Apart from the fact that almost nobody goes to church and Essex has produced
more good bands in 20 years than New York and Los Angeles combined, if one
were to list the things that make Britain great, the public attitude to
David Blaine would certainly feature highly. In Bryant Park, New York, in
2002, Blaine performed a stunt in which he stood on a pillar, 105 feet high,
22 inches wide, for 35 hours, and was taken absolutely seriously, eventually
leaping off to widespread acclaim and admiration.
A year later, he sat in a Plexiglas case suspended over the south bank of the
River Thames in London for 44 days and people turned up with six-irons and
tried to hit it with golf balls. “Right, here we go, lad, chip this down the
air-hole – see if he’s really magic.” One chap flew a burger out to him on a
motorised helicopter; others chucked eggs.
Now, some may regard this as symptomatic of our distressing yob culture, but
it is more a continuance of a fine British bent for puncturing pomposity. In
the same year that the Beatles opened the Revolver album, with a song
bleating about how much they were handing to the Inland Revenue, The Kinks,
a quintessentially British band, were at No 1 with Sunny Afternoon.
“The taxman’s taken all my dough and left me in my stately home, lazin’ on a
sunny afternoon,” Ray Davies sang. “And I can’t sail my yacht, he’s taken
everything I’ve got . . .”
We used to be so good at seeing through humbug. True, this native instinct has
been blunted by eight series of Big Brother (it is day 3,094 in the
Beg Broother hoose, apparently, and the housemates are searching for
somebody who gives a f***), wall-to-wall reality television and music
manufactured by people called Simon, but it would be nice to know that a
bulls*** detector is still part of our national armoury.
So. Will somebody please tell Five, Sky Sports News and all other media
outlets that we really don’t care about Major League Soccer. We don’t care
who is top, we don’t care who is bottom and we could not give a monkeys
about whatever the hell a Superliga is.
We are interested in him. You know, old Goldenballs, or Nickelplums as he may
have to be renamed if his career maintains its present trajectory. We care
whether he is fit because he is once again part of England’s increasingly
troubled attempt to reach the 2008 European Championship finals. And that is
it: end of story. No more MLS talk, please. No more league tables at the
side of news bulletins, no more David Beckham’s Soccer USA.
Stop it all. Now. We are just encouraging them.
Remember the good old day of MLS? That was June 19, when Alexi Lalas, the Los
Angeles Galaxy president, made the most poorly judged public pronouncement
since Newsweek tipped Vietnam as a popular safari destination for
the late 1960s traveller. “Beckham is coming to play in one of the most
competitive leagues in the world,” he said. “I get so irritated when I hear
the experts in England talk as if he is going into semi-retirement. That is
ignorance of the first degree and insulting to our sport. We may be
Americans, but we’re not stupid.”
No, Alexi, the majority of Americans are not stupid, but some are and a great
many would appear to be in the employ of MLS and its associated bodies. We
misread football in America. We just thought it would be rubbish. We didn’t
realise it would be rubbish and physically endangering because that is an
unfamiliar combination, like the moment in the comedy show, Frasier,
when Niles is being taught ballroom dancing by Daphne. “This is boring, yet
difficult,” he says, bemused.
Anyone who has watched the goals conceded by the Galaxy will know that the
standard is all we expected and less; what we did not factor in was the
complete lack of understanding his paymasters would display for the
wellbeing of an athlete of Beckham’s standing. We thought they were going
inadequately to challenge him; in fact, they are more likely to kill him.
His career is panning out like a particularly spiteful episode of Za Gaman,
the Japanese game show, in which contestants might be buried up to their
necks in sand and confronted by snakes. Beckham has been played when unfit
(at least twice) and dragged across the country while carrying an injury
that reacts badly to flight to appear at a match in a purely ceremonial
role.
Now Lalas is up in arms about a fixture list that was in place when he was
boldly predicting that the Galaxy would become America’s first super club,
rivalling Manchester United and Real Madrid. “We sure as hell are not going
to put up with another season like this,” Lalas said after the Galaxy’s
latest dispiriting defeat. “The travelling, the number of games, the lack of
consistent scheduling – no other team has had to withstand that.”
To accommodate the Beckham road show, promoting the sport across the States,
the Galaxy have a disproportionate number of away games factored into the
second half of their season. They have played six of the past eight away and
from September 19 will play six of seven away, too. Yet, if you look to the
right of the screen on the Sky Sports News channel, the MLS league tables
appear in what might be termed a fact box, treated credibly, as if this was
a proper competition, not a travelling circus. On SSN, the standings in the
MLS Western Conference and Eastern Conference are displayed on a loop after
the Welsh top flight and the League of Ireland, but before cricket’s LV
County Championship, in a position that used to be the preserve of the chief
leagues of Europe: Spain, France, Italy and Germany.
This gives America a status it does not deserve. Say what you like about Total
Network Solutions of Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain (now known as The New Saints,
and thank heavens for that): they might have had a daft name, but if their
right midfield player had an ankle the size of a hippo’s backside, they
would not have played him, being a serious professional football club. No
league with grand aspirations would pick a man who was badly injured simply
because the occasion demanded it, or let him play on consecutive days on
either side of the Atlantic, merely because he wanted to, just as no league
of stature would rearrange its fixture list around one competitor.
The whole process is shockingly Mickey Mouse and must pain those American fans
with a genuine love or knowledge of the game. It is a bigger mess than any
of us could have imagined. Witness Tim Lovejoy, formerly of Soccer AM
(who must also be casting a jaundiced eye on recent career advice), exiled
from football’s mainstream and trying to breathe life into news from the MLS
in his Soccer USA programme on Five. The show promises the same
gags and attitude as Soccer AM, but in reality is saddled with
promoting not just Beckham, but Juan Pablo Ángel, Shaka Hislop, Steve Nicol
and Paul Dalglish, as well. Yet who wants the inside scoop on the fate of
this ageing band? Five must have some sense of how sad it all seems as there
is no mention of the programme on its website, which features Home and
Away quite prominently. Maybe the station could combine the two and make
a soap opera about Beckham’s first two months in the MLS. Something like
Home and Away and Away and Away . . .
Football clubs believe that there is a pot of money to be made from the
American market, but that does not mean English fans must buy into it, too.
There is gold in Japan’s yen for the game, also, but nobody wants to sit
through magazine programmes built around the fortunes of Albirex Niigata
(that is a J-League team, not the latest target for Manchester City). As our
thirst for knowledge does not stretch beyond the fitness and form of
Beckham, the moment that he is no longer part of the England team even that
will wane, just as the lack of local interest means that there is not such a
buzz around Spanish football this season, even if for openness, excitement
and technical excellence, it remains the world’s most captivating league.
Fascination with Serie A dwindled in Britain because the coaches tended
towards caution and once the English players returned home it was a dull
affair with nobody to cheer.
Lalas foolishly mocked the Barclays Premier League as an inferior product, but
he does not get it. We do not tune in for displays of technical excellence,
but because it is our league and we care. We care who wins and loses, we
select heroes and villains, we love the drama and, sometimes, the football
isn’t bad, either. Americans no doubt feel the same about the MLS, but do
not expect us to catch their fever. “If you took a helicopter and grabbed a
bunch of MLS players and took them to the perceived best league in the
world, they wouldn’t miss a beat,” Lalas sniffed, but that is not true,
either. The Americans in Britain are not at the top of the pile, they
comprise a smattering of good goalkeepers at mid-table clubs and one third
of the first team at nineteenth-placed Fulham. You wouldn’t put that
helicopter idea past them, though, so Beckham should watch out. Next game,
he might be asked to parachute in.
