Next thing. You say that you know football, but clearly you do not know a lot. When one is an eight year old boy, the last thing that stands out in a football match is a player’s ability to close the opposition down (Keane) or dictate tempo of a match (Scholes); also consitecy goes rather unnoticed. So when Giggs was giving performances of 8/10 for 30 games in a season and Beckham was usually giving 7/10 performance but also had the occasional outstanding match (of course along with the occasional hoorible one) he would be more visible to someone who is just being introduced to football.

Next up: limited ability. You clearly forget the time when Mills and Neville were injured and the right-back spot had to be filled by, you guessed it, Beckham. Yes, it was the 2002 World Cup. And he did not only ‘fill’ the position, he did so with success. In terms of playing ability: he can shoot and pass. At both he excels. So what if he cannot dribble or has no speed? He can get the ball moving and as long as he does it in an efficient manner, that he is very useful for a team.

Then of course is his strong point: set pieces. Without thinking about it too much, I can recall some amazing free kicks which ended up in goals (vs Liverpool, vs Barcelona, vs. Everton, vs Madrid, vs Greece, vs Ecuador). And other amazing assits (vs Paraguay to Owen 2006, vs Sweeden to Campbell 2002, vs Bayern to Sheringham & Soljkaer 1999). So now you have someone who excels at one part of the game and does well at other.

Your other argument is that he is given credit for Madrid’s title without having in reality done too much. Well, Real Madird did not really win the title over a 10 month period. It was more of a late surge and a failure of Barcelona to consolidate a big early lead. It seems as though you do not watch La Liga. Just to give you the general picture: Real Madrid picked up 22 points from the last 24 possible in their last 8 games in 06/07. Given that Beckham featured in most of these and as you mentioned it was the only part of the season when he featured regularly, then he clearly added something to the team because it was the team’s most consistent run in the whole season. (http://soccernet.espn.go.com/team/results?id=86&season=2006&_league=esp.1&cc=5901)

That would be enough for now, but I have more if you insist.

Beachryan, I had never though about it that way (not given these circumstances) but what you say is brilliant. I guess he should have been given his cap.

Although later English football will become about just another tick in the ‘win’ collumn this friendly is absolutely meaningless.

My problem with this is that it seems to have forgotten why we all care about football in the first place, particularly the national side. It’s about entertainment and pride. Football is not accounting (even if Rafa and Jose believe it to be). It has millions of fans because of people like Beckham. 80,000 people will be at Wembley to show pride in England, and to be entertained. It’s something that should create emotion, not a check box to be filled with a victory.

And for that reason, how can you not give Becks a 10 minute run around in a meaningless friendly? Is it what the crowd want? Yes. Is it respectful of what football actually stands for? Yes. However, Capello’s ego is clearly too large to be swayed by such ‘human’ elements as emotion, and so he will get back to his football by numbers philosphy. Well I say b*llcks to you Mr. Capello. I love football because of how it makes me feel, you should try it out sometime.

I hope that we would all agree, maybe with the exception of one person, that he is a fabulous crosser of a football, and excellent dead ball specialist and when playing for England, nothing less than 100% dedicated.

At the very least, it could be a display of respect for a player who has led England numerous times, a player who has won games off his own right foot.

I’m not really a fan of his pop-star wife or his ab$urd decision to join the Galaxy, but in all the times I have seen England play, Beckham has never given less than 100% and has always left everything on the pitch.

Some never considered him world class because they said he was “limited” or “one-dimensional”. True, his game might not have been expansive but atleast what he did, he did very well. Master of his trade, jack of none.

Beckham may not have been the greatest captain, but neither was he the worst and neither was he a disgrace who picked and chose his England matches like the current one John Terry.

Again, it’s about respect and there are very few who even come close to 100 caps and those who do should surely be recognized.

Now it’s down to Beckham…he could be English about it and go and whinge to the tabloids, but something tells me he will come out and play to the best of his abilities.

Having said that I DO NO THE HISTORY, and that has nothing to do with anything. SO WHAT IF HE BRING “OTHER’ FANS IN (DOES HE PERSONALLY GO TO THEIR HOUSES AND ASK THEM TO WATCH?)? SO WHAT IF HE LOOK A THOUSAND TIMES BETTER THAN YOU? SO WHAT IF HE IS A MODEL? SO WHAT IF HE EARNS MILLIONS? SO WHAT?

WE ARE DISCUSSING HIS PERFORMANCE ON THE PITCH, HOW ABOUT YOU OPEN THOSE BIASED EYES OF YOURS AND REALIZE THAT?

Yes Capello is a great manager, and he probably has his reason but you believe he can do no wrong, just as you were clearly living under a rock last season when he sparked the Madrid revolution and got them their title back. Or when he proved his worth to England by playing like a real man?

Im sorry If I sound angry but your clear ignorance asked for it. I wont be replying to anymore of your comments because there is no way to make you understand. You are blinded by your own image of him and no one can fix that. So go ahead sir, bark all you want, I for one could not care less for what comes out of that mouth of yours from now on. Go ahead and reply to this, just know that no one gives a shit.

Don Fabio apologizes to nobody. Ask Alex Del Piero, the symbol of Juventus, about being subbed out at least 20 times in one season by Capello.

As I noted in a comment in Graham’s other article, Beckham respects Capello. This decision probably did not surprise him. Training with the Gunners is not the same as competitive games. One can debate whether or not he deserves #100, but Capello needed to imbue his unique stamp from the start. This may be a friendly; however, I wouldn’t deem it meaningless. Even though Mr. Capello has a very short time to prepare the England side, this game will set the tone, in my opinion, for much that follows.