Why Capello is right to drop Beckham

January 31st, 2008 | by: Matthew |

Fabio Capello’s first England squad selection is out, and it’s everything I’d hoped it would be. Here’s my position-by-position analysis:

Goalkeepers:
Scott Carson – Aston Villa
David James – Portsmouth
Chris Kirkland – Wigan
It was a foregone conclusion that Paul Robinson would be dropped from the England lineup, given his recent form, but it’s still amazing how quickly he’s fallen from grace. In the space of less than a year, he’s gone from England’s first-choice keeper to not meriting selection at all. Enough about him, though. Scott Carson is the future of England, and should be the starting goalkeeper.

David James is, of course, a better goalkeeper than Scott Carson; at 38, he has to be. The problem with James from a long-term perspective is that he has, at most, another season or two left in his career. Scott Carson is just 22 and could have another 15 years ahead of him. Selecting James might make sense now, but it’s very unlikely that James will be able to play in the 2010 World Cup – and the man most likely to represent England in 2010 is Scott Carson. So far, Carson has played in only one competitive international match, against Croatia last year. His performance that night was appalling, but it’s hard to condemn him for it when his manager, Steve McClaren, handed a competitive debut to a 22-year old in a must-win game against the best team in England’s qualifying group in an act tantamount to professional negligence. I’m just glad Carson managed to carry on and not let the experience against Croatia harm his club form. As for Chris Kirkland: he’s a decent goalkeeper, but his performances at Wigan haven’t been spectacular and he should clearly be the third-choice keeper in the squad.
England WC Blog Selection: Scott Carson starting, David James on the bench.

Defenders:
Wayne Bridge – Chelsea
Wes Brown – Manchester United
Ashley Cole – Chelsea
Curtis Davies – Aston Villa
Rio Ferdinand – Manchester United
Glen Johnson – Portsmouth
Ledley King – Tottenham
Joleon Lescott – Everton
Micah Richards – Manchester City
Nicky Shorey – Reading
Matthew Upson – West Ham
Jonathan Woodgate – Tottenham
There are a lot of names here, but not many of them strike me as likely candidates for the final team. Rio Ferdinand is a shoo-in; he’s the best English centre-back by far, and barring injury over the weekend, will play against Switzerland. The other centre-back berth is a bit less obvious. John Terry is still injured, and so isn’t an option. Ledley King is back to fitness and I still think he’s the stiffest competition John Terry has for his place in the squad – you only have to witness Michael Dawson – and the Tottenham defence – transforming from useless to competent whenever he’s on the pitch to realise that both Tottenham’s season and England’s qualification campaign might have been very different with a fit Ledley King. The alternative is Joleon Lescott, who is in good form for Everton, and although I don’t rate him at all, Capello might be concerned about relying on a player as injury-prone as King. The other central defenders in the named squad – Jonathan Woodgate, Curtis Davies, and Matthew Upson – have potential, but aren’t as good as King and Ferdinand. Both of them strike me as “for the future” selections – they won’t be playing this time around, but they could be soon if they get more league games under their belts this season and next. This is especially true of Davies, who is 22 and has only played 8 Premiership games in his career. On the left, Ashley Cole was McClaren’s first choice, and I’d be surprised if Capello deviates from that decision. The one player who could beat out Cole is Reading’s Nicky Shorey, who is talented and in excellent form – and it would be nice to see another non-big-four player in the England lineup – I’d pick him. At right-back, the options are Micah Richards, Wes Brown, and Glen Johnson. Of those, Micah Richards is the strongest, and young enough to be a fixture of the England squad for years to come.
England WC Blog Selection: Nicky Shorey, Rio Ferdinand, Ledley King, Micah Richards

