In the ‘oh, you don’t say’ moment of the weeks following the end of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, former England captain David Beckham, in a Yahoo! webchat on Wednesday, has openly admitted that the players in the England squad need to take full responsibility for England’s poor performance.
“Capello did everything that he could have done” (suck up). “We didn’t perform” (“We”? You didn’t play mate). “The manager can do so much and then it’s down to the players” (oh really!? Tell us something we don’t know, like why Capello elected to stick with a 4-4-2 that wasn’t working, like why Capello let goal scorer Peter Crouch see so few minutes, or why Rooney was even playing looking so unfit).
Clad in sleeves of tattoos and a snazzy three piece suit furnished by the FA, Beckham somehow made it on England’s back room staff, a job that surely was some favor (or PR stunt concerning England’s 2018 bid) owed from his and England boss Fabio Capello’s Real Madrid days.
Seriously, what was Beckham’s purpose with the England squad in South Africa? Look good in a suit so TV cameras can send your face to your millions of adoring fans?
Time after time throughout the tournament, Beckham was seen on the sidelines with pursed lips and glaring eyes. A facade of an England player as looks of dismay and contemplation were captured by a camera miraculously shooting his ‘better side’ for the millions watching on TV to drool over (female) or snicker at (male).
Now I know I’m being quite critical of Beckham here. For his fans, I do in fact like him. He was once an effective player who served his various clubs and his country well. I just don’t see the point in his coming out and giving this interview so long after England’s elimination has been dead and buried and written and read about to exhaustion.
And to further my views on Beckham, I don’t see why he’s still associated with the England national team. Was his presence in South Africa a benefit or a detriment to England? What really was his purpose? Will he realistically play for England again? And why do the LA Galaxy let him trek the globe with England as they continue to pay his wages?
One thing’s for sure, Beckham’s obvious blame of the England players wasn’t his finest hour.
I agree. Becks has a phenomenal grasp of the obvious. Now if only he had a little less narcissism and a little more constructive advice for the team…
“The WEEKS following…?” Didn’t the World Cup end just 3 days ago?
It’s all part of his new campaign to play in the 2012 Olympics. No matter what, it smacks of desperation and reeks of a man trying to stay relevant.
He’s always reeked of desperation. I mean, yes, it’s great he wants to play for his country and his comeback into the 2010 picture may have been a cute story but I think it was more about proving all the doubters and about feeding his ego than playing “for England”.
A good point made in the article is that the Galaxy are mad for letting him parade around like this. They’ve had enough controversy with this guy, time for him to put his mouth where the Galaxy money is and play some damn footy in the MLS at the tender age of what, 35? Enough with the England hoping already.
He was asked a question,he answered it honestly. What was he supposed to do make something up so as not to sound obvious?…Muppet…no story here, can’t see why you bothered.
The funny part about the Beckham interview was an e-mail I got from one of the publicists working to promote the interview opportunity. In it, it listed several suggested interview questions that the public could ask Beckham. One of them for Beckham was “What’s your favorite color?”
True story.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
Never ceases to amaze me, the amount of vitriol for David Beckham from all sides. He’s pretty much the Allen Iverson of England.
He played hurt in the MLS title game last season and stuck in it until the end. Was it him or Landycakes that let the wind take their penalty kick in the shoot-out of that game?
And as for the shot at him “trekking around the globe”, it’s not as if he’s Ronaldo in Brasil and only choosing to train when he wants to. He asked the team if he could join England in South Africa, and the Galaxy ownership said yes. I’m sure if they said that they wanted him in L.A. instead, he would’ve stayed. Without he or Donovan in the team, I know Beck’s wages wouldn’t be enough for me to watch the Galaxy.
Finally, I don’t understand – are you waiting for Beckham to split the atom or go toe-to-toe with Stephen Hawking on the theory of black holes? He’s a footballer, for goodness sakes.
What a terrible article. David Beckham was the most vocal person on the England plane, and his presence there was to provide fire and passion, even if it was from the bench, to a team that has a history of playing uninspired football. There’s a reason he’s being motted as a future manager for England.
