caught my eye lately.

Where the heck is Collinsville? Continuing the trend of putting stadiums well outside the cities the teams are named after, St Louis looks like they are well on the road to getting a stadium for a possible MLS team.

Speaking of stadiums, will RSL ever get theirs?

…And then there’s KC who have had to bring in reinforcements to find somewhere (anywhere) to play. I’m hoping something good happens soon for them.

There’s always Cleveland.

Not one of those stadiums is in the cities they are named after. One of the great things about going to Ipswich games was being able to meet up with friends in a pub near the town center and be able to walk to the stadium from there in 10 minutes. Heck, I used to get stuck in traffic for more than 10 minutes trying to get to the HDC from Pasadena. That leaves less time for pre-game beers.

I meant to post this some time ago…but never got around to it. Soccer Dad did a good job of analyzing what happened with the Klinsmann fiasco. We’ve all had a lot of time to digest what happened and after the match last week I’m sure more of us are now comfortable with Bradley at the helm. But I will still maintain that the news wasn’t the story, the news was how much the media covered the story—and this was before the Beckham media blitz.

You’ve got to love the idea of a soccer made earthquake.

Even six months after the World Cup finished, Dave O’Brian is still catching flack.

It looks like some net geeks are trying to cash in on Beckham’s move to LA.

Speaking of big signings (well, not quite that big)…Reyna has now joined Red Bull. Anyone not think that was going to happen?

Wow, Chicago went after Zidane. Guaranteed every sports hack would be discussing the head butt 24/7 if it did go through.

Getting back to Beckham a bit. As a kid I used to stand on a milk crate in the Churchman’s Stand at Portman Road. Back then Town were managed by Bobby Robson. Now, Sir Bobby’s first management job was with the old NASL Vancouver Royals back in 1967. I’m guessing he hasn’t watched much soccer from over here since then based on these comments.

Now, back then Robson’s top striker was Paul Mariner. MLS fans may know him as the guy with glasses who’s always next to Steve Nichol on the bench. Back the 70’s/80’s, Mariner was one of the top strikers in England and was capped several times. He’s been in the US for a while now and I have to agree his response to Robson’s comments.

It's an interesting observation. To be perfectly honest, far be it from me to disagree with such a great man, but I think I've seen more games and been involved in more games than my ex-boss has seen. I think it just goes to show that the general perception of leagues the world over, we take a look at the A-League in Australia, what level do we think that is, the J-League in Japan, what level do we think that is, I mean, for that matter, what do we think of the Portuguese League? I mean it's all a debate, that's why football is such a fantastic sport; everybody can debate until they are blue in the face what (the different) levels are like. For the boss (Robson) to say that we are sort of League One is completely wrong. I think it will be interesting to get David's quotes at maybe six weeks or three months into the league and find out if he thinks this is League One. I would be absolutely shocked if he would say that it was... Having seen some English games over the Christmas period, from the lower leagues to the Premiership, I think that we are doing very, very well for a relatively young league. I think we are doing great and I think the stuff that most (MLS) teams are delivering and the product that MLS is trying to put together is fantastic for a league that is so young.

Problem is, if Beckham comes over here and does well then it proves their point that MLS isn’t any good. If Beckham comes over here and doesn’t take the league by storm, it proves that Beckham is well past his prime. Ya can’t win either way.

Oh and now all the “interesting” people looking for their 15 minutes of fame are taking advantage of the Beckham move. Can’t say I blame him for trying.

Finally, I’m still trying to decide if change is a good thing here. True, Johansson was a clueless muppet…but Platini…well, he is French.

Ok, that’s enough for now.

There's a lesson in here somewhere...

2007-01-23T23:13:00.000-05:00

Yeah, there's a lesson in here somewhere...see if you can figure it out.

A tattoo artist from Argentina is facing a lawsuit after drawing a penis on the back of an Argentinean football fan instead of his favorite team's official logo.

If you want your teams badge on you, make sure you know what team your tattooer (is that a real word?) supports.

Sure beats "here we go, here we go..."

2007-01-19T10:30:00.000-05:00

I was raised on English terrace chants so I've no idea what's going on here. (I also don't speak Spanish) I'm assuming it's before the gates open. Whatever it is, it sure got me pumped up for a match.

Can anyone give me more info about this?

Hot and Spicy

2007-01-17T15:55:00.000-05:00

Boy, what a hornet’s nest. The signing of Beckham has really stirred things up. Soccer fans in this country have suspected he would probably end up playing in MLS but I doubt many would have predicted it would be this soon.

You’ve got the Real Madrid President Ramon Calderon insulting Beckham and the fans at the Bernabeu then issuing a half hearted apology.

You’ve got the Real Madrid Coach telling Beckham to get used to watching from the stands and now backtracking a bit.

You’ve got the British managers deciding that Beckham is just taking an early retirement in the MLS geriatric league—I grew up watching Robson manage Ipswich so it bothers me to disagree with him here.

