Did Sir Alex Ferguson make a mistake selling David Beckham???

Did Sir Alex make a mistake in selling David Beckham?

  • Yes

    Votes: 53 32.7%
  • No

    Votes: 109 67.3%

  • Total voters
    162

red4ever 79

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He made a mistake in a sense there was no one left to kick a boot at, however in retrospect we signed Ronaldo instead right? Beckham never recaptured the form that he had possessed in previous situations so it was the right decision. Like Beckham as a man thought, much respect to the guy
 

Alex99

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Don't think so. Seem to remember a lot of frustrations surrounding Beckham in his last season or two with us, not all centred on his celebrity-status. I remember my dad especially going off on one on a regular basis about how Beckham wasn't crossing the ball as much, and instead opting to turn around and play it backwards twenty yards to Gary Neville.
 

BAMSOLA

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In the long term no, although there was some short term pain as Ole was never gonna be able to make that position his own in the long run. However Ronaldo was signed a season or two later and may not have been such an urgent signing had we had better right sided options like Beckham at the time.
 

RDCR07

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The code is, and always should be What goes on in the dressing-room STAYS in the dressing-room

ps. Home-grown, thanks for asking
Will you be the same if something likes this happens in your company? A couple of bosses/managers beat you up. Will you not claim compensation and sue? Or will you keep quiet about it? This isnt prison. You dont have to scared of speaking out and fear death.
 

Class of 63

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Beckham got stiches for it, it may not be intentional, but he puts on a bandaid for it. How's that wrong?

He didn't make a meal out of it, he didn't sue saf or causing a fuss. What else could he do differently? Going out with his stiches covered in crusted blood?
:eek:

Hello, he wanted the World as his brother to know what had happened, i'm only surprised he didn't wear a t-shirt saying "look at what Fergie just did" for those slow on the uptake......

Then the day after, having slept on it where you'd have hoped common-sense would've kicked in he told anybody that would listen that the other players had to hold him back because he was ready to attack Fergie ffs

And as for what he could've done differently, he could've said it happened in the match, he could've wore a hat, or put his hood up, or had his hair down, or.....
 

Dobbs

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Will you be the same if something likes this happens in your company? A couple of bosses/managers beat you up. Will you not claim compensation and sue? Or will you keep quiet about it? This isnt prison. You dont have to scared of speaking out and fear death.
There really is no comparison between a dressing room and an office. Right or wrong it's a completely different set of rules.
 

sammsky1

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:eek:

Hello, he wanted the World as his brother to know what had happened, i'm only surprised he didn't wear a t-shirt saying "look at what Fergie just did" for those slow on the uptake......

Then the day after, having slept on it where you'd have hoped common-sense would've kicked in he told anybody that would listen that the other players had to hold him back because he was ready to attack Fergie ffs

And as for what he could've done differently, he could've said it happened in the match, he could've wore a hat, or put his hood up, or had his hair down, or.....
Totally agreed with you. Beckham asked fans to choose him over SAF. I didn’t. Good riddence to him from that day onwards.

Was no great loss as a player either though we did sell him way too cheaply, so lost out financially.
 
Last edited:
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Becks gave Fergie and United no choice but sell him.

Becks wanted to go but didn't want to put in a transfer request, some of his behaviour was pathetic and he knew what the result would be.
 

Class of 63

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Will you be the same if something likes this happens in your company? A couple of bosses/managers beat you up. Will you not claim compensation and sue? Or will you keep quiet about it? This isnt prison. You dont have to scared of speaking out and fear death.
Beat up ?! He got a boot kicked at him for crissakes, that sort of thing, and a lot worse happens week in week out in testosterone-charged dressing rooms post-match wherever football is played. It's excepted.
 

GifLord

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Selling Beckham and getting rid of Keane when he did, were among two of Fergie's best moves.

Beckham hardly pulled any trees at Real for the majority of his seasons there, and we got rid of that circus around his name.
He was one of the reasons they won the league in 2006-07.
 

arthurka

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Yes, and Van Nistelroy and Tevez but above all of that his unforgivable mistake was appointing Moyes as his successor.
Dont forget Stam...

But no we changed with new players and became the best team in Europe..
 

Mastadon

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Of course not. Ronaldo would have eventually benched Beckham and you would have ended up selling him for less. His relationship with the manager was beyond repair. One of them had to go and it was never going to be Fergie. The biggest loss for you lot was missing out on Ronaldinho. Ronaldo Rooney and Ronaldinho at his peak would have been an insane front line.
 

sammsky1

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Will you be the same if something likes this happens in your company? A couple of bosses/managers beat you up. Will you not claim compensation and sue? Or will you keep quiet about it? This isnt prison. You dont have to scared of speaking out and fear death.
:lol::wenger: not even remotely true, even in today’s millennial snowflake dressing rooms.

