Beckham has words with another fan

After being fined $1000 for his altercation at the Home Depot with a disgruntled fan last week, David Beckham was once again seen to talk to an unhappy fan in the game against the Kansas Wizards team at the weekend.
Reportedly this fan wore an England T-shirt, but according to Beckham, over-stepped the line by insulting his wife Victoria (not the first time a football crowd have done so...) but the two ended up shaking hands.
Hopefully this kind of thing will abate soon as the added pressure cannot be good, although to be fair, Beckham's performance on the pitch does not seem to have been affected...

Kansas City Wizards 1 LA Galaxy 1

The Galaxy started well at CommunityAmerica Ballpark and took the game to the Wizards with Beckham playing a vital role feeding the ball to the front men from all over the pitch. Despite Galaxy pressure, it was an error on the half-way line that gifted the ball to the Kansas player Lopez just inside the Wizard's half of the pitch. Lopez spotted Rickets, the Galaxy keeper off his line and lofted the ball over the keeper from a stunning distance on 25 minutes. Rickets slammed into the goalpost in his efforts to reach the ball and damaged his back sufficiently to be substituted. It was 1-0 to the home side, but the Galaxy were back in the game just 8 minutes later when Donovan scored right-footed shooting across the goal into the left-hand corner. Predictably, the deft lay-off to Donovan in mid-field came from Beckham.

In the second half, Kansas came back strong but LA managed to keep them out although the crossbar came to their rescue on one occasion and the ricochet was nearly turned into the net by a Galaxy defender.
Beckham continued to provide quality ball like he had right from the start of the game, and The Galaxy will be disappointed that they have not continued their winning streak in the league, although they remain unbeaten for the fifth league game on the spin. Next up is the friendly against Barcelona on 1st August...

Galaxy 2 AC Milan 2

Beckham's 'Homecoming' left little to be desired on the pitch, but plenty to be desired on the terraces. The football always takes precedence on this blog, so we will address that first...
The Galaxy started at pace and quickly began to pile on the pressure which is probably the best way to attack a Milan side that like to slowly take control of a game (albeit a new team that is in preparation for a new season).
Despite the pressure, it was Milan that scored first as Thiago Silva headed home a free kick. The Galaxy struck back within 15 minutes via a long searching pass from Beckham to Donovan, Donovan put the ball in for Alan Gordon to score bringing the score level at 1-1. The first half ended level and a surprising scene manifested itself as the players left the pitch and Beckham took exception to something yelled from the sector of the Galaxy supporters who had been most vocally anti-Beckham. A short exchange took place the details of which may emerge later, but the upshot was that the supporter was arrested as he leaped over the barriers to confront Beckham. We are left pondering whether things would have been best left alone, but until you are personally subjected to abuse from unrestrained idiots, it is difficult to say how you would react yourself - everyone has a point at which they lose their cool. It was noticeable how the dissenting sector of the crowd had calmed down somewhat for the second half, and hopefully that indicates that most people had worked through their issues in that first 45 minutes where Beckham showed his considerable value to this LA team.
The game resumed and it took Milan about 15 minutes to regain the lead through Inzaghi, but it only took The Galaxy another four minutes to equalise via a Beckham corner and a header from Bryan Jordan. Beckham left the field another 1o minutes later having proved a definite point turning provider for both LA goals and several unconverted chances - The score remained at 2-2 at the cessation of play, an honourable draw and a great result for The Galaxy. Hopefully, recent results show that The Galaxy have turned a corner and will be able to bring home some results in the next few weeks. Hopefully they will also be able to rely on their fans to get behind the team as they enjoy what may prove to be the most successful run of results of the season.

