How good was David Beckham?

OrcaFat said:
Dribbling wasn’t his strength, mostly because he wasn’t quite fast enough to make it an effective option in most scenarios. He could pass or cross the ball from anywhere on the pitch so why dribble? Even so, he often beat people with skill to create space and if you really think he couldn’t dribble, watch his goal vs Madrid.
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Dribbling is a key skill for any winger in football. Just because a player can hit a long ball or cross from deep doesn't mean that he doesn't have to dribble, it just means beating a man isn't something he is capable of doing consistently. Our setup at that time maximises his attacking output and do not require him to dribble. McManaman who Beckham's contemporary, is an example of someone who's good at dribbling.
 
OrcaFat said:
The guy has some humility and believe it or not a sense of humour.
The fact that he dribbled sometimes proves that he could do it.
I’m not a Beckham fan boy and the hype used to annoy me but I object to people using his preference to pass, cross or shoot rather than to dribble as a means of arguing he was a lesser player because of it.
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I never said he was a lesser player because of it. Even Carrick could dribble and go past a man if necessary, but it was not part of his game. Both were great players.
 
Rossa said:
I never said he was a lesser player because of it. Even Carrick could dribble and go past a man if necessary, but it was not part of his game. Both were great players.
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Saying he couldn’t dribble sells him short.
 
Poor video. Factually wrong.

apparently Yorke signed in the winter window haha
 
That's also one of the most dangerous thing about him - can both dribble and pass/cross well.

Give him space and he'll have time to deliver sweet precise passes and crosses.
Press him and he can beat you with energetic pace and skills, then he'll either shoot or pass, and we know his bloody good shooting.

^ problematic hell for defenders.
 
Why his performances in the 2006 World Cup were so below his usual standards ?

In all tournaments he played for England, he always played well (even if the end result wasn't good) but that 2006 one was a bad look for him.
 
Luke1995 said:
Why his performances in the 2006 World Cup were so below his usual standards ?

In all tournaments he played for England, he always played well (even if the end result wasn't good) but that 2006 one was a bad look for him.
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He was declining by then.

He never lost his passing and crossing ability (and set pieces) but his engine was on the wane after he left Utd (probably before that actually - SAF preferred Ole on the right for much of Beckham’s last year with us).

He had a bit of a renaissance in his twilight didn’t he, but that was due to lack of passing quality in the England squad at that time.
 
OrcaFat said:
He was declining by then.

He never lost his passing and crossing ability (and set pieces) but his engine was on the wane after he left Utd (probably before that actually - SAF preferred Ole on the right for much of Beckham’s last year with us).

He had a bit of a renaissance in his twilight didn’t he, but that was due to lack of passing quality in the England squad at that time.
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It can be argued that in 2006 England's squad had more talent than in 2002. Maybe... but yeah, up until 2004-05 Beckham was really good for Madrid, in 05-06 not so much, although in 2006-07 he fought his way back in Cappelo's plans.
 
Madridista2000 said:
Beckham was a big name at the time. No doubt he was a good footballer, but Florentino Perez bought him mainly for his commercial value. As I said we had Figo for the right wing position and he was miles better. At the time we played 442 and there was no real room for Beckham in the team. It ruined the balance of the team because Figo was too good to be replaced by Beckham and Beckham had to play. Beckham was not bad at Real Madrid. He just did not fit at the time. If we did not have Figo he would be a good signing.
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Beckham was never really a good fit for Madrid during this period.

There was a real beautiful cohesive flow to that Madrid team with Zidane,Figo,Ronaldo and Raul ,to name the bigger personalities within the squad, collectively pulling teams all over the place with their intelligent movement and general flexibility and I think they lost a fair amount of that when Beckham set foot in Madrid, with the team slowly but surely starting to get far more direct and one lacking in any real creative short passing game exuberance.

Madrid were just starting to become visually flat.

