wibble Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Beckham is (impressively) earning his cash by sitting through this cringeworthy nonsense without laughing his head off. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tbelcher11 Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Its kinda funny. The US footy channel, is broadcsating this over Sky LOL Hahaha, and now Sky is showing their sports show on the US footy channel. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kager Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 I'm at work, how bad is it? Should I be embarrassed? As an American I hope I can avoid being lumped in with all the rest. Oh and in high school the soccer team got way more chicks than the football team, the football team in general were a bunch of tools, but I know what you mean. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest brewer Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 That was amazing Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Geordiesned Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Lalas, "We're the jewel of the MLS." Erm, you're bottom of the league! Beckham, "Thank you for making my dream come true." Yeah right! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Geordiesned Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 I'm at work, how bad is it? Should I be embarrassed? As an American I hope I can avoid being lumped in with all the rest. Oh and in high school the soccer team got way more chicks than the football team, the football team in general were a bunch of tools, but I know what you mean. Oh it was bad. Documentary on ITV next week apparently following Posh Spice in America. They showed a clip of it on GMTV this morning. She was pouting for her American driving licence photo and asked if she could get final approval on the photo. The reply from the butch looking female employee, "Er, no!" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaliMag Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 I haven't seen any of this yet, but FYI the Mayor of LA is embroiled in a scandal involving an extramarital affair... with a journalist who was responsible for covering LA City politics... you can imagine how well that is working out for him. Some of the observations on here are a bit wide of the mark, but yes there is a distinct difference between fandom of footie in LA and Newcastle which is probably one of the most footie obsessed places on earth so hardly a fair comparison or a realistic one. Some pertinent points: Average attendance for an MLS game in 2006 was 16,000 which is the similar to the SPL and Eredivisie, but about 4K less than Le Championnat. Galaxy attendence ranges around the 24,000 mark - its important to note that tickets are cheaper in the US and almost a quarter of them are given away for free, to boost attendance so its like the makems in the Championship. Here is a very critical article on MLS attendance figures from last year: http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/soccer/20060927-9999-lz1s27goal.html Los Angeles DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A GRID IRON TEAM - money is a factor but it's just not as important to Los Angelinos as the rest of the Country. "Soccer" is a regional interest that is generally limited to the immigrant Latino communities and the middle-class & educated white communities - that description covers the vast Majority of Los Angelinos and understandibly in this context the Galaxy have the highest attendance figures. Its attendance is better than the local NBA and NHL franchises (~18,000 - albeit much smaller stadiums). Only Baseball has higher attendences in LA (46,000 for the didgers and that is the second highest in the Country - http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/attendance). It should be noted that Baseball tickets are even cheaper than Galaxy tickets and have an even higher percentage of free/complimentary tickets. The bottom line I suppose is that Sports in general are not taken as seriously in the States (especially in California) as footie is in Newcastle - nor will it ever. That said "Soccer" is a sport that is increasing in popularity and the overall game has improved in the States steadily since the 1980s when NASL still existed. Persoanlly, I think the US team will be comparible (if not better) to ENgland's in the next 15 years but this will be 50% based on US improvement and 50% based on ENgland's decline which at this point in time seems inevitable. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robster Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Anyone heard any whispers about what the feelings are in the Galaxy dressing room ?? If I was a player there, I wouldnt be very happy with this soap opera rolling into town Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohmelads Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Persoanlly, I think the US team will be comparible (if not better) to ENgland's in the next 15 years but this will be 50% based on US improvement and 50% based on ENgland's decline which at this point in time seems inevitable. In only 15 years the US will be a better team than England? No chance. That implies that there are a load of American kids out there right now who are better than their English counterparts. I think it's debatable the England team is getting/will get worse. We'll always be one of the top countries at producing talent because of the number of people who follow and play the sport so passionately, because our league is one of the best in the world, meaning there is a football infrastructure in place with the best kids found and trained from a young age. I don't follow this doomsday scenario that foreigners are stunting our kids' development, those who are good enough will get their chances at their local clubs, Gerrard at Liverpool, Terry at Chelsea and even Taylor with us. Those who show the ability/potential at the lower level make the move up, like Carrick, Andy Johnsen, Walcott. What it does mean is that our league gets stronger and our players are consistently training and playing against the best in the world. