So Morgan thinks Ljunberg was a better player than Beckham? It's not even close. Beckham would walk into the starting 11 easily. So would Giggs (over Pires). The rest of the positions may be up for debate, but our wingers were world class. Their''s were good, but nowhere near as good as ours
Piers Morgan: "David Beckham was overrated. Wouldn't play for Arsenal's invincibles."
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
Exactly. Best thing would be if everybody just ignores him.
My tabloids? What does that mean? I don't have any tabloids and i'm not from the UK. Your evaluation of Beckham and your goalpost shifting one of the funniest things in this thread!
This thread is not doing a good job of it. Beckham left United a very long time ago too .
Dunno man, think our midfield two of Keane and Scholes was unmatched as well.
They'd have dropped Ljundberg for Beckham in a heartbeat. Imagine Beckham putting in passes for Henry and Pires on the break.
Definitely Beckham was far better than Ljungberg and would have hands down owned that RM position. One of the best right foots in the game. Made everything look so effortless. Can’t remember but who was Patrick Viera’s midfield partner back then? Would Scholes not have got into that team as Viera’s midfield partner?
You’ve literally never watched him play live and probably aren’t even old enough. Quite possibly the most clueless post I’ve seen here in a long time. If you genuinely think Beckham was only good at free kicks, then you certainly don’t know football dude.
You must know better than Fergie who had him as a bedrock for many years. You must know more than Real Madrid who had him in their team of galacticos which is arguably the most greatest team ever.
You must think Trent Arnold is crap too.
Beckham was a far better midfielder than Ljungberg, but that doesn’t mean he would have suited the Invincibles better. Partly because of the answer to the question you asked, Vieira and Gilberto were our double pivot. We had two World Cup winning lynchpins anchoring our midfield with Bergkamp playing 10 ahead of them. The whole team was geared around the trio of Pires, Henry and Ljungberg running riot as forwards.
Beckham would have been really useful against top sides where having one midfielder on the wing with superb passing, crossing and stamina would have helped us to control the middle third of the pitch. But for the majority of matches our aim was to dispatch the opposition as early as possible with our front line.
It not as simple as saying Beckham was a “far better player”. Perez thought that Beckham was a far better player than Makelele… and that didn’t work out too well for Real Madrid.
Nothing but an attention-seeking idiot, For those that watched Beckham week in and out there's no argument to be had
Goodness me, do people still give Piers Morgan attention for his opinions!?
Is his opinion (on anything) worth any more than any random bloke off the street? If so, why…? What’s his expertise? Genuine questions.
Is his opinion (on anything) worth any more than any random bloke off the street? If so, why…? What’s his expertise? Genuine questions.
Yeah an energetic 6 he'd be great at too. That's my point. His type of football would be even more conducive to the modern game than it was back 25 years ago.
If FA didn't take our Rio away our 2003/04 team would have beaten Arsenal across the season and that wasn't even one of our strongest teams.
I'm fairly sure their unbeaten record would have crashed and burned if they had to continue chasing us that year.
I'm fairly sure their unbeaten record would have crashed and burned if they had to continue chasing us that year.
On Beckham being robbed of the Ballon d'Or, i think he did well to get to 2nd when you consider the status of the English league back then. It was around 5th/6th in the late '90s and simply not a league yet where having a great season for the winner could ensure you be in the running for a high ranking. When you look at where the likes of Mario Basler and Effenberg finished despite winning what was a top 3 league and also having great CL campaigns, i'd say he did remarkably well.
Shevchenko finished 3rd despite being better than Beckham in the CL, but the notably lower status of the Ukrainian league (15th for 99) made things even more difficult for him overall. For league performance, Italy and Spain were really the only two that seemed to carry much weight at the time. Of course this quickly changed as United's late-90s exploits and eventual win regained respect and attention, allowing someone like Owen to win with a season that likely gets him nothing if it happens even just 2-3 years earlier.
Shevchenko finished 3rd despite being better than Beckham in the CL, but the notably lower status of the Ukrainian league (15th for 99) made things even more difficult for him overall. For league performance, Italy and Spain were really the only two that seemed to carry much weight at the time. Of course this quickly changed as United's late-90s exploits and eventual win regained respect and attention, allowing someone like Owen to win with a season that likely gets him nothing if it happens even just 2-3 years earlier.
Bekham was monumental in our treble season and rivaldo was generally a lot more attacking minded as well, both were phenomenal and I've seen most of Beckham and a lot of rivaldo in that season so I don't think comparing their stats alone does bekham justice.
I think so too but I can understand an argument being made for Vieira. I don't agree with it, but I understand why some may put him on top. Ljunberg over Beckham though? Morgan is just trying to make headlines with statements like that
Looks like few have strong opinions on player they know feck all about player. "FIFA rating" "only free kick specialist"
People who started watching football in last few years might think we are talking about JWP.
Why is Piers Morgan utterly worthless opinion even being discussed?
Also why is Piers Morgan still a thing.
Also why is Piers Morgan still a thing.
It's a strange one. Beckham at his peak any day of the week. His form was beginning to drop a wee bit in 2003. Solskjaer started to take his place and he was frozen out forcing his move to Madrid.
Like others have said Ljungberg possibly suited Arsenal's style of play more, interchanging wide forwards, more fluidity etc. Beckham from 1998-2002 was phenomenal. At that moment in time (2003-2004), I'm not sure it's crazy to say Ljungberg would keep his place. He was an excellent player.
