Interesting Article on Beckham. Thought this might dispell some of the opinions that he's not worthy of a place in the England team. If you're a regular "Red-top" opinion regurgitator this may make enlightening reading for you...
Source - http://www.football365.com/opinion/f365_opinion/story_185807.shtml
Somewhere in Spain, three glum Real Madrid fans were in a bar, nursing beers and picking at the remains of another dog's dinner of a season. "Who would you get rid of?" asks one. "Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Gravesen, Guti, Helguera, Cassano..." replies his friend, while the others nod in agreement, "...and Beckham." This final name is met with incredulity. "Are you mad?" exclaim the others. "We'd be totally stuffed without him!" They're not wrong.
Although it has not been widely reported in the English press, David Beckham - alongside Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos - has been one of the few shining lights in a particularly bleak season for the Galacticos. That very inconvenient truth that has been lost on the overwhelming majority of our football writers, who like nothing more than putting the boot into the England captain at any given opportunity.
In general, the ongoing debate over the footballing merits of Becks always seems to resemble the "what have the Romans ever done for us?" scene from Monty Python's Life Of Brian. Aside from scoring, taking free kicks, defending, inch perfect passing and serving up the most lethal crosses in the world, what does Beckham contribute to a game? Quite a lot actually, as proved by the cold hard fact that he was the most influential midfielder in the Spanish league this season. Officially.
With this year's Spanish campaign now over, our David has managed the remarkable achievement of topping La Liga's charts for most number of assists - judged in Spain by passes contributing to a goal scoring opportunity - where he beat his nearest challenger by a margin of fifteen. This is a fairly impressive achievement considering the competition from the likes of Ronaldinho - and also the fact that he missed nearly a quarter of the season through injury or suspension.
Although the midfielder's goal scoring record was a disappointing six in all competitions, nearly twenty-five percent of Real Madrid's goals this season directly stem from the involvement, in one form or another, of Beckham.
Instead of heralding such a feat - which is all the more laudable considering he has been playing in a lousy side for much of the season - Beckham's detractors have instead focused on the low points of his year, notably the two Champions League ties with Arsenal and the encounter with Barcelona in the Nou Camp - probably the only games featuring Becks that most hacks have bothered to watch, this season.
If you were to rate his form on these three encounters, then you would be quite right to be scathing of the midfielder's performances. In Real's away leg at Highbury, he was a peripheral figure - something mirrored in the classico in Barcelona.
However, the England captain was less than fully fit for both matches, and only played in them after failing to inform his manager, Juan Ramon Lopez Caro, of his injuries - a misjudgement that forced the furious coach to drop him for two successive games as punishment.
Instead of focusing on these lacklustre outings, Beckham should instead be judged on how he has performed for the rest of the season. With most of his sulking team-mates having long since given up on this year's campaign, Beckham has consistently displayed his best qualities on the football field for his club - passion, energy and desire.
Over recent weeks, the England captain has helped drag Real Madrid to second place with outstanding performances against both Villarreal and Sevilla - two matches where he either scored or set up four of Real's six goals. However, throughout the whole season, Beckham has been merrily whipping in crosses and launching passes that have consistently tormented opposition defences and 'keepers.
With the chaos that has gone on around him at Real Madrid, with presidents and managers passing through the Bernabeu revolving door with alarming regularity, Becks has often been the only figure holding the team together. It is this spirit that prompted La Liga legend Hristo Stoichkov to declare that the England captain was "without doubt, the best foreign player at Real Madrid" and his mathematically challenged manager, Lopez Caro, to award his midfielder twelve marks out of ten for his season's performance.
Whilst the Spanish football press have endlessly speculated on who will be leaving Real Madrid over the summer, as they start the painful process of rebuilding, not one writer has suggested that Beckham should be one of the candidates to depart. Instead, all have been happy to heap praise on the Englishman - "he has given us the wondrous gift of his right foot, as well as his passion, sacrifice and fighting spirit," enthused Ignacio Ruiz in AS.
Unlike their counterparts in Spain, it appears that most English football writers and supporters are unwilling or unable to separate Beckham the superstar from Beckham the footballer and focus on his positive traits. Strip away the showbiz parties, funny voice and tantrums and England have, in their possession, a player recently described by Arsene Wenger as "one of the best passers in the world."
