Farewell Landycake...we never really got to know your potential.

Later today will be the finals of the MLS cup between the LA Galaxy and the New England Revolution. For once, I will actually...well maybe...watch an entire MLS game from start to finish. I will admit I have tried to watch Revolution playoff games, but I still cannot seem to bring myself to watching the entire product from start to finish. Call me a football snob, I can take it. But this game will be interesting for more than simply because my soon to be home town team is in the game (the Revolution are rumored to be moving to a soccer only stadium in Boston...currently they play closer to Rhode Island) but because this will be Landy Cakes last professional footy game.

There is much, well as much as there can be for MLS, ballyhoo about the possibility that the US star wins his 6th MLS title. That will elevate him to the stature of this former teammate David Beckham who has also won 6 domestic titles...oh wait those are EPL titles, never mind. But at least that would be more than Ronaldo's domestic haul of 4...what's that? Those 4 are - 3 EPL and and 1 La Liga title...never mind. Well it puts him ahead of Pat Vieira's measly 3 EPL titles....okay okay I realize I am being cheeky in my comparisons. But there is an underlying frustration in these comparisons. Donovan for all the hype he covered himself in over in the United States, never lived up to his supposed potential.

His stints over in Europe are well documented, starting with Bayern Leverkusen where he came back because he complained of the cold and his inability to get in surfing done. Really? He also had a loan stint at Bayern Munich, where a more mature Donovan could have carved out a resurgence in his European career. But once again he failed...and sowed the seeds for his downfall with now US National team coach - Klinsmann. He finally Wondolowski missed a sitter in injury time that would have seen the US through to the next round. You mean to tell me that Landycakes could not have at least put that shot on frame??? But Klinsmann had made it clear, he wanted players that were hungry and to the German I am sure that not wanting to push yourself and try to make it in Europe was a massive strike against Landycakes.

I got this cool kit and a 3 week vacation!

demonstrated some success in back to back loan spells with Everton in the EPL. Yet Donovan never looked to make those loan moves permanent. Fail. Everton seemed to be a good fit for Landycakes. A solid English club, but not a Manchester United or Liverpool where the history would clearly crush the mentally fragile Landycakes. In addition, Everton's best player was their American keeper - Tim Howard. Yet once again Landon Donovan opted to come back the MLS, play in front of 10,000 fans and be relegated to the back pages of the back pages in the newspapers. A major consequence of his decision became clear this past summer, when he watched rather than played in the World Cup. I am sure that he, like many of the US fans, were pulling their hair out when

In a recent article about Donovan they mention some of his issues with being more mentally tough - click here. After reading the piece I have some empathy for Donovan. I think there is nothing simple about dealing with the psychology of daily life let alone being a professional athlete. But I also wonder how can an athlete get to where Landycakes did, compete on the biggest stage in sports - the World Cup - and not be somewhat more mentally tough than he seems to indicate he isn't.

I hear an interview between him and former MLS and US National team player, Taylor Twellman the other day, and what struck me was how Donovan was talking about the MLS cup finals. As if he was speaking of playing for his 6th Champions League title. And it struck me then, many Landycakes is smarter than all of us. Maybe he knew his limitations. Maybe he knew that for games against Algeria or Costa Rica or Mexico he could compete and he could be the "greatest American soccer player." While it was at a World Cup, he wasn't staring for Italy or Brazil where all the pressure was on. He knew he could do well for a short period of time at Everton, but if he had to battle with the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool etc etc on a weekly basis that he would be exposed. Much safer to give all for a handful of games and then go back to the safety of playing Real Salt Lake and Sporting KC - certainly wouldn't want to face the true Real Madrid or even Sporting Lisbon in a European fixture.

So Donovan will put on his boots for a last time in anger today. The end of a career that promised so much more at the beginning. What I find a delicious paradox is another US soccer star that I was looking up this week - Freddy Adu. A player that was suppose to not only surpass Donovan in terms of US star but pass the likes of Pele and Messi as global stars has fallen flat on his face. Yet, Adu is still in Europe, working his craft. Chasing a dream that has taken a massive hit - does anyone think he will ever showcase for the US national team again? But kudos to him, unlike Landycakes, he is taking the challenges and failures of European football...anyone want to guess where he is playing??

So adieu Landycakes. I, as I have tended to do, will be rooting against you this game. For once I will be rooting for the team you are playing not against the hype that you represented.

