David Beckham

[yawa]

An aging team - no legs. I imagine that Chelsea may find a similar situation towards the end of this season and most certainly require radical surgery before next season.

I was going to say Ac Milan's average age is to old. I thought they were going to bring in a number of new faces with the sale of Kaka but that really didnt seem to happen.

They need to rebuild most of their squad and almost start from scratch.

 

[llamafarmer]

I loved the bit where he put the green and gold scarf on :lol: That's some valuable advertising!

 

[Luka Lennon]

I think his lack of pace is what stopped him from being a true world class/great player.

you don't go from manu to madrid to milan winning all the stuff he's won without being world class

at his peck he was a world class English right midfielder in every sense of the words

 

[yawa]

you don't go from manu to madrid to milan winning all the stuff he's won without being world class

at his peck he was a world class English right midfielder in every sense of the words

Personal opinion is great and thats yours and you know mine.

 

[Luka Lennon]

Personal opinion is great and thats yours and you know mine.

well yours is wrong

 

[yawa]

and thats your opinion....a forum would be shit if everyone had the same thoughts.

 

[Shanks]

LOL. Yawa's opinion isn't actually that wrong, it's just his definition of world class.

I thin Becks was world class, but not in the ring of the worlds greats.

 

[mil1lion]

Beckham was definitely a world class player. A top professional with a great deal of heart and passion for the game. He is one of the best ambassadors in the history of the sport.

I don't agree with his decision to go to America though. The past few years would have been better spent in one of the top Leagues. But he has now played for 3 of the biggest clubs in world football.

I wouldn't put him amongst the very best players. But that for me is the difference between a world class player, and an elite player. There are a lot of world class players like Beckham, but there are very few players like Zidane or Messi.

 

[dontcallme]

I think Beckham was Englands best player consistently four around 4 years. Compare that to other England players like Gerrard who hasn't been Englands best player 2 games in a row and he should at least be respected as a top player.

World class is a loose definition but in mine I'd say he was at one point.

 

[mattdefoe]

technically beckhams striking of a ball is pure world class, he hits it so truely and sweet. Want to master crossimg,long balls short balls and perfection watch him.

 

[Bronno]

:lol: I don't even know why I want to wade into this discussion, but 'world class' is surely when someone is in the top two or three players in the world who play in their position. Someone who is capable of playing for a hypothetical 'World XI', who would get into the squad.

'Premiership class' is when someone has the ability to play in the Premiership, and 'International class' when they are capable of playing at that standard.

Beckham at his best was most definately 'world class'. But is probably some way down a 'greatest players of all time' list.

Sorry for that nonsense.

 

[BringBack_leGin]

Beckham was a very good footballer once upon a time but I never felt he was half as good as hyped up to be. I don't think he had the Hoddlesque passing which many believed he did have, I don't think he ever scored enough goals for a 'world class' attack minded midfielder and my own personal opinion is that a wide midfielder should be a good dribbler, and that has nothing to do with pace because many wide midfielders have been great dribblers without having exceptional pace.

Beckham was a very good player, and would have come in handy at Spurs because of Andertons injuries, but I've never felt he was anywhere near as good as his hype. He was very fortunate to play for Manchester United at a time when they were unstoppable, and he was a golden haired pretty boy who scored a goal from the half way line very early on. All of this fed his media machine and helped him to repute beyond what his ability deserved.

 

[al_pacino]

Beckams image did help him gain recognition way beyond his football ability but he certainly wasn't fortunate to play for Man U when they were unstoppable, he was a big part of that. He may not have had the pace but with the space an attacking RB gave him he was more than capable of setting up goals and creating plenty of other chances.

 

[Coyboy]

Beckham was a very good footballer once upon a time but I never felt he was half as good as hyped up to be. I don't think he had the Hoddlesque passing which many believed he did have, I don't think he ever scored enough goals for a 'world class' attack minded midfielder and my own personal opinion is that a wide midfielder should be a good dribbler, and that has nothing to do with pace because many wide midfielders have been great dribblers without having exceptional pace.

Beckham was a very good player, and would have come in handy at Spurs because of Andertons injuries, but I've never felt he was anywhere near as good as his hype. He was very fortunate to play for Manchester United at a time when they were unstoppable, and he was a golden haired pretty boy who scored a goal from the half way line very early on. All of this fed his media machine and helped him to repute beyond what his ability deserved.

So good he said it twice.

Hype doesn't really matter. He most certainly would have come in 'handy' (nice understatement as an antidote to hype) whether Anderton
was fit or not.

 

[BringBack_leGin]

So good he said it twice.

Hype doesn't really matter. He most certainly would have come in 'handy' (nice understatement as an antidote to hype) whether Anderton
was fit or not.

I've always maintained, and I always will, that Anderton, unfortunate with injuries though he was, was a superior footballer.

But hey, I also prefer King to Ferdinand so I guess I can be accused of have Spurs tinted glasses on.

