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Full marks so far Steve..

Terry for captain and goodbye Beckham...the boy's done good up to now imho...

Keith Iddon ● 7393d12 Comments

Do you think he will go for the sweeper system as well?I'm not sure I feel entirely comfortable with a captain who abused American tourists at Heathrow in the aftermath of 9/11 and narrowly escaped jail after a brawl in a night club. He is also a regular feature in the tabloids and Popbitch and there are persistent rumours that are much worse stories out there about him which probably means that he will have to do what the News of the Screws or the Sunday Mirror ask him to. As a player he was exposed badly during the World Cup - the one weak link in a very good defence. Without Makelele in front of him he looks clueless. Gerrard is the better player, more intelligent with brains in his head rather than in his privates and has been an inspirational captain for his team.The Beckham decision is bizarre and can only be an attempt by MacLaren to distance himself from the Sven era. Half of England's goals in Germany were scored or made by Beckham and he remains the best crosser of the ball from the right in world football. The alternatives like Lennon or Wright Philips are promising but not yet the finished article. The other consideration is that Gary Neville may feel it is time to announce his international retirement given that he clearly prefers playing with Beckham as they have such a good understanding as well as being close friends.Real Madrid must be delighted - having sorted out their defensive problems by signing Cannavaro they should do well in the Champions League. The risk Maclaren runs is that if England are struggling while Beckham is part of one of the best teams in Europe he may have to go cap in hand back to him and might be told to get stuffed.

Dan Evans ● 7393d

Certainly Terry's performance on Sunday seemed to vindicate what you said about him. He was too slow to close down John Arne Riise and went walkabout for Crouch's winner. He also made a couple of other howlers which could have resulted in more goals for Liverpool.Not so sure about Beckham though. I think that rather than looking to Wright-Philips or Lennon, Mclaren will put Gerrard right side and end the problems with him and Lampard being to similar in the centre of the park. He played there on Sunday. Would Beckham have been happy to be relegated to being a squad player?

Mike Hardacre ● 7390d

Matthew Norman in the Standard today is very good on the Beckham issue. He points out that Portugal brought an ageing star of the bench to devastating effect to knock us out of Euro 2004 (Rui Costa) and Beckham could easily be used in the same way. He has made it clear that he is not too proud to be a sub or a squad player.His quality as a writer is well-evidenced by his running feud with David Pleat (and a superbly barbed comment today). Pleat's prominence in ITV's coverage must be one of the great modern day mysteries. If you want an idiotic dance in beige moccassins, he is your man, otherwise he is absolutely useless.Totally agree about Terry's performance. It was shockingly bad. If Gallas stays at Chelsea then pairing him with Carvalho would be the obvious centre half partnership. Maclaren's decision will start to look ill-advised if his captain isn't getting first team football apart from in the Carling Cup.

Dan Evans ● 7390d

All the England players are over-rated,save Rooney. And yes I would play someone to sweep up behind the midfield.Did you never do anything when young that you regretted later in life?All the England players underperformed in the World Cup,save probably Hargreaves when picked,and Gerrard was part of a particularly dissapointing midfield who had been lauded(only by the English)as the best there was.If you went only on behaviour off the field when picking a captain,Bobby Moore may well not have lifted the World Cup.You come across as quite sanctimonious,whether that is the intention or not.Lennon in particular deserves his chance and I think we may well have had more goal chances with him on the right from the start of games.Beckham is only really interested now in getting to 100 caps,thinking it will make him a legend.Those tears were embarrassing,self pity mixed with tv literacy...not what you want from a captain.

Keith Iddon ● 7390d

A sweeper as most people know plays behind the defence. What you are talking about is a holding midfield player.Many of John Terry's misdemenours are relatively recent. You may find me sanctimonious for not approving of his drunken mocking of grieving relatives of 9/11 victims at Heathrow but I am not convinced this was simply a youthful mistake. Last year he gave his mobile phone number to a 14 year old girl fan. To compare John Terry in any way to Bobby Moore suggests you have totally lost perspective.

Dan Evans ● 7389d

I just was listening to Terry on the radio. He sounded sincere and committed enough and I don't think six year old mistakes or unproven gossip should disqualify him. His performances however are a big cause for concern. He had a very poor World Cup and from the highlights of the Charity Shield appears to have cost his side two goals.Maclaren's first team has Gerard on the right with Downing on the left. The midfield wasn't that bad during the World Cup just a bit inconsistent except for Lampard who was embarrassing. He is a great player so there must have been something wrong. If he continues that form tomorrow the midfield will be woefully lacking in creativity. Scholes is available again - why not pick him?Not sure why Downing is getting so many chances. I saw him a couple of times last season and he didn't beat his full back once. Defoe is also back - probably because of the lack of meaningful alternatives what with Ashton's injury. There has to be a question mark over Maclaren's training regime as a result of this - was he pushing them too hard.

