Well, it had to happen. Beckham had to leave Real Madrid and to no one’s surprise, he chose a move across the Atlantic to sunny Los Angeles where he would take his freekicks against teams such as Washington Wizards and Dallas Cowboys . Nobody really expected to move from Madrid to Portsmouth (although the prospect of him moving to Liverpool seemed interesting). What has surprised everybody has been the cash involved and the duration of the the deal.

The deal:

From the Wall Street Journal:

Mr. Beckham’s five-year pact includes an annual salary approaching $10 million a year, 40% to 50% of team-jersey sales and a share of club ticket revenue. His endorsements are expected to bring in $20 million to $25 million a year. Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the operating rights to the Galaxy and two other MLS teams, said it estimates that, including endorsements, Mr. Beckham could could earn in excess of $250 million over the five years — a deal the company called “the biggest in sporting history.”

Thats an obscene amount of money for any sportsman, let alone a player who is now past his prime, is entering a country where the sport has little mass support (come on even George Best and Pele did try!), is not part of his national football team and at age 31 is now watching his limited football skills go on the decline. Beckham will also be selling global brands such as Adidas, Pepsi and Gillette to Americans.

Miserable days in Spain

After a very successful career at Manchester United where Beckham won trophies every year, he moved to Real Madrid following a spectacular fallout with Fergusson. United had agreed a deal to sell Beckham to Barcelona (albeit a Barcelona that were struggling and had not won a trophy in ages) and the deal appeared to be going through until Beckham hijacked it by signing a contract with Real Madrid. Beckham was a perfect fit for the galactico policy of Real, he was a global superstar, and he would bring millions to Madrid through jersey sales and image rights.

Since then, Barcelona, inspired by Ronaldinho (ironically a Madrid reject) and driven by manager Frank Rijkaard have gone on to win 2 league titles and were crowned European Champions in May. Madrid on the other hand have gone to the gutters as a result of poor management and terrible transfer policies. Last heard, emergency talks were being held at the Bernabeu to understand why the club was under achieving.

To be fair to Beckham, he tried and tried hard. I cant understand how people like Guti and Raul continue to be in the Madrid first XI ahead of Beckham. And, being pushed to the centre of midfield by a series of managers didn’t help his cause either. Worse, he had lost pace. He is no Zidane but he is no Pennant either. You put him on the right side of midfield and Beckham will deliver perfect crosses to your strikers all day long.

What does this mean for the MLS?

Short term interest is no doubt going to shoot up, when every national newspaper and television channel covers the story, you know it’s something big. There will be a definite spike in attendances wherever the Galaxy play atleast over the coming season. But can somebody explain to me how in four years time, a 36 year old David Beckham is going to continue to draw the crowds for much longer?!

Worse, the chances of the Yanks taking to the sport in a big way are about as remote as India qualifying for the 2014 football World cup. Football (or should I say soccer) is perceived to be a sport to be played by young kids, where every kid however poor gets to kick the ball. And there is way too much competition for the MLS from the other big leagues. On the other hand, the young kids (and there are eight million between the ages of 8 and 16 who are playing the sport) might just be the perfect target for the MLS bosses and Beckham’s football academy.

It is also going to be interesting to see if this transfer results in other football superstars like Figo, Ronaldo hopping across the atlantic. Who knows? maybe Shevchenko will move there too. There is already talk of Edgar Davids joining the Dallas Cowboys.

Will Beckham be the messiah who will take Football to the final frontier? Will a very average and ageing 36 year old David Beckham be able to sell cars and razor blades? Will this website survive to discuss that in 4 years time? Only time will tell.

- Z

No, this is not an article about Harry Redknapp and his South coast shenanigans, so keep reading (or stop reading, if that suits your fancy). The January transfer window is open, and many clubs are scrambling to sign players whom they think they might at need at some point of time during the rest of the season. We’ll take requests in a bit, but for now let’s have a look at the ‘Big Four’ plus Manchester City.

Chelsea:

The club is looking pretty shaky at the back without Terry. Jose needs to shore up the defense in case of another injury. Boulahrouz does not make sense as a player, let alone an emergency centre half/full back (Face it, he’s only ever gonna be used in an emergency anyway). Tal Ben Haim has been mentioned as a potential target, but Bolton have tripled his wages and extended his contract, so it’s unlikely he’ll be moving any time soon. Micah Richards is another possibility – young, built like an ox, pace to burn, and what appears to be a very good footballing brain – but he’ll cost Chelsea at least 20 million pounds, which, while they can afford, may not be an amount they’re willing to shell out. I’d buy Matt Upson if I were him, to be honest with you – a solid defender with a fairly good track record. Or Anton Ferdinand. For a laugh. They’ll probably win the league anyway. Funny, with all the money they have spent and they have hidden in Roman’s couch- they are still short of players.

