Is it bye, bye Beckham?

The chances of the England midfielder still being at Old Trafford 12 months later look about as slim as the European Cup (sorry, Champions League) ever becoming interesting again.

If you believe what the papers say then Beckham is hardly the brain of Britain but surely he can see that his days at Old Trafford are numbered, whether he likes it or not.

United don't want him to stay and the machinery is turning to move him on in return for a phenominal transfer fee.

Old Trafford is a club which gives no news out to the media at the best of times. Suddenly the papers are full of Beckham's problems and most of them appear to be emanating from United -- the same club which has gone to great lengths to throw a protective arm around its players in the recent past.

Beckham was dropped from the 16 for one recent match for not turning up for training. Only United insiders knew he failed to turn up for the session.

United have conveniently let it slip that they are demanding Beckham lives more at his Manchester apartment and less at his Hertfordshire mansion.

Chief executive Martin Edwards also adopted the media friendly attitude on the question of Beckham's troubles this week when he confirmed that the player and his manager have had heated words on the training pitch.

Add that lot to Beckham's new contract offer being set well below that handed to Roy Keane and you have got a club which is doing little to make their prized asset feel wanted.

Then again, with just two goals and nine assists coming from the over-hyped feet of Beckham, is it any wonder they want to cash in?

You can't blame United for wanting him to go before his contract expires in two and a half years time when he will be eligible for a free transfer.

They know there is little chance of persuading him to stay. Even if he wanted to it is doubtful his high-profile wife would stand for the family being split between Manchester and Hertfordshire a minute longer than necessary.

Beckham is worth upwards of £25m in today's transfer market but the longer United wait to sell him the greater the chance that he will wait until his contract runs out and collect all the cash from a move, leaving United with no money and no player. Revving up . . ! THE Grand Prix season starts again this weekend. I can hardly wait. All that noise and no overtaking, what a thrill!

I don't know what all the fuss is about. If you want to suffer ear-piercing racket and see cars going fast then let the air out of a balloon while stretching its neck and sit by the side of Moss Bank Way.

Actually there's more overtaking on Moss Bank Way! London capitalising on sport THE North, the Midlands and London wanted to build Wembley Stadium's successor. London got the vote.

The new state-of-the-art stadium is to be one of the best, if not the best, sports stadium in the world.

It was going to be for football and athletics before it was found that you can't build a quality stadium for both sports.

So a new £60m stadium is to be build for athletics. Twickenham -- in London -- was considered first until it was found to be unfeasible. Now another two sites are under consideration -- both in London.

Do you see a running theme?

If it's any good London makes damn sure London gets it and two fingers to the rest of the country.

I'm surprised they didn't try to move the Angel of the North down south. For goodness sake don't tell them how good Bury Market is or they'll have that as well. WHEN I'm reincarnated I want to come back as Martin O'Connor.

The Birmingham City midfielder has got to be the luckiest man alive. When he was young he, like so many kids, wanted to be a train driver and a footballer.

The Birmingham captain, who has also played for Crystal Palace, Walsall and Peterborough United, is enjoying life as a successful soccer star after starting his working life as, guess what, a train driver.

And if he thought life couldn't get any better, the Walsall-born 32-year-old has just been given a couple of weeks off to go 'home' to the Cayman Islands to represent his country. THIS summer could be the last that the name of David Beckham will be pressed on to the backs of new Manchester United shirts.

The chances of the England midfielder still being at Old Trafford 12 months later look about as slim as the European Cup (sorry, Champions League) ever becoming interesting again.

If you believe what the papers say then Beckham is hardly the brain of Britain but surely he can see that his days at Old Trafford are numbered, whether he likes it or not.

United don't want him to stay and the machinery is turning to move him on in return for a phenomenal transfer fee.

Old Trafford is a club which gives no news out to the media at the best of times. Suddenly the papers are full of Beckham's problems and most of them appear to be emanating from United -- the same club which has gone to great lengths to throw a protective arm around its players in the recent past.

Beckham was dropped from the 16 for one recent match for not turning up for training. Only United insiders knew he failed to turn up for the session.

United have conveniently let it slip that they are demanding Beckham lives more at his Manchester apartment and less at his Hertfordshire mansion.

Chief executive Martin Edwards also adopted the media friendly attitude on the question of Beckham's troubles this week when he confirmed that the player and his manager have had heated words on the training pitch.

Add that lot to Beckham's new contract offer being set well below that handed to Roy Keane and you have got a club which appears to be doing little to make their prized asset feel wanted.

Then again, with just two goals and nine assists coming from the over-hyped feet of Beckham, is it any wonder they want to cash in?

You can't blame United for wanting him to go before his contract expires in two and a half years time when he will be eligible for a free transfer.

They know there is little chance of persuading him to stay. Even if he wanted to it is doubtful his high-profile wife would stand for the family being split between Manchester and Hertfordshire a minute longer than necessary.

Beckham is worth upwards of £25m in today's transfer market but the longer United wait to sell him the greater the chance that he will wait until his contract runs out and collect all the cash from a move, leaving United with no money and no player. Revving up! THE Grand Prix season starts again this weekend. I can hardly wait. All that noise and no overtaking, what a thrill!

I don't know what all the fuss is about. If you want to suffer ear-piercing racket and see cars going fast then let the air out of a balloon while stretching its neck and sit by the side of Moss Bank Way.

Actually there's more overtaking on Moss Bank Way! London capitalising on sport THE North, the Midlands and London wanted to build Wembley Stadium's successor. London got the vote.

The new state-of-the-art stadium is to be one of the best, if not the best, sports stadium in the world.

It was going to be for football and athletics before it was found that you can't build a quality stadium for both sports.

So a new £60m stadium is to be build for athletics. Twickenham -- in London -- was considered first until it was found to be unfeasible. Now another two sites are under consideration -- both in London.

Do you see a running theme?

If it's any good London makes damn sure London gets it and two fingers to the rest of the country.

I'm surprised they didn't try to move the Angel of the North down south. For goodness sake don't tell them how good Bury Market is or they'll have that as well. Lucky Martin WHEN I'm reincarnated I want to come back as Martin O'Connor.

The Birmingham City midfielder has got to be the luckiest man alive. When he was young he, like so many kids, wanted to be a train driver and a footballer.

The Birmingham captain, who has also played for Crystal Palace, Walsall and Peterborough United, is enjoying life as a successful soccer star after starting his working life as, guess what, a train driver.

And if he thought life couldn't get any better, the Walsall-born 32-year-old has just been given a couple of weeks off to go 'home' to the Cayman Islands to represent his country.