David Beckham's Iconic Career in Pictures.

David Beckham announced his retirement from football in May. As the former England captain, he was one of the most iconic footballers and personalities of the noughties. During this long summer break from football before the new season starts,  we thought it was a good time to reflect on his career.

David Beckham's career at his first club Manchester United began when he signed a professional contract in 1994, after a short loan spell at Preston he began gaining regular first team football in 1995. However it was not until 1996 and scoring a spectacular goal against Wimbledon from the halfway line, that he really announced himself to the footballing world.

1) England vs Argentina, June 1998.

Whilst the Wimbledon goal announced him to the footballing world, this was the moment that penetrated the consciousness of the whole nation. England lost to Argentina on penalties after a 2-2 draw and Michael Owen wonder goal. Beckham’s famous sending off in this game made him a national villain for a period and pushed him onto the front and back pages of all the newspapers.

2) Made England Captain, November 2000.

After 1998 the rehabilitation of Beckham’s public image was now in full swing, with temporary England manager Peter Taylor making him the England captain, a position which he held for six years.

3) Last minute Free Kick vs Greece, October 2001.

This will probably remain Beckham’s most iconic moment in an England shirt. During the last World Cup qualifier of the campaign, England desperately needed at least a draw to go through to the finals. Beckham playing out of his skin dragged the team to the brink of qualification, with the 90th minute approaching Beckham stepped up to score a trademark free kick which sent England to the finals and sent the fans delirious.

4) Penalty vs Argentina, June 2002.

Beckhams redemption in the public mind was finally complete, scoring a penalty against old rivals Argentina which won the game and sent England through to the next round.

5) Beckham join Real Madrid, June 2003.

Beckham left his boyhood club Manchester United to join possibly the only bigger team in the world. The Spanish giants rewarded him with a huge contract and Beckham joined the cast of ‘Galacticos’ including Zidane and Figo.

6) Resigns as England Captain, July 2006.

After missing a penalty against Portugal in the World Cup, England crashed out of the tournament. Beckham felt it was time to step down as captain and allow new coach Steve McLaren the opportunity to appoint his own man.

7) Signs for LA Galaxy, January 2007.

At 31 Beckham made the move to America and received a bumper £128 million contract. Beckham was such a big name on the world stage by now, that he was brought to America for his ability to attract new American fans as much as his footballing prowess. Although he suffered several injuries early on at Galaxy, he later went on to win two Major League Cups. During his time at Galaxy he also spent time on loan at another iconic European club, AC Milan.

8) Breaks the record for England Caps, March 2009.

During a friendly with Slovakia, one of his last ever England games, Beckham became the most capped England outfield player ever. Receiving a standing ovation from the fans for his historic feet.

9) Beckham Retires,  May 2013.

At the age of 38 Beckham bowed out of football with his final club Paris Saint-Germain, by winning the league with PSG he had now won the league in four different countries. His emotional retirement was rounded off nicely by the news that he had donated his entire wages earned at PSG to charity.

Britain's Olympic Legacy - 1 Year On

This week marks the one year anniversary of London 2012 and Britain’s most successful Olympic games. As you will remember, Team GB rode high in the final medals table and a rather sceptical nation celebrated - as Jessica Ennis, Mo Farah, Chris Hoy, Bradley Wiggins and Co romped to their respective triumphs.

Despite London 2012 coming in three times over budget, recent government research has revealed that hosting the games could have boosted the UK economy by as a much as £9.9 billion. So we thought it would be interesting to see how the games are viewed a year on and take a look back at our top three highlights.

Following a year to reflect on the games, a new survey carried out for the BBC by ComRes shows that more than two-thirds of the country believe the games were worth the money and 74% would welcome the games back to Britain.

As for the much discussed ‘legacy’ aspect of the games, the survey reveals a mixed picture. Generally our feelings are very positive towards  London 2012, however, general participation in sport has had a temporary boost and dropped off into 2013. But Sports England points out, there are now 1.4 million more people playing sport than when we won the bid for the games in 2005. So by anyone's measure increased participation like this is a fantastic legacy of the games.

When you consider the positive public feeling, the British success, the volunteers, the economic benefits, the number of social firsts (in both the Olympics and Paralympics) and the overall increased sporting participation. London 2012 was a rip-roaring success, a once in a generation moment where the typically cynical British population celebrated achievement with gusto, whilst also enjoying showcasing our nation to the world.

Despite the Government cut-backs on the grass-roots of sport, including clubs and local facilities, participation in sport has not dropped off aggressively. The last year has shown, Britain has remained triumphant in many sports and the success kicked off by the Olympics see’s no sign of abating.

Our Top 3 Moments of 2012

There are too many glorious moments to mention from London 2012, every sport contributed amazingly, but for us the most iconic and defining images from the Olympics came from the Athletic events.

1) Mo Farah’s 5000m Gold -

Mighty Mo, the refugee who defied the odds, winning Gold in both the ten and five thousand metre events to become a hero. Plus his, ‘MoBot’ celebration was one of the most copied moments of the Olympics.

2) Jessica Ennis’s Heptathlon Gold -

Sheffield’s Jessica Ennis was the face of the games in the build up, despite the pressure, she performed fantastically to win gold and fulfil her promise. Her gold on what became known as ‘super-Saturday’, was one of the stand-out moments.  

