Beckham the player is just a small pawn in this game

I've been meaning to get a Bob Dylan quote in there for some time, hope you enjoyed it!!

It's true though. Beckham the player is only a small component of the circus that surrounds him these days. And I love the man. As a proud Man United fan, I have fond memories of Beckham playing a pivotal role in securing the treble for us in 1999, his goals, his passing and his work rate were always so important to us, he produced so many assists for Yorke and Cole at that time, it really was an amazing team and Beckham was integral to that.

When he left I was gutted, but you just don't cross the big man! Fergie grew tired of the circus that went with Beckham too, the glitz and glamour of his social life, and his penchant for going out to Fashion Shows and Premieres in London, rather than having an early night back home in Manchester.

Fergie called time on Beckham's reign at Old Trafford and I think Becks has always regretted that, which is sad really, because he comes across as the boy who was thrown out of home and never accepted back, no matter how hard he’s grovelled back to Daddy.

Ask yourself why Giggs and Scholes have stayed at Old Trafford all their careers but Beckham hasn’t and I think we all know the answer, although Beckham probably doesn't agree it was enough of a reason for him to go.

That said, perhaps Fergie could see that Beckham's lack of pace might see him suffer in the future. Especially when United signed Ronaldo. When Ronaldo was in his pomp for United (I am aware he is still in a pomp of sorts elsewhere – splitter!) he too was a great passer, but he was also so quick, and he could cut into the box and destroy sides with his finishing at will. He was like a Beckham, Giggs and Van Nistelrooy all rolled into one player, and that's not much of an exaggeration!

Either way, Beckham went on to Madrid and although Madrid struggled at first, he did at least win La Liga before he set off for LA Galaxy, where he remains to this day. He went to Madrid as one of the best players in Europe and England's most important player. He left Santiago Bernabeu a supposedly faded force, supposedly ex-England player, and fit only for the knackers’ yard of MLS football.

Why oh why he went there, I will never know (Oh, $50mm a year you say?!) Still, he's not short of a penny or two, surely he could have stayed in Europe and given himself half a chance at remaining in the England squad and at playing at a reasonable level for several years to come?

Beckham is both a shrewd business man (or at least pays business men to be shrewd on his behalf) and fiercely loyal, and he always said that he'd never play for another English Premier League team in the future, which is where, after a couple of seasons split between LA Galaxy and AC Milan (wonder which one he prefers playing for?!) we find ourselves; on the cusp of him joining Spurs for a few weeks on loan.

But in typical Beckham style, a deal could not be agreed upon simply, quickly and efficiently, could it? Oh no!

We've had talk of him being a political pawn in the game to secure the Olympic stadium; LA Galaxy are owned by AEG, Spurs potential business partners if their bid for the Olympic stadium is successful (surely that can’t be true, can it?).

We've had talk that the hold up is who foots the bill for his insurance premium, and also the stumbling block at present seems to be the fact that, with only 4 premier league games available for Beckham to play in if his loan is to end in February as is presently expected, is it really worth Spurs using up one of their 25 squad places for the second half of the season, just for a maximum of 4 games return?

I have certainly never seen coverage like this for what basically amounts at present to a player training with a Premier League side. Sky Sports talk of a "Deal being struck" whereby Beckham can train with Spurs for a month. Big wow!! Tierry Henry is down the road training with Arsenal and there sure aint any camera's outside their training ground filming him coming in and out of each day. Beckham himself trained at Arsenal last year and I don't remember any coverage like this.

I hope he does play for Spurs, I really do. My dad supports them so I have a soft spot for them, and I also have a soft spot for Beckham too, because beneath all the chaos and the press coverage, I think he's thoroughly decent chap who would do anything for his team or his country. It'd be nice to see him in the Premier League again, but for all the qualities he brings, notice how this blog talked about his footballing acumen at the start of this blog, when he was a Man United player, and it hasn't done since.

I think that's the point Sir Alex Ferguson was trying to make in the end. Best not kick a boot at a player to prove the point next time though eh Sir Alex?!