How good was David Beckham?

Sorry to bump an old thread.

I got into a heated argument today with a co worker about Beckham. Being a United fan I know how important he was for us and how many goals he contributed to. My co-worker (an Arsenal supporter) basically said he was English hype and average at best. We compared Figo and Becks and when the goal tally was similar he resorted to a Twitter pole with a bunch of jabronis slandering Becks (the pole was like 21-0 in favour of Figo). Worst of he was telling me how Mahrez and Pedro were better than Beckham.

Is selective memory deceiving me here? I always thought and still do think he was great player. How do you guys rank him?

Thanks a million for the help. I know he knows his stuff and we’re roughly the same age so I’m baffled by this.
 
Beckham was a great footballer whose reputation was overshadowed by his celebrity status. How great? On the level of prime De Bruyne and peak Pogba. Maybe he doesn’t make the PL all time XI but he’d easily be — assuming we’re talking about Beckham between 97-05 — on this year’s PL XI squad, a club to which “average” footballers are not invited.

“Average at best” is idiocy.
 
Best crosser of ball I’ve ever seen, his delivery from right wing it’s like a cheat code at time. Very very good at free kick and with good work rate. At his peak he was probably among top 3 midfielder in the world (behind Zidane, but probably as good as Figo)
 
manutddjw said:
Sorry to bump an old thread.

I got into a heated argument today with a co worker about Beckham. Being a United fan I know how important he was for us and how many goals he contributed to. My co-worker (an Arsenal supporter) basically said he was English hype and average at best. We compared Figo and Becks and when the goal tally was similar he resorted to a Twitter pole with a bunch of jabronis slandering Becks (the pole was like 21-0 in favour of Figo). Worst of he was telling me how Mahrez and Pedro were better than Beckham.

Is selective memory deceiving me here? I always thought and still do think he was great player. How do you guys rank him?

Thanks a million for the help. I know he knows his stuff and we’re roughly the same age so I’m baffled by this.
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:lol: Thats obviously bollocks. Mahrez is a good player, but Beckham was twice the player Pedro is

At the time, his celebrity status might have made him a bit overrated compared to how good he actually was, but these days it seems reversed and people grossly underrate him because of it. He was a terrific player in his prime and had one of the best right feet to ever grace the game
 
manutddjw said:
Sorry to bump an old thread.

I got into a heated argument today with a co worker about Beckham. Being a United fan I know how important he was for us and how many goals he contributed to. My co-worker (an Arsenal supporter) basically said he was English hype and average at best. We compared Figo and Becks and when the goal tally was similar he resorted to a Twitter pole with a bunch of jabronis slandering Becks (the pole was like 21-0 in favour of Figo). Worst of he was telling me how Mahrez and Pedro were better than Beckham.

Is selective memory deceiving me here? I always thought and still do think he was great player. How do you guys rank him?

Thanks a million for the help. I know he knows his stuff and we’re roughly the same age so I’m baffled by this.
Click to expand...

Obviously better than Pedro, but Mahrez is a very good player too. They are so different with Beckham mostly being about a touch to get the ball out of his feet then the best crosses into the box you'll see and some great freekicks, while Mahrez was great at through passes for Vardy in Leicester's title win, is very strong one on one dribbling and shooting from open play. I could see Mahrez getting the nod because I'm not sure if you replaced Mahrez with Beckham in Leicester's title win they would still manage it. I think Mahrez' individual ability was key
 
I think when people say "one of the best crossers of the ball" is does him a bit of a disservice, and it's simply because he played from the right. He was in fact one of the best, if not the best passer of the ball I've seen - and he'd spot a forward run from literally anywhere.

Who could forget that game versus Madrid where he got benched, then came on and turned the game on it's head - brilliant player
 
He was a dead ball specialist on top of being an extraordinary talent. If he had slightly more pace he would've been the prototype of a perfect player
 
manutddjw said:
Sorry to bump an old thread.

I got into a heated argument today with a co worker about Beckham. Being a United fan I know how important he was for us and how many goals he contributed to. My co-worker (an Arsenal supporter) basically said he was English hype and average at best. We compared Figo and Becks and when the goal tally was similar he resorted to a Twitter pole with a bunch of jabronis slandering Becks (the pole was like 21-0 in favour of Figo). Worst of he was telling me how Mahrez and Pedro were better than Beckham.

