Beckham

[lauren]

is he coming back to the England side?

[glory55]

Right.....

I was waiting for this topic to appear!

I think he may well be and in my humble opinion....

...All the while he is playing NON-LEAGUE football in the states it should never happen....

1/ If we cant beat Estonia without David Beckham we certainly dont deserve to qaulify for anything!!

2/ Bringing back the old captain may cause problems in the side.

3/ If this happens Steve McClaren is even a bigger joke than what he has shown...

....Show some backbone and stick by your guns/water-pistol!!!

[lauren]

well he obviously can't be captain now, can he?

we need TT for some bets.

[sweet waffle]

My theory is that he's been picked in order to help ticket sales.

[glory55]

My theory is that he's been picked in order to help ticket sales.

??

[sweet waffle]

My theory is that he's been picked in order to help ticket sales.

??

Sorry that's if he get's picked.

[glory55]

I see

[loz]

My theory is that he will be picked because he is a a better player than any other option! A tad unorthodox I know but I like to go out on a limb sometimes

I find it hard to understand how people don't think beckham is good enough to get into the ENgland team (or at least squad) after they have watched every performance under McLaren to date. Even Beckham in stroll mode will deliver better crosses, pass the ball better and create more from set pieces than any of the rest of the England midfield has since the World Cup.

[Mod]

Am I the only one that thinks he should be back in an England Shirt, and reckon he could turn the team around?

..Thought so

[loz]

Well apart from the fact I posted the same thing 4 minutes previously Mod yes you are the only one. Now do you want to negotiate for a seat in my corner? (I think you will find it crowded as I sspect G4 and Pauly will want a seat too however you can be sure Bluebeard won't!!)

[Mod]

oh, I avoid all your posts, kind of like a stepping stone, jumping over it.

[heckel]

I think Beckham should be definately back in the squad. After being chastened by being dropped there will never be the Beckham + support band quality to the team from Eriksson's era and that come Euro '08 and SA '10 he could be very useful coming into the game in the second half for set pieces etc. As his performances for Madrid lately have shown his talent is still unmatched in world football in bending crosses into the box. I think him and sweepy represent two great options on the right (though they should never be seen on the park at the same time

[Guest Brian M]

I think Beckham should be definately back in the squad.

I agree. Joe Cole on the left and switch between Lennon and Becks on the right depending on the formation.

[lauren]

since the England team is so bad, maybe Scholes should be back too.

[glory55]

Oh I dont believe it!

Come on people....Short term fix!!

We need forward thinking....Future planning......Youth!!

Hey.... while we at it why dont we bring back Gary Lineker???

[Tim W]

I've no problem with MaClaren picking Beckham it's the other 5 or 6 borderline spots in the squad that worry me. You should never give idiots choices.

[glory55]

So back by media demand..........David Beckham!

The power of the tabliods!

[Chippy]

Becks is good enough and still Englands best crosser of the ball but shouldn't we be planning ahead? we need to bring in younger players that can be future WC winners

I also think the manager will look a bit more foolish after his big change is reinstated.

[Pauly]

Apart from the "who else is there" argument, i'd say that with the forward pairing of owen and rooney, not being able to use someone of the world class attacking talent that beckham still has is totally insane. To leave a player of such determination out of the squad is absolute madness and i think with the right coaching he's shown what he can do at madrid recently... question is can mclaren get the same response after dropping him....

pauly's england side:

.............................Kirkland.............................

......................................................................

............................Carragher...........................

.....................Terry............Ferdinand...............

......................................................................

...............................Parker.............................

.............................................................Bridge

Beckham.......Lampard.....................................

.......................................Gerrard...................

......................................................................

......................................................................

.......................Owen........Rooney....................

The perfect crime.

England keep their two best players in a 2 up front, Solve the problem of fitting in Lamps and Gerrard with some freedom into the same central midfield, you get the crossing and ball keeping skills of Beckham with lampard helping him as Gerrard did in the 2005 CL final against Serginho and you get a stylish and fashionable coach on the touchline. My CV is in the mail.

[glory55]

Pauly,England dont play three at the back.

And we dont have time to try it out now.

The media will tear the manager to pieces if he tinkers with the formation!

Its too late for that now.... its do or die for England.

[SydneyChelsea]

Apart from the "who else is there" argument, i'd say that with the forward pairing of owen and rooney, not being able to use someone of the world class attacking talent that beckham still has is totally insane.

If you want to play with width with these two strikers leading the line, every ball must be perfectly weighted.

Like Beckham's.

[Pauly]

Pauly,England dont play three at the back.

And we dont have time to try it out now.

The media will tear the manager to pieces if he tinkers with the formation!

Its too late for that now.... its do or die for England.

You aren't risking a great level of football though are you? It's not as if you've performed well under mclaren. He's played 3 at the back before with boro which is why I was optimistic in at least one sense to see him manage england. To see some flexibility in a league where managers generally behave like members of a herd. (Is it just me or does there seem to be a trend of 70 or 80% of the teams trying to adopt the style that the current leaders are playing? Rather than fitting a system to their team...) Though you are right- it would take a brave man to try it against russia. England has not looked right for any of eriksson's or mclaren's time in formation or player selection- some decisions have to be made and it's pathetic that these problems persist under an international manager for the length of time that they have. Anything that gets you away from the way he plays the 442 would be a godsend...

[Lofty]

Lofty- your opinion is needed on the mysterious reemergence of david beckham to your england squad- or should i say mysterious appointment of a man who would pick lennon over him

Do you really want to know?

Oh ok then. Well I've seen hardly anything of him at Real Madrid - despite having access to Real Madrid TV. However, I've heard that he's been outstanding for them lately, so much so that Real have tried to get him to stay on. Having said that, what I think is that McLaren is clutching at straws. By deciding to end (?) his career in the States, it looked to me as if Beckham had effectively declared an acceptance that his international career had come to an end.

But McLaren, being the waffling incompetent mancunian that he is, and having cocked things up royally so far has decided to go along with calls for Beckham return in the media, figuring (quite rightly) that things can hardly get any worse.

So do I think the England squad could benefit from Beckham's return? If reports of his recent performances are anything to go by, then almost definitely yes. Not having the responsibility of the England captaincy well improve his actual contribution.

Lennon? Looks good because of who he plays for. Might be a decent international player one day but isn't there yet, not by a long way.

[Pauly]

Well- i think he is not looking to the future anymore considering you are in danger of not qualifying. So it's the strongest squad for this match that has decided his squad i guess. (novel idea for an international manager!!!)

[g3.7]

agreed that going to america will, perhaps should kill his international career long term. it's a shame as from a fitness point of view I could imagine beckham easily coping at euro 2008. in fact I have no doubts... fitness wise even the next world cup may not be beyond him.

I put this to you though- when france were in danger of not qualifying for the world cup, the recalled maka, zidane and thuram (players all older than beckham is now)- and they not only provided that calming influence that got them into the tournament, but they also got to the final. I don't think the boumsong's and malouda's of this world would have been able to do that.