Please, no more with the LA Galaxy visits
Roar Rookie By oly09, 7 Dec 2011 oly09 is a Roar Rookie
- Tagged:
- A-League, David Beckham, football, Harry Kewell, LA Galaxy, Melbourne Victory, MLS
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With any luck last night’s friendly between Melbourne Victory and LA Galaxy will be the last Australian football fans see of the MLS side for a while.
Over the past four years the Beckham road show, sorry the Galaxy team, have played three exhibition games against A-League sides in front of a combined crowd of 140,000.
But apart from the Galaxy players, who get to travel the world as some sort of Harlem Globetrotters, who have these games benefitted?
Some will say these games generate interest in the A-League, but really they just give reporters who usually have little interest in football a chance to interview Becks.
In 2007, there were 80,000 ‘football fans” at Homebush to watch Beckham score from a free kick in the 5-3 loss against Sydney FC.
But how many of those supporters followed that game up with one of Sydney’s A-League games at the Sydney Football Stadium?
When the Jets played the Galaxy last season, I had more interest in the Sydney FC – Melbourne Heart game being played at a rainy AAMI Park.
There were 34,000 at the 2-all draw at Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night, but going by the lack of noise it seems most were just ‘theatre-goers” rather than Victory supporters.
With the MLS season not matching the A-League, the only time we have seen the Galaxy is mid-season in the A-League and post-season in the MLS.
Is risking your stars for a meaningless game really worth it? At least Victory had the common sense to rest Harry Kewell.
With Beckham, now 36, expected to make a big money move to PSG it seems highly unlikely Galaxy would risk another trip Down Under without his pulling power.
You never know, PSG with Becks in tow could be visiting our shores some time in the future.
But at least the game would be played out of the A-League season, so it could just be used as a pre-season trial.
- Explore:
- A-League, David Beckham, football, Harry Kewell, LA Galaxy, Melbourne Victory, MLS
December 7th 2011 @ 12:18pm
Johnno said | December 7th 2011 @ 12:18pm | Report comment
Give me a Sydney olympic in the a-league making there debut any day of the the LA Galaxy.
December 7th 2011 @ 1:27pm
Realfootball said | December 7th 2011 @ 1:27pm | Report comment
While you’re at it, request some flying pigs too.
But I agree with you.
December 7th 2011 @ 1:06pm
Chris said | December 7th 2011 @ 1:06pm | Report comment
I think everyone knows it’s the David Beckham show. So much so that there was a clause in all three matches’ contracts that said that the promoter had the right to cancel the event if Becks pulled out. Let’s face it, Victory v Galaxy on a Tuesday night without Beckham would have been lucky to pull 5,000 punters.
Once Becks pulls the plug on his career that will be it for these meaningless games.
December 7th 2011 @ 1:21pm
Matt F said | December 7th 2011 @ 1:21pm | Report comment
It provides short-term publicity for an A-League club and I suppose that if even 1 person goes to a Beckham game and decides to start going to A-League games then it’s worth it. I can’t imagine the A-League clubs are losing money on these games as they’ve done it 4 times now. Though the long-term effects of these games seem negligible at best.
You’re right. Its’ been done to death and the drop from 80,000 in Sydney to 34,000 in Melbourne does show that the novelty of Beckham in Australia has worn off, or at least is wearing off. I hope that this is the last time the Beckham sideshow comes down here. Fair enough if a team wants to have a pre-season tour down here but I’d like to think that the A-League is established enough that it doesn’t need these one-off exhibition games anymore.
December 7th 2011 @ 1:29pm
Realfootball said | December 7th 2011 @ 1:29pm | Report comment
Very strange event – and “event” is the right word. The pen shootout was farcical, particularly on tv, because the closeups showed just how much the players could not care less.
From a football point of view, a complete waste of time.
From a celebrity point of view, if Beckham is what it takes to rock your world, then you really are a very sad little person indeed.
December 7th 2011 @ 1:44pm
Androo said | December 7th 2011 @ 1:44pm | Report comment
Does anybody remember what the minimum ticket price for the Sydney FC v. Galaxy match was? I hear it was $60 for the Victory v. Galaxy match. Ouch! That would have turned some punters right off.
Sounds as if the Galaxy has been milking it’s last Becks Tour for all its worth. Only 20k attended the Galaxy v. Indonesian All Stars match in football mad Indonesia. One can only presume tix prices there were also far above what the average punter is willing to pay.
And why hold the Galaxy v Victory match on Tuesday night?
Three Galaxy visits in five years is pushing it, and the novelty has worn thin.
For Galaxy it was presumably all about the cash. For Victory it was presumably all about brand awareness and placement. For the bandwagon set, there were a few expensive thrills. For the true football punter there wasn’t much on offer at all.
December 7th 2011 @ 3:18pm
Titus said | December 7th 2011 @ 3:18pm | Report comment
I got a restricted view for $30, but they weren’t kidding when they said restricted view, on the fence behind the goals, with the electronic billboards set in I literally couldn’t see the ground, although I had a perfect view of Beck’s curling free kick.