What would you prefer he do? Not answer questions, not attempt to earn a spot on the team? Not fly to Europe when his nation, a nation that he was once the captain of, calls his number and asks him to play?
A final point – David Beckham would’ve almost certainly made the World Cup roster, so this nonsense that he’s living some sort of fantasy by trying to play for his country is absurd.
The Beckham hate never ceases to amaze me. The one guy who actually gives a damn about playing for England, and people say he’s just feeding his ego. This is such a gross overreaction to such a simple statement. England got demolished by Germany because Germany played better. The 4-4-2 formation had nothing to do with the outcome of that game.
Matt..I agree with your overall sentiment on this. I read and re-read the article and ended up being both bemused and scratching my head. What on earth is this article meant to achieve, save the writer’s desire to create controversy from what is, to all intents and purposes an innocuous matter? Maybe this article is, to quote Jane, nothing more than an example of narcissism. Is this really the best you can do Jesse?
I’ve no wish to repeat comments already posted but I think it’s a pretty cheap shot to criticise Beckham in this way..bordering on puerile really. Suffice to say, he was there in a professional capacity. Given his vast experience at international and club level, I’m sure reporters or interviewers are seeking a story from any inside source. As has been said already, what did you expect him to say?
The “substance” of the piece, if you can call it that, is a two-line quote, that many fans would agree with:
“Capello did everything that he could have done. We didn’t perform. The manager can do so much and then it’s down to the players”
The article is really just having a go at David Beckham for his celebrity – the points about his opinion England’s performance and his role in the world cup are just window dressing. Love Beckham, or hate him, that argument has gotten pretty stale, and it’s the depths of lazy writing to drag it out again here.
suck it up jesse
I was one of the people who was glad he got injured, I don’t want him anywhere near this team, he hasn’t been good enough to play for England for along time and only gets in the squad because he is David Beckham. There’s enough ego’s in that squad without adding his to the rest, so give it up Beckham, you were decent once but that was along time ago.
He should retire now, in fact he should have retired 5 yrs ago, we certainly don’t want him kicking around in 2 years time.
As for him adding to the squad in South Africa, that is a load of rubbish, the circus that follows him can only be a distraction and this team has enough problems without adding that to it.
He is out injured, so I see no reason why the Galaxy should demand that he stay in L.A. He also wasn’t officially a coach, so I think if he was barking orders on the sideline he would have been overstepping his bounds. He is a former captain and clearly Capello thought he would be a positive influence.
“I just don’t see the point in his coming out and giving this interview so long after England’s elimination has been dead and buried and written and read about to exhaustion”
OH REALLY ? Its ok for unassuming writers to do so on blogs but someone with an opinion that I MAY actually care about, should keep his mouth shut? For whose sake exactly? For your ego?
“He was once an effective player”. As opposed to the 11 robots we saw in an England shirt?
I have this funny feeling if he were fit, he probably would’ve been the most effective England player in South Africa, and that say as much about England than it does him.
Personally, I am inclined to blame the suit for all of England’s ills.
Sorry, but have to agree with the majority of these comments.
Of all the people associated with the England squad, Becks is the one to get his own full article? Don’t be a hypocrite … hacks like you are the ones who keep the focus on the distractions, rather than the real issues.
Beckhan would be great on the right hand side where england where strugling with wright-philips,lennon and milner who did impress but beckham would have been a lot better than him.
The suggestion that a healthy Beckham wouldn’t be worthy of making that team after the fact – England’s worst showing – is just silly.
The only criticism I’d give Beckham, is that he uncomfortably repeated himself several times. He was anything but pithy in his response to the interviewer. Not his finest hour? Correct, but inconsequential at the same time.
One interesting point raised among the reader comments that I think is worth repeating – of all those to criticize, and of all the criticism handed out, isn’t Beckham’s response rather mild? Couldn’t any number of players get an even hotter spotlight put on them?