'Brand Beckham' is alive and well, but it's time for him to make way for England's young stars

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Published 22:46 18/10/09

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My insistence that England would be better off without David Beckham has provoked a lot of controversy.

I was astonished he got the man-of-the-match award against Belarus last week despite only coming off the bench in the 59th minute.

And for me the belief that England need Beckham at the World Cup finals next summer shows 'brand Beckham’ is still seducing punters.

He has been a great player for England in the past but I want to see players getting on the plane who are capable of doing a job for 90 minutes.

But I think as Beckham prepares to turn 35 next May, there are several younger more promising players capable of taking Beckham’s spot.

Pretenders like Aaron Lennon and Theo Walcott for example are more than capable of filling his shoes.

And the fact they haven’t yet is probably down to a mixture of fear and intimidation being around the global superstar.

Having been in dressing rooms all my career and seen how young players react towards senior figures, I really do believe if Becks was not in the squad we would see other players flourish.

At the moment the likes of Lennon know they are likely to be hauled off after 50 minutes or so - regardless of their efforts.

And it must be so demoralising to see the board go up with your number on and hear the crowd go wild as Beckham comes on.

Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, John Terry and the likes of David James are all vastly experienced campaigners so we hardly need another calm old head.

I have seen Beckham play for England all over the world and I applaud what he has done for his country on the pitch and off it too.

Yet the decision by Sunderland manager Steve Bruce to name him man-of-the-match against Belarus infuriated me.

And if an experienced football man like Bruce can make such a decision then it shows there will sadly be enough popular support and backing at the FA to put pressure on Fabio Capello to take Beckham to South Africa.

If the likes of Michael Carrick had made a similar contribution against Belarus after coming off the bench, would Bruce have gone out on a limb to give him the award? I suspect not.

But I am convinced of two things.

One that we have enough quality, experience and youth down the right to frighten teams in South Africa without Beckham.

And two that those other players will flourish and grow in the tournament without the fear of being hauled off.

When Eric Cantona left United, Beckham flourished.

When Raul was left out of the Spanish national side, they flourished.

Having big names doesn’t always bring the positivity that fans would automatically expect.

And I truly believe there is a greater argument for not taking him next summer based purely on football reasons.

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