It was a pure accident, and during an era when much worse and more violent acts had been deliberately meted out in football dressing rooms across the country. No amount of revisionist spin changes that.
 
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TheeAma

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A don't see how you lot can justify a manager hitting a player, if Fergi was to do that in this day and age the lawsuit would be piling up on him.

Fergi didn't sell Beckham because of playing time or bad performances it was solely down to the power and influence Beckham had, whether Beckham used it or not, SAF realized that if he don't get rid of this player he's gonna have a media uprising on his hand as not only united fans adored beckham but most of the footballing world at the time.

Was it a mistake? The results on the pitch say otherwise but in football it's only a mistake if you suffer afterwards and on that basis its a no.
 

Class of 63

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Totally agreed with you. He asked fans to choose him over SAF. I didn’t. Good riddence from that day onwards.

Was no great loss as a player, though we did sell him way too cheaply, so we lost out financially.
And there was only ever going to be one winner there.....

Think we'd already agreed a £25m deal with Barcelona for a quick sale just to get him out the door, so we couldn't really ask Real Madrid for anymore once David said he wanted to go there.
 

sammsky1

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No. He’d been shit for two and a half years.

Working on his fashion profile.
He was such an amazing asset when the club was his no 1 priority. And he gave us London reds some real ownership of our success. I was one of his biggest fans.

By his final season MUFC was his 4th priority after his family, DB7 brand and England captaincy.

That loss of focus on club football and extra expended energy towards other priorities meant his form significantly declined, to the extent that SAF started picking Solskjaer ahead of him at right midfield.

He never reached the heights of 1998-2001 after that; SAF should be credited for removing him at the perfect time, albeit Gill sold him too cheaply.
 
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DrRodo

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No. He’d been shit for two and a half years.

Working on his fashion profile.
Erm even for those who think it was the right call to sell him, THAT wasnt the reason, because that aint true
 

Frank Grimes

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Fwiw beckham has been a model professional all his time with us. He missed one training due to his son being sick and that's all. For all his fame he never go out on the pitch not giving his all.

Many more talented player crumbles due to fame, and even less than him (balotelli, januzaj, Rivaldo, ronaldo, etc) but not beckham.

He coulr have choosen to be a pop star but he played professionally till 36, in top league even when he lost his pace he never ever lost his dead ball ability.

It really wasn't his fault the media adores him, it really wasn't his fault he's born with a good look and married the girl he falls in love with, who happens to be posh spice. He's still happily married after all this years, so there is love behind all that and not just popularity gimmicks.

What can he do differently? Shave his head? He did it, staying out of the limelight? He tried. He didn't whore out interviews right left center. He didn't indulge in partying and drinking, he didn't gamble, he always runs the most each game.

Saf didn't like him for the circus he brings, but again you can't decide how people perceived you.

He still attend united match long after he's gone, he really loves the club.
I loved Beckham, excellent player for us, but you can't deny he courted attention. That was SAF's main gripe and he decided he could do without him.
 

minoo-utd

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Dont forget Stam...

But no we changed with new players and became the best team in Europe..
No one can deny the ability of SAF the man is just a legend literally, but appointing Moyes was his the biggest mistake ever.
 

TheReligion

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I'm not sure it was a mistake as things didn't work out badly with the arrival of Ronaldo and another European Cup. I do think we could have got more from Beckham though had his relationship with Fergie not deteriorated as it did.

He most certainly was not rubbish before and after he left. I also think he could have done a job as CM and it would have saved us from the likes of Miller, Kleberson and Djemba-Djemba-.
 

Frank Grimes

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It was the right decision at the right time,and maybe the fact that they fell out was a blessing in disguise.We had an excellent team and of course it was filled with world class players,but we were beginning to look a bit one dimensional and we lacked pace in the attacking positions.The squad needed to be rebuilt and we have to remember the fact that we won just 1 title from 2002-2006.Becks,Giggsey,Ruud were all brilliant,but they lacked that bit of unpredictability and they certainly lacked raw pace.So offloading Becks and bringing in a young Ronaldo was a very good decision....
Giggs was rapid, was easily the quickest player on the pitch when I seen United in the flesh for the first time, in 2004, a year after Beckham was sold.
 

