Keeping up appearances

The aspect of England’s victory against Germany this week that I enjoyed most was not having to watch David Beckham being wheeled on for the last five minutes, to add another undeserved cap to his collection. Like a Hollywood star coming to the end of his career, he is suitable only for bit-part roles these days. But should he even be getting those, bearing in mind how far he is behind the likes of Joe Cole, Theo Walcott and Shaun Wright-Phillips (and even Stuart Downing!)?

Fabio Capello said he wouldn’t pick Beckham for the squad if he were not playing competitive football. And at least he was true to his word. But over the first few matches of his reign, the England manager was complicit in Beckham’s vain pursuit of glory, as he desperately sought to become the most capped outfield player in English football history. In England’s past four competitive internationals, Beckham has been brought on for a total of 32 minutes – and on only one occasion was the result in doubt when he entered the action.

Watching Beckham shuffling on for a few minutes when a game is already won, perhaps getting a couple of touches of the ball and taking a free kick, has been embarrassing. Could you imagine Zinedine Zidane or Diego Maradona being brought on in their mid-30s to play three minutes of injury time against Belarus, with the score already at 3-1? They would be adamant that they would run the show or not play at all. It would be demeaning to their status as legends.

But does qualify as a ‘legend’? As a West Ham fan, I’m hardly impartial, with Beckham set to win his 108th cap in a friendly against Spain in February, equalling Bobby Moore’s total. Is he really on a par with Bobby Charlton (106 caps) and Bobby Moore as the greatest outfield players in England’s history? Ask anyone to name a classic Beckham performance and they will come up with the 2-2 draw against Greece at Old Trafford in 2001. No one can argue that Beckham was a colossus in that game, almost single-handedly ensuring that England secured the point needed to ensure World Cup qualification. But name another one? There were obviously some great goals and crosses, but he never again grabbed a game by the scruff of the neck at international level. His most memorable act in an England shirt was to get sent off against Argentina during the 1998 World Cup for petty retaliation. He has been a decent international, but is not fit to lace the boots of Moore or Charlton.

Legends propel their side to success. Take Michel Platini in 1984, Maradona in 1986 and Zidane in 1998. If anything, Beckham has hindered England’s attempts to win silverware. He went to the World Cup in 2002 when clearly unfit. The overall good of the team was sacrificed on the back of Beckham’s determination to be part of the greatest football show on earth. And by creating the media circus that surrounded the England team throughout the Sven Goran Eriksson era, he succeeded in undermining the chances of the ‘golden generation’.

The cynic in me thinks that Beckham not having been put out to grass a couple of years ago is linked to his ability to help the FA secure multimillion-pound advertising contracts from sponsors. Mind you, it could be worse. If Gary Neville hadn’t suffered a long-term injury and consequently not added to his total of 80 caps since June 2006, he might also be approaching Moore’s record. Now that would give me something to moan about.