What made matters worse for Madrid was that the creative flamboyance that I enjoyed watching in awe at the Bernabeu had started to shift towards Ronaldinho's exciting Barcelona team. And ,as we know, that team took that mantle of Europe's main go-to entertainers for a considerable period of time while Madrid were succumbing to the questionable aspects of this Galactico and commercial based philosophy Perez seemed so eager to lay down.
 
GifLord said:
Of course he could dribble

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See, I watch these highlights and I still think Beckham was capable of taking another step-up with certain aspects in his game.

As great as Beckham was I felt in his last season, and SAF likely felt the same irrespective of the flying boot incident, that he was far too eager to pass his way out of trouble rather than try something else.

Sure,the question levelled at me here would obviously be : ' if you could pass as great as Beckham, why do anything different ? '
And its a just question and one that I can only answer based on personal preference of how I wanted to watch him develop this aspect of his game because,people who watched Beckham break into the side in the early days, he was certainly capable of doing alot of these particular moves more consistently as he was reaching his peak.

And,as we know, SAF has always put that particular question mark over Beckham's head when he reminisces over his time at United and how much more Becks could've progressed this side of his game had he not,in SAF mind,took his eye off the ball somewhat.
 
Beckham was born in the right era I would say. His passing and crossing abilities were incredible, but football has evolved and those attributes alone don't constitute a successful footballer anymore. The defence now has been much more organized and there's little space to pick a cross, that's why teams have to work so hard to stretch the opposition and break a bus. The approach of play has also become much more possession based and there're fewer chances to directly send the ball from halfline to the box.

Some would argue he might play in other positions or adapt to the modern game if he's born in this era. I won't rule out this possibility but I doubt he would be as successful as he was. Modern football emphasizes on all round abilities and he doesn't really fall into that category. In fact, many players nowadays can pick long passes almost as good as Beckham, they are unappreciated just because they have all round abilities and their long passes don't stand out.

In short, Beckham was good in his old days as he was fully fit to the system, but he wasn't that good judging by today's standard.
 
He could probably put in crosses so accurate that They hit Lukaku in the face, forcing him to score a goal rather than miscontrolling it.
 
Free sport showing the 04/05 Classico if you fancy some nostalgia. Featuring Beckham, R9, Zidane, Ronaldinho et al
 
hmchan said:
Beckham was born in the right era I would say. His passing and crossing abilities were incredible, but football has evolved and those attributes alone don't constitute a successful footballer anymore. The defence now has been much more organized and there's little space to pick a cross, that's why teams have to work so hard to stretch the opposition and break a bus. The approach of play has also become much more possession based and there're fewer chances to directly send the ball from halfline to the box.

Some would argue he might play in other positions or adapt to the modern game if he's born in this era. I won't rule out this possibility but I doubt he would be as successful as he was. Modern football emphasizes on all round abilities and he doesn't really fall into that category. In fact, many players nowadays can pick long passes almost as good as Beckham, they are unappreciated just because they have all round abilities and their long passes don't stand out.

In short, Beckham was good in his old days as he was fully fit to the system, but he wasn't that good judging by today's standard.
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Yeah you can load up fifa again now bud.
 
hmchan said:
Beckham was born in the right era I would say. His passing and crossing abilities were incredible, but football has evolved and those attributes alone don't constitute a successful footballer anymore. The defence now has been much more organized and there's little space to pick a cross, that's why teams have to work so hard to stretch the opposition and break a bus. The approach of play has also become much more possession based and there're fewer chances to directly send the ball from halfline to the box.

Some would argue he might play in other positions or adapt to the modern game if he's born in this era. I won't rule out this possibility but I doubt he would be as successful as he was. Modern football emphasizes on all round abilities and he doesn't really fall into that category. In fact, many players nowadays can pick long passes almost as good as Beckham, they are unappreciated just because they have all round abilities and their long passes don't stand out.

