Donovan's too important to the USMNT than the Galaxy right now. Let's take his salary money and buy a couple of decent attacking midfielders/strikers with the cash. Dump Gordon too!!! I saw some of the coverage of the friendlies in Dubai and Saudi Arabia. I think he fits in well and I want him to thrive against the best competition in the world. I care a lot more about Donovan staying in Germany than Beckham in Milan. I do think Beckham should stay in Milan, however. He will play like crap if the league makes him come back. He wants to play real football. Unfortunately, he's not going to get that in MLS, not yet anyway. The league is growing and growing fast, but not fast enough to keep Beckham's interest. Anyway, I think Donovan has found a home and I am happy for him.
Yes, that's exactly what the Galaxy should do, dump two players who scored 25 goals!! As long as you at it, please name two players available under free transfer who can score these same 25 goals for no more than the combined $425 combined salary cap totals of LD and AG.
http://la.galaxy.mlsnet.com/t106/stats/index.jsp?club=t106 Donovan 20 Beckham 5 Gordon 5 sub total 30 Buddle 15
Seriously though.... Beckham came to L.A. so his wife Posh Spice can reunite the SPICE Girls. It wasnt about forwarding the game, it was about money. His best bet is to stay in Milan if things go well for him there and cut ties with LA and save face for him and the league before its too late for both parties. You dont want MLS getting a bad name... a worse name than already is happening. If its not about the money, then prove me wrong David Beckham. Prove me wrong.
However, Landycakes only referred to dumping LD and AG and that is 20 goals. IMO, it would be easier for the Galaxy to replace Beckham (on the pitch) that it would be LD. LD is essentially a DP without a DP slot. Unless the rules change, the Galaxy can only replace him with someone who counts against the salary cap. Conversely, if Beckham leaves, the Galaxy could almost sign anyone and only take a 400K cap hit. The big problem is the timing. If either leave, that creates a void that really can't be filled until the summer transfer window or May with an out of season loan until then.
that makes no sense - he dragged his wife 5,000 miles away from the rest of her "band" and to a country where their popularity was a tenth what it was in europe in order to reunite them. these things are safe to say: simon fuller is a money/power hungry ******** who will whore out his cash cow for as much money as possible (note beckham's salary is something like $5,500,000.25 - you know when you see ¢25 in a contract that someone negotiated for that and when someone negotiates for ¢25 on a contract worth $5mil you know that person is a douchebag) victoria desperately wanted to be famous, be it as an actor, singer, whatever and thought coming to los angeles would help her. david is either a brilliant actor (and based on his pepsi commercials he'd probably be vying with keanu for the golden raspberry each year) or he's exactly who he says he is: a guy who loves football, and loves playing his football for england more than anything else. besides, if it's all about the money, i doubt very much that ac milan would be willing to make beckham their second highest paid player - which is what they'd have to do to match his base mls salary. perhaps if they gave up more than the galaxy did on shirt sales the contract might exceed what he gets in mls, but from the rumblings i heard, la already shares a higher percentage of shirt sales than is customary in those types of arrangements.
Hi fellas, You are forgetting one important thing: David Beckham really likes living in America. He's quite happy where he is, he's earning good money and likes living in a nation where the celebrity magazines have no interest in his movements. He's just a bog-standard bloke who loves football as the previous poster mentioned...there is no way he wants to put his family through the circus "enjoyed" by footballers in europe. With my England hat on, i'm delighted he's playing in Milan, it'll keep him sharp and ready for duty, but as a long term thing, he's happy living his life in the States, and you can't put a price on that
How dare you even speak Beckhams name in these terms... He has never been about money and never will be. Beck's decision to come to MLS was/is a genuine attempt to increase the sports popularity (not sure of the success state side, but back here in England the MLS is soo much bigger because of one name.. the increased interest will bring more money and attention to your game. I suggest you listen a little bit closer to what beckham has to say for himself in the future, if you had you would know the above. If Beck's does stay in Milan fair play to him, he's 33 and would be playing for another of the worlds biggest clubs... if he go's back to LA i am sure he will continue to be a success and a great ambassador for the game in general.
I like Gordon. He's very good at holding up the ball, flicking it on etc... I expect good things from him this year. I predict he scores 10+ goals, especially with Lewis on the left. Reflecting on the most recent Oceana All Star match, the connection between the two looks delicious. Beautiful goal by Gordon. Even more beautiful service from Lewis. With an assist and a goal in 135 minutes of play, Donovan will not return to LA without serious contemplation. If Beckham stays in Milan, the same drivers will keep him there that kept him in LA. The guy can sell shirts like no other.
