Father Time (and Capello) Call Time on David Beckham's England Career

Last week saw the announcement, unofficially, of David Beckham's final moments as an England player. Perhaps it was just a little bit messy - thanks to Capello's renowned man-management skills, or lack of them - and not quite the send-off Becks would have wanted, but at the age of 35 he would have been honest enough to admit that his days were numbered. And after England's woeful showing in the World Cup in South Africa, Capello's decision to go with a fresh new look must have convinced Beckham that his number was up.

Should he have been dumped so unceremoniously, especially after serving his country so well over the years? Is this really the way to end a legendary career, a career that has spanned over 100 games and made David Beckham the most capped outfield player in England history?

I have to say, despite the pouting and rippling abs and general celeb ferver that has accompanied Beckham's career, from his early days bombing down the wing at Old Trafford in the Premier League up until his recent spells in Italy and America, he has always been the ultimate professional. At times, he may not have convinced on the pitch, but he usually gave it his all. And on many occasions for England, I remember him working his socks off for the cause...in my opinion, he was much missed in South Africa this summer, despite his heavier legs...

So what do we have to remember from an England career that first started back in 1996 in the World Cup qualifiers and spanned 14 years? Let's take a little gander down memory lane:

Becks debuted in the World Cup qualifier against Moldova in 1996, at the age of 21.
Picked for the 1998 World Cup, England manager Glenn Hoddle publicly dissed him for not concentrating on the games at hand. Finally selected for the third game against Columbia, he went and scored a free-kick, his first goal for England.
In the second round of the World Cup in 1998, England faced Argentina, and Becks was sent off for retaliating against Simeone. He was later blamed by many for England's exit and even received death threats.
November 200 saw his promotion to England captain by caretaker boss Peter Taylor, and then Sven Goran Eriksson confirmed his trust in the new skipper.
October 2001 saw one of his finest moments, as England needed a draw against Greece to ensure qualification to the 2002 World Cup finals. With seconds remaining, he glided in one of his trademark free-kicks to ensure hero status.
In the 2002 World Cup he scored the winner, a penalty, against Argentina to knock them out at the group stage. Revenge was 4 years in waiting, but surely couldn't have been sweeter.
In 2005 he became the first ever England skipper to receive a red card, against Austria.
In the 2006 World Cup, he became the first ever England player to score at three World Cups, with a goal against Ecuador.
After getting knocked out by Portugal, Becks returned home a beaten man and resigned as England skipper.
New England boss Steve McClaren subsequently dropped Beckham from the England squad, but was forced to recall him a few months later.
McClaren's replacement, Fabio Capello, also passed Beckham over for his first game in charge, but soon recalled him.
If Beckham had been fit, it's a safe bet that he would have been part of the squad for the World Cup 2010 in South Africa. If he would have made a difference to a poor England side, that we'll never know...

Sir David Beckham, you shall be missed.

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Brutality in the English Game - Why England May Never Win a Major Tournament

Once again, the darkside of English football was exposed over the weekend when one of the brightest prospect of the game, Aaron Ramsay suffered a career threatening injury when Arsenal met Stoke City in a Premier league game. Aaron broke his leg due to a reckless, over-zealous and brutal tackle by Stoke City's defender Ryan Shawcross. The tackle may have been accidental, unintentional or whatever name one may choose to call it, but what I witnessed exposes a wider problem in English football which I believe could prevent them from winning any major international honours.

In 5 years, Arsenal have seen 3 similar injuries happen to team members. I don't believe these are just coincidental. I believe it sterms from a culture that have been encouraged by Managers, the media and pundicts which tries to enforce the belief that the only way to stop Arsenal from playing their fast, free flowing football is to be physical and aggressive in your approach and "get in their faces", which is the term often used to describe this approach.

While this approach may have a place within the context of the modern game of football as a contact sport, I'm convinced that it has, for the greater part, encouraged an overly physical approach which has resulted in these horrific injuries. The overwhelming priorities of most clubs facing Arsenal is not to concentrate on playing football to win the game, but to stop Arsenal from playing their brand of football. If these teams approach every game with the same physical intensity as they do games with Arsenal, I think their league positions will dramatically improve.