Oh the game. I think that New England will find a way to win a tough match. Jones and Nguyen will have a huge part to play controlling that midfield and choking out any service to Keane and Donovan. NE 2 - LA 1

And who does Adu play for? Answer - FK Jagodina

Henry scores...direct from a corner

You tend to see these goals on the playground or in a Sunday Pug League game...not at the professional level. A piece of skill and beauty by the Frenchman.

Freddy Adu heading to another club another country...still not living up to billing

I do feel for Freddy Adu, granted because he shares a name with my son, but more because of the burden he has had to endure. Since the "superstar" title was prematurely forced onto the skinny 14 year old kid from Ghana, he has struggled to live up to the over-hyped expectations created by the media just 7 years ago. The latest in the Freddy Adu saga is that he will now go on a loan spell with Turkish club Rizespor. Um who are they you ask? Good question. They are a second division club in Turkey, not exactly the place the next Pele would be plying his trade. So now the young Adu has played in the US, Portugal, France, Greece and soon to be Turkey. That is quite the road show for a player that was suppose to take the footballing world and turn it upside down as well as propel US Soccer into the elite. Not sure that playing for Rizespor was in the cards for a player compared with Pele.



When he signed with DC United of the MLS at the tender age of 14, he was lauded as the answer to the US Soccer's need for a player of the level of Pele or Maradona. A talent that would carry the United States to global respect in the football world, maybe even lead the US to a World Cup title. Yet his club track record as well as his inability to carve out a place in the US national team speaks volumes of the harsh world of professional sports. Clearly Adu has some talent in his boots and a high level of skill, but it is equally clear that he has failed to develop to the degree necessary to become a solid professional...let alone an international star. Adu has remained optimistic stating that he is still young, true - he is only 21. But to put things in perspective, Lionel Messi is 23...and has been playing with the senior club since 2004.

This latest news only reminds me of how difficult professional sports are and in particular international football. Is Freddy Adu the biggest bust in modern football?

I will give him credit: unlike other US soccer players he has stuck it out in Europe and seems intent on working his way to one of the bigger leagues in Europe rather than high tail it back to the MLS.

Pires back in the EPL

Former Arsenal winger, Robert Pires, will join the Villans this week after being let go by his Spanish side Villarreal earlier this season. The 37 year old winger is clearly on the down slope of his career but can still bring some veteran leadership to the Birmingham side. After having trained with his former side Arsenal he has found himself a new footballing home. A couple of aspects of this move struck me:

• Had Wenger not stuck to his - no long term contract for players over 30 policy - could the Gunners have benefited from the veteran French international the past few seasons? I will say yes. I realize that Pires was not the player that Wenger first brought to north London from OM as a 26 year old. Pires became a vital cog in the Arsenal machine and I will contend that had he not injured a knee in 2002 he would have given Les Bleus great cover for Zidane during the World Cup and Les Bleus would have made a run in South Korea/Japan. Having said that, I also think Arsenal would have benefited from having the veteran for the past 4 seasons. Would he have been an uncontested starter? No. But spot starting and being leveraged off the bench would have given Wenger a valuable, trusted and solid option in the midfield.
• The apparent "snubbing" of the MLS and the Philadelphia Union, is ironic on many levels. First because Pires claims to have turned down the MLS side because the city was not beautiful enough....and now he is going to Birmingham. However who can blame him? Rather than moving to a Tier 2 domestic league (at best) he is heading back to one of the most popular domestic football leagues in the world and playing for a solid team with aspirations for Champions League football and beyond. I realize that players such as Henry and Marquez sought the MLS, but in the case of Titi he clearly wanted to enjoy life in America and specifically New York City. I would doubt that Henry or Marquez made the moves because they wanted to play in a more competitive league than La Liga or the EPL...then again according to Alexi Lalas the MLS would do more than hold their own in the EPL.

I think Houllier will leverage Pires as would have Wenger had he stayed at Arsenal - spot starting duty, option off the bench and selective games off (Carling Cup, early FA Cup games). He will be a welcome return to the EPL, I just wish he had never left.

Titi Henry coming soon to a MLS pitch near you!