Overpromoted, overplayed and mystifyingly over here, the MLS represents the
worst of all worlds. It is a quarrel in a faraway land between people of
whom we know nothing and is incapable of looking after the one great player
it has. All things considered, we did get it wrong. The lousy football
wasn’t the half of it, really.
That article and its supporters represent a pathetic attempt to salvage some degree of national pride as England sinks into the abyss. England should worry more about the sad state of its own football instead of thinking about the MLS. Only 35% of EPL footballers are English. The English national team is mediocre, and the EPL is behind the top two European leagues. The MLS and the ULS are comparable to Championship League, and might even do well against the lower echelon teams in the EPL (Derby etc.).
Ed Burge, Lake George, USA
That article and its supporters represent a pathetic attempt to salvage some degree of national pride as England sinks into the abyss. England should worry more about the sad state of its own football instead of thinking about the MLS. Only 35% of EPL footballers are English. The English national team is mediocre, and the EPL is behind the top two European leagues. The MLS and the ULS are comparable to Championship League, and might even do well against the lower echelon teams in the EPL (Derby etc.).
Ed Burge, Lake George, USA
The Barclays League has only 35% English players, so please spare us the pathetic attempts to salvage your national pride. Recently, a lower-level US team (Seattle Sopunders, which plays in a league that is below MLS), beat Preston NorthEnd 3-1 in a friendly. Preston NE got pretty far in last Year's FA Cup, losing 4-1 to Man City. No one thinks that MLS is up to EPL standard, but the gap is not that far. Maybe EPL fans should worry about how the EPL does in comparison to the other European football leagues instead of taking pot shots at the USA. Where does England rank in terms of national teans in Europe? Not too well.
Ed Burge, Lake George, USA
"We have many world class leauges like MLB, the NFL and the NBA, all you have is football."
Our lack of a professional league in any of those sports, Justin from New York, is because in Europe we stop playing rounders, netball and piggy-in-the-middle in primary school.
Jack, New York, NY
"jeff" i watched a the highlights last week's matches.. the goals were on the whole laughable, i watch it now as pure comedy.. for example.. New England Revolution vs New York Red Bulls.. that own goal sums up the MLS.. Also i agree fully with Mrtin Samuel over the way Beckham is treated, where else in the world is a player so shamlessly paraded around despite the fact he is INJURED, and generally a proper league players are told if they are fit enough to play for the good of the team..
Ben, bridport, uk
Wow, this article is ridiculous. Americans don't give a hoot about the MLS either, that's why pre-Beckham teams like NY drew an average of 9,000 a game, in an 80,000 seat stadium. This was a desperate move by MLS.
Also there is one thing that is amazing about British arrogance, this concept that Americans don't "get" football, as if understanding the game requires some massive intellect. It doesn't! The rules are fairly simple and most of the best players in the world are barely literate; most notably Beckham himself who is hardly Steven Hawking.
Also, why do the English care now that Beckham is injured? He was dumped last year and blamed along with Sven for your most recent international footballing failure, now he is all of a sudden an important piece of your national team? Instead of trying to find scapegoats for your national team's lack of success (Sven, Beckham, MLS etc) why don't you instead adopt a more realistic attitude.
Tim, Americaville, America
How wrong you are. The problem seems to be that since all you care about is Beckham, you are only watching LA games. In that case, you are unfortunately seeing some poor soccer. If you actually did care to watch some of the rest of the teams in the league, in games where Los Angeles is not playing, you would see some quality ball that could compete quite fine with your relegation-bound Premiership teams or top Championship teams. Have you taken in a game from Houston or D.C.? Oh, how I wish we could see MLS play some English teams in something meaningful. This article is snobery at its best.
Jeff, New Paltz, NY, United States
Umm, no one here is watching Superliga, unless forced to. Hockey starts in a month, so the sports drought will then officially be over.
Peter , Thousand Oaks, CA
i love that Lawrence has entirely missed the point of the article (and also has his fact wrong about beck's career options after real). I think its very funny and on the money. bring Lovejoy back to soccer AM.
Phil, London, England
What a pity your man Samuels failed a fundamental rule of journalism, even if its only sports. In his final paragraph he did not identify the "one great player" the MLS possesses: one of the Mexicans perhaps?
Martin Hastie, St Andrews, Scotland
It was doomed to failure from the start.Was David Beckham given any pofessional advice over playing in the Us?I think not,his wife has too much influence over him.She got bored with Spain and decided for both of them that the next logical move was the USA.
She thinks in terms of that he's a star- a movie star.
Also I fear that the likes of Tom Cruise and his so called religious cohorts have too much influence on him.
Another star added to the Scientologist money list.Don't be surprised if Beckham becomes a Scientologist due to his milllions.
john, shrewsbury, uk
This is so stupid. I'll limit myself to two points:
1) Comparing soccer/football in the USA and Europe is comapring apples to oranges. Beckham is here to help the game and fill some stadiums, he has and does. But comparing it to England is unfair. We have many world class leauges like MLB, the NFL and the NBA, all you have is football. There is no competition so the fan base is higher. 66,000, including myself saw Becks in NY, that's alot. The quality here isn't great, but it's getting better and that is all we ask. The Prem wasn't built overnight or by one player. 2) You can't blame the Galaxy in regards to overplaying him, since twice Eng land picked him in June and now and he was hurt. Why did McClaren play him for 90 minutes in a meaningless friendly? Surely he is just as guilty as the Galaxy.
justin , New York, NY
Ok, England is 12th in the latest FIFA rankings and the US is 17th. I think that the English are just jealous that we are pretty good for a country that considers soccer our 6th or 7th most popular sport.
If the likes of Michael Jordan, Shaq, Walter Payton, Reggie Bush (which I am sure you never heard of) and other great American sport athletes actually played soccer, we would have won five World Cups by now.
But only our players 'that couldn't make the football team (American that is)" play soccer.
So, honestly, when you are playing the US, you are playing against our 3rd or 4th tier of great athletes. But when England plays, you are playing your TOP athletes.
It is kind of like the 10 year olds playing up to par with the 18 year olds. Kind of hurts, doesn't it.
Dave T, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Its pretty tough to argue most points here but MLS bad. It's a promising league that's developed well in 11 years. Since 1996, how many American players were even considered to play in the best leagues in the world compared to now? Now you've got several around, thanks to the help of the professional environment. But this season's been a disgrace to anyone that's a fan in the USA. The league made a mockery of the competition and loaded the Galaxy with friendlies & lopsided schedules. They didn't stand a chance. The handling of Beckham's injury by Lalas, Yallop and even McClaren - DISGRACEFUL. And then LA is just a very bad team too.
English fans have their own league; don't care about MLS. But you can always ignore the hoopla. MLS fans are stuck watching a myriad of slop called the "2007 Season".
But about the Lalas 'schedule' comment; I don't buy it. They approved the schedule. They knew what they were getting into. So I question that part of the article.