Beckham was on of the best players in the league for a few years. He was brilliant in their treble year and he had a couple more very good years before he left Utd. However, I never felt he was World Class, I never felt he was the best right midfielder in the world and I always felt that, had he been the exact same player but with Martin Keown face, Dawn French as his wife and playing for Southampton, he would not have received a tenth of the adulation that came his way.

 

[al_pacino]

I

Beckham was on of the best players in the league for a few years. He was brilliant in their treble year and he had a couple more very good years before he left Utd. However, I never felt he was World Class, I never felt he was the best right midfielder in the world and I always felt that, had he been the exact same player but with Martin Keown face, Dawn French as his wife and playing for Southampton, he would not have received a tenth of the adulation that came his way.

He wasn't playing for Southampton though, he was playing for one of the best teams in the world over a long period. Fergie wasn't picking him for his looks.

 

[BringBack_leGin]

He wasn't playing for Southampton though, he was playing for one of the best teams in the world over a long period. Fergie wasn't picking him for his looks.

Did I say that? No. Did I imply that? No. Could any logical and reasonable person infer that from what I said? No.

Seeing as you ignore the fact that I actually quite happily state that Beckham was a very good player, one of the best for a while and had at least one brilliant season, I can't really take you too seriously. Coyboy, while disagreeing with me, actually makes valid points. You just choose to infer what is not there for the sake of a rant.

I repeat, I don't think Beckhams ability or contribution justified the level of adulation he has received and in fact still does. I never said Fergie picked him based on anything other than footballing ability, I just said that being a pretty boy with a fit wife while playing for the biggest club in the country meant that the media creamed over him far more than he deserved, and as a result, so did the fans.

I'll compare him to someone who was ugly as sin and did play for Southampton, and to my knowledge was without a pop star wife. Matthew Le Tissier. Slightly different player, but like Beckham, a creative midfielder of sorts. He made goals just as easily as Beckham, displayed outstanding skill and touch which Beckham can only dream of, and was a far better goalscorer than Beckham, but he never received even a fraction of the recognition afforded to Beckham.

 

[mattstev2000]

Totally agree with BBLG - Beckham was good, sometimes great (primarily with a dead ball), but very much over-hyped.

 

[al_pacino]

Did I say that? No. Did I imply that? No. Could any logical and reasonable person infer that from what I said? No.

Seeing as you ignore the fact that I actually quite happily state that Beckham was a very good player, one of the best for a while and had at least one brilliant season, I can't really take you too seriously. Coyboy, while disagreeing with me, actually makes valid points. You just choose to infer what is not there for the sake of a rant.

I repeat, I don't think Beckhams ability or contribution justified the level of adulation he has received and in fact still does. I never said Fergie picked him based on anything other than footballing ability, I just said that being a pretty boy with a fit wife while playing for the biggest club in the country meant that the media creamed over him far more than he deserved, and as a result, so did the fans.

I'll compare him to someone who was ugly as sin and did play for Southampton, and to my knowledge was without a pop star wife. Matthew Le Tissier. Slightly different player, but like Beckham, a creative midfielder of sorts. He made goals just as easily as Beckham, displayed outstanding skill and touch which Beckham can only dream of, and was a far better goalscorer than Beckham, but he never received even a fraction of the recognition afforded to Beckham.

Firstly it was 29 words that were in no way meant to be a rant, i think maybe you were reading a bit too much into it. I was merely pointing out the fact that it's really hard to seperate fame generated on pitch and off pitch. You have to be a good player to get the adulation. Of course he wouldn't have the fame if he played for a much lower rated team but he was always beyond that.

As my previous post in this thread states (this was in reply to your post).

Beckams image did help him gain recognition way beyond his football ability but he certainly wasn't fortunate to play for Man U when they were unstoppable, he was a big part of that. He may not have had the pace but with the space an attacking RB gave him he was more than capable of setting up goals and creating plenty of other chances.

I say in that post way beyond his football ability because for a time(and maybe still) he was one of the most famous people on the planet, way beyond what any footballer had previously.

As for Le Tissier, if he was playing now with the media attention the game gets which he only got at the arse end of his career his reputation would be far higher. He could also have done with a bit of Beckhams determination and drive, if Beckham was in his position he wouldn't have stayed his whole career at Southampton, when the chance of a big move arrived he would've taken it.

 

[Bill_Oddie]

BBLG, I think your point is fair enough. But it's noticeable that your analysis doesn't cover his post-United years.

Written off by England - recovered and then some
Written off by Capello/Madrid - made them look silly and rose to be their most crucial player
Written off in the US - came back and was a major driving factor in his team reaching the 'Grand Final Shootout SuperDraw' (or whatever)
Now at Milan - Doing not bad for an old bloke

Time and again he has disproved the doubters. To look at, he doesn't seem to be worthy of the very highest accolades but his career speaks for itself, especially when compared to other comparable icons such as George Best, Fat Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, etc.