Man United:

Fergie’s hunt for a defensive midfielder appears to be drawing to a close, with Bayern Munich announcing that they will consider bids for Canadian-Englishman Owen Hargreaves. But Munich want 20 million for it. Does Fergusson have so much cash? What about the money for the striker in the summer?

While United appear to be strong on both wings – indeed, with the form Cristiano Ronaldo has been in, they could ask him to play both wings simultaneously – they need a little more quality up front. Rooney, for all his talent, has performed sporadically at best for United. Solskjaer doesn’t have the same pace, even if he is an impact substitute of some pedigree. Saha has been in fine fettle, but is prone to injury, and SAF has done a wise thing by bringing Larsson to the club. Wonder, when the boy wonder Rooney is going to start scoring the goals.

Liverpool:

Rafa Benitez has been fairly shrewd with his transfers so far, and it appears that the signings of Bellamy and Pennant are finally beginning to pay off. Liverpool have signed Javi Mascherano from West Ham on loan for the rest of the season, although it baffles me to think of what Benitez will do with 4 top class central midfielders. There is strength in depth for every position except the right hand side. I’m hoping a cheeky bid for Dani Alves from Sevilla will get that sorted, though. Finnan is incredibly consistent, but is also the only quality player in his position, and would relish some competition. Lucas Neill has been mentioned a few times, but Benitez should realistically be looking at some younger targets. Some would argue that Liverpool still need to buy a striker, but I reckon Dirk Kuyt has shut everyone up for now, with some outstanding displays. I wouldn’t say no to David Villa though, and I suspect Rafa might break the bank to get him. But not now.

Arsenal:

Arsene Wenger’s young team have been bullied a little bit this season. Their (now insignificant) victory at Old Trafford apart, the Gunners have looked shaky all season long. Beating Liverpool 3-0 at home and losing 1-0 at Sheffield United is pretty much indicative of their inconsistency. Now, I’ll be frank here – I cannot stand Arsenal. For all their talent (Fabregas, Van Persie, Henry), they are incredibly arrogant and self-obsessed (sounds a bit like me, this lot). With youngsters all over the pitch, and the old heads of Henry and Gilberto, Arsene must be thinking “Well, these guys look pretty good right now, we’ll worry about next year when we come to it”. I don’t expect them to buy anyone. They already have? Sue me.

And I did mention Man City (I love this club, by the way), but I think they need to be bought before they do any serious buying.

Oasisboy

Technorati Tags: Transfer, Window, Chelsea, Arsenal, United, Liverpool, Hargreaves, Mascherano, Terry, Ronaldo

Its just past the halfway stage, but a few things are already pretty obvious.

Title: A two horse race

The title race is a duopoly, with Manchester United having the upper hand and Chelsea having serious problems at the back without John Terry. It is the exact opposite at United who have strong back up in defence, but are lacking in quality replacements in midfield and attack. Both these problems should be addressed when the transfer window opens. My prediction, a Chelsea hattrick of titles mainly due to the firepower they have in the squad. Classic case was last weekend when Chelsea and Man U played Everton and West Ham respectively. Chelsea brought on Kalou and Sheva while Man U brought on O’Shea to replace Giggs. Also given the amount of money that Chelsea have, a replacement defender for John Terry will not be too tough to find.

It’s going to be interesting to see the impact that Henrik Larsson has on the United squad. And what happens if he is a success? Is there a clause that lets him stay on till the end of the season? Also, will the whole Owen Hargreaves saga will come to an end? Hargreaves should cost upwards of 12 million pounds and this signing might mean that United wont have cash for any other signing.

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After a pulsating 90 minutes, the London derby ended 1-1. The draw means that Chelsea now trail Manchester United by 8 points 9 (well, five as they will beat Newcastle on Wednesday). Arsenal will come away with a lot of confidence and will hope to cement their hold on the third place in the coming weeks. This season promises to be an exciting one and promises to stay alive till April.

My thoughts.

The Bull:

What a goal by Essien! Almost like Gerrard’s goal against Olympiakos but from a longer distance and a tighter angle. This guy is a bull, and would make a brilliant right back if not for the fact that he is even better in the centre of the park. Just like against United, Chelsea became more potent the moment Mourinho put him in right back and brought in Robben. And right now he is one of the 5 best players in the World (of course most footballer of the year polls would tell you that the best players right now are Henry, Owen, , Ronaldo, Raul and Zidane)

Theatrics:

Lehmann and Drogba reminded me of a couple of 5 year olds in the school playground trying to get the teacher’s attention at the right time. What a joke! This is one part of football I really hate and hopefully sometime in the next decade video rulings will help the referee come to the right decision. But what it definitely does is make the game more interesting. Frankly, I cant stand either Lehmann or Drogba and would have loved to see the two of them take each 0ther out. (by the looks of it it didn’t take too much to knock them down)

Whining Wenger:

The game showed what an annoying hypocrite Arsene Wenger really is. Arsenal went to the Bridge as the weaker team (missing key players) So what did they do? they had defended with all they had and hoped to hit the opponents on the break. What is wrong then? Just that Arsene whines everytime an opponent does the same thing against his team. Sure, the game was more attractive to watch because Arsenal have a lot of flair players (unlike say Everton) but it is still the same policy. So stop whining and try scoring, the next time you are playing Everton or Wigan at home.