Alex, Boston, USA
CL draw today . 8 teams in pot 1 . Half of them are English ... along with a couple of Spanish and a couple of Italian . Nuff said ! Why don't Americans understand that just because Beckham plays there , that doesn't mean we are suddenly interested in the MLS , despite some channels here , ramming it down our throats . If an aging star of the NBA came to play here , would they be interested in Programmes dedicated to the English league ... or would they ignore it and carry on watching the best from home ? Did any of you Americans actually fully read the article ? Or do you stop at the first hint of an insult ... even if it's just a fact !
Benzo, Nr Chelmsford,
Soccer (football) is more interesting by far than American football. The players are better athletes. Concussions and long-term disabling injuries, the legacy of American football, are not what we hope for for our young athletes.
Lyn Berling, Indianapolis, IN
I'm not sure what you're talking about w/r/t football, but I think based on your ridiculous column you care much more about MLS than virtually anyone in the US...
And your statement about the Brits popping pomposity w/r/t David Blaine would be amusingly ironic if it wasn't so sad. I think you misplace American respect for an astounding physical feat as stupidity. In turn, we see your throwing eggs and hitting golf balls as the definition of pompous... "look, that guy's getting attention for something... maybe if I throw an egg people will look at me!"
Chris, New York, NY
It was interesting, having read Lalas's comments, to see what a bunch of 10th-rate players the MLS teams have as their stars. You know, the usual Leicester City rejects, blokes coming to the end of their time etc etc. I'd be happy for MLS to make a go of it, but Lalas has saddled it with a reputation which it cannot live up to. Shame the piece droned on for too long, though. It had a decent point to make.
Will Duffay, London,
I moved to Columbus 3 months ago and have watched 'the crew' play every home game. I've met up with a few good locals who watch the EPL (premier league) and support an english team. They know a fair bit about the beautiful game and they call it football. We do have this routine during the games though where after a period of play they'll ask for my opinion. My response is always a comparison with back home and ranges from 'conference-like' to 'Div one' and sometimes 'championship.
It doesn't matter to me or others here whether it's as good as the premier league. I haven't met anyone here that dellusioned. Many people back home watch their local team such as my local team Woking with the same reasonable expectations as to the standard of football.
I'm enjoying MLS, the cheap tickets ($12-20), good weather and friendly atmosphere and so are my friends here.
Andy, Columbus, Ohio
"The writer feels about American soccer the way I feel about British basketball, British golf, British tennis, British....oh the list is endless.
Sean, New York, NY, "
Sean, the difference here is that nobody expects Fox News to run daily updates of the fortunes of the Bognor Regis Buccaneers basketball team for viewers in the USA. While Martin has made some jokes at the expense of the MLS his main gripe is one that is commonly shared by British football fans: we don't care about the MLS and are baffled at the constant media coverage of how many times Beckham touched the ball in the Home Depot Center. What was he doing playing football there anyway?!
Chris Norman, SW London, UK
In response to a.k. in Brighton and this over-sensitive discussion about the MLS,
YES! I stand-by my assertion that I love football/soccer because I love the game. I love the players, I love the teams, and I love the goals that each match provides.
Am I a soccer connoisseur? No. Do I follow one team and one team only throughout the entire season? No. I am here because I was searching online for details of Galaxy's starting lineup for the Superliga Final last night. I am here because we were up until 1.30am this morning, stripping off fingernails, on the edges of our seats watching the Superliga Final. Did it matter that it wasn't the BPL - or that it was the MLS? Hell no!
And what's more - if I could AFFORD the upgrade in cable television packages to get Fox Soccer Channel - I would be glued to my television watching as much football from the UK and Europe as I could. It's where I'm from and the talent rocks the earth. We are all in this together.
Karen Leszke, Conway, AR/Aberfeldy, UK, USA/UK
Actually, we do care about major league soccer. In fact, we are scared to death of it. If the Americans should ever embrace a sport, other than one of their own, it would, probably, be soccer. The consequences would be interesting! The amount of money that Americans are prepared to invest in sport, combined with the fact that they are not inclined to partake in the kind of, off-pitch, football brutality that occurs in |England (Yes, I'm being selective!), would, eventually, occasion a team worthy of beating the world. Oh,. and by the way, what is the nationality of the owners of Manchester United?
Marc, St. Barthelemy, France
If things had gone as planned, Beckham would be out of the England setup and you wouldn't be writing this article.
You say- "No league with grand aspirations would pick a man who was badly injured simply because the occasion demanded it,."
If your national team head coach wasn't an idiot and didn't play Beckham for 90 minutes in a friendly (oh, by the way, don't try out any new players for his position in case he gets injured before September) you wouldn't be writing this article. In fact, why was Beckham picked to play in a friendly on a different continent? He's twice as injured as several of your local stars who dropped out. GoldenBalls had the Golden Balls to cross the Atlantic and play in a meaningless friendly for a coach who already knows what he can do. All with a bum foot. Perhaps you should point your poison pen at your own shores first.
Good luck making Euro '08. DB for the right side. David Bentley, that is.
Jay!, Washington, DC, USA
The point that you missed was that Beckham was as much a part of the decision last week as Galaxy was. He decided to go to Germany for a pointless friendly, Galaxy didn't send him. After the NY-LA game at the Meadowlands in New Jersey, he should have returned with the team to LA. I watched the LA derby the day after England v Germany and he was just jogging, playing on fumes. In all likelyhood, the manager was told to play him. There was no other reason for playing him.
There is high probability that the manager Yallop will shortly be gone, with Lalas close behind for totally screwing up the Beckham situation specifically and the Galaxy generally.
Lalas, is a snake oil salesman. We don't take him seriously so why should you?
As for the MLS, nobody here who truely follows football, believes that the league at this stage, has any real quality
However, understand that the league is only ten years old and
like any league, it will take time (years - perhaps 20) to develop.
Tom McLaughlin, Chicago, IL, USA
Soccer and Australian Rules Football together rule the planet where true athletes are recognized. Aussy Football hass the world's best "ball game" athletes and the most interesting game from start to finish. Soccer, without doubt, will last throughout the ages and does not need North American support to do so.
Robert Eldridge, Jacksonville, USA/Florida
Now Becks is out, who cares. Get Jimmy Greaves out of retirement and you may have something. And quit knocking Fulham FC, OK?
Tom Ubell , LA, CA, ex Hammersmith, USA.
For my fellow Americans, I don't think there is much need to take offense at Martin Samuel's comments. He plainly recognizes that there are real soccer fans in America (and yes, I use the term "soccer" -- there's no need for any non-American to be derisive about this term, it's just what we HAVE to use in America; get over it). And, in fact, he lumps us Americans in with Italian and Spanish fans -- pretty good company. But Martin misses a point: Beckham has at least as much to blame for his predicament. He himself wants to play out all these games on this ridiculous schedule. So malign Lalas all you want (I don't care for him nor his ridiculous and impetuous comments about BPL football), but you can't force Beckham to play. Beckham should have done the smart thing: take the rest of the year off, then start the 2008 MLS season in perfect shape. One final thing: Forget Iraq - when the USA does finally win the World Cup, THAT'S when the entire world will really hate us.
Nick, Washington, DC
To answer Frank's question.....
I know why the Galaxy are being moronic and ruining their only good player. Money. They have been hyping Beckham so much since his signing and since he arrived here that there is tremendous pressure. Plus they are so dreadful that Beckham is the only real reason to watch them play. On the other hand I ask the same question to Steve McClaren. Why is he having Beckham fly across the pond for an exhibition and playing him the full 90 mintues? If it is a qualifier then it is understandable, but for a friendly? I would chalk that up as moronic in my book as well. Why not save him for the qualifiers that count?
