Best English Midfielder since Gazza

[dcmk]

David Beckham.. professional?  Ok.

 

Excuse me. Look at the very high percentage of footballers who constantly go out on the piss several times a week. Beckham in 2005 had been on something like 4 or 5 nights out in his career (not including ones after a cup final win) or something like that. His 'stag do' before getting married was sitting in his house with a few close friends, a few bottles of beer and a games console.

 

There's no way you can say the man is unprofessional, he takes the game very seriously.

 

Yeah screaming at his own supporters and offerring to fight them is certainly professional. 

Also, his first stint at Milan showed utter disrespect for LA Galaxy and their players - his behavor isn't exactly model.

 

Also 'he takes his game seriously' - well then why is he playing in America?

 

Taking the game seriously has nothing to do with who he's playing for. He shows passion for the game, and does not think he can abuse his body just because he is minted.

 

The man is only human, anyway. Who are the other candidates for this title? Steven Gerrard... well, he's been a whisker away from the clink on a few occasions and is constantly out on the piss.

 

If I remember rightly, the supporter that was shouting at him was saying incredibly disgusting and untruthful things about his family, and I don't blame him at all for reacting to that fan. Highlighting that one incident as your main basis for him being unprofessional shows that there's little of a case against him. Half the bloody England team have been banned, locked up, arrested, unfaithful or found sozzled after a night out. Our national team is filled with people who aren't exactly saints, but Beckham is the most professional of the lot, almost.

 

In terms of being a 'professional' player, the only player who I can think of since Gazza who rivals Beckham is Paul Scholes. And as much as he was (and still is, to an extent) a terrific player, I don't think he was quite as good.

 

'Taking the game seriously has nothing to do with who he's playing for'

 

I don't agree with that at all, by doing that move - he damaged his England hopes and didn't want to achieve anything else significant in football basically.  Only went for the money. 

 

I'm also sure other players have heard 'disgusting' things and not wanted to climb over a sponsor board to hit the guy.

[dcmk]

He offered to fight them?

 

He wanted a few supporters to come down from where they were sitting, and when it looked like one of them was about to do just that, he nearly jumped over the sponsor board to get at the guy. 

 

This was his first game back at LA Galaxy after his Milan stint.

 

And in that one act, which didn't even involve him kicking a ball, he showed more guts, passion, determination and loyalty than the spineless little s*** currently occupying your avatar space. Showing the desire to prove yourself and caring what other people think, and striving to correct them is part of what makes truly great players.

 

Wanting to fight a supporter of the team you are playing for is now considered loyal?

[Pilko]

David Beckham.. professional?  Ok.

 

Excuse me. Look at the very high percentage of footballers who constantly go out on the piss several times a week. Beckham in 2005 had been on something like 4 or 5 nights out in his career (not including ones after a cup final win) or something like that. His 'stag do' before getting married was sitting in his house with a few close friends, a few bottles of beer and a games console.

 

There's no way you can say the man is unprofessional, he takes the game very seriously.

 

Yeah screaming at his own supporters and offerring to fight them is certainly professional. 

Also, his first stint at Milan showed utter disrespect for LA Galaxy and their players - his behavor isn't exactly model.

 

Also 'he takes his game seriously' - well then why is he playing in America?

 

Taking the game seriously has nothing to do with who he's playing for. He shows passion for the game, and does not think he can abuse his body just because he is minted.

 

The man is only human, anyway. Who are the other candidates for this title? Steven Gerrard... well, he's been a whisker away from the clink on a few occasions and is constantly out on the piss.

 

If I remember rightly, the supporter that was shouting at him was saying incredibly disgusting and untruthful things about his family, and I don't blame him at all for reacting to that fan. Highlighting that one incident as your main basis for him being unprofessional shows that there's little of a case against him. Half the bloody England team have been banned, locked up, arrested, unfaithful or found sozzled after a night out. Our national team is filled with people who aren't exactly saints, but Beckham is the most professional of the lot, almost.

