There's no place for this. It'd be one thing if Beckham had hacked someone else and this was retribution. But Beckham, for the most part, is a fair footballer.
Really, players should be thanking him for coming over to the league and helping to fill the stadiums. And, giving 'you', whoever that is, the average MLS player, the chance to make more money as the league grows. I don’t think there would have been 22,331 fans at the game if Golden Balls wasn’t playing.
Sure, he's done some stupid things in the past. See England versus Argentina in the World Cup--where he petulantly (favorite word of the English commentators) lashed out Simeone after he bashed into him. It was a terrible call by the ref though. But it was his frustration that resulted in his ousting from the game, no harm to the other player. He hasn't done anything ruthless or Roy Keane like. This tackle was dangerous since someone, Beckham that is, the golden goose of the league, could have been hurt.
I saw part of this game, and LA was embarrassing Dallas, but Becks didn't have a huge part in this route. It was more inspired by their whole team. Playing quick two touch soccer, and then Dallas seemed to give some of the LA players a lovingly fair amount of time on the ball.
This tackle was way too late, as in late in the game, and in terms of being poorly timed. Beckham I guess received the brunt of a frustrating day for Dallas and Adrian Serioux.
It is something the MLS is going to have to be aware of, making sure skillful players are protected, and I was glad to see the red card go up right away. Not sure if Beckham did anything to deserve this at all during the match – if I missed something. No wives or girlfriends debased. The tackle was right in front of all the benches and with the game already decided - just a waste. Gallardo was also fouled from behind a few times in the DC United versus Chivas games. He took a hard foul from behind after he’d flicked the ball through with his heel. I think the league should come down hard on players who foul from behind or recklessly. Stick up for the skillful players.
Sure, there is a time and place for a tough tackle to set the tone. Just make the tackle part of the game – get a little more shoulder or weight into the tackle, but not dirty or from behind as this one was.
If there was anyone who'd earned a good two-foot tackle was Edson Buddle, who had a hattrick on the night and walked through the Dallas defense at one point. Then, the other player who Dallas should have put on his heels a bit with a tough tackle, was Brandon McDonald. He beautifully laced a through ball to Chris Klein for the first goal. And he just seemed to have more time on the ball than he should. How can he spin, turn, and setup to lace this ball through uncontested? McDonald better not still be earning just $19K!
It was nice to see Ruud Gullit walking away with Serioux, to sort of appease the situation and calm things down. And Serioux, who spent some time playing for Millwal in England, should know better. He's a veteran who's played for Toronto, Houston and now Dallas. And, to top it off, he's an international, albeit for Canada (sorry Canadians).
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