Okay..that's your opinion: Money. My opinion is: It is all about football. Beckham came to America in the first place coz he was heartbroken, coz he (thought) lost England and respect and first team place in the highest level of football. Yes, AC Milan made an offer to him at the time, not to mention the same (offered rumor) made by Inter and some English clubs. Heck, even Real offered to extend the contract with him. But, Real's offer to him had NO guarantee at all that he'll play regularly in the first team football, that they'll treat him as a genuine, respected, talented footballer, but only as a "shirt-seller" for their club. And I believe other clubs (Milan, Inter and some English) wanted him for marketing in the first place too! Well..they didn't respect him anymore, and treated him worthlessly. When everyone didn't want you, told you that you've lost it (and I believe Becks himself believed a little bit that he had lost it too at the time), and took you for granted..don't you feel like moving on too ? Even Zidane understood his situation, he said (if I remembered correctly), "Real Madrid has made a big mistake in handling Beckham. They should do all they can to retain him in the 1st place as he is a great player and a great professional. But, what is the point of staying in a place where everyone doesn't want you anymore?" So..he moved to America, to start a new life and heal his broken heart. But, immediately after he signed the contract he redeemed himself, maybe it's because he felt free, free from everything, and so he just wanted to concentrate on his football (coz he loves it, and he loved the club still) and win a trophy at least before he left. And he did. The rest is history (England took him back, Real realized their mistake..but it's too late. I bet he felt a bit regret too, but being a man of his word, he'd honour his contract. But now that he has an OUT clause after 2009, I guess we'll just have to wait and see). Wow..I feel like writing an obituary here. Sorry that this is so long. But this is just my opinion to counter yours. Cheers!
Beck's will be back and that is good for the Galaxy and MLS. However, Landon needs to move on to another challenge. He is simply too young and too talented to languish in a second-rate league. For the good of the national team he needs to stay with BM or even another team in a top league. Get that man ready for 2010
I want Beckham and Donovan back because i like the feeling when we score, i also want Galaxy to sign a decent centreback and holding midfielder cos i dont like the feeling when we concede. #ollocks to Milan and Munich and Vamos Galaxy.
Yeah, what's best for Donovan and Beckham personally and what's best for the Galaxy are two different things. I want the best players I can for my team, so obviously, I don't want Donovan to leave. And I want the most visibility and chance for growth in my league, so I don't want Beckham to go. That said, from a competitive stand-point, I think losing Donovan will be harder to replace than Beckham. Unfortunately, I think the likelihood of Donovan leaving is much, much higher than Beckham leaving...
Well haid Harry. I would love nothing more than to see Becks and Lando leading the charge with a retooled back line. Go G's. Screw Milan and BM.
I predict they both won't return in March. Donovan will let us know his (and Klinsie's) decision sooner, Becks will follow. There is a slight possibility of Beckham staying here (AEG will try to lure him back after losing Donovan), but Donovan's gone.
Jeez dude calm down! Did you meet him in the bathroom of Lucky Baldwin's or something?? First things first... I like Becks. He *IS* a decent soccer player. But he, nor any other player (even Hartman) is above this team. Not even the managers... tho some may try. And about him being all about the game and not about the money... I like to use the old phrase "A barking dog wont bite. Quiet ones do." Think about it. If he wanted to come here to play football and do an awesome job at it he would just come here, do the deed and be praised. Instead, he is coming in here praised before he does anything. Im just saying get the job done. Show us you're not ALL about the money.
Yeah..this is exactly my thought too. As much as I want to see Becks flourish again in Europe, with Milan..I don't think I would like to see him leaving the Gs just like that. Maybe..maybe after at least a championship trophy, or a league cup..I'll be totally okay with everything he'll want to do. Or maybe when the Gs get to be in the playoffs, at least. Honestly..I think he'll come back to LA this March. Not so much with Donovan though. And I believe Becks will try everything, working harder, to win the league this time. But I won't keep any hope for him to stay after 2009..whether he won anything or not.
I refuse to believe Becks AND Donovan will both stay in Europe, if they BOTH don't come back how will we be able to play sexy football, dammitt..
I would love it if Donovan stayed, but would hate it if Beckham did. Reasserting his commitment to the league and the club would be a sign to the rest of the world. I think if Beckham, Lewis, Magee, and Buddle are all working together, then the offense is still very potent, as Buddle will be getting class service from both wings. Without Beckham, more work would need to be done.
The financial part of this is definitely true. And I wonder if it isn't true in soccer terms as well. In my humble opinion (and in the justifiably less humble opinion of some of the more knowledgeable soccer people I talk to), Beckham is significantly underrated as a soccer player by most US fans, who look at him as an overpaid dead ball specialist with scads of tats and a hot-or-not wife. But Beckham has amazing (world-class) awareness and the ability to play the passes he sees. The problem for him here is that only maybe half (fewer?) the guys on the Galaxy are good enough at what they do to actually take full advantage of that. Donovan has a similar (but less intense) problem, but in his case it's offset by the fact that he has a superlative engine and wicked pace. So Beckham, I think, relies more on the abilities of the guys around him than Donovan does. Beckham can play a mediocre player into space but it won't matter if the guy can't trap it or doesn't make the run in the first place, whereas Donovan is just as fast in Carson as he is in Munich. Maybe at some point in the negotiations somebody from AEG said, "Here's a quarter. Call someone who cares." It's weird how this could either be totally sincere or wickedly ironic, and be about equal parts right and wrong in either case. I do think Beckham really loves playing soccer, and I acknowledge that a lot of his PR work here is either designed to raise the Galaxy's profile or to raise money for his foundations. On the other hand, for about a year there, I couldn't get on the freeway without Armani slapping Beck's junk on my windscreen. It's not like he needs the money, and I doubt he lost a bet that made him strip to his knickers again. The dude seems to like being good-looking and famous. Can't say I blame him. I'm sure I'd enjoy it too. But I'm not sure that Beckham likes living "in America." Right now, all I can say is he likes living in Bel Air. And they aren't really the same thing.