December 7th 2011 @ 5:52pm
Mato-Bateman said | December 7th 2011 @ 5:52pm | Report comment
I wouldn’t say enough of Beckham but probably enough of Galaxy. If PSG came out here with Beckham that’d be great and it would be pre-season. That being said, was great to see Beckham play last night. His all class. He still reads the game so damn well. At 36, he still has plenty to offer if he wants to continue. At $1 million a month at PSG for 18 months………yep.
December 7th 2011 @ 8:30pm
AL said | December 7th 2011 @ 8:30pm | Report comment
Stop being so preciouse. It was good entertainment. I was at the SFC game amoungst the 80K crowd. It was only watching Beckham live that you can appreciate what a fantastic distributor of the ball he is. A yearly A-League and MLS cup would be great idea.
December 8th 2011 @ 4:03am
AndyMack said | December 8th 2011 @ 4:03am | Report comment
Some people just have to be kill joys.
People are rocking up, people are getting entertained, people are watching football.
Not sure where the downside in this is. Seems some people are just dream squashers!!!
December 8th 2011 @ 9:59am
JR Salazar said | December 8th 2011 @ 9:59am | Report comment
Typical naff coming from a Roar rookie. Let us know when you come up with better quality pieces than this drivel.
December 8th 2011 @ 10:09am
Brett McKay said | December 8th 2011 @ 10:09am | Report comment
Wow…
December 8th 2011 @ 11:59am
JR Salazar said | December 8th 2011 @ 11:59am | Report comment
He’s just mad that his Melbourne Victory lost the shootout. Get over it, son.
December 8th 2011 @ 2:12pm
Brett McKay said | December 8th 2011 @ 2:12pm | Report comment
and you’re just mad there won’t be as much interest in the Galaxy down this way post-Beckham. No need to attack a rookie writer for saying a). what he believes, and b). what plenty posters seem to agree with…
December 8th 2011 @ 2:47pm
JR Salazar said | December 8th 2011 @ 2:47pm | Report comment
Wrong. The Galaxy can visit the country any time they effing want, and they will move on without David in the lineup. All that needs to happen is for everything to be arranged with the oppositions, promoters, etc. This user has watched little of my team’s matches. He should know that there are other talented players on this team besides Beckham, and that they have won league matches without him in the lineup, too.
Perhaps this website would be useful for this amateur:
americansoccerarchives.com
Here he can see some of the other matches LA have played in this season. I bet you he will be surprised by how they performed this season. The Galaxy is not just about Beckham.
December 8th 2011 @ 3:03pm
Brett McKay said | December 8th 2011 @ 3:03pm | Report comment
Ease up JR, there’s no need for profanity, even if only alluded to. There’s no doubting Galaxy are a decent side, and I’m sure they’ve done very well without Beckham in the MLS, but the fact remains, and even you must acknowledge this, the game against the victory would not have gone ahead without Beckham on the park. With due respect to the likes of Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan, and indeed the rest of your team, a very high % of the near 35K crowd on Tuesday night were there for one man only.
All Oly09 is saying here, and there’s plenty of agreement on this and other threads, is that without Beckham, there won’t be anywhere near the interest in having Galaxy back out here.
It might be easy to write an article, and you obviously do a lot of it for the various blogs you’ve linked to, but writing an article for public comment on a pretty well-known site in these parts is something different again. Disagree with him, by all means, but you don’t need to play the man. Rookies like “this amateur” are just as welcome on The Roar as seasoned writers.
December 8th 2011 @ 3:08pm
JR Salazar said | December 8th 2011 @ 3:08pm | Report comment
Thanks for hearing me out, Brett. Also want to note a comment from a user on BigSoccer who goes by the name of The Cadaver who said this:
“Who have these games benefitted?
Why, AEG’s pocket book – what else? Remember, that is the raison d’etre for the team’s existence. Rid yourself of any other romantic notions.”
The Anschutz Entertainment Group, AEG, owns the LA Galaxy
December 8th 2011 @ 3:22pm
Brett McKay said | December 8th 2011 @ 3:22pm | Report comment
Sure, JR, I don’t think there’s much doubt the Promoters were the big winners in these games. It’s probably also why Melbourne Victory members had to buy tickets to this match.
The true test for AEG and the Galaxy – and this is Oly09′s point here – would be to try and bring the Galaxy back out for another exhibition game in the future without David Beckham. I would be pleasantly surprised (and by pleasently surprised, I mean absolutely and unequivocally stunned) if a 35,000 crowd in Melbourne would result.
December 8th 2011 @ 3:29pm
JR Salazar said | December 8th 2011 @ 3:29pm | Report comment
I think it will happen. But the negotiations need to take place. Just like with any club that visits anywhere for a friendly. Los Angeles is trying to pursue proven talent to replace Beckham. That’s why they are linked with a certain Didier Drogba at the time of this writing.
December 8th 2011 @ 4:00pm
Brett McKay said | December 8th 2011 @ 4:00pm | Report comment
well, I sincerely with them and you well for the time AB. What he’s done for the LAG and MLS on the whole has been worth every cent of the millions spent on him, and it can only set things up for the future. The A-League would love a player of that quality to do the same in Australia..