Midfielders:
Gareth Barry – Aston Villa
David Bentley – Blackburn
Michael Carrick – Manchester United
Joe Cole – Chelsea
Stewart Downing – Middlesbrough
Steven Gerrard – Liverpool
Owen Hargreaves – Manchester United
Jermaine Jenas – Tottenham
Shaun Wright-Phillips – Chelsea
Ashley Young – Aston Villa
This is where it gets seriously difficult. Every person on this list is good enough to start for England – selection will depend on Capello’s match tactics more than the players themselves. With that in mind, Owen Hargreaves is the most likely to be in the team. He’s intelligent! He’s a holding midfielder! And bloody good at it! How can Capello resist? Gareth Barry and Michael Carrick can also play in that position, with the latter more likely to be selected. Capello has played with two holding midfielders before, so we might see two of the three on the pitch at once. Non-holding central midfield options are pretty diverse. Jermaine Jenas is playing really well for Tottenham at the moment, while Steven Gerrard’s recent England outings haven’t been particularly spectacular; it’s a toss up between the two on the basis of current form. On the left wing, the options are limited to Stewart Downing and Joe Cole, of whom the latter is good and the former, rubbish. On the right wing, things are much more complicated, with Bentley, Wright-Phillips, and Young deserving of inclusion. Only one of them will get to play in the first XI, however, and my money is on Ashley Young.

Strikers
Gabriel Agbonlahor – Aston Villa
Peter Crouch – Liverpool
Emile Heskey – Wigan
Michael Owen – Newcastle
Wayne Rooney - Manchester United
Pretty straightforward. With two men up front, Agbonlahor and Rooney are the only options. Crouch doesn’t play often enough; Heskey has forgotten how to score for England; and Michael Owen is in the midst of possibly the worst form of his life. If playing with a lone player up front, I honestly don’t know who I’d pick: Crouch couldn’t do it against Croatia, Owen can’t score for his life at the moment, Heskey can’t score (period), Gabriel Agbonlahor is inexperienced, and Rooney tends to drift out of games when he’s up front alone.

All in all, a fairly interesting selection. I’m anxious to see the final choices for the match, however, as that’s where Capello’s personality will really shine through.

EDIT: I just realised that I forgot to discuss David Beckham, so here goes:

He’s not match fit. He hasn’t played a competitive match since November. It would be an insult to those young right-wingers (Young, Bentley, Wright-Phillips) who are playing and playing well to select Beckham for nothing more than sentiment.

Beckham is a great player. He has a lot to offer the England squad and there is no reason that he can’t figure into Capello’s plans in England’s World Cup 2010 qualifying campaign. If Beckham continues to play and to push himself, he will get his hundredth cap. More importantly, he will earn the honour of that hundredth cap.

Beckham has done great things for England, and he deserves every one of his ninety-nine caps. To hand him his hundredth simply so he can retire with a a round number should offend anyone who cares about England, and frankly, should offend a man like David Beckham who has never ridden on his reputation and has earned every appearance in the national shirt.

I admire David Beckham; I want to see him play in the England shirt again; I do not want him to accept a cap merely for the sake of having 100.

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[...] Pirateâ��s Cove â�� Americans Never Quit wrote an interesting post today on Why Capello is right to drop BeckhamHere’s a quick excerptWhy Capello is right to drop Beckham By: Matthew | January 31st, 2008 | No Comments » Fabio Capello’s first England squad selection is out, and it’s everything I’d hoped it would be. Here’s my position-by-position analysis: Goalkeepers: Scott Carson – Aston Villa David James – Portsmouth Chris Kirkland – Wigan It was a foregone conclusion that Paul Robinson would be dropped from the England lineup, given his recent form, but it’s still amazing how quickly he’s fallen from grace. In the spa [...]
Eirik

Not really surprised by the selection.

I’d say its a really solid selection for what he is most likely going to do with England. Hargreaves and Gerrard would be interesting; but Barry and Gerrard is proven. It is effective, and I think that Capello will take that into account when selecting a holding midfielder in the future. I wouldn’t be surprised if he played two holding midfielders in a 4-5-1, with a lone striker up top. I have no idea who he would pick to be the lone striker, but I could see Jermaine Jenas (as the non-holding midfielder) and Rooney doing great things.