 

In terms of being a 'professional' player, the only player who I can think of since Gazza who rivals Beckham is Paul Scholes. And as much as he was (and still is, to an extent) a terrific player, I don't think he was quite as good.

 

'Taking the game seriously has nothing to do with who he's playing for'

 

I don't agree with that at all, by doing that move - he damaged his England hopes and didn't want to achieve anything else significant in football basically.  Only went for the money. 

 

What other offers did he have, like?

 

And also, he didn't damage his England hopes at all, did he? He was out of the team for about 4 or 5 months because Steve McClaren forgot that he was still a very good player, and he came back in and showed his worth. He's been in more or less every squad since.

[khay]

does not sound like much of a supporter to me like.

[Pilko]

He offered to fight them?

 

He wanted a few supporters to come down from where they were sitting, and when it looked like one of them was about to do just that, he nearly jumped over the sponsor board to get at the guy. 

 

This was his first game back at LA Galaxy after his Milan stint.

 

And in that one act, which didn't even involve him kicking a ball, he showed more guts, passion, determination and loyalty than the spineless little s*** currently occupying your avatar space. Showing the desire to prove yourself and caring what other people think, and striving to correct them is part of what makes truly great players.

 

Wanting to fight a supporter of the team you are playing for is now considered loyal?

 

It's loyal towards his family, who were being targeted.

[dcmk]

David Beckham.. professional?  Ok.

 

Excuse me. Look at the very high percentage of footballers who constantly go out on the piss several times a week. Beckham in 2005 had been on something like 4 or 5 nights out in his career (not including ones after a cup final win) or something like that. His 'stag do' before getting married was sitting in his house with a few close friends, a few bottles of beer and a games console.

 

There's no way you can say the man is unprofessional, he takes the game very seriously.

 

Yeah screaming at his own supporters and offerring to fight them is certainly professional. 

Also, his first stint at Milan showed utter disrespect for LA Galaxy and their players - his behavor isn't exactly model.

 

Also 'he takes his game seriously' - well then why is he playing in America?

 

Taking the game seriously has nothing to do with who he's playing for. He shows passion for the game, and does not think he can abuse his body just because he is minted.

 

The man is only human, anyway. Who are the other candidates for this title? Steven Gerrard... well, he's been a whisker away from the clink on a few occasions and is constantly out on the piss.

 

If I remember rightly, the supporter that was shouting at him was saying incredibly disgusting and untruthful things about his family, and I don't blame him at all for reacting to that fan. Highlighting that one incident as your main basis for him being unprofessional shows that there's little of a case against him. Half the bloody England team have been banned, locked up, arrested, unfaithful or found sozzled after a night out. Our national team is filled with people who aren't exactly saints, but Beckham is the most professional of the lot, almost.

 

In terms of being a 'professional' player, the only player who I can think of since Gazza who rivals Beckham is Paul Scholes. And as much as he was (and still is, to an extent) a terrific player, I don't think he was quite as good.

 

'Taking the game seriously has nothing to do with who he's playing for'

 

I don't agree with that at all, by doing that move - he damaged his England hopes and didn't want to achieve anything else significant in football basically.  Only went for the money. 

 

What other offers did he have, like?

 

And also, he didn't damage his England hopes at all, did he? He was out of the team for about 4 or 5 months because Steve McClaren forgot that he was still a very good player, and he came back in and showed his worth. He's been in more or less every squad since.

 

In hindsight his England career hasn't been that badly affected, but thats complete hindsight.  When that move was announced the general consensus amongst pundits, fans, media was that his England career was effectively coming to a premature end by doing that move.

[dcmk]

He offered to fight them?

 

He wanted a few supporters to come down from where they were sitting, and when it looked like one of them was about to do just that, he nearly jumped over the sponsor board to get at the guy. 

 

This was his first game back at LA Galaxy after his Milan stint.

 

And in that one act, which didn't even involve him kicking a ball, he showed more guts, passion, determination and loyalty than the spineless little s*** currently occupying your avatar space. Showing the desire to prove yourself and caring what other people think, and striving to correct them is part of what makes truly great players.