Also I agree with Kartik. Why judge MLS on watching by far the worst team in the league in the Galaxy? Sure it is not even close to the top Euro leagues but watch some quality teams play then you can see the true quality of the league. I watched the game last night and the Galaxy are terrible. It hurts to watch them sometimes.
Kevin, Chicago, IL
ermm... if a serious football club wouldnt play an injured beckham what does that make the england team?
Aaron stating the obvious, London,
Thanks for a good laugh. Less amusing, however, is the way that Beckham's career may end up going down the pan. Illico presto.
Peter Koeb, Geneva, Switzerland
To Barton, Los Angeles, USA/Cali Barton you're bang on I'm afraid. My girfriend is a US citizen and as such I visit th ecountry at least 2-3 times a year. Everytime I go i notice a tangible increase in the amount I hear about 'Soccer' and the amount it is being played - particluarly amongst the kids. Last time I actually got involved in a game, and while the Men playing wern't so sharp the kids generally seemed to be incredibly skilful. If you do the sums the country has what 300m people vs our 60m and a far better record in almost every other sport. Remember the Aussies beating England at football in a friendly a few years ago , it was shocking. I can tak them being better at Rugby, swimming, even Cricket if they must but football's a bridge to far. It may be a way off, but the Americans are coming and its a worrying thought
Leon, London, UK
I am like you but monkey or not, Mls is a growing thing...let it improve is a good thing for everyone....
david, torino, italy
I have no problem with your argument. It is spot on, especially in the assessment of how the league revolves around one or two players and does not understand that it is about the game. If the quality of play is to be increased, then the quality players need to be looked after and not paraded around like a side show carnival.
Paul, Dayton, Ohio / USA
I'm the typical soccer Yank MLS cannot stand: I watch EPL like a religion and very little MLS. That said, you're dreaming if you think at least half the Premiership would dominate every team in MLS (save for Salt Lake and LA who really do stink up the joint). It's reasonable to speculate teams like Derby, B'ham, West Ham, Villa, Boro, Bolton etc. would be mid-table MLS teams. I exclude Fullham as they already resemble an American outfit.
Glenner, SF, CA
"How many world series have MLS clubs won?"
Yuk yuk - hilarious.
I've been over this side of the water 5 years and I'd like to think I can compare the 2 - having seen a fair bit of both (Toronto FC Season ticket holder)
No-one is saying the MLS is on par with the top leagues in England, Spain, Italy, France and Germany. It's lower level Coca Cola Championship / upper level League 1 standard. Lalas' comments are laughable. The actual standard of play in this league is dire and there's no getting around it. Sure - there's good players around the league but for the main part it's hard to watch.
Just one thing I found unnecessary in the article - "No more league tables at the side of news bulletins, no more David Beckham’s Soccer USA. Stop it all. Now. We are just encouraging them."
What's wrong with people getting interested in another league somewhere else in the world?
Gabriel, Toronto, Canada
Yallop, the Galaxy, and MLS brass is the devil for endangering Beckham's precious ankle, yet when McClaren plays him 90+ in a friendly that they ultimately lose, he makes out as a saint. If you want to come across as a factual writer, please use the full facts, not ones skewed to promote your personal agenda or quotes taken out of context.
A xenophobic view of MLS and its originating country blind you from the insanely irresponsible attitude you exude when dealing with anything American. You may argue that MLS does not deserve the coverage it gets in some media outlets, but apparently some people do feel that covering a foreign league with one of its country's superstars is a worthwhile investment.
Having an objective view of MLS is one thing, but pigeonholing the entire league based on one loudmouthed GM and his very bad team is just plain stupid. MLS is no EPL--yet; the impending doom scares you, and so it should. Mickey Mouse or not, America is coming.
Edward, Birmingham,
Ignorance of the highest degree. First of all I agree that the way MLS structured the Galaxy's schedule was one of the goofs of the summer but to me it was just as big as McLaren calling Beckham back for a meaningless friendly against a German C team when he knew Beckham had a league game the following night. You tell me which is more important. It never stops amazing me about how the british talk about this game as though they are its masters. Yes the BPL is the most entertaining league in the world but that is because they have spent tons of money on foreign talent. Quick name me an english manager who is capable of winning something in England other then the league cup. I'll answer there isn't one. I guess I shouldn't be surprised by Martin Samuel's piece about a british colomnists perspective about football in America but then again he probebly feels the same about Italy, Germany, and Spain.
Scott , Columbus, Ohio USA
Diego ... was your information supplied by the CIA ?
Benzo, Nr Chelmsford,
Well, if the British don't care about MLS, believe me, most Americans care even less about it or your brand of football in general.
The only thing that keeps the MLS alive for the time-being is that with a population of 300 million, even the small minority of people who are going to buy tickets and pay-per-view access to watch the sport make up a (for now) commercially-viable audience, or at least seem to offer enough business opportunity to attract investors.
Outside of the soccer fringe, we don't talk about the game, know the players, look forward to matches, or care about it. We have our own sports and they're pretty deeply entrenched. The only team in the MLS I can name is Galaxy, and I think they're in LA, and I only know about them because some guy named Beckham from England whose wife looks great in a see-through black dress has moved here but hasn't played much because he's hurt, and that much has been shoved in my face by the media.
Jim Parks, Charlotte, US/NC
I spent the last couple of years in Houston and I was impressed by the Houston Dynamos and the MLS in general but I do have to agree that it was not the same standard as the English Premier league but that's no reason to knock it.
The youth programmes in the USA are excellent and it will not be long until they do not need to import marketing gadgets like David Beckham. As for all the fuss about his fitness let's be honest it was obvious from the moment he signed that he didn't go there to play football he went to try and build a career for him and Posh when he has to hang up his boots.
George, Zagreb, Croatia
My son and I were at last night's Superliga final.
The crowd was enthusiastic and rowdy. We watched a highly entertaining 2-1 game decided on penalties, and cheered long after Beckham left the game.
I admit that we paid to see Beckham, but what we got to see was a great night of soccer.
Since I was brought-up in a culture where the customer is always right, I can say that your spin on MLS and Beckham is dead wrong and anti-american.
Alex, Newport Beach, CA./USA
This took me five minutes to read (unfortunately five minutes of my life I will never get back) and I Imagine at least fifteen minutes for you to wirite this piece (I'm being generous), and clearly you must have at least caught a glimpse of Sky Sports News, Soccer USA, in order to put together this Pulitzer-worthy piece. Clearly you must have some sort of interest, for if one truly didn't care, said disinterested person could simply find that device called a remote control, and switch the channel or the red button called "off".
If you don't like it, don't listen/watch/read. And please don't ruin it for the 1, 2, 100, or a million people in the U.K. or elsewhere who do enjoy it. Surely the 3 minutes and 1/3 of the screen space that Sky Sports news devotes to MLS does not disrupt your everyday activities THAT much, does it? If it does, then perhaps that is a personal problem, and not a problem with the media or MLS.
Fan of the game, anywhere it is played, Washington , DC
I was born in Argentina, and Raised in Salford, Greater Manchester.
I played for several Colleges and Universities and there are americans, that can barely kick a ball.