In short, Beckham was good in his old days as he was fully fit to the system, but he wasn't that good judging by today's standard.
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Erm, that is all total nonsense. His ability to make all kinds of passes and crosses from anywhere on the pitch and against any quality of opposition would be as valuable now as then.
 
Beckham wouldn't even contemplate playing football if he was born this decade. The sheer pressure and expectation of the ball would crumble his confidence instantly.
Just looking at it would give him endless sleepless nights.
 
hmchan said:
Beckham was born in the right era I would say. His passing and crossing abilities were incredible, but football has evolved and those attributes alone don't constitute a successful footballer anymore. The defence now has been much more organized and there's little space to pick a cross, that's why teams have to work so hard to stretch the opposition and break a bus. The approach of play has also become much more possession based and there're fewer chances to directly send the ball from halfline to the box.

Some would argue he might play in other positions or adapt to the modern game if he's born in this era. I won't rule out this possibility but I doubt he would be as successful as he was. Modern football emphasizes on all round abilities and he doesn't really fall into that category. In fact, many players nowadays can pick long passes almost as good as Beckham, they are unappreciated just because they have all round abilities and their long passes don't stand out.

In short, Beckham was good in his old days as he was fully fit to the system, but he wasn't that good judging by today's standard.
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KDB gets ridiculous praise for his crosses in 2020. And he isnt as good as Beckham was at it
 
A bit overrated by 20pc of fans, a bit underrated by 60pc of fans. Genuinely gifted and also very functional player. A real team player who didn't often lift a team on his own, unless he got an opportunity from a free kick. Worked hard and struck a ball at an elite level, versus anyone is history I would say
 
World class crosser, which was a unique weapon in and of itself, as well as an elite FK taker. Also great work rate and overall football IQ.
 
devilish said:
Beckham was a weird one. He wasn't a particularly technical or a pacey player. You won't see him dribble past or outpace three defenders very often. In fact he was more of a right sided midfielder if anything. However his work rate and his passing (especially his crossing) was top notch. He's the best passer I've ever seen in my life. Without him Sir Alex would have probably ditched the 4-4-2 system earlier then he did + he would have needed a better RB (Gaz was great once he hit 27 but he was too rash when he was young).

We were lucky to have some of the finest right wingers football had ever seen. Kanchelskis was like the flash. His pace gave Maldini a mare. Beckham's crossing was mind blowing while Ronaldo was, well, Ronaldo.
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All he had was technique!
GifLord said:
Of course he could dribble

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From the sounds of it he kicked the ball away like a hot potato as soon as someone approaches.
hmchan said:
Beckham was born in the right era I would say. His passing and crossing abilities were incredible, but football has evolved and those attributes alone don't constitute a successful footballer anymore. The defence now has been much more organized and there's little space to pick a cross, that's why teams have to work so hard to stretch the opposition and break a bus. The approach of play has also become much more possession based and there're fewer chances to directly send the ball from halfline to the box.

Some would argue he might play in other positions or adapt to the modern game if he's born in this era. I won't rule out this possibility but I doubt he would be as successful as he was. Modern football emphasizes on all round abilities and he doesn't really fall into that category. In fact, many players nowadays can pick long passes almost as good as Beckham, they are unappreciated just because they have all round abilities and their long passes don't stand out.

In short, Beckham was good in his old days as he was fully fit to the system, but he wasn't that good judging by today's standard.
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Alexander Arnold gets tonnes of assists through putting crosses in so I am sure someone would find a use for Beckham somewhere in the lower leagues....
 
FrankDrebin said:
Beckham wouldn't even contemplate playing football if he was born this decade. The sheer pressure and expectation of the ball would crumble his confidence instantly.
Just looking at it would give him endless sleepless nights.
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I reckon as soon as he got to Carrington and saw how short the grass is nowadays he'd jack it all in and bring a tennis racket
 
hmchan said:
Beckham was born in the right era I would say. His passing and crossing abilities were incredible, but football has evolved and those attributes alone don't constitute a successful footballer anymore. The defence now has been much more organized and there's little space to pick a cross, that's why teams have to work so hard to stretch the opposition and break a bus. The approach of play has also become much more possession based and there're fewer chances to directly send the ball from halfline to the box.

