After reading countless articles, and quotes on Beckham's move to the US, I have grown increasingly tired of reading about people misinterpreting everything involved in the circus that is Beckham, so I will do my best to clear things up for you.

 Beckham is getting paid 250 million dollars

I have seen the 250 million dollar mark, or 128 pound mark all over between American and English sites.  Let me clear this up, that is a completely estimated amount.  It is based on hypothetical figures, that estimate every game being sold out, a large amount of shirts being sold, and a whole lot more seasons tickets being sold, to put it simply as possible, which in all very likely hood, especially after how this season went, isn't going to happen.  David Beckham is guaranteed 32 million dollars over 5 years, the rest  is anyones guess.  I would not be surprised if he made 100 million after his five years are up.  Another important note, the MLS is only responsible for the 32 million portion of Beck's contract, the rest has to be paid by AEG, who can afford it, so he won't bankrupt the league.

 Beckham is coming to make soccer big in the US

This along with the money figure is the biggest misnomer about the Beckham move.   Beckham was brought here to raise the profile of the league and to make a lot of money for the MLS.  I don't care who the MLS brings in whether it be Beck's, Ronaldinho, or Kaka, no one player can make this sport more popular than any of the other big three sports.  With David coming to the US he has raised the profile of the game, he has gotten everyone talking about soccer, whether it be in a negative or positive light, and you know how the old saying goes, any press is good press.  Listen whether you like it or not soccer is here to stay, and will continue to grow in popularity, but I think it will take years for this to happen. 

My favorite sport to compare it too is basketball, and the NBA.  The NBA has been around for a long time, but before the 80's it really wasn't that popular.  My point being the MLS has been in existence for 11 years, this is going to take time if it ever happens, but I think people like Don Garber are being very smart in trying not to overextend the league and bankrupt it.  So it is unfair to say this league is not doing well, it will take a long time before we can make that opinion.

 The other reason Beckham is here in the US is for money.  The simple fact is his name and his image is worth alot, especially to the team who gets to put his name on their jersey.  I have no  idea if this is true or not, but when Beckham transferred to Real Madrid from Manchester United, it was said his transfer fee was paid for before he even kicked a ball because of all the shirts that were sold.  Not only that, but during Beckhams time at Real Madrid they surpassed Manchester United as the richest soccer club in the world, without winning a trophy in that time, and it was in larger part because of Beckham.

 Beckham is the greatest player in the world

"Is Beckham the world's greatest player?"  Is a question I get the most from people who don't know anything about soccer.  Beckham is not the greatest player in the world, nor has he ever been.  It can be argued that he has one of the best right foots in the game, but he is not the best in the world.  What he is is a player capable of delivering awesome free kicks, and cross field perfect passes for teammates to tap the ball into the goal.  He is not a great dribbler, or defender, nor is he very fast.  He is however very marketable, and is the most popular player in the world, and this is why the MLS did everything they could to bring him here.

 The MLS is a mickey mouse, or crap league

The British press has especially enjoyed taking potshots at the MLS, as does pretty much anyone I can think of, but people fail to keep things in perspective.  Is the MLS the greatest league in the world?  No, not by a longshot, but is it as bad as people make it out to be?  No it isn't.  Lets look closer at the league, and the country it is played in, or countries.  First off, the league has been around for 11 years, I would say you would have to wait at least 20 before you can make a real judgment of the level of the league.  We haven't really gotten a good set of young players into the league yet to raise the level.

I personally see three generations of soccer players in this country right now.  The first generation is the group that consists of players like Cobi Jones who is still playing, and Eric Wynalda and Marcelo Balboa, who commentate on ESPN, and Alexi Lalas who is the GM of the LA galaxy.  These players played in the 90, 94, and 98 World Cups, they were the first Americans we really got a chance to watch and idolize, and actually knew the names of, at least for me anyways. 

They paved the way for players like Brian McBride, Landon Donovan, and Claudio Reyna, whom I consider part of the second generation of soccer players.  These guys had the first generation to look up too, but still lacked the opportunity to watch alot of soccer on TV, and get to follow some of the european leagues, and thus help them learn more and help develop even more.  This generation made it so we actually had expectations at the World Cup, and when they didn't live up to those expectations, we were unhappy.  Whereas in years past, it was a feat to actually make it to the World Cup, now they were expected to win!

The third generation is the U-20 level and below, the biggest name you will recognize is Freddy Adu.  These players are growing up with soccer all around them, now it is easier than ever to catch soccer on TV, with Gol TV, Setenta, Fox Soccer channel, and ESPN, these players can follow their favorite players, and learn from them.  Not only that but more and more of these younger players are being snatched up by European teams, because they realize that these players are going to be good.  Sal Zizzo to Hamburg, Danny Szetla to Racing Santander and of course Freddy Adu to Benfica.  I feel when these players like this reach the age of 25 and older, you will see a dramatic improvement in the play of the MLS.

 The MLS isn't the greatest league, but it isn't a horrible league, I would put it on par with a 15 place EPL team to a championship team in England as to the level of the soccer here.  And to be honest, I really don't think that is that bad considering our brief history in the sport, I feel we can only get better.

The picks I am using are based on the EPL fantasy game, which I know is significantly different than say Channel fours.  I have no real knowledge of the fox soccer one, but hopefully these picks can help people out some.  I will also for the most part try and shy away from the obvious picks such as John Terry, or Ronaldo, because everyone knows about those players, I want to help people find them gems in the league that are cheap and allow you to make room to load up your team.

So I will begin by starting with Goalkeepers

Prior to the season beginning I was quick to pick up Isakson of Man City.  I was impressed with how he did at the world cup last year, and I also knew that Man City were a decent defensive side before Sven became the manager, but add him to the fold and you can see how they have done.  Unforfunatley Isakson got injured and Schmiechal took over.  I at first was unsure because he was such an unknown as well as being so young, but his stats speak for themselves, having one pk save, and only allowing one goal.  It will be interesting to see who starts once Isakson becomes healthy.

