This year in MLS has been, in my humble opinion, the best one yet.  The combination of having more teams in the league than ever before, the success of the expansion side, the resurgence of the two bottom teams towards the end of the year, the raised level of play, and the nail-bitter of a playoff race all combined to make this the most enjoyable season to watch (personally) since the league began.  We have definitely had some great debates during the course of the year that can only be healthy for the future of a league, and we have learned some lessons this year that we can apply in the future.

Back on March 1st my co-contributor and I wrote some predictions for the MLS season, and given that the regular season has come to a close and the playoffs are set to start I felt it was time to go back and hold myself accountable for my errors, as well as give myself credit for the few things I guessed right.

A quick recap of my picks to refresh our memories (or you can go to the full article):

Most Likely To Succeed: Columbus, Chicago, Toronto

Needs Improvement: Los Angeles, San Jose, Dallas

Sleeper Pick: Chivas, Seattle

The Rest To Make The Playoffs: Houston, New York, New England, Kansas City

The Rest To Miss The Playoffs: DC, Salt Lake, Colorado

The track record is there, unedited, to be picked over.  So, what was I wrong about?  Well the most glaring errors are my Toronto and L.A. Galaxy picks.  It appears I had a wire crossed when I categorized them.  Toronto may only be in it’s third year, but it’s performance-to-talent ratio is baffling to those of us who were excited about that team at the start of the season.  As for the Galaxy, well, they pulled off all of the crazy things I said they’d need to to be competitive, and then some.  Bruce Arena ran a very tight ship, they did indeed find their diamonds in the ruff (Omar Gonzalez and Donovan Ricketts, anyone?), and Beckham came back and actually proved he had dedication to spare for the Galaxy.  They look a dangerous team poised to make a deep playoff run.  Two other rather obvious errors were saying that New York could carry on the momentum of last year and make the playoffs and calling Kansas City for a playoff run.  In my own defense I said that New York would be in trouble if Juan Pablo Angel went down for any length of time, and although he didn’t have a serious injury, he did have his lowest MLS goal total and several scoring droughts.  I also pointed out Kansas City as an extremely inconsistent team, which they were, but I didn’t think it would stop them from making the playoffs.  And although I was wrong about Salt Lake missing the playoffs, I don’t consider that as big an error as the others considering their limping fashion through the second half of the year.

Of course, there were some picks I’d say have made good on my confidence in them (or at least where they’d finish).  Columbus started slow, but now looks like a real contender; Seattle has looks like a solid sleeper pick to challenge; Houston and New England both made the playoffs, and DC and Colorado both missed the playoffs.  Don’t be fooled by Columbus losing to New England on the last day, they really are the strongest team right now in terms of challenging for the MLS Cup, but I’m also riding high in Seattle’s bandwagon and their momentum.  These two teams are the ones that I’m most interested in following.  I’m proud of my Revs for making it in, but they are hurting big time and made it in on piss and vinegar, and the shoulders of Shalrie Joseph, alone.  I’ll be cheering them on none the less and praying for a miracle, but I’m not overly optimistic about a real run.

I’ll admit that I had a few other questionable calls, like having Chicago listed as one of the more successful teams, and Chivas as a sleeper to make a deep run, but I think they’re border line enough that I don’t need to chastise myself for those.

In the spirit of making predictions that I can later catch flack for I’m going to make the following first-round playoff predictions:

Columbus tops Real Salt Lake 3-1 on aggregate (1-1 @ Rio Tinto and 2-0 @ Crew Stadium)

Chicago tops New England 2-1 on aggregate (1-0 @ Gillette and 2-0 @ Toyota Park…please let me be wrong)

Seattle tops Houston 3-1 on aggregate (2-0 @ Qwest and 1-1 @ Robertson)

Los Angeles tops Chivas 4-1 on aggregate (2-0 and 2-1)

