Brooklyn picks up the Beckham baton after joining QPR's academy side



David Beckham’s retirement doesn’t mean the end of his family’s playing involvement with a professional football club.

His eldest son Brooklyn has just started with relegated Queens Park Rangers’ Under 14 academy side, who train near the Beckhams’ new family home in west London.

Brooklyn, who was 14 in March, started playing at Spurs as a four-year-old and has had trials with Chelsea juniors. He was also on the Under 14 roster at LA Galaxy and would join his dad in training at Paris Saint-Germain.

Continuing the legacy: David Beckham's son Brooklyn (left) has signed to Queens Park Rangers academy

Nike bizarrely chose to launch their new England home shirt, which looks more like a Germany one, on social media through Jack Wilshere going back to his old school.



Yet the injured Wilshere will miss the shirt’s first outing against the Republic of Ireland at Wembley next Wednesday and the away version’s debut in Brazil four days later. A Nike spokesman said Wilshere was chosen because he was one of their sponsored players.

Football dinosaur Ken Bates may be 82 later this year, but the fevered speculation doing the rounds among the top brass of the Football League is that Bates is interested in buying Championship club Charlton.

Bates is still a board member at Leeds United but will resign as chairman on June 30 to begin a three-year term as president, having sold the club to Dubai-based finance house GFH Capital last December.

The composition of Charlton’s ownership has never been entirely clear, with reports property development tycoon Ken Cash helps bankroll the regime headed by City financier Michael Slater.



One Charlton shareholder is Tony Jiminez, who had a controversial spell running Newcastle player recruitment with Dennis Wise — a close ally of Bates.

The importance Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich attaches to his team winning the Europa League can perhaps be gauged by his absence from last week’s victory over Benfica in Amsterdam.

A Chelsea spokesman said Abramovich was on a business trip.

Absent: Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich didn't even go to their Europa League victory

Poyet’s summer scrap

Brighton manager Gus Poyet’s fall-out with the club looks like being one of the big confrontations of the summer.

Poyet and his coaching staff have been suspended while the club investigate the Uruguayan’s comments after the Championship play-off defeat against Crystal Palace.

The Brighton board are adamant that the £2.5million remaining on Poyet’s three-year contract would have to be paid in full if another club want him as their manager.

On the edge: Brighton manager Gus Poyet (right) and assistant manager Mauricio Taricco

The League Managers Association are advising Poyet how to handle the stand-off. But much to the LMA’s frustration, the Football League have declined to introduce a legally binding managers’ arbitration tribunal that exists for such Premier League wrangles.



The PL panel, consisting of a judge and two QCs, have an October date to settle Nigel Adkins’ sacking by Southampton in January. But the High Court remains the final destination for FL cases.

The LMA may choose to get FIFA involved in lower-league managerial disputes after they helped David O’Leary win his compensation claim of £3.4m against Dubai club Al Ahli.

A row over solidarity payments led to Barnet’s Tony Kleanthous leaving all his FA board positions immediately after the club’s relegation from the Football League, even though other directorial changes will not take effect until the summer meetings of the FA, Premier League and FL.



Kleanthous has been the most vocal opponent of FL chairman Greg Clarke over the money League Two clubs receive from the PL.



So when the FA checked with the FL on Kleanthous’s status following Barnet’s drop, the message back was that he had to stand down instantly.