And…

You’ve got the US sports media apparently pissed off that AEG would have the gall to invest that much money in some foreign player in a sport no one cares about in this country. I thought that hostility was reserved for World Cup years.

Whew. Such hate in the world. It almost makes you forget about Bush and Iraq…well, I did say “almost.”

Thankfully, there are writers like Grant Wahl who actually do research and get the real story to the people without all the negative editorials. Thanks Grant, great piece.

Lastly, there’s my old friend Ann Killion. I haven’t had a good Killion rant in a while so when I read her recent piece in the Smurf news, I just had to respond.

The league is certain to see a boost in television ratings, ticket sales and overall profile when Becks and his famous family (wife Victoria, a.k.a. Posh Spice, and sons Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz) arrive in Los Angeles. Beckham, glamorous, gorgeous and still owner of the most beautiful free kick known to soccer, is going to create a buzz.

But then what?

This isn’t Luis Hernandez here. When he arrived in LA, fans packed the Rose Bowl for one match and didn’t bother showing up again. This time around, people are grabbing Season Tickets. That’s a huge difference. Also, let’s not forget that MLS signed some very nice TV deals with ESPN and Fox recently…well before Beckham signed with MLS. It’s benifital for
the TV companies to ride this publicity as well. They have a duty totheir sponsors after all.

A lot of American soccer fans would like to see some of that $250 million plowed into player development, such as finding a better way to spot and develop players who aren't products of our elitist youth soccer system.

Now, Miss Killion, perhaps you haven’t been paying attention. The majority of the $250 million isn’t coming from MLS or AEG. It’s coming from various sponsors and endorsement deals. If you don’t believe it, read the Grant Wahl piece again.

Some of us would be more interested in the hiring of another former European star. That would be Juergen Klinsmann, who was all set to become the next coach of the men's national team before U.S. Soccer managed to screw up the deal. Now, the team is led by Bob Bradley as it embarks on another quadrennial search to improve its standing.

I’m sorry, what do the two events have to do with each other. USSF were dealing with Klinsmann, AEG were dealing with Beckham. How exactly are you linking the two? You’re talking Apples and Oranges here.

Here's one way his arrival is different than that of Pelé three decades ago: The New York Cosmos hired the best player in the world, whereas the Galaxy has hired the most famous player in the world.

If memory serves me right, Pele was in his mid 30’s and had already retired from playing when he was talking into joining the Cosmos. Beckham is 31 and captained England at the World Cup last summer. Also, Pele was probably the most famous player in the world at that time...I'd argue that Johan Cruyff was the best player in the world at that time. In my opinion he was.

MLS had better hope he still has enough skills -- though that's a double-edged wish. If Beckham arrives and is clearly the best player in the league, it will only confirm the rest of the world's opinion that MLS is a third-tier organization.

..And what if Edgar Davids and/or Ronaldo come to MLS and perform about the same as Beckham? It’s a gamble that’s being played. Obviously based on ticket sales so far it was a worthwhile gamble so far.

That's because Beckham, 31, comes to Los Angeles basically out of other soccer options. He had already lost his place in the Real Madrid side (and was told this weekend that he won't ever play again for the club). The former captain of England, he's no longer playing for his country.

C’mon now. Beckham stepped down as captain of England after the World Cup because he will be 35 in 2010. Steve McClaren, for whatever reason, decided to look at younger players for the squad in the buildup for Euro ’08. The way things are going I’d be surprised if McClaren still has the job by this summer and who knows if the new boss will want Beckham in their bid.

MLS was the only league willing to shower him with money and love. And it's quite a drenching.

How quickly we forget things. Everton, Bolton, West Ham, and Celtic are among the clubs interested in buying him. Fact is LA isn’t paying him any more than he would have got at any of the other clubs.

Beckham's job isn't to play soccer but to sell jerseys

That’s funny, one of the main reasons Real signed him in the first place was to sell jerseys and raise the profile of the club in Asia. Yes, he does get a percentage of the jersey sale revenue. Wouldn’t you take that if you were Beckham? Real never offered him that.

Beckham's deal is expected to open the door to other past-their-prime international stars, such as Ronaldo. That all sounds suspiciously like NASL, which folded in 1984.

Is that a bad thing? I’m not sure why everyone associates bringing talented name players to NASL as the downfall of the league. Fans were buying tickets and TV was starting to provide some decent broadcast packages. The downfall was due to teams spending more than they can afford on those players. MLS/AEG are spending well within their means to get Beckham so you can’t make that

Our best and brightest know they have to go to Europe to become great players, while former European stars may realize they can come here and coast comfortably into retirement. MLS might morph into a senior circuit.

Nice try Ann. There are so many differences here that I don’t know where to start. First off let me say it again, Beckham is only 31. He’s got a few years left in his legs. After all, how old was Preki when he retired? How old were Donadoni and Matthäus when they were in New York?

The fact is MLS isn’t the EPL, Serie A or La Liga. It won’t be anytime soon. But that doesn’t mean MLS teams should get the best players they can. So what if Beckham isn’t 27 any more. He’s still got his right foot which is what got him to the top in the first place. How bad can that be?

