Can Anyone In England Speak Intelligently About Soccer?

Here is a good barometer on English ignorance of MLS: Shearer says Beckham too big for Galaxy

Former England skipper Alan Shearer believes David Beckham is too good to be joining the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Beckham, himself an ex-England captain, starred on his recall to the international scene, crossing for John Terry's goal in Friday's 1-1 draw against Brazil at the new Wembley.

Beckham now is expected to retain his spot for England for Wednesday's 2008 qualifier against Estonia. And Shearer, Newcastle legend believes Beckham has a key role to play in helping his country get their qualification hopes back on track.

"I don't know if David is regretting going to Los Angeles Galaxy," Shearer said. "But he's better than that standard, without a shadow of a doubt. He showed that with his performance against Brazil.

Shearer hasn't given the slightest indication he knows what the standard is in MLS. Could Beckham play in higher profile leagues? Yes he could. But, then again, so could a couple dozen other players in MLS. In fact, were it not for the draconian quotas that the EU imposes that keeps North and South Americans from playing in the big European leagues, MLS probably wouldn't be as good as it is. As such, Shearer thinks that U.S. players are in MLS because they cannot measure up, but in fact they are here because of a protectionist wall.

Look at McBride and Bocanegra at Fulham. Both of those guys were good players in MLS, but it wasn't as if they were world beaters. And yet they have played well in the EPL. In fact McBride and Bocanegra were Fulham's top two scores on the season. That points to how poor Fulham was this year, especially since Bocanegra is a defender, but it also begs the question of where Fulham would be without those MLS vets on their roster? And who pulled Fulham's chestnuts out of the fire when relegation loomed? Oh, yeah, another MLS vet in Dempsey.

Also, there seems to be a myth that the league you play in will have some sort of effect upon how one plays in an international team setting. Followers of the USMNT know more about this than any European based observer, and we can tell you it simply is not true. MLS players have excelled with the USMNT at times, and European league players have struggled. And vice versa.

Given some of the performances of English players internationally, which haven't come close to their EPL standards, you would think someone like Shearer might notice that the domestic league you play in might not matter all that much.

An intelligent observer would have noticed that years ago.