Beckhamwatch: Out In The Cold

4thegame.com continues the series which keeps all you Becks-Maniacs out there up to date with the latest gossip, scandal, clothes and (occasionally) football from the world of the Beckhams in Los Angeles...

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OUT IN THE COLD

If anyone had any doubts about the merits of David Beckham's January trip to AC Milan, then the announcement of the latest England squad will have banished them. With the MLS season over and Goldenballs not playing regular football at the moment, he has been left out by Fabio Capello, who hasn't even called him into the squad as a back-up after the likes of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Frank Sidebottom pulled out through injury. Capello's message could not be any more clear - Beckham needs to be playing if he wants to get near the England team.

Mind you, one former England star and World Cup-winner isn't convinced that he should be playing anyway. Martin Peters is not impressed that Beckham has been able to rack up the caps and get just one away from going level with Bobby Moore: "David Beckham has been great for the country, but it is time to look elsewhere," he said. "Bobby Moore was a great friend of mine - he played 108 games and played 90 minutes every game. There were no substitutes when I played. It was 1968 when they were brought in; even then Alf (Ramsey) didn't use that many."

So, Goldenballs won't be involved in the Germany-England match, but at least he's got the preparations for his big Milan move to be getting on with, and they're certainly looking forward to having him. Pier Silvo Berlusconi, son of Milan president Silvio, recently said: "Beckham? He is a modern day hero. Will he stay on permanently? We will see. Ronaldinho? When I first heard about 'Dinho I wasn't too enthusiastic but the move has brought us great things. We hope the same happens with Beckham."

Ronaldinho himself is also excited about next year's arrival, even though it will take some of the focus and even a few free-kicks away from himself: "I was very happy when I heard he was coming to Milan," he said. "He's going to help the team a lot. I want to help him be the best player he can be. Both of us have different styles. I can learn a lot from him and improve my style as well. I want to celebrate loads of goals with Beckham.

"I've always liked the way he plays. It's very cool to play with such important people, very motivating." But what about those free-kicks? "That's not even a problem," Ronaldinho insisted. "It might be a problem for the teams we're playing against though." However, coach Carlo Ancelotti has some rather more ominous words for Goldenballs: "David Beckham has said that he can't wait to train with us. This makes me happy. He is welcome, but he doesn't know what awaits him here." What are they going to do to him?

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IN BED WITH MADONNA

If you are a couple as desperate for media attention and celeb power as the Beckhams, collecting famous chums is as much an addiction as spotting trains is for strange-smelling men who wear duffel coats. It would be harsh of us to suggest that Victoria Beckham is the main driving force behind this, but we will anyway, particularly after the amusing quote from Kelly Osbourne about Posh's pally performance with Jennifer Lopez at a fashion show in September: "I've never seen two people pretend to like each other more in my life."

The only odd thing about that is why J-Lo would want to pretend to like Posh, really. From the Cruises to Eva Longoria Parker to Kate Beckinsale, the Beckhams have cosied up to plenty of A-listers, and their latest conquest is Madonna herself. When the Queen Of Pop (tm) was in Los Angeles for a break from her Sweet and Sticky tour, she met up with Posh and Becks at trendy restaurant Nobu. Or, rather, she bumped into them: "Madonna spied the Beckhams and went over and said hello," said a source.

They won't be hanging round in LA for much longer, of course, as David will be off to Milan for a bit in January, but the issue of whether he will go it alone or not remains to be cleared up. Some sources are claiming that Posh will go with him because she doesn't trust him on his own: "Victoria wasn't thinking of going to Milan with David," one source told the ever-reliable Daily Star. "But when stories appeared about her letting him go there on his own, there were lots of comments about how foolish she was being."

And finally, we have further evidence of the general insanity of the world. The house where David Beckham grew up is currently up for sale and a memorabilia collector from Sydney is apparently willing to splash out £2m for it, even though it's just a three-bed terraced house in London. The whole thing started when some fellow called Colin Evans discovered that it was the Beckham home for the first three years of David's life, and contacted the current owners, Samira and Suliman Ali, who had only lived there for six months.

They agreed to let Evans try to sell it for them based on its new-found celebrity status, and it looks like it might pay off: "We thought we'd get someone from China because he is so big there," Evans said. "It was a shock to get a call from Australia. We've got to see what else comes in. It looks like a humble house, but I understand why it might go for that kind of money. It is brand Beckham selling it. David might make still make an offer himself," he said, rather optimistically.

A local resident, Carol Kendrick, was rather more pragmatic about the whole saga: "The area is a dump so anyone who'd want to buy it at that price would be crazy." Even Mrs Ali isn't too impressed with matters: "I don't really care about David Beckham," she said. "I'd be surprised if anyone bought it at that price, but it would be fantastic." £2m for an average house with only a vague connection to a famous person? Isn't there supposed to be a global financial meltdown going on?

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