MLS Week 5 Power Rankings: April 18, 2011

Parity is continuing to play havoc in MLS. Only a hand full of teams have been able to gain some continued form while others have been all over the place.

1. Real Salt Lake (2)
RSL got a late winner in the Rocky Mountain Derby. RSL is undefeated in all competitions so far this season and is preparing for the CONCACAF Champions League Final first leg against Mexico's Monterrey this week. Will the wheels come off if they suffer a bad result in the final?

2. Philadelphia Union (8)
I thought the Union was punching above its weight. But they continue to get the job done. A win against New York (though fortunate thanks to a terrible pass from Tim Ream) and a draw against Seattle Sounders is proving they belong on top of the East (for now). This team isn't creating goals, however, and can't rely on the defence to hold out every week.

3. LA Galaxy (4)
LA is having trouble putting teams away on the road. A questionable penalty in DC lead to a 1-1 draw followed by a 0-0 in Toronto. Landon Donovan's body is finally fighting back after continually playing over the past two years. They'll need his vision and leadership back to push on.

4. New York Red Bulls (3)
After some stuttering New York finally played to their potential against San Jose. Luke Rodgers got off the mark with two well taken goals. Thierry Henry showed up this week and added an assist and a goal. If they can get some consistency this team could be the best in the league.

5. Columbus Crew (13)
The Crew aren't flashy. They don't score a lot of goals. However, they seem to have ironed out their defensive problems from week 1 and they have a midfield that has bossed their last few games. Eddie Gaven and Robbie Rogers have been brilliant and the back four are doing enough.

6. Houston Dynamo (15)
Like the Crew Houston isn't flashy and they're not over powering, but eight points from five matches is impressive from a team without much talent. Dominic Kinear is a fantastic manager and he has this team doing just enough each week. Houston should at least pick up three of the next six available points. They have a bright young goalkeeper in Tally Hall who should get a USMNT look with the way he has played thus far. If they can get a goal scorer this team will be hard to beat as the defence is already in place.

7. Colorado Rapids (1)
After three straight wins the Rapids have dropped games in Dallas and Salt Lake. The first was a drubbing that they didn't show up for. The second was a heartbreaking late goal in a derby. It doesn't get any easier as they host Seattle at home on Friday. They need to get their high powered attack going again before they drop anymore points. They are still without Conor Casey, but do still have enough to take apart most teams in the league.

8. Seattle Sounders FC (11)
Seattle has gotten it going over the last few matches. They were fortunate to get a late equaliser againsts Philadelphia in a monsoon at PPL. They have all the talent, but seem to sputter with Fredy Montero up top as the focus of the team. He has no goals and one assist in five matches this season. More should expect from the team's marquee player. Freddie Ljundberg was run out of town last season for similar play. Fortunately for Montero, Sounders' fans seem to give Montero a pass.

9. DC United (14)
I said at the beginning of the season Charlie Davis would win the Golden Boot award. Through five matches he has five goals, though a few have been from the spot and not from open play. Thus far the team has been all over the place. Beating a disappointing Columbus, losing to New England (thanks to Baldomero Toledo), getting hammered by Colorado, drawing with LA Galaxy and thumping Toronto has shown us to expect the unexpected from this team. They haven't shown consistent form this season, but if they find it they will be difficult to beat. One thing's for sure: They are better than last season.

10. Portland Timbers (16)
The Timbers have come from nowhere to break the top 10! They have been led by captain Jack Jewsbury, who would be a perfect calming influence to Sporting KC right now,  and are getting contributions from other areas of the pitch. The scenes have been electric at JELD-WEN field, but can this team win away from home? They be difficult to beat at home as their home stadium is a massive advantage and they are definitely the future of MLS.

11. Vancouver Whitecaps (9)
Six points from six games is a massive positive for a first year MLS club. Much like Portland they've failed to find consistent form, despite having a more talented side than other teams around them. The Whitecaps have had the opportunity to take maximum points against less talented squads in Houston and Chivas USA, but have failed to do so. The fixtures get more difficult now and they will need Eric Hasseli to stay on the pitch and not be suspended if they are to take points from these upcoming fixtures.

12. Toronto FC (12)
Despite being embarrassed by DC United last week I don't think TFC is all that bad. Everyone continues to say they're in a re-building year. But that means they've had something to begin with. This team is building, and they have some excellent pieces in place. Some player continuity and manager continuity will do wonders for this club, and I don't think the play-offs are unrealistic looking at the teams around them.