It sure hasn't hurt Brazil that their 'best and brightest' have to head to Europe.

Ok, enough of Killion. I really need to stop reading what she writes.

Sorry, I’m going to read some other stuff and I promise I’ll try and post something which isn’t about Beckham next time. Do the Galaxy’s new colors count as something non-Beckham?

I wonder what MLS would be?

2007-01-17T13:57:00.000-05:00

All that money...

2007-01-13T08:21:00.000-05:00

I've had a couple of days to digest the major news from Thursday. The thing which kept getting to me was the money involved. So I did a little research. According to Grahame Jones in the LA Times, only about 20% of his $250 million is actually from a soccer playing salary.

Beckham insisted that the decision to come to Los Angeles, where he already has a youth soccer academy, was not based on the hefty size of the contract put together by AEG, an estimated 80% of which will come from commercial endorsement deals and image rights.

Now, paying him $10 million/year sounds a lot more realistic. It's only 5 times the salary cap...and that's with him hitting all of his incentives such as hitting attendance targets and games played.

Beckham's pay raise is actually only about $1.5 million/year.

The other 80% of the $250 million is all on endorsement deals. Becks gets most of his image rights and the US is potentially a much bigger market than the UK, Spain or even Japan and Thailand. Playing in the US, Pepsi, Gillette and such are willing to pay him even more for his time (and endorsement). The US is king of all commercial markets.

Also, expect to hear about a massive shirt sponsorship deal LA will be getting soon. It's a deal which wouldn't have happened if Becks weren't signing with LA. Looking at the numbers now, LA may have got the marketing tool for a bargain. Oh, and he should do alright on the pitch as well.

Now, add in the fact that LA sold 2000 season tickets on Thursday just after the announcement of his signing with LA. Now, I don't know how many tickets are actually in each price range but let's just say the average ticket price is about $600. That makes a nice little $1.2 million addition to the Galaxy's bank account. Is it a coincidence that LA announced their season ticket prices just hours after the announcement on Thursday?

Now, add in all the merchandise he'll sell--actually, AEG/MLS/LAG dropped the ball here by not having the 2007 shirts ready and available with Beckham's name and number on it. Real made a mint within hours of signing Beckham. Missed opportunity there. Spice fans all over the world would have been entering their Credit Card numbers on MLSgear.com if there was merchandise for them to buy already. It's not like they can blame Nike for not coming through. Adidas is their supplier now and they have a vested interest in making money off Beckham as well.

So, with a couple well chosen words, MLS has made this deal appear to be very different than it is. Well done by them. It got a bit of extra attention from the hostile US media. Of course, the negative stuff is flying around. The British in particular have some kind of fear that the sport will eventually catch on in this country. The media bias there than the US is void of real "football" and American's want to change the sport is almost as bad as the anti-soccer bias we have in the media here. This should be fun to follow.

Now with Posh in LA house huntin g, it looks like Dave's days in Madrid may be over sooner rather than later. How much of a transfer fee will Real want? I'm now leaning towards him being in LA before the season starts...even better news?

I've a feeling this story will be worldwide news for a while. Seems to me that the investment is already paying off.

Could it be?

2007-01-11T10:14:00.000-05:00

I almost had coffee come out my nose when I read this headline from ABC News this morning, "EXCLUSIVE: David Beckham Will Sign With U.S. Team". Of course, if you read the article now you'll see they've backtracked a bit on the story. However, for the first time I'm now thinking this move may actually happen...and before the start of the season.

Did anyone actually see the show the quotes came from? I wonder if this information coming from them has anything to do with the new deal MLS and Disney have. Guess I'd better put the TV on ESPN News today.

EDIT an hour later: ...And now it's offical. The news is all over the place and it's even on ESPN News. Bummer he won't be here until August. I wonder if MLS are talking a possible transfer with Real?

Old stars and youngsters

2007-01-10T22:53:00.000-05:00

Maybe I’m a bit of a SoccerSnob…OK, I am a SoccerSnob…But I just can’t get excited about the SuperHype SuperDouperDraft MLS will be holding on Friday. I just don’t understand all the hype. Seriously, how many of the guys 52 guys (I’m guessing it’ll be 4 rounds of 13 picks) will see much playing time in MLS? The most media the draft will get will be articles about the local kid who played at the High School a few blocks from you going in the fourth round. Then he'll never be heard of again. Sorry, but most of the guys will end up in the USL. Which is why I'm just not to bothered with the whole thing.

I’m thinking the biggest news about the draft is that it’s on ESPN. It seems they bumped FSC. I’m seeing a new pecking order for the TV networks. GolTV gets what it can cuz they are on a very tight budget-but I do enjoy a lot of their content. FSC is Top Dog for Soccer Only TV…but only just over Setanta because currently Setanta doesn’t do it’s own programming…but that’ll change next EPL season. ESPN has the big bucks though and if they want, can outbid the three soccer only channels combined. So, the fact that ESPN2 is finding time on a Friday (when they would usually be replaying Worlds Strongest Man or something like that) to show the Draft is a sign changes are being made…but it’s still not really news.

