Page 1 of Credit to David Beckham....

...for taking McLaren`s decision professionally and like a man.

Would`ve been all too easy to announce his retirement from international football and go off and sulk. Instead he accepts that McLaren`s got his own ideas and says he`ll do his utmost to get back in.

The attitude of a true England man in my opinion. Well done sir - hope he eventually gets his 100 caps.

I thought he would be reduced to the bench after giving up the captaincy,i was shell shocked when i heard he was not even in the squad :o :o :o



(A.C.C Founder)

Was surprised too that he`d been dropped completely, also admire his seeming determination to get back in the side.
Have my doubts that will happen though, unless he stars for Real so outstandingly that public and press clamour for his return.
Either that, or if the new era England goes disastrously wrong over the next three games or so, leading to a similar clamour.

I`m happy to give him credit. Bit funny how it hasn`t been mentioned if he had been picked but then had to stay on the bench as a spectator. Not very fitting either way so definitely a no win situation. I see SWP is back in the squad, I wonder how he`s shaping up - surely he must need some match practise.

Pete

Exactly how many 1st team appearances did SWP make last season? :/

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News Editor and Reviewer
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Go that way, really fast. If something gets in your way, turn...

And those who dance will spin and turn,
And those who wait will wait no more,
And those who talk will hear the words,
And those who see will fade and die,
And those who laugh will surely fall,
And those who know will always feel their backs against the thin wall...

I know what you mean. Whether McLaren was trying to make a point or not, putting SWP ahead of him is barmy. Then again, Lennon should appear ahead of SWP anyway.

But this could all be a very good plan by McLaren and Beckham if you think about it. McLaren and Becks agree that he should miss the first game, which in turn means the media and fans lay off, feeling sympathetic to Becks (who had a poor World Cup). This also makes McLaren look like he is willing to drop players no matter how high profile, which gives him the credibility Sven didn`t have.

Becks has been an England scapegoat for a while, so when he is introduced again it will be more because he has `earnt` it through good domestic performance rather than being in just because of who he is.

See, its a carefully thought out plan. ;)

Personally, yes I agree with giving him credit for how he took the decision

That said I dont for one second think it was the wrong one by McLaren. He has gone up in my estimation for having the balls to do this (note: I dont think it should have been that hard a decision as I dont think Beckham has been that good for years and I always said he was over rated)

McLaren obviously has his own ideas and he needs to get these kids experience and gel them into HIS team. You have Lennon, SWP (if he starts playing) and even Jermaine Pennant (Assuming he continues improving on how he has started since moving to Liverpool) who could be looking at filling that wide role. All have pace, all can run at people and 2 of them cross the ball well (I dont think I have ever seen SWP cross a football)

If McLaren sees pace in his wide men to beat players and get the ball in to the forwards as his future plan then Beckham, blatently, is not the man for the job. You need to pick a team to win and a team that will play to your tactics and you need to be able to make tough decisions if players arent performing / dont fit the system and drop them - Something SGE was never able to do. - for instance do not be surprised if Lampard doesnt start tomorrow against Greece (Stevie G and Hargreaves in the middle)

I am skeptical about McLaren`s credentials for taking the England Job but I am willing to give him a go and support him to start with and so far all he has managed to do is improve my opinion of him by showing some guts and conviction in his plans for the future of the national team

Good Luck Mr McLaren




SHEPHERDS PIEEEEEEEE
Y.N.W.A
"TIGHT"

Quote:
(note: I dont think it should have been that hard a decision as I dont think Beckham has been that good for years and I always said he was over rated)

I wonder what your reaction would be if McClaren had dropped Gerrard. I`d argue that Beckham has done far more in an England shirt than Gerrard has, and both Gerrard AND Lampard have been disappointing in the white shirt recently.

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News Editor and Reviewer
www.dvd.reviewer.co.uk

Go that way, really fast. If something gets in your way, turn...

And those who dance will spin and turn,
And those who wait will wait no more,
And those who talk will hear the words,
And those who see will fade and die,
And those who laugh will surely fall,
And those who know will always feel their backs against the thin wall...

IMO the difference is

As much as Beckham, GErrard and Lampard have not been at their best for England for a few years now at least Stevie G and Lamps (with the exception of end of last season) have done it for club in that time and done it consistently I dont think Beckham has.

Plus Beckham has supposedly played in his own position for England whereas either Stevie G or Lamps (usually S G ) have had to play in a position that isnt there best just so that SGE could get them all in the team and thus avoid making a tough decision to drop one of them or change the formation

Just my take on things, but you are right about England form. I;d still back Stevie G to come good though - providing McLaren uses him in the right way. Time will tell.




SHEPHERDS PIEEEEEEEE
Y.N.W.A
"TIGHT"

Looks like he`s planning to play Gerrard on the right against the Greeks.

I know he hasn`t got much time for experimentation before the Euro qualifiers start but I`d be interested to see if the `Lampard and Gerrard can`t play in the middle together` theory is still true if you had true width on the flanks (eg. Downing and Lennon). I`ve always had a feeling that part of the problem was due to the fact that neither J. Cole or Becks were true `wide` players and therefore squeezed the space in the middle an awful lot.

Might be wrong of course, but the only time I think I`ve ever seen it deployed was during the last 20 minutes or so against Trinidad & Tobago and we looked a different team (one of the games where SGE did actually get his subs spot on).