Beck to the Future
Monday, January 3, 2011 at 10:10PM Plenty being discussed about Beckham and I’ve sat on my thoughts (amazing what you can do with a tab of acid) and pondered the various pros and cons and listened and read various opinions on why he should/shouldn’t become part of the Tottenham evolution.
No matter the countless strong arguments for and against this potential loan deal there remains one constant which for me has got stronger and stronger every time I sit and think about the logistics of signing a thirty-five year old on loan for a couple of months. The constant being exactly that. A couple of months. A loan. He’ll arrive, no doubt to the usual media hullabaloo with giddy fans outside WHL telling the Sky cameras they have no time to chat as they run towards the massive queue outside the Spurs Shop salivating at the prospect of ‘Beckham’ printed on the back of the home shirt and to also get their hands on the specially released official dvd – ‘Beckham: The Medical and Press Conference’.
Regardless of whether you believe in ‘the circus’ that follows him around, cameras always on him before anyone else, if he does accept the invitation and if LA Galaxy give their approval – it’s as short term as it can possibly get. Hello, how you doing, goodbye. That’s about six hundred flicks of the hair, two thousand moody stares from the bench and at least six and half thousand smiles. Or in relative terms, two months or so, a few cameos, the odd start, a free-kick or two and hours upon hours of hard training and chats and hugs with the squad.
It’s that constant again. Two months.
I don’t see the point in dissecting this in any great detail. We know Beckham is past his prime. We know (if played often) he’d be far more effective in Italy where the football caters for the older generation of footballers or the MLS where the football caters for the.'.yadda yadda yadda.
We know Tottenham play counter-attacking football, at speed, and that his role at Spurs will probably be more about his presence on the training ground and as a very astute deflection of attention away from the players who might start finding the pressure pressing down on them in the coming weeks.
We also know that he will play a part at some point, otherwise - for the sake of commercial reasons and coaching (tips and hints etc) it’s hardly worth all the effort if Harry doesn’t have reason to use Becks out on the battlefield. As reinforcement. Perhaps as a calming influence in the latter stages of a game.
So that’s it really. No need for dramatics. It’s a loan. For two months. As long as we do sign players we actually need as part of the Harry/Levy blueprint for the now and future (i.e. world class forward, another midfielder) then having David Beckham at the club is hardly going to be detrimental. If people actually believe we'll drop Lennon and change the whole system to accommodate him, you need your head checking.
We should all know in under 48 hours. Probably.
As for transfer news – Graham Hunter has been at it with some ITK suggesting Llorente was a target but no longer one (due to price), Pienaar has signed on a pre-contract and we are also looking at Cazorla. Tip of the iceberg, there are plenty more stories doing the rounds. Doesn't matter too much, does it? We sign who we sign, how we get there is just process.
Welcome to January.
Hold onto your hats.
Reader Comments (57)
exactly ziege. finally a few voices of "reason".harry is beginning to send out mixed feelings now regarding this entire fiasco so you foolish little excitement addicts can calm back down and return to reality. Raise the clubs profile my arse. Lets put this bs behind us and concentrate on football related matters such as the everton game, jan window and not the clubs profile and dayyy'vidds motivational qualities off the pitch. What vomit inducing waffle. I cant believe some fans are getting all excited over this clown. it sad tbh and rather pathetic. Other clubs must be laughing at us.
@ SNTB
Our players have never been at the business end of this league (except maybe Gallas) so need someone with experience to let them know what it all about. I understand that football is football and its 11 v 11 (most of the time) and the goal is to beat the other team blah blah. Plus this has a Jose masterstroke-esque thing written all over it. Beckham gets all the press our players can relax.
Lennon could learn how to cross a ball from Beckham
Bale/vdV could learn how to take proper free kicks.
Strength of mind and character is bloody important and while the 2 wins with 10 men shows we have plenty...a bit more wouldnt go astray.
Cant really see the harm in this at all (was v sceptical at first though)
Harry:
'Blackburn are in for him and that may be a better proposition for him, free chicken delight for life, and we can't compete with that.'
There are many pros....especially if you view this as a loan to replace the ineffective Bentley rather than the improving Lennon.
Right side is a problem when Lennon is not fit, and if we need to control the game a bit more, like vs Fulham when holding on to 1-0, then exprtess pace on both flanks is not necessary especially when there is little in the way of muscle in the middle.
Even if Becks plays only a little more than "the New Beckham" Bentley then at least his mere prescence at the training ground can only have a positive impact on the team. He professionalism, his enthusiasm and his crossing/set piece ability. Should 1% of that rub off on some of our players then we are better off than having club Joker Bentley (in every sense) dicking around and failing to impress.
Finally, if Becks is preprared to come to Spurs, it only adds greater prestige to our Mighty Club. Our performances in the Champions League has got us noticed. The quality of Bale has alerted Europe's top teams, having Becks will only boost our wider image further, maybe aiding us in gaining other big signings. Add to that the inevitable boost to our coffers....I hope they are re-ordering the sold out European white shirt because that with "23 Beckham" on the back will sell like hot cakes.
The only down side i can see is that it might slightly not help our current momentum, with what will be a media circus and unwanted distractions. I don't think we have any big egos at the club that would respond badly to being put in the shade by the biggest ego, so no worries in that respect.
so for me its a win win win win small loss situation.
The only real difference will be instead of David Bentley on the bench, it'll be David Beckham... hmmm tough one that! Oh yeah, and one other: instead of Jermaine Jenas telling us we can win the title, it'll be David Beckham!
Fearmongering of the highest order this Beckham "circus" argument, will it seriously be that bad? Will it really have such a negative impact on our awesome team spirit... me thinks not.
He'll come in, keep his head down and do what he's done all his life and prove the doubter's wrong... one last final hurrah at the best club in the world! And if the press get a bit too overzealous, Arry will step in!
As long as the current senior members of the squad don't have any issues with his arrival, in my eyes it's a no brainer...
Johnhalloween... I love this strawman argument you are having about 'how excited we all are' ... there isn't a poster on here that is nearly excited/agitated as you are..... truth is, you are borderline hysterical with this rant about Beckham..... No one on here thinks Beckham will make that big a difference to the side. We think (1) it'll sell some kits (2) get Spurs name in the press more often globally (3) give us cover so we can ditch Bentley (4) add experience that could benefit us the looker room. Could his presence be a distraction? Possibly but its not going to be THAT big a deal. Get a hold of yourself. Get a paper bag and breathe into it...
@tim re:
"FYI, for all our defensive frailities this year.... In 2009/2010, in our first 15 games, we conceded 21 goals. This year, we conceded 20 goals in the first 15 games. It was in mid December we went on a run defensively that saw us keep 8 clean sheets in 11 games. This year in the 5 games after the 15th game of the season, we've conceded 3 goals in 5 games with 2 clean sheets. We're coming together. Another clean sheet up at Goodison and I'm going to start having delusions of grandeur. Ends in a 1."
I'm currently playing Football Manager and we've just achieved 10 straight clean sheets.......
It's ultra-unrealistic though, as we're 2nd, 3 points behind Liverpool after 23 games.