Beckham to Milano, And it Ain't a Loan

So the big news here in the States and in Italy is the so-called "loan" of David Beckham to A.C. Milan. If you haven't figured it out by now, this won't be a loan, or if it is a loan it will be a Crespo style loan, and Milan will be picking up his salary while the L.A. Galaxy can move on, and seeing that they'll likely see the move Landon Donovan to a European side this winter, the Galaxy can tack that extra money and spend on, say, Marquez, rather than using it to build the kind of depth that a team like the Houston Dynamo has and making a serious run at the MLS Cup, for the first time in 4 years.

So what of this Beckham experience in the MLS? Was it a success or failure? Well, people who probably didn't know that the MLS existed before Beckham, now know about the MLS. Beckham came here, and his team could not dominate, so a sign that the rest of the MLS is better then what most Anglosnobs think? A resounding yes in my opinion.

Being here in Houston, and getting the privilege of dealing with a club that has its act together impacts my view of the league as a whole. And maybe TFC is not all that good, but some MLS matches, in my opinion, are more interesting then most EPL matches.

In the end, let's face it, Bruce Arena can't handle Beckham, and Beckham, after Ferguson and Capello, just can't take Arena seriously. Keeping Arena and Beckham in L.A. would just be adding another extra dose of fun to the dysfunctional that has engulfed L.A. these past couple years. Is Beckham in Serie A a good thing? Maybe for him, maybe for Posh, but I am looking forward to seeing Mexes take a nice, legal hit on Beckham.

Instead of catering to the Anglosnobs, the MLS needs to focus on the development of the youth in America (see the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas for example) and when it comes to foreign players, focus on youth, not older players. And might I suggest scouting Africa?