NY Red Bulls 1 LA Galaxy 3

The TV coverage started with a frank interview with Beckham, followed by some whining by the writer of the 'Beckham Experiment' book which left me thinking... if you could write books half as well as Beckham plays soccer you would probably actually write something worthwhile. I hate to see someone of average talent criticising someone with unquestionably huge talent, I can live with Donovans criticism far more than some nerd with a chip on his shoulder.
Whatever the critics might say about whether he should play or not, Beckham starts in the middle of midfield giving an embrace to Donovan before the kick off. In less than 3 minutes Eskandarian's left foot gave the visiting LA team the lead. New York responded with Juan Pablo Angel coming close on a couple of occasions. Tellingly, when Donovan had a chance to put someone in a goal-scoring position early on, he selected to cut back a long way to Beckham who's shot was blocked.
On 30 minutes Donovan scored with his right foot, after a period of prolonged pressure from The Galaxy, Beckham resuming his role as spot-kick and corner-taker. Donovan Rickets in the LA goal kept the Red Bulls out and just before the half-time whistle, Landon Donovan fed the ball cross-field right to left for Eddie Lewis to volley home with his left foot. LA Galaxy head into half-time with an unprecedented 3-0 lead for this season - whether this is the Beckham touch or not... something was going the right way.
LA started the second half brightly, the game remaining open and flowing, LA showing no inclination to close up and slow the game down. On 68 minutes Buddle had a stinging shot parried away and Beckham was replaced By Chris Birchall (previously playing at Brighton and Hove Albion). Birchall had an immediate impact placing the ball cleverly to Donovan who knocked the ball across for Eskandarian who could do no more than place it into the keepers hands. Mike McGee replaced Eskandarian as LA looked sure to walk away with the three points. The final twenty minutes were played out without any real threat emerging from the New York team. However on 85 minutes, they had the ball in the net but ended up with a penalty for hand-ball, Angel made no mistake from the spot-kick, leaving the score at 3-1. Bizarrely four minutes later a second hand-ball penalty was awarded, but this time Rickets saved from the spot-kick.
Beckham had demonstrated how smoothly he can make the transition into this new team, Donovan showed how invaluable he is to the Galaxy team as did Rickets in Goal. The Galaxy also demonstrated their capacity to lose concentration and were lucky not to give away two goals in te last five minutes. Observers are left wondering why it has taken The Galaxy so long to gel successfully as a team.

Beckham back at the Galaxy

Amongst unprecedented interest from the media, Beckham took the field for training with The Galaxy yesterday and firmly put behind him any problems that might arise with Landon Donovan and his all-to-public comments. Chris Klein was heard to say of Donovan and Beckham ".... when they get out here, they are two of the best at what they do." and that is what we want to see in action in Thursday.

Klein said that Beckham met with the team on Sunday and most of the conversation centered around family and the time spent in Milan.
Donovan himself was quoted as saying of his meeting with Beckham, "Some good will come out of it," he said. "I really believe that. I believe we're getting to the bottom of things we needed to get to. We're on the right path, and I'm excited about that."
Let's hope that comes out on the field...

New Spot The Ball competition

Spot the ball has been a game that has had families crowding around the sports pages of our newspapers for generations, and now that experience is available online. Not only can you win a car in this new online game, you can win luxury gadgets and get to pit your wits against professional Football Association referees such as Vic Callow and Dermot Gallagher.
This new site ‘Spotit’ is blowing the whistle on other sites that sell your contact details or accept entries that equate to over 600% of the value of the prizes on offer. Spotit is vowing to offer transparency by publicising the number of entries and having limited-entry competitions that give the competitor a better chance of winning.

All entries in the spot the ball competition are judged by real live Football Association referees, your spot must match their spot in order to win the top prize in the car competition.
The Spotit site has other competitions on offer to win cash prize, win mega gadgets and luxury gadgets – one recent winner won tickets to the British Formula One Grand Prix. Weekend breaks and Shopping spree prizes are also on offer.
The game of spot the ball is by no means a new innovation, but this new site is bringing the competition to the internet with an honest and transparent approach which should ensure enjoyment for all and a good chance of winning for many.

