8:49am UK, Friday June 13, 2003

David and Victoria Beckham are preparing to fly home from America - with blasts from critics ringing in their ears.

An article in the New York Post was headlined 'Don't Come Beck'.

180-david victoria beckham new york

Who are you?

US columnists rounded on the couple, who have been holidaying in the States.

Post writer Tom Sykes said the Beckhams were "utterly unrecognisable" in America, despite their high profile visit which he described as a "self-promotion tour".

He wrote: "Posh and Becks, as they are known on the other side of the Pond, had hoped by now they would be as famous in the United States as they are in their native Britain.

"Instead, they're going home as anonymous as when they arrived."

Sykes said the problem was few in America knew what the couple were famous for.

He panned Victoria's singing career and said David was the star of a sport that, in America, "is largely played by young girls".

USA Today commented: "Only in the USA can David and Victoria Beckham stroll the streets unnoticed.

"While some celebrities might relish such anonymity, the English duo - wildly famous everywhere else in the world - aren't used to being ignored."

The Beckhams will fly into a new storm when they arrive back in Britain, with controversy raging over Manchester United's attempts to sell David to Barcelona.