So, what really is news? Actually, as much as I hate to say it, the whole Beckham saga is probably the biggest news. Do a search for LA Galaxy in Google News and you’ll find a million articles about Becks’ on again, off again, negotiations with Real Madrid and plenty of mentions that LA Galaxy want to sign him. We all know it’s very possible he’ll be wearing the green sash at some point this summer. However, we were all certain that Klinsmann would be the new US coach as well. At least if he does come to LA, British reporters will learn that the Kings Head in Santa Monica doesn’t show football, you have to go to the Cock and Bull a couple miles away to see the matches…unless you have FSC.

Only one problem remains: if Beckham wants to watch any British football, he is going to have to go to the King’s Head, an expatriate pub by the beach in Santa Monica. Unfortunately, this is also where most of the British paparazzi go drinking.

Of course, I always did my drinking and footie view at Lucky Baldwin's when I was in LA.

Then there’s Deuce. Congrats on your Work Permit Clint. It’ll be interesting to see how quickly he settles into the game in England. I hope everyone gives him time to get used to the pace. Personally, I don’t expect to see much of him until next fall. Maybe I’m wrong but a lot of great players have gone to England and needed a little time before they found their feet. Either way, he’s the most exciting player from the US since Landon crashed out at Bayer and Beasley lost his gig at PSV. I believe he’ll do more than both of them in Europe.

I’ve got a bunch of other things I’ve been meaning to comment on but it’s getting late. Maybe I’ll comment on the other stuff tomorrow.

Is it that time already?

2006-12-31T17:36:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I've been enjoying the holiday season and staying away from my computer a bit the last week or so. However, I've been reading other peoples reflections on 2006 and that got me thinking...

If I were to say the one thing that will stick in my mind as a soccer fan in the US about 2006 it would be the media. For the first time MLS has managed to sell it's broadcast rights. For the first time (that I know of) the media in the US gave the World Cup almost wall-to-wall coverage. And, probably the part which shows have far the professional game has come in the US, the media were all over the US performance and discussing weather or not Arena should keep his job.

Ok, so a ton of the commentary was from sports media with no clue about soccer, but I'm thinking that's a good thing. Now, with the Beckham Rule in effect, MLS teams are able to bring in names which will, hopefully, get MLS more media coverage. I'm honestly doubting we'll see Beckham at this point, but who knows. Giving owners the opportunity to open their checkbooks will be a good thing in my opinion.

Of course, on the flip side there are talented American players heading to Europe, but that's not going to change any time soon. After all, Beckham left England to go seek his fortune in Spain. Other top players all over the world are doing the same, even if their domestic league is at the top level (how many Mexican players are suddenly in Europe?) so why not Americans as well.

Regardless, things are looking good for soccer in the US and I can't wait to see what happens next year.

It took 11 years for someone to think of this

2006-12-20T07:06:00.000-05:00

We've all heard the stories about teams drinking beer out of the Stanley Cup while taking the trophy out on the town...or while hosting a party at their house...well, you can't do that (no where to hold the beer) with the MLS Cup, but you can have it at your house for a day.

It's too bad the trophy isn't designed more for celebrations but what are you going to do. One question though, is there only one actual trophy or does the league make a new one every season? If that's the case, LA, DC, KC, Chicago and whoever has the Smurfs trophies can still do this as well.

One thing though, $600 is a bit of a joke. C'mon Houston fans, you can do better than that. Get a group of you together, pool your money and have a big Christmas Day bash with the trophy.

Tractor connection in the Beckham saga

2006-12-16T06:54:00.000-05:00

Anyone who has read my blog for a while knows my first love in pro soccer was when I visited Portman Road for the first time. I've been a loyal fan ever since. LA became my second love only because I was forced to move so far from my first love. It's a tragic love triangle. Add to it the fact that Ipswich's biggest rival (Naaarch {spit}) wear the same colors as LA. Also, LA's biggest rivals (SJ...though they don't exist anymore) wear the same colors as Ipswich. Well, you can see why I'm as confused as I am. I'm not sure why I posted all that...must be the coffee.

Anyway enough rambling. What I think I was getting to is that two Canadian former Ipswich players are still good friends who keep in contact and obviously share information. One happens to be the Manager for LA Galaxy the other is....actually, I'm not sure what Craig Forrest is doing these days. However, the other night he was on some soccer themed radio show in Toronto (that's in Canada for the SJ fans) and mentioned according to his former teammate a move for Beckham is getting closer. Thanks to the Toronto MLS Blog for information.

Ok, I haven't had the chance to listen to the audio--but I will sometime today--so I don't know precisely what was said. However, this is certainly conformation (at least in my opinion) of what we already know.