Some would argue he might play in other positions or adapt to the modern game if he's born in this era. I won't rule out this possibility but I doubt he would be as successful as he was. Modern football emphasizes on all round abilities and he doesn't really fall into that category. In fact, many players nowadays can pick long passes almost as good as Beckham, they are unappreciated just because they have all round abilities and their long passes don't stand out.

In short, Beckham was good in his old days as he was fully fit to the system, but he wasn't that good judging by today's standard.
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I actually disagree. I think he was born in the wrong era. Beckham would clearly have played in a 3 man midfield in todays game. His industry, his final ball and his passing ability would mean that he would essentially be perfect in the role De Bruyne plays at City. He would not have the pressure of having to try to beat his man to get those crossing opportunities and he would have the freedom to roam and drop deep as much as he liked.
 
I think Beckham would be a very good RCM in today's game. His plus including that right leg, good workrate, good reading of a game and good first touch would a very good asset.

He also can fill up at RB I guess. Playmaker from the back like TAA.
 
Beckham wanting to hit every ball 60 yards is a big part of that England group underachieving. Infected Gerrard with the same mentality and is part of why Scholes, the best playmaker England have had in generations struggled in that later period with England, spent his time chasing knock downs when he should have been dictating the game. No-one at England level strong enough to get Beckham to play a more disciplined game, especially after his headless chicken performance against Greece got so much praise. Constantly out of position, played a dumb if tremendously hard working game.
 
Bobski said:
Beckham wanting to hit every ball 60 yards is a big part of that England group underachieving. Infected Gerrard with the same mentality and is part of why Scholes, the best playmaker England have had in generations struggled in that later period with England, spent his time chasing knock downs when he should have been dictating the game. No-one at England level strong enough to get Beckham to play a more disciplined game, especially after his headless chicken performance against Greece got so much praise. Constantly out of position, played a dumb if tremendously hard working game.
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Always thought that the Greece performance was overrated. He must have took over 30 freekicks. They were milking every challenge near the box so that they can score from a free kick. The Football was pretty poor.
 
Bobski said:
Beckham wanting to hit every ball 60 yards is a big part of that England group underachieving. Infected Gerrard with the same mentality and is part of why Scholes, the best playmaker England have had in generations struggled in that later period with England, spent his time chasing knock downs when he should have been dictating the game. No-one at England level strong enough to get Beckham to play a more disciplined game, especially after his headless chicken performance against Greece got so much praise. Constantly out of position, played a dumb if tremendously hard working game.
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That boils down to piss poor management. There was enough star power in that team, but Sven was fecking average and England haven't produced a world class manager since Robson/Clough so they had to go external to the point what was left on the table was utter shite as well.

The only manager that would ever win England a world cup again would have been SAF. He's the only one the media fear and that says enough.
 
hmchan said:
Beckham was born in the right era I would say. His passing and crossing abilities were incredible, but football has evolved and those attributes alone don't constitute a successful footballer anymore. The defence now has been much more organized and there's little space to pick a cross, that's why teams have to work so hard to stretch the opposition and break a bus. The approach of play has also become much more possession based and there're fewer chances to directly send the ball from halfline to the box.

Some would argue he might play in other positions or adapt to the modern game if he's born in this era. I won't rule out this possibility but I doubt he would be as successful as he was. Modern football emphasizes on all round abilities and he doesn't really fall into that category. In fact, many players nowadays can pick long passes almost as good as Beckham, they are unappreciated just because they have all round abilities and their long passes don't stand out.

In short, Beckham was good in his old days as he was fully fit to the system, but he wasn't that good judging by today's standard.
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Pretty much a terrible post.
 