Is selective memory deceiving me here? I always thought and still do think he was great player. How do you guys rank him?

Thanks a million for the help. I know he knows his stuff and we’re roughly the same age so I’m baffled by this.
Click to expand...

Beckham should have won the ball on d'or in 1999. The one thing he didn't have was outright pace and it didn't really matter to him anyway.
 
He's on the wind-up. Beckham came second in the Ballon D'or in 1999 and at the time that felt totally fair. He was genuinly one of the best players in the world. He's not a great like Charlton or Giggs, but he's equal to the likes of Rooney and Ferdinand in terms of both talent and impact in my opinion.
 
largelyworried said:
He's on the wind-up. Beckham came second in the Ballon D'or in 1999 and at the time that felt totally fair. He was genuinly one of the best players in the world. He's not a great like Charlton or Giggs, but he's equal to the likes of Rooney and Ferdinand in terms of both talent and impact in my opinion.
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I'm not sure Giggs belongs on the same level as Charlton?
 
He is underrated because of his celebrity status, there are many ignorant people who think he was rated because he was a celebrity.

He had such a clean strike, his passing was awesome. In today's game he would have played as CM and would have been rated as one of the best CMs in the world.
 
"He cannot kick with his left foot, he cannot head a ball, he cannot tackle and he doesn't score many goals. Apart from that, he's all right." - George Best
 
He was a great player. People talk about him lacking pace and a trick but so did Keane! and Scholes. Truth is Beckham played on the right because of his delivery. In the modern game he’d be part of the midfield 3 which would suit his strengths more. Even I. Saying that Beckham was one of the best players in the world at United. His passing, long range is the best i have ever seen, and by some distance. He could also mix it up and play between the lines, score from distance, set pieces and his work rate was top draw. He was on a completely different level to Mahrez ffs.

He and Keane were our best players from 99-02 and Becks was rightly considered in the top 5 in the world in that period. A superstar and phenomenal player.
 
manutddjw said:
Sorry to bump an old thread.

I got into a heated argument today with a co worker about Beckham. Being a United fan I know how important he was for us and how many goals he contributed to. My co-worker (an Arsenal supporter) basically said he was English hype and average at best. We compared Figo and Becks and when the goal tally was similar he resorted to a Twitter pole with a bunch of jabronis slandering Becks (the pole was like 21-0 in favour of Figo). Worst of he was telling me how Mahrez and Pedro were better than Beckham.

Is selective memory deceiving me here? I always thought and still do think he was great player. How do you guys rank him?

Thanks a million for the help. I know he knows his stuff and we’re roughly the same age so I’m baffled by this.
Click to expand...

Mahrez and Pedro.. FFS

Beckham was an incredible player, my second favourite player of all time. So I might be biased in more ways than one. He had the most unique striking and passing of a football I have ever seen, had a great football brain and was so hard working. His passing range and accuracy from any area of the pitch was phenomenal. His celebrity status and fallout from him leaving Man Utd go against him in these things. Had he stayed he would've played until he was 40 , probably have moved more central and been more highly regarded . But it wasn't to be.

Figo was also a totally different player to Beckham, there are very little similarities to their games. Beckham was an out and out winger for the most part, Figo was more of like modern wide forwards as part a front three, he could float all over the pitch.

Easiest way to settle the argument.

One got nutmegged by John O'Shea, after a pass from the other and one didn't.


 
Champagne Football said:
Beckham was voted second in the Ballon D'Or in 99, second to only Rivaldo with many feeling Beckham should have won it. Beckham came 4th in 2001 and on 2 other occasions made the top 10 final list.

De Bruyne has never been voted in the top 3, with 9th place his best ever Ballon D'or finish in 2018.

In 98/99 Beckham had 9 goals and 17 assists. De Bruyne last season had 9 goals and 20 assists.

De Bruyne is clearly a better playmaker than Beckham ever was, but Beckham was superior with free kicks, crosses and probably long range belters too. Scholes was a better playmaker than Gerrard and Lampard but it doesn't necessarily mean he was better than them.

