by Piers Morgan, The Daily Mail
Touching, wasn’t it? Watching that loyal, diehard United hero David Beckham getting the roaring welcome so thoroughly deserved of Manchester’s prodigal son brought tears to the uncynical eye.
But not, I’m afraid, to the cynical like mine.
Beckham keeps telling us United is, and always has been, the only club for him. And the inhabitants of Old Trafford seem to happily go along with this tosh.
When the reality is that he walked out on United at the peak of his powers for the riches of Real Madrid, then walked out on Madrid for the even greater riches of Hollywood, and now cheats on LA Galaxy whenever he can with AC Milan, purely to keep himself in the World Cup frame, where England glory could bring the greatest riches of all.
Compared with genuinely loyal United heroes like Giggs, Scholes and Neville, Beckham’s been a treacherous, money-grabbing, club-hopping, fame-hungry, egotistical little weasel who likes nothing better than making everything all about HIM.
And nothing personified this more than when he swooped to pick up the green-and-gold anti-Glazer protest scarf and wrapped it round his tattooed neck. The crowd roared. There he was, the most loyal man in football, their Becksy, showing the world he was united with United fans in their fury at foreign ownership.
Because the very last thing David Beckham would ever want to associate himself with is rich, fatcat Americans exploiting soccer for pure commercial gain. Which is why he currently resides in Los Angeles, choosing to play pub football over proper football because rich, fat-cat Americans line his Armani pockets with millions of dollars to exploit soccer for pure commercial gain.
Of course, as David explained afterwards, he wasn’t actually supporting the protest, nor trying to interfere in the running of Manchester United.
Nothing could be further from his massively cerebral mind. He just liked the colours of the scarf because they used to be United’s original colours.
What a load of old Goldenballs. Let’s face some harsh facts here, Becksy old son. You’re not the best footballer in the world. In fact, given you can’t actually get into the AC Milan starting line-up, you’re not even the 11th-best player in a shockingly mediocre side.
But you ARE the greatest self-publicist the game has seen and you knew exactly what you were doing when you swooped on that glinting symbol of disloyalty to the Glazers. For weeks, you’ll have been monitoring the mounting furore and planning exactly the image you would communicate to the world. It’s what you do best.
And you seized the moment in typically self-adulatory Beckham style. Waiting until the pitch was empty, standing like Emperor Nero, alone in the amphitheatre, milking the applause in the eager way a farmer milks a particularly well-uddered Friesian cow, then dramatically pausing to pick up the scarf. Thus quite deliberately pushing the much more deserving Wayne Rooney off the headlines (I was only surprised he didn’t leap on Rooney’s back when he scored, to share the photographic credit — a crafty move that has served Beckham well over the years).
The hypocrisy of David ‘United ’til I die’ Beckham definitely moved me.
To extreme nausea.
[end story]
First let me say that I have no animosity towards David Beckham. He was a wonderful player for us during his United years and helped the Reds win numerous trophies. If it hadn't been for his pop-star wife and her need to be seen (as is the case still today), then DB would still be a player for United, and we would probably never have seen the chiseled abs of one Cristiano Ronaldo. So...
I was cheering for David on his return to Old Trafford because I believe David is truly a United fan. He has been to numerous Reds matches around Europe while they played in the CL. In one such match last year at the San Siro when United were up against Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan, David cheered for United and was caught by the tv crew rubbing his hands together in devilish delight after Ronny's freekick. He has said on many occasions that he will always be a United fan and I believe him. But...
When I saw the photo of him donning that hideous green and gold scarf...Beyonce couldn't have fashioned a better "Oh NO you DI..nt!"
I am sick and tired of this divisive move to oust the Glazers from Old Trafford. I understand that fans who pay to see United play feel closer to the team than most of us who watch from afar, but I disagree with them. I may live thousands of miles away, but my hands were clammy for at least an hour while I contemplated checking the score of the second leg of the Milan tie. Once I saw that we were ahead, the clamminess subsided and I went on about my work. My car is adorned with United memorabilia and my license plate still says "CR7." And if decorating my automobile in United colors weren't enough, I have more red attire in my closet than the Russian and Chinese Olympic teams combined. So if you think just because your arse is sat (Brit talk) in a seat for United games that you are somehow more of a fan than I am, you can stuff yourself with Aunt Tillie's pies.
The hard truth about this movement, which is nothing more than one business group trying to hijack a cash cow like United from another business group, is that they are using the United faithful to further their cause. A cause, which Piers so elegantly states above, is a bunch of tosh. 99 percent of the green and gold wearing "fans" at United matches know nothing about running a billion-dollar enterprise like Manchester United. Yet somehow they believe that if new owners were to appear that they would magically have a say in how things were run. *puppet face*
If these hooligans, the Red Knights, were to purchase United...the last thing on their minds would be to let the fans have a say in the daily runnings of the club. Their chief initiative would be to make back the money they invested (heavily borrowed of course) plus interest. With the 60-odd membership of the Red Knights, one can only imagine the boardroom brawls over the slightest details...whose name appears first on the plaque at the door.
So...where does Mr. Beckham fit into this plan? He said the following day after the photo appeared in EVERY SPORTS OUTLET IN THE WORLD that he didn't support the Red Knights, he just liked the scarf because it represented the first colors of the club...*dumbfounded face*...I, and Piers, find it unimaginable that the world's most marketed sports face didn't understand the power of a photo. The Red Knights will use that photo to further their cause, whether Mr. Beckham supports them or not.
For me, his idiotic gesture ruined what should have been a joyous return to his former club.
I didn't agree with everything Piers said, as I do believe that David is a true United fan. But I also know that this body will never don green and gold!
GG Man United
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