Beckham and Donovan to kiss and make up

David Beckham has issued a rebuttal to Landon Donovan's complaints citing his professional record with some of the worlds very best football clubs as evidence of his attitude to the sport. In return Donovan has admitted that it was ill-advised of him to make his comments without first talking to David. Both men have said that they will talk and clear the air before Beckham takes the field for the first time this year in the MLS.
Honestly, this is the best solution to the problem and I for one am glad that both men want the chance to meet face to face and iron out their differences before taking to the field in earnest for their club. Donovan has a point that I think is explained by Bruce Arena coming in for Ruud Gullit, I think that was the catalyst that placed a distance between Beckham and The Galaxy, and made him look about for a possible escape...
Beckham also has a point that any problem Donovan had should have been discussed with Beckham face to face initially, especially as Donovan carries the responsibility of captaining the Los Angeles club. He also may have a point that conditions of his contract were not being met if indeed Gullit was bought in as part of a deal with Beckham, and he also has a point that Donovan himself has shown a lack of commitment by trying his hand (or at least his left foot) in Europe himself in the off-season.

Chivas 0 Galaxy 1

Galaxy win against home rivals Chivas (for those that don't know, they play at the same stadium, the Home Depot Center) with Buddle scoring from a header early on - this gives The Galaxy their third win in a row, which is a vast improvement on their start to the season where draws were more common than wins. There seems every chance that Beckham could put in an appearance on Thursday against the New York Red Bulls - unless Donovan has his way of course...

Beckham prepares for hostile reception

There is not much doubt that opposition fans will give Beckham a lot of stick, he has been used to that since he arrived at the MLS and before that in the premiership. However it is not often that prominent team mates will nail their colours to the mast quite so emphatically as Landon Donovan has done recently.
Landon is a big name in US soccer and has richly deserved his position as a top player by doing that thing that cannot be argued with...ie. scoring goals. His left foot has got his team mates out of trouble on countless occasions whether he was playing for the Galaxy or for the US national team. This time he seems determined to plant his foot in something slightly smaller that a soccer goal - his mouth...! The bad-mouthing began when Beckham declared his intention to play for Milan in the off-season. Donovan voiced his annoyance stating that there could be no benefit to Beckham travelling half-way around the world to cosy up with chums in Italy - Donovan then looked an idiot when he took a similar journey himself trying his hand in the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich. Donovan had to come back home without signing for Munich, Beckham stayed at Milan even though it was reportedly at his own expense - and there's the real problem that Donovan has... Beckham can afford to take a wage cut to play where he wants to play, Donovan was forced to come home from Munich because they didn't want him enough.
Don't get me wrong, Donovan is indeed a top player and a valuable asset to The Galaxy - however I don't think he gives himself anything but a big headache by kicking out at Beckham - shortly the two will have to do a job together and Donovan is making things very difficult for himself. Maybe he is right (and I happen to think he is) to point out that Beckham lost interest when Ruud Gullit left LA, but he does no good to point it out and call it a lack of committment. I personally think that a top European manager was part of Beckhams requirement, and when Gullit left allowing The Galaxy to appoint Bruce Arena, a problem was created. It seems to me that Bruce Arena and Beckham were not on the same wavelength - don't forget that Beckham counts Sir Alex Ferguson and Fabio Capello amongst managers that he has clashed heads with over the years. I believe this was where the story went sour, a point where The Galaxy were not performing well and Beckham may have felt isolated and began to think about how he might escape from this 'fine mess' he had gotten himself into.
For players like Beckham loyalty and committment do not equate to cash, the advisors might want the cash deal, but the player has to feel part of a team otherwise it is 'just' a job, and this is how it has ended up for Beckham in my opinion. He has not played badly for LA, I defy Donovan to cite the match that Beckham played badly - he has maintained a level of professionalism and has steered clear of voicing his protests publicly. Maybe that is the difference between a superstar and just a good footballer, the difference between Beckham and Donovan.
Donovan wants Beckham to be benched - I have never heard a professional sportsman talk about a team mate in those terms - except When Amr Zaki repeatedly did not return to Wigan after international duty in Egypt - at least Beckham went through the proper channels before not returning the LA in March...
I hope the two men can work out their differences like professionals in the coming weeks otherwise winter will be a long time coming for both of them. I think The Galaxy would be very ill-advised to bench Beckham and if they do, I think he would be within his rights to tell the MLS to stick the mega-wages and walk away... Beckham owes his employers a performance, if he doesn't get the chance to perform then they have forfeited their rights as an employer. It is the Galaxy and MLS that should also be controlling what comes out of Donovans mouth into the public arena - in the premiership a player would surely be benched himself for offering such opinions publicly.