13. San Jose Earthquakes (7)
After playing so well in their opening four matches the Earthquakes were out classed and out played by New York last weekend. Nothing was working for San Jose, and despite the torrential down pour should have put up a fight. I was surprised by their early form, but always thought last week's performance was more like the San Jose we would see this season.

14. New England Revolution (5)
Another team that has crashed down to Earth after a solid start. A draw and two losses in their last three have New England limping into a home encounter with an equally poor Sporting KC team. New England's defence continues to be solid, but there's no attack. They went down without a whimper to an RSL side with more reserves than first teamers in it and then gave up a late goal to the Dynamo. They need someone to score some goals and take the pressure off the defence.

15. Sporting KC (10)
The good news is Sporting KC only gave up one goal last week. They have given up nine goals in four matches. The bad news is their super sonic attack was non-existent. They have scored eight goals in four matches. It was a poor showing from a Sporting team that never truly looked like scoring. Sure Kei Kamara was put in on goal, but the angle was always against him. Sporting's unbalanced assembly is causing havoc with their stlye of play and I don't think Omar Bravo's absence is the cause of their current form. The midfield needs more bite and a move to a four man midfield would reduce the pressure on the back four. As in the clubs Open Cup win over Houston, last week's match shows what happens when Sporting's attack isn't firing. This team needs to give up some of its attack and grind out results with a staunch midfield.

16. Chicago Fire (6)
Chicago's bright start has burnt out. The good news is that their next three league games will be against similar teams in the table. The Fire can be forgiven for losing to Seattle, but they were completely taken out of last week's match against the Timbers by the home field advantage Portland has. They're scoring goals, but unfortunately they are conceding more goals.

17. FC Dallas (18)
Recently, FCD manager Schellas Hyndman was quoted as saying the team hadn't found a replacement to Dax McCarty in midfield. This shocked me as they had plenty of time to find one following his trade in the expansion draft. Hell, they didn't have to trade him at all. This is definitely not the team it was last season. They have slipped back to the mediocre state they previously occupied before last year. If they can get a couple of wins they will be right back in it, however, I still don't see anything special in this team.

18. Chivas USA (17)
Jesus Christ, I wish MLS had relegation. This team is bad. They have made slight defensive improvements since the beginning of the season. Chivas has been able to grind out three consecutive draws for their only points thus far. Three incredibly boring draws. What should be extremely worrying is this team has only three goals on the season. Two were by defenders and one was by striker Alejandro Moreno. If you want to see how not to be a striker watch Justin Braun's ridiculously comical attempt at finishing in their match against TFC from three weeks ago. I can't express how bad of an attacker this kids is; he isn't a kid anymore actually, he is 24-years old. His terrible play has done me a solid, however, and shut up all those crying out for him to be included with the USMNT. Unfortunately I'm sure he'll be in the team for this summer's Gold Cup. What is more worrying for the USMNT, however, is Benny Feilhaber maybe joining this band of misfits thanks to MLS' allocating player system. If Feilhaber is forced to sign with Chivas USA don't expect this team to get better or Feilhaber's career to sky rocket. There aren't the players on this team to enable Feilhaber to succeed.

Worth Reading

The BBC Sports page has a nice little story on LA Galaxy's England-born midfielder Chris Birchall.
I've expressed my distaste for MLS versus teams from abroad friendlies and I think Birchall's quote is quite telling of how players feel about it.

 "We play friendlies against Barcelona and Real Madrid and we've played well but you can't compare when there's no meaning in the game and it's just a friendly."

MLS Week 2

After a bright week 1 in MLS can Sporting KC and Real Salt Lake keep the moment going in week 2? Will Seattle turn it around after two loses in the opening week of the season? Let’s see what’s to come. I’m hopefully, this week we’ll see better defensive performances across the league.

Seattle Sounders FC v. Houston Dynamo

Seattle kicks off MLS week 2 on Friday night hosting Houston Dynamo. Seattle comes in to their third match following a home loss to LA Galaxy and a road loss to New York Red Bulls. Seattle should have at least taken a point from New York, but Freddy Montero’s finishing was diabolical. Seattle has no one that can pick up the slack when Montero is misfiring now that Blaise N’Kofu has been let go. Houston lost their opening match to Philadelphia Union in a drab 1-0 match thanks to a goal-mouth scramble goal by Union defender Danny Califf. Houston doesn’t have much up top and should struggle this season for goals. Seattle should take all three points at home. Seattle’s midfield has more quality and Alvaro Fernandez combined well with Montero last week in New York. This should be a break out game for Seattle and Houston will continue to be scoreless on the season.

