Beckham still has a lot of work to do to make the 2010 World Cup
Last night’s Manchester United victory in the San Siro proved several things that many in the football world already knew.
Wayne Rooney is world-class and beginning to make more and more people just that little bit more confident of England’s chances of lifting the World Cup.
United are the absolute kings of pulling results out of the bag when they seem either dead and buried or up against it, ready to capitulate at any moment.
Alex Ferguson has not totally mellowed with age and is even prepared to whip out the old hairdryer before he gets to the changing rooms.
David Beckham is a long way away from being ready for a World Cup.
Judging an England legend on 76 minutes of football may seem a little harsh, but this analysis is based on more than just last night’s performance-or lack of it. Beckham struggling in a game against one of Europe’s top teams should hardly be enough to stop him going to South Africa but the problem is a little deeper than just that. United were defensively poor for long periods of the game last night, especially in the first half and yet Beckham still found it hard to make any sort of impact. This could be put down to the fact that the occasion of finally playing against his former club and the one he stills holds closest to his heart got the better of him. If that’s the case then while not being entirely satisfactory it is still understandable, after all Beckham is an emotional man who wears his heart on his sleeve and has always maintained his deep affection for United. Also the pace of a Champion’s League game against English opposition may just have been a step up that he wasn’t quite prepared for. But last night’s game was merely an extension of the lack of real impression Beckham has made since his move back to Milan from LA Galaxy last month. On his first game, a 5-2 thrashing of Genoa, Beckham played well and was applauded by the home fans when he was substituted after 75 minutes. Since then however his form has been patchy at best and he has found himself in and out of the Milan side.
One of the reasons Beckham is still in a good position to go to South Africa is because of his relationship with Fabio Capello. Having worked together at Real Madrid where Beckham helped the Italian guide the team to a La Liga triumph, he is the only player in the England squad to know the manager from club football. Beckham is also one of the few-if any- elder statesman of the England team, a man who has always been something of an ambassador for his country ever since he redeemed his international reputation in 2002. However there are two factors which may just throw a spanner in the works when it comes to Beckham’s attempt at a fourth World Cup.
As Capello has shown with John Terry he is not afraid to make big decisions if he feels it’s right for the team. As Real Madrid manager he dropped Beckham at first due to his signing an agreement with LA Galaxy and then re-instated him when he realised the team were much worse without him.
The second factor Beckham will have to look out for is the form of the recently returned from- yet another -injury Theo Walcott and also Shaun Wright-Phillips. The reason Aaron Lennon doesn’t get a mention is simple; he has to go to the World Cup if he’s fit, more so than David Beckham. The impact he has made at Tottenham this season and the amount they’ve struggled since he’s been injured must surely make him a certainty for the plane to South Africa. If Lennon is fit come June then Walcott and Wright-Phillips would seem the only two other real contenders for being his understudy. If Walcott shows any good form, then he could become a must for Capello’s squad as the England boss may remember a certain night in Croatia when the former World Cup mascot helped make England’s World Cup qualification all that more assured.
Wright-Phillips on the other hand would have a lot more to do to convince Capello he is truly world class but his six goals this season-plus one in an England shirt- mean he is not to be dismissed. If Wright-Phillips can maintain consistent form for City then he may well give Capello a real headache.
Of course there’s always the chance that Capello may well take Beckham along with two right wingers, after all, he could always figure in a central midfield role. But with Lampard, Gerrard, Carrick, Barry, Milner and Jenas all competing for central midfield it may prove to be more difficult than ousting one of the right wide-men for Beckham.
There is of course more to it than just Beckham’s footballing ability, after all he’s usually the focal point of the national side, regardless of whoever’s captain and how gifted Rooney is. This is generally looked upon as a good thing, taking much of the media pressure and attention off some of the younger players and enabling them to get on with the tasks on the pitch. However if Capello decides that Beckham’s form for Milan is not up to scratch then being ‘Goldenballs’ may not truly convince the decidedly unsentimental Italian he is really needed. Capello may even buy into the Alex Ferguson mentality that the tattooed one, is contributing to more of a ‘circus’ than is actually helping, although that seems unlikely. Beckham has always been more of an inspirational figure for his level of performance and his capacity to absorb the limelight than for any Dunkirk-spirit- type-rallying ability, if he was deemed to have lost much of that level of performance then being a fan’s favourite and the most media savvy English player there is, may not be enough to book him his place in English World cup history.
Beckham may well find that the next few months of his career turn out to be the most important. Let’s just hope that if he does make the World Cup squad he can finally prove his worth at a major tournament and show us there’s much more to David Beckham than just his past achievements.
Read more of Justin Mottershead work at his blog ‘Name is on the Trophy’
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How is Beckham going to “prove his worth” going to the world cup as a squad player when he was so inept when, and i cringe as i write this, as “captain”?
Your point on Madrid is absurd and youve just swallowed what youve been fed by beckhams pr and the beckham obsessed brit media. He didnt “lead” Madrid to anything, he wasnt good enough to get in their side despite being their higest rewarded individual and when he got in late season, Madrid had ALREADY recovered their form. Of Van Nistelrooys 25 league winning goals that season, Beckham assisted precisely 0, he was way , way behind the likes of Robhino in terms of relevance.
Beckham must surely now go into history as the most farcically and pointlessly overhyped and overtalked about non-entity since the games birth. Whats worse is he actually BELIEVES his own hype, i mean hje seriously considers himself to be one of footballs “greats”. I dont know which is more pathetic, Beckham himself seeing himself as a “key player” for england or his clueless and totally ignorant fanbase who have no knowledge of our game and only understand the power of celebrity over the power of sporting truth.
