It’s a populist cry, but England would surely be better off without captain David Beckham in their starting XI. Beckham’s work-rate cannot be faulted and his delivery from the right is still impeccable at times, but these qualities are more than counterbalanced by his limitations. The accommodation of such a plodding wide player must lead to a diminution of the team’s impact. Beckham is one of the most pedestrian midfielders at the World Cup, and his performances have become increasingly two-dimensional, the nadir being his latest outing against Sweden.

As far back as January we were suggesting that Beckham was England’s most expendable midfield resource. If England retain a 4-4-2 shape against Ecuador, with Crouch and Rooney upfront, the midfield quartet should comprise Joe Cole, Hargreaves (or Carrick), Lampard and Gerrard. The mandatory inclusion of Beckham is actually what sustains the Lampard/Gerrard central midfield dilemma. This issue is quite simply resolved if Beckham makes way, and Gerrard is played on the right.

However, England look set to adopt a 4-5-1 formation for their second round match against the South Americans. But even with an extra berth in midfield available, Beckham is still a hindrance. Aaron Lennon provides far more pace and attacking verve and should come into the starting line-up. This broadens the range of England’s attack: the two-wide players, Lennon and Cole, can switch flanks to keep opposition defences unsettled. Much has been written about the requirement to realise the full potential of both Lampard and Gerrard, but on current form it is surely as important to optimise Joe Cole’s attacking role. He has been our player of the tournament so far and has looked really bright on England’s left-side, but as a natural right-footer he may also relish the chance to take on defences down the right. With added pace on the flanks 4-5-1 can easily mutate into 4-3-3 and an attacking triumvirate of Lennon, Rooney and Cole could be one of the best forward-lines at the World Cup. Beckham does not have the pace to play as a winger in a 4-3-3 set-up, so if Sven utilises just one forward, with Beckham included in midfield, England may find it difficult to deviate from a defensive structure.

As a one-paced wide player, whose primary trade is crossing, Beckham is something of an anachronism. Top domestic sides in England no longer rely on crosses to provide goals: yet at international level this approach somehow retains sovereignty. This is why the lack of a suitable left-footed midfielder has always been such a problem for England (whereas Arsenal managed a huge unflustered unbeaten streak with the right-footed Pires at left-midfield). Whilst there should be scope for a dash of dirty ‘route one’ in any side, David Beckham’s ongoing reign propagates a dynamic which exemplifies the traditional shortcomings of English football.

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 24th, 2006 at 2:37 pm and is filed under First & Foremost. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.  Return to home page.