PaddockLad

Beckham jumped through hoops to help get the gig in his old backyard because he knew it would get him attention on the world stage where he likes to be. If he was expecting a place in the squad on the back of it and therefore yet more time in the spotlight then all I can say is life is full of disappointments like this for us mere mortals so he'll just have to get on with it too. For me was at his peak in 2001/2ish, when England had to beat Greece at OT etc, fair enough Real Madrid but he was well into a decline when he left (for Hollywood,funny that...) UNICEF is a noble gig, and obviously they like a famous face because it gets them (and him funnily enough..) into the papers. Seb Coe's speech was a bit more inspiring than a handshake and a chat with a squeaky voiced metrosexual Essex boy I'd imagine and the Becks factor was lost on those in his own sport when we tried for the WC. I'm swimming against the tide here, I know that, but sorry like he's a bit of a joke iyam. If you want a sporting icon then Steve Redgrave springs to mind for me, I love football but a lot of footballers leave a lot to be desired and Beckham's one of them.

He is a national icon, the national icon some would say, Why though?....honestly, I cant see it. He cant even talk properly. He's attractive to members of the female gender and he was a good footballer a decade ago. He's a national icon in the way a reality tv show star is.

Very kind of you to say all that...you're a lovely man ...I was just on the gee up, someone on 5live said it earlier Its a massive commercial own goal, but if Pearce has done it for the reasons stated this morning theres no real argument iyam. I do think Beckham brings out the "in the closet" side of a lot of blokes...nowt wrong with that like but the way he's treated as some sort of national treasure leaves me a bit bemused tbh.

From nufcblog:

Is picking Beckham for the Olympic football not like picking Frank Bruno for the boxing?

Its a London urban colloquialism meaning "that's correct" used by those of an ethnic background other than Anglo Saxon, blud..brrrrrapppp etc etc

Thought Fergie might have wanted the gig...cant see many Scottish players appearing in the squad..Barry Bannon anyone Add Bale and Ramsey to the other two druids and its a good start...Kyle Walker a good shout,that Mchearn? kid from Chelsea....not bad..

"true dat" as I beleive the younger people say David :)The pressure that Pearce must've been under to pick him from the BOC doesn't bare thinking about....ticket sales not top of Psycho's agenda plainly....

Is rigging markets a federal offence in the states?...pity its not against the law here.

Its partially bollocks yeah, his attitude was great, but for me it was a means to an end. His life is about self promotion. I think a lot of the hoopla you get with him eg private security,chef etc was indulged by Erikkson and McLaren but Pearce is a different character to them, no bullshit, all in together etc and he just didnt want the bullshit sideshow that Beckham brings.

You can say what you want mate really, but sometimes it goes beyond good crack, and am sure theres huge amounts of sweaties who are the same. Do you not think people who are cunts in general (theres loads of them, I agree) are just that ; cunts? For me theres little to do with where youre from, if you're like that you're like that. Last season some of the mackems that I work with changed their attitude to me completley when the fixture list was announced and we were at their place 2nd game in. Bitter as fuck when we won as wll, some didnt as much as look in my direction for months, some still dont. But most of them took it on the chin and are great lads. Good and bad everywhere.

You cant say "everyone north of Stirling is an outrageously biggoted English hater", that is, whatever you want to say, demonising a whole area of the UK. Theyres some funny fuckers up there, granted. But there are everywhere.

You miss the point by a fuckin mile though.....its Scottish people with your attitude in Scotland who hate the English. And its English people with your attitude in England who hate the Scots. Its a self perpetuating thing, thinking "oh theyre all the same those fuckers" when the inverse is often the case; people are all the same because most people are ordinary and can get along with anyone. You just cant demonise a whole area of the UK, its ludicrous

"replace the word Scottish with black" I was eduacted in Scotland and can agree with topcat from experience. I was bullied to fuck in the early 80s as I spoke with an Englsih accent, but thats life. It happened and you get on with it. There are some ridiculous attitudes displayed on both sides (see this thread ) even in the tiny village where I was brought up, theres always some arsehole with a chip on his shoulder who wants to judge people as a whole and not as individuals. I got a right kicking when I was younger after a Newcastle match in the Leazes Park from Newcastle fans, I got caught in the cross fire of a fall out between our mob and the Hib's CCS mob (think there had previously been some link up?) they heard my and mates' accents and thought we Hibs. Thing is, even in my late teens at the time, I didnt judge all Geordies to be fuckin cunts because of it. I met one of our mob a while later and was told they felt bad when they found out I'd been going for the best part of a dcade even back then, and 18 monts later I ran into them again and we shook hands, no dramas. If people take offence at the Scots "hating" the English then they need to have a word with themselves. For most north of the border, its the biggest crack going. For a minority its a sad attitiude that spreads to other parts of their lives. Best ignored, although that for some seems difficult.

