Three MLS Cups Titles, One Lamar Hunt Open Cup Title, Three CONCACAF Gold Cup Titles, Twice US Soccer Athlete of the Year, Two World Cups, One Olympic Games, Joint top goal scorer & all time assist leader for the USMNT and now four-time winner of the Honda Player of the Year - he’s just twenty-five years old, married to a hot TV star and the poster child of US soccer. Landon Donavon what are you going to do for an encore?

In becoming the HPOTY for a record fourth time, Landon smoked the opposition. He received 413 points – 291 points more than Tim Howard in second place and 308 more than Carlos Bocanegra who finished third.

291 points is a landslide…hmmm. One wonders, which state the vote tallying was done in, Ohio or Florida and more importantly was my vote counted (I voted for Clint Dempsey, Howard & Bocanegra in that order if you’re interested).

All kidding aside though, if you look at Landon’s body of work over 2007, he definitely deserved to be in the running as this award is based solely on international performances. So far in ‘07 he’s scored nine goals with three assists in just ten appearances – not a bad year by anyone’s standards. With upcoming matches against Switzerland and World Cup 2010 hosts, South Africa, the chance to overtake Eric Wynalda as the all-time leading scorer is surely just one penalty kick away and yet…

..Landon is not loved, just read the majority of comments that greeted the announcement of his HPOTY win (skip the ones that slag me off!) …http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/7302132?for
um_key=StoryComments&topic_key=7302132

So just why is the most successful American player so despised when large portions of the media (it wouldn’t be proper of me to call out my fellow scribes but I wonder what USA matches they’re sometimes watching) obviously think he’s the ‘bee’s knees’. All I can do is hypothesize as to the reasons.

• Is there some kind of deep seated San Jose Earthquakes backlash
• Is it the disappointment of his Bayer Leverkusen spells
• Is it because he’s the 2nd most recognized face in MLS after Beckham
• Is there lingering resentment to his performances at World Cup ‘06
• Is it the case that fans think that he tries harder playing for the US than his club team
• Are the fans mad that he skipped Copa America after leading the team to Gold Cup victory
• Is there jealousy over his $900,000 salary
• Is it because he doesn’t fancy going to Europe and joining his international teammates, Howard, Bocanegra and last year’s HPOTY winner Clint Dempsey?
• Or is it none of the above

I’m sure the negative fan reaction to his HPOTY victory hurts Donavon; after all, he is human just like you and me. Nobody likes to be slaughtered especially when they’re putting in the hard work.

Ironically the situation Donavon finds himself in is very similar to the way England fans have treated his Galaxy teammate, David Beckham, over the years. Think about the times that media and fans alike have crucified Becks however he always had the strength of character to overcome all the negativity and comeback bigger than before. The question is this…does Landon possess the same characteristics as Beckham. If he remains his teammate for the next couple of years, he’ll surely learn all about it one way or another.

Ultimately he will be loved one day as long as he performs and keeps on winning. Landon knows that individual awards are nice but eventually it boils down to team trophies. Barring injury he’ll be around for years to come and hopefully he’ll thrill us with amazing displays on the biggest stages because the next time he wins THPOY, which he certainly will, I hope the reaction will be a little more generous.

Until then, get the beers in.

Before we get to the nuts and bolts of this piece, here is a Webster prediction that I believe has a better than 95% chance of coming true. David Beckham will not start a game for the LA Galaxy until August 15th – he is that messed up!

The twelve minutes Galaxian, David Beckham played against Chelsea on July 21st will surely go down as the most expensive twelve minutes in the history of football. Given his projected salary of close to $50 million a year, DB7 has pocketed three million dollars since arriving in LA at close to $400,000 a minute in playing time – not bad money if you can get eh!

But enough of the money, let’s talk about the two words that keeps Galaxy GM, Alexi Lalas tossing and turning in a cold sweat all night…BECKHAM & INJURY!

Beckham originally hurt his ankle while playing for England on June 6th in Estonia. He then aggravated the injury in his final game with Real Madrid on June 17th. Since joining the Galaxy on July 13th, Beckham has been present at one training session - an open practice on July 16th in which he did some light work on the side as part of a publicity stunt. That’s it!

