By Dan Halton

As David Beckham returns to the England team, Steve McClaren has gone against his principles and caved in to the clamour and glamour of the Beckham bandwagon.

They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Surely that was the only thing driving the mounting calls for Beckham to return to the England fold. Last summer McClaren made the decision to sever ties with the past and drop Beckham from the England squad. A bold decision. But any credibility he may have had as England manager (and that was dwindling with every match) has now vanished for good.

An Eriksson era favourite, “Goldenballs” dominated the England team regardless of form or effectiveness, even dictating tactics when he convinced a star-struck Sven to play him as a holding midfielder to embarrassing effect in the famous defeat to Northern Ireland. One heroic wonder game against Greece in 2001 extended his international career and reputation beyond its harsher reality. That of a pedestrian and predictable player who only served a purpose when there was a set-piece. The calls for his return mirror the warm feelings of posterity usually reserved for the Boys of ’66. It simply does not relate to the here and now.

So England have suffered a couple of bad results and what do we hear? Becks can turn things around. He has barely played for Real Madrid during a stop-start season. That’s the same Madrid that has under-achieved with Beckham in it for years. The same Real Madrid that deemed Beckham surplus