Madam, - What unspeakable act can David Beckham have perpetrated on Mary Hannigan (Sports, June 19th) to have provoked such a bitter and vitriolic attack on the player? What could have merited the use of the despicable phrase "cow entrails" in a summary of the player's ability. Am I alone in expecting better standards from Irish Times journalism?
David Beckham is one of the finest artists the game has produced. He is a player with breathtaking vision, magisterial ball skills and Olympian athleticism, and is one of the truest strikers of a soccer ball the game has seen.
I have been a student of the game for more than 50 years and I rejoice in the fact that I have lived to witness Beckham's consummate skills. I, too, welcome the fact that the transfer to Real Madrid is completed. Perhaps now I will no longer have to read begrudging pieces on Beckham from Irish football writers. - Yours, etc.,
PAUL KAVANAGH, Domville Road, Templeogue, Dublin 6.