Instead of debating endlessly his value to the team and the matter of his captaincy, England fans should move on and unite behind a footballer whose undeniable talents and enormous experience will be badly needed if their side are to have any kind of success in Germany this summer.
Although it has not been widely reported in the English press, David Beckham - alongside Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos - has been one of the few shining lights in a particularly bleak season for the Galacticos. That very inconvenient truth that has been lost on the overwhelming majority of our football writers, who like nothing more than putting the boot into the England captain at any given opportunity.
In general, the ongoing debate over the footballing merits of Becks always seems to resemble the "what have the Romans ever done for us?" scene from Monty Python's Life Of Brian. Aside from scoring, taking free kicks, defending, inch perfect passing and serving up the most lethal crosses in the world, what does Beckham contribute to a game? Quite a lot actually, as proved by the cold hard fact that he was the most influential midfielder in the Spanish league this season. Officially.
With this year's Spanish campaign now over, our David has managed the remarkable achievement of topping La Liga's charts for most number of assists - judged in Spain by passes contributing to a goal scoring opportunity - where he beat his nearest challenger by a margin of fifteen. This is a fairly impressive achievement considering the competition from the likes of Ronaldinho - and also the fact that he missed nearly a quarter of the season through injury or suspension.
Although the midfielder's goal scoring record was a disappointing six in all competitions, nearly twenty-five percent of Real Madrid's goals this season directly stem from the involvement, in one form or another, of Beckham.
Instead of heralding such a feat - which is all the more laudable considering he has been playing in a lousy side for much of the season - Beckham's detractors have instead focused on the low points of his year, notably the two Champions League ties with Arsenal and the encounter with Barcelona in the Nou Camp - probably the only games featuring Becks that most hacks have bothered to watch, this season.
If you were to rate his form on these three encounters, then you would be quite right to be scathing of the midfielder's performances. In Real's away leg at Highbury, he was a peripheral figure - something mirrored in the classico in Barcelona.
However, the England captain was less than fully fit for both matches, and only played in them after failing to inform his manager, Juan Ramon Lopez Caro, of his injuries - a misjudgement that forced the furious coach to drop him for two successive games as punishment.
Instead of focusing on these lacklustre outings, Beckham should instead be judged on how he has performed for the rest of the season. With most of his sulking team-mates having long since given up on this year's campaign, Beckham has consistently displayed his best qualities on the football field for his club - passion, energy and desire.
Over recent weeks, the England captain has helped drag Real Madrid to second place with outstanding performances against both Villarreal and Sevilla - two matches where he either scored or set up four of Real's six goals. However, throughout the whole season, Beckham has been merrily whipping in crosses and launching passes that have consistently tormented opposition defences and 'keepers.
With the chaos that has gone on around him at Real Madrid, with presidents and managers passing through the Bernabeu revolving door with alarming regularity, Becks has often been the only figure holding the team together. It is this spirit that prompted La Liga legend Hristo Stoichkov to declare that the England captain was "without doubt, the best foreign player at Real Madrid" and his mathematically challenged manager, Lopez Caro, to award his midfielder twelve marks out of ten for his season's performance.
Whilst the Spanish football press have endlessly speculated on who will be leaving Real Madrid over the summer, as they start the painful process of rebuilding, not one writer has suggested that Beckham should be one of the candidates to depart. Instead, all have been happy to heap praise on the Englishman - "he has given us the wondrous gift of his right foot, as well as his passion, sacrifice and fighting spirit," enthused Ignacio Ruiz in AS.
Unlike their counterparts in Spain, it appears that most English football writers and supporters are unwilling or unable to separate Beckham the superstar from Beckham the footballer and focus on his positive traits. Strip away the showbiz parties, funny voice and tantrums and England have, in their possession, a player recently described by Arsene Wenger as "one of the best passers in the world."
Instead of debating endlessly his value to the team and the matter of his captaincy, England fans should move on and unite behind a footballer whose undeniable talents and enormous experience will be badly needed if their side are to have any kind of success in Germany this summer.
Source - http://www.football365.com/opinion/f365_opinion/story_185807.shtml
), I shouldn't even be online. I'll post a proper reply later.