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“When he hit it, I thought, ‘You cheeky bastard’. The ball was in the air and I was thinking, ‘The gaffer’s going to kill him’. But it was floating and floating…” Gary Pallister’s reaction to David Beckham’s half-way line goal

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David Beckham cemented his place as one of the Premier League’s best youngsters at the start of the 1996/97 campaign with an audacious goal

Manchester United's David Beckham celebrates after scoring his famous goal from the halfway line against Wimbledon, August 1996
David Beckham celebrates his iconic goal against Wimbledon in 1996 (Image credit: Getty Images)

It didn’t take long for David Beckham and his young Manchester United team-mates to develop the habit of making rivals, opponents and pundits look a tad daft.

Beckham and his Class of 92 cohort were the propelling force behind the Red Devils’ 1995/96 Premier League title win, making a mockery of Match of the Day pundit Alan Hansen’s infamous ‘you can’t win anything with kids’ gambit at the start of that campaign.

Not only did Beckham and company win the Premier League, but they also completed the double by winning the FA Cup and it didn’t take long for the future England captain to write fresh headlines the following season.

Pallister on Beckham’s iconic Wimbledon goal

David Beckham of Manchester United celebrates after scoring the third goal in the 1996 FA Charity Shield between Manchester United and Newcastle United at Wembley Stadium on August 11, 1996 in London, England.

Beckham celebrating his Charity Shield goal a week before scoring his Wimbledon stunner (Image credit: Shaun Botterill/Allsport/Getty Images)

The opening day of the 1996/97 season saw Beckham - who ranked at no.14 in FourFourTwo’s list of the best Manchester United players ever - score one of the most iconic goals his career, when champions Manchester United arrived at Selhurst Park to take on Wimbledon.

With the Red Devils winning 2-0 towards the end of the game, Beckham, who had just turned 21, received a pass from Brian McClair inside his own half, looked up and let rip, with his audacious effort floating over the head of Dons stopper Neil Sullivan.

28 November 1992, London, FA Premier League - Arsenal v Manchester United - Gary Pallister of Manchester United. (Photo by Mark Leech/Offside via Getty Images)

Gary Pallister played alongside Beckham at Manchester United (Image credit: Getty Images)

Gary Pallister was one of the Manchester United defenders who saw the action unfold in front of him that afternoon.

“When he hit it, I thought, ‘You cheeky bastard…’” laughs Pallister to FourFourTwo. “The ball was in the air and I was thinking, ‘The gaffer is going to kill him’.

“But it was floating and floating, I was watching the keeper struggling and thinking, ‘No… surely not?’ Then it landed in the back of the net!

“I could see the manager on the sideline, thinking, ‘I can’t have a go at him now that he’s scored!’ A wonderful piece of opportunism, and a brilliant technical piece of skill to see it, and to execute it.

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson and assistant manager Brian Kidd with the Premier League trophy, 1996

Manchester United won a league and cup double in 1995/96 (Image credit: Alamy)

“It was, ‘You cheeky bastard… oh, what a goal!’ That moment announced him on the big stage.”

That goal was the pick of the 12 that Beckham scored that season, with the team going on to successfully defend their title to make it four championships in the first five seasons of the Premier League.

Joe Mewis
Joe Mewis

For more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.

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