1) Seattle…wow
Screw the David Beckham saga.  Seattle Sounders FC is THE story of the young season. I’ll get into a few more specific thoughts below, but let’s just remember that the last expansion team to start the season 2 and 0 went on to win the MLS cup that year (granted, in a weaker version of the league).  I feel the need to say that I was predisposed to hate the Sounders.  I was skeptical of the Ljungburg signing; I felt the stealing of Sigi Schmid from Columbus was a bit of a questionable move after he just helped that city win it’s first league trophy; having them play on a turf field that’s in a football first stadium; the fact that they’re in Seattle (which I have other sports issues with); and the fact that they basically swiped an NASL identity rather than create their own, although I have since reversed my feelings on this issue…bring in all the NASL identity’s you want.  It’s our professional heritage as a soccer country!  All this had me, uhh….let’s call it slightly put out with the Sounder expansion team when things first started.  But they have built a program up there that’s to be respected rather than slaping an expansion team together that’s prepared to fall back on the first year excuse.  And all props to Drew Carey, who is one of the best high-profile soccer fans in this country.  Little fact: he still holds his Galaxy season ticket despite being a minority owner of the Sounders because he lives in L.A. and wants to support his local team.  He’s good for this country’s soccer programs. He and the Sounders made the effort to woo the city and it’s fans first rather than just hoping they’d turn out.  They made it so that the city of Seattle identified with that team from the very start.  And they’re getting results to boot with two very convincing wins to start the season, one of them against a team who was in last year’s MLS cup, and another against a team many pick to make a run this year themselves.  After having watched the city embrace them, support them, and the model they’ve put together, I’m a converted fan.  I’m pulling for them for many reasons, not the least of which is if they are successful more expansion teams will aim to emulate their style and enthusiasm…and I don’t see how that could be a bad thing.

2) Columbus prettiest soccer in MLS?  Maybe, but here comes Seattle.
In watching most of the games in the first to weeks of this 2009 season I feel I can say with some confidence that the Columbus Crew, despite their tag of being the hardest working team in the MLS, also are currently deserving of the title of the prettiest soccer in the MLS as well.  Guillermo Barros Schelotto runs his mid-field with precision and confidence on the ball as well as a kind of player’s player mentality that just makes that team fun to watch.  I’m a huge MLS supporter, but even I recognize that the MLS has a ton of direct play, bypassing the midfield, and loose ball type play that gives it a few hard to watch games every year (by a few I mean more than half…and by that I mean a lot).  I love the physicality of the league, and the work ethic of the players, and the parity of the league, and the unpredictability of the way things bounce in the MLS, and the Revs…I love the Revs (although I’m super disappointed at Parkhurst’s departure…it’s taken something from being a Rev fan for me).  But when I want pretty soccer, I watch England’s Arsenal or Spain’s Barcelona.  Columbus is changing that a bit.  They are a hard working, good-looking soccer team.  Good for them, and I tip my soccer fan’s hat to them for that.
That being said, Sigi Schmid is putting together a pretty good-looking side in Seattle.  They were a bit frantic in the opening minutes, and even after a couple of goals, of the Red Bulls game.  But they showed some great flashes of slick play, a huge hunk of which came from the young Columbian, Freddy Montero.  Their second game against Real Salt Lake was a much more complete game from start to finish.  I was excited watching them play, their attacking runs, the way they controlled the ball and managed the game, which Ljumburg did very well upon his entry despite his high attacking expectations and the ho-hum response to his short performance.  He was smart and I, as a player, appreciated what he brought.  Rookie Steve Zakuani made a few overly long wasteful runs in which he covered a lot of ground only to get caught in a tight space and lose the ball, but brought it on enough occasions to warrant his continued selection.  If the expansion/inexperience blues don’t weight this team down over the run of the season, they’re going to continue to be effective, but more importantly they’re going to continue to be entertaining.