Toronto FC v. Portland Timbers

Both teams come into week 2 on the back of defeats. TFC, though controlling position, looked awful and displayed some of the worst defending you’ll ever see in MLS; though they did have two lovely goals from Dwayne De Rosario and Maicon Santos. Many are pointing to TFC’s control of position, but position does nothing for you if you don’t do anything with it; or defend against the counter attack. Too many people are excited over their position and think TFC have turned the corner, I don’t think so, however. Portland was hammered by MLS champions Colorado Rapids. Portland was just over matched in the encounter looking like a traditional expansion team. This should be a good match of two teams trying to find their feet early in the season. Neither team plays particularly good defence, but we should see some goals in this one ending 2-2.

Columbus v. New York

Columbus looked terrible in week 1 against DC United. They’ve looked terrible in all but one Champions League match prior to the MLS season. Their fullbacks aren’t quick enough and across the backline they’ve made mistake after mistake. The Crew look idea-less in attack and facing a stronger defence this week won’t get a lot of shots on goal. New York will be without Juan Agudelo, who got the winner last weekend, Rafa Marquez, Tim Ream and maybe without Thierry Henry who has picked up a knock. Luke Rodgers could be deputised to fill the void, and he brings a different style to the front line. Rodgers is a more physical striker and should be able to hold the ball up and bring the Red Bull midfield into the game. Mehdi Ballochy and Dane Richards were impressive against Seattle, but Joel Lindpere drifted in and out of the match. New York has enough talent to put the Crew away. But without their starting centre back pairing of Ream and Marquez they’ll be a different team at the back. Columbus should be able to get at goal unlike Seattle did last weekend, if Columbus can get better finishing this week I think they can at least get a point from the Red Bulls.

Philadelphia Union v. Vancouver Whitecaps

Both teams come in with opening week wins, but only one will leave with a full six points out of six. Vancouver should take the spoils after showcasing a deadly counter attack. The team features the underrated Eric Hassli who scored two against TFC last week. David Chiumiento and Terry Dunfield were fantastic in taking on TFC defenders and distributing the ball; but it looks like Chiumiento may miss out due to injury, however. The defence maybe shorthanded as well with a few knocks sustained last week and Jay De Merit will be missing on USMNT duty. Many of Vancouver’s players played with the team last season in division two, and you could see the chemistry between the players in week 1. The Union were ineffective in attack last week, and they will have to get Sebastion La Toux more service to have a chance in this match. Vancouver will see more of the position in this match, and if the midfielders can get the Union’s defenders in one on one situations I like the Whitecaps to surprise everyone and move to 2-0-0.

Chicago v. Sporting KC

Chicago looked good against FC Dallas last Saturday, and if it wasn’t for a Milton Rodriguez wonder goal Chicago would have notched the victory. Sporting KC defeated Chivas USA with some slick attacking, despite showing some poor defending in the second half. Chicago didn’t look like the team of last season, however, it took most of the first half for manager Carlos De Los Cobos to realise his 3-5-2 formation doesn’t work and revert to a more traditional 4-4-2. Sporting will be without several key players: Shavar Thomas will be away on international duty, Teal Bunbury hasn’t been confirmed after his elbow injury, Craig Rocastle limped off last week, Jimmy Smith is still recovering from off season surgery and from what I’ve read Kei Kamara will be away on international duty with Sierra Leone. Sporting aren’t in as bad shape as it would appear. C.J. Sapong was fantastic in week 1 and proved why SKC selected him first in this year’s Super Draft. If Sapong and Omar Bravo can put pressure on the Chicago back four it should lead to an exciting game. Unfortunately, SKC’s defence was caught napping twice by Chivas and looked shaky at times. If Chivas had a true goal scorer they’d have at least snatched a point. I see this being a high scoring affair and ending in a draw (3-3).

New England v. DC United

One of the bigger rivalries in MLS continues this weekend when DC venture north to Foxborough. DC looked good in their opener, and showed their depth by bringing Charlie Davies off the bench scoring two and putting that match away. They didn’t even use last season’s team captain Santino Quaranta who sat this match out on the bench. DC United is definitely the stronger of the two teams and I believe will push New York this season for the Eastern Conference crown. New England picked up a hard earned point against LA Galaxy with a Shalrie Joseph goal. They’ll need more from other parts of the team to get anything from this match. But I think DC United has too much fire power and will continue to build momentum in the early part of the season.

