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Bored By Beckham

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Boom_70, Jul 14, 2007.

  1. Angola!

    Angola! Guest

    You may be right Bubbler, but it is still getting butts in the stands.
    I know the FC Dallas-Galaxy game sold out because I tried to get tickets recently.
    The one thing I will give Beckham credit for is he is generating interest in soccer in the U.S. and that can't be a bad thing.
     
  2. Beaker

    Beaker Active Member

    I agree with most of what you said about Beckham. He certainly is not fast, but his right foot is still as clinical as anyone's. Though the Galaxy will for sure try him in the middle-so he'll have to be more involved than he was for Real or England.
     
  3. Angola!

    Angola! Guest

    Plus, if the MLS is as bad as a lot of soccer folks like to say, then Beckham may be more than just a guy with a great free kick. He may be even better, because - in theory - he is so much better than the level.
    I don't buy that, but I understand it is a possibility.
    What I do know, is I am looking forward to finding a way to watch Donovan and Beckham pair up in Dallas later this month.
     
  4. Beaker

    Beaker Active Member

    I'm not sure that he'll be able to dominate the pitch-but his passes should certainly control the Galaxy's offense.
     
  5. Boomer7

    Boomer7 Active Member

    Not entirely true -- he can still play a perfect cross with that right foot. The question is whether he can thrive as a central midfielder rather than a wing. Less room to maneuver and the likes of Pablo Mastroeni, Shalrie Joseph and Ricardo Clark hounding him might make for a rude awakening.
     
  6. GB-Hack

    GB-Hack Active Member

    Bubbs, I'm sorry, but he was the main reason Real Madrid won the Spanish title. His creativity in open play led to numerous goals. In addition, he'll be employed in the center of midfield by Los Angeles, not out wide. If he wasn't playing as well as he is, he wouldn't be back in the English national team, and he wouldn't have had Real trying to find a way for him to get out of his Galaxy deal.

    He is going to have a huge impact on Landon Donovan and the rest of the Galaxy attack.
     
  7. Starman

    Starman Well-Known Member

    Doesn't matter what you, I or anybody else "wants to believe."

    In the elimination rounds of the 2006 World Cup, which should exhibit the sport played at its absolute highest level, there were 26 goals scored in 15 games. Less than one full goal per team, per game.

    That's not what anybody "believes" -- it's a fact.

    If you think a sport in which the average team at the highest level of competition does not even score one goal per game is legitimately balanced between offense and defense, we'll just have to agree to disagree.


    I was around in 1968, in the era of .220 league batting averages and 1.17 ERAs. It was as ridiculous in its own way as the steroid explosion.

    The steroid explosion was not a centrally-orchestrated plot to jack up the offensive production of the entire sport. It was a pattern of individual decisions by individual players to cheat their way around the rules, seize an unfair advantage, and make more money.
     
  8. GB-Hack

    GB-Hack Active Member

    There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.

    I like numbers as much as anyone Starman, but to say that the knockout stages of the World Cup were boring because there weren't enough goals scored is a really weak argument.

    Manchester United scored 83 goals in 38 Premier League games last season, including 46 in 19 home games. You think the fans were entertained by the goals and the Premier League title that came with it?
     
  9. hockeybeat

    hockeybeat Guest

    Starman, it's not that coaches are anti-offense. It's just easier to teach defense.
     
  10. Angola!

    Angola! Guest

    One - You are a lot older than I previously thought.
    Two - It doesn't matter if it was orchestrated to be an offensive explosion, it happened and baseball was more "popular" because of it. I am just saying, how can you be a baseball fan and not appreciate soccer? It is the same general principle: Pitching and defense wins games in baseball, which generally results in low scoring baseball games - hence the playoffs.
    So, what is the difference in soccer? Americans seem to like baseball, so why can't they like soccer even with the low-scoring games?
    The only problem I have with soccer, so far, is the tie. I don't like the tie, it is too anticlimatic.
     
  11. Boomer7

    Boomer7 Active Member

    You're changing the subject. You had a theory ("When coaches try to come up with new offensive strategies, they are quickly attacked as "poor fundamental coaches', etc.) that was total nonsense, and several people who actually know a little about the game called you on it.

    And I think you'll find that most people were a little disappointed with the 2006 World Cup -- not a lot of memorable games, reduced goalscoring, few breakout stars. All valid points. On the other hand, I can say without a doubt that the most exhilarating sporting event I've ever attended was the Germany-Poland game at that tournament, in which Germany knocked on the door all game and kept narrowly missing, and each miss was pure torture to the home crowd. Then, the Germans scored on basically the last kick of the game, and the celebration in Dortmund was like nothing I've ever heard.

    Point is, you can't reduce any game's appeal to "they scored x goals in y games." Best soccer game I've been to finished 1-0. Best baseball game I've been to also finished 1-0 (Pedro Martinez beat Bartolo Colon). Arguably the best Super Bowl, XXXVI in New Orleans, featured just four touchdowns in over three hours. No one asked for their money back.
     
  12. MN Matt

    MN Matt Member

    The champions league semi-final (arguably the highest level of club soccer on the planet) two years ago between Villareal and Arsenal ended 0-0 and yet it was one of the most tense, exciting, and utterly enjoyable sporting events I have ever seen. The same can be said of Celtic's 1-0 win over Manchester this past year where I witnessed soccer fans, non-soccer sports fans, and soccer haters alike cringing and holding their breath every time the ball came within 18 yards of the goal. So to say that a low scoring game is by definition boring is just plain wrong.
     
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