Coaches might know something about AMERICAN Football (the gay version of rugby) but definitely nothing about real Football.
MLS is so boring to watch, that is no wonder to any footie fan to be falling asleep in the first 15 minutes of game. The level is terrible, and the defenders seems to "mentally prepare" themselves to confront Beckham, saying "now I'm gonna show him what america is made of" while their look at the mirror to put some make up, and fill their crotches with socks, so it seems to the tele, that they are men.
The "totally awesome" attitude is something that every single european despites. And so do I.
Becks is taking vacations, from the pressure and demands of the european football.
MLS is a pest, and we should embrace its genocide.
Mark, Miami/Salford, FL/Manchester
Diego - We invented "soccer". So you're are right, England arent God's Gift to soccer, soccer is England's gift to the world.... want-to-be- soccer country? What are you talking about? The English league has contributed 9 winners of the European Cup in the last 30 (and that included the English club ban for 5 years in the 80's). The Premier League has the fastest paced action and many of the world's most exciting players. Perhaps you should watch it more.
The MLS only has one style. Poor. I know, I've sat through enough of it. I would love the US to truly fall in love with football the way the rest of the world has.
Adam, london, UK
Americanisation of football is nothing new. It changed the way TV networks cover the game, and on the whole it has been successful.
But Americans will never get football, they will never understand why we shudder when a very recent former captain of our national side pauses and apologises for calling the game football uttering the blaspheme that is "soccer"
Ill go one further than Martin Samuel. Not only do I not care about the MLS, but I care even less about a man who has been abysmal for his country for the last 5 years. Lets leave him alone in his LA retirement home and in the bubble that has been slowly killing his credibility as a footballer for many years.
As for Lalas, a poor player himself, he should hold his tongue. Alas this may be too hard for him as being an American comes compete with a big mouth, small brain and inflated sense of self importance.
Matt Nicolson, London, England
Wow a "lets knock America" piece. Is there anything positive in the article about US soccer. You need to give Beckham and the MLS a chance. I think he has been there only a month or so. Lets not forget Real Madrid did not want him and I don't think that anyone in the Premier League wanted him. Although I would have been happy to see him back at Man Utd. So why not try the US. They wanted him and now we all know about MLS and watch the goals. The article is so negative the journalist's agenda comes through. Why not try and write a positive article about what Beckham has done and what he is doing. He obviously loves playing football, works very hard, loves his family, is successful and will continue to be successful.
Lawrence, Hale, Cheshire
The writer feels about American soccer the way I feel about British basketball, British golf, British tennis, British....oh the list is endless.
Sean, New York, NY,
Nobody in America cares about MLS either. College and pro football start over the next two weekends and that will be the last anyone hears of Beckham.
Jim Connors, Durham,
Every week, another pathertic performance, another sad indictment of a man whose hype always far exceeded his actual ability. But enough about Martin Samuel.
George Costigan, London, England
Lalas' comparison of the level of play in the MLS against Europe was absurd. Anyone with any footy insight would agree. However, I want my local team to play quality soccer so to have a GM with the ambition of Lalas is encouraging.
The MLS has improved dramatically since '96 but I am nervous about the age of recent high-profile signings. amyone know the average age of players in the league now compared to the inaugural season?
D, LA, USA
Well some true agreement from both sides of the Atlantic! We here in America can't give a hoot about Major League Soccer. In this country it is mostly considered a girls sport.
Rich D, Washington, DC,
feed the delusion,murdock has a vision of premier football across america, dribbling at the pie charts of viewing numbers and income. Try telling the bbc, beckham buys his place on the england team.Main news today is two unknown pops singers/drug addict dotting& no,no,no,ah 24,<>7 toilet paper.
michael joseph heavey, cahersiveen/adams town, madness
David Blaine ought to sign for LA galaxy! he could conjure up a few goals.Or doesnt he play for orlando magic?
Roger Naples, Nottingham, UK
Thomas in Detroit,
No, Brits don't read differently, they simply READ, unlike most Americans who just complain.
I lived in Europe for many years, loved football (the real one) and am very disappointed in the behavior of American so-called "fans" since Beckham's arrival. It seems that a lot of fat, arrogant American "fans" have forgotten that Beckham came here as a career move, not just to entertain them and their ungrateful kids for a few minutes. But marketing and money are king here in the US, so we risk his health and career to satisfy "fans" and budgets.
The level of play here in the US is well below that of Europe and many of the players are envious and taking their shots at Beckham.
He is far too talented and far too valuable to be subjected to such bush-league crap. As soon as the Galaxy has earned back his fees in image rights, he will no doubt pack up and head back to Europe, where his skills and longevity are far more respected.
Carmen, Nashville,
"MLS is the most competative league in the world." (Diego).
Diego - get a life. It's not.
However - the point is not which league is better, or worse, or more competitive, or richer, or more exciting. The point is, will Football in America become a National Pastime?
LA Galaxy has contracted a player with royal lineage (in footballing terms).
Will this prod other MLS sides to extend lucrative contracts to Paolo Maldini, or Juan Riquelme, or Raul, or Ronaldo,or Jens Lehmann, or Edgar Davids? I wonder. Will this encourage more attendance? Will this encourage huge investments, publicity campaigns, product endorsement, marketing opportunities for football? Do Americans really, REALLY want a Professional Football league, or is it just an opportunity to make money ?
Clive Britcher, Caracas, Venezuela
I am an Englishman to the core, have never set foot outside of the U.K., but I enjoy it just fine. Some of you lot need to relax a bit. Football is football. I don't mind hearing about the MLS one bit, and cheers to them for finally starting to get what the rest of the world has known for years.
Footiefan, Newcastle,
"As our thirst for knowledge does not stretch beyond the fitness and form of Beckham.............just as the lack of local interest means that there is not such a buzz around Spanish football this season...."
Speak for yourself Samuel! Maybe your thirst for knowledge does not extend beyond Beckham but the majority of people who followed La Liga when Beckham was playing (or rather on the bench) in Spain will have an even greater interest in it this season now that we don't have to listen to the constant mindless media drivel about Beckham's latest injury.
Fortunately, it is now possible to watch a Real Madrid game without having to listen to Gerry Armstrong's gratuitous and embarrassing eulogies every time Beckham (on the rare occasions he was selected) touched the ball.
FT, Nottingham, UK
The Americans always have and always will have the attitude that they are the greatest in the world at whatever they do. It should also be noted that the USA team was beaten by an incredibly weak England team 2-1, with Richardson scoring 2. If this doesn't show them that they are not good enough then I don't know what will.
Mike, Oldham,
Ok, I'm not a MLS fan, but to tell the truth it is not the worst league in the world. It is ridicules to compare it to the same level of the EPL but in a couple of years from now it might just be. The U.S. is really investing in their youth so in a couple of years world class players might be produced here. Right now though they should just shut-up and play the best they can. let the game evolve.
Dany C, greensboro, NC
Good article Mr Samuel. And from the reaction of the posters from the US, they have all bought into the Alexi Lalas proganda. And clearly don't understand the main point of your article. "We don't care about the MLS". And simply want our TV channels to stop talking about it.
Everyone knows the US league is inferior by miles and no one in this country cared until the Beckham roadshow turned up. If Becks went home tomorrow, no one will care again. I agree that the Premier league is far from perfect, but its our league and we love it.