Andy Jones ● 7389d

I don't really mind who gets the skipper's job from Neville,Gerrard or Terry. I'm just glad the hold Beckham had over the team and mgr has gone.McClaren obviously knows the influence he had over the camp and wants a change of emphasis. I think it can only be good for the likes of Gerrard and Lampard to have more authority on the pitch without having to defer to Beckham as the creator of chances.They can finally (hopefully)prove they are the'world class'players some claim,something Beckham never quite achieved imho.Shame to hear about Dean Ashton breaking his ankle.Didn't know Scholes was available again,though he was a shadow of what he used to be in the months before that eye condition sidelined him.Still needs to learn how to tackle without fouling and to learn that some players don't think as quickly as him.Would be good to see him back in the fold if poss.

Keith Iddon ● 7389d

Dan, it was McClaren himself (and I don't agree)that intimated that Terry would go on to be one of the greatest England captains.The point I was making was that in order to be a lion on the pitch,it is difficult for many to be a lamb off it(Moore,Botham,Robson,Keane)....there are loads.Hopefully Terry has learned from his immature mistakes and crassness.He has led Chelsea,albeit a bought in team of superstars to a couple of championships and has been chosen by two managers there as skipper.He must have some leadership qualities if he was chosen by Ranieri over Zola for a start and not demoted my Morinho.Let's give him a fair go,eh?

Keith Iddon ● 7389d

Turnips and swedes have been used already. I would predict that given Maclaren's ruddy complexion the word beetroot will be mentioned before too long.On the one hand I'm inclined to look on the bright side. Croatia are no mugs and a point there would have been a good result. Macedonia will take points off the other teams as well and the group is quite a soft one so we should be able to take maximum points for the rest of the games with the possible exception of the trip to Moscow.Then I think 'you poor deluded fool what planet are you on?' There is much to get concerned about and it may be too late to put things right.Reasons to be worried1) Forget about the result. The really appalling thing was that when a goal down England did not have the craft or guile to really threaten the Croatian goal.2) John Terry - in the two league games I've seen him play this season he missed a key tackle or header leading to the opposition scoring. In Zagreb he misses a header and a 5ft and a bit Croatian striker rises unchallenged to nod in.3) Steve Gerard - we are playing our best player out of position, a position vacated by our second best player who we won't pick.4) Frank Lampard - how many bad games does he have to have before he is dropped? 5) Max Clifford - it was he not Maclaren who issued a statement after the match about Beckham and how he shouldn't be picked. Clifford hates Beckham and knows all about the skeletons in Maclaren's cupboard. Go figure why Beckham will never play for England again.6) Russia - Hiddinck is so much a better manager than Maclaren that whatever the quality of the squad he has he will trouble us. Why the FA didn't snap him up when he was available is beyond me. I presumed at the time it was because they were going to appoint Martin O'Neill.7) Israel - everyone thinks they are whipping boys but they are undefeated in competitive football for about three years. They have some great players.8) Strikers - Rooney and Crouch don't play well together and Defoe isn't good enough. Darren Bent isn't either. There is a young lad who scored a brace in an amazing win for the under 21s in Germany the night before. Maybe we should have picked him - can't recall his name.

Dan Evans ● 7330d

Copy and paste..and see that goal!http://tinyurl.com/vk2pz

Jim Lawes ● 7330d

Depressingly much of what you say is correct but there is one factual error - Max Clifford made a statement after the match that there may be a way back for Beckham and the next day him and Maclaren parted company. Although your conspiracy theory does hang nicely together it would appear to be a more simple matter of a personality clash between the two. Several former players have written articles in the press about how the two didn't get on when they were at Manchester United.

Mike Hardacre ● 7325d

I stand corrected on Max Clifford. According to that oracle of football David Mellor, McClaren still has four press advisers. Of course Mellor has reason to hate Clifford, and therefore Maclaren, because it was his idea to put Antonia de Sancha in a Chelsea shirt and send the picture to the News of the Screws. On the principal that anyone that anything that Mellor says about football is usually as wrong as it is possible to be the future for Maclaren looks extremely bright.

Dan Evans ● 7324d