DocMcCoy"Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
I'll agree with the deadball and crossing skills.
I'm trying to figure out which position he would have been better utilized in, but I can't come up with anything. Attacking defensive wing is out because he has no stamina (squash the Beckenbauer comparisons then), half-back wing is absolutely out of the question (one of the most atrocious passers I've seen), forward maybe but he's not a pure scorer... I just don't know....
What's your take? I'm left baffled how this guy's star shot so highly.
Well, he's that rare breed of player who can fire off a 40-yard cross-field ball that drops at just the right spot for a late-arriving attacker to run on to. Not exactly commonplace skills in the English game. It didn't hurt that, in his full debut for Man United, he scored against the despicable Wimbledon with an outrageous free-kick from his own half. He was also part of the best and most successful United side for decades, a side that played so well as a team that the individual shortcomings of many of their players were often overlooked. I remember an England/Scotland game at Wembley, around '97 where he worked his arse off all night, and did the job of about three players - making tackles, closing players down, chasing back 30 yards to win lost balls. It was a fucking revelation. Much of the celebrity shit came later, but he was a decent player before and after he became a gossip column perennial.
DocMcCoy"Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
Who do you reckon is more famous? Beckham, Jordan or U2???
Hahaha! Tough call - I'd say U2, simply because they've been around longest, and because music will often reach people who aren't interested in sport. "Brand visibility" is another matter entirely.
Not surprisingly, most of my exposure to Becks was on the international stage, where I was routinely left wondering why this guy was the second coming.
DocMcCoy"Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,917 Posts
My memory's failing me - it wasn't a free kick against Wimbledon...
What's your point? If it weren't for Al Gore...you and the rest of these nerds wouldn't get to pop off on the internet.
Fixed.
Back on topic, as Doc rightly points out, Beckham has always given his all on the pitch, something that's generally overlooked by the media. This is at least partly is own fault as when you become a brand in your own right you also open yourself up to a wider range of personal attacks and criticism.
The man is a great dead ball specialist and passer of the ball. His right position would be as a playmaker in the middle of the pitch - always remember watching Figo in his later years and he'd never bother running back to defend corners, he knew he was in the team to play attacking football so that's what he did.
The man is a great dead ball specialist and passer of the ball. His right position would be as a playmaker in the middle of the pitch
This is true, except that I don't think Beckham has the 'brain' of a playmaker, so can't control the game to the extent that the position demands. That may sound ludicrous in the face of certain exceptions like that famous game against Greece, when he certainly did bend the game to his will, but essentially because he can ping 60 yard balls, he does it too often, and renders the team predictable...
For all the talk of our midfield riches, we don't really have that 'classic' midfield playmaker. Stevie G can be a force of nature (still can't believe that goal in the Cup final) but isn't the playmaker Xavi Alonso is, Lamps isn't either, although at his best he is more than the goal machine he's often painted to be. Of course, we did have a gem of a midfield playmaker, but we stuck him out on the left - come back Scholesy!
The man is a great dead ball specialist and passer of the ball. His right position would be as a playmaker in the middle of the pitch
This is true, except that I don't think Beckham has the 'brain' of a playmaker, so can't control the game to the extent that the position demands. That may sound ludicrous in the face of certain exceptions like that famous game against Greece, when he certainly did bend the game to his will, but essentially because he can ping 60 yard balls, he does it too often, and renders the team predictable...
For all the talk of our midfield riches, we don't really have that 'classic' midfield playmaker. Stevie G can be a force of nature (still can't believe that goal in the Cup final) but isn't the playmaker Xavi Alonso is, Lamps isn't either, although at his best he is more than the goal machine he's often painted to be. Of course, we did have a gem of a midfield playmaker, but we stuck him out on the left - come back Scholesy!
Yeah can't really argue with any of that - as with so many english players who can pass the ball, he has a tendency to go for the hollywood ball over the intelligent pass way too often. He's also the kind of player that, to have a proper effect, needs a team built round him and, unfotunately, he's just not a good enough all round player to warrant that.
The plan at the moment seems to turn Rooney into that much dreamed about attacking midfielder (what Scholes should have been for England) but whether this works in the long run is extremely far from certain.
Comments
Well, he's that rare breed of player who can fire off a 40-yard cross-field ball that drops at just the right spot for a late-arriving attacker to run on to. Not exactly commonplace skills in the English game. It didn't hurt that, in his full debut for Man United, he scored against the despicable Wimbledon with an outrageous free-kick from his own half. He was also part of the best and most successful United side for decades, a side that played so well as a team that the individual shortcomings of many of their players were often overlooked. I remember an England/Scotland game at Wembley, around '97 where he worked his arse off all night, and did the job of about three players - making tackles, closing players down, chasing back 30 yards to win lost balls. It was a fucking revelation. Much of the celebrity shit came later, but he was a decent player before and after he became a gossip column perennial.
Hahaha! Tough call - I'd say U2, simply because they've been around longest, and because music will often reach people who aren't interested in sport. "Brand visibility" is another matter entirely.
Not surprisingly, most of my exposure to Becks was on the international stage, where I was routinely left wondering why this guy was the second coming.
Ronald Waterreus and Van de Bergh going to the New York Red Bulls !
Edgar Davids and FC Dallas .
Give me an exmaple of a sport you don't think is ghey.
You sound American.
He's going to have trouble getting used to the age of consent over here.
http://i14.tinypic.com/4fw495x.jpg
NSFW - ish.
That's been flying around today.
Fixed.
Back on topic, as Doc rightly points out, Beckham has always given his all on the pitch, something that's generally overlooked by the media. This is at least partly is own fault as when you become a brand in your own right you also open yourself up to a wider range of personal attacks and criticism.
The man is a great dead ball specialist and passer of the ball. His right position would be as a playmaker in the middle of the pitch - always remember watching Figo in his later years and he'd never bother running back to defend corners, he knew he was in the team to play attacking football so that's what he did.
BAN
Step back pansy boy.
This is true, except that I don't think Beckham has the 'brain' of a playmaker, so can't control the game to the extent that the position demands. That may sound ludicrous in the face of certain exceptions like that famous game against Greece, when he certainly did bend the game to his will, but essentially because he can ping 60 yard balls, he does it too often, and renders the team predictable...
For all the talk of our midfield riches, we don't really have that 'classic' midfield playmaker. Stevie G can be a force of nature (still can't believe that goal in the Cup final) but isn't the playmaker Xavi Alonso is, Lamps isn't either, although at his best he is more than the goal machine he's often painted to be. Of course, we did have a gem of a midfield playmaker, but we stuck him out on the left - come back Scholesy!
Yeah can't really argue with any of that - as with so many english players who can pass the ball, he has a tendency to go for the hollywood ball over the intelligent pass way too often. He's also the kind of player that, to have a proper effect, needs a team built round him and, unfotunately, he's just not a good enough all round player to warrant that.
The plan at the moment seems to turn Rooney into that much dreamed about attacking midfielder (what Scholes should have been for England) but whether this works in the long run is extremely far from certain.