Beckham on the move

[zion]

re on the bench, I'd be really curious to read the contract! I also wonder if Guti or Makalele will be out soon? Geremi i think is also returning to Real after his loan spell at Midd., unless someone buys him.

 

But glad the Beckham saga is over.

 

If he leaves, I hope Kewell signs for Arsenal. And perhaps now Ronaldhino has no choice but to go to United...we'll see.

[Steve]

Here is my take on Real Madrid going after a player they clearly don't need. Real Madrid is the worlds most successful club if you look at their history (9 CLs I think). However, Man Utd is the world's most popular and followed club. They want that.

If I were them I'd schedule tours throughout Asia as soon as I could, next year possibly. I would even do a couple games in America as well. In their own back yard (south america), Man Utd have a following and at the very least is tracked by fans. This should be RM's territory by virtue of shared language and culture and their prominence.

As far as Becks, I wish him the best but it may be a lose-lose situation for him. Real Madrid expects to win la Liga and the Champions League each year. If they win that double next year Becks won't get the credit. He may get some if he has a great season personally but not nearly enough of it. If they lose both or either he may get the blame. The Madrid press is ruthless. The Sun and News Of The World are the Times compared to the press down there. The largest paper is an all sports paper. Already the press are asking we'll see if 'he's a good footballer or just a good celebrity'. But he had no choice. I read one site that that said that Keane is behind it as well as Fergie and his lack of a comment is somewhat proof of this. Not sure if I buy that. None of the players, even his best friends on there like Neville has said anything. They all know better.

One more thing, the word is Ronaldinho is going to Real Madrid as well. There was in interesting article in the Times a week or so ago that talked about RM's negotiating and why they get players. They get players they don't need sometimes so that their rivals don't get him. Becks was so that Barca don't get him as well as marketing. They fear Barca in la Liga, Ronaldinho is so that Man Utd don't get him and challenge them in the CL. So the theory goes. They really need center halves instead of attackers.

[zion]

I think Real are already doing a tour in Asia/Japan later this summer, and rumours have it that perhaps a part of their pre-season might be conducted there if Beckham was bought...however with becks currently doing a personal tour in Asia, having a back-to-back Asia tour may not be such a good idea. We'll see what happens.

[Mekong]

Finaly the One Trick Pony is off to Spain...well at least Stevie Mac will have company on a Sunday afternoon now.

 

Some may doubt Fergies wisdom, but this isn't the first time he has cashed in on a midfielder.............what did Ince ever do Post-OT?

 

I am pretty sure that United will line up 4-2-3-1 next season, as oppossed to the 4-4-2, and Bex hasn't the pace to be one of the 3, or the prowess to be a defending midfileder (OK I Know RM play 4-2-3-1 but..........)

 

The Jury (Well a Case of JD and I) are still out on who will come in, I would prefer Kewell to Ronaldinho...the Idea of the rotation of Giggs, Scholes, Kewell, Veron floating behind RVN with a combination of either Keane / O'Shea / Butt depending on injuries / suspensions...Ole let loose for last 10-15 Minutes a game.

 

Bartez to the bench (Gaelic Dwarfs are not worldbeaters), Wes (if ever fit for a season) and Rio the kingpin of Central Defence, Mickie Left Back, AN Other Right Back.

 

So, they Invest the 25 Million(plus spare change) on a Goalie, a Right Back, a Cover central defender and / or Ronaldinho / Kewell, Nevilles as utility cover players and they may have the making of a team that could progress further than Quater Finals of CL

[Steve]

They may not get Kewell or Ronaldinho. Kewell's wife is from north London and would rather be there for her career. Talks are going on at this moment with Dein, so it looks like he's a Gooner unless Man Utd throw enough money at the situation to turn things their way.

Ronaldinho as I stated above is talking Real Madrid but may be a negotiating point. I see AC Milan and Man Utd as Real Madrid's main CL rivalries (unless my Gunners better the form they showed last year : ) and they may get Ronaldinho so that Man Utd doesn't.

Bellion is a done deal. Perhaps Kanoute? Dafoe? Nick Cisse @ auxerre from Liverpool? RVN needs a partner...or does he? As far as keeper, Robinson comes to mind immediately, young (23), future England #1 possibly and taller than Barthez...lol...

[zion]

Says Mekong:

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well at least Stevie Mac will have company on a Sunday afternoon now.

 

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or as Pom Mike said, Macca might also have company on the bench (if he's not sold).....

[sayjann]

at last the speculation is over.

common knowledge that Becks and his advisors have been brokering this deal since Feb/March.

he was offered a new contract at MU in Feb when rumours first surfaced that RM had spoken to him.

the offer was turned down and that was when MU decided he had to go and they must get the best price for him.

this affair was not a falling out between Fergie and Becks,it was a decision made within the club.

 

i still don't know where Becks will fit in,he will have to replace a regular player or sit on the bench,but i think he has been assured he will play.

why sign for a club and not be guaranteed a starting place.

but at the moment i am watching interviews with RM players and they do not seem that impressed.

i detect a bit of dissent from the players and i think the transfer will not be too popular.