PS. I do agree that world beaters like Henry (30) and Drogba (28) will be in the MLS soon though.............when they finish off proper careers in europe and want the extra money.
Victor, London, UK
Let's see: Soccer USA is crap and tells us nothing, and the "MSL" is crap and I know that because I've learned all about it on Soccer USA. Checking, checking.....any teensy-tiny inconsistencies there? Nope. Alright - the article's good to go.
John, Calgary, Alberta
This article is so beautifully written! At least now Rooney, Ronaldo and the likes of them dont have to worry too much when they get old and have bodies failing them - there is always the MLS! :)))
PS: What does MLS stand for again???
y, singapore,
diego,
12 CL finalists in 30 years
8 CL winners
not good enough?
mat, Liverpool,
You've wasted an immense amount of words ALLEGEDLY not giving a hoot.
Stan, Washington, USA
to Jason, Houston, USA
'The salary cap in MLS means that shrewd management can afford nearly any team an opportunity at a title from year to year.'
We have salary caps in rugby league and union. My team's management have for the last two (at least!) seasons manipulated the salary cap to try and improve their chances. Caught, fined and had points deducted both times. How shrewd!! But any competitive team, like any competitive business will seek an advantage where ever it can. Ever played sport??
Financial manipulation to create false competition is laughable.
Who wants a level playing field?
Have you never been an underdog?
The PL is brutally honest in this respect. Like sport should be.
Pies'R'Us, Sunny Wigan, Lancashire
"You're spot-on about MSL"
It's tough to accept someone's expertise when you get the order of the initials wrong.
But by all means, everyone hold up this weekend's thrilling Fulham v. Tottenham matchup as quality. The two powerhouse sides will try to jump start their respective drives to win 11th place by the end of the year.
Or more succinctly: since when does your <omitted britishism for excrement> not stink?
Bob Mickey, East Spotwood, UK
I don't understand the vitriol directed towards the MLS. Although clearly not a high quality, it is only a decade old. Soccer has been our most popular youth sport in the US for going on thirty years. This is beginning to show results in our fledgling professional league.
The MLS will continue to grow and Beckham is a huge part of that. For the first time in my life, everyone is talking about soccer in this country. To loyal fans such as myself, that is nothing short of incredible. Beckham played in a scorefest in New York and 66,000 fans showed up and almost certainly created fans that were not there before.
This league has gone from one that noone wanted to play for or care about to netting the worlds most well-known athlete and being the talk of our nation. To that, we are grateful for Beckham.
But, if you must, continue to slight our league. Act like the spankings this summer of some of Europe's good teams are a fluke. We will continue to grow and some day pass you...soon.
Barton, Los Angeles, USA/Cali
I wouldn't judge the PL by watching Derby County, and you shouldn't judge the MLS by watching the Galaxy. The reality is for years now that club has been the equivalent of Newcastle. Great expectations, big signings but little to show for it.
Secondly, Shaka Hislop a keeper that started for West Ham is currently not third on the depth chart for his MLS club and never in the match squad. Paul Dalglish? never plays and is never in the match squad, and probably is on the squad simply because of who his dad is. Martin, you are one of the best writers England has covering football, I'm shocked you wouldn't take the time to research some of the quality internationals in MLS from Latin America, Asia and Oceania. Perhaps simply because these players have never graced your shores and never played in the Premiership they are rubbish, just like the "B" squad Germany brought to Wembley last week which included only one player with PL experience.
Kartik, Coral Springs, FL/USA
Typical English snob.
Geoff, Arlington, US
The worst coverage of any of the UK press. How are you going to resolve it?
Adamson, Westcliff-on-Sea, UK
The humor ihere is that on one hand you rant on about how you don't care about the MLS, yet on the other hand, you go on and on about it. So, which is it, do you care or don't you?
Anybody that has even an fleeting interest in the game knows that it was ridiculous for Becks to play in the friendly against Germany. But, he he wants those 100 caps. The Galaxy should have told him to take his time to come back, and not to worry about the game with Chivas USA. Instead they played him. Bad move. In my oppinion, he should take the remainder of the year off, and the Galaxy should start now to plan how to build the team to complement him.
I understand that the MLS is not the Premiereship, or even the Coca-Cola leauge, but the game is catching on here. There is interest in supporting local clubs. Instead of bitching about how bad it is, realize it for what it is; a fledgling program that will get better.
Todd, Seattle, WA, USA
I'm from Spain and I agree.Canal Plus also emits the L.A Galaxy matches.I´ve enjoyed a lot seeing to Beckham in Madrid but I refuse to watch one minute of that league. By the way now you can watch the Premier League free in Spain and it´s succesfull enough
juan prado, madrid, spain
As a former NASL fan who will be going to see my first MLS game this weekend to see Beckham play for the Galaxy, I believe media globalisation and our substantial immigrant population will give "soccer" a very sound footing as a professional sport in the USA. As long as the MLS doesn't overexpand and overpay for talent it should flourish, and achieve a level of play and popularity similar to the status of European basketball vis-a-vis the NBA. That is, if Beckham's ankle heals properly.
Peter Pampusch, Santa Monica, CA, USA
You missed the best example of our ability to burst pomposity. In the early days of the Afghan war the American troops nicknamed the Tora Bora cave complex the 'Valley of Death' because it was so dangerous. British Marines called it 'Tora Bora Tomkinson' because it was easy to get in but full of bad guys! You're spot-on about MSL by the way and the following quote from the great man Lalas sums it up: 'A lot of people have made a tremendous amount of money on the back of what the Galaxy, with David, has brought to their markets this year......' Money and markets - nothing to do with players and sport - never was.
Bill, Sheffield,
I love the game and want it to thrive here in the states. However, I can understand how annoying it would be to hear about a league that isn't up to your standards. It would be like hearing about the spanish basketball league here in the states. Sure it's gotten pretty good but why does it deserve my attention when I've got the NBA to look at.
However, I would not be as rude and obnoxious as this article is. There's no reason for it. I will continue to support my league and hope for it to continue to grow. (If you think the MLS is poor you should have seen it a few years ago)
Daniel Barnidge, Brooklyn, NY
I know you Brits drive on the wrong side of the road, but do you also read in a different direction from the rest of us? If not, why does the Times display readers' comments so that they run chronologically bottom to top, rather than top to bottom the way most people would prefer to scroll through a running conversation?
One of the first comments I encounter here begins, "Diego is right..." Diego? Who is Diego? Oh, Diego is apparently someone who has already commented here. Gee, guess I need to scroll all the way to the bottom here and read north, contrary to the way I READ ANYTHING ELSE THAT INVOLVES THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
Come on, it's 2007. We long ago figured out a lot of this Internet stuff, including the best way to display comments. And you've got it literally backwards.
Thomas, Detroit , USA
Look beneath his bitter hack sarcasm and there's a good point there. Why are the Galaxy, an allegedly professional football team, playing an obviously injured player? Again and again? Any Galaxy fans care to comment on why their club is steadily and moronically ruining their only good player?
frank mccallister, edinburgh,
Oh, look, another English writer bashing MLS based on a total of ninety-four seconds of watching Galaxy news. Imagine my shock.
Max, Monterey, CA
Deary me Diego, never let the facts get in the way of a good rant eh? 9 out of the last 30 years actually, including the 5 year ban in the 80s; 9 out of 25 is a pretty good proportion I think! If you include other European competitions and the recent high representation of English teams at the later stages of the competition, I think you'll find the Premiership well represented!
