No
Did Sir Alex Ferguson make a mistake selling David Beckham???
- Thread starter Red4Life_#7
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He couldn't carry the ball and was dispossessed easily. Plus he had the arrogance that made him a problem for Fergie in the dressing room. His time passed.
He was lethal with Ruud in the box.
He was lethal with Ruud in the box.
Sir Alex absolutely did the right thing and the very best years of Beckham’s career were for us, he had a great game here or there for Real or England but nowhere near the consistency he had with us.
£25 million back in 2003 was a lot of money for a transfer and we used less than half to sign Ronaldo then play in a different way, slowly we built the team around younger players again such as Ronaldo and Rooney and it paid off yet again as that period between 2006-2011 was one of our most successful periods ever.
The problem was Beckham started to believe the media hype around him and his wife to the point he started believing ‘Brand Beckham’ was bigger than Man Utd and bigger than Sir Alex, his performances in his last couple of seasons were waning and Sir Alex saw it so sold him which is exactly how Sir Alex also set it up for Moyes to do the same with Rooney.
£25 million back in 2003 was a lot of money for a transfer and we used less than half to sign Ronaldo then play in a different way, slowly we built the team around younger players again such as Ronaldo and Rooney and it paid off yet again as that period between 2006-2011 was one of our most successful periods ever.
The problem was Beckham started to believe the media hype around him and his wife to the point he started believing ‘Brand Beckham’ was bigger than Man Utd and bigger than Sir Alex, his performances in his last couple of seasons were waning and Sir Alex saw it so sold him which is exactly how Sir Alex also set it up for Moyes to do the same with Rooney.
Again, I don't really remember this dip in Beckham's abilities around that time. I think people are using the fact he was dropped by Fergie to assume some kind of retrospective declining of his talents, putting two and two together and coming up with 5. This was a player wanted, and became, a staple of the Real Madrid team for several years after. The assumption that because Fergie dropped him it somehow meant he was on the wane or less important to the team seem quite far of the mark. I considered it almost unquestioned lore that he fell out with the manager over entirely non-footballing reasons. Strange to see that re-written as Beckham being dropped because he became less important to the team or less effective as a player.
It was wrong letting him go for that price.
have always said yes and simple don't understand how anyone can say no. we rave about Paul Scholes' passing but not seen anyone beter tahn beckham ever
Yes and No.
Yes he still had more years left in him and was one of the best footballers in the world at the time.
And no because we might have never signed Ronaldo if Beckham didn’t leave. The pressure of Ronaldo being Beckham’s replacement and him taking the number 7 shirt was what ultimately tipped him for greatness. Without that, who knows what might have happened?
I still would have loved to have witnessed Beckham and Ronaldo in the same United team.
Yes he still had more years left in him and was one of the best footballers in the world at the time.
And no because we might have never signed Ronaldo if Beckham didn’t leave. The pressure of Ronaldo being Beckham’s replacement and him taking the number 7 shirt was what ultimately tipped him for greatness. Without that, who knows what might have happened?
I still would have loved to have witnessed Beckham and Ronaldo in the same United team.
Given the emergence of Ronaldo, and the period of dominance we had in the latter part of that decade, no. It hurts to say that as he was my hero growing up - my first United game was away to Wimbledon when he scored from the half-way line when I was 4!
Alongside Stam, Beckham's probably the only high profile player that, had it not been for off-field problems, Fergie wouldn't have sold.
Alongside Stam, Beckham's probably the only high profile player that, had it not been for off-field problems, Fergie wouldn't have sold.
Our biggest mistake was not selling him to Barcelona. Their president promised Beckham and when that fell through they went after Ronaldinho and got him. Had Barcelona gotten Beckham, we would’ve had a free run at Ronaldinho that even Kenyon couldn’t have fecked up.
Yes... I think you are right!!
I cheered when we bought CR7 even thou I didn't even know who he was, I just liked his game haha! But not getting Ronaldinho was the biggest mistake of all. CR7 wasn't ready when he came in, even thou he did swim, he was thrown into uncharted waters. Ronaldoinho would have taken us to another level, like he did with Barca.
No. The day he drove into training with an Alice band to help show off where the boot had hit him was the day it ended.
No, the relationship had broken down. What was a big mistake was not replacing Scholes after he retired.