Beckham FAILED to impact anhy of his 5 tournaments. He FAILED to improve Madrid who were brilliant before he arrived and destroyed them. United had feard going to Milan and never won until the naff Beckham gets put in a team to face them. Quelle surprise that this is the match they create history. Thanks “becks”. What a fraud, what a clown, what a moronic waste of hot air.
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what a load of crap. over 100 caps, lots of goals and assists for England one of the best passers of the ball england’s had since glen hoddle. still has the fitness and quality to get england to the world cup final.
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I’ve always thought Beckham’s ability has been overplayed and to call him an England legend i find a bit far, baring the odd important and iconic goal he’s largely failed to deliver when it’s mattered.
But he still has to go to the world cup, last night he was poor but it says something about the British media that it’s so reactionary that one subdued performance and his whole place is brought into question again. He’s experienced and as a cameo player he offers a good alternative to what we’ve got, i think his days as a starter are over but as a squad player he’s useful.
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tommo, youre hilarious, complete proof that those who worship beckham have not the first scintilla of knowledge on our game. Beckham, hopelessly indulged by eriksson, was given penalty duties for years, he took every free-kick around the box and was a so-called attacking midfielder with a 2good long range shot” and his tally from 115 caps? 17 pitiful goals, less than 1 every 67 games. When you think of the garbage england face on alot of occassions, the andorras, the estonias, that is an appalling record.
Passes? just like last night, it wasnt beckham providing the through balls and the openings. Beckham did sod all yet again against a big team. For england, he was embarassingly impotent against quality, never supplying this mythical barrage of “crosses” or “passes”. Id LOVE for a beckham celebrity-worshipper to give me even 5 examples over his 115 cap empty career where he actually delivered a ball from open play onto our strikers heads or put in a cutting through ball that opened up a majors team defences. There arent any.
Beckham has the “quality to get england to the world cup final”. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA. The ultimate JOKE. 5 tournaments, 3 world cups, exposed as a total lightweight on EVERY occassion, pitifully inept as soon as we played a heavyweight or even mediumweight nation, ended his career sobbing his eyes like the little boy lost in a mans world he so patently is.
Europe feard Madrid before Beckham arrived and then this lightweight naff “celebrity player” turned them into European clowns, feard by no-one that they are still attempting to recover from. Manchester United feard Milan at the San Siro before Milan offered up “becks” to face them, then United get their first ever win in the fixture. The lesson is so obvious. Beckham is the single most comically overated,overtalked about and overhyped non-entity in our sports history bar none. End this circus acts career now, put the man-child out his misery and let england progress with genuine world level talent like Rooney without the cancerous neck-chain of the Beckham PR falsehoods. Get this fraud OUT my national squad.
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To say Beckham ruined Real Madrid seems a bit much really…the Galactico’s policy of which he was one of was the main reason for their relative slump and poor trophy haul during his time there, losing the balance of the squad and selling centre mids of the quality of Makelele and Flavio Conceciao because they weren’t big name players was there main downfall, not Beckham.
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Rob has cleary been at the disco biscuits tonight…Beckham’s importance to not just Man united but England is so underplayed it’s farcical. The anti-hype reactionary brigade are a sad bunch, I even know scousers who think the Beckham bashing crew are a joke…Directly responsible for 70% off all Englands goals in Euro 2004 qualifying, single handedly dragging us to WC 2002 and creating or scoring 3 of the 6 goals scored in 2006 is pretty good, justifiable captain material if you ask me
Regardless though, Beckham should not start in S.A. But I don’t think anyone thinks he should be. He’s an automated set piece and crossing machine, and should, and will, be used in S.A. when we’re loosing. The same approach Scolari used to Figo in 2004. The old guard are still valuable if their talents and fitness can be utilised and accomodated for properly.
Becks, Lennon and Walcott will all go to the WC in my opinion, ,and only Lennon will have displayed enough form to justify it. And yet the justification for Becks will be his still very tangible usefulness to the team
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you know youre dealing with a cretin when they start using percentages. Really? The SOLE set-play, corner taker, penalty taker was “statistically” involed in many of a poor england teams goals? WOW, Good fact man! Theres that comedy line again about beckham “single handedly” getting england to the world cup in 2002. Absolutely pal, Owens hat-trick in Germany was irrlevant as was Sheringham scoring one and winning the last minute free-kick in the greek game. It was all about beckham, again, the only player who could have scored 1 of his 8 free-kick attempts that day as no other player ever got a look in. Lets labour that point. The greece game, we are told by the braindead beckhamites, was Beckhams “great” performance from 115 chances across 15 years. Ive watched that match on DVD. Lets list some facts. Beckham provided NO threat from 90 minutesn of open play. Beckham provided NO service which was meant to be his JOB, from 90 minutes of play yet, after scampering around a bit like a headless chicken in a child in playground ,manner for 15 minutes at the end, he finally gets one of his endless free-kick attempts on target. Jesus Age Christ, the mans had 5 tournaments and 115 caps and the best he has is a goal in a qualifier 4 tournamnets back, on his own domestic pitch, about 10 years ago. I dont know whether to laugh or cry.
2006 you want to talk about now? Ok then we shall. Yes, the MIGHTY beckham got a couple of odd “assists” as the sole set play taker against non league standard garbage like Paraguay and Trinidad AND! Tobago. WOW, what A genius! Typically, predictably, the “worlds most famous footballer” then went missing and was by far our weakest link and throughly impotent v both Sweden and then Portugal, the 2 proper sides we faced.
You know its funny, i remember many observers suggesting before Euro2004 that Beckham was in danger of being remembered as being famous for simply being famous. After the utter hilarity of his failures at euro2004 and then world cup 2006 not to mention his failure to impact Madrid for the better or his complete inability to affect games for Milan against then likes of Imter and United, id venture to suggest that charge has been proving beyond any possible resonable doubt. Case closed m`lud.
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