Posts Tagged ‘David Beckham’

Bye bye Beckham

Friday, December 7th, 2012

I saw on the news this week that David Beckham is leaving LA Galaxy and wants to play one last season with another club, as a final ‘challenge’ to end his career on. Having been a Man United fan for many years, I obviously remember when he was with us. I’ll be honest and say that I never actually rated him particularly highly – he’s pretty good with a dead ball and scores the odd decent strike, but he never stood out as the hard-working, talismanic player that many desperately wanted him to be.

In the end I think he succeeded in creating a persona and brand the preceded any talent (or lack of) that he had (or didn’t have). He played in many of the biggest clubs in the world throughout his career, moving to Real Madrid after us and also playing a stint at AC Milan, on loan from LA Galaxy. I think it’s fair to say that he was never the best player in any of the teams he played in. You could be cruel and say that Real Madrid and AC Milan got more out of signing him through replica shirt sales than football performance, but I wouldn’t go quite that far. What he lacked in all-round skill and football ability he must have made up for in experience and, through his presence alone, motivation and inspiration, particularly for the younger players around him.

We’ve not been told who Beckham’s going to for his final season as a professional footballer. There has been talk of some French clubs but there’s also a chance he’ll come back to the Premier League for one last taste of English football. It would be interesting if he did do that, but who for? I’m not sure putting him in a Man United shirt would be a good idea to be honest but you never know, it might just happen again. And he wasn’t all that bad when he was with us…

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The start of the Olympics

Thursday, July 26th, 2012

You may have noticed that I talk about sport quite a lot and I have to confess it is a bit of an obsession for me. Aside from my work in the studio, recording music, sport really is my passion in life – I’ll watch anything, even a bit of show jumping if it’s on. So two weeks of solid sport sounds like heaven to me but obviously I can’t watch everything so I’ve made a list of the main things I’d like to see during the Olympics. Here are a few of my top things to watch during London 2012:

  • Road cycling: 28/29 July and 1 August 2012

    • I don’t mind the other types of cycling – track, MTB etc. – but road racing is my favourite, probably because of watching the Tour de France. The men’s race is one of the first events of the games, on Saturday 28 July, so let’s hope we start as we mean to go on with Mark Cavendish winning gold for us.

  • Men’s 100m: 4/5 August 2012

    • It’s one of the shortest events but also one of the most exciting, as well as being the hottest ticket in town. He’s had a patchy season so far but Usain Bolt is still the favourite and I’ll definitely be tuning in to see if he can beat his own world record.

  • Football: 25 July: 11 August 2012

    • It doesn’t feel quite right without many of our star England players, not to mention David Beckham, but I’ll still be following the football with interest to see how we get on. I’ll probably watch the women’s matches too.

  • Tennis: 28 July: 5 August 2012

    • Having reached his first Wimbledon final this year, Andy Murray turns his attention to a gold medal. But will Federer stand in his way for that one as well?

  • Canoe slalom: 29 July -2 August 2012

    • The thing I love about the Olympics is that you get to watch lots of random sport you otherwise wouldn’t. I’ll probably get wrapped up in the table tennis or the fencing as well but canoe slalom is one of those sports that I love watching when it’s on – which is about once every four years.

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Summer of sport

Thursday, June 28th, 2012

There’s so much sport this summer I’m finding it hard to keep up so I thought I’d do a little review of where we’re at, as a reminder for me if nothing else.

  • Euro 2012

    • England are, of course, out but there are still two potentially decent games of football to play – Germany v Italy in a semi-final tonight and the winner of that goes on to meet Spain in the final this Sunday. I listened to the Spain v Portugal semi final on the radio while I was tidying up the studio and it sounded like a pretty boring game of football, compared to some of the others we’ve had. Spain didn’t seem to be bothered about attacking until the second half of extra time, when it was too late. Anyway, my Portugal v Germany final prediction is obviously out of the window now (surprise surprise) so I’m going with Germany still and (as much as it pains me to say this) I hope they beat Spain in the final. Spain suffocate the game too much for me and it’s not enjoyable to watch.

