BECKHAM FAR FROM BEST
Even arguably his staunchest ally - manager Sir Alex Ferguson - admitted that Beckham has not impressed in recent matches. Fergie substituted Beckham last week in United's clash with Valencia, and said after the winger's ineffective performance in the return match with the Spaniards on Tuesday: "I don't think David is playing at his best form."
Indeed, Beckham's threat was snuffed out to great effect by last season's Champions League finalists, with the England international completing just 60% of passes - the lowest ratio of any United player - and failing to connect with a single cross.
Up until the new year, Beckham was playing some of the most consistent football of his career and was rewarded with the captain's armband as England's brave youngsters gave Italy a tough time in Turin. Indeed, the 25-year-old midfielder scored eight times and set up as many goals for his colleagues in the Premiership between August 20 and December 30 - meaning he had a direct hand in a third of all United's league strikes - and looked as sharp as ever.
But 2001 hasn't been as kind to United's right-sided tormentor. Beckham has yet to score since the turn of the year and has hit the target with just 42% of efforts compared to 54% in the opening five months of the campaign.
Similarly, United's main creative source seems to have dried up somewhat in the corresponding timeframe. Beckham has added just one assist to his name since January 1, as the constant stream of dangerous crosses has been reduced to more of a trickle. Before the New Year, Beckham had fired over 231 crosses and found a team-mate with 34% of these, but he has mustered just 10 successful centres in his last five matches.
While there has been a noticeable dip in Beckham's recent league form, it is also worth noting that he still tops Opta's attacking midfielders rankings based on current form - which speaks volumes about the usually magnificent standards set by Beckham.
However, while United seem to be cruising comfortably through their Champions League campaign, the main contributions have come from the likes of Paul Scholes - with five goals to his name - Roy Keane and Andy Cole, rather than from the subdued Beckham.
His cross completion rate falls by 11 percentage points in Europe compared to the league, and while Beckham is the top-scoring midfielder overall this season in the Premiership, he has yet to open his account in the Champions League. Furthermore, he has tested 'keepers just four times from open play in the competition in more than 800 minutes on pitch, and has been a peripheral figure at times.
But perhaps Beckham can be forgiven for letting his concentration waver recently, with United comfortably placed in the domestic league and Europe. And with England's first match under Sven Goran Eriksson just around the corner, and the prospect of another shot at captaining the side against Spain looming, Beckham has surely had plenty of distractions over the course of the last few weeks.
