Okay, okay, I get it.  The relationship between David Beckham and the MLS is strained.  His ability to truly be an ambassador and a force behind growing momentum for soccer in this country is quite possibly irrevocably tainted.  It’s sad to see it end up this way for him, but it is what it is.

Beckham’s talents in the MLS are underused and under appreciated because he’s the kind of player who works to make those around him better.  The Galaxy splashed cash on one or two positions, and then stranded those players.  The only thing you need to know to see how David’s abilities work with those around him is to see how effective he and Landon were despite the meager supporting staff.  I don’t blame him for expressing a desire to stay at Milan.  David’s a competitor and hates losing.  I’m sure it grates at him, but I don’t necessarily believe that he wants out of the MLS just because the level is so bad.  I think it comes down to the same thing it’s always come down to for him…England.  He’s enjoying his time in the third major world league he’s been a part of, but more importantly it’s helping his England chances…it’s keeping him in the picture for playing in Africa next year.  If you ask me, club soccer has been what Beckham does between international fixtures pretty much since he left United.  He bled United the way he bleeds England.  Since that divorce, he’s been all about country.  AC Milan has given him new life in England.

I hope the MLS stays strong and doesn’t back down now that they’ve trapped themselves in this corner.  I didn’t agree with the setting of the deadline so soon; I think it was a bit of a ploy that backfired on them and it shows that they don’t know a whole lot about dealing in the international market, but now that they’re here I hope they stand strong.  Will they lose money when David opts out of his contract at the end of the season (which, make no mistake, he will)?  Yes.  Will this probably make international players who are still young enough to truly be impact players shy away from the league for a number of years to come?  Yes.  But hopefully time will bring with it a little more savy-ness in dealing in international waters and sooth some of those wounds, and to back down now will only bring disrespect in the future.  Already AC Milan has basically demonstrated that they have complete disdain for for the MLS and the Galaxy by saying that they think the deadline was just a tactic.  They’re basically ignoring what’s been coming from the MLS because they seem to believe that they’ll get what they want by virtue of being the bigger club.  Don’t back down.

And don’t think for an instant that David Beckham will come back here and give anything less than 100% in a Galaxy uniform. Beckham may have expressed his desire to leave and tarnished his image here a bit, but he’s a competitor and a professional…one of the few truly professional players who have sustained that level under the spotlight.  Don’t forget, he was a want-away midfielder at Madrid who had already signed a contract with the MLS when Capello dumped him not only from the bench, but from the squad for a while.  All he had to do was sit in the stands and collect until his MLS payday.  But he busted his ass to get back into the lineup for the end of the season.  He worked that hard for a team he was leaving and to prove to himself and his critics that he wasn’t done.  He’ll do the same here, and then he’ll opt out at the end of the season, and Milan will reimburse him for his fees to do so.  Bet on it.

Beckham is going to leave the MLS, I really don’t think there’s any way to avoid that, but he’s coming back here first (if the MLS sticks to his guns), and he’ll probably have the best year of his MLS career just to show everyone that his time here wasn’t a waste.