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Slipperduke

The Camden Cad
Joined
Aug 24, 2004
Messages
4,333
Location
North London
I've been a little bit sniffy about football in America in the past. With their 'marquee' players and unbridled enthusiasm for the spectacular, there's always been a doubt in my mind as to whether they really 'get' what football is all about. That is until now. I'm sure I can't be the only person whose response to those anti-Beckham protests was to leap into the air like Henry Higgins, shouting, "They've got it! By Jove, I think they've got it!"

Here in England, the general feeling towards Beckham's transfer machinations has been one of warm empathy. Why shouldn't he attempt to prolong his international career by splitting his time between Los Angeles and Milan? He's a dedicated and driven professional desperate for one more crack at the World Cup before he retires, who could possibly deny him that? England, and Beckham in particular, have just been given their answer. We may not give a damn about the fortunes of LA Galaxy, but their fans certainly do and it's the first real sign that the Americans have figured out football at last. You don't care about the bigger picture when it's your team who are getting the mucky end of the stick.

Beckham and his entourage arrived in Los Angeles on a wave of hype. England's former captain was going to be the saviour of the MLS, the adrenaline shot it needed to close the gap on the more traditional American sports. He was good-looking and decent, talented but humble. In fact, if you replaced the nasally British accent with something a little more 'homegrown', you had yourself an all-American hero. That's why the LA Galaxy fans are so angry, that's why they feel that they've been mislead and that's why, if I was one of them, I'd have been booing Beckham as well.

Imagine arriving at a party to find a generous spread of food and drink laid out by a charming and obliging hostess. You're warmly welcomed through the front door, handed a glass of something bubbly and you fall into conversation with like-minded souls. After an hour, your phone beeps with an SMS from a friend who works for a record label. There's a party at the studio, all sorts of naughtiness is expected and he can get you in for free if you jump in a cab now. An honourable man would want to stay at the party, a selfish man would want to scarper, but both would know the consequences of their actions. A warm welcome would be out of the question were you ever fortunate enough to be invited back.

I have always been a huge admirer of Beckham and the way that he has conducted himself throughout his career, but he has made an error of judgement in the way that he has treated his contractual obligations to LA Galaxy. His only saving grace was that instead of sulking until he got his own way, he was at least man enough to buy out a portion of that contract himself, but you try telling that to those fans,

No-one can blame him for wanting to play in the World Cup, but the fact is that he'll be a fringe player at best. There isn't a better set-piece specialist on the planet, but he's simply not quick enough to cope with 90 minutes of international football anymore. Pride has cost him his reputation, the only thing that he ever worked as hard on as he did his free-kicks. It turns out that Americans do 'get' football and, like fans all over the world, they know when someone is treating their support with disdain.
 
I agreed with an awful lot of what Landon Donovan had to say...

He should have made his intentions clearer than he did, but I understand how Gullit's removal as manager might have just rocked the boat enough to push Beckham overboard. In LA, Gullit was Beckham's reminder of the all important Football over the pond in Central Europe... He'd been there, done it and was running a souvenir shop packed full of T-Shirts. When he left, Beckham was left on his lonesome with no representative.

Fair play to Beckham though, he soldiered on in the second half, picked up a good assist and saved LA a point, earning a standing ovation when he left the pitch.
 
I agreed with an awful lot of what Landon Donovan had to say...

He should have made his intentions clearer than he did, but I understand how Gullit's removal as manager might have just rocked the boat enough to push Beckham overboard. In LA, Gullit was Beckham's reminder of the all important Football over the pond in Central Europe... He'd been there, done it and was running a souvenir shop packed full of T-Shirts. When he left, Beckham was left on his lonesome with no representative.

Fair play to Beckham though, he soldiered on in the second half, picked up a good assist and saved LA a point, earning a standing ovation when he left the pitch.

I agree, but didn't Donovan do pretty much the same going on loan to a team in germany at the same time.
 
I have to disagree with you here Slipper, I really don't think this is Beckham's fault. How many times do we hear complaints when players like Gerrard and Lampard choose 'club over country'. Becks' priority is playing for England, and if it hadn't been for that numbskull McLaren effectively telling him that he wouldn't play for England anymore, he would never have made the move to LA to start with.

I'm also not convinced that he's a 'fringe player at best'. His range of passing, as well as the famed dead ball ability, are far in advance of any other English player, and as good if not better than anyone currently playing in the world.

