David Beckham is a creative midfielder who is fast earning himself a reputation for scoring spectacular goals. When you see David play you can't help but be impressed by the accuracy and vision of his passing. However if you speak to any United supporter they will tell you that he has many other strengths to his game.

He is hard working, strikes the ball cleanly and with great power, has a wonderful technique and is deadly with free kicks. While tackling is not one of his greatest strengths this is an aspect of his game that he is visibly improving.

David has now developed into a great advert for the Manchester United youth policy. David first kicked a ball at Old Trafford in December 1986 when as an 11 year old he became the TSB Bobby Charlton Soccer Skills Champion for his age group. The prize was a two week trip to train with Terry Venables' Barcelona side.

In 1987 David made another appearance in front of the United fans as the United mascot for the away game at Upton Park. When it can to signing for a club, David was influenced by the fact that he is a supporter of the Red Devils.

He has always wanted to play for Manchester United and so United won the race for David's signature ahead of Arsenal and Tottenham. David won his first honour with United when the United Youth side won the FA Youth Cup in May 1992. He didn't have to wait long to make his senior United debut. In September the following season he came on as a substitute for Andrei Kanchelskis in the League Cup at Brighton. Four months later, in January 1993, he turned professional with United. Having had a taste of playing for the senior United side it was more than a season before David got another chance.

In September 1994 he made his first senior starting appearance against Port Vale in the League Cup. Two months later he scored his first goal for United. It was on a disappointing night for United, they were knocked out of Europe despite winning 4-0 against Galatasaray in the Champions League. However David scored a superb goal in front of the 38,301 fans at Old Trafford.

Alex Ferguson loaned David to Preston for a month in March 1995 so that he could gain some more experience. On his return David made his first league appearance for United in a 0-0 draw with Leeds at Old Trafford. He played a few more games in the senior United side that season. However it wasn't until the following season that he got an extended run, playing largely on the right side of midfield where Andrei Kanchelskis, who had been sold to Everton, had played the previous season.

In United's first Premiership match of the 1995-96 season against Aston Villa at Villa Park David came of the bench to play for the second half. United were well beaten that day prompting the now notorious Alan Hanson remark, "You can't win anything with kids". The one bright point for the United fans in an otherwise disappointing day was the wonderful strike from David to score his first Premiership goal.

David confirmed that promise a few games later when he scored the winner in a 2-1 victory over champions Blackburn at Ewood Park. Throughout the 1995-96 season David played regularly in the side and helped United win the Premiership, the first leg of the double. David also helped United complete the double by winning the FA Cup, notably scoring the winner in the semi final at Villa Park against Chelsea.

At the start of the 1996-97 season David was the player in form in the pre-season games. A fact he highlighted in the Charity Shield destruction of Newcastle where he scored United's third goal with a wonderful run and spectacular shot. He followed this up with the widely acclaimed goal of the season, scoring against Wimbledon from the half way line. David had his most successful season so far, becoming a United regular and helping them win the Premiership and get to the semi-final of the European Cup. However he suffered a dip in form towards the end of the season, a problem Alex Ferguson has tried to avoid this season by resting David at the start of this season.

At international level David represented England at Under 21 level in seasons 1994-95 and 1995-96. However at the start of the 1996-97 season Glenn Hoddle called David up to his first full England squad. Glenn is a huge fan of David's ability and the call up was a recognition of his excellent start to the season and showed that Glenn realises the huge potential that David has. When fit and available, David has played all the England games under Glenn and has shown his versatility operating both in midfield and at wing back.