Spoofers in the premiership

Prufrock wrote:

Also he was runner up in the world player of the year award twice. Explain that to me.

Prufrock wrote:

Really. That's why he was dropped. He was so good he was dropped from the starting 11. Hmm. Out of the nine matches Beckham started in this year Real lost seven. Might be a coincidence. Don't think he has scored over five goals in a season while at Real.

In terms of how all this impacts on Real Madrid, the truth is that the issue of his exclusion (not the transfer) has split the country down the middle. I was in Santiago at the weekend, and everyone was talking about it. Back here in San Sebastian, and I've just come back from the bar after watching Madrid beat Zaragoza, people were still talking about it.

One chap with a scary moustache, who'd spent the game muttering darkly about Van Nistelrooy's inability to either control or pass the ball - Es un buitre, joder! Que se dedique a esto, y nada más! (He's a poacher, for God's sake. He should just stick to doing that!) then began to chat with the barman about Beckham (who'd just appeared on camera, sitting in the stands watching his mates play). 'I can't understand it!' he shouted. 'So Madrid need to clean out the old ones, and start from new. I can understand that. But to punish the guy like that is just nasty. It shows a lack of class. Beckham's alright. He's always worked his nuts off. The club's gone to the dogs. You can't treat people like that'.

Radomir Antic, writing in the tabloid 'AS' said something similar, qualifying the action as symbolic of a dying institution, one that no longer has the dignity to even know who its most loyal servants have been. And he has a point. Ronaldo's sullen and unpredictable behaviour over the past two seasons should have guaranteed his exit long before now, but now Beckham has been lumped in with the 'clean-up', which includes the troublesome Cassano - a most unholy trinity, since the Englishman's behaviour has been exemplary.

He even praised Capello as a manager last week and pledged that he would continue to fight for the cause, words that have been rewarded with a kick in the nether regions, further down than Ferguson's flying boot. It's true, of course, that Beckham has occasionally been required to ask permission to go and film some ad somewhere, or endorse a product, or whatever chaps like Beckham are required to do, but Real Madrid signed him precisely for that purpose, even grabbing 50% of his image rights - based on deals that Beckham had cut before he ever trod the Bernabéu.

Of course, his time at Madrid has coincided with a slump in form (not really his fault), six managers and plenty of crises, but it has also coincided with the club becoming the richest on Earth, in terms of marketing turnover. So now they've banked the money, it seems that they feel no loyalty to the man who played a large part in bringing it to them. Thanks David, now p*** off.

To imply, as Capello has, that Beckham's mind will solely be on his pending move, is to question the professionalism of a player who has always gone out and tried to do his best, despite the circus that surrounds him. Even Raúl, the most reluctant of his colleagues and the real Rasputin behind the throne - has admitted that much.

The Bernabéu rate Beckham, however much the tabloid Marca desperately publish daily (unsubstantiated) vox-pops which claim to support Capello's actions. The Bernabéu have always rated Beckham. They recognise his limitations, but they still know that he's the best passer in their squad, a player capable of bringing out the best in the rest. But like any other player he needs continuity. He can't perform in a bit-part role. When he's had continuity he's played just fine and he's a better player than he was at Manchester United.

I stick with the words of Jorge Valdano, who knows a thing or two about football. His mis-translated phrase, that Beckham 'strikes' the ball better than anyone since Maradona, was in fact 'Desde Maradona, nadie trata el balon como Beckham' (Since Maradona, no-one has had the touch that Beckham has) seems a good enough testament to me.