The wider implication for the national game is that, young footballers coming through are thought to prioritise the physicality of the game above the development of technique and skill. Is it any wonder why the English national team is plagued by one major weakness; and that is ball retention. At International level, a teams ability to keep possession of the ball for longer periods of a football match is key to winning tournaments. If you are in doubt, just take a look at the Spainish or Brazilian national teams and you will understand why they've won major trophies and are currently ranked the top sides in the world.

The English Premier league prides itself in the fact that, it is the richest and the best league in the world. It may be the best league because of the foreign players who bring technique and skill to the otherwise boring, over-physical and long-ball style that football fans would have been stuck to.

If England want to see a real potential in their sides winning major trophies, then they must say goodbye to the over-emphasis on the physical nature of the game and concentrate on developing footballers with true skill and technique. They must stop excusing horrific tackles like the one we saw over the weekend and start campaigning for a cleaner game that frowns upon the likes of the Ryan Showcross tackle. In my opinion, Until this culture of physicality is eradicated from the English culture, winning the world cup will be a very, very long short.

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Why Players Prefer Football in Italy and Spain - Not in England

The exodus of so many great players from the English Premier League does force one to believe that perhaps it is not as appealing to world football stars as the football leagues of Spain and Italy. Despite the fact that it offers so much financial benefits and world-wide viewing as compared to other leagues, we have observed that more foreign stars have been found leaving the Premier League than joining. And whats more interesting is the fact that most of these players either opt for the football leagues in Italy, or Spain.

Here I look at some of the reasons why Premier League has been hit by the exodus of players like Ronaldo, Henry, van Nistelrooy and many others to the football clubs of Spain and Italy!

First of all, the style of football played in these two countries differs from that of the English. They provide players with much more time on the ball and matches and therefore feature more skillful moments.

Another reason for the preference given to Italy and Spain would be the fact that the foreign players are more comfortable in a Mediterranean climate than an English one.

Perhaps the players who are recognized worldwide do not like the media attention they get from playing in English League. Most of the foreign players, especially the ones from Argentina and Brazil, are from humble backgrounds and the media attention really bothers them. Such media attention is not a problem in other leagues as they don't have much viewership but provide even a tougher atmosphere to hone your skills.

If you make a mistake in English Premier League, you will have to bear the media bombardment for at least a whole week. And that can really get to your nerves. People will always be babbling about the style of your game, or the lack of it.

The only thing perhaps that may bring in more foreign stars to the English Premier League is money. And believe me there is no dearth of it In the English Premier League. However, not everyone plays for money. And there are things even money cannot buy!

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England World Cup Songs - The Best and Worse

This summer the attention of football fans all over the world will be on the World Cup Finals in South Africa. Hopes are high that England have a successful campaign but many admit the real money is on Spain or Brazil. Previous England campaigns have begun with a pop song which triumphantly proclaims that the trophy is pretty much in the bag and there's not much point in anyone else really turning up. England end up getting knocked out in the early stages and we all have egg on our faces.

Who could forget these gems:

Back Home by The England World Cup Squad - 1970
The entire England squad squeezed in to a tiny recording studio for this effort. It reached number one in the charts and stayed there for three weeks. A marching band added a droning backing track.

World In Motion by England and New Order - 1990
Co written by Keith Allen, this track also features the famous John Barnes rap. Recorded during New Order's heyday, it's a fine tune with a hilarious interruption by MC Barnes. A final verse encouraging players to practice penalties wouldn't have gone amiss.

Three Lions - England, Baddiel and Skinner and the Lightning Seeds.
Originally recorded for Euro 96, this quirky slice of Brit Pop actually translated on to the terraces and became a well known England chant. The 'Thirty years of hurt' lyrics tugged at the hearts of England fans and the song was a huge hit twice.

Vindaloo - Fat Les
Another Keith Allen anthem, Fat Les also featured Blur bassist Alex James. 'Vindaloo' is a parody of the En-ger-land chant. Also recorded in 1998 the track divided opinion with it's hooligan style chants.

It looks like Fabio Capello won't be encouraging his England squad to get in to the studio this summer, he sees it as an unnecessary distraction and he's probably right. That said, I do hope Keith Allen's got something up his sleeve!

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