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David Beckham News pre 2006

9 October 2005: Referee gets its badly wrong as Beckham sees red

I believe the record books will show that David Beckham was the first English player to have been sent off twice playing for his country.

If so, they do not tell the whole story - as yesterday's sending off for two bookable offences was grossly unfair.

Beckham had already suffered the same fate from this Spanish referee whilst playing for Real Madrid in The Spanish Cup in the 2003/04 season.

7 September 2005: England lose to Northern Ireland. What now?

Extract:

Many pundits had quibbled that the system used suited David Beckham but not the team. And, in a related point, The Racing Post this morning said:

"The midfield still remains a problem and until Eriksson drops at least one of David Beckham, Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard, England won't lift the World Cup."

My own take is somewhat different....

Read the full story

15 July 2005: David Beckham's father to release David Beckham: My Son

Ted Beckham's account of David's life, together with 300 exclusive Beckham family photos is due out in October.

There is already press speculation that David will not welcome his father's outpourings. Ashling O'Connor in The Times today writes that the book: "promises previously untold stories about the England captain."

19 May 2005: David Beckham reaffirms his desire to stay at Real Madrid

It seems that not a month goes by without David Beckham confirming his desire to stay at Real Madrid and May 2005 has proved no different.

Becks told Spanish radio station Cadena Cope that he wants "to end my playing days here."

When we aren't hearing of Beckham's hairstyle, wealth, or alleged indiscretions, we are hearing how much Beckham wants to stay at Real Madrid.

Meanwhile it looks like David Beckham will miss England's opening game on their USA tour. Beckham and Michael Owen are almost certain not to be released by Real Madrid to play in Chicago on May 28.

With David Beckham following up his three-line appearance in the film 'Goal!', about a boy from LA who signs for Newcastle United; with a leading part in a docu-drama about Real Madrid we stick by our predictions: in a nutshell that Beckham will perform well on the pitch until the next world cup, after which the Beckhams will move to L.A.

26 April 2005: David Beckham hits the headlines again

A judge dismissed the Beckhams' last ditch attempt to stop a News of the World story featuring revelations from the couple’s former nanny, Abbie Gibson.

Obviously sales of the News of the World will not be dampened by the seven page scoop, in spite of the fact that a Guardian/ICM opinion poll a year ago on the subject of David Beckham's alleged extra-marital relations, showed the public to be overwhelmingly in favour of legislation to protect the privacy of the Beckhams.

It was only a month ago that the British press were reporting the intrusion of Spanish photographers and speculating that Beckham would return to the UK.

In the light of this weekend's events, the bold prediction, we outlined in last month's news item, that Beckham will eventually retire to L.A. looks even more likely.

25 March 2005: David Beckham - No news is good news

Or to put it another way: when is news, not news? Answer: when it's speculation. David Beckham accumulated more press attention than anybody else in the UK media last year, and this week epitomises the reason why.

A couple of days ago all the UK newspapers were reporting that David Beckham was considering his future in Spain amid growing concerns over his children's security, after Spanish photographers had, reportedly, 'crossed the line' by taking pictures of his two eldest sons, Brooklyn and Romeo, while playing at school.

Yet today, the British media is full of headlines like 'Beckham on mission to complete his task at Real' (the Times) and copy like 'David Beckham is likely to start next season as a Real Madrid player' (The Telegraph).

The fact is that nobody has a clue what Beckham's plans are. His current contract does not expire until 2007, four years from his transfer in June 2003 from Manchester United.

Whenever there is an England international coming up there is always some theme that pops up from nowhere for the press to report about David Beckham.

The irony is how short a time span these media reports have. I have mentioned elsewhere how one minute Beckham is a villain, and the next a hero. What's happened after all the furore involving his tackle on Ben Thatcher? Nothing. It has faded from our minds. And Rebecca Loos is but a distant memory (if you exclude her strange antics on The Farm).

So, in the spirit of speculation rather than news, I will add my two pennies. I predict that after the next world cup, the Beckhams will go to live in L.A.

I have absolutely no basis for this, except that for some reason David Beckham has chosen to set up his second football academy there, and that L.A. provides showbiz opportunities when Beckham's playing days are over, and that there are greater possibilities of privacy (but still good shopping) over there.

So there you have it. I admit it's probably nonsense, but I challenge anyone to say that it's less reliable a prediction than any of the other more mainstream speculation dressed as news.

14 March 2005: David Beckham Academy

Following in the footsteps of Manchester United legend, Bobby Charlton, David Beckham has decided to establish his own academy. The David Beckham Academy is part of the planned redevelopment of the Millennium Dome site.

Beckham said:

"The Bobby Charlton Soccer School was so important for me because it gave me an opportunity to have fun and learn as a young kid."