3) Hang on to Freddy Montero

This one’s no surprise really.  I don’t know what Montero’s contract deal is for, but I pray to the soccer-gods that it’s longer than a year, and that Seattle has the balls and brains to hang on to him as long as they can.  This kid’s been nothing short of brilliant in the first two games and he’s going to start to draw notice really quickly.  Someone who thinks they’re being business smart would say that when the high offers start coming in for Freddy Montero from overseas we should sell him and get bank for the kid early before he starts to decline or gets injured or something.  I say Seattle should go shopping for a second DP tag and hang on to this kid as long as is humanly possible.  He’s the kind of player that can galvanize entire fan-bases around him and his team.  He’ll put butts in the seats.  He’ll be remembered long after Ljumburg has ended his 1-2 year run, Keller has ended his 1-2 year run, and Seattle has lost it’s expansion buzz.  Other bright young talents will sign with MLS because of him as long as he’s here.  He’s the kind of player that the MLS needs to hang on to if it wants the level of play to go up.  Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, Bobby Convey, Freddy Adu, and others were smart sells at the time because the league saw the benefit of the money to grow the league, and didn’t have quite enough swagger to pull off hanging on to them and their ambitions.  Montero represents the beginning of a new time period in MLS history.  He’s a smart, cheeky young player who’s come to the league from elsewhere in his prime as his announcement to the world.  Now’s the time to capitalize on his faith in the league to begin to hang on to these players and think about the product on the field.  A bold move like this would benefit the league long after any allocation money that would have been received for him would stop circulating.  I’m not stupid enough to think we won’t lose him eventually, but a year or two isn’t enough time to really allow what his actual playing impact can be to trickle down through-out the league.

4) NY reorganized to look disorganized
I’m shocked and disappointed that the NY Red Bulls revamp in the off-season has left them looking so disorganized and piss-poor so far this season.  Juan Carlos Osorio is looking less and less like the good coach he appeared to be with Chicago, and more and more like he doesn’t know what he’s doing.  In both their opening games so far they have looked like they were scrambling to figure out what the hell was going on in their defensive half, abandoned most of their midfield play, and had little to no possession on in the attacking third.  I sure hope they get it together or Juan Pablo Angel may decided he wants to go on loan somewhere in Europe this summer.

5) Houston and NE dominance over?
As much as it saddens me to say it, especially given my Rev’s trophy haul during this time, I believe Houston and New England may have seen one too many important players fly the coop than can be compensated for.  I believe both Dominic Kinnear and Steve Nicol are brilliant coaches, and I tag them both to dominate this league again with their team selection, but for now both the Revolution and the Dynamo look to be teams who are no longer set up to dominate this league.  They have both been unimpressive so far this season, and seem to be searching for answers in key positions.  Will Stuart Holden step up to lead the team and take some of the burden off Brian Ching?  Will stadium concerns and field concerns dog Houston all year?  Will Taylor Twellman and Steve Ralston come back with enough form to lift New England up by the bootstraps, and then continue to stay healthy?  Will Steve Nicol find someone or a combination of someones to replace the vital cog that Michael Parkhurst represented?  Can either team keep the ball on the ground long enough to actually create some flow to a game and therefore some decent attacking opportunities from the run of play rather than counter attacks and surprise chances?  These questions and many more will determine if we even see these two once dominant teams in the playoffs this year, but for now I certainly wouldn’t lay any money on seeing either of these two teams come out of the tunnel at Qwest field come MLS cup ’09.

With the MLS gearing up for the big beginning on March 19th, we at End Lines couldn’t help but do a couple of MLS predictions.  Normally I personally try to steer away from doing things like this simply for the fact that it makes it sound like I know what I’m talking about in relation to every team in the league…which is obviously not true.  But in mulling this idea over with my co-contributor, I couldn’t help it considering how excited I am about this coming season, and how much I’m willing to go out on a limb with a few of my predictions this year.  Seems I’m the second to make my posting this weekend, so I’ll encourage you to scroll down and check out Mark’s predictions as well…I’m sure we’ll agree as often as we wildly disagree.  Anyway, without further delay, here are my 2009 Major League Soccer predictions:

My 2009 picks for “most likely to succeed”

