Parker misses out on England call up

[Shearergol 0]

3 or 4 players in there who shouldn't be. Picked on reputation again in the main, but one or two surprises.

 

Who the hell is Foster, and when has anyone ever seen him play? (and yes, I know he was at watford last year, but that means nothing)

 

Why is SWP in the squad?

[Holden McGroin 6783]

3 or 4 players in there who shouldn't be. Picked on reputation again in the main, but one or two surprises.

 

Who the hell is Foster, and when has anyone ever seen him play? (and yes, I know he was at watford last year, but that means nothing)

 

Why is SWP in the squad?

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Looked impressive for Watford last season. A good prospect. And to be honest, I can't think of any good keepers apart from Robbo.

[Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0]

Excellent piece in todays Telegraph by Tim Rich:

Beckham failed to deliver when it mattered

 

England versus Greece at Old Trafford is a fixture that will always mean contrasting things to David Beckham. In 2001, it was the match where he delivered his finest, some would say his only truly great, display in an England shirt. Five years later, it was the game that confirmed the end of the affair with the Three Lions.

 

For someone so absurdly famous - when Real Madrid toured Japan 'David Beckham' was the single most recognised foreign phrase after 'Coca-Cola' - his achievements, at least on the international stage, appear triflingly slight.

 

The display against Greece, in which by some estimates he ran the equivalent of a half-marathon and dragged England to the World Cup finals with a last-minute free kick in front of the Stretford End, was in a qualifier, against a team they ought to have beaten easily. In the tournaments that mattered he never delivered the kind of performance that his fellow galacticos at the Bernabeu - Luis Figo, Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane - could point to. The furthest Beckham ever travelled was to a quarter-final.

 

There was certainly soap opera. The purgatory he endured after his dismissal against Argentina in his first World Cup in 1998 was laid to rest by the penalty that ensured victory over the same opponents in Sapporo four years later. Beckham did not enjoy many victories over the great footballing powers during his 94 games with England but that evening against Argentina was the only big win in which he was the central figure.

 

Even this tournament, in a land where he was regarded as a kind of sun god, ended feebly as he jumped out of a tackle against Ronaldinho that led to Brazil's fateful equaliser in the quarter-final, that was followed swiftly by England's disintegration as a unit.

 

Manchester United have unquestionably missed his crosses and dead-ball skills in the years since his failing relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson forced his transfer from Old Trafford to Madrid. But if there is to be no more of him in an England shirt, then the gaps Beckham leaves behind seem relatively simple to fill.

 

After his expensive misses from the spot against France and Portugal during the European Championship, Frank Lampard had already taken over his role as a penalty-taker. In Germany, Aaron Lennon displayed greater pace than Beckham could ever have mustered in his pomp and kept his position on the right flank rather better. Steven Gerrard can deliver breathtaking free kicks.

 

Only in that last respect, against Paraguay and Ecuador, was he worth his place in Germany. And in the crucial quarter-final against Portugal, Beckham's dead-ball deliveries in Gelsenkirchen proved wretched.

 

He left the field in tears, ostensibly because the ankle injury he sustained meant he would play no further part in the World Cup even had England discovered the art of converting a penalty. But the tears may have come from a deeper source.

 

During his brief time at Manchester City, Robbie Fowler talked about how his inability to recapture even a fraction of the form that had made him great at Anfield would reduce him to tears of frustration and similar feelings must have flitted through Beckham's brain in Germany.

 

There was nowhere for him to go. Against Wales and Northern Ireland, two of the feeblest performances of the Sven-Goran Eriksson era, he had attempted to reinvent himself as a central midfielder, a role he had played with some success in his first season at Real Madrid. The results were underwhelming. But for his closeness to Eriksson and the Swede's inability to take the difficult decisions, it is unlikely he would have kept his place on merit.

 

It would not be supposing too much to state that a part of John Terry, Beckham's successor, would be grateful he is no longer around. When Mike Gatting replaced David Gower as England cricket captain, Gower recalled an awkwardness between the two when he returned as a mere player.

 

And whatever else is said of him, Beckham was an outstanding England captain. His last act as an England player was to speak to those about to take the penalties against Portugal in Gelsenkirchen, where he appeared more interested than Eriksson.

 

He relished the duties of dealing with the media and the public, with whom he displayed all his natural style and grace. He was English football's greatest advertisement and, financially, its greatest asset. He was as much a symbol of his age as Bobby Moore or Bryan Robson and it was not Beckham's fault that those times happened to fret over image and style rather than achievement.

[sweetleftpeg 0]

I'm not saying that Beckham should be in the starting 11, I'm just saying that he should be in the sqaud. He's been made a scapegoat.

 

I like to say though, that as an England fan I hope McClaren gets it right.

[Guest alex]

I'm not saying that Beckham should be in the starting 11, I'm just saying that he should be in the sqaud. He's been made a scapegoat.

 

I like to say though, that as an England fan I hope McClaren gets it right.

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If he's not in his plans for 2008, I think it's the right decision. How the fuck Jenas keeps getting in is beyond me like. I agree he shouldn't be blamed for the shitty World Cup showing though. Sven should take the blame for that. Brian Glanville did a canny piece on Beckham in yesterday's Sunday Times. He's never been his biggest fan but I thought it was a well-balanced article.

[Sima 0]

hahaha, Hargreaves getting slated by GB, what a moron.

[adios 717]

hahaha, Hargreaves getting slated by GB, what a moron.

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I think you'll find that was aimed at Jenas...

[Sima 0]

hahaha, Hargreaves getting slated by GB, what a moron.

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I think you'll find that was aimed at Jenas...

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ah i see