A couple quick comments this morning

2006-12-15T07:35:00.000-05:00

The first thing I want to mention is the passing of Lamar Hunt. I never met the guy, never supported any of his teams. However, his commitment and vision played a large role in giving us fans the NFL and MLS we see today. If not for him, neither would probably be as successful as they are. I hope he left us knowing how much enjoyment he brought so many in this country.

A very different loss was announced last night when one of my favorites, Kevin Hartman, was traded to KC. Galaxy fans shouldn't be surprised. We've seen this coming from the time Joe Cannon arrived. However, Yallop has managed to trade three fan favorites in the last two weeks. LA fans have loved Hartman from the time he beat Jorge Campos out of the job. Yeah, he's had his critics especially when the 2000 Cup final is discussed. However, I still content his is the best shot stopper in the league and he does organize his backline well. I guess we'll have to wait and see what Yallop got in return in this deal.

Boy, you blink and...

2006-12-12T12:54:00.000-05:00

I don't think I can remember an off season quite as busy as this one for Soccer in this country. It's about time MLS kept the news flow going during the winter months.

So, I'm now getting used to the fact that Bob Bradley is the new national team coach. I've had a few days to reflect on the hiring and I've decided it's not the end of the world. I'm sure he'll do a great job. But the thing is, he's not the guy who is going to give the team (and USSF in general) the shake up it needs. True, Bradley isn't Arena. He'll bring his own flavor the the team. I don't think I'm going to be truly impressed with an American head coach until we having someone we actually saw play in a World Cup heading up the program. Perhaps John Harkes is working towards that...boy would that be fun.

Anyway, the big news the last 24 hours was the blockbuster trade between DC and RSL. Now, I'm cynical at the best of times, but for (RSL Owner...errr investor) Dave Checketts, this is probably a dream trade. In case you didn't know, there's this stadium Checketts is trying to build for the team. None other than LA's future Spice Boy participated in a fake groundbreaking last summer. However, the stadium is hardly a done deal and the media, while giving the team very good coverage, is making it tough for Checketts to just railroad public money into the venture.

A few years ago my baseball team (San Diego) was trying to get a new stadium built. There was a lot of opposition to the use of public money to get it built and it ended up being put on a ballot for voters to decide. Wouldn't you know it, the Padres suddenly had a great team and won a record 98 games in 1998. They then held a swap meet, sold their best players and were crap again until recently. Funny thing, the Chargers (love the Bolt) are trying to get a new stadium and they aren't playing bad ball right now either. The reason I mention that is RSL are trying to get a stadium...right now it looks as if public opinion could be their best ally. Trading for Adu should go a long way towards helping that. Of course, winning a few games and actually making the playoffs wouldn't hurt either.

The only question I'm left with is, how long will RSL get to keep Freddy?

BTW, getting Nick Rimando in the trade is probably the best part for John Ellinger.

More TV rights

2006-12-08T14:45:00.000-05:00

Wow, ABC/ESPN have bought the rights to the 2008 Euro Championships.

All 31 games will be televised in the United States: two by ABC and the rest by ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPN Classic. The tournament will be played in Austria and Switzerland from June 7-29.

It wasn't that long ago that I had to go to a pub to see the matches on closed circuit and pay at the door to see it. Now it's on free (well, over the air and basic cable) TV. Who said no one in this country watched soccer?

FIFA does it again

2006-12-08T11:51:00.000-05:00

This time FIFA has managed to get itself in a bit of trouble. It turns out their signing Visa as a new sponsor (partner) breached their existing agreement with MasterCard. This is being reported only a couple of days after another black eye they gave themselves.

What I find really bad about this whole thing is their attitude about this.

While the FIFA witnesses at trial boldly characterized their breaches as "white lies," "commercial lies," "bluffs," and, ironically, "the game," their internal emails discuss the "different excuses to give to MasterCard as to why the deal wasn't done with them," "how we (as FIFA) can still be seen as having at least some business ethics" and how to "make the whole f***-up look better for FIFA." They ultimately confessed, however, that "[I]t's clear somebody has it in for MC."

But what do you do? The whole organization is run but shady people and as far as I know there's nothing which can be done to change that. We are stuck with more of this.

Klinsmann Post-Mortem

2006-12-08T09:25:00.000-05:00

Yeah, it's still probably too early to do a full post-mortem but it's been a few hours and it's good to sometimes look at things from different angles.

I posted my initial reaction to the news about Klinsmann sometime last night (never check email while waiting for a bottle to warm up for your 18-month old) and was half asleep when I did. After posting, I thought it would be interesting to see what other bloggers made of the news (as it's got to be the biggest story we'll see this off season)

Obviously the always perfect Jamie Trecker had to explain where he went wrong with his premature announcement the other day.

Brian at DCSunDevil did a good job expressing the feelings of most US fans today and how we got to where we are.

On his excellent HexagonalBlog, Howard let's us know he called it back before Arena was departing the post.
I remember telling a friend of mine, after it became clear that Bruce Arena would step down as US national team coach, that the Federation would try to make a deal with a well-known foreign coach but in the end settle on an MLS-based coach.
du Nord follows how ESPN covered the breaking news. Which is actually better than I'd expect.

