Friday, October 17, 2008

Becks back to Prem?

It's unlikely, of course, even for a loan. He did practice with Arsenal last year to get in shape. Obviously, Becks wants to stay in as high a form as possible to continue playing for England.

I don't think Beck's contract allows for a loan to another team. It would be the Galaxy's luck to have him badly injured again. Alexi Lalas used to insist that Becks practicing with another team was fine, playing was another matter. Of course, he said something similar to Amado Guevara way back in the MetroStars era, and Amado played games during the offseason anyway. I'm trying to think of the last player MLS loaned out to any team, and I'm drawing a blank. Was it Brian McBride with his Everton gig in 2002? I think there's a more recent example, but I can't remember it. Suffice it to say, though, MLS does not readily loan players.

8 comments:

Jesse Erdmann said...

This may not be the way you meant it, but pretty much every year a few players are loaned out to USL sides and vice versa towards the end of the USL seasons. This year, Portland brought in Ray Burse from Dallas on loan. He would alternate starting for Portland and sitting on the bench for Dallas as needed at the beginning of the season until he was recalled. That's the only one that jumps to mind this season, but I'm sure there were others.

A.C. said...

I didn't think of the USL as a loan - I suppose I should have indicated specifically a loan to another country's league. And yes, the USL route is common for MLS teams - Bryan Jordan comes to mind.

Phillip said...

He's no better than an average MLS player at this point.

Players his age and old that I would take over him.

Juan Pablo Angel
Matt Reis
Joe Cannon
Christian Gomez
Steve Ralston
Kevin Hartman
Ante Razov
Jaime Moreno
Jesse Marsch
Guillermo Barros Schelotto
Cuautehmoc Blanco

Joseph D'Hippolito said...

Jesse, a few players might get loaned to USL teams during the off-season but Ray Burse is not David Beckham.

This will become a test of wills between AEG and Beckham's representatives. AEG doesn't want to loan Beckham to any team, let alone in the physical Premier League, because AEG doesn't want its meal ticket risking injury -- especially if Donovan leaves for Europe (we all know what happened last year).

OTOH, Beckham's representatives will insist upon a loan if that's what Beckham wants -- and Beckham probably will want such a loan if it enhances his chances to play for England, which has always been a high priority for him.

Exacerbating the situation is the fact that Leiweke allowed 19 Entertainment to assert control by hiring Gullit, which turned out to be a disaster.

This is going to get very interesting over the coming months.

Anonymous said...

Prem loan or not, Beckham's international career is nearing its end.
If he can't read the writing on the wall, then that speaks volumes about his ego.
More to point,I think a loan deal is very unlikely. I can't see the MLS or the Galaxy allowing it.

Anonymous said...

There's a rumor that Becks is going to AC Milan:

http://www.goal.com/en-india/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=916977

AC - Has this been confirmed?

Thanks. Still love the blog.
Dave in San Jose

Frank Macomber said...

I tend to agree with the other posts here, but Becks has looked decent in his limited minutes with England lately. He could be serviceable in Italy or England, I think the suck of the Galaxy has just sapped his drive here.

Anonymous said...

Rudy, I hate to say it because we've never seen anything else manage it with Beckham, but I think you're right. I was trying to think of a way to describe the way he looked on the pitch, and you pretty much summed it up. Sad for team and player, but mostly for fans. They've really been taken for a ride by both Galaxy and MLS management.

One note regarding Gullit, Beckham's sports rep -- Terry Byrne -- recommended him. But that was after Klingsman had turned down the job and they were trying to come up with someone else. Gullit was a great idea until it didn't work. No excuse for his sudden discovery upon arrival of how the league works, where the games are played and the fact that its hot during the summer (but he did do a good job with the younger players in the beginning).