Olympics: Micah Richards, Ryan Giggs, and Craig Bellamy

Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool stars are Great Britain's over-23 picks for the Olympics, according to The Times.

It appears the sideshow of David Beckham will not overshadow the efforts of the Great Britain Olympic team after all.

The Times is reporting today that Stuart Pearce has chosen his three over-23 players who are eligible to play for the landmark side.

His three include one Englishman and two Welshmen, and almost unsurprisingly, no Scots.

Let's start with Micah Richards, the defender was extremely unlucky not to be picked by England at Euro 2012.

Glen Johnson did not disappoint as feared, but Pearce, a former manager of Richards at City, knows all about him.

In our opinion he is an excellent choice, he is approaching the best years of his career. At 24, he is now a Premier League champion, and will add a lot of pace and steel to the side.

Manchester City should be able to do without him too, with Pablo Zabaleta ending the season as first choice. Richards can build his reputation and enhance his England opportunities with a successful tournament.

For Ryan Giggs, this is the chance he thought he might never receive. Supremely talented, few could argue he deserves it. Beckham may be disappointed to miss out on one last major tournament, but Giggs has never ever been to one.

He is 38 and is a potential captain of the side. He has started the last two seasons in excellent form for United, and Stuart Pearce is wise to try and take advantage of a fully rested winger.

United have a multitude of options in their squad and Giggs' absence will be one they can cope with. Success for Britain could be a glorious last chapter to his career, and help eradicate the negative press his private life brought him last summer.

Craig Bellamy is another Welshman who like Giggs will be desperate to finally seize his chance on the international stage. He is a livewire and even though a bit-part player for Liverpool, he can propel himself back into the spotlight with good performances.

Bellamy will lead the attack and he is the sort of player who every teammate will be glad to have on their side, and he could be the shrewdest of the three picks Pearce has made.

The tournament will be a fascinating one and we as football fans should embrace it. Britain might even win?

Who would you have picked? Has Pearce made the right move leaving out Beckham?

Dan Coombs

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Dan Coombs is a writer who is keen to embrace the internet revolution. He first started writing for us in June 2011 and commenced his new role as Sports Editor in February 2012.

As a trained journalist he has met famous faces from Mr T to Boris Johnson. He once featured in an England World Cup music video too, but it did not make the charts.

He grew up wanting to be a Formula 1 driver, but it looks like this dream has passed him by. Instead, he hopes you enjoy reading his writing on our site, as we seek to debate the day's sporting hot topics.