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cronky Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 I think he'll do a lot to encourage young American footballers. They'll look at him and think - well if that guy can make it the top of the world game, so can I. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaliMag Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 In only 15 years the US will be a better team than England? No chance. That implies that there are a load of American kids out there right now who are better than their English counterparts. We'll have to agree to disagree: and yes I think there are loads of kids in the US (U-15) that are better than what England have at the moment. Also that last bit was really my personal opinion and I was not trying to play that off as fact in any way. I don't really support the idea that foreigners are ruining the game either, but I do believe that the UK is getting worse for developing youth. As per the recent article in general chat about the best places to raise children in the world the UK was even behind the US - and very far behind in the amount of resources spent on youth and physical development. The UK as a whole has relied heavily on football's popularity to produce good players, but government support is just not there - witness the UK's lack of a presence in the Olympics. That would be the crux of my argument. I should add that I hope I am wrong and that the academy's at all of the many clubs in the UK (not just England) are able to get the resources to take up the slack. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alan Shearer 9 Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 the US system is really shit (from what I know of it). It doesn't matter how many university games you play it just doesn't give you proper experience (see Gooch). I can't see the US overtaking or becoming equal to England in the next 15 years, too short a timespan imo. England may decline, but I can't see the U.S. making the progress, could be wrong there but I'd put more than 30/1 that they won't. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brummie Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Persoanlly, I think the US team will be comparible (if not better) to ENgland's in the next 15 years but this will be 50% based on US improvement and 50% based on ENgland's decline which at this point in time seems inevitable. No chance. If the US improved 50 percent and England declined by the same percentage, we'd still be a far, far better team (and that is acknowledging the fact that England are shite), and that is never going to change until the US gets a decent, competitive league. Here's how bad the MLS is - Juan Pablo Angel is currently the joint top scorer, despite joining the team late. I've watched him consistently fail to hit a barn door from ten paces over the last few years. Some of the defending over there is league two / pub team standard. The US has a very, very long way to go, and shipping in Beckham won't even scratch at the surface of it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brummie Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 The UK as a whole has relied heavily on football's popularity to produce good players, but government support is just not there - witness the UK's lack of a presence in the Olympics. That would be the crux of my argument. I should add that I hope I am wrong and that the academy's at all of the many clubs in the UK (not just England) are able to get the resources to take up the slack. The reason we have no presence at the Olympics is due to the fact that we enter the Olympics as Great Britain, but are seperate countries as footballing entities. And Olympic football doesn't actually matter in any case. We don't actually need government intervention to produce decent players through academies - why would we? The clubs have enough money to do it themselves, and are doing a good enough job. The US may produce talented youngsters, but can you give me a few examples of such youngsters who have made it in established leagues? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaliMag Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Interesting comments but I think both of you (AS 9 and Brummie) have a bad core argument. Does a Country need a top notch league to be competative? Not necessarily. A good one will do with the best players leaving for the big three (EPL, Serie A and La Liga). Conversely by your logic having the most competative leagues would mean that ENgland, Italy and Spain would be the only winners of the World Cup every time and yet... The number of Americans playing in Europe has been slowly but steadily creeping up every year and it will ocntinue to do so. Anyway as I said before this is pure speculation on my part. I have lived in both the UK and US and have watched countless games at various levels in both countries but I am not sure that makes me more informed or just more entrenched in my beliefs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brummie Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 Interesting comments but I think both of you (AS 9 and Brummie) have a bad core argument. Does a Country need a top notch league to be competative? Not necessarily. A good one will do with the best players leaving for the big three (EPL, Serie A and La Liga). Conversely by your logic having the most competative leagues would mean that ENgland, Italy and Spain would be the only winners of the World Cup every time and yet... The number of Americans playing in Europe has been slowly but steadily creeping up every year and it will ocntinue to do so. Anyway as I said before this is pure speculation on my part. I have lived in both the UK and US and have watched countless games at various levels