It's not a dream it's a wet dream? What a shitty commentary.

He was the best passer of all time, and a super free kick taker too, good kid and hard worker.
 
1. Who was fitter - Park or Beckham?
2. Which hairstyle coincided with his best performances?
 
Becks was Balon D’or runner-up twice. He was a proper player.
 
If I had to pick a match day squad of 18 with a starting 11 and 7 subs of our greatest ever players then Beckham wouldn’t get a place but in saying that I think there was a couple of seasons during his career where he was genuinely a world class player, between 98/99 and 00-01 he was immense.

That midfield we had during that time frame was just fecking ridiculously talented and I’d give my left bollock for just one of Beckham, Keane, Scholes, Butt or Giggs in our team now as every single one of them would make us better.
 
hmchan said:
Beckham was born in the right era I would say. His passing and crossing abilities were incredible, but football has evolved and those attributes alone don't constitute a successful footballer anymore. The defence now has been much more organized and there's little space to pick a cross, that's why teams have to work so hard to stretch the opposition and break a bus. The approach of play has also become much more possession based and there're fewer chances to directly send the ball from halfline to the box.

Some would argue he might play in other positions or adapt to the modern game if he's born in this era. I won't rule out this possibility but I doubt he would be as successful as he was. Modern football emphasizes on all round abilities and he doesn't really fall into that category. In fact, many players nowadays can pick long passes almost as good as Beckham, they are unappreciated just because they have all round abilities and their long passes don't stand out.

In short, Beckham was good in his old days as he was fully fit to the system, but he wasn't that good judging by today's standard.
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Such nonsense. He would no doubt be a world class player today.
 
hmchan said:
Beckham was born in the right era I would say. His passing and crossing abilities were incredible, but football has evolved and those attributes alone don't constitute a successful footballer anymore. The defence now has been much more organized and there's little space to pick a cross, that's why teams have to work so hard to stretch the opposition and break a bus. The approach of play has also become much more possession based and there're fewer chances to directly send the ball from halfline to the box.

Some would argue he might play in other positions or adapt to the modern game if he's born in this era. I won't rule out this possibility but I doubt he would be as successful as he was. Modern football emphasizes on all round abilities and he doesn't really fall into that category. In fact, many players nowadays can pick long passes almost as good as Beckham, they are unappreciated just because they have all round abilities and their long passes don't stand out.

In short, Beckham was good in his old days as he was fully fit to the system, but he wasn't that good judging by today's standard.
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I have to disagree with that.
 
hmchan said:
Beckham was born in the right era I would say. His passing and crossing abilities were incredible, but football has evolved and those attributes alone don't constitute a successful footballer anymore. The defence now has been much more organized and there's little space to pick a cross, that's why teams have to work so hard to stretch the opposition and break a bus. The approach of play has also become much more possession based and there're fewer chances to directly send the ball from halfline to the box.

Some would argue he might play in other positions or adapt to the modern game if he's born in this era. I won't rule out this possibility but I doubt he would be as successful as he was. Modern football emphasizes on all round abilities and he doesn't really fall into that category. In fact, many players nowadays can pick long passes almost as good as Beckham, they are unappreciated just because they have all round abilities and their long passes don't stand out.

In short, Beckham was good in his old days as he was fully fit to the system, but he wasn't that good judging by today's standard.
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It makes absolutely no sense to pick up a player from a previous generation and place him as is in the current one, to reach a conclusion that deems him unsuitable for it, especially considering were talking about a top class player. In truth players don't exist in a vaccum. They are shaped and formed by the footballing landscape they grow up in. Beckham would be a different player and play a different role in the modern game. Same with Giggs who wouldn't be a pure winger but a wide forward.

On a more general note, that video by TIfo reminded me that Beckham won the European footballer of the year award and came second in the Balon Dor. Anyone doubting his credentials should keep that in mind, as well as his achievements of course.
 
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