I’m missing MLS already

I woke up this morning and I’m not sure why but I was thinking it’s a long break until we get some more MLS. It’s not like Baseball which gets in the news all winter–often for the wrong reasons–MLS has little to no news to keep us occupied. At least we still have foreign leagues to fill the void. Oh, and I supposed I should congratulate the Orange Smurfs (AKA Houston) for another title. Personally, I’d love to see Dwayne DeRosario wearing Blue at Portman Road by the time the new MLS season starts. Well, one can dream right?

This MyFootballClub thing is amusing. Based on comments on other blogs, BigSoccer and other boards, I wonder how many of the new ‘owners’ are on this side of the Pond? More American investment. Actually, has anyone seen a breakdown of where the investors are from? Something about the whole thing just seemed odd. Honestly, I never really like the idea of owners getting involved in what goes on match-wise. Off the field stuff? Sure. But let the manager/coach handle players. I guess I’m not alone in this opinion.

As for the matches on Saturday. I fell asleep after the goal in the South Africa-US game. Missed the Israel-Russia game but guess I’ll need to find a way to see the big game on Wednesday. I wonder how England will mess up this opportunity?

Hey, the expansion draft is next week…WooHoo… Pass me some turkey….zzzzzzz.

The sky hasn’t fallen…yet.

I grew up in the UK and used to fall for the “chicken little” type of reporting which goes on in the UK.  Some of it is justified–Band/Live Aid would never have existed if it wasn’t for the BBC–but a lot of it is just sensationalistic hype.

Here’s a classic example.

England players will be covered with insurance indemnity of up to £100,000 a week in the event of injuries suffered in the Euro 2008 qualifier against Russia on the artificial pitch here tomorrow.

Ok, so it’s the FA and not Fleet St this time.  However, the amount of press coverage the pitch has been getting the last few months has been amusing…at least it has in my opinion…which is the only one that counts here.   I’m surprised that none of these articles has mentioned the fact that Spice Balls (that would be the injured English guy in LA) has played 90 minutes on the same surface and came through in harmed….his injuries were sustained on traditional grass pitches.  But I guess that would ruin the hysteria.

Speaking of hysteria–well, maybe not–Nick Webster has done his best to create some.   Then I read Dan Loney’s piece which tears Webster apart.

My personal opinion, I’ve witnessed hooliganism at US Mexico games.   I’ve seen the video of the NY/DC game a couple years ago.  Will it be organized?  No…not by groups like LARS.  They (and other supporters groups) work with their teams administration too much to even think about that type of thing…besides, supporting a team has nothing to do with beat downs.  However, unless MLS and others running the pro leagues here get a clue, something bad will happen at the rate things are going.  There will be some renegade individuals who could very well start stuff.  That’s how it starts.   But then again, I’ve a feeling with the way stadiums are constructed over here (vs. how stadiums were in England 30 years ago) it’ll be a lot more difficult to start stuff…if security have a clue how to react…but that’s a whole different rant.

Becks to LA good for England?

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.

Losing Donovan for the next month is bad enough

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.

Like him or not….

…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.

Homeless in LA

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.