21 May 2021 10:30:33
By way of a slight distraction, and following his induction to the Premier League Hall of Fame, where do people think David Beckham would play in the modern game? With the preference for inverted wingers, would he still get to play on the right wing? Or would he be pushed on to the left, where the shape of his deliveries would change. Albeit that he had a decent left foot too. But he was rarely one for driving at the opponent, and it was all about early accurate deliveries. And if he was to play on the left, would that then mean the very one-footed Giggs playing on the right?

1.) 21 May 2021
21 May 2021 10:41:24
Right Back or centre mid in a 3.

Modern day equivalents would be KDB or Trent.

2.) 21 May 2021
21 May 2021 10:41:46
I don't think he'd play on the wing at all. In the modern game as you say there is a tendency to play with inverted wingers, although they aren't really wingers but forwards looking to cut in and shoot rather than cross.

I think Beckham would fit in on the right hand side of a midfield three in either a 433 or a 442 diamond shape. A lot of his deliveries came from a deeper position rather than wide right nearer the corner flag. In that midfield position he could still move wider and whip in his crosses.

3.) 21 May 2021
21 May 2021 11:53:11
I'm biased so I'd say he gets into nearly any team.

4.) 21 May 2021
21 May 2021 12:14:56
It is very hard to compare two era’s but Beckham’s passing range was so good that I think at his best he would get into any team in the world. When you go back now and look at the passes he made and crosses he put in to create so many goals it makes a mockery of our crossing now where we seem to just randomly put it into the box to nobody. That’s not just us, most teams are the same, Beckham had a somewhat unique ability that he worked on day in day out.

To answer the question it is difficult but it would have been interesting to see him in the TAA type role creating from right back. I actually think if a team had a Beckham on the right they could still play how we used to in the 90s, if you have a player that good at a skill you can build a team and way of playing around him.

5.) 21 May 2021
21 May 2021 14:58:50
I think about this most times I watch TAA play, I think in the modern game with Beckhams work rate he would be a RB.

6.) 21 May 2021
21 May 2021 15:12:08
Right back is an interesting shout, as it is such a creative outlet in the game today. His work rate was phenomenal too, particularly in the early days. I agree though that he'd fit into a MF 3 these days better than a MF 2 in those days. I think he always saw himself as a midfielder anyway, but those deliveries from the RW dictated that he played there. I think it was Gullit that said he didn't have to go past a man on the wing, he could bend the ball around him

Oh for that kind of class today.

7.) 21 May 2021
21 May 2021 15:30:42
At the risk of sparking debate, I think Beckham’s fame and reputation outweighs his ability. Don’t get me wrong, he was a great player for a period but how has he got in the Hall of Fame so early? Even for United players there are others who should have been there before him.

I think he’d still play in the right, he was never a true pacey winger, but he found a foot of space and put the ball on a sixpence, still very sought after and dare I say rare skills.

8.) 21 May 2021
21 May 2021 16:04:59
I might be alone, but i think in the modern game he would be a RM.

He never/ rarely pushed to the goal line to cross as for United he had neville always giving the overlapping run allowing the deeper cross some have mentioned. He had a great work rate but was very rash and clumsy in defense/ without the ball so rb would be a disaster in my opinion.

For those comparing him to KDB, i see the similarities. However Becks was limited in the type of pass he had in his locker. They both have that beautiful floated/ whipped ball towards the far post from a deep right position, but KDB can also thread the eye of a needle and regularly beats a man to create space. Although it was something Becks could do, he wasnt great at it.

I think to when he moved more centrally with Madrid and all his teams after, the common narrative was he could do a job but was wasted when not wide. Remember this was after the likes of Robben, Messi, Ribery etc made the inverted winger common place.

As for AJH comment on reputation/ ability i actually think the opposite. His celebrity lifestyle overshadowed his ability. After 99 so many reporters continually talked about his disintrest with improving due to him being Hollywood. But on the pitch he continually performed at nearly the highest level for the entirety of his career.

