MLS Five-a-side: Five things you should know about as the preseason moves forward:
1. The other shoe to fall: All the news about David Beckham has been about, well, David Beckham. It's all about the illustrious midfielder and how it will affect him, how it will assist his bid for England inclusion in South Africa 2010, etc.
But there is another side that all the breathless Beckham reports, so many coming from across the Atlantic, haven't cared to address. It's about how this potential high-profile relocation to AC Milan will impact the Los Angeles Galaxy. After all, this is a team in the nation's second-largest market, and it hasn't made the playoffs since 2005.
So the Galaxy's rebuilding efforts, with or without Beckham, is a big story in MLS this year.
The international transfer window closed for most countries earlier this week. But MLS teams may purchase players from other leagues until April 15. That means the Galaxy have time to patch up the holes -- but the clock is certainly ticking, with games beginning in less than six weeks. Galaxy manager Bruce Arena will surely want to know soon what he's dealing with, personnel asset-wise.
DaMarcus Beasley is one name that might seem a natural for Arena to pursue if Beckham moves permanently to Italy. The U.S. international is currently languishing on Rangers' bench in Scotland, although he did score in 45 minutes of action during a friendly against AC Milan this week. (How ironic, eh, that Milan would be the opponent?)
Arena has always been a big Beasley backer. It was Arena who tabbed the sleek and slick attacker for starting duty at the 2002 World Cup, when Beasley was just 20 years old. That bold choice by Arena turned out just dandy. And four years later it was Arena who faithfully stuck with the out-of-form Beasley during Germany 2006.
Beasley appears to be stuck in the mud at Ibrox, and the Galaxy is a place where conditions would be perfect for a run at restored confidence.
Otherwise, the Galaxy's needs still include an experienced goalkeeper, a creator in midfield and additional help along the back line.
2. A doozy of a shopping spree: We might or might not ever know the transfer price involved in Beckham's move to the San Siro, if it comes to pass. But we certainly know this much: It will be a significant amount. And the important thing to remember is that two-thirds of it can be used by Los Angeles to buy players in the international market or to buy down salaries.
Suffice to say, Arena and the Galaxy management will have ample money to spend, and will be flush with room beneath the salary cap. Then there's the Landon Donovan factor, which could super-fuel the buying spree.
If Bayern Munich were to make a successful bid to purchase the on-loan attacker, the Galaxy will have that much more cash and room in their salary budget. That possibility seems to be growing, thanks to Donovan's success so far under the tutelage of Bayern manager Jьrgen Klinsmann.
Of course, the alternative for Arena's side isn't that bad either -- to have Beckham and Donovan lining up in the Galaxy jersey on opening day.
3. Why ratings matter: Fox Soccer Channel, one of Major League Soccer's broadcast partners, is surely happy with its decision late last year to invest in Nielsen, the widely used rating system for TV viewership in the United States.
Ad rates are all tied into viewership, of course, and so far FSC must be happy with the results. Just last week, the Chelsea-Liverpool match was seen in about 298,000 homes. The represents the highest rated match since FSC paid $7.5 million to be part of the Nielsen lineup last October.
FSC is in only about 30 million homes across the country. More numbers like that will assist in FSC's push to get onto more systems -- and that's a good thing for MLS.
As in 2008, Fox Soccer Channel will again dedicate a three-hour block to MLS each week on "MLS Saturday on FSC." A 30-minute pregame lead-in will carry viewers into the match, followed by a 30-minute postgame show for 33 regular-season telecasts of FSC.
4. Growing influence of USL: At least three players with recent time on USL rosters have a chance to compete for significant playing time during the MLS preseason. And it should be interesting to see how these players stack up, considering the USL's success in 2008 in the U.S. Open Cup and the CONCACAF Champions League.
Greg Janicki has a chance to land a starting spot at D.C. after his promising spell on loan from USL Second Division's Pittsburgh late in last year's MLS campaign. In fact, Janicki started for manager Tom Soehn last week alongside Kyle Veris at center back in a preseason friendly.
We also have striker Sebastien Le Toux at Seattle. He was the first player signed after two successful seasons for the Sounders in USL-1, where he struck 24 times in 54 appearances. Interestingly, he played as a midfielder for Sigi Schmid in a scrimmage earlier this week. It's probably just a preseason look-see thing for Schmid, but it's interesting just the same.
Perhaps Schmid is exploring his options for how to replace midfielder Freddie Ljungberg early in the season. Ljungberg began running this week as he recovers from offseason hip surgery. As it stands, Ljungberg will miss only one or two regular season contests, although the Sounders are sure to be cautious with their DP attacker.
Last week, San Jose signed former forward Cam Weaver, the USL-1 Rookie of the Year three seasons back. He's a big fellow, about 6-4, part of GM John Doyle's plan for the Earthquakes to get a little bigger and pose a bit more danger on set-pieces. Weaver spent last year with FK Haugesund in Norway, so he probably knows a little about getting physical around goal.
5. A friend abroad: No one in the U.S. soccer establishment could ever be too happy about the potential for English Premier League sides playing a round of matches outside England. That proposition has been floating around for about a year now. And you can bet that one or more would land in the United States.
You could also bet that some officials here wouldn't be happy, competing for the soccer audience against the novelty factor of watching matches from one of the globe's truly premier associations.
One ranking official in England has come out against the idea ... and he happens to have a deep affiliation with Major League Soccer.
Ivan Gazidis recently left his post as deputy commissioner to inherit the CEO seat at Arsenal.
In an article published Wednesday in The Times, Gazidis describes himself as a traditionalist, and says he is not in favor of such propositions.
"Other leagues like the NFL are finding ways to play abroad," Gazidis told The Times. "We have to grow, but how we grow requires careful thought. People constantly focus on globalization and use words like 'brand' and 'equity,' but if you lose your center, your core, and don't take care of central values, you won't have anything to take globally. Whatever steps the league takes, we have to preserve the integrity of the core of the league."
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