FC Dallas v. San Jose Earthquakes

San Jose should have taken a point from Real Salt Lake last Saturday. Unfortunately, poor finishing from Chris Wondolowski and company doomed the ‘Quakes. They didn’t look bad in week 1 and were the better team for much of the match. Dallas comes in after taking a point of Chicago in which they were second best throughout. Milton Rodriguez needs more help up front as FCD looked anaemic in front of goal. I don’t think they’ve replaced the players they allowed to leave in the off season, and it will continue to hurt the team. Dallas was fantastic last season at home and their home form should at least get them a point, and if San Jose can’t finish it’ll be a long day in Dallas. However, this should end 1-1 with some decent attacking football and the goalkeepers coming up big to earn both teams a point.

Real Salt Lake v. LA Galaxy- Match of the Week!

LA comes in already having played two matches and gaining four points from a possible six. They should have done better last Sunday at home to New England. Salt Lake is already four games into their season after playing three Champions League matches and one MLS league game. They’ve looked good in nearly all their games. Though, they did look tired in a rain soaked Buck Shaw Stadium last weekend and were saved by a Kyle Beckerman goal and some man of the match goal keeping by Nick Rimando. Sorry Omar Bravo, but Rimando was my man of the week. RSL’s all-around game is superior to the Galaxy’s, and I feel will take this one. They’ve gotten some rest this week and will be taking their amazing home record into the game. LA Galaxy has relied on Juninho too much in their first two matches. He has scored both LA Galaxy goals. Chad Barrett has done little and Juan Pablo Angel has been fighting fitness. LA needs Angel to play and show the fantastic form he always displayed for New York. Donovan is set for US Men’s National Team duty, and without him I think the Galaxy will suffer. RSL will have Beckerman marking Juninho in the midfield and should keep the Brazilian quiet in this one. RSL should get on track and will take this 2-0.

Chivas USA v. Colorado Rapids

Chivas was all around terrible last week. Zarek Valentine and Jimmy Conrad routinely lost the man they were marking and looked second best throughout. Alejandro Moreno barely had a sniff of the ball and Justin Braun can’t complete a pass. This says more about the ineffective Chivas attack than the Sporting defence. This week they will be going against the most physical attack in the league. Colorado hammered a poor Portland team (Poor-land?). The attack looked great with Jamie Smith, Jeff Larentowicz and Omar Cummings scoring. Conor Casey and Cummings will be too much for Chivas’s defence. Sporting’s attack is a fast paced three man front while the Rapids play a 4-4-2 formation and like to cross the ball for Casey to knock down for Cummings. The Rapids’ midfield will over run their counterparts and Chivas’s attack featuring the terrible/overrated Braun will have no answer to the Rapids. The Rapids should make easy work of this on the road 3-0.

A look back before we look ahead

Now that MLS week 1 is in the books I thought it would be a good time to look back on the week's action. The most notable thing about week 1 was the terribly comical defending. In over half the games teams scored meaningful goals thanks to awful defending: Sporting KC, Chivas USA, Vancouver, Colorado and DC United were all gifted goals by poor defensive performances. However, when you watch a team's local broadcast they always credit these goals to attacking team as if they've done something fantastic.This happened in the Chivas USA broadcast in which Zarek Valentine and Jimmy Conrad looked amateur. Conrad looked extremely slow in both marking and on the ball. SKC's C.J. Sapong (who in my opinion was just as influential on the match as Omar Bravo) continually had Conrad on the back foot and guessing to where the rookie would be next. Valentine on the other hand had the pace to keep up with Kei Kamara, however, his inexperience in positioning cost Chivas. They definitely missed Jonathon Bornstein in this one.

Back to Sporting, I have said that Colorado has the best attack in the league, and I know SKC played Chivas USA. But if SKC can get Teal Bunbury and Jimmy Smith healthy they could have the best and most exciting attack in the league. Again, they won't be playing Chivas's poor defense every week. Sporting also needs to figure their backline out as well. If they plan to out score everyone this season they're going to have to come up with a plan B for the likes of Salt Lake and LA Galaxy. SKC's defence looked fragile on set pieces, and against a better attack may have given up another goal or two.