No, but under the selection criteria (Pearce isnt allowed to pick any players who appeared at the Euros, regardless of age) I wouldve thought he would be a useful player to have on the bench. He's good enough when you discount the whole England squad if you see what I mean. I agree with not taking him, hes a piss taking attention seeker who puts his own agenda over and above anything that may be good for the squad in general, but he's good enough to be picked for it on ability. If Bellamy and Giggs playing is a consolation prize for being Welsh, then the same can't be said for Richards, who has nationality and time on his side, and thats why if you're going to be consistant then Hughes captained N.I. for a decade and shouldve got a squad place iyam.

So he's got a British player who can deliver a better ball than Beckham? Righty-o...

Good for Giggs and Bellamy,never appeared on the world stage before, but Beckham can fuck off. He's had his oppurtunities in front of a worldwide audience of millions at least 4 times. But Pearce can't justify Richards in the same way, and didn't he used to manage Man City when Richards was a nipper?......I'd have given his slot to Aaron Hughes.

The Rangers fans I speak to here at work tell me that the BTC is/was under appeal.....what status that has now the club dosnt exist I don't know.

Sorry I thought you were on about when Maradonna got busted for drugs. And I agree with Stevie,cheating in the heat of the moment during a match is on a different planet to what Rangers have done.

Me for one, and the wider football public in general. And theyd be right. How the majority of the supporters of the cheaating club feel is irrelevent, its what the facts are that count. They can tell themselves lies to justify it, it wont change a thing. And Brazil won the WC in 94, not Argentina.

Yeah but thats the point....if theyre found to have been cheating for the last quarter of a century in gaining that "history" then there is no history. Liquidation is the least of their worries iyam. Having everything erased from the history books that a club had acheived because they cheated would fuckin kill me as a supporter. Dont know how the Rangers fans would feel, most will have different opinions I suppose. I said this the other day; in sport, if you win something by cheating and its proven, then you're not longer the winners. If this "The Big Tax Case" is not proven against them, then what you're saying id pretty much the case. If the double contracts are found to be illegal then the only Rangers FC that a huge percentage of their fan base will have known (anyone under 35-40 say?) will be deemed to have not exisited. Thats a hard pill to swallow if you've spent you're life following any team.

No its not, its what Mike wants so its fine with everyone......well, it was in April anyway

The thing is, is a "good football match" two shite defences and it ending 4-3, or is it Italy not giving England a kick the other night and it ending nowts each? Last night was a different sort of nil nil, and it was pretty dull to be fair. But it was widely predicted that Spain weren't going to be what they were before a ball was kicked this month. Thats proven to be the case, but again the opponenents aren't being given any credit. Italy did that rare thing and actually scored against them. It looks like the absence of Villa and the midfield not being what it was has allowed sides to stop them from scoring as freely as in the last two tournaments. If that makes them less attractive fair enough, but theyre still unbleiveably hard to break down, which again isnt easy on the eye but is certainly good football.

Spain miss David Villa as much as Barca do.....and Xavi is knocking on a bit now, which I think affects the team just as much. He used to be able to skip past a pressing player and still get a pass away to continue a move, but now he's lost that ability a bit. A lot of the play goes through Alonso now and he's less attacking by nature then Xavi. Playing Busquets alongside Alonso is having an effect as well, Marcos Senna did their job on his own 4 years ago.

I think this is partially right....and the twats on the bbc lead the way in seeing the game in strictly "great/shite" terms. It was hardly a classic, but Spain were too heavily criticised and not enough credit was given to how Portugal played. Hansen,Shearer and Linekar are like fuckin cheerleading fan boys half the time, and theyve all played at the highest level. Lee Dixon talks the most sense, a lone voice of sanity. But even he didnt point out that Portugal were out on their feet in ET and gave Spain a lot more space, rather than Spain suddenly upping their game being the only factor in their improved performance.