  • Wimbledon

    • I’ve been watching Andy Murray this afternoon a little. That’s the benefit of being your own boss I guess – I had a little television on in the editing room while a singer was doing some recording. I’m not sure Murray can win it this year but I wouldn’t be surprised if he got to the final. I predict Nadal will win this year though.

  • Olympic football

    • It was announced today that David Beckham didn’t make the Team GB football squad. There are a lot of people saying it’s a disgrace but I’m not sure. He is a great ambassador for the game and for the London 2012 Olympics but is he really still the best we’ve got? If you look at the three players over 23 years old that did get picked – Micah Richards, Ryan Giggs and Craig Bellamy – you’ve got to say they’re much more solid choices. They’re still playing top level Premier League football, while Beckham’s sunning himself in LA.

  • Tour de France

    • A mate got me into cycling a few years ago and I always watch the Tour now – once you know a bit about the tactics and what it takes to win it’s a fascinating sport to watch. We’ve got a British hope going for the overall win this year as well – Bradley Wiggins. It’s our first chance in a long time to take the yellow jersey so it’s going to be an interesting race.

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    Difference between England and Team GB football teams

    Thursday, March 29th, 2012

    I realise that I talk a lot about domestic football on here, specifically Manchester United and the Premier League, but I am also a big fan of our national side and 2012 is going to be a big year for them too. Things are a little different this year, however, because we effectively have two international football teams – England and Team GB, competing in Euro 2012 and the London 2012 Olympic Games respectively. This has never happened before because we haven’t entered the football competition in the Olympics since 1972 – the first year that footballers were able to turn professional in the UK. But with London hosting the 2012 Olympics, it’s time for a change.

    There has been a bit of discussion over who should play in the Team GB side. Great Britain is officially made up, as we all know, of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, so it would seem natural that players from all four nations form the team. The Scottish, Welsh and Northern-Irish football authorities didn’t want to take part in discussions, however, so it looks like it’s been left to England to field a side. Whether players from the other nations will be eligible to be selected – Ryan Giggs from Wales, for example – isn’t clear at the moment. As with most things in football, it’s a bit complicated.

    What we do know is that it’s an under-23 competition but three players over 23 are allowed to be in the team, which is why there’s been a bit of hype around David Beckham playing. The squad hasn’t been selected yet though, so we’ll have to wait and see.

    The other national side, England, which, of course, only contains players with English heritage, are playing in Euro 2012, which kicks off on the 8 June 2012, just over a month before the start of the Olympics. It’s being played in Poland and Ukraine and, as ever, hopes are high. Or at least they are for some people – I’ll just be happy if we get past the group stages without too much embarrassment.

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    Beckham United

    Thursday, November 24th, 2011

    Beckham said this week that he wouldn’t go to another English club, having played with the best, United (of course), the club he supports. I respect that – everyone knows he doesn’t need the money so by publicly saying that he basically won’t be influenced by the bank accounts of Chelsea or (worse) Man City is a respectable position in my eyes. He’s interested in football – playing it and supporting it and he understands that to go against your loyalties when you don’t have to is frowned upon.

    To be honest, I never really rated him that much when he was with us. Dead ball situations, fine – he’s got a good right boot on him, but when it comes to movement and aggression on the ball, he always lacked for me a little. I much prefer players like Keane or Cantona, who had real flair with a ball at their feet.

    Still, I’ve watched Beckham’s career with interest and as I say, I’ve got a real respect for him for the way he handles himself and the decisions he makes, so here’s a little United tribute to the man who you have to say goes down as one of United’s legendary number sevens. Not sure we’d ever have him back but it’s a nice gesture to say he wouldn’t go anywhere else!

    Oh, and I almost forgot – Newcastle at home on Saturday and Phil’s managed to get me a ticket to his work’s corporate box. Sweet!

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