VeevaVee

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Eh it's a tough one. I was gutted when it happened. The money, even then, seemed ridiculously low to me too. The most marketable guy in football at the time and one of the best at actually kicking a ball that I've ever seen.
Turned out it meant pastures new, and possibly meant Fergie had chance to reevaluate, which may not have happened otherwise. I was pretty young so may be off the mark there.
 

BennyBlanco

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This is going to make me sound a right bellend, but I was gutted that summer we sold Becks, 100x worse than selling Ronaldo.
It felt like he was Man Utd, homegrown, part of the DNA of the club, looking back now, in hindsight I understand Sir Alex reason to sell him but I still just wish they could have swallowed their pride and made peace before that summer.
 

el3mel

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At this time anyone would say it was a big mistake, but tbh Beckham didn't set the world on fire during his Madrid days so I think it was a close call and not something to regret much. In sense, Beckham best years would always go down to be his United days not his Madrid ones, so we didn't lose much.
 

Sky1981

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:lol::wenger: not even remotely true, even in today’s millennial snowflake dressing rooms.

It was a pure accident, and during an era when much worse and more violent acts had been deliberately meted out in football dressing rooms across the country. No amount of revisionist spin changes that.
It was. Both knew it.

He didn't sue he didn't ask for transfer, he simply wear an Alice band.

Adrenalin and emotion is high, you know how it feels when something hits you instict takes over.

It's not like he spits on fergie and all that.

He was the circus saf dont need, but that's all.
 

Sky1981

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:eek:

Hello, he wanted the World as his brother to know what had happened, i'm only surprised he didn't wear a t-shirt saying "look at what Fergie just did" for those slow on the uptake......

Then the day after, having slept on it where you'd have hoped common-sense would've kicked in he told anybody that would listen that the other players had to hold him back because he was ready to attack Fergie ffs

And as for what he could've done differently, he could've said it happened in the match, he could've wore a hat, or put his hood up, or had his hair down, or.....
You make a fuzz he's wearing an alice band yet you want him to put a hat? Not dressing the patch?

This is beckham, in the age of video zoom, all he wear was an Alice band
 

Class of 63

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You make a fuzz he's wearing an alice band yet you want him to put a hat? Not dressing the patch?

This is beckham, in the age of video zoom, all he wear was an Alice band
Maybe if he'd borrowed this hat from Victoria it would've stayed in house(as it should've done) and nobody would've been the wiser, or here's an idea he could've just had his hair as he had it before the game where his fringe would've covered it, but no, as an opportunist he KNEW exactly what he was doing.

 

Norris

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Didn't we sign a certain ronaldo the following year ? Don't think it was all bad.

But then again, depends on what the OP means by mistake and what level he means it.
 

InfiniteBoredom

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Didn't we sign a certain ronaldo the following year ? Don't think it was all bad.

But then again, depends on what the OP means by mistake and what level he means it.
CR was signed the same summer Becks left. I still remember hearing Ronaldo to Utd after being dejected for most of the summer and getting all giddy, only to be disappointed again when it turned out to be some 17 year old kid from Portugal.

Then that Bolton game happened.

Regarding Becks, I don't think it was a mistake. We certainly could and should have gotten more for the most marketable player in the world, but with or without Beckham in the team we weren't beating that Chelsea team and his presence and partnership with RvN might even hamper the progress of young Rooney/CR.
 

Norris

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CR was signed the same summer Becks left. I still remember hearing Ronaldo to Utd after being dejected for most of the summer and getting all giddy, only to be disappointed again when it turned out to be some 17 year old kid from Portugal.
Yeah, sorry. That was what I meant. Just phrased it wrongly. :)

Regarding Becks, I don't think it was a mistake. We certainly could and should have gotten more for the most marketable player in the world, but with or without Beckham in the team we weren't beating that Chelsea team and his presence and partnership with RvN might even hamper the progress of young Rooney/CR.
Aye, that's true. We probably should have got more for him. But once Becks moved on, our style of play changed as well, which I really liked. So all in all, it seemed like the right decision at the time.
 

Dobbs

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It wasn' a mistake but at the same time was a big shame. He should have spent his entire career at United and gone down as a legend in the same bracket as Giggs and Scholes. He loved the club.

Chucked away over really silly stuff.
 

Sparky10Legend

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Maybe if he'd borrowed this hat from Victoria it would've stayed in house(as it should've done) and nobody would've been the wiser, or here's an idea he could've just had his hair as he had it before the game where his fringe would've covered it, but no, as an opportunist he KNEW exactly what he was doing.


This, it's embarrassingly naive to suggest otherwise