Spurs actually tried to sign David Beckham as recently as 2011 and, while that would have been good for the club's profile, he was past his best and a lot of the benefits he would have brought as a youngster both on and off the pitch wouldn't have been as great as they once were. However, Beckham was at Spurs as a schoolboy. He attended Spurs' school of excellence and the only reason he didn't end up signing professional terms at White Hart Lane was due to the incompetence of then Spurs manager Terry Venables - which is something of a surprise. About the situation with Venables and the potential signing of a professional contract with the White Hart Lane club, Beckham said Id been happy training at Spurs and got on well with their youth development officer John Moncur. But the meeting left me feeling I had more questions than answers. Although Id been training at Spurs for a couple of years, the manager didn't really have any idea who I was. I couldn't help thinking about the times Id been up to Manchester. Alex Ferguson knew all about me. That seemed important to me. Terry said, So, would you like to sign for Tottenham? I said, Id like to think about it. In my head, though, I was shouting: Its got to be United!' So, due to Terry Venables not even knowing who one of his own team's best young players was, Spurs missed out on the potential signing of someone who would go on to be a global superstar, a great footballer and a marketing dream. Brand Beckham could have been associated with Spurs. That must kill the club inside every single day.
