February 17, 2003

Alex Ferguson admits to kicking cleat that injured David Beckham.: Alex Ferguson acknowledged kicking a soccer shoe in an angry tirade, which struck David Beckham and left a gash above his left eye that needed several stitches to close. The incident occurred Saturday after United's 2-0 loss to Arsenal in the fifth round of the FA Cup. Ferguson stormed into the dressing room and kicked the cleated shoe, which struck the England captain. (ed note: heh heh heh).

posted by Ufez Jones to soccer at 02:24 PM - 20 comments

More laughs from none other than the BBC: Beckham's cutting edge details the marketing opportunities that have been created by this happy incident.

posted by worldcup2002 at 04:02 PM on February 17, 2003

Ha!! Oh man...this is great. I wonder what everyone's reaction was in the locker room after that. Do you think Beckam got up like he was going to punch Ferguson, or just grabbed his precious face in terror?

posted by StarFucker at 04:04 PM on February 17, 2003

On sky news they had some sun reporter who claimed to be in the know and he kept saying that Beckham reacted very angrily, but he didn't specify exactly what the reaction was. I don't actually think it is funny. Ferguson is a psycopathic bully who is constantly allowed to get away with appalling behaviour. He should grow up a bit. Having tantrums because his team lost is a bit passé innit? Can't see Sven doing it.

posted by Fat Buddha at 06:27 PM on February 17, 2003

Tantrums

posted by Fat Buddha at 06:41 PM on February 17, 2003

From FB's link:

[Brian Clough, t]he former Nottingham Forest manager also punched Roy Keane in the face in 1991. Keane had underhit a back pass in a game with Crystal Palace and Clough was furious. "I was hurt and shocked, too shocked to do anything but nod my head in agreement [after being punched]," Keane recalled in his autobiography.
Brilliant. I'm surprised Keane didn't slide tackle his boss boots up after the next game and take out his knee. Har har har har.

posted by worldcup2002 at 10:44 PM on February 17, 2003

Beckham odds on to quit. I'd post The Sun exclusive for you but their site is refusing to play fair. FWIW they claim that Beckham "spat" at Fergie after the incident. Uh, nice try Ufez but that's stud not "cleat" and boot not "shoe". ;-)

posted by squealy at 07:29 AM on February 18, 2003

That Sun story.

posted by squealy at 07:32 AM on February 18, 2003

Beckham leave United? What a load of rubbish. Good to see the Imperial Lord Ferg letting off steam though.

posted by BigCalm at 07:41 AM on February 18, 2003

Is Beckham even half as good a player as he is a celebrity?

posted by StarFucker at 08:16 AM on February 18, 2003

He's regarded as the best crosser of the ball in the premiership, but he does have the occasional off game where he makes Gary Neville look good.

posted by BigCalm at 08:55 AM on February 18, 2003

Uh, nice try Ufez but that's stud not "cleat" and boot not "shoe". ;-) The stuff that I put in the post was just straight from the article, squealy. Take it up with Fox Sports. amusing anecdote: I was playing intramural soccer with some asians in college. some of these asians didn't know how to spell words in english very well, so I got an e-mail one day asking if I had an extra pair of "clits"

posted by Ufez Jones at 09:14 AM on February 18, 2003

I was only teasing Ufez, hence the winky smiley thingy. Beckham is the best crosser of the ball in the EPL if not the world game. It should be noted that England would never have qualified for the last World Cup if not for Beckham's performance in the final qualifying match against Greece. If ever a player was a one-man team it was him that day. He's never scored enough goals in general though. IMHO the second best crosser in the EPL could well be Alan Shearer, unfortunately he's yet to master the art of crossing the ball and then heading it in himself. However, he is the consumate master of actually being a footballer rather than a celebrity.

posted by squealy at 09:57 AM on February 18, 2003

My comment came off a lot snarkier than I intended. Apologies all around. I wish somebody had caught this event on video. I really, really do.

posted by Ufez Jones at 10:14 AM on February 18, 2003

Uh, Ufez, I just saw your picture on MeFi. You are far bigger than me so I apologise unreservedly for any Brit-type sarcasm on my part. Peace. :-)

posted by squealy at 10:32 AM on February 18, 2003

Watch out, squealy. He's got a boot the size of your head!

posted by worldcup2002 at 10:51 AM on February 18, 2003

I'm not that big. I only weigh about 185 lbs, which on a 6'3" frame makes me kind of wiry. I'm not sure where my cleats boots are, though. Need to find them...

posted by Ufez Jones at 11:20 AM on February 18, 2003

Beckham seems like an average player to me... He does not impress me at all... So he makes 1 free kick out of 20...i can match those stats.

posted by StarFucker at 12:57 PM on February 18, 2003

Judge for yourselves (750 mpg).

posted by BigCalm at 03:05 AM on February 19, 2003

eep. Must check my linkages first. Try here, should be a link to Beckham's goal against Greece.

posted by BigCalm at 03:57 AM on February 19, 2003

Not impressed...Michael Owen's goal was better...at least it was from open play. Beckham is overrated.

posted by StarFucker at 08:56 AM on February 19, 2003

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