did england dump beckham as a player too early?

[stavros]

Apart from Rooney on his day England dont' have a single creative player who can orchestrate the game from midfield.

I would argue that, despite not spellbinding performances under McLaren thus far, Michael Carrick also fits this bill. Unlike the much-vaunted triumpherate of Beckham, Lampard and Cole, he will also sit a lot deeper and not crowd the space Rooney so craves. I leave Gerrard out of that trio because I believe he has more versatile abilities than them. If we can curb Ferdiannd's bizarre hallucinations that he's Franz Beckenbauer then perhaps having a Carrick-Rooney creative fulcrum between the penalties can provide the sources for passing moves. Of course movers and runners are needed of which Lennon is an obvious choice, and probably Owen will be welcomed back.

 

[Cowley]

He should have still had a place in the squad if Mac thought he wasn't good enough for the XI.

He's effectively been dumped for Phil Neville.