First and most obviously I have to pick the Columbus Crew.  The structure of players is all still there, despite much nervous off-season talk.  Only the piece of Sigi Schmid is gone, a large piece though it may be.  But momentum speaks volumes in a league of parity like the MLS, and no one should be betting against these guys to make another run.  Next there’s the Chicago Fire.  The Chicago Fire have too many good pieces not to pick ‘em, but it all hinges on the question of injuries.  Will the injury bug possibly affect this team?  They seem to be pretty reliant on McBride and Rolfe in the attack, and despite some other options that makes them feel shallow up top, but those are two pretty dangerous first choices when you consider they also have Justin Mapp and Blanco as first choices in support.  And lastly I have to pick Toronto FC.  Originally I was going to choose them as my “sleeper” pick of the year, but I just see too many good things in Toronto to not put them here in my list. The acquisition of Dwayne De Rosario was the best pick up of the off-season.  Add that to the addition of Adrian Serioux, as well as the potential contributions of Sam Cronin and O’Brian White, and you could easily see Toronto challenging late in the season.

My 2009 picks for “needs improvement”

For this section I ended up picking two teams that did poorly last year and it certainly doesn’t look to be getting better, and one team that was a popular sleeper pick last year and yet continue to baffle even their admirers.  First up I look to the L.A. Galaxy to continue to slide.  L.A. has two of the league’s marquee players in Donovan and Beckham, and this has ended up being exactly their biggest problem in the last two years.  Strapped with these financial weights, which are made so by the salary structure of the MLS, the team simply cannot afford to move on from the single-player approach to build a team.  They’ve dropped a handful of players who they felt were holding them back and Bruce Arena usually runs a well-organized team, something this team desperately needs.  But unless they find some seriously cheap diamonds in the rough this year I just can’t imagine it getting better for them.  My next pick is the San Jose Earthquakes.  Frank Yallop has done well to attempt to build a real team in San Jose, and hasn’t had the haphazard approach of some other teams, but a position switch for newcomer Bobby Convey may prove too much given that he’s been idle for so long.  Especially since that switch is from the wing to the middle where he’ll be expected to hold the attack together.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big Bobby Convey fan, but I don’t think he’s the man to carry that responsibility for this second year squad.  Look for them to struggle until they get it figured out…which is possibly another year away.  And then there’s FC Dallas.  I don’t feel the commitment from Kenny Cooper anymore, Adrian Serioux left for Toronto, there’s been no real change to the off-season revamp…it’s just not in the cards for this team this season in my opinion.  Even Dave Van Der Berg’s addition to the squad probably won’t save this team from sliding further.  Then again, maybe he’ll prove to be what they needed to push them over the hump…probably not though.

Sleeper Pick

My sleeper, or dark horse, pick would be Chivas USA.  They’ve been on the verge for a while now and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them explode this season.  Sacha Kljestan will be out to prove himself to prepare for a move out of the MLS, and he’s been the engine of this team for a while now.   With him on point they’re a leg up on most of the parity of the rest of the MLS.  Ultimately however the question of how effective Ante Razov can still be remains the hinging factor on whether this team will burst through the glass ceiling, or simply remain a promising side.  I guess a more appropriate pick for the dark horse than the obviously potential laden Chivas would be the Seattle Sounders.  This team has been engaging in purposeful and un-expansion-like dealings that could pay off.  But given the fact that they are an expansion team I still would have to say that if Sigi pulls off a deep run he’ll be the MLS’s version of Guus Hiddink.  Of course, it’s been done before…

As for the rest…

Will qualify for playoffs:

