Galaxy to play Philadelphia Union without Beckham: A fan’s take

Posted Thursday, May 12, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

After playing his best game of the season in the 1-1 draw against the New York Red Bulls, David Beckham did not travel to play the Philadelphia Union on May 11. As much as I'd like to see Beckham on the pitch for our side in the rematch with the Union, it is probably better that he gets some rest.

Galaxy fans should keep in mind that Beckham, who recently turned 36, has played 789 minutes this season. After the match against the Union, the Galaxy have to come right back here to Los Angeles to play Sporting Kansas City on May 14. Beckham has only missed one game during the 2011 season when he was suspended against the Chicago Fire for having accumulated too many yellow cards. The Galaxy won the road match 2-1 without Beckham, Juninho or Landon Donovan.

The Galaxy will have the captain Landon Donovan for the Philadelphia match. Donovan has indicated that not having Beckham, who leads the team with five assists, will be disappointing but not that much of a problem. No matter who is on the pitch, the offensive game plan is the same for Donovan, namely to get into dangerous areas of the field and take some chances at goal. Luckily for us Galaxy fans, Donovan has scored all four of his goals this season in the last three matches (and he admittedly could have scored even more goals in that span).

The Galaxy defeated the Union 1-0 at the Home Depot Center on April 2. In that match, Beckham used a free kick to set up the game-winning goal by Leonardo, who is now out for the season with a knee injury. The Galaxy dominated the possession in that match and were never threatened by the Union offense.

Despite not doing anything in the first match, former Galaxy player and current Union striker Carlos Ruiz said the Galaxy "aren't good like everyone thinks." I think that the only advantage that the Union will have is that they haven't played since May 6.

As long as the Galaxy don't start slow, they should walk away with a full three points.