Best 11

A worldwide poll of the greatest will always be inaccurate as people such as Beckham will rank higher than players of vastly superior talents....
A poll of the top players past and present plus managers and sports journos would reveal a more accurate prediction....but hey football is all about opinions!!
My opinion on Becks, for example you may not agree with, he had his talent and his merits undoubtedly, however he would rank fourth in any true football fans eyes behind Messrs Scholes, Giggs and Keane in importance.

Originally posted by Doyle78
A worldwide poll of the greatest will always be inaccurate as people such as Beckham will rank higher than players of vastly superior talents....
A poll of the top players past and present plus managers and sports journos would reveal a more accurate prediction....but hey football is all about opinions!!
My opinion on Becks, for example you may not agree w ...[text shortened]... rank fourth in any true football fans eyes behind Messrs Scholes, Giggs and Keane in importance.

I would rank him much lower than 4th. I wouldn't rank any of the others in my top 11 either, Keane would be closest.

I would rank him fourth in Man U midfield quartet. On a world scale I totally agree, he would not feature.

Beckham in his pomp (1999-2002) would rank 2nd all-time for me behind Matthews as England's best no.7

Originally posted by Doyle78
I would rank him fourth in Man U midfield quartet. On a world scale I totally agree, he would not feature.

agreed. I thought i was the only one who did not rate Becks.

usualy when i have this discussion, i always get shouted down!😀

Originally posted by Squelchbelch
Beckham in his pomp (1999-2002) would rank 2nd all-time for me behind Matthews as England's best no.7

what about kevin keegan, he wore no.7?
i think Robson used to wear no.7 for england as well

Originally posted by spurs73
what about kevin keegan, he wore no.7?
i think Robson used to wear no.7 for england as well

Correct...

then again, so did Carlton Palmer I think!!! 😵

Originally posted by spurs73
what about kevin keegan, he wore no.7?
i think Robson used to wear no.7 for england as well

Well Keegan was a striker & Robson a central midfielder.

Beckham in his prime years offered things that no other England player could. The consistency of his crossing, passing & set-piece play are almost worth a place in my all-time England 11 alone. Combine that with his incredible work-rate & he is a serious contender.

It seems to me that Beckham is now grossly under-rated by many after some sort of pendulum effect of public attitude.

The main problem is that Sven continued to create a team based around Beckham long after DB's influence had waned & other contenders (like Wright-Phillips) with different skills should have been considered.

Becks has unquestionably many talents however I do believe that he is not as influential as many people think....the Greece game apart, he was never capable of taking a game by the scruff of the neck hence the fact wide right was always his best position.
In terms of importance to the team Bryan Robson, Roy Keane, Paul Scholes
offer more than Becks. To illustrate the point Man U had little difficulty replacing Becks......however, Keane was and still is proving to be more difficult to replace.......As for Paul S, God help the man who tries to fill his shoes. He is simply a genius.