June 29, 2012
OFFSIDE REMARKS
Pearce did the right thing keeping Bekcham off the Great Britain Olympic team

By Michael Lewis
BigAppleSoccer.com Editor

Concerning David Beckham getting "snubbed" by not getting picked for Great Britain's Olympic soccer team, I would like to quote another popular Englishman, Mick Jagger:

"You can't always get what you want."

For most of his soccer career, Beckham has gotten just about everything he wanted. Not this time.

There are people crying in England and even the United States that it is a shame that Beckham was not selected.

There should be no tears at all.

This isn't about marketing a team. It is about winning. He was not good enough to be named one of the three overage players on the Under-23 team. It's as simple as that.

Bravo to Great Britian coach Stuart Pearce. He showed a lot of balls and common sense for not picking Beckham.

Pearce flew to Carson, Calif. to scout the 37-year-old midfielder and obviously did not like what he saw. He made the only decision a coach could make

Yes, I know Beckham did a tremendous about of work helping London get the 2012 Summer Games. No doubt about it. He should get his due for that work. But getting named to the team as part of a payback would be the worst thing for the team and sport.

Player should he rewarded for their playing ability, not for anything they accomplish off the field, especially for a 2 1/2 week tournament in which you don't necessarily need a big name to promote. There should be plenty of big or soldout crowds for the Great Britain matches.

Besides, with Beckham, it's all about him and his brand. He has left the LA Galaxy at least once to go to England promote himself and/or the Olympics. I don't consider that being a good teammate.

In the Olympics it is about the team, playing up to your ability with the best possible players and hopefully bringing home a medal.

And quite frankly, David Beckham isn't the same player he was a few years ago, and quite frankly, I never thought he was a great player. Beckham is a good player who had the exceptional ability on free kicks and dead ball situations.

But to use the parlance of another sport, his fast ball isn't as it once was.

Let's face it. He's not good enough.