Beckham… What now?!

When David Beckham became the first Galactico to cross the Atlantic to play football… sorry… soccer in the US, opinion was divided…

Beckham’s injuries and lack of action have resulted in his first season at the LA Galaxy being a bit too much circus and not enough substance. However, there are many people who believe that Golden Balls still has something to offer Steve McLaren’s England team.The question is, even if this was the case, what on Earth is Becks going to do to keep his fitness at the required level for the next 6 months?!

The Galaxy’s 1-0 defeat to Chicago this week meant that their season was over, as they could not reach the end of season Play-offs. Beckham therefore has no more competitive games until the start of the next MLS season.

England have a must-win game against Croatia (yes, it could be irrelevant, but we have to keep believing!) on the 17th November, but should Beckham be considered at all? If you look at the current Premier League campaign, there are plenty of young and talented midfielders waiting for the chance to impress at international level. In many cases, the chance to shine for England is as high if not higher than being a regular for their club team (take Michael Carrick and Shaun Wright-Phillips as the best examples).

Personally I believe that the (likely) break from competitive football for the England team could be a blessing in disguise. Don’t get me wrong, I am totally gutted that me and my mates are not renting a camper and going to Switzerland to cheers the boys on in June, but this is a glorious chance to dispense of the so-called ‘deadwood’ and replace with young players who would bleed for the shirt.

Whether this would ever happen is unlikely, but we as football fans can only hope that, if we do indeed not get to the EURO finals, we learn from the experience, and try to grow a team for the big one in South Africa. Sacking the may be an inevitability, but it would not answer some of the other, bigger problems.

Dave @ YTM 

Tags (click to view more!): David Beckham, soccer, LA Galaxy, Steve McLaren, England, MLS, Premier League, Michael Carrick, Shaun Wright-Phillips