i'm posting this article here for all you who argue that Beckham's footballing achievements merit him a place in a Hall of Fame.. Seems like the great bobby charlton agrees he's an underachiever...
Look Bobby Charlton enforcing the point that Beckham largely underachieved in football...
Charlton criticizes Beckham's lifetsyle http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/7196642MANCHESTER, England (AP) - David Beckham should be playing in England - not the United States - and his celebrity lifestyle has damaged his career, according to former England and Manchester United great Bobby Charlton.
"(Beckham) was a really, really great footballer - a marvelous talent," Charlton said Thursday at the launch of his autobiography. "I saw it when he was about 10 and he has a terrific talent, but his lifestyle has gone in a different direction."
While United scouts thought Beckham lacked strength, the youngster dazzled Charlton at his Manchester soccer school.
"He wanted to be a footballer as much as any young player I've ever seen and I wonder sometimes if he thinks what's happening (now)," Charlton said at Old Trafford.Beckham joined United in 1989 at age 14, debuted in 1992, and won six Premier League titles and a Champions League medal before transferring in 2003 to Real Madrid. He joined the Los Angeles Galaxy this summer on a five-year, US$32.5 million contract.
"He's in America, he's committed to making millions of pounds," Charlton said. "I would rather he was playing here in England than anywhere else, that's for sure."
Regardless, Charlton expects the former England captain to play three more matches for his country and reach 100 appearances, although that would still be six short of Charlton's total.
Beckham's profile rocketed when he married former Spice Girl singer Victoria Adams in 1999, shortly after winning the treble with United.
In his autobiography "My Manchester United Years," Charlton, 69, wrote that he believed fame outside of soccer led to a decline in Beckham's game.
"Beckham thought that a celebrity lifestyle, being drawn increasingly into the showbiz world of his wife Victoria, was compatible with the regime of a professional footballer. His manager (Alex Ferguson) did not," Charlton wrote.
Beckham's time in Spain, which yielded just one league title, ended with a move to the U.S., where "Posh and Becks" are close to celebrity friends Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.
Beckham rejected an "excellent, generous offer" to stay at Old Trafford in 2003, said Charlton, who won the World Cup in 1966 with England.
"The manager had serious problems with the Beckhams' lifestyle, finding it unhelpful, to say the least," Charlton added. "(But) there was never any question of the player being driven out of United. That was the impression given by Beckham and his people - and it was quite wrong."
Charlton, who scored 198 goals for the Red Devils between 1954 and 1973, acknowledged Beckham's contribution to Man United in his book. But he gave special praise to Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, who remain central to United's title defense this season.
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While critical of Beckham's move to the U.S., Charlton has no concerns for now about American owner Malcolm Glazer, who bought United in 2005.
The Glazer family has denied recent reports of potential billion-dollar takeover bids from China and United Arab Emirates.
"Someone has to run the football club, someone has to be the owner, and if wasn't the Glazers it would be someone else," said Charlton.
"When they come across now they never give me any reason to think they had any ulterior motives for actually buying the club. I think they are as big a supporter as anybody really," Charlton said. "But who knows in the future."
As a player, Charlton helped United rebuild after he survived the 1958 Munich air crash that killed eight teammates. Charlton scored twice in the 4-1 win over Benfica in the 1968 European Cup final as United became the first English winner of the title.