 

Wanting to fight a supporter of the team you are playing for is now considered loyal?

 

It's loyal towards his family, who were being targeted.

 

But it's not being a model professional is it.  Which was the original point.  Other professional have had insults about their personal life but have resisted the urge to smack someone - they rise above it.

[Cronky]

He never has been the kind of play to stretch defences or go on mazy runs, you can be a brilliant player without those things. Leave that to the Messis, the Ronaldos, that just isn't Beckhams game.

 

It wasn’t the ability to get past an opponent like Messi that I was thinking of here. After all, the other three aren’t known for that either. What the other three can do is get forward, exchange quick passes around the penalty box, take chances when time and space is limited – all the things that demand instant, close control of the ball under pressure.

 

Beckham plays – or tries to play – like a quarterback, where everything’s in front of him and he has time to pick his cross or his pass. He even plays like that when he’s out wide. Effectively, he hides from the things he’s not good at, and we can all look good if we play like that. It means that the rest of the team has to fit in around his needs, and that’s not always to the benefit of the team.

 

The really best midfield players are all-rounders who can adapt to whatever’s going on round them and damage the opposition in all sorts of different situations. The other three can do that, but Beckham can’t.

 

[Pilko]

So, who cares what they said back then? Some people said the French Revolution would cause the Earth to shatter, and I think it turned out alright in the end, didn't it?

 

He's still a top top player (admittedly not as good as a few years ago) and his place in the England squads of late have been merited. He wouldn't have been in my World Cup 23 a year ago but he's won me round now.

[Neil]

1. Scholes

2. Lampard

3. Beckham

4. Gerrard

[Chris_R]

He offered to fight them?

 

He wanted a few supporters to come down from where they were sitting, and when it looked like one of them was about to do just that, he nearly jumped over the sponsor board to get at the guy. 

 

This was his first game back at LA Galaxy after his Milan stint.

 

And in that one act, which didn't even involve him kicking a ball, he showed more guts, passion, determination and loyalty than the spineless little s*** currently occupying your avatar space. Showing the desire to prove yourself and caring what other people think, and striving to correct them is part of what makes truly great players.

 

Wanting to fight a supporter of the team you are playing for is now considered loyal?

 

It's loyal towards his family, who were being targeted.

 

But it's not being a model professional is it.  Which was the original point. Other professional have had insults about their personal life but have resisted the urge to smack someone - they rise above it.

 

Considering it was me that made the original point, I'd like to come back in at this stage.

 

I was referring to Beckham's commitment to training, diet and the lifestyle that is necessary to keep yourself at the top of the game into your 30s, something that Scholes obviously has too but I'd doubt Gerrard or Lampard will still be playing top flight football at 35. We might see them at 32/33, but that's about it. The pies and booze will catch up with them after that.

 

Whilst I wasn't directly meaning his on-field antics (Remember the sending off against Columbia, and the altercation with his own fans at LA), generally I think he's extremely professional on the pitch too. He's learned a lot from the early parts of his career so I discount the Columbia incident now and the LA one was the result of extreme provocation. He's rarely if ever in trouble with the ref, and leads a very quiet family life away from football considering the scrutiny he's subject to, admittedly often at his own bidding. Though of course a few months ago the same could be said of Tiger Woods haha.

 

Anyway, for me it's:

 

Beckham

Scholes

Lampard

Gerrard

 

All undeniably quality players, but if I had to put them in an order that would be it.

[STM]

We wouldn't compare Neville to Rio Ferdinand, so why are we comparing Beckham to the rest?

 

Beckham is the best right midfielder we have had in a long time but Scholes is the best centre english midfielder since Gazza.

 

 

[nobby_solano]

We wouldn't compare Neville to Rio Ferdinand, so why are we comparing Beckham to the rest?

 

Beckham is the best right midfielder we have had in a long time but Scholes is the best centre english midfielder since Gazza.