3. The Crowds
Let's be blunt. No one cares less about Olympic Football. Team GB could win gold and by the morning after it will have been forgotten about as attention turns to the start of the Premier League season. Unlike the women's tournament, the Olympic Games football for men is well down the pecking order in both prestige and importance. The response from the public has been fairly clear; no one is interested. But there can be no doubt about it, David Beckham would have put bums on seats. The British Olympic Association with be fuming with Pearce's decision to exclude Beckham from the squad and so should the wider public. Not only will the omission lead to empty seats at Team GB games, costing hundreds of thousands of pounds in lost revenues, but we also no longer have the opportunity to show appreciation to one of England's greatest and most loyal servants.