Let me start this blog by saying that I have immense respect for David Beckham in lots of ways. He is one of the finest crossers of the ball I have ever seen and no-one should doubt his immense commitment to excellence as a footballer and his workrate and professional conduct can hardly be faulted. That said, I cannot understand the wave of criticism directed at Stuart Pearce for leaving him out of the olympic squad.
The man is 37 and is playing in a poor league and has been doing so for a fair few years now. He doesn't get back into the England squad so why would he be one of three overage players allowed in the team GB squad. I don't know that I'd select Ryan Giggs either, but the fact is Giggs is playing in the Premiership for the runners up and plays a pivotal role, still. David Beckham, for all his stirling qualities, is not and the olympics is a tournament that people want to win. Why pick a player on sympathy and respect for a tournament? That's what testimonials are for, or final games of seasons for an emotional send off in front of the fans. When Robbie Fowler left Liverpool second time around he was rightly left out of the European Cup final because he was not as good as the other options but was given an emotional send off in the final Anfield game of the season. That's the right way round.
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