Moving On

The trouble with Beckham, they used to say, was that he lacked genuine pace and couldn’t ‘go past people’ - but when it came to passing and crossing the ball and taking free kicks, he was a dream.

So when Steve McClaren succeeded Sven Goran Eriksson, he immediately dropped England’s former captain, who according to reports is now so far down the pecking order he might as well stop pecking.

Still, the good news for McClaren is that on the left flank he’s got Stewart Downing, who in addition to the fact that he lacks genuine pace and can’t go past people, is erratic in his passing and crossing and not much good at free kicks. He also plays for Middlesbrough and he definitely could not be mistaken for David Beckham.

That’s progress for you.