Vancouver's Eric Hassli was excellent in his team's 4-2 win against Toronto FC, who will give Chivas a run for the worst defence in MLS. Hassli has been much maligned since arriving in MLS. My hope is that he can prove to MLS teams, pundits/bloggers and fans that you don't have to bring in players from Central and South American countries, rather, there is a wealth of talent in the lower leagues of Europe. This weekend we may see the New York Red Bulls debut of Luke Rodgers with Juan Agudelo away on USMNT duty. I'm rooting for Rodgers to succeed and more English lower league players to be persued by MLS teams.

Finally, it was great seeing the large crowds out at MLS stadiums over the weekend. From the highlights on MLSsoccer.com it seemed the lowest attended matches were those of FC Dallas and San Jose. Earthquakes' fans are excused do to the torrential downpour that settled over the area. I hope this will last the season and in some markets will as the returning hope of opening day brings out large crowds. But I've said it so many times that to keep these people in attendance teams have to win. Designated players other than David Beckham are not going to make significant upturns in attendance. The Chicago Fire did have more people in attendance during the days of Blanco, but don't forget that during that time Chicago was challenging for top honours in the Eastern Conference. The Red Bulls are drawing based on their lovely stadium and the quality of their team. Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez are just bonuses in truth. I'm not a big fan of the DP, but if he is able to significantly account for a teams winning then that justifies the player's wage. I don't think Beckham has justified his wage on the field of play and numerous other DPs have been the same. Though I wasn't a big fan of the signing in the offseason and I still think he'll level out, I felt Omar Bravo was worth his wage in week 1.

MLS continues to frustrate me

I know I bitch alot about the MLS, but I feel there's so much they can do to make the league better. Today, my problem is with MLSsoccer.com and MLS's inability to allow people like myself who are outside of North America to subscribe to MLSsoccer.com in order to watch MLS matches. In 2007, when I first moved abroad was able to get the Direct Kick subscription via MLS's website. However, since then they have not allowed subscriptions outside of the US, atleast in the countries I've lived in. I understand if they have a deal in place with TV networks in other countries. However, during my time living in South Korea, England and South Korea again there (to my knowledge) is no deal in place to show the games on TV. I do, however, pick up the games on illegal feeds. Wouldn't it be in MLS's best interest to take my money for a subscription rather than having people like myself watch the game illegally? There are plenty of people abroad both American and non-Americans who would subscribe.

Though I am not able to watch any games in England or South Korea, though this past season's MLS Cup final was carried on Sky in England I believe, I was able to watch one game a week while I lived in Budapest, Hungary last summer and fall. Unfortunately, the deal must have been made on the back of David Beckham's signing to MLS; as LA Galaxy were typically the featured team.

Stop making it so difficult, MLS

I tend to have a hard time agreeing on most topics with so-called MLS "experts." Don't even get me started on the propaganda machine that is MLSsoccer.com or MLS Extratime Radio; which features three men who know little about soccer and their analysis either is contradictory from week to week, or it's based around the statement that a player or team sucks. It is the podcasts and blogs with MLS in the titled that continually say and post items that drive me crazy. This past weekend I listened to MLS Soccer Talk podcast, which is a decent soccer pod; the list of my favourites are at the bottom of this blog. They brought up a topic that has been discussed to death that many have a short-sighted view of.

I'm talking about the combined topic of DP/attendance/TV ratings/Americans caring about MLS. So many are under the impression that Americans will only come out to MLS matches when known players, such as a DP, are on the pitch. I am so frustrated with this view. Only one player has had the star power to bring people out due to his DP status, and of course that was David Beckham. But that fade has obviously worn off, and fans aren't coming out to see DAVID BECKHAM and the LA Galaxy play random MLS teams anymore. I feel like MLS, teams and "experts" treat the DP like pro wrestling: It's a show, it's not real but people sometimes get hurt. Well, it's entertainment, but it's a game and it means so much more than that to many people around the world. Including many Americans and other who follow MLS. Every season we see MLS teams take time out of their busy schedules to play ridiculous friendlies against European, Mexican and South American teams. These games tend to pack in the fans and they come to watch these teams because they know the soccer will be of a high quality.

My argument is that Americans want winners and if that means not having a DP than they're happy to save the money. A lot of the people who cry out for a DP don't seem to understand in soccer it takes more than one player. Just look at LA Galaxy in Beckham's first and second season in MLS. They wore awful until they were able to bring in better quality in other positions; most notably in defense.