As for the strikers, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Rooney is the most likely combination, but I’m extremely excited to see the inclusion of Emile Heskey. Capello has not forgotten that Heskey and Owen form one of the strongest striker partnerships on the international level, and I am thankful that he’s giving it another shot. I’m almost positive that the ONLY reason that Owen was selected is because Heskey was, and vice-versa. One cannot operate without the other. Fact. I am really hoping to see Heskey/Owen up front.

On the back-line, I envision excellent things. I have been hoping to see Ledley King back in action. What would’ve made me the happiest England fan is to see Jamie Carragher come out of retirement and play for England alongside Rio Ferdinand or John Terry. Jamie Carragher (and Stevie G) are the foundation of Liverpool. But alas, that’s not the case. Micah Richards is the future of England at right-back. Left-back is Ashley Cole… I guess. I wouldn’t mind seeing Wayne Bridge get a start though.

But what about Terry, Lampard, and Beckham? I’m not sure where I stand with Lampard. Terry will definitely be back in the squad after he recovers. I think that once Beckham gets back to playing matches, he will also be back in the squad. Capello has not forgotten what Beckham has done at his time at Real Madrid. But Lampard.. I do not know.

On another note, can someone convince Paul Scholes to come out of retirement? It seriously would be the best thing.
http://england.worldcupblog.org Matthew

Hi Eirik,

I know what you mean about the Barry-Gerrard pairing, but I honestly think that Hargreaves-Gerrard is a match made in heaven. Gerrard is selfish but brilliant, able to do amazing things if someone else is willing to sit back and hold off the opposition. Barry was willing to play that secondary role, but in doing so never really excelled against strong opposition – his performances against stronger opposition really exposed a lack of quality during the qualifying campaign. Hargreaves is a different proposition altogether: he’s undeniably world class, and unlike Barry, he can be as spectacular as Gerrard while sitting back in a selfless holding role.

The strike partnership is really difficult to call, I agree with you there. Rooney certainly can’t play on his own up front, but then I don’t think anyone else can either. I also think an Owen-Heskey partnership, while effective in the past, is complicated by Owen’s abysmal form at the moment. In the end, it will come down to Capello’s interpretation of Owen’s form: is he suffering from appalling service from an awful Newcastle side, or is he just in a serious slump in form?
Medionsaturn

Beckham is absoloutely vital to England, as McClown’s reign has shown, but while I don’t want to read too much into it, I don’t believe that match fitness is an issue, as I simply don’t think that Capello would even play David Beckham if he was fit.

Capello will know all about Beckham and what he can do, and if I recall correctly, he’s been the only Englishman in Capello’s squad. What he’ll have to do now, is tinker with the England squad and get to the bottom of this, why can they only score from Beckham’s dead ball? Why don’t they function as well as they should? Just who deserves to fill Beckham’s boots? Beckham won’t last forever and England rely on him a lot, and Capello has to get them working out how to score other than from a dead ball situation.

The friendlies mean that he can play two right midfielders, once each half, to discover how they perform in the England kit, while with Beckham he knows what he can do and playing him against Switzerland and France wouldn’t help him finding out who can play well for England in right midfield.

That’s my two pence on that issue, and if I’m going to take a guess then I’d say that he might get his 100th cap in the friendly against Germany. Just a hunch.
http://england.worldcupblog.org Matthew

Medionsaturn:

While I’m a great admirer of David Beckham, I don’t think it’s fair to say that England rely on him. A lot of people have forgotten that England played very well against Russia and Israel at Wembley, and both of those games saw Shaun Wright-Phillips on the right wing. Beckham was one of the two best players on the pitch against Croatia, but that spoke more to the utter ineptitude of the rest of the squad than the brilliance of Beckham.

I think the key problem England have is the weight of expectation placed on the players’ shoulders during every game. England are not the best national team in the world, but every game they play is treated as a must-win by the media, and every game they lose is a national tragedy in the pages of newspapers. The sheer, incredible weight of this expectation from millions upon millions of people isn’t suffered by players from other countries for the simple reason that the English media is uniquely vicious and uniquely prolific. I just hope Capello – who is legendary for not giving a damn about the media – will be able to deflect some of the pressure onto his shoulders.
Medionsaturn

I don’t think it’s unfair to say at all, I find that there is some reliance of Beckham after all the differences he’s made, England rely on the dead ball and being a dead ball specialist makes him stand out as the man who makes the important goals happen. In games like Ecuador, Greece, Croatia and several others Beckham has come through for England.