So the worst kept secret - Titi Henry is coming to the MLS signing with Red Bull New York. Of course this has lost some of its luster after the "Hand of Gaul" coupled with France's debacle at the World Cup makes the Henry glow much less bright. Which I think might not be a bad thing for the former Barcelona man. Why? Unlike when Golden Balls arrived in LA from Real Madrid, coupled with massive promotional fanfare and hoopla, this signing has been rather quiet. Granted, Henry does not have the same marketing halo that Beckham brings along. However on the international scene, Henry has had a similar level of success, arguably more at some points. He is the leading goal scorer for his nation with 51 goals, has won the Champions League, FA Cup, EPL, World Cup and European Cup. For a few seasons he was the most dangerous striker in England maybe all of the soccer world.



So now Titi will take his talents and goal scoring ability to the MLS without the fanfare one might have otherwise expected. Which is a good thing, he will not have the inflated expectations that surrounded Beckham. Nor will Henry have to live up to untenable expectations. Granted it will not be a picnic...I am sure he will bear some of the Irish fans' ire during his matches as well as being a target for MLS players trying to make names for themselves - similar to what Becks goes through! Henry will most likely not walk on the pitch and score 25 goals nor make mazy runs nor hit volleys from 30 yards, but he still has enough in his legs to form a formidable partnership with Angel spearheading the Red Bull attack.

It will be interesting to see how Henry does in the MLS. I think he will be a productive player, will have moments of brilliance and he will be a good spokesperson for the game. Hopefully he will have a chance to rebuild his image, that took a hit in South Africa.

Golden Balls out of World Cup

After a non contact injury, where David Beckham tore his Achilles tendon, his chances of heading to South Africa with the English national team are slim to none.  While I have never made it a secret that I think the golden child of football is one of the most overrated players, I also have a tremendous amount of respect for him and his heart.

Beckham can never be accused of not loving the sport and not giving everything he can for his teams. Unlike other international players - such as Paul Scholes - he clearly loves pulling on the Three Lion's kit. Whether or not his chase to be the most capped English player is seem as a gimmick of the Beckham marketing machine or an athlete overstaying his welcome, I do not think one can question the will and desire that Becks has to carry on for his nation.

So what does this mean for the player, England and the Galaxy? First, if Beckham can come back I am sure he will do whatever it takes to return to the pitch as soon as he can. I do not think that Becks will want his career to end on such a note. I think the loss will be more hard felt for the English national team. Why? With all the controversy surrounding John Terry the loss of their former captain and iconic leader will potentially create a void in the dressing room. In addition, Capello's ability to use Becks as a late game veteran substitute made England that much more dangerous. Beckham remains dangerous on dead balls and crosses, something that could have been very useful late in a game. Finally, England's other wingers are not lighting the world on fire currently. As for the Galaxy, I do not think they will feel as much of the impact - their season is only starting to get into the preseason swing of things. Beckham could be back over the summer or early fall and therefore could have an impact on the MLS season.

I feel for Beckham, as the Sports Illustrated article points out, he has worked hard to make himself available and ready to head to South Africa and that has now been placed in serious jeopardy. Let us hope that golden balls makes a swift recovery and can leave the game his way, not on crutches.

Beckham gets the business in LA

So Golden Balls gets booed during his debut for the Galaxy. Ah fans will be fans. The fans were up in arms because Beckham had the audacity to try and work out a deal with Milan to make his move permanent. How dare he!!! Who would ever want to give up playing in the MLS for Serie A? I cannot fathom why Golden Balls even thought about not coming back to the MLS to face the likes of Real Salt Lake, Red Bull and the Rapids...much better than playing against Inter, Roma, or Juventus. All joking aside, I understand why Beckham wanted to stay in Europe and I guess I understand why the fans did what they did. The one issue the fans need to get a grasp of, the MLS remains an inferior product to what is offered in Europe. How can you fault any player for wanting to play for AC Milan? I realize that the fans take this as an insult, how dare a player turn his back on their beloved Galaxy??? I have always been a critic of Golden Balls, but one thing I will never accuse him of is not being dedicated to his trade, his team and his country. I think that it is unjust that fans, obviously fueled by the Donovan comments, are slinging the insults at Becks. Beckham has given the MLS and the Galaxy all that he has to offer during his time in LA. Wanting to move on to another league, a vastly superior one, should not be used against a player who did play hard when he put on the #23 kit. The Galaxy fans need to get over it, understand that any player worth their salt would seek to play at the highest level of competition. Just because their binky, Landycakes, keeps coming back to LA, does not mean other players want that...and I am sure Landycakes would have been happy if Bayern had looked to keep him for the season. Wonder if the fans will boo him now that Livorno is interested in bring him to Italy.

