Where will Becks fit in?

Much has changed since David Beckham first arrived at Milan midway through last season. Kaka is gone, we have a new captain, but most significantly for Beckham, we have a new coach in Leo. Significant in that with the introduction of Leo as coach, we have seen an introduction of a completely different system of playing. I am a big fan of David Beckham, he is a model professional and a class player. But, he is a certain type of player, one that is best used in one position and one position only and that is on the right side of midfield. With our new system, however, there is no such position and so there is a question mark as to how Beckham will fit in.

The current 4-3-3 system employed by Leo has allowed Ronaldinho to show some postive signs that he still may have much to offer Milan and football in general. In doing so, Leo has given Ronnie every chance of getting back to form and if Milan are to have any chance of winning silverware this season, then Ronnie really does need every chance. Recent signs are encouraging. Pato has settled well on the right side of attack and his form ever since switching from the center is testimony. In the middle and I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised that our old stalwarts in Ambrosini and Seedorf have proven they have the dynamism to be effective in the midfield. The not-as-old stalwart Pirlo seems to have taken to the change well also, though his role has remained largely unchanged.

The critical point is that our three man midfield is deployed centrally with no width. For the feature of this system is that the width is provided by our wingbacks who are meant to link up with our wide attackers, and not by our midfielders. Well, it is supposed to be anyway. Oddo and to a lesser extent Zambro, have really not provided the width and the attacking option demanded of their position in this system. Nonetheless, as for now, this is what we have and this is how we are currently working. And working well it is.

So getting back to Beckham, the question remains as to how he will fit into our current system. Let us face it, Beckham is naturally a right sided midfielder. Like Ronaldinho, if you want to get the best out of him, you throw him on the right side of midfield to get the best results. The problem is that there is no such position in our current set up.

Replacing Beckham for Oddo is not even an option, Beckham is no defender. The only two valid options for Beckham is that he take the role of either Seedorf or Pirlo. But then neither are these two roles well suited to Becks either. Seedorf is effectively playing as our trequartista when attacking and this is not a position that Becks excels in nor has much experience with. Pirlo, as average as his form as been this season, is still a crucial cog in the Milan midfield. He is the link between defence and attack and though his form has not been outstanding this year, he is fundamental to Milan as he has ever been. So where to then for our English World Cup hopeful?

The midfield department is not one where we have great depth. Gattuso and Flamini are really only substitutes for Ambrosini and not for Pirlo and Seedorf. So we have depth in defensive midfield, but for Pirlo and Seedorf there really is no one in the squad that is a suitable replacement. This is where Beckham can fit in. He can provide an alternative, indeed, the only alternative to either Pirlo or Seedorf.

An alternative in that Beckham should be viewed as the player that can fill in for either Pirlo or Seedorf should they need replacing. This is not to say that Beckham should only warm the bench for six months. But, I do not believe that Beckham will be any better than Pirlo or Seedorf in their particular roles and therefore I do not believe that he should replace either of these two players in the starting eleven. Pirlo and Seedorf have been part of our midfield for the best part of the decade and are still class players and highly useful. Pirlo is employed in a unique position on the park that few in the world can play whilst Seedorf is a natural attacking midfielder. Beckham is not familiar with either of these roles.

But Leo should give Beckham his chances. For as the season continues and like I have alluded to before, Pirlo and Seedorf will suffer fatigue at some point, it is inevitable. Therefore back up will be needed or even a rotation policy in order to keep the players fresh.

When given his chances as he will be, if Beckham can prove his worth and stake a claim for one of these positions then so be it. But I do not think this will happen. For Beckham is much like Ronaldinho. He performs best when played in his natural position. At Real Madrid, Beckham was played in the central role as Figo was preferred on the right and it did not work and it will not work when he comes back to Milan.

An alternative is to change our current system so that Beckham can play in his favoured role. But changing formation to accomodate Becks is really not an option. After our dismal start to the season the side has finally come together under Leo’s 4-3-3 (4-2-4 when in attack) and to change it for a player who is only playing for a six month spell before heading back to the US would be absurd. Milan is more important than David Beckham.

The only kind of players in football worth changing a team’s formation around to allow for that player to shine are the Baggio’s, Maradona’s and Zidane’s of this world. Players that can single-handedly win you games and trophies. Ronaldinho is also one of these players. And although he may not be the player he once was, he still has the ability to win matches and maybe even trophies, maybe.

With our current system working well, with our match winner Ronaldinho ebbing back to some kind of form, there is no need for change with or without a certain David Beckham.