3) Usain Bolt's 100m Victory -

Not a Brit, but Jamaica and the world’s fastest man won three golds overall and became one of the most successful athletes of all time. Another man with an iconic celebration, who will go down as a sporting great.

Has Britain finally become a nation of Winners?

After an unprecedented run of success from Andy Murray and friends, can we dare to dream of a new era of sustained British sporting success?

Many may expect it to be a fleeting phenomenon, much like this scorching heat wave, but there has never been a better time to be a British sports fan. Whisper it, but we may soon be able to define a British sports person, not by their personalities or plucky courage (sorry Eddie the Eagle!), but by their actual achievements and winning results.

Biennial footballing failure, Ashes losses and Wimbledon semi final exits are all cliches of the British sporting summer and the last two years has provided the perfect tonic to a sustained history as sporting nearly men.

Fans have been privileged to witness some of the most iconic moments in British sporting history. It all started with the overachievement of the London 2012 Olympics, followed by back to back Tour De France victories from Bradley Wiggins and Chriss Froome, Justin Rose became the first English golfer since 1970 to win the US Open, a legendary British Lions rugby team won their tour of Australia and as I write the England cricket team seem nailed on for 2013 Ashes victory (we can even afford to be confident these days!). Not forgetting what some would argue is the most impressive of them all, Andy Murray winning the Wimbledon Men’s Singles trophy on Centre Court, after 70 years without a British male winner!

Looking at the nature of these victories, even they defy the stereotype of past British sporting successes, these weren’t narrow victories snatched from the jaws of defeat. Instead we saw controlled, tactical and devastating performances - whilst sometimes nerve wracking, they looked likely throughout.

A variety of factors have contributed to British successes, firstly moves to professionalism in sports such as Rugby, Athletics after the aberration of the 1996 olympics and cycling which now has a team the envy of the world. Immigration has also played its part, a broadening of the talent pool allowed for example Somalian born Mo Farah to sweep to glory representing the country which he moved to at the age of 8 and South African born cricketers have also proved integral to British cricketing successes. Britain has long been a nation of immigrants stretching back to the Roman Empire, much like America the UK has embraced these newcomers.

Of course, this is not to say Britain is now set for a glorious run of sporting success for years to come. Margins of victory still depend on individual performances, inspired tactical decisions, hard training and this can all still turn on one bad decision. However, maybe the Olympic legacy is in fact a turning point in British sporting achievement, a collective realisation that we could be a nation of winners and the last two years have provided plenty of evidence for optimism for continued future success.

Even if these feats are never repeated and Britain’s return to their status as plucky underdogs, their are plenty of memories that will last a lifetime for sports fan’s and we have documented these iconic moments firsthand over at http://www.sportphotogallery.com/

Can photographs really inspire our kids today?

The question is , does having a simple picture hanging on our walls as we grow up, inspire us to strive and achieve in today's high climbing society? Can we really learn to keep our goals and hold onto that ambition, just because a photograph is there to remind us?

The answer is, yes. visual repetition can work. Today more than ever , we tackle obesity, discrimination and recession, grabbing something positive from a picture of someone who’s conquered their goals (big or small) is most certainly inspirational on a variety of levels.

Being active

Getting your child to motivate themselves and stay fit and active can be easier than you think, by joining a group and getting involved , you can simulate your child's inner active self , whilst boosting their confidence and giving them a goal.

Inspiration

Having a picture of Andy Murray on your bedroom wall, can remind your child to keep going , to try and try again, help give them an unshakeable belief that they can achieve - whether it’s in their ‘makeup’ or  genes - creating an inbuilt ability to feel and think the philosophy - ‘inspire and be inspired’.

Purchase an image, framed, canvas or print and display the ambition , inspiring thoughts through imagery - when tears flow into a pillow or feet leap for delight- it will be hanging stimulating - may wish to use another word as it can be easily misconstrued - your child to remember goals and focus on what they could achieve - reach high, reach low, smash the net , run the distance and win the game.

Visual repetition is a wonderful tool and used by many, think about it at.

Make the move

With obesity and malnutrition growing on all sides of the globe, activity of the body and mind is crucial, perseverance is rife and to get somewhere in this world, you simply need to have the right attitude and the right tools.

WHAT INSPIRES YOUR CHILD - DOES VISUAL INSPIRATION WORK?

OK, so its a big bad and wonderful world out there, but what really inspires your child? food? money?sports ?

Is to have a goal, regardless of what it may be is the key to success, be driven be focused and make the most of your years? and can visual repetition help with this?

I'm not saying become a national superstar, simply have a goal, a light at the end of the almighty tunnel.

Now we all know that visuals/photographs in particular connect with the soul and tick the memory box better than anything else, we can blurb and blog on until we are blue in the face, the simple fact is that an image has the power to IMPRINT INSPIRATION!

Think back to your posters and prints, laying in YOUR world (or pig-sty as mum may have called it) and recall who made you THINK, TICK and CLOCK your thoughts and fantasies of a bright future.

Now, mine was Anna Kournikova smashing the net, yes OK,  because I wanted to look like this Russian american beauty , but mainly because she had achieved her goals through hard work and perseverance, this image on my wall was a constant reminder that I could achieve something if I really wanted to.

What are you thoughts of the effectiveness of visual inspiration?? could it help the children of tomorrow reach new heights or is it just a poster, simply that, simply does.

Check out http://www.sportphotogallery.com/