Fans will be fans...I guess the one positive is that the footie fans in LA have some passion, not sure that would have been the case 10 years ago.

Oh the Landycakes - MLS - Spiceboy drama

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=659931&sec=mls&cc=5901

Ah where to start with this one....Landycakes calling out someone for not showing up, Lalas telling a player he is not the MVP, Lalas being called out as being over his head....oh my. Not quite sure what to make of this, but if this is a teaser to purchase the book it might just have worked with me! I think it is a bit ironic that Landycakes calls out a player for not "showing up." Something that I would accuse Donovan of doing in big games. And based on this short blurbs, what we thought was all true but glossed over - Beckham did not want to come to the MLS and the only reason he did was that at the time no major European club wanted him! Of course Lalas, another beacon of intelligent American soccer management, made it a huge affair when they signed him...while he should have, but I fear he believed his own spin and thought that Becks really wanted to play in the MLS and that he was going to give 110%. Funny, but once a big club like Milan calls, who goes running back to Europe? And who can blame Becks??? It will be interesting to see what else is in the book, but from this snippet it is clear that the Beckham experiment did not turn out as the MLS hoped.

I might have to put this on my amazon list.

MLS expansion

Ok the MLS is rarely a topic for my discussion...other than making fun of Landycakes or the idiotic comments coming from Alexi Lalas' pie hole. However I was reading a piece about the Vancouver would get a new MLS team, which is really the A-League team making the jump to the MLS. Now certain A - League teams like the Whitecaps and Rhinos have a decent following made me think about what the MLS would look like if they adopted a relegation style system. Also, based on the A-League teams success in open cup competitions no reason to believe they could not compete in the MLS. What would this bring? First it would put the MLS into a similar format as almost every other major footie league in the world. Second, I think it would add a level of interest deeper into the season. While I would also like to get rid of the playoff system (that should be a cup competition) and place emphasis on winning the championship as they do in other leagues, I realize that might be pushing it too far for the American fan. However, relegation battles would give teams at the bottom of the ladder and their fans some games of interest at the end of season. And make all games relevant. Let us say DC United is battling for a play off spot and has a late season game against the Galaxy who are already out of the playoffs, today the Galaxy are just playing out the string. With relegation, the Galaxy would be battling for position and maintenance just as hard as DC United would be battling for a play off spot.

Come on MLS do the right thing and make this more of a true footie league other than a bastardized NHL/NFL/MLB/NBA format.

The Beckham saga

I keep reading, what appears every day, is that Beckham is on again off again to staying in Northern Italy. It would appear that the loan move to Milan is wanted to be made permanent. What a surprise. Which player would not want to stay at the San Siro playing against Lazio, AS Roma, Inter, Juventus, let alone the European teams in the Champions League? Seems a much better footballing experience than having to play in front of 8,000 fans in football stadiums like Gillette or Giant Stadium. Seems like a much better experience than toiling for the dysfunctional Galaxy. Seems like a much better experience for the entire Beckham brand name. Seems like playing for one of the best footy leagues in the world would be a better experience than playing for the MLS (just don't ask Lalas how he views the MLS in the grand scheme of football leagues). So I think that a the end of this dance between MLS and Milan that Becks will end up at the San Siro for a protracted time. Which will be somewhat remarkable - Beckham would have played for 3 of the most storied and trophied clubs in the world - Manchester United, Real Madrid and AC Milan in the world's top 3 leagues...as well as having played in the MLS in the midst of all these teams. So why is this interesting to me? Other than the fact Beckham has run back to Europe at the first chance he had, even though the MLS was supposedly a great place to be...oops. I think this move will determine if Gourcuff is brought back after his loan spell with Bordeaux is over.

With Becks in the mix full time at Milan, the midfield is once more packed and might not allow for a Gourcuff to get the time and run he needs. With Kaka and Pirlo pulling the strings in the middle of the midfield, Becks will slot out wide, so where do we slot Gourcuff? I think the writing on the wall is that if Gourcuff wants to get any time on the pitch he will either need to have Milan sell of some players - such as Kaka to Manchester City, or hope Milan builds around Gourcuff as the high central midfielder with Pato and Kaka up front, maybe Ronaldino on the wing and Becks on the other, with Pirlo deeper....um....doubtful. Where would Gattusso play how about Seedorf???

I hope that the Beckham deal goes through and that this allows Gourcuff stay at Bordeaux.