I would personally like to see Becks back as England captain in time to lift the trophy next year. Nobody deserves it as much as he does. Countless English players would have crumbled in the face of the abuse he got in 1998, but Beckham battled through it to become a national icon, and his performance against Greece in 2001 is still the best I've ever seen by a player in an England shirt. St Becks can do what he wants, and the Galaxy fans can suck my balls.
 
I have to disagree with you here Slipper, I really don't think this is Beckham's fault. How many times do we hear complaints when players like Gerrard and Lampard choose 'club over country'. Becks' priority is playing for England, and if it hadn't been for that numbskull McLaren effectively telling him that he wouldn't play for England anymore, he would never have made the move to LA to start with.

I'm also not convinced that he's a 'fringe player at best'. His range of passing, as well as the famed dead ball ability, are far in advance of any other English player, and as good if not better than anyone currently playing in the world.

I would personally like to see Becks back as England captain in time to lift the trophy next year. Nobody deserves it as much as he does. Countless English players would have crumbled in the face of the abuse he got in 1998, but Beckham battled through it to become a national icon, and his performance against Greece in 2001 is still the best I've ever seen by a player in an England shirt. St Becks can do what he wants, and the Galaxy fans can suck my balls.

Agreed 100%
 
I have to disagree with you here Slipper, I really don't think this is Beckham's fault. How many times do we hear complaints when players like Gerrard and Lampard choose 'club over country'. Becks' priority is playing for England, and if it hadn't been for that numbskull McLaren effectively telling him that he wouldn't play for England anymore, he would never have made the move to LA to start with.

I'm also not convinced that he's a 'fringe player at best'. His range of passing, as well as the famed dead ball ability, are far in advance of any other English player, and as good if not better than anyone currently playing in the world.

I would personally like to see Becks back as England captain in time to lift the trophy next year. Nobody deserves it as much as he does. Countless English players would have crumbled in the face of the abuse he got in 1998, but Beckham battled through it to become a national icon, and his performance against Greece in 2001 is still the best I've ever seen by a player in an England shirt. St Becks can do what he wants, and the Galaxy fans can suck my balls.

Spot on sir.

Beckham is a national icon, and you either love him or hate him. I'm a massive fan of his, and his putting his country first for his World Cup ambitions which I'm delighted to see as an England fan, but if I was American and a LA Galaxy fan I'd be in the same boat as them.

Heres hoping he pops back across to Milan, proves himself and his fitness and is on the plane for the World Cup.
 
Regardless of whether he should be over there or not, this is a question of personal responsibility. Beckham signed the contract. Beckham posed for the pictures, Beckham took the money, Beckham made them all love him. Beckham decided to opt out for half the season. Beckham concluded that England was more important and Beckham, therefore, is to blame for this PR disaster.

The point I was trying to make was that the US fans have proved that they get football now because they don't give a flying fudge about his chances with Fabio Capello. Why should they? All they see is a very highly paid player treating them like cack. If the situation was reversed, if this was an English club paying over the odds for a foreign player and he kept skipping off for six months at a time, how do you think our fans would react?

I am a huge admirer of Beckham, particularly for the way that he has behaved in the face of moronic adveristy. This country turns on him every couple of years, they bait him about his wife, they wish cancer upon his children and he never once considers going on a shotgun rampage. He's obviously a good man, but he's dropped a bollock here, he really has. He's just not quick enough for international football anymore. He'd be torn apart at right-wing and, while he might be able to perform a cameo role in the middle against a weaker side, I wouldn't like to see him trying hold back a quick, physical side.

I still fancy his missus though.
 
Anyone else feel that Beckham can/will use the Galaxy fans reaction to him (or a portion thereof) to engineer a move away from them, citing that said reaction as the reason for him returning to Britain/Europe ??

On a personal level i'd love to see him in South Africa, perhaps coming on with 10 minutes left in the final verses Spain and curling home a 25 yard free kick to win the match
 
Really? Having seen both of them in the flesh, I have to say he's a lot more attractive than she is... She was a wee tango-coloured bag of bones. Not my type at all...

I've never seen her in the flesh, but she's very pretty in the face. Elfish. Elvish. Elfin. Which is the right word?
 
david_beckham2_1450726c.jpg


You say they've "got" football now Slip just because a couple of middle class Tarquins shout some poor quality abuse? Really?

Until they can abuse their own players properly, it all doesn't look or sound like football to me. Junior Agogo would have killed for "abuse" like this.....
 
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