Letting Beckham go was like having to put down your sick dog. It was heartbreaking but you knew it was for the best.
I don't think this was true. Both Madrid and Barcelona wanted Beckham, and verbally told United that they would stay away from Ronaldinho if they got Beckham.
In fact, United got duped because Ronaldinho never had the intention of going to cold, rainy Manchester. He was at Paris at that time and his family and him wanted to move to Madrid or Barcelona. So even if Beckham was sold to Barcelona, Ronaldinho would have gone to Madrid.
United was rejected before by several stars, especially those from Latin America, due to the location. However, Arsenal and Chelsea did not seem to have any issues because they are based in London.
Well it's a difficult one. He had begun to believe his own hype. That was unfortunate. But it's not just selling a player. Its a bad message to send out. It effects others. I think it effected Ruud just like us selling Stam upset and annoyed Keane. But thats how Sir Alex was. He didn't create too big a squad to the detriment of a player. It created a few issues in that, some might say it was an unambitious move. You want to buy top players, not sell them.
We can look at who we brought in however. It should have been Ronaldinho and Ronaldo. Or if our board hadn't have been penny pinching twits, we might have had both Robben (when he was youngster and/or when we sold Ronaldo) and Ronaldo. We didn't do too but but we come out of it with scars because we could have done better. We are not a selling club but it hurt the mentality of the fanbase. They think all our players want to play for Madrid, which is not the case.
From the POV of Ruud, I think he would have potentially had more success at United and thus we might have enjoyed more success. But we will never know. There's a few perspectives you can look at it from. I think it's not a road you want to go down but we didn't come out of it in two bad shape
There are pros and cons...
We can look at who we brought in however. It should have been Ronaldinho and Ronaldo. Or if our board hadn't have been penny pinching twits, we might have had both Robben (when he was youngster and/or when we sold Ronaldo) and Ronaldo. We didn't do too but but we come out of it with scars because we could have done better. We are not a selling club but it hurt the mentality of the fanbase. They think all our players want to play for Madrid, which is not the case.
From the POV of Ruud, I think he would have potentially had more success at United and thus we might have enjoyed more success. But we will never know. There's a few perspectives you can look at it from. I think it's not a road you want to go down but we didn't come out of it in two bad shape
There are pros and cons...Loved Becks but SAF got it spot on. Would love a 22 year old Becks in the team right now with his skill set.
Fergie's whole ethos was about hard work, team spirit etc. He obviously felt that Beckham's lifestyle was a distraction and set a bad example within the club. He had to let him go. For pure footballing reasons, sure it might have been a mistake to lose a player with Beckham's ability for so little, but technical ability was only one part of what you needed to be a United player under Fergie. I don't understand how anyone can say it was a mistake for that reason.
because as beckham showed elsewhere and to this day, his work ethic was perfect. what fergie didn't like was beckham being married to a spice girl and that he stopped doing all the extra training he did as a youngster, which no one else ever did
State of this thread 
who made the mistake?
Change the thread title ffs
who made the mistake?Change the thread title ffs
Top Brazilian players usually don't want to play in the UK, Juninho went to Middlesborough because he wasn't exactly at his best elsewhere and he was offered a lot of money. I doubt very much Ronaldhino could have really been lured to Manchester, it was mostly newspaper speculation.
Absolutely no way was it a mistake selling Becks. The overriding problem Sir Alex had with him was his attitude, not his playing. He had never relied on pace because he didn't have it and he didn't have to be fast. Becks' outstanding gift was being comfortable on the ball and passing in the way that non British players are noted for. He was always a gusty player as well, in his own way until the last 2 seasons or so driven as Keano.
Becks and his agent were playing too many games for United's liking - United offered him an upgraded contract but he hummed and hawed about it because for some time he had been in contact with Real Madrid.
I lost some respect for him when he made those weak excuses in his ghosted autobiography along the lines of 'They pushed a contract at me and said sign this'. But on the other hand he claimed that United didn't want him. No need to be so weasel-like about it.
SAF had nothing to do with that, at the end it was Beckham's decision to leave. It was out of Fergie's hands.
Yes. Beckham was United through and through. Sir Alex Ferguson was old school and took time to adjust.
Beckham would never have left and been a one club man imo
Beckham would never have left and been a one club man imo