And according to my sources inside the Galaxy, even his teammates are kept in the dark as to how his ankle is progressing. Yep, they’re not allowed in the training room when he’s receiving treatment – and the reason for this is that the Galaxy management is terrified of leaks. They don’t want us to know how badly he’s injured as that would be the PR gaffe of the century. In fact the Galaxy currently have enough egg on their faces over this ‘Beckhamania’ to open up their own Denny’s.

With only partial information, all we can do is guess as to what has happened to the most expensive ankle in football which according to reports is supposedly swollen and responding slowly to treatment.

Listed are the typical types of ankle sprains and standard recovery times.
Grade I Sprain: A Grade I (First Degree) sprain is the most common and requires the least amount of treatment and recovery. The ligaments connecting the ankle bones are often over-stretched and damaged microscopically, but not actually torn. The ligament damage has occurred without any significant instability developing. Recovery Time: 2-3 weeks.

Grade II Sprain: A Grade II (Second Degree) injury is more severe and indicates that the ligament has been more significantly damaged, but there is no significant instability. The ligaments are often partially torn. Recovery Time 4-6 weeks.

Grade III Sprain: A Grade III (Third Degree) sprain is the most severe. This indicates that the ligament has been significantly damaged, and that instability has resulted. A grade III injury means that the ligament has been torn. Recovery Time 6-8 weeks.

Make your own guess as to what category of sprain Beckham has however most ankle injures can be wrapped nice and tight. We’ve seen NBA stars in the past make dramatic recoveries and play following a twist. I’m going to hypothesize with the help of my coaching mentor, Bill Songhurst, who actually treated Beckham as a fourteen-year-old and we’re saying that it isn’t a sprain at all. We think that Beckham is having trouble with the subtalar joint. This occurs at the meeting point of the talus and the calcaneus. The reason we think this is because if it were lateral ligament damage (a sprain) it would’ve healed already.

There are a number of cures that will remedy the situation: Operation, immobilization or an injection of cortisone and we believe that that is the route the Galaxy is now taking. Rest doesn’t work for this injury as it feels fine when you don’t play but inflames as soon as the demands of the game impose themselves, while an operation is equivalent to hitting a walnut with a sledgehammer.

If we ask ourselves whether the problem was looked after in Madrid, the answer is in the negative and then chasing around after his kids for three weeks while on holiday probably didn’t help. Obviously unfit, to then play on this unstable ankle even for just 12 minutes against Chelsea added another two-three weeks on top of any recovery time especially after getting hammered by Steve Sidwell.

If we’re honest, anyone who knows anything about football and ankle injuries was saying to play him in that game was folly and in hindsight that has been noted by Lalas who said “If we had it to do over again, the Chelsea game and the trip to Colorado (for the MLS All-Star game), we wouldn't have done it,” adding “flying is something that doesn't help an ankle injury. When it came to the Chelsea game, obviously there was a tremendous amount of pressure and attention. It would have been a tremendous downer to say, `No, David's not going to appear.'

“No, David's not going to appear.”

Can’t you see Alexi muttering these words through clenched teeth but the bottom line is his star can’t play because he is in a great deal of pain.

I think we’re at the point where the Galaxy needs to come clean and stop the secrecy. The media ‘feel good’ factor is rapidly disappearing, the fans are impatient, Becks looks unhappy, just tell us the truth. I would have no problem if the club comes out tomorrow and says ‘we were being optimistic. The ankle is worse than we thought. It will be weeks before we see him. Job done…end of speculation. Thank you and goodnight.

Until then, get the beers in.

 

A million words have been written and spoken about David Beckham since I broke the story on Sky Sports News on Wednesday so I figure I’ll have the last word as the hullabaloo dies down...for now!

Football in the United States changed forever on Thursday afternoon with the announcement that David Beckham would be leaving the Galacticos in Madrid to become a Galaxian, right here in Los Angeles. The deal is worth reportedly $250 million dollars for five years…’not bad money’ said his new teammate, Cobi Jones, in the understatement of the 21st century.

