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ENGLAND v CROATIA - McCLAREN SHOULD MEND IT WITH BECKHAM
By most footballing yardsticks David Beckham should watch England's Euro 2008 qualifying decider against Croatia on Wednesday from a seat in the Wembley stand.
It does not take a tactical genius to know why.
Beckham's granny could work out that after months of virtual inactivity in Los Angeles the fitness is suspect, the sharpness dulled, the pace non-existent, the tackling vaguely embarrassing.
On his general performance against Austria last Friday, when he won his 98th cap, he does not deserve to get anywhere near the England side.
Yet he must play, at least for an hour or so, against Croatia.
Not because there is the slightest chance of him emulating the inspirational display he produced against Greece in the final qualifier at Old Trafford to drag England virtually single-handedly to the 2002 World Cup, the match which included that most famous of last-minute free-kick goals.
Those days when Beckham was this side's pivot are gone forever.
But Beckham retains a unique quality to make things happen. He remains the best deliverer of a football in the world and probably still will be when he is picking up his bus pass.
That does not mean he will fulfil his ambition, worthy as it is, of playing for England at the 2010 World Cup. The manner in which Beckham's other faculties are failing suggests that ambition really is in 'La-la land.'
If things go badly on Wednesday he might even struggle to gain the 100 caps he is so desperate to attain, although more likely the autumn of his career will be as an impact substitute.
But against Croatia, a match for history makers, can you think of any player more likely to manufacture the goal which England almost certainly will require against dangerous opponents who will play without fear in the knowledge that they have already qualified?
Don't say Shaun Wright-Phillips. The Chelsea man has energy to burn and pace to match but too often his forays down the right end up in a footballing cul-de-sac.
When was the last time he picked out a pinpoint cross and planted it on a striker's head or foot. It does not happen. David Bentley, still not forgiven by home fans for pulling out of the under-21 squad in the summer, might one day soon be the man to fill that gap.
But not on Wednesday. Against Croatia, when McClaren will almost certainly pack the midfield, if only because with Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney injured that's where his best players are still standing, England's best chance of a goal is from a whipped cross on to the head of Peter Crouch, who is likely to be utilised as a lone striker.
It could come from one of Beckham's swerving early ball deliveries. Or from a free-kick or a corner as it did in the 1-0 win against Austria.
The truth, one which perhaps is the biggest indictment of McClaren's 15-month reign, is that a one-paced, half-fit Beckham, a man barely recognisable from the player he was in his finest hour, remains one of England's most lethal weapons.
Yes, his lack of pace and suspect defence could be a liability, but England do have the energy and speed of right-back Micah Richards to combat that and a packed midfield would offer added security.
McClaren has several big calls to make for a Wembley decider which could be the start of the renaissance or yet turn in to a wake.
Scott Carson or the error-prone Paul Robinson in goal is one. Whether to play two strikers as, according to McClaren, "it's not in England's nature to go for a draw," is another.
Most of all, however, it is whether to keep faith with Beckham, who was revealed as the first person on the team sheet for Michael Parkinson's all-star final talk show next month.
On Wednesday McClaren should do likewise with the man perennially drawn to the searchlight of fame.
By Bettingzone.co.uk
Used with permission.
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