People forget how good Beckham was. He turned to shit at Madrid even though he was decent enough there. Similar to how Bale went from phenomenon to bang average after a couple of seasons in Madrid. Arjen Robben being another phenomenon who looked average in Madrid.
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And yet the combined "greatness" of these two players could do nothing for England. It was obvious that either these two players couldn't play together or well, the alternative is too far-fetched to mention.
 
manutddjw said:
Sorry to bump an old thread.

I got into a heated argument today with a co worker about Beckham. Being a United fan I know how important he was for us and how many goals he contributed to. My co-worker (an Arsenal supporter) basically said he was English hype and average at best. We compared Figo and Becks and when the goal tally was similar he resorted to a Twitter pole with a bunch of jabronis slandering Becks (the pole was like 21-0 in favour of Figo). Worst of he was telling me how Mahrez and Pedro were better than Beckham.

Is selective memory deceiving me here? I always thought and still do think he was great player. How do you guys rank him?

Thanks a million for the help. I know he knows his stuff and we’re roughly the same age so I’m baffled by this.
Click to expand...
Christ on a bike.
 
manutddjw said:
Sorry to bump an old thread.

I got into a heated argument today with a co worker about Beckham. Being a United fan I know how important he was for us and how many goals he contributed to. My co-worker (an Arsenal supporter) basically said he was English hype and average at best. We compared Figo and Becks and when the goal tally was similar he resorted to a Twitter pole with a bunch of jabronis slandering Becks (the pole was like 21-0 in favour of Figo). Worst of he was telling me how Mahrez and Pedro were better than Beckham.

Is selective memory deceiving me here? I always thought and still do think he was great player. How do you guys rank him?

Thanks a million for the help. I know he knows his stuff and we’re roughly the same age so I’m baffled by this.
Click to expand...
Don't wanna seem rude, but your coworker is a bellend.
 
He had a good range of passing. His long passing and crosses were exceptional. His delivery from deadball situations were excellent. Coupled with a high work-rate, drive, intensity and great stamina you had almost the perfect midfielder.

He was also an intelligent player. Was just as comfortable coming inside 'tucking in' from the right-wing as he was hugging the touchline bombarding the opposition with pinpoint crosses.

Loved him when was at United.

Time to put some respect on his name. He was a world class player.

Would still be world class in today's game.
 
Apart from his famous right foot, he is also very tenacious and had triple lungs.

Beckham is without a doubt a word class player in his playing days...

You should stop arguing with deluded Arsenal fans, they are the worst of the worst.
 
Criminally underrated because his celebrity status seemed to become more important than his footballing ability(to the public).

Was he the first footballer to have that sort of celebrity status because to me it feels like he's Becks the celeb first, footballer second? I'm not sure I've seen that with any other player, especially a player of his quality.

I think he is even underrated in here, probably because he didn't stay with us for his whole career.

He was phenomenal.
 
IMO he was ahead of his time as a player in England. Started out as a central CM and got played as a RW to accommodate our 442 at the time. Today he’d probably play as a deep laying playmaker (Pirlo), or more advanced like Silva / De Bruyne

Very underrated technically, probably because of United style of play back then, his attributes and being put out wide he’s mostly remembered for crosses and freekicks. But extrapolate from that and you’d realise he’s passing was equal to Scholes or anyone else in Europe.
 
bsCallout said:
Criminally underrated because his celebrity status seemed to become more important than his footballing ability(to the public).

Was he the first footballer to have that sort of celebrity status because to me it feels like he's Becks the celeb first, footballer second? I'm not sure I've seen that with any other player, especially a player of his quality.

I think he is even underrated in here, probably because he didn't stay with us for his whole career.

He was phenomenal.
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George Best. I wasn’t born during Best’s playing days but he was still famous even when he was no longer rich and his son still got some fame off his name. So can imagine during his players years it would have been another level, probably more then Beckham as back then less celebrities in general

Also George Best’s fame wasn’t marketed or branded. It was purely about his personality + looks and being very very good at what he did
 
Never debate with an Arsenal fan. They’re more deluded than Liverpool fans.
 