in both countries but I am not sure that makes me more informed or just more entrenched in my beliefs. I see where you're coming from, but I'd only really be able to agree with you if what you're suggesting were demonstrated by actual events. Yes, there are lots of Americans playing in Europe, but then again there are lots of Venezuelans or Ecuadorians. Who are the big American names in the PL? (Incidentally, I'm not one of those 'Our league is the best in the world' delusionists). I take your point with the competitive league thing (Brazil possibly an example which fits your argument, but their players play in the best teams in the best leagues in Europe). The MLS at the moment (and I am sure this will improve) isn't just 'not one of the biggest leagues', it is an irrelevance. I really think this situation will improve, but think there needs to be a little realism about how long it will take, and how far off being a top league it currently is. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest brewer Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 USA's Under-20s beat Brazil the other day. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wullie Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 While I'm thinking, don't know if it was posted on here, but there was a decent article in the Observer last Sunday about the state of English football from grass-roots level: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/sport/story/0,,2121414,00.html It's a subject I'm always interested in reading about, why some countries produce talent like a conveyer belt and other countries produce absolutely fuck all, same for clubs too really to a lesser extent. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brummie Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 While I'm thinking, don't know if it was posted on here, but there was a decent article in the Observer last Sunday about the state of English football from grass-roots level: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/sport/story/0,,2121414,00.html It's a subject I'm always interested in reading about, why some countries produce talent like a conveyer belt and other countries produce absolutely fuck all, same for clubs too really to a lesser extent. Aye, very good article, that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Parka Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 My friend has a scholarship in America (a degree is sports science) he also plays collegiate "soccer". He reports that the players he plays with were every bit as good as what he was used to in the UK. Small story I know but who is to say. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaliMag Posted July 14, 2007 Share Posted July 14, 2007 The UK as a whole has relied heavily on football's popularity to produce good players, but government support is just not there - witness the UK's lack of a presence in the Olympics. That would be the crux of my argument. I should add that I hope I am wrong and that the academy's at all of the many clubs in the UK (not just England) are able to get the resources to take up the slack. The reason we have no presence at the Olympics is due to the fact that we enter the Olympics as Great Britain, but are seperate countries as footballing entities. And Olympic football doesn't actually matter in any case. We don't actually need government intervention to produce decent players through academies - why would we? The clubs have enough money to do it themselves, and are doing a good enough job. The US may produce talented youngsters, but can you give me a few examples of such youngsters who have made it in established leagues? I wasn't talking about football but sport development and athleticism in general among the british population and its youth. Just about every other European Country does better than the UK - due in part to better youth development. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaliMag Posted July 14, 2007 Share Posted July 14, 2007 While I'm thinking, don't know if it was posted on here, but there was a decent article in the Observer last Sunday about the state of English football from grass-roots level: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/sport/story/0,,2121414,00.html It's a subject I'm always interested in reading about, why some countries produce talent like a conveyer belt and other countries produce absolutely f*** all, same for clubs too really to a lesser extent. That was a good article. Thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tbelcher11 Posted July 14, 2007 Share Posted July 14, 2007 I kind of find it ironic that he's gonna play Chelsea in his first match... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ridzuan Posted July 14, 2007 Share Posted July 14, 2007 Beckham will be a legend for a long time in American football or soccer I should say Im sure.That aside,I heard that someone else is also interested in trying their luck at American soccer,and not surprisingly its Mourinho.That should be more interesting for me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Strunz Posted July 14, 2007 Share Posted July 14, 2007 I just wish they'd fuck off and count their millions, but I guess you have to blame our media for thinking that this is actually news. He's quite simply the most over-rated player in the history of the game, and she was the least talented member of one of the worst manufactured bands of recent years - absolutely no talent other than coining it for doing fuck all. Perhaps that's the story. A better story will be their conversion to Scientology. Can't wait. Remember Beckham's only ever done it in one game for England - against Greece, and was totally anonymous in Manure's flukey Champions League win. He's good, but nowhere near great. I always thought it strange when he lined up with Zidane and Roberto Carlos in those Pepsi ads Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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