[themoid]

so reports in the papers say beckham will not be in the squad announced today. do you guys think this is the end of his england career then ?

i think he would be a good squad member still, but would prefer to see younger players given the chance (pennant, wright-phillips, lennon etc).

Stu

[CFC1]

I agree that he would still warrant a place in the squad, if not the team. He is carrying a slight achilles injury at the moment, but having said that, he did play in a friendly for Madrid the other day......

[lostinspace]

Hope he's gone for good. He's cost England too much.

[rio1981]

Originally Posted by lostinspace

Hope he's gone for good. He's cost England too much.

And also put in quite a few inspirational performances along the way - but we always forget that, don't we?

[lostinspace]

Originally Posted by rio1981

And also put in quite a few inspirational performances along the way - but we always forget that, don't we?

Yes, like against Argentina in 1998 and Brazil in 2002.
Being able to pass with one foot, but not be able to tackle, head, sprint or dribble does not make a good footballer, let alone an England captain.

[CFC1]

He also got the England players' suits sorted out didn't he?

[JohnG]

His inability to stand upright whilst taking penalties has also cost us

[Silver Arrow]

I also remember him scoring against Greece a few years ago, and just for a few moments I thought he was a God!

Still times move on.

[JohnG]

Originally Posted by Silver Arrow

I also remember him scoring against Greece a few years ago, and just for a few moments I thought he was a God!

Yes, I was at that game and he definately got us to Japan with that performance, the rest of the England team just froze.
Since then though his performances have been mediocre in my view.

[NWhiteley]

Originally Posted by JohnG

Yes, I was at that game and he definately got us to Japan with that performance, the rest of the England team just froze.
Since then though his performances have been mediocre in my view.

Spot on.

For whats its worth, I'd like to give him a big thanks for his services to the England team, he's always put the effort in, what he lacked in flair he made up for in effort and downright grit and determination. However with one eye on the Euro's in 2008 the time might just be right to blood someone new for the that tournament.

[JohnG]

Originally Posted by marekb

For whats its worth, I'd like to give him a big thanks for his services to the England team, he's always put the effort in, what he lacked in flair he made up for in effort and downright grit and determination. However with one eye on the Euro's in 2008 the time might just be right to blood someone new for the that tournament.

Agree with your post 100% there, I don't think that Sven did him any favours with his reluctance to substitute him.

[mickrick]

Originally Posted by lostinspace

Yes, like against Argentina in 1998 and Brazil in 2002.
Being able to pass with one foot, but not be able to tackle, head, sprint or dribble does not make a good footballer, let alone an England captain.

But his "brand" has brought untold millions in merchandise revenue, the real reason he was captain. And now his England career appears to be over, it will not be long until he announces his retirenment fromn club football either and then he and the media whore can sell their bodies in the US.