Beckham was on level with De Bruyne and maybe Salah. He wasn’t on the same level as Zidane or Ronaldinho. Also saying Beckham doesn’t belong to the class of players who won. Ballon d’Or winners.
 
A lot of people rate Beckham ahead of Giggs and some are wondering whether he was even better than Mahrez? :lol:

Beckham was world class. Phenomenal passing, crossing and dead ball accuracy, top stamina and work rate to match and a scorer of great goals. Disagree with those claiming he could match up to Scholes in midfield, but there's not many who can. His standing took a bit of a hit due to how his career panned out post 2003 but he really was top notch.
 
I wonder if Mahrez or Pedro will ever finish 2nd in the Ballon D’or? He arguably should of won it as well.
 
lex talionis said:
Beckham was a great footballer whose reputation was overshadowed by his celebrity status. How great? On the level of prime De Bruyne and peak Pogba. Maybe he doesn’t make the PL all time XI but he’d easily be — assuming we’re talking about Beckham between 97-05 — on this year’s PL XI squad, a club to which “average” footballers are not invited.

“Average at best” is idiocy.
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I'm by no means anti-pogba but it's insulting to compare Beckham to him.
 
032Devil said:
And yet the combined "greatness" of these two players could do nothing for England. It was obvious that either these two players couldn't play together or well, the alternative is too far-fetched to mention.
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Shit manager at the time. Was ridiculous to play them both in a midfield 2. Would be as daft as playing Pogba and Bruno in a midfield 2 double pivot at Utd.

Should have been a midfield 3 of Hargreaves, Carrick and Scholes back then.
 
Beckham had a wonderful touch and weight of pass, certainly wasn't all about set pieces and crosses, although inevitably that was a key component of the systems at the time as a winger.

Now he would be more of a passer in central midfield, most likely. Offered some protection there is no doubt he could dictate things. He showed he could do this to a good level towards the end of his career so if he was tailored this way from the start I think he'd have been some player in that position. Very similar to somebody like De Bruyne who can operate in those areas and pull wide to find space for crosses.

Pointless to compare to somebody like Mahrez because of how far the roles have diverged.
 
Ferguson’s Hairdryer said:
IMO he was ahead of his time as a player in England. Started out as a central CM and got played as a RW to accommodate our 442 at the time. Today he’d probably play as a deep laying playmaker (Pirlo), or more advanced like Silva / De Bruyne

Very underrated technically, probably because of United style of play back then, his attributes and being put out wide he’s mostly remembered for crosses and freekicks. But extrapolate from that and you’d realise he’s passing was equal to Scholes or anyone else in Europe.
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Yeah, can imagine him being unbelievable as the right central midfielder in a 4-3-3 like De Bruyne is currently. Sitting in that half-space crossing to Cavani, it'd be a cheat code.
 
He was absolutely brilliant. Maybe just one tier below world class for me. I think the only thing that held him back from that next level was the lack of ambition he showed in leaving us. In terms of dedication and technical ability though he was right up there.
 
Good player. Sweet sweet right foot. Helped out with defending, got stuck in. A hairdressers dream!
 
manutddjw said:
Sorry to bump an old thread.

I got into a heated argument today with a co worker about Beckham. Being a United fan I know how important he was for us and how many goals he contributed to. My co-worker (an Arsenal supporter) basically said he was English hype and average at best. We compared Figo and Becks and when the goal tally was similar he resorted to a Twitter pole with a bunch of jabronis slandering Becks (the pole was like 21-0 in favour of Figo). Worst of he was telling me how Mahrez and Pedro were better than Beckham.

Is selective memory deceiving me here? I always thought and still do think he was great player. How do you guys rank him?

Thanks a million for the help. I know he knows his stuff and we’re roughly the same age so I’m baffled by this.
Click to expand...

If he resorted to a twitter poll with 21 votes he definitely lost the argument. :lol:

However, I'm confused if he's being compared with Figo, he can't be average. Are you sure your mate is ok?

My take is that he performed brilliantly for us on a regular basis when we were one of if not the best club in the world.
 
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