David Beckham

[Travis]

He played for 20 minutes tonight with the LA Galaxy. They drew against New York. Beckham didn't have much of an impact, but I guess that's because he hasn't played in like 3 months.

It's really funny because the two American announcers were like "you shouldn't put him in, stick with the guys who got you here, etc" and they talked about how this was a high pressure situation and they could handle it better than Beckham, and Tommy Smyth (a Scot) said, "give me a break, Beckham has been in many situations that were much more stressful than this." WTF were they thinking saying Beckham couldn't handle it the pressure? He's had so much more experience than anyone else in MLS!

How the fuck can you say not to play Beckham? Not only because he's better than all of the other players, but he's getting paid a shitload of money. They better start him in their next match.

[seahorse]

heh, i don't really care for the life and times of david beckham, but that middle paragraph made me laugh.

[Kay B]

Beckham is not longer a player, he's a product, he has been for many years now. He was brought in for money making purposes nothing else thats why they don't care whether he plays or not

[Travis]

But he can still produce on the pitch, and if you choose not to play the best player in MLS when your season is on the line (as LA's will be Sunday), then you are a fucking idiot.

[Kay B]

Football isn't all about 'playing your best players' obviously living in US u dont know football as well as we do, sometimes a team can play better without superstars....asenal selling henry being a fine example....If a teams winning they deserve to keep there place

[curryking1]

Kay B, that's with any sport. A team that works together is a good team and can often best superstardom with enough skill and teamwork etc etc etc.

But David Beckham is probably more than skilled enough to make any LA Galaxy lineup on the field better that in is without him. The US league is obviously not nearly as skilled as leagues in Europe, and Beckham played footy with the best of those in Europe. David Beckham is almost for sure far, far more skilled than any other player in the US league.

It seems to me like it'd be almost like having the Cleveland Cavaliers sit Lebron James down in a tight game, just because.

[Kay B]

^ By leaving out beckham it does many things whether the manager would REALLY leave him out is another thing, but by saying he'll leave him out give the other players confidence that they are doing well enough to leave a superstar out, therefore giving them confidence and a reason to keep there game up, it also keeps beckham level headed and shows him he isn't guaranteed a starting place despite his quality (though i agree he is), it's mind games and it works well

[curryking1]

That's one interpretation and hypothetical scenario. Another hypothetical scenario is that the team's morale is boosted because their best player is back on and they'll have a better opportunity to get a good pass or a goal with him on.

All hypothetical.

Both equally fine pieces of guess work.

Another thing you'd have to conclude about is whether the other players 'feeling good' is better and more effective than your hypothetical 'players feeling bad + Beckham on the pitch,' all assuming of course the players actually do feel much worse or much better with Beckham on and off the pitch respectively.

Pretty hard to say.