Houston Dynamo – I’d never dare count the Dynamo out, but there are too many teams who have progressed passed them, and their schedule is too packed to really compete on all fronts like they’ve been trying to do for several seasons now.  I see them running deep, and ending up at home late in the game.
New England Revolution – There’s a great amount of quality still on the team, but Steve Ralston is aged but still the pivot of the team, Taylor Twellman is a question due to injury and questions of dedication to the team and the league, and the loss of Michael Parkhurst overseas may be one too many losses in a run of them over several seasons than can be overcome to remain a contender.  Unfortunately, New England’s run of dominant seasons (despite zero titles) may be over for now.
New York Red Bulls – NY will have some momentum from last year and from maintaining a large portion of the core of their team, but ultimately all it would take is Juan Pablo Angel to go down for a stretch and they would be in trouble.  Even with him healthy they’ll struggle to replace the service of Dave Van Der Berg to the men up top.
Kansas City Wizards– I’ll never bet against a defense anchored by Jimmy Conrad and backed by Kevin Hartman, but they’ve been very inconsistent in recent seasons and I can’t really say what would change that now.

Will miss the playoffs:

DC United – This team has much quality to bottom dwell, but the reacquisition of Christian Gomez shows they have no other solutions to their problems.  And on top of that it’s an aging team they’re fielding in DC which could cause them to falter late as they’ve been prone to for years now.
Real Salt Lake – Although expectations are running high after last year’s showing, and Jason Kreis has instilled confidence in Salt Lake in the last two years, and rightly so, I ultimately just can’t put them above any of the other high picks without a lot of unexpected heroics.  And who is there to be RSL’s hero?
Colorado Rapids – This is a team with too many questions and not enough leaders.  Conor Casey is good but inconsistent, and they’ve been searching for a few years for the answer to their troubles, but all they’ve done is acquire Christian Gomez only to deal him right back.  Hardly an act that says they really know what they’re doing.

Anyway, that’s my take given what we know now, but who knows how the ball will bounce!  We’ll see just how psychic/psychotic some of these pics turn out come the 2009 MLS playoffs.  Either way, here’s hoping for a great season!

Cheers!

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.

First up is the MLS All-Star game, West Ham United 2 vs. MLS All-Stars 3, which was entertaining to watch, yet held very little real significance.  Some people believe that the structure of the all-star game is to spread the value of the MLS players and teams.  During the game it was announced that several players are on the transfer market for over seas teams, such as Kenny Cooper, Juan Toja, and Edson Buddle.  It is sad that the MLS has the ability to grow great players here, but can’t pay them enough to retain their skills.  What does the MLS gain by playing EPL teams in their warm-up for their regular season?  The teams are not at their best, and our “all-stars” have one practice together before they play.  What does it really prove?  Anyway, the home team did win a somewhat lopsided game, and there were strong signs for team expansion in Canada.  The atmosphere was great, the field looked amazing, and the game play was controlled by the MLS unit except for a couple of well developed offensive plays by West Ham.  Getting past my disdain for the structure of the all-star game, it is fun to see Beckham cross it Blanco, who back heels it to Gomez for an awesome shot on goal.  I look forward to a more traditional all-star format where we have the best of the East vs. the best of the West, and then maybe that team takes on an international club.

Other than that distraction, we had some very interesting games this past weekend to discuss.  DC United was beat by Houston twice in one week, and the second game was a replay of a postponed game due to weather.  Then during this match the power at RFK stadium went out twice, and the rain came down to delay the game again.  Finally, the game finished near midnight, and then De Ro and Onstad had to travel to the all-star match.  After that other big game the second half of the MLS season began, and LA wishes they were still on vacation.  Dallas trounced LA in a 4-0 victory that highlighted Cooper’s skills, just in time for his possible transfer to Norway.  The Red Bulls and Earthquakes played to a 1-1 tie in a game that allowed for signs in San Jose’s growth, and I have no doubt that they will not remain in basement for long.   Chicago and Kansas City, also, tied at 0-0, apparently Blanco was still riding high on his all-star MVP and did not play as crisp as usual.  Lastly, the Columbus Crew defeated Colorado Rapids 2-0.  The Crew are very impressive this season, and I have not been giving them enough credit so far.  They slide right under my radar for a while, but now that they have beaten all the top teams in the MLS, and only 2 points away from taking out New England, they will be on my Tivo list.