Golazo (once you get through all his/her Google Ads) compares last night's news to the English FA when they announced Scolari as their new manager.

I just recently discovered The Red Card blog. Louis does a great job and I just love his "Let's be friends" take on the news.

I couldn't find many more blogs to have posted reaction yet but if you are looking for more reaction, just check out the usual ranting on BigSoccer. Some of it is even worth the price of admission. If I missed any blog posts on this, please add them in the comments section.

Bottom line I think is that after 6 months of anticipation, we really didn't get the big shiny Christmas gift we expected. This may be another storm in a teacup and register as only a blip in the mainstream sports media...but it's big news just the same. Maybe later I'll check what the papers are saying. I wonder if Gulati will give us fans a gift receipt in this afternoon's call?

UPDATE: On The Pitch has a nice collection of relevant mainstream media quotes he put together. Worth checking out.

UPDATED UPDATE: Actually, Soccer Dad over at On The Pitch is all over this. First, there's the USSF bylaws which tells us Gulati doesn't have all the say in what happened. Then there's rumored specualtion that Klinsmann walked because USSF could guarantee him all the players he wanted. (MLS playing matches on FIFA International dates has been an issue for me for a long time). Check out his blog. He's posting some great stuff today.

Technorati Tags: Klinsmann, US Soccer, World Cup

Beta Blogger

2006-12-08T03:13:00.000-05:00

Isn't this typical?

I spend several hours getting my blog cleaned up and looking nice again (it needed the overhaul) and then Blogger when and forced me to switch to the new Beta version. So, now I have to spend even more time taking advantage of some of the new tools the new version offers.

Of course, it wouldn't be a problem if I would have just switched to the Beta version last week when I made all the changes, but that would have made life too easy.

I'm betting they came really close to a deal

2006-12-08T01:48:00.000-05:00

It looks like Trecker didn't get the scoop after all. Juergen Klinsmann pulled out of contention for the US coaching position this evening. To be honest, I had a feeling there were negoation problems. There should have been an announcement weeks ago. According to the LA Times, Bob Bradley will be named as the interim coach for the team. Obviously, he's the next best candate.

So, after months of expectation, US fans are basicly left with a retread of Area. Not a bad thing but it would have been exciting to try this new direction.

Let's see what Gulati has to say tomorrow.

Technorati Tags: Klinsmann, US Soccer, World Cup

They keep getting richer

2006-12-06T15:59:00.000-05:00

So, Beckham is worth £87 million (what's that...about US$ 170 million give or take)*. Now, the rumors say (and keep telling us) that he's heading for LA and the league will pick up $400,000 of his salary. According to the report, he's making £4.4 million (about US$8.5 million) per season at Real. There's a bit of difference there. I'm having a tough time thinking AEG will fork out the difference. Phil Anchutz didn't amass his fortune paying talent that much.

Fear not Spice fans. There is a way to make the move happen. Ya see, Beck's made about 5X as much money last year from sponsorship deals. That's where AEG and MLS have lots of experience. Those of you who payed attention the last 11+ years will know that most of the "big name" signings the league has had over the years have had contracts which kept them under the salary cap by giving them huge sponsorship deals.

If Beckham comes to MLS, his playing salary won't be very big...though he'll probably end up making more money than ever thanks to those folks on Madison Avenue who work so hard to part us all from our hard earned money.

*Currency conversions were done based on today's exchange rate. If you are reading this at some other time, it will probably be different and the US$ amounts will be higher because of political and economic policies which are weakening the Dollar. However, as this isn't a political or economic blog, I'll avoid going on a rant here.

...and these guys run the sport

2006-12-06T11:25:00.000-05:00

At this point, I want someone at FIFA headquarters to explain why anyone should take any of the FIFA leadership seriously. In it's infinate wisdom, FIFA doesn't even give Jack Warner a slap on the wrist.

What was the crime? He (or rather his son with the help of the famly Travel Company) resold World Cup tickets well above face value breaking FIFA rules on the practice.

However, all Sepp Blatter(ed) could say was...

"The committee expressed its disapproval...drawing attention to the fact that Mr Warner should be more cautious and prudent."

In other words, don't get caught next time you idiot.

Did we get our Man(n)???

2006-12-05T19:43:00.000-05:00

It seems Jamie Trecker managed to scoop everyone with news that everyone should have already guessed. Honestly, it's the news most (if not all) US fans wanted to hear. Jürgen Klinsmann will be in charge of the US team sometime in the near future.

From Trecker's article, it sounds as if a lot of negotiating had to take place in order to make it happen. The thing is, I wonder how much the American soccer fan's opinion played in Klinsmann's favor? It looks to me as if Klinsmann gave up Adidas in order for USSF to give him more control than he wanted. I'm sure there's a pretty sweet pay check involved as well.

Everything points to this being the right (and most popular)choicee. Fingers crossed it works out. How many days until the Denmark match?