Calling us the want-to-be "soccer" country is also pretty rich coming from a native of Brooklyn...
Despite what you may think from a fair number of over excitable fans and media, we don't all think we have a God given right to win everything, but we're near the top of the pack (unlike the USA)... not God's gift to football, but having invented and developed the game, I think we can lay claim to a fairly significant slice of it's story.
James McQuaid, Stoke-on-Trent, England
I see a lot of American fans are very defensive with regards to this article. No need to be so abusive. So we don't really want to watch the MLS. Do you guy all want to watch all our lower league teams? Now how would you feel if they were constantly rammed into your brain like we have had on our TV here.
Not only that but we also have to hear about the Beckhams lives off the pitch. More so then how he is playing.
Is the MLS a joke? No. Do we really care what Posh is thinking or doing? NO!!!!! I think we can agree on that.
a.k, Brighton,
Diego is right, teams from the 'EPL' have only won two UCL titles. The rest of his comments were nonsense.
Tom, Washington, DC
Wow... Scorn, bitterness, mocking from a "journalist" across the pond. What motivates it all? Do you really care about the MLS enough to want to write about it? Or, is it a distant pang, deep within your recesses which subconsciously is eminating from a sense of fear that the jig might soon be up? Are you sensing that the sleeping giant of American Soccer is beggining to stir? Does this fear cause you to seek comfort by drawing irrelevant comparisons between BPL and MLS?
Lets bring it out into the light, shall we? The sleeping giant is about to awaken. Both ignorant -to Soccer- American sports fans and Eurosnobs alike have no clue what's about to happen because, through their ignorance and or fear, they have not payed attention until now (Beckham's signing being enough of a tremor to get benighted to suddenly look).
Get ready all you American sports clowns and Snobs in Dowdy, dark Europe. When American investors jump in.. The MLS Tsunami will hit. You can't stop it either.
John, Boston, Massachusetts USA
"Americans no doubt feel the same about the MLS, but do not expect us to catch their fever."
No, no, no, no...NO! Americans do not have even a tenth the depth of feeling towards the MLS that Brits have towards their league. The MLS is viewed as a "minor" league, akin to the minor leagues in baseball. Almost any fan of MLS, of which there are few, would readily admit to that.
No doubt the interest in and participation in soccer/football is growing. But depth of feeling to match a Brits love of his league is really only matched in our native sports, baseball and football. Think of it! Recently baseball's Texas Rangers scored 30 runs in one game. This feat was last achieved over 100 years ago. That kind of history creates depth of feeling.
Eric, Mountain View, USA, CA
Oh dear. You see - the thing is - whereas international playoffs and qualifying matches tend to unify a country's general population, domestic leagues in ANY country are really of no concern to outsiders. Do you really think that anybody in the MLS over here is really interested in whether or not Celtic beat St. Johnstone over the weekend?? No. And I'm originally from Perthshire, so don't shove that "pompous American" stuff down my throat.
What you've missed is the fact that the love of football/soccer is as universal as the love of good food, of laughter, or of competition in general. It doesn't matter whether you're playing in the Superliga Final, helping England to it's international qualifiers or whether you're up to your ankles in sopping mud, shivering so much you can hardly see the ball let along kick it on some two-bit football pitch in Aberfeldy, Perthshire trying to spurr your team on to beat the visiting town's team. IT-DOESN'T-MATTER.
Football is football - even if it's called soccer. Just ask the L.A. Galaxy fans that the next time they are jumping up and down in the stands, faces gaily painted, waving their player's flags and shirts above their heads when a goal is scored.
Karen Leszke, Conway, AR/Aberfeldy, UK, USA/UK
England is not god's gift to soccer. Never was, never will be.
Diego, Brooklyn, USA
You're right Diego. Soccer is England's gift to the world.
I support my local MLS side because it is my local side and I like to watch the game in person. If an EPL club played in driving distance to my home in Northern Virginia I would probably support it. But it doesn't. So, I don't.
Martin you are right. I don't know why anyone in England with all the local quality would care about MLS.
Tommie, Reston, USA
I just wonder if your view of MLS is derived primarily from watching a lousy Galaxy team?
Matt, Washington, DC
This is not the crux of the issue, but MLS is indeed more competitive than any European League. Don't throw at me the one off example of Reading and Sevilla. The fact that they are lauded so for not even winning their league proves that European Leagues are something less than competitive. Competitive simply means well suited for competition. What competition is there in England? Four clubs have a realistic chance at wining the title and the other 16 are left struggling for the scraps. It has always been that way and will always be that way. The salary cap in MLS means that shrewd management can afford nearly any team an opportunity at a title from year to year.
Superior football in Europe? Definitely. More passionate? Yes (although you hold nothing to the passion that is South American football). More money? God, yes. But if you truly want to see competition where more than 4 teams have a chance at the trophy, you'll have to look outside of Europe to do so and look here
Jason, Houston, USA
Diego of Brooklyn, get your facts right. England have won 9 (yes 9) of the last 30 European Cups / Champions Leagues. If you don't believe me, check the history books. Liverpool in 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984 and 2005. Nottingham Forest in 1979 and 1980, Aston Villa in 1982 and Manchester United in 1999. By any standards, a 30% win ratio over such a long period of time is impressive. Add to this the victories of Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Manchester United in the Cup Winners and UEFA Cups (when they actually meant something) and I think you'll find not even the Italians or the Spanish can match that record.
If you want to narrow your parameters to 10 years, England has provided 2 winners and two finalists. Only Spain beat that (largely due to an exceptional Real Madrid team).
We haven't even taken the 5 year ban into account either.
England has one of the richest football heritages in the world. Fact. Engage your brain before your typing finger next time.
Adam Clarke, London, United Kingdom
The point is, the MLS has rearranged itself in virtually every way to accommodate one player. A popular, very good player, but he's just one man. And everything has been rearranged to suit him! Regardless of transatlantic flight, and England have as much responsibility on that side of things, being trawled across the US when unfit is unforgivable. Yes the league is young and growing and some, but not all, of the US comments here show there is love and passion for their league, but Beckhamisation risks turning the whole campaign into a circus tent that will deflate when he leaves, which may be sooner than hoped because of injury.
And Rhys Jones love of Everton came from his family and the truth of who he was. That's why he was described as such. Some things are bigger than the BBC.
Chris Taylor, Worthing, England
FYI Diego:
English teams have won the European Cup on no fewer than 10 occasions since 1977.
Don't mistake 'competiveness' for the last bloated hurrah of European football's great mercenaries growing fat on the Yanky dollar.
England may not be god's gift to football but then football is England's gift to the world. A gift so stained by the World Cup widely regarded as the most vacuous and overblown in the event's history, USA 94.
George, London,
I agree with most of what you say sir, and there is no doubt in my mind that it is an inferior league,
As far as what diego from the states said, i find it offensive!
First off, i'm not english so there is no bias, but a statement that the mls is THE most competitve league is ludricous, he should read the definition of competitive, because there is a huge difference between that and unpredictable.
Tell me, would some 6 year old have guessed where sevilla or reading had finished last year, and they are just the major ones.
