How good was David Beckham?

[Gabriel Djemba-Bebe]

He came second in the Ballon d'Or Ranking in 1999 after Rivaldo.

He was robbed of the Ballon d'Or. Rivaldo's Barca didn't even get out of the CL group stage that year.

 

[Berbasbullet]

This is exactly right. Beckham was a midfielder, not a forward. In a modern system he would rarely play as a RW, not least because most 4-3-3 formations used inverted forwards with an opposing strongest foot.

He would, as you quite rightly say, play on the right of a midfield 3, and he would be brilliant at it. Naturally able to overload that right hand side and whip a lot of balls into the box, but also being at the heart of the midfield. His switches of play to create overloads is something that would be gold dust in todays game where coaches love to bring all the play over to one side, and then look for a quick switch to the opposing flank to create one on one’s out wide in space. No-one in today’s game could make that quick switch with the speed of thought and accuracy that Beckham was able to.

Just think how people marvel every time TAA pulls off a great 60 yard pass. It ends up with interminable rantings about his suitability for midfield. Beckham would pull off 5-10 of those every game. Probably the best medium and long range passer I have ever seen. It’s amazing to think that at one point United had two players, in Scholes and Beckham, who could be counted amongst the top ten long range passers of all time, in the same team. Couple that with one of the best, most complete wingers of all time, and one of the best box to box midfielders of all time, it’s no surprise that United just hoovered up trophies in that era. A modern iteration of that team would likely have Keane, Scholes and Beckham as the midfield three, with Giggs on the right, Cole up front, and I’d venture a different signing to Yorke to play off the left. If not the man himself.

I think I already answered this thread, but Beckham was bloody brilliant. One of England and United’s best ever players. He had everything you’d want in a midfielder, and added to that a dead ball delivery that is amongst the best I’ve seen in the game. His ability to hit a cross from a moving ball, is also something that he did better than anyone else I’ve seen. What escapes most people about Beckham is how hard he worked, on and off the field. His celebrity nature created a false impression of a player who was a tireless worker and perfectionist. If he came into our team now, he’d instantly be our best player and by some distance, he’d also be one of the top 3-5 players in the league, easily.

Football changes over time, which is why it is so hard to compare players across eras. 4-4-2, or variations of it (4-4-1-1 etc.) were really the dominant tactical approach throughout Beckham’s time at United, which naturally placed him at RW, but he was more of a wide midfielder. He overlapped a lot, but he also underlapped equally so, with Neville proving the perfect foil going outside of him. With Giggs so often running from deep, and wide, it was not unusual for Beckham to tuck in on that side to provide a more compact midfield, especially as and when Scholes broke forwards to join the attack. Our shape was never so prosaic as to be a traditional 4-4-2, but its foundations were certainly in that shape.

Football has become so structured and positional, that a lot of players from that era would’ve struggled to reach the heights they did in their era, if translated to the modern game. But Beckham wasn’t one of them. In fact, most players from the great United teams would’ve thrived in this era of positional play. The question marks come against the more maverick talents. The Cantona’s of this world. Where would he fit in a modern system? As a midfielder? As a ten? I doubt he had the work rate or mentality for such a dogmatic interpretation of the game. The only role I could see him excelling at in the modern era would be that of a false 9. You wouldn’t get a ton of energetic pressing from him, but you would get a player that could link up play and find space like few others.

Beckham brought industry, delivery, discipline and accuracy. He’d thrive more than ever today. It’s the artists of previous eras, the Cantona’s and Bergkamps that would have to be different.

Great post, enjoyed reading that.

 

[Sandikan]

He was 32 when he joined LA Galaxy.

Ah I'm misremembering, that's not as mental then.

 

[daveskimufc]

He was great. Thought he was unappreciated here at the time. Watching the recent documentary about 1999 i realised/ remembered how much he actually did for that team.

What a player. What you'd give for him in the team now. With wingers being slightly different this day and age he would have been fantastic in the deep lying playmaker role, he wasn't the quickest, but what a wand of a right foot

 

[Look-a-Hill]

I think if you factored in his celebrity appeal, ability, clutchness, work-rate and the English uplift he'd be the first £1billion player if he was 20 today. He'd almost certainly be banging either Kate Middleton in a Diana 2.0 esque-drama and/or Taylor Swift.