 

i see that the player he is rumoured to replace,Guti,is angling a move to MU.

he says he would be honoured to play for MU.

Raul refuses to give up the #7 shirt and that might cause a problem.

many of his commercial deals are linked to the DB7 logo,how will this affect his image rights?

and i see RM officials have told him that he must give up much of his image rights.

 

but i do not think it takes anything away from MU.

he is gone(well so they say,he has not passed the medical yet).

over the last few years many players have left MU and others have replaced them and the standard has not fallen.

to me Becks has not been the player he was 5 years ago and Fergie also saw this.

i think it will be no loss to MU now he has gone.

 

the money paid for a 28 year old in the current market is good business and if they can replace him with 2-3 players,then business is good.

but MU have been given a bum deal.

 

the deal to me is not good.

5 million down payment,then 12 million paid over 4 years and the remaining 7 million paid on condition of team results?.

MU should have said you want him?,give us the money.

no money no player,up to you.

 

i also see Kewell's agent has discounted a move to MU.

Kewell is horrified by the treatment by MU of Becks and has said he could never sign for a club who treats their players like that.

get real Harry,Becks agents started all the talks and instrumented the transfer.

but Harry could never replace Becks,Harry plays on the left,Becks on the right.

and would Harry replace Scholes or Ole as the floating striker?

[zion]

The contract should be an interesting read...i'm sure he will be starting at first...although nothing should be taken for granted. I think in his first season Ronaldo at one point was at odds with the gaffer and.....(no player is bigger than the team bla bla bla). Look at him now though...

 

From what i read in the press, becks can forget about the number 7 shirt. He'd be well not to act like a diva and go and prove himself on the pitch first. And i'm sure he will...

 

I agree, if they pull anyway near 25m, this to me sounds like a good business transaction for man u, particularly if they can then capture 2 or 3 great players. Not sure for the moral of the team as i think most of the main xi have been together for some time. Who'll be next to go?

 

All these multimillion football deals (like Zidane, Ronaldo) are not immediate cash deals. There always criterias and deferral pymt arrangements. There's no way they could pull a 25m immediate cash deal for Becks given the circumstances. In fact the deal is not even 25m if you look at its present value. But if one assumes that Man U would structure any of their purchases in such a way, then it offsets somewhat...

 

Mr Kewell was sometime back quoted as saying he couldn't go to Man U coz of the fans, rivalry, Rio treatment etc. I think he's always had his mind to go to London coz of the missus...I hope he signs with Arsenal, if he leaves elland rd...i've got the xbox FIFA 2003 game with Roberto Carlos, Ronaldhino and, yes, Mr Kewell in my Arsenal squad - and doing quite nicely

 

 

 

 

 

[Fiery Jack]

Says zion:

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I think Real are already doing a tour in Asia/Japan later this summer, and rumours have it that perhaps a part of their pre-season might be conducted there if Beckham was bought...however with becks currently doing a personal tour in Asia, having a back-to-back Asia tour may not be such a good idea. We'll see what happens.

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Real Madrid played in (and won the final of) the Toyota Cup tournament in Japan during December 2002. Ronaldo, Zidane, Roberto Carlos, Figo, Raul... all turned out. Not half so big a fuss as you'd imagine was made of it. Hardly anyone in Japan (especially the stupid women ) care a toss about Ronaldo, and don't even know who, for example, Thierry Henry is. But now that Beckham's in town, the whole country's going bonkers. ::

 

It pains me to say it, but guess what the reason is? Clue: Beckham's a blond-haired, blue eyed, good-looking fair-skinned Caucasian. Ronaldo and Henry are both black. Beckham: yes, please ! Ronado: who are you ::? You join the dots. Japan is still an unbelievably naively racist country ::. I was a guest "foreigner-adviser" on a regional appointments committee in Japan last year for a major Japanese English Language School looking to hire a new full-time teacher. By far the most suitable and qualified candidate was a black American guy: I supported his application 100%. He was rejected out of hand by the other (all Japanese) members of the panel. One of them actually said out loud at the meeting (in Japanese), "The students will be scared of him. We need a proper (sic) American, a white one if we want to attract more students." They gave the job to a (you've guessed it) blond-haired blue-eyed white guy with no experience or qualifications worth shit , mainly, it seemes, because they liked his photo .

 

If Real wish to boost their popularity in Japan, buying Beckham is a shrewd move.

 

jack

[JJsushi]

Beckham does have a very good marketing team and I am sure his wife has alot to do that. After all the Spice girls were nothing but marketing.

Hence I think why he is a big hit in Japan. Most entertainment people know if you want to kick off a Western boy band or minor celebrity send them to Japan and pay for screaming teens and paparrazzi to attack them.

Unfortunately, for Beck his team had no idea how to crack the US market on his American tour aside from getting him to appear on a MTV awards show. They really should have hooked up with teen magazines and ran several articles on him prior to his trip. They also should have had whomever he endorses athletically pt some spin in the American media market.