I would love for a prime Becks to be ahead of AWB nowadays. He was seriously some player.

9.) 21 May 2021
21 May 2021 16:08:45
Beckham was smart enough on the ball to pass and move under pressure, and he had a great work rate defensively, to go along with his obvious strengths of crossing, free kicks, and long range shooting. He enjoyed the more central role later in his career to showcase his wide range of abilities. You certainly wouldn't bother with a false nine with Beckham in the lineup.

10.) 21 May 2021
21 May 2021 17:19:01
El Paso, not sure I agree. He was always talented and there was a short period when he was immense, especially for England, but I remember his impact lessening as his off field profile took off into the stratosphere.

11.) 21 May 2021
21 May 2021 17:24:50
A top class footballer. A players player. Fantastic team mate. Never shirked a challenge of any sort. A great role model fantastic trainer a constant practiser and became one of the best in the world at what he did.
He was limited in some respects but a sign of real brilliance is when everybody knows exactly what your going to do, or what your good at but still can't stop you.
Rvn said he was a dream to play with as did Scholes.
I've never seen a better and more consistent delivery from the right from any player ever.
I had the pleasure of playing in his charity event in the O2 in London and he played 15 mins with each team that day and its safe to say they were the best players I ever played with🤣🤣🤣 (I can't say he felt the same) . There were lots of ex high profile pros playing that day. Beckham changed in with all the invitees and sponsors not with the ex pros (as did Lee sharpe) and didn't leave until every single person that wanted their jersey signed had it.
He played a 7 a side match also that day a half with each team of under 12s and ill never forget the looks on their faces and the excitementthey had playing with him. I got into a fight with Ray parlour on the pitch but that story is for another day☺.

12.) 21 May 2021
21 May 2021 17:41:07
Ole scored the goal but who took the corner 😜.

13.) 21 May 2021
21 May 2021 19:20:22
AJH we don't seem to agree but i do see your point. I will say that towards the end of his time with us, when I feel he was in the celebrity first footballer second part of his image in the press, the team around him was not as great as many maybe remember.

The centre mids we had around then were an ageing keane, an inconsistent veron and butt, a young fletcher, then the likes of chadwick/ fortune/ djemba-djemba etc who were never good enough, and scholes.

I felt he had to play deeper and more centrally to cover the problems we had in the middle. This took the most important aspect of his game away. Yet he still continued to perform in my opinion. Obviously he was always immense for england during this time. And he was good enough to get his galatico move.

At madrid he was being used differently. He didn't have the supporting RB he was used to. Salgado and Ramos were good, but no where near nevilles level at the time. Yet he still did enough in his four years there for madrid tobtry and keep him.

After he went to the states things changed on the pitch, but he continued to be a good player and was important to milan and psg when he returned to europe. Remember he was 32/ 33 when he left for the states.

He was never the best winger or midfielder, but he gave you an 8 rating almost every game of his career.

14.) 21 May 2021
21 May 2021 20:24:14
Beckham was absolutely world class.
Underated imo.
He could play in era.
He'd play well in any midfield position.
Plus the amount of Free Kicks he'd get his numbers would be insane.

On a side note how did Darren Anderton go to Euro 96 ahead of him. Hate England love Utd.

No way he'd be stuck at Rb btw. And I think Trent is wasted there too. Becks is a better KdB.

15.) 22 May 2021
21 May 2021 20:44:05
Becks had, as they say, a wand of a right foot. He was particularly adept at using his right foot and hitting a ball with a natural curve. Back then we actually put crosses in, so he could have played on either flank, but his natural curve away from the keeper lends him to the right. He also could run long distance, so he could have graced a midfield three but could not play as a 2 centrally, not strong enough.

Any team would harness his brilliant ability to cross a ball.

16.) 22 May 2021
21 May 2021 20:51:09
Top man, top class and would mix it in any era. Immense. When he sat in CM for both Real and AC, he was by far their best player on many occasion.

Unlucky to have been playing in the same team as arguably the two of best CMs in the world at the time at United, otherwise, he would have easily played CM for us.