Career would pan out exactly the same (ETH falls out with him, big move to Madrid, retires early to America with Taytay, etc.) but with bigger numbers all round.

 

[simonhch]

Great post, enjoyed reading that.

Thank you.

It is also worth noting that Beckham still holds the record for most direct free kick goals in premier league history (18), despite leaving for Madrid at just 27. In the end, he finished his career with 32 free kick goals just across league competitions. If he had stayed at United for the entirety of his career, like Scholes, it’s fair to assume he’d probably be somewhere around 30 FK goals in the league, which would put him nearly double the next highest player - James Ward Prowse (17). Which just shows how deadly he was from a dead ball.

He’s also 10th in the all time assists table for the PL, with everybody above him in the list having played anywhere from 75 to nearly 400 games more than him. With the exception of Kevin De Bruyne, who has 30 more assists in 5 less games, but plays a much more attacking role. Steven Gerrard for example, has just 13 more assists despite playing 250 games more than Beckham in the PL. James Milner has 9 more assists in 400 additional games. Dennis Bergkamp, a creative striker known more for his providing than his outright goalscoring, just 14 more assists in 50 extra games.

It’s a story that actually brings me to another United player who sometimes fails to get the plaudits he deserves, Wayne Rooney. People know him for being the third highest PL scorer of all time with 208 PL goals, but not many remember that he’s also the 4th highest assister in PL history, behind Giggs, De Bruyne and Fábregas.

For sheer, versatility, threat, work rate, team work and technical brilliance, there is no version of a best United XI of the last 30 odd years that doesn’t include Beckham and Rooney. Players that possessed true world class ability, but players who could always be counted on to play for the team and run themselves into the ground. Legends.

 

[Yagami]

I agree. During lock down I had a look at quite a few old Man Utd-games during that period. Keane and Beckhan was our best players at the time. By quite a distance.

I'd say Stam was fairly close (and Yorke during the treble season), but otherwise yeah.

As a kid, I would just say Beckham was the best because he was my favourite. My footballing hero back then. I tried, and failed, to style my hair after his, practiced his kicking technique for hours on end, had him on the back of every shirt, constantly passed to him in the older fifa games just to score with him

After going back to watch classic games from this period, though, I can say without bias he was our best player for the majority of it. The fact that he became such a huge celebrity really impacted the general opinion of his talent in a negative way. It even effected me in that, years later, I wondered if I overrated him, but, no, I didn't. He was a huge part of why we were so successful, and why we won one of our three European Cups. His 98/99 season is the second best season I've ever seen an individual player have here behind Ronaldo's 07/08 one. Keane, Stam and Yorke were the other standouts that season, too, but I think Beckham was our best and, in my opinion, as good as Rivaldo was, deserved the Ballon d'Or.

 

[Hammondo]

Thank you.

It is also worth noting that Beckham still holds the record for most direct free kick goals in premier league history (18), despite leaving for Madrid at just 27. In the end, he finished his career with 32 free kick goals just across league competitions. If he had stayed at United for the entirety of his career, like Scholes, it’s fair to assume he’d probably be somewhere around 30 FK goals in the league, which would put him nearly double the next highest player - James Ward Prowse (17). Which just shows how deadly he was from a dead ball.

He’s also 10th in the all time assists table for the PL, with everybody above him in the list having played anywhere from 75 to nearly 400 games more than him. With the exception of Kevin De Bruyne, who has 30 more assists in 5 less games, but plays a much more attacking role. Steven Gerrard for example, has just 13 more assists despite playing 250 games more than Beckham in the PL. James Milner has 9 more assists in 400 additional games. Dennis Bergkamp, a creative striker known more for his providing than his outright goalscoring, just 14 more assists in 50 extra games.

It’s a story that actually brings me to another United player who sometimes fails to get the plaudits he deserves, Wayne Rooney. People know him for being the third highest PL scorer of all time with 208 PL goals, but not many remember that he’s also the 4th highest assister in PL history, behind Giggs, De Bruyne and Fábregas.

