England & Beckham

Once again - sorry for the late post!

I had been meaning to post a quick entry about the England - Egypt game, which now seems like a long way away but it has been a crazy past few weeks.

Well, you could say it was a game of two halves. Egypt pressurised England in the first half and never really let them settle into any kind of rhythm. It was interesting to note that Lampard and Gerrard were playing together and that brought up the whole debate about whether they work well together in the centre of the park or not. Lampard had 2 good chances to score in the first half but didn't seem to be on form and Capello promptly substituted him at half time. I think Capello did well to keep a cool head, not panic and he made the right substitutions at the right time. Bringing on Crouch in the second half was a smart move - England needed some help up front as Rooney and Defoe didn't seem to be getting many chances between them. Crouch has been relegated to the Tottenham bench for much of this season but his consistent goalscoring appearances for England should definitely be considered by Capello when it comes to crunch time. England looked and played like a different side in the second half and as Egypt faded away, they took control. There are obviously still issues in the England side that Capello must be thinking about as he looks forward to the summer - particularly communication in defence and providing more service to the frontmen. Theo Walcott got a lot of stick following the game, but I think people forget he is only just 21 and recovering from a long time out on the sidelines. Following the international match, he answered his critics by scoring a superb goal against Burnley. The right-wing position is one that is being contended by several players, however, unfortunately, it will no longer be available for David Beckham to claim.

This brings me on to my next talking point - David Beckham. What a shame. I mean, you have to respect the guy immensely for his sheer effort and determination at trying to not only win a place and be on that plane to SA, but also to break the English record for the number of consecutive World Cup tournaments he has participated in. This year's world cup would have been his 4th, had he been fit. It's almost typical in a way that an England player gets an injury that rules him out right before the tournament - it's happened plenty of times before. Still, what makes it hard is the fact that Beckham is not getting any younger and this year's tournament would surely have been his last. Beckham was trying his hardest to convince Capello, who stated he would only consider taking Beckham to the tournament if he was playing regularly. It was only 2 weeks ago that he was back at OT playing for his loan side - AC Milan.

For the sentimentalists, DB's presence will be sorely missed on the pitch. However, his injury has left the right-wing spot open for another, perhaps much younger player to fill his big boots. Perhaps it's a sign of the times, as England moves forward with a more youthful side compared with previous tournaments. It's hard not to feel sorry for him even though had he gone to SA, he would most probably have been kept on the bench and used as a substitute. Still, he is one of those impact substitutes who has the experience to rally the team when things aren't going well and who can get the ball moving forward. There is still no one in the England team who can quite "bend it like Beckham" and sometimes in a game, you need someone to come on and just lift the whole spirit of the game. Beckham is certainly capable of doing that. But there is some good news - despite Beckham not being able to play in the tournament, Fabio Capello has stated that he will travel with the players and stay with them during the tournament, in a sort of semi-player/coach role. I think that this is a really nice gesture by Capello and it means that even if Beckham can't assert his presence out there on the pitch, he can certainly do so in the dressing room.