Cashley Cole:

I would love to see what happens when Cole goes to the Emirates Stadium later on in the season. I wonder if the reaction will be any worse (or better) than what Figo got the first time he went back to the Camp Nou after his transfer to Real Madrid. From his career point of view, he did the right thing- he went to a company that offered him much better pay and also better chances of success but then try explaining that to the football fans!

Premiership:

What an advertisement for the premier league! Some of these big games can end up being a snoozefest with both teams cancelling out each other, but this one was anything but one. Two goals of very high quality, Chelsea hit the post thrice, hard tackles and some theatrics. What more could one ask for? The premier league might not be the best technically and the English team might be mediocre, but in terms of sheer entertainment nothing can beat this league.

Z

Technorati Tags: Chelsea, Arsenal, EPL, Premiership, Essien, Drogba, Wenger,

Wednesday may well be the end of the road of several European giants in this year’s Champions League. The usually drab group stage has given way for some exciting KO football with some of Europe’s finest, including participants of last year’s dream final, having a lot of work to do.

Barcelona have the hardest proposition- A must win game with an injury ravaged side against one of the best teams in Europe, at-least this season. . Werder have been spectacular this season, both in the Champions League and on their domestic front, with Brazilian Playmaker Diego pulling the strings and finally living up to his billing after his unhappy time at Porto. He has been sensational this year and he will go against a Barcelona team who know they cant sit back, but that has never been their wont. Ronaldinho has had a coming again party and would want to celebrate his nomination for FIFA World Player of the Year in style.

Manchester United on the other hand were looking pretty a few weeks ago until they, presumably in a fit of idiocy, decided not to turn up for the next two games. And they paid the price. In an identical situation to last year, they are to face a Benfica team with a winner take all clause. This time however it will be in the comfort of their backyard.

Arsenal have fewer excuses this time for struggling in a group of mediocre difficulty but that wont stop Arsene Whinger from dishing out the usual tripe about refs and the fixture list. Henry’s bust up with Wenger has been rebuffed as sheer hyperbole by the die-hard gooners but Wenger’s equivocal post match interview may suggest otherwise. They are lucky in that a poor performance need not send them out of the Champions league.

All in all fantastic matches for fans. Here’s hoping that Barca dont play in the Uefa Cup….

V

Its that time of the year again, when media outlets and journos forget about the whole of Europe and focus on two teams in Spain. A country which is no stranger to schisms of a political hue in its checkered history, and this discord in beliefs brings about a footballing rivalry which has no equals. Barcelona Real Madrid or Real Barca(to all the madridistas) represents the pinnacle of soccer both in terms of quality and passion.

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A piss poor performance by a team that is looking very much like a ship without a rudder, in the absence of their star striker Eto’o. The usually incisive Barca team were toothless in attack, never really testing Hilario, who in his first Chelsea game had a comfortable day. Barcelona didn’t challenge Chelsea enough and on the balance of play didn’t even deserve a point. At the end of the three matches it looks like it will be tussle between Werder and Barca for the second CLE spot. Rijkaard will be a worried man after the manner of the defeat and Ronnie’s cameo in the weekend is starting to already look like only an abberation. He was kept in his confines by a prospective man of the match in dutchman Khalid Boulahrouz. The eventual winner of the performer of the day was the scorer of the match winning and spectacular goal, Didier Drogba. He was outstanding throughout the match and its very strange that his purple patch coincides with the worst slump in his strike partner’s career. Sheva had a terrible day and its not before long that the English press get on his case.Drogba for his part should have scored a second but lets not deny this thespian (no bitterness here, ) his day in the sun.

Noone really stepped up for the Catalans and there is an alarming tone of complacency in their style. Rijkaard should address it as soon as possible with El classico only five days away. The misery for the Blaugrana was compounded when Puyol limped off. It looks like a few days of overtime for FR at the office!

Barca will be interested in signing a striker in the Winter market and are already howering around Europe for a cheap buy. In a few weeks we will know if its too little too late.

V (Its good to be back, but I would have preferred a more opportune and enjoyable moment)

Technorati Tags: Chelsea, Barcelona, Champions+league, Ronaldinho, Football