For sheer, versatility, threat, work rate, team work and technical brilliance, there is no version of a best United XI of the last 30 odd years that doesn’t include Beckham and Rooney. Players that possessed true world class ability, but players who could always be counted on to play for the team and run themselves into the ground. Legends.

He was 31 when he joined real Madrid.

 

[CoopersDream]

He was 31 when he joined real Madrid.

He was actually 28.

 

[simonhch]

He was 31 when he joined real Madrid.

No he wasn’t. He last played in the PL at 27. The Madrid transfer was announced in June 2003. He was born in May 1975. He last played in the PL in the 2002-03 season when he was 27. He joined Madrid in the summer of 2003, shortly after he turned 28.

The post quoted below, correcting yours, is accurate. As was mine saying he last played in the PL at 27. No idea where you got 31 from. Maybe you are confusing it with his move from La Liga to MLS.

He was actually 28.

 

[Hammondo]

No he wasn’t. He last played in the PL at 27. The Madrid transfer was announced in June 2003. He was born in May 1975. He last played in the PL in the 2002-03 season when he was 27. He joined Madrid in the summer of 2003, shortly after he turned 28.

The post quoted below, correcting yours, is accurate. As was mine saying he last played in the PL at 27. No idea where you got 31 from. Maybe you are confusing it with his move from La Liga to MLS.

I googled it and it said 31, the Google ai failed me.

 

[Wing Attack Plan R]

There’s no real substitute for a ball struck squarely and firmly… — Billy Bragg

Billy’s right. Beckham provided so many incredible dramatic moments, a breathtaking cross, a free kick sailing into the back of the net, he was the epitome of the club. He was a delight.

 

[The Cat]

He was 31 when he joined real Madrid.

Eh? WTF?

 

[DrRodo]

This is exactly right. Beckham was a midfielder, not a forward. In a modern system he would rarely play as a RW, not least because most 4-3-3 formations used inverted forwards with an opposing strongest foot.

He would, as you quite rightly say, play on the right of a midfield 3, and he would be brilliant at it. Naturally able to overload that right hand side and whip a lot of balls into the box, but also being at the heart of the midfield. His switches of play to create overloads is something that would be gold dust in todays game where coaches love to bring all the play over to one side, and then look for a quick switch to the opposing flank to create one on one’s out wide in space. No-one in today’s game could make that quick switch with the speed of thought and accuracy that Beckham was able to.

Just think how people marvel every time TAA pulls off a great 60 yard pass. It ends up with interminable rantings about his suitability for midfield. Beckham would pull off 5-10 of those every game. Probably the best medium and long range passer I have ever seen. It’s amazing to think that at one point United had two players, in Scholes and Beckham, who could be counted amongst the top ten long range passers of all time, in the same team. Couple that with one of the best, most complete wingers of all time, and one of the best box to box midfielders of all time, it’s no surprise that United just hoovered up trophies in that era. A modern iteration of that team would likely have Keane, Scholes and Beckham as the midfield three, with Giggs on the right, Cole up front, and I’d venture a different signing to Yorke to play off the left. If not the man himself.

I think I already answered this thread, but Beckham was bloody brilliant. One of England and United’s best ever players. He had everything you’d want in a midfielder, and added to that a dead ball delivery that is amongst the best I’ve seen in the game. His ability to hit a cross from a moving ball, is also something that he did better than anyone else I’ve seen. What escapes most people about Beckham is how hard he worked, on and off the field. His celebrity nature created a false impression of a player who was a tireless worker and perfectionist. If he came into our team now, he’d instantly be our best player and by some distance, he’d also be one of the top 3-5 players in the league, easily.

Football changes over time, which is why it is so hard to compare players across eras. 4-4-2, or variations of it (4-4-1-1 etc.) were really the dominant tactical approach throughout Beckham’s time at United, which naturally placed him at RW, but he was more of a wide midfielder. He overlapped a lot, but he also underlapped equally so, with Neville proving the perfect foil going outside of him. With Giggs so often running from deep, and wide, it was not unusual for Beckham to tuck in on that side to provide a more compact midfield, especially as and when Scholes broke forwards to join the attack. Our shape was never so prosaic as to be a traditional 4-4-2, but its foundations were certainly in that shape.