Other than LA Galaxy no other team has seen a solid rise in attendance figures and notoriety over a season. Yes, Blanco helped Chicago Fire reach the Hispanic market they so longed for, and Thierry Henry has made a few more people realize New York still has an MLS team. But Sporting KC, DC United, Houston Dynamo, San Jose and FC Dallas never saw spikes in attendance like was hoped for and possibly assumed. Houston, DC and Dallas have all seen better days while having winning teams and reaching MLS Cup.

We have seen spikes in attendance when teams have challenged for league honors. This happened in Salt Lake City over the past two seasons as they became a bigger presence in the league. Even Columbus was able to draw more during their MLS Cup run and the following season.

In Toronto, we have seen empty seats and less people attending matches due to the failures on the pitch of TFC. They have some exciting players, okay may be one or two, but they featured two DPs last season. But the supporters, no matter how hardcore they are, have stopped coming to watch dire, losing soccer.

With the plethora of sports to watch in America and on TV it's not hard for Americans to over look MLS during the season, whether it's on TV or in the stadiums. But by putting a winning team on the pitch and creating a winning atmosphere with quality-all around players teams can draw fans. Americans who watch European leagues and deride MLS don't do it because of the star names, but they deride it because of the quality of teams and play. You can't improve the league with one superstar on a team, but with 11 quality players on each team. DPs are a short-term fix to a long-term problem. To steal a phrase from the south, it's putting lipstick on a pig. Meaning teams are signing DPs and putting them in shit squads.

There is promise, though, lets not be too negative. We are seeing teams work wisely with their DPs. Salt Lake has signed Alvaro Saborio and FC Dallas is trying to add David Ferreria to DP deals. Not because they're superstars, but as a reward for their fantastic play over the past season. To be honest, there has been so much improvement in MLS over the past three years, however, there's still so much room for improvement.

If MLS puts quality, winning teams on the pitch then you'll see people in the seats. It's not rocket science, so why is MLS making it more difficult than it is.

Spurs About to Make a Terrible Mistake

Tottenham Hotspur is about about to make a bold loan signing by bringing in LA Galaxy's David Beckham on loan. This story has already been beaten to death, and if you watch Sky News or Sky Sports you're probably extremely tired of it. But what isn't being spoken about by most pundits is the ridiculousness of this signing.

Spurs have been a fantastic team this season and are one team most people want to watch due to their exciting football. They have a solid team that needs re-enforcement to allow them to push on to the end of the season in both the Premier League and the Champions League; not to mention they begin FA Cup play this weekend.

Spurs' glaring holes are at the back where they have had a difficult time keeping centre backs healthy since Harry Redknapp took over the North London club. After that, Spurs could use more help up top with the likely move of Robbie Keane and Rafael Van Der Vaart can't keep scoring all the goals.

There are plenty of quality players at Spurs already who cannot get a game. The signing of Beckham is baffling as he will be, possibly, the eight best midfielder at the club. Spurs currently have the likes of David Bentley (the supposed "next" Beckham), Jermaine Jenas, Nico Kranjcar, Jamie O'Hara, Giovani Dos Santos and Sandro all unable to get suitable playing time. Though, several may see FA Cup action this weekend and rumors are Bentley could be on his way out on loan. However, Newcastle who was attempting to sign Bentley has gone a different direction and added Birmingham's Sebastion Larsson.

The clear advantage of signing Beckham will be marketing. There won't be enough Beckham Spurs shirts to go around. This move also allows Spurs to finally market themselves to the farthest reaches of the world as it did with Manchester United and Real Madrid, and most recently LA Galaxy (at least people know who they are now). There are rumors that this move could also help Spurs with their new stadium plans or help them move to the London Olympic stadium that is currently being built.

There's no doubt Beckham's legs are gone. He can still play at MLS level, but there's not a chance he can play 90 minutes at the Premier League level. A lot of people talk about Beckham going on loan and never seeming to play a full season for LA Galaxy. But what they don't say or speculate on is that Beckham is unhappy in LA and realized after signing with LA that he'd made a mistake.

If you cast your mind back to January 2007, Beckham was on the outside of the Real Madrid first team. He'd been told his Madrid career was over. He then signed with LA Galaxy only a few weeks later to make a surprise return to the Madrid first team. Beckham would then play a vital part in Madrid overhauling Barcelona to win La Liga and have Madrid beg him to stay. That is when Beckham realized he'd made a terrible mistake.

Since then Beckham has tried his best to help LA Galaxy in MLS while not truly having his heart in it. He gets a third loan spell now, though, at the moment shorter than the last two. Come March if Spus continue to soar in league and Europe will he be back to MLS before the summer begins.