Like others have said Ljungberg possibly suited Arsenal's style of play more, interchanging wide forwards, more fluidity etc. Beckham from 1998-2002 was phenomenal. At that moment in time (2003-2004), I'm not sure it's crazy to say Ljungberg would keep his place. He was an excellent player.
300 posts about a Piers Morgan tweet
Say no more
Say no more
Yep, system suitability is often what flies over people's head in these type of discussions. A recent example would be peak Firmino at Liverpool, many people just looked at the spreadsheet and thought he was a relative weak link and adding a stat padding forward to Mane and Salah would shoot Liverpool up a level without realizing the work/sacrifices the Brazilian put's in has been a perfect fit for those two to shine the way they have. I remember the super cup in 2019 we dealt with Liverpool easily in the first half then Firmino came on and had us tripping over ourselves.
Ridiculous post by Piers. There is no Arsenal team that a peak Beckham doesn’t start for. Beckham was world class at his best.
Only shows how clueless you are. One of the things that is most misunderstood with Beckham was his workrate. He was galloping up and down the pitch the entire game - never shirking his defensive responsibility. He had a great partnership with Neville on the pitch and that side was brilliant.
I think a certain football boot would bare witness that 'never' is not the correct term here
Everyone can have a bad game - even if they do their best. One can accuse Beckham of many things, but not tracking back is not one of those thingsI think a certain football boot would bare witness that 'never' is not the correct term here
Piers Moran will say anything for a reaction, he’s a hateful, self serving cnut of a man.
if anything, Beckham's good looks and persona overshadow what an incredible footballer he was... what could we do with a pass master like him in our current setup.
Indeed.
And this becomes even clearer if we're talking about specific - niche, if you will - roles: Beckham's best role is that of a side midfielder (not a winger). In that specific capacity, I would say he's nothing short of historically great.
Just leaving it here from Franz Beckenbauer in 2000.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/1058953.stm
Yes. He also seems to be genuinely stupid.
So, what he says can usually be interpreted in two not mutually exclusive ways: he says it to make himself interesting AND he says it because he's an idiot.
As a few has previously mentioned - Beckham's celebrity status has skewed people's views on his ability too much. There are far too many who actually believe he only reached stardom mainly because of his looks. Also tribalism in England and the poor NT performances in tournament has caused people to talk down their legends too much I feel.
If anything Beckham was and still is underrated. His footballing brain, vision, workrate etc were all top notch - it's just that his otherwordly ability on set pieces and crossing overshadowed his other attributes.
If anything Beckham was and still is underrated. His footballing brain, vision, workrate etc were all top notch - it's just that his otherwordly ability on set pieces and crossing overshadowed his other attributes.
Very true, if you look back at his time as editor of the Mirror you will see just how much he works in the gutter.
Peak Beckham likely gets into most teams in the world, let alone Arsenal's. He was the best crosser of the ball and his passing was almost equal to Scholes in terms of long range and accuracy. You don't need pace and tricks if you only need to make a yard of space and can put the ball on a dime. He was exceptional and i've still not seen anyone like him since. Real Madrid at the peak of their galactico powers with Zidane, Ronaldo, Carlos etc wanted him and he went straight into their first team. World class. Just watch the below video if you didn't witness him.
Without reading all the threads in here, is there actually anyone who saw Becks play live, who thinks he was overrated? The man was amazing, and that’s aside from free kicks and set pieces. His athleticism and engine was on another level.
He was an incredible player and part of the elite professionals who changed the game into what it is today. The Arsenal invincibles were the last bastion of piss head footballers who’d be playing in less than championship level now (yes Tony Adams, I’m looking at you). Becks would be at an elite club and playing for England, almost certainly as captain.
I bet that tit Piers wasn’t saying he couldn’t warm the bench of the invisibles when he pulled us into the euros on his own after yet another typical ‘English’ performance from the squad during that qualifying campaign.
Wasn’t Bentley in that squad/team? Didn’t Piers hear the song the whole premier league away fans sung when he got the ball? “You’re just a Shite David Beckham” if I recall. Unanimously accepted at the time.
I feel bad even rising to it, it’s like a TalkSPORT phone in title on a slow news day.
He was an incredible player and part of the elite professionals who changed the game into what it is today. The Arsenal invincibles were the last bastion of piss head footballers who’d be playing in less than championship level now (yes Tony Adams, I’m looking at you). Becks would be at an elite club and playing for England, almost certainly as captain.
I bet that tit Piers wasn’t saying he couldn’t warm the bench of the invisibles when he pulled us into the euros on his own after yet another typical ‘English’ performance from the squad during that qualifying campaign.
Wasn’t Bentley in that squad/team? Didn’t Piers hear the song the whole premier league away fans sung when he got the ball? “You’re just a Shite David Beckham” if I recall. Unanimously accepted at the time.
I feel bad even rising to it, it’s like a TalkSPORT phone in title on a slow news day.
Yeah, as a player he is underrated. People talk about his set pieces and crossing but he was superb passer too. Inch perfect passes almost all the time both short and long and his shooting was very good too.
Its an objectively false opinion. As false as calling the moon a star
Im forever convinced its his pop star wife and embrace of off field celebrity that created the narrative he was overrated. Especially in those envious of his success and those failing to reconcile how a top level athelete could marry on field elite performance and professionalism with off field super stardom. Where the likes of Best failed.
So to make it pallatable to themselves many preffer to label him overrated