Football has become so structured and positional, that a lot of players from that era would’ve struggled to reach the heights they did in their era, if translated to the modern game. But Beckham wasn’t one of them. In fact, most players from the great United teams would’ve thrived in this era of positional play. The question marks come against the more maverick talents. The Cantona’s of this world. Where would he fit in a modern system? As a midfielder? As a ten? I doubt he had the work rate or mentality for such a dogmatic interpretation of the game. The only role I could see him excelling at in the modern era would be that of a false 9. You wouldn’t get a ton of energetic pressing from him, but you would get a player that could link up play and find space like few others.

Beckham brought industry, delivery, discipline and accuracy. He’d thrive more than ever today. It’s the artists of previous eras, the Cantona’s and Bergkamps that would have to be different.

What a great post Simon. I agree with everything you said, Specially the bit of Beckham walking into our current XI and instantly becoming the best player of the team and captain. Probably not the kind of player who would single handely makes us compete for trophies by himself, he´s not CR7 or Messi tier at all (Who else is?) but he would be the light among these bunch of wankers of todays Utd

 

[weizxx]

This is exactly right. Beckham was a midfielder, not a forward. In a modern system he would rarely play as a RW, not least because most 4-3-3 formations used inverted forwards with an opposing strongest foot.

He would, as you quite rightly say, play on the right of a midfield 3, and he would be brilliant at it. Naturally able to overload that right hand side and whip a lot of balls into the box, but also being at the heart of the midfield. His switches of play to create overloads is something that would be gold dust in todays game where coaches love to bring all the play over to one side, and then look for a quick switch to the opposing flank to create one on one’s out wide in space. No-one in today’s game could make that quick switch with the speed of thought and accuracy that Beckham was able to.

Just think how people marvel every time TAA pulls off a great 60 yard pass. It ends up with interminable rantings about his suitability for midfield. Beckham would pull off 5-10 of those every game. Probably the best medium and long range passer I have ever seen. It’s amazing to think that at one point United had two players, in Scholes and Beckham, who could be counted amongst the top ten long range passers of all time, in the same team. Couple that with one of the best, most complete wingers of all time, and one of the best box to box midfielders of all time, it’s no surprise that United just hoovered up trophies in that era. A modern iteration of that team would likely have Keane, Scholes and Beckham as the midfield three, with Giggs on the right, Cole up front, and I’d venture a different signing to Yorke to play off the left. If not the man himself.

I think I already answered this thread, but Beckham was bloody brilliant. One of England and United’s best ever players. He had everything you’d want in a midfielder, and added to that a dead ball delivery that is amongst the best I’ve seen in the game. His ability to hit a cross from a moving ball, is also something that he did better than anyone else I’ve seen. What escapes most people about Beckham is how hard he worked, on and off the field. His celebrity nature created a false impression of a player who was a tireless worker and perfectionist. If he came into our team now, he’d instantly be our best player and by some distance, he’d also be one of the top 3-5 players in the league, easily.

Football changes over time, which is why it is so hard to compare players across eras. 4-4-2, or variations of it (4-4-1-1 etc.) were really the dominant tactical approach throughout Beckham’s time at United, which naturally placed him at RW, but he was more of a wide midfielder. He overlapped a lot, but he also underlapped equally so, with Neville proving the perfect foil going outside of him. With Giggs so often running from deep, and wide, it was not unusual for Beckham to tuck in on that side to provide a more compact midfield, especially as and when Scholes broke forwards to join the attack. Our shape was never so prosaic as to be a traditional 4-4-2, but its foundations were certainly in that shape.

Football has become so structured and positional, that a lot of players from that era would’ve struggled to reach the heights they did in their era, if translated to the modern game. But Beckham wasn’t one of them. In fact, most players from the great United teams would’ve thrived in this era of positional play. The question marks come against the more maverick talents. The Cantona’s of this world. Where would he fit in a modern system? As a midfielder? As a ten? I doubt he had the work rate or mentality for such a dogmatic interpretation of the game. The only role I could see him excelling at in the modern era would be that of a false 9. You wouldn’t get a ton of energetic pressing from him, but you would get a player that could link up play and find space like few others.