Maybe MLS had it right after all

2006-12-05T07:12:00.000-05:00

Many MLS fans have wanted the league to be inline with the rest of the world as far as when the league runs. Many believe the league should start in the early fall and end late spring. However, it seems Sepp Blatter(ed) wants all the other leagues to copy MLS and start early spring and finish in late fall.

Of course this isn't going to happen and I'm making a weak attempt at humor there. However, I the head of FIFA sure likes to stir things up with silly comments. Makes life fun I guess.

No surprise here

2006-12-03T09:50:00.000-05:00

It turns out that Beckham is not planning to buy the Galaxy. Of course, I'm sure there will be plenty more rumors in the next couple months.

In other news, yet another Ipswich match with an injury time goal. This time it was Town who equalized late thanks to a penalty from Alan Lee. From everything I've read, we should have taken more than just a point from the match. The holiday season (and several additional matches) will be here soon. We'll know more about the team's hopes for this season by January. My prediction at this point, a mid-table finish.

How's this for a true sign the club are trying to cut costs to take care of the current debt...they've sold the team bus and laid off the guy who drives the team bus and takes care of the team equipment. I'm not sure how much they are actually saving by doing this but it does seem to reflect the teams financial situation.

I really don't know what to make of this one

2006-12-01T22:08:00.000-05:00

Yallop has made a move that I'm not sure I understand. LA traded fan favorites Herc Gomez and Ugo Ihemelu for Joe Cannon. There was also the trade of draft picks, but I'd put a beer or 3 on neither of the picks playing more than a handful of MLS matches ever.

Of course, Cannon said all the right things...

"I am overwhelmed and very excited to play for one of the best franchises, maybe the best franchise in the league," said Cannon. "It is an incredible opportunity and I just hope that the fans will give me a chance to prove myself. I don't think that I have won too many games in Los Angeles as a visitor, so I am really looking forward to playing for the home team."

So, I may be able to get over the fact that we now have another Smurf now playing for LA.

So, that's one more striker gone and we are looking pretty thin at the back. We also have one too many keepers. My guess is that either Joe or Kevin Hartman (my money is on Hartman) will be traded for a Designated Player spot.

I'm really sorry to see both Herc and Ugo go. They were both solid players and gave their best every match--unlike a certain megastar on the team. A change of scenery may do them good though...especially Herc who didn't have the best of seasons in '06. Though I'm not sure Clavijo is the right coach to bring the best outta him though. Good luck to both of them...except (of course) when they are playing LA.

On another note, Gavin Glinton signed a new MLS contract. Could he be added to the LA roster?

So, Yallop is making moves. We expected that. However, now that the moves have started, I have no clue what direction he's going. I just hope he doesn't mess things up.

Beckham United?

2006-12-01T16:33:00.000-05:00

This whole Beckham thing is really getting crazy. Now the rumor is that he (along with Glazer) will become part owners of the Galaxy and change the name to Manchester United USA. Of course, the fact that the rumor was started by La Opinion leads me to believe it's more tabloid fiction. However, I could see AEG negotiating with the Spiced One a deal which would give him a partial ownership in the team in lieu of a massive salary. That's more the kind of deal I could see happen. Rebranding the team is just plain ridiculous. That I can't see happening. LA Galaxy is one of the best known brands in MLS. Why change it? Besides, Red Devils USA would be more like their room mates name (Chivas USA)

I don't know. All these rumors are making my head spin. But it sure beats reading about how MLS is doomed to fail.

Klinsmann

2006-12-01T13:32:00.000-05:00

It's December 1st (my son opened the first Advent calendar door this morning) and we still have no word from USSF on who Arena's replacement will be. However, Gulati is now confirming he's talked with Klinsmann. This many now mean anything though.

Pele says we should have Klinsmann. However, I'm not sure how much experience he's had hiring coaches.

So, now the question is, will we have a coach before we hit 2007?

Great comedy

2006-11-30T22:54:00.000-05:00

Saw this, had a good laugh and had to share.

What I did on my vacation...

2006-11-30T19:46:00.000-05:00

Remember writing those essays when you were in school? Well, how 'bout if you were one of the Adidas Generation players? This isn't a bad way to spend your time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I'm sure they'll have a great time, see some great matches. Oh, and maybe practice and play a couple of matches. Heck, if nothing else they are all old enough to order a pint in the pub around the corner from where ever they are staying. It's just like all those semester abroad students...except they only get to go for 10 days and don't have study.

Anyway, I hope they have a good time and come back even more pumped to reach the top level of the sport and go play in the matches they'll see one day.

Tractor running out of gas

2006-11-29T23:26:00.000-05:00

What is it about Ipswich this season? Today's 2-1 away to Derby is the third away match in a row that Town have lost in injury time. Something has got to change...at least I'm hoping to see a change for the better. But I'm not going to hold my breath. Town still owe a lot of money to banks. So, there's no money to bring players in. The best young players are being sold to bigger clubs to cover the debt. About half the first team squad right now are players on loan to Ipswich. How far can you get when you rent rather than own? It's going to be a long time before we see my boys back in the Premership.

