History Repeating Itself

How quickly they seem to come round, these international weeks, and how exciting it all is – unless, of course, you’re David Beckham. The man who was England captain a few weeks ago, the golden boy whose departure was so low key it bordered upon anonymity is now, according to reports, an ignominious fifth choice for his position – behind Stevie Gerrard (who doesn’t particularly like playing there), Aaron Lennon (who is currently injured), Jermaine Pennant (who can’t always get into Liverpool’s team) and Shaun Wright-Phillips (who hardly ever gets into Chelsea’s). And to rub salt in, Fabio Capello seems to have cast him as a serial substitute at the Bernabeu.

Of course, you have to appreciate Steve McClaren’s position. He’s the new England manager and he wants to do things his way – and what better indication of his authority than to dispense with the man who was reputedly so close to Sven (remember him?). Also, he’s looking to the future and to a more youthful image – which is probably why he has tried so hard to persuade Paul Scholes to come back into the England fold (conveniently forgetting that Scholes is actually older than Beckham).

Still, there’s always Rooney. An automatic choice and evidently the first name on the team sheet – even, apparently when he’s not playing well and hasn’t scored for his country since 2004 (unlike Crouch who simply can’t stop scoring).

Ironic, isn’t it? The new broom, the man so anxious to establish his own style and his own image, seems in some respects to be turning into his predecessor. Rooney is to McClaren what Beckham was to Eriksson.

Ah, but this is different. Eriksson, you see, was massively overrated. Whereas McClaren left Middlesbrough in 2006 in precisely the same league position in which he found them in 2001.