Israel and Russia, it has to be said, England played excellently, although I personally thought that it was more Gareth Barry’s moment than Shaun Wright-Phillips, but from the Russia game in Moscow, I dare to say that even after the harmony at Wembley, there was far too much ineptitude on display, with Shaun Wright-Phillips down right poor on the wing. I do have to hand it to him against Croatia at Wembley, if the pitch was decent he’d have performed better, but he doesn’t have the effect on the team that Beckham has, his crossing is terrible and he cuts inside a lot more. I constantly saw free kicks blasted over the top, and a team that is known for mostly scoring with a dead ball without much crossing going on, as Wright-Phillips and Cole end up cutting inside too much.

I think that Beckham is the most influential player on the pitch, when he’s playing well. But he’s soon going to get past it, and isn’t what he used to be already, and thus Capello has to sort that out, and I’m thinking that he’ll lean towards Bentley or Young for that.

I do agree on the media comment aswell, I am irritated by just how vicious it is, but that’s just part of the package and possibly another reason for Capello not playing Beckham, to show that he won’t bow down to the media.
http://england.worldcupblog.org Matthew

Hi again,

I can accept your point about England’s reliance on set-piece play under Sven-Goran Eriksson, but I don’t think that was true under Steve McClaren. I admit that was largely because England relied on nothing but wishful thinking for most of his tenure, but still.

You’re right to say that the Russia/Israel matches were down to Barry rather than Wright-Phillips; I only focused on the latter because he plays Beckham’s position. I have to say, though, that I think Hargreaves should be selected ahead of Barry in future.

England don’t really have any wingers with Beckham out of the frame – as you say, Wright-Phillips can’t cross to save his life. Joe Cole is a great player, but he’s right-footed, which means he has to cut inside when on the attack – he can’t cross with his left. The only half-decent left-footed winger is Stewart Downing, who has no other positive attributes to speak of. It is amazing, looking at the England squad, that we have so many world-class players on the right but only really one on the left.
Eirik

Mmm, interesting thoughts.

Seven people have been dropped from the squad, which includes Nickey Shorey, Ledley King, Michael Carrick and Emile Heskey.
Emma

The ideal team from that should be:
In goal: James.
Defenders: Ferdinand without at doubt, then maybe Brown, Richards + Shorey.
Midfield: Carrick, because he’s on good form at the moment, Gerrard, Wright-Phillips and Bentley.
Upfront: Rooney and Owen.
Our strikers are not brilliant, and even Rooney and Owen would be risky. Owen and Heskey made a good team a few months back but now Owen seems to have slipped up again and even Rooney isn’t scoring as many goals as usual.
Ferdinand and Brown would make a good team as they are in Manchester United together (how I wish Vidic was English, him + Ferdinand is the best defending partnership I’ve seen in a while.)
http://betting.betfair.com/football Footy Betting Boy

I’m not entirely disappointed with the selection but I’m not overwhelmed either. Disappointed that Emile Heskey is in the squad. You cannot seriously tell me that Capello has watched him play and said he wants him in his side?

If any striker was to be given a chance to prove himself it should be either Dean Ashton or Dave Kitson. Ashton was in line for a call-up before he was injured in an England training session that was actually around him the day before the match. He was meant to make his debut, I just hope he is given a chance in the near future as he is more than good enough.

Kitson… don’t particularly rate him, but I am not a Reading fan and have never seen him play. But as the top scoring Englishman in the Premiership, surely he should be put into consideration ahead of Heskey?

This is all my opinion however and I wouldn’t blame anyone for disagreeing.

Robert Green should also be given a chance in net, and Beckham should have been in the squad. He was actually match fit because he took time out to train with Arsenal just so that he could gain fitness as he knew he would have no chance of being picked otherwise.

Nevertheless, looking forward to the game and the start of a new era.