Back in December 2004, David Beckham had signalled his intentions when he told Canal Plus:

"I am not interested in being a coach but I would like to have football schools ...I have wanted to do that since I went to the Bobby Charlton school. I'm going to open one in London and one in LA."

Meanwhile all is not so well at Real Madrid after their exit from the Champions League. A Spanish tabloid found that 20% of readers polled wanted Beckham to be the first star to leave Real Madrid.

5 March 2005: Bumper Year for David Beckham

There were a few highlights from David Beckham's interview with Real Madrid TV this week.

Firstly, and I find least interestingly, he has confirmed his intention to stay with Real Madrid until he retires from football. Although this was widely reported, I have to ask: "What would you expect him to say?"

But some of his other comments were more significant. Beckham told Real Madrid TV:

"I used to have 11 different sponsors, now I have five major sponsors ...Maybe last year I had too much, but now I have friends working with me and they have cut down what I do. Nothing comes between me and my football."

In hindsight it seems remarkable that a man with so many pulls on his time, having (last year) two children, and being England captain, could perform to his best on the football pitch.

Beckham also commented on how the arrival of new boss Wanderley Luxemburgo has given him improved confidence, and the team a better spirit. So that too is promissing for the year to come.

But the signs that David Beckham is set to have a bumper year are more subtle.

Keith Elliot, an expert on golf betting and sports betting generally, has two interesting theories about psychological factors affecting performance.

Firstly, there is the 'liberation' of arriving at 30 years of age, which Beckham does this year. Elliot provides numerous examples of golfers whose game improves when they enter a new decade, leading them to have ' a feeling of freshness, remewal and challenge', whereas being 29 or 39 can be very unsettling.

The other consideration is what Elliot calls the 'nappy factor'. Elliot applies his theory to the birth of a first child. Here there are sufficient examples to suggest that it more than a coincidence and include the improved form of: Paul Ince, Boris Becker, Nick Price, Greg Norman, and Phil Mickelson.

Of course, Cruz is Beckham's third child not his first, but the 'greater sense of pride and responsibility' that comes from one's first child can also be revitalised by one's third.

I believe we are about to see the renaissance of David Beckham.

20 February 2005 - Beckham's Hat Trick

Victoria and David Beckham have a third son: Cruz Beckham was born today.

Apparently, Cruz is a common surname in Spain and South America, but quite an unusual first name.

Cruz means 'cross' in Spanish. Bookmakers William Hill have offered odds of 100/1 that Cruz Beckham will play for England. They ought to take care. We know he's got the Beckham 'cross' and surely it's not long before he should start dribbling?

24 December 2004 - Beckham Tops Fame Poll

2004 may not have been the best for David Beckham on and off the pitch, but he proved the clear winner in the UK fame stakes.

The BBC's brilliant Celebdaq found that David Beckham was an outstanding winner in terms of UK media attention for the year.

Analysing press coverage for hundreds of celebrities in terms of inches, Celebdaq treats celebs as stocks with dividends based on the amount of space devoted to each celeb / stock; and by far the biggest coverage for 2004 went to David Beckham with a massive 758,160 inches.

What makes this all the more outstanding was that in second place, well behind David was... Victoria Beckham with 544,296 inches!

The rest of the top 10 were:

13 October 2004 - Beckham's single-track mind

The media have their knives out for David Beckham, after he admitted fouling Ben Thatcher to get a booking, thus wiping his slate clean and only missing a game, that he knew that he would not be able to play in anyway because of his rib injury.

I have been pondering on where I stand on this issue. George Orwell's Animal Farm came up with that great edict "All animals are equal but some are more equal than others." And that's how it appears to be with fouls.

In the back of my mind, I seem to recall Frannie Lee scoring for England after a handball and nobody slamming him then. I have also seen England players dive, appeal for corners and throw-ins that they must have known weren't theirs.

Why is that Beckham gets slammed, because he saw a loophole in the rules? Partly, of course, because he came clean. It is reminiscent of Roy Keane, who in his autobiography admitted targeting Alfie Haaland.

In the revised issue of his book, 'Keane' the Manchester United man says:

"I knew the universal outrage generated by the media after the book was serialized, the three-man FA disciplinary committee would feel that they had to respond ..."

Indeed it will be interesting to see how the FA respond to Beckham's actions. It would be refreshing if they decided to stand by the player.

What I find amazing is the single-mindedness of Beckham. How can a man be so 'in control' as to deliberately foul someone with the right degree of intensity to get himself booked.

Is it just possible that he didn't. I know nothing of injuries, but commentators claimed, at the time, that one could play with the ribs strapped up. I don't know whether this is rubbish or not. But, if true, would we not be seeing Beckham slammed for missing the game for a second yellow card.

The media attacked Beckham for his hot-headedness with the first booking. And now they are attacking him for his cool-headedness over the second.

