Originally posted by zocoss:
[b]Steve McClaren has denied David Beckham's England recall
is a panic measure and revealed that but for injury the Real Madrid
winger would have been in the squad for the past two
internationals, against Israel and Andorra. Poor performances in
those games brought abuse from supporters and accusations that
McClaren was stubbornly refusing to consider the former captain he
dropped last summer, but the coach now says he began to rethink his
plans drastically after the friendly defeat by Spain at Old
Trafford in February.
McClaren dropped Beckham on the grounds that he wanted a change of
direction and thought he had plenty of younger, quicker
alternatives. Recalling him now looks like a panic measure to get
fans back onside and help win what has become a make-or-break
qualifier in Estonia a week on Wednesday, not to mention creating
extra interest in the friendly against Brazil at Wembley on Friday.
But McClaren insists he changed his mind on Beckham three months
ago, after the 1-0 defeat by Spain.
'This is certainly not a panic measure because David would have
come into contention for the last two games but for his knee
injury,' McClaren said. 'The Spain game was a big disappointment,
the get-together and the whole week was disappointing, and we had a
major reassessment of where we where. It was clear things needed
changing and David came into the reckoning then.'
This explanation sounds reasonable, yet plenty of questions arise.
When McClaren says 'we' he means himself and his assistant, yet
Terry Venables is understood to have reservations about bringing
Beckham back. Some of the senior England players are believed to
think the same, while the younger set will interpret the U-turn as
an indication that they have failed. but McClaren simply has no
need to think of the future. He believes Beckham can help the team
win in Estonia and on the evidence of performances without him he
could well be right.
'You can't talk about the future because you can't think beyond
Estonia,' McClaren said. 'The situation we are in is that I need to
pick a team to win in. Estonia and I know David can help us do
that. There's no point looking any further ahead. I still think my
decision [to drop him] was the right one at the time and I wouldn't
go back on it, but I always said I wouldn't close the door on
anyone. 'I haven't been able to see David play live, but I've
monitored his progress. He's fit and strong and playing well, he
has shown great appetite since the New Year, and I believe he will
strengthen the team. I met him about 10 days ago, had a chat, he
was passionate about playing and that's what we need. Michael Owen
and Alan Smith are just the same.'
With 32-year-old Beckham on the right and Joe Cole on the left, and
presumably Owen partnering Peter Crouch up front (Wayne Rooney is
suspended), the absence of the injured Owen Hargreaves brings up
another dilemma for McClaren, the return of the Steve Gerrard-Frank
Lampard question. He can play the pair together if he wishes, but
history suggests he might be better ditching one of them and
bringing in Michael Carrick. Lampard missed out in the last game
while Gerrard scored two goals and was credited with turning the
game around, so it looks as if the Liverpool captain is here to
stay. And in his preferred central role.
'Initially we had Stevie G on the right, but I've looked at things
and I now see him as a focal figure in the middle of the park,'
McClaren said. There will of course, only be one focal figure in
England's next two games, and it will not be Gerrard. If nothing
else, McClaren must be hoping Beckham's return and England's
performances spare him from the ferocious abuse he received in
Barcelona two months ago.
'That was a bad night, but sometimes you have to go through
adversity,' he said. 'The criticism we took after Andorra made me
even more determined to get it right and give the fans a team to be
proud of. I'm not looking for sympathy, there's no head in the sand
from me, we have got to get better and we know that. I was pleased
with the response from the players against Andorra, people really
stepped forward in that second half. It wasn't a pleasant
experience but I'm hoping it was a watershed, and we can now start
pulling together and getting results.'
[/b]
look at the list. all the players are from english clubs except
for beckham (spain)... 
i think dey shld ditch gerrad and put carrick with lampard. or dey
shld ditch lampard and put rooney (if he is nt suspended) up front
as supporting striker. gerrad and lampard combination doesnt seems
to work well. yup.