So although it maybe crude to diss the mls, it is absolutely laughable to say its the most competitve, there is more in corruption-ridden cambodia i am living in now
as for international team standings, the day usa are mentioned in the same breath as england, brazil, germany and france is as likely as la galaxy winning the world club championship, carry on ranting nonsense diego
Ryan O'Sullivan, Phnom Penh, Cambodia,
Humorous article - definitely true in the main. I would make a plea, however, as an American fan who is passionate about the game: give us a bit of a chance. Yes, the MLS has loads of problems, but this has to be expected for a nascent league. You don't have to watch or care about the league tables, but I would hope you root for MLS to succeed. We love and appreciate what Beckham is trying to do for the sport and if it works, a healthy American league / market is likely to bring benefits to the game globally.
Peter, Los Angeles,
"The EPL has one 2 or 3 out of the last 30 champions leagues?"
So that places the starting point at 1977...Shame to ruin a good bit of high gusto slanging with some facts but unfortunately that was the year that Liverpool began the high point of English football in Europe with their first european cup, subsequent winners were:
1978 - Liverpool
1979 - Nottingham Forest
1980 - Nottingham Forest
1981 - Liverpool
1982 - Aston Villa
1984 - Liverpool
1999 - Manchester United
2005 - Liverpool
I concede it has been a little more quiet recently but the English top division has still provided almost a third of the winners in the last 30 years, which isn't too bad.
David, Oxted,
Yes, MLS is a league that wouldn come in somewhere below the Belgian and Danish footbeall leagues. Yes, Beckham is a over-hyped under-achieving, semi-retired player, but much of that was true even before he joined the Galaxy.
Give the league a chance and see if the local market will start caring about it. Obviously people in Britain wont give a damn as they are focused on their own inferior football league. If it was just about the quality of the game, everybody would only be watching the Spanish League. I feel your pain Martin, but it's your British media that exposes you to all this MLS and Beckham 'news'.
Nils, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Typical Brit: mean, negative and accusative! A very unhappy man!
frrapper, Long Branch, USA
Diego, since 1977 English clubs have won 9 European cups and champions league finals.
How many world series have MLS clubs won?
Hugh Jaynis, Rutland,
Wow, you chaps know more about "our" soccer league than any American I know. I can't think of an American network that would ever have a "fact box" about MLS. Enjoy!
G R Nardo, Racine, Wisconsin USA
Born and raised a Yank, I love soccer. I bugged by Dad to get season tickets to the Denver Dynamo of the old NASL. And I can't stand to watch the MLS. Thank God for Fox Sports, which shows the Premiership, La Liga, Serie A, and the Bundesliga, as well as matches from Latin America.
Jeff Myhre, New York City, USA
MLS has it's place in the world of football, I just don't want to read or hear about it
Matthew DAvidson, Aberdeen, Scotland
Surely the real issue here is that we are only gaining increased exposure to the MLS because of David Beckham. There is nothing to be lost in having a tiny bulletin on SSN or Five about the MLS - (unless you'd really miss some of Fives alternative scheduling?), we have a cultural affinity with the USA (whether you like it or not) so it's nice to see a sport we call our own grow over there. While Lalas' comments were off the mark there is no need to be so defensive, enjoy the football - or don't watch it, simple.
rob9son, Edinburgh, UK
Couldn't agree more, Martin. This is not just an attack on the MLS itself (although the standard is lower than the top European leagues and we should stop trying to pretend otherwise) but the fact the we are constantly having coverage pushed on us because of David Beckham, a player who is increasingly about the media exposure and less the football. The fact that the MLS was barely covered (middle-of-the-night highlights on Channel 4 occasionally) before he went over says a lot.
No-one is hoping the MLS fails; just acknowledging that right now, as Mcglock says, it is a work in progress and should not be billed - and treated - as a equal to the top European leagues.
Garfield, London,
The English league has been going for over a hundred years, we've had lots of time to get it right. During that time we've suffered hooliganism and the stadium tragedies at Bradford and Hillsborough. The MLS is still in its relative infancy. Yes, the Europan recruits have been has-beens like Beckham but the Premier League used to recruit other countries cast-offs like Cantona. They soon made way for the likes of Henry, Drogba and Berbatov, true world-class players.
Paul Regis, York, United Kingdom
"We do not tune in for displays of technical excellence, but because it is our league and we care."
This is spot-on, and it's exactly how I feel about MLS. Also: The Galaxy are a bit of a joke, unfortunately. Obviously the league in general is a step or two below the Premiership, but the bottom-feeding Galaxy are definitely not indicative of the rest of the league.
DC supporter abroad, Brussels, Belgium
Mr. Samuel, I'm curious as to why you are so bitter. Let it go.
Elena, Los Angeles, CA
MLS is the most competative league in the world. EPL, La Liga, Seria A, a 6 year old could give you the basic run down of how they'll finish. MLS is fun to watch, and incorporates several different styles of play.
England: the want-to-be soccer country. You are not Italy, you are not Brazil, you are not Germany, nor Argentna or France. You won a WC back in 66 on your home turf. The EPL has one 2 or 3 out of the last 30 champions leagues?
England is not god's gift to soccer. Never was, never will be.
Diego, Brooklyn, USA
Despite Martin Samuel's wise counsel, Jermain Defoe may not have chosen to go to Sunderland, not just because of the lack of shopping, but did not share Roy Keane's total committment to the game. However David Beckham moved to LA to play in the MSL for the opposite reasons, not as it is rumoured to improve his football or to add to his Air Miles, only Steve McClaren believes that!
As for the quality of the football, unless you are myopic, all too many of the Premier League games would not be out of place in the MLS across the pond. In view of recent health problems experienced amongst our footballers, there is a case for the game of two halves becoming the game of four quarters. Should that day happen, the sponsors will make certain that the much maligned MLS will attract the South American galacticos and more than compete with the overrated Premier.
M. Fishman, London,
For someone who doesn't care, you certainly do carry on.
Peg, Los Angeles, USA/CA
<em>No league with grand aspirations would pick a man who was badly injured simply because the occasion demanded it, or let him play on consecutive days on either side of the Atlantic, merely because he wanted to, </em>
Because of course that's not what the England NT and Steve McClaren did for a meaningless friendly.
Laurie, Seattle, WA
Wow. It must really suck being so bitter and above anything new. Next time, we'll check with you about all sporting decisions made over here. Sorry to step on your sensibilities.
Brian Shea, Hanover, PA, USA
I think what you're seeing in the MLS right now is nothing more than growing pains. Of course there are aspects that make true "soccer" fans in America cringe, but the EPL wasn't built in a day, and neither will the MLS be. We are a league and a country trying to play catch-up to a world that has a century head start. I'm sorry you don't care about soccer in America. As a fan of the game, not just the English game, you should care when it is growing in a country that had previously not understood the joy and beauty of it.
Mcglock, Denver, CO/USA
A bit rich from a Westham fan
njau, dallas texas, u
yawn....Beckham, who's he? Isn't that Tom Cruise's neighbor?
Jerry, rochester, NY
More to the point is the number of people who really do not care about any soccer, wherever it may be from. The pitiful tendency of the BBC to frame everything in terms of soccer really is sad - "Everton supporter murdered in Merseyside" - when a young kid has been shot really sums it up.
If the Competition Commission wanted to earn its fees it would force all TV channels to stop bundling soccer with other sports, allowing subscribers to pay the correct price for what they want to watch.
squeeler, greensboro, north Carolina, USA