Beckham brought industry, delivery, discipline and accuracy. He’d thrive more than ever today. It’s the artists of previous eras, the Cantona’s and Bergkamps that would have to be different.

Sign him up！

 

[Ronaldo's Love Child]

I actually think Beckham's huge workrate and willingness to do his defensive duty also played a part in how attacking we could otherwise be. If we'd had a normal attacking winger on that side I'm not sure we could have had as much success as we did with such an attacking midfielder as Scholes was in those days. Obviously Keane was the main one though.

Many people forget what a workaholic he was on the pitch for us. It seems to be a forgotten skill (at least with this current mob).

Mark Hughes also had that fire to chase down every player. It set the tone for the rest of the team

 

[sired44]

Closest player to him in todays game is De Bruyne. And id still chose Becks over him.
Would almost certainly play on the right of a midfield 3 in todays game but could easily play centrally as a deep lying playmaker - i remember him playing there once for England against Wales and the ball was almost always at his feet and he was spraying passes around like it was nothing. Completely effortless!

The amount of love Alexander Arnold gets from the media for 1 or 2 nice balls a game makes me chuckle. Becks was doing Trents best bits for fun umpteen times a game.

 

[padzilla]

He was an excellent player for United. His decline in his last two seasons with us was unfortunate though. It won't be a popular opinion but by the end he was rightly a squad player with Ole regularly playing on the right wing instead.

He seemed to offer less to United the more his role with England increased, the bigger profile he had the less he produced for us but Beckham from 95-96 to 2000-01 was exceptionally good.

I will add that any iteration of Beckham throughout his career would be light years ahead of what we've produced over the last decade.

 

[Yagami]

Obviously a lot of my favourite moments of his are going to United and England based, but this assist to Ronaldo at Real Madrid always blew me away:

 

[MancunianAngels]

He was an excellent player for United. His decline in his last two seasons with us was unfortunate though. It won't be a popular opinion but by the end he was rightly a squad player with Ole regularly playing on the right wing instead.

He seemed to offer less to United the more his role with England increased, the bigger profile he had the less he produced for us but Beckham from 95-96 to 2000-01 was exceptionally good.

I will add that any iteration of Beckham throughout his career would be light years ahead of what we've produced over the last decade.

Decline in the last two seasons? His best season for United in terms of goals was 01/02.

 

[Oranges038]

Obviously a lot of my favourite moments of his are going to United and England based, but this assist to Ronaldo at Real Madrid always blew me away:

Love the way that ball goes inches over the defenders head only to drop onto Ronaldo's foot right behind him.

 

[elmo]

What a great post Simon. I agree with everything you said, Specially the bit of Beckham walking into our current XI and instantly becoming the best player of the team and captain. Probably not the kind of player who would single handely makes us compete for trophies by himself, he´s not CR7 or Messi tier at all (Who else is?) but he would be the light among these bunch of wankers of todays Utd

He’ll help us qualify for the CL alone if he played like how he did for England.

 

[Spoony]

He's become underrated. Aside from his attacking play, the man was a proper work horse. Top top player. We had a great midfield, didn't we.

 

[Butty19]

He's become underrated. Aside from his attacking play, the man was a proper work horse. Top top player. We had a great midfield, didn't we.

Totally agree. The celebrity has diluted the footballer over the years. So many wonderful goals and moments, we were blessed.

 

[Strachan8]

Brilliant player. Such a fighter too. The way he came back from the abuse after 98 WC made all that seasons success all the sweeter. Can you imagine MR weathering that level of hostility and what was directed against his fiance/wife?

Beckham and Giggs provided great balance to the team. Pace and dribbling on one flank and a wand of a right foot on the other. Too often people ignore the importance of balance within a side that a player provides.

 

[The Brown Bull]

Very good player but hugely overrated.
No left foot, couldn't tackle, poor header of the ball, no burning pace.Great right foot though, good attitude, good work rate.