I posit that Beckham was post-rationalising with his explanation. My belief, and I must admit to be alone in this, is that Becks had no intention of getting another yellow card.

And there's another question, but another one that I have no knowledge about: What is the state of relationship between Beckham and Giggs. There seemed to be a bit of niggle there ...

9 October 2004 - Beckham stupendous, but gets booked

I write this minutes after David Beckham scored in the World Cup qualifier against Wales, because I want to record for posterity Motty's commentary:

"Stupendous goal - on the ground where he played some scintillating football for Manchester United"

Unfortunately Becks then got booked and misses England's next qualifyer.

7 October 2004 - David Beckham v. Vinnie Jones

Ask a silly question, you get a silly answer. Good Housekeeping polled 500 teenage boys from Britain asking them to choose their top role model.

Any popularity poll that features Stephen Hawking and Vinnie Jones in the same breath must raise eyebrows.

Whilst Becks ranked third and Jonny Wilkinson came first, Hawking took second place and Vinnie Jones secured sixth spot.

I'm afraid I can't go along with Lindsay Nicholson, editor-in-chief of Good Housekeeping, who said: "The list demonstrates that young boys really value talent and excellence, be it in sport, music, writing or acting... it certainly casts doubt over popular opinions that teenage boys are doing little more than play violent computer games and that this age-group is slipping further into social decline."

I do not know who else was listed in the 100 names in the survey but I would hazard a guess that whatever the results, Nicholson would have arrived at the same erroneous conclusion.

In fact, hardman Vinnie Jones's high ranking seems to contradict Nicholson's claim.

I can understand Hawking's ranking because he probably profitted from not having a split vote. And also it's quite credible that amongst today's teenagers there are still quite a number of the 'goody two shoes' of the sort I remember from my youth.

At the risk of patronising the nation's youth, the rating of Wilkinson is to be applauded. He is a hero to man and boy. And although some reports focus on how Wilkinson is ranked higher than Becks; I think the result is good for David Beckham. After all, unlike Wilkinson, he wasn't in a side that won the World Cup.

13 September 2004 - Beckham Strikes Back

I have written before of the public and the media's absurdly fickle view of David Beckham. This phenomenon of the shifting sands of public opinion is, of course, not unusual, but what is extraordinary is its extreme nature when it comes to 'Becks'.

Alex Ferguson, in his autobiography, "Managing My Life" recounts the after-effects of Beckham's sending off against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup:

"After the brave resistance of England's ten men failed to prevent defeat in yet another penalty shoot-out, the reaction to Beckham's folly, in the media and among some so-called England fans, made me wonder if attitudes to sport in our country had gone totally insane. He could hardly have been more villified if he had committed murder or high treason. Much of the stuff that appeared in the papers seemed to be driven by something close to blood-lust ..."

After discussing how Beckham dealt so resolutely with the criticism, Sir Alex continues: "Many of those who were condemning him last summer as a betrayer of the nation, ranting on in print as if banishment to Devil's Island would be too good for him, now can't stop shovelling compliments in his direction."

And so, it was good to see David Beckham strike the winning goal for Real Madrid this weekend. It's a well-known fact that in competitive football games, about 50% are home wins, 25% draws, and 25% away wins. The huge advantage to the home side is not so much down to factors such as familiarity with the pitch, it is much more the effect of the crowd. The England fans that travel to matches are by and large ardent and loyal, but there is a significant number of so-called fans who seem more interested in knocking their side rather than living up to their label of 'supporters'.

I am not saying that we should not engage in appropriate criticism of the England team. I, for one, have condemned the players' decision not to talk to the media after their win last week. What I am saying is that David Beckham does not change his spots overnight and he has always been a great servant of the England team - putting in 100% and for that alone he deserves our respect and support.

Beckham, Baby, and Blair

Two pieces of news arrive. Firstly, we hear that David Beckham and Posh Spice are expecting their third child. Victoria is about 12 weeks pregnant and it is likely that the baby will be born in Spain.

If the baby turns out to be another boy, I suggest a plan for the F.A. and whoever is managing England in 2022 (my prediction is Jose Mourinho): bring the boy on for 5 minutes as a sub - so he can't play for Spain, and will be available should we need him.

The second piece of news that Cherie Blair bought a Manchester United shirt for her son Euan. According to Dyke in his new autobiography: "I've known Cherie for 20 years; while I was on the board of Manchester United, before becoming director-general, I'd even had a call from her one Christmas, asking if I could get a discount for a Manchester United shirt. I said I could, and asked what name and number she wanted on the back. The reply came: 'Blair, number 7.'

What strikes me as strange is that the lad preferred his own name on the back - or maybe it was Cherie's idea. Did he have some kind of inside information that Becks would be leaving Man U, and maybe he was after the right of centre position for his own!

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