Beckham axed

Last Modified: 11 Aug 2006
By: Mark Greaves

Many people would argue that today's decision to drop David Beckham from the England squad to play Greece should have been made before now.

Beckham's international achievements, like those of his manager Sven-Goran Eriksson (with whose tenure as England coach he is indissolubly linked), can only be judged by the success of the national team. And in this respect he has been a failure.

He has led England into its last three major international football tournaments: the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and the 2004 European Championships. Each time, he has presided over performances characterised variously as disorganised, incompetent, lacking in passion and failing to realise the potential of the team.

England fans will have sighed in exasperated relief this summer as Beckham followed up his tearful departure from the field during the quarterfinal defeat to Portugal with a tearful press conference to announce his resignation as captain.

Why, they undoubtedly asked, did he not stand down after Portugal 2004, when England had limped out against the hosts in a penalty shoot-out notable, among other things, for the complete ineptitude of the captain's spot kick?

Or after England's lacklustre 2002 defeat against Brazil, in which the unfit captain was dispossessed as he rode a tackle that led directly to Brazil's first goal?

Nowadays there are so many vested interests associated with the Goldenballs brand that the Beckham camp were undoubtedly, and understandably, hoping that he would be named in the squad to play Greece.

But Beckham's deficiencies as captain have tended to distract from his decline as an international footballer. As such, he has not really delivered since his performance against Greece in 2002. He would never have kept Aaron Lennon out of the right-wing position this summer but for his status as captain and his relationship with Eriksson.

Explaining the decision to drop Beckham at this afternoon's news conference, the new England coach Steve McClaren denied - predictably - that this signalled the end to his international career. "The door will never be closed," he promised.

Yet herein lies the source of further confusion for the manager, the players and England fans. This is because, in contrast to his international appearances, Beckham has been one of the few Real Madrid galacticos who has played consistently well for the declining Spanish giants over the last few seasons.

McClaren told reporters today that when he phoned Beckham to tell him that he had been dropped, the player vowed to continue to fight for his place. Yet what else can a footballer do to get back into the national team when he is already arguably the best player at the most famous club side in the world?