To be honest though, this move didn’t exactly come as a shock. Ever since Beckham opened his DB Academy at the Home Depot Center, I just had a feeling he would come to MLS sooner rather than later and I’m so pleased it is the former because at thirty one he still has so much to offer the sport. Some critics especially in England though have been quick to slag him off for this momentous decision claiming that he’s finished as a footballer and that he’s just cashing in on his celebrity and notoriety. I say to this charge…you’re just jealous.

Who in their right mind would turn down the following opportunities…?

Earn close to a million dollars a week…
Be the biggest star in American soccer and one of the biggest stars in American sport…
Become an ambassador for the world’s most popular game in the last, great untapped market…
Change the way non-believers view the sport while raising the profile of a league still in its embryonic stages…
Live in one of the world’s most desirable cities with fantastic year round weather…
Become a hero and role model to millions of young kids who are desperate for a soccer icon that they can call their own…
And finally party with TomKat every other weekend.

Sounds pretty good eh!

Why the critics argue would ‘Golden Balls’ risk the ridicule of his peers who claim that this move to the States finishes him as a top class player and puts the final nail in any attempt to add to his 94 England caps. A legitimate question I suppose and here is my answer.

David Beckham has an ego…but guess what, we all do and you can’t tell me that there is not one of us who wouldn’t do everything in their power top feed our own respective egos. Beckham’s ego would never let him go back to England to play for anyone else but Manchester United and I completely agree with this logic. Why eat canned tuna when you’ve had caviar.

As for this massive contract, well, I believe it’s just Beckham’s way of telling the world that he’s still the man and regardless of how you feel about him, you cannot deny that the team behind him are marketing geniuses…Entertainment 19, CAA and Simon Fuller take a bow.

$250 million for an ex-international and current bench warmer does seem madness when you contrast it to the salaries current members of MLS make but when compared to stars of the NFL, NBA or MLB, it’s in line with what the top players expect to earn and I think we all know that Beckham isn’t a bench warmer in the true sense of the phrase.

His current boss at Real Madrid, Fabio Capello just doesn’t fancy him as a player and to be fair, that’s the Italians right as coach however one could honestly say that he didn’t give Beck’s a fair crack in an ageing, dysfunctional team. Let’s not forget that Beckham led La Liga in assists last season, so he’s hardly past his sell-by-date. With the announcement on Saturday that Capello will refuse to play the Englishman again this season, it’ll add fuel to the fire that he has it in for the former England captain and hopefully hasten his early departure to us in March/April instead of July/August.

So is Beckham coming to America a gamble?

For Beckham no…he has hit the mother-load and if someone is willing to pay him then surely he deserves whatever he can get however for AEG it represents a serious outlay. I can’t help but wonder who is carrying the insurance policy and just HOW much it’s costing. You can bet that employees around the HDC are not allowed to even think the word…INJURY! Thankfully Beck’s has been fairly durable during his career.

But let’s get back to AEG for a second and the owner Phil Anschutz along with President & CEO Tim Leiweke...you guys rock the house. It takes brave men with huge stones to even contemplate such a move, let alone pull it off. If there is one thing soccer needs in this country, it is visionaries and with the recent passing of Lamar Hunt, you two men represent the last realistic chance for the world’s greatest sport to succeed. I applaud you both and hope that your gamble pays off in everyway you envision.

As for Beckham and whether he will succeed here in LA, I think there is no question that he’ll take the Galaxy and the league to a new level along with paving the way for other players of his stature. You know I was talking to Galaxy GM, Alexi Lalas, recently and he told me the most important quality that he, Leiweke and coach Frank Yallop looked for in a player was a good character and that is a quality that Leiweke has constantly stated that he admires in Beckham.

I can’t really attest for Beckham’s character having only met him briefly twice however the vibe I picked up from him was very cool. On both occasions he looked me in the eye despite being surrounded by loads of other notable journalists and gave me his complete attention. He’s obviously a great family man and loves his kids. It sounds like he’s had trouble in the past with his wife, Victoria, but then again who doesn’t go through rocky periods with the more important half. It’s how you come out the other side that shows your true character and I believe that his integrity will be the defining characteristic of his stay in America.

From Leytonstone to Red Devil, the England captaincy, Galactico and now Galaxian, ambassador for Major League Soccer, Beckham has always had something of a pied piper about him. Let’s hope he can now help lead the non-believers to the Promised Land.

Until then, get the beers in.