Beckham's break

David Beckham having finished the Serie A season with Milan, and having taken part in two (winning) internationals with England - has a break for a few weeks before returning the The Galaxy next month. The Los Angeles team are sorely missing some 'edge' having had a less than impressive start to the season. The Galaxy are lying 6th in the league with a tally of 15 points from 13 games and a goal difference of -1. If Beckham is to make an impact on this team, he will need to do it quickly...With about a dozen games left of the season when David returns, there is little chance The Galaxy being able to threaten the league-leaders from their lowly position, or even get into a play-off position. There will of course be two major highlights of the season remaining - the games against Milan and Barcelona.
We have said it before, but the US leagues are just not ready for players like Beckham until they are really past their best and need to step down from soccer at the highest level. This whole idea would have worked after the next World Cup so much more effectively when otherwise retirement will certainly beckon.

On England's World Cup campaign, only one more win is required out of the remaining three qualifiers.England are in an almost-unassailable position at the top of their qualifying group, one more win would secure qualification without depending on any other results - to complete the group with a 100% record must now surely be the aim of the team and the coach, and right now, that looks like a very achievable goal.
The next scheduled England game is a friendly against Holland in Amsterdam on 12th August, followed by a warm-up game against Slovenia at Wembley on 5th September. The next qualifier is against Croatia at Wembley on 9th September followed by the away game against Ukraine on 10th October, and finally the qualifier against Belarus on 14th October at Wembley.
If Beckham gets picked for these international games, then he will play even less time in the MLS and The Galaxy are destined for a poor result this season.
The understanding that came out of the negotiations earlier this year, has been that Beckham will return to Milan in January 2010, but with Ancelotti at Chelsea, it is not clear whether any 'understanding' with Beckham was dependant on Ancelotti remaining as the Milan manager. On the Milan website, Beckham has said "....we’ll see what happens, but I hope to return soon."