The Crew and the battle for the top of the East will be the drama for the second half of the season.  Not to mention the tight point situation in the Western division.  I once said that NE was to far out front to be caught, now I might have to eat those words.  I have my hopes for my home team, and I look forward to watching the drama unfold.  Who do you think will surprise the league in the second half?

Next up, how do think the US Olympic team will fare, and will the World Cup qualifiers handicap the team?

The game of the week should be Los Angeles v. Chivas USA.  I say should be due to the fact that Chivas also has a game on Sunday in the Superliga, and they might have the wrong priorities.  Will Chivas play for the league standings or will they save up for the Superliga?  That will determine if this game goes down as I hope.  It is my philosophy that teams should always play to win their League cups first, and everything else comes second.  Looking at some teams performances in extra-curricular tournaments, majority of the coaches agree with me.  Look at DC’s and Houston’s outings in the Superliga in previous years, as well as when foreign teams come to play our teams in friendlies. With my hopes high in the sky, LA v Chivas puts the two teams tied for first place in the West going toe to toe.  This confrontation is also referred to as the Honda SuperClasico which it means its got to be important.  ESPN2 will be airing the game starting at 11:00 eastern time, so go take a nap right now.  I hope to see a strong showing from Beckham and Donovan, as well as a good strategic play from Razov and Kljestan.  These teams have well developed weapons, as well as worn thin weak spots.  It will come down to Chivas pushing around the LA defense, and LA finding a way to out maneuver Guzan in goal.  Good luck to both teams, but my bet is on Chivas due to their secure defensive posture, and creative offensive play of late. (Regardless of the outcome from last time these teams met which was a LA win and a Donovan hat trick)

Also this week, the MLS all-star top 11 roster was posted (see below thanks to mlsnet.com).  With no surprise Beckham was on top of the voting list, but there were a few other names missing from the top 11.  It was good to see some deserving names such as Blanco, Reis, and Donovan due to their contributions to the game this season.  Other names that were not in the top 11 or even 20 surprised me, now I know that I have my own biases but shouldn’t someone from the Houston Dynamo, the defending champions, be in the starting 11.  Who do you think got over looked in the MLS voting pool?

18.3 – A club intending to conclude a contract with a professional must inform the player’s current club in writing before entering into negotiations with him. A professional shall only be free to conclude a contract with another club if his contract with his present club has expired or is due to expire within six months. Any breach of this provision shall be subject to appropriate sanctions.

I think it should be said, first and foremost, that I am not a Cristiano Ronaldo fan. I have my reasons, and say what you will, but I remain unconvinced over a lot of things about this guy. Neither am I a Manchester United fan. Again, I have my reasons. But I’m intrigued, and a bit nauseated, over this business between the two mentioned parties and Real Madrid. According to the wording above, Madrid have done nothing technically wrong, that we know of, and United’s reporting of Madrid can only be out of indignation over Madrid’s media courting of the young winger.

Now, I don’t want to hear about United’s “past” dealings or any of that. I’m not here to look at that, I’m here to talk about the situation at hand.

The situation as I see it is this: Madrid have done nothing wrong according to the rules, but what they have done is rather despicable. To continue to use the media as a conduit to players in this way so that you can test the waters and yet keep your hands clean is as bad as if you had just outright approached the player. I don’t like it. It’s yet another way that larger clubs, who get more media attention, can undermine smaller clubs to get players that they want. Madrid have always been more in the business of buying players than playing football if you ask me (as have United and Chelsea for that matter), and this unsubtle approach is better left out of the game.

Ronaldo has complicated matters, of course, but saying he would like to play for Madrid. It burns my blood to see this rampant disloyalty to clubs who have nurtured young players. Cesc Fabregas has had interest from all over the world, but he’s stuck with Arsene Wenger because he knows that he owes Arsenal something still. There comes a time when players need to move on despite a history with the club, as David Beckham did when he moved to Madrid from Manchester, but this reeks of disloyalty from Ronaldo.

And I had just gained back a little respect for him after not having to watch him spend all season diving on the ground…