Hahneman, Keller, Friedel, and Keller, three US keepers who will all be relatively cheap, and help you get alot of points for your team.  I suggest staying away from any of the keepers from the top four, they are usually pretty expensive, and don' t have to make as many saves as a mid table team, so they don't get as many points.

Defenders

What I said about  Man City's keepers also to a degree applies to the defenders, Dunne and Micah Richards are huge, and have helped me immensley.  Garrido and Corluka are also top defenders playing for Man City you can pick up for relatively cheap.  The Reading defense has also played well, and Bikey, or Ingimarson would be a good addition.

Midfielders

I My fantasy team took quite a blow with the toe injury of Steven Gerrad and the suspension of Ronaldo.  Right now Sibierski is proving many doubters wrong who said Wigan would be relageted and currently has the most points of any midfielder.  But at 33 you wonder how long he can keep this up.  Arteta is a good bet to have another season like the one he had last year, and his teammate Osman is also a good player to have.  Smertin right now is someone to keep an eye on, he is also very cheap and has racked up the points, question is can he keep it up.  Charles N'Zogbia also looks to be living up to his potential this season.

Forwards

Last year Berbatov was the forward to get, fairly cheap, and really came on the second half of last season.  This season he is struggling with injuries, but I would say keep an eye on him to regain his form.  Mido has looked impressive so far at Boro, and I would suggest placing him on the watchlist.  I suggest avoiding any forwards from Liverpool because of Rafa's rotation policy, you just never know whom is going to start.  Right now the best bang for your buck is Forseel of Birmingham, who is very cheap, and doing very well to start off his season.  I would also add David Nugent to your watchlist to see if he can bring his scoring touch from the championsihp to the EPL.

That is it for now, good luck picking

Well quite a weekend of football where to begin.  The games I watched this weekend were the Bayern vs Hanover game, Sevilla vs Getafe, Everton vs Blackburn and finally the Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur.

I was most disappointed with the fact that I couldn't catch the Real Atletico Derby, as well as Henry's debut with Barca.  Unfortunately it looks like I won't be able to watch too many of those games anytime in the near future due to issues with TV rights for the two clubs.  But I was able to find a bright spot by catching the Bayern Munich game, and I have to say I was very impressed.  Bayern Munich is a team full of young talent, and savy veterans, and appears from first glance to be the best team in Europe.  I was amazed at how well they past the ball, and the third goal scored by Altintop.  He recieved it not far from half and just breezed by the defenders with relative ease, cooly placing it past the Hanover keeper.  I realize it is too early to tell, but Bayern Munich could probably pull of a treble this season, and it is a shame we won't get a chance to see them in the champs league.

 Sevilla vs Getafe was full of goals, but Getafe was unfortunate to lose their first player to red card, the second red was fully deserved.  There was a scary moment when Puerta of Seville collapsed for no reason, you can read more about it here.   The goals Sevilla scored were well taken, but it was very obvious they were missing Dani Alves, who was not playing because he was sulking because he couldn't move to London.

 Everton vs Blackburn was a snoozefest.  Simba of Blackburn was an interesting player who played his heart out in the middle of Blackburn's defense, and was a menace everytime Blackburn had a free kick.  Interesting news about Everton, Yakubu was denied a work permit because he retired from the nigerian national team.  That is a huge blow for Everton, because it is quite apparent they lack any size in the frontline.

 Manchester United vs Tottenham was an ok game, it was apparent that missed Ronaldo and Rooney's presence(who wouldn't).  But Tottenham gave Nani too much time, and he made them pay with a superb 30 yard strike.

 I planned on doing some fantasy picks, but I think I will just wait till I get bored at work this week.

So I have put off writing my blog for a long time because, didn't really feel like I had enough time, or energy, and that may still be true, but I will at least try and get 1 post a week up, maybe Sunday night after the week of action. 

I will talk about any soccer anyone wants to bring up, but will most likely focus on US national team, EPL, La Liga, and a little MLS as I try to get inolved in our domestic league, and help support it.

I also might do a fantasy soccer article so I can help out all my friends who seem to need some help competing with me. (Atleti looking at you)

Edit

So to give my blog a little substance and hopefully get a conversation going, lets talk about two recent transfers that I think are awesome.

Yakubu to Everton

To me this is an awesome signing for Everton.  Only Theiry Henry has been more prolific in the same time span since about 2002 I believe in the EPL.  This helps add depth to Everton's frontline, gives them to excellent forwards who I feel will compliment each other.  This depth will no doubt help them compete in the UEFA Cup, and FA cup as well as the EPL.  I think this gives them a great option to maybe win the FA Cup, but I don't see them winning the UEFA Cup, mainly due to Bayern's presence, along with some very strong Spanish sides.

The other signing that got me very excited was Denilson joing FC Dallas.  I am actually more excited for this signing than I am for Beckham.  Denilson has had an interesting career, he showed great promise in the 98 World Cup, and was bought by Real Betis by a then record 37 million.  He never quite lived up to his price tag, and eventually found his way at Bordeaux.  He did ok at Bordeaux, but they weren't able to pay his hefty wage, so he moved on to Saudi Arabia.

In Denilson FC Dallas gets a play capable of some dazzling one on one moves, which is something the MLS sorely lacks, along with some Brazilian flair.  He has somewhat of a reputation as a ball hog, but I really don't think that is a bad thing right now for the MLS.

I am very excited for September 15th, when FC Dallas heads to New England.  What a week that will be the 12th I get to watch Brasil vs Mexico, a few days later see how Denilson is in the US!