Of course, the conspiracy theorist in me might think that staying in the Championship is intentional. After all, the restructuring of debt was contingent on paying things off once Town get promoted. That is still a long way off. At least Setanta shows a few of their matches so I'm not completely reliant on highlights streamed from the internet.

It's only a FANZINE!!!

2006-11-29T22:35:00.000-05:00

Ok, this has to stop. All this Beckham to LA stuff is getting out of hand. Yeah, I've no doubt that a big part of the reason MLS investors allowed this new rule was to get someone like Beckham and it's true, Beckham does have business ties in LA. However, I just stumbled across this Business Journal piece about Glazer buying LA and adding Becks to the roster.

The piece is quoting a Fanzine!!! For those of you who don't know what a fanzine is, it's a publication produced by fans for fans. Yeah, they'll interview players and have various other bits of information. However, I don't believe a fanzine has ever broke a big news story. I may be wrong here, but I doubt I am.

Now, can someone tell me where in either The Red Issue or The Mirror there is anything other than speculative fiction? The guys over at the fanzine must be having a great laugh at all this publicity.

Bottom line is, there's nothing to the piece. It's pure fiction and the way Soccernet and other news sources have picked up this (non) story makes me laugh. How can professional hacks not see though this.

I guess it's a good thing there's bloggers like me keeping things straight. ;)

Then again, it's good to see the LA Times had some fun with story.

So, should the Galaxy change owner and name...what should the new name be? Here's some great suggestions.

...Top 10 new names being considered for the Galaxy:

10. Manchester United States

9. Man USA

8. Man, U Remember When They Called Us the Galaxy?

7. Manchester United of Los Angeles

6. Miracle on Manchester

5. David Beckham and 10 Other Guys

4. No One Here Can Play for England

3. Nippon Beck Ham Fighters

2. Beckham Family Time Share

1. The Spice Girls

Ah the internet. It's such a great source of information...but an even better source of misinformation.

Oh, and the skeptic in me now believes that the Spice Boy saying that he won't go anywhere until the end of the season leads me to believe he'll be making a move in January. Either way, we'll know in a couple months. Ah the silly season is living up to it's name this year...probably the first time in MLS history. Ya gotta love it.

New Look

2006-11-29T14:56:00.000-05:00

Rather than spending productive time today (my day off) studying for a KLEP test I'm taking in two weeks, I decided to clean up my blog a bit. I think it looks a bit better. I still need to make a few more tweaks but I hope you like what I've got so far.

It sure is silly season

2006-11-29T13:55:00.000-05:00

Maybe it's just me, but there seems to be more news from MLS now that the season has finished than there was during the season. It seems like a day doesn't go by when there isn't something in the press somewhere about Beckham heading to LA (or NY). Throw in Figo and Ronaldo and you've got the most reported MLS story probably ever. But, if nothing else, the "Designated Player Rule" has brought some media attention to the league.

Of course, we now have NY with two Designated Player spots after they traded Amando Guevara to Chivas for it. I'm actually excited to see what they do with it. I can't help thinking that when they use the position, it'll be someone we've heard of, but not the huge names being thrown around already.

The Revs will now be playing on plastic next season. They (the Kraft's) didn't waste any time rolling it out once the Revs season was over. I guess in the long run it's a financial decision. However, I'm not keen on it. Next season we'll have NE, NY, Toronto and RSL with turf fields.

I've been finding myself agreeing with Jamie Trecker a bit lately. So, it's nice to know he's lost the plot again. I don't see the need to review something which probably can't be overturned anyway? It would break up the flow of the game too much. Now, if you really wanna introduce replay into the sport, why not review. It's not like the Americanisation of the game really worked back when the league started, why try it again now? Replay in soccer won't work. You can't stop play for a minute or two (how long do NFL and NCAA officials instances of cheating after the match? Have a committee review players who dive or do other things which give them an unfair advantage and fine/suspend them. If players know they'll get caught taking that dive in the box and miss some matches because of it, maybe they'll think twice. It'll also make the refs job easier. It certainly won't hurt things.

So, no word yet from USSF on the new US coach. Weren't we told there would be a decision by the end of November? We are getting awful close to that date. I wonder if negotiations with the favored candidate have hit a snag? Of course, now that I've posted that, we'll probably get an announcement in the next 24 hours.

Finally, I never thought I'd see the day, but it looks like we may get some Wembley matches some day soon. It sure looks nicer than the original stadium (which I visited once just before it was bulldozed).

It's a start

2006-11-22T14:32:00.000-05:00

We keep hearing about using replays in soccer to judge things. I've never been a real proponent of that. However, if leagues were to review players diving, and suspend culprits, I would be in favor of that. Yeah, it would be after the fact and the players involved would have still had the advantage during the match...But if they have to miss more matches, would it be enough to get them to stop? I'd think so.

Anyway, at least one club have decided to put an end to the cheating. I hope they follow through with it and other teams take notice.