Players Under The Microscope / Feizal Rahman / 15 February 2009 /

Feizal Rahman tells us why David Beckham's part in England's friendly against Spain in midweek epitomised the fact that very little has changed for the national side over the last few years, such as the inability to play creative football or beat the very top sides.

Over two and a half years on from their tame exit at the World Cup, it would appear that little has changed for the England national team. The inability to retain possession and use it to productive effect still leaves the side exposed against superior opposition but perhaps the most significant constant is the continuing presence of David Beckham.

In the lead up to, and fallout from, last Wednesday's defeat in Spain the media focus was not on the opportunity for the new breed of England players to prove their worth against the best but rather on Beckham equalling Bobby Moore's 108 international caps. Once more the darling of the back pages, with his loan spell at AC Milan being regarded as some sort of revival, the player who was widely believed to have been finished after Germany 2006 is now as prominent as ever.

If anything, Beckham is undoubtedly tenacious and he perseveres with casting his spell over the world of football. Yet, having required a substantial change of personnel and tactic following the departure of the spiritless Sven Goran Eriksson, who resolutely stood by the former Manchester United midfielder as his captain, current manager Fabio Capello persists in seeking answers from those who have only ever left us asking questions.

Intriguingly, it was Capello's less-than-enthusiastic appreciation of Beckham at Real Madrid that sent the 33-year-old to another footballing galaxy in Los Angeles, having failed to shine in the company of fellow ageing 'Galacticos' such as Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo. So much had Beckham's stock fallen that no major European club wanted to take him and his move to the United States was, similarly to Bobby Moore's jaunt to the NASL in the 1970's, widely considered to be his last.

Under the guise of an altruistic attempt to raise the status of the flagging MLS - albeit with a $250m contract as recompense - it took only a handful of Hollywood appearances to reveal that it was in reality a cynical manoeuvre to extend his and his wife's promotion of 'Brand Beckham' in the largest and most important market of all. Surely neither the player nor his advisors could have naively believed that he was as great as to inspire American kids to abandon the NFL and NBA for soccer and succeed where the legendary Pele, Cruyff and Beckenbauer had previously failed?

It would seem now though that the player has accepted defeat on this front and his unexpected embrace from AC Milan ([5.3] to win Serie A) has turned his head once more in search of another chance to expand his profile off the field and prolong his career on it. Despite the Rossoneri half of the San Siro resembling a retirement home for the good and the great, Beckham, ([2.32] to start against Siena on the weekend of the 14th March, a week after his loan spell officially comes to an end), revealed that his fitness has improved immensely and having provided both goals and assists during his time there, he is now firmly back on the radar for England. But was he ever really off it?

Since his resignation as captain, England have failed to adapt and progress in the way that was desperately required following past disappointments. The structure of the team remains indistinguishable from 2006 with the same individuals who drive their club sides to success repeatedly faltering with the three lions upon their chest. Bar an extraordinary performance against Croatia, under Capello there has been little to suggest the side are any closer to offering a serious challenge to the world elite.

It was Theo Walcott who tore apart a hapless Croatian defence from the right hand side of midfield, and it may yet be the 19-year-old who succeeds Beckham as England's talisman. But elsewhere there remains little advancement. Gareth Barry and Michael Carrick have been exceptional domestically this season in the centre of midfield but were embarrassingly shown up against Spain, while in attack there has been no substitute for Michael Owen's goal threat.

With a rare defence splitting pass to Carlton Cole being the only incisive move from a white shirt all night in Seville, Beckham again underlined that he is the only one that can consistently be relied upon, however fleeting his appearances. Still effective with his crosses and from set-pieces, the one-trick pony remains all that England really have to offer on an international stage of thoroughbreds.

Aptly summing up the national team as a whole, Beckham has always flattered to deceive, living off past glories and with an undoubted patriotism masking a tepid and one-dimensional approach. Yet, still the best of a bad lot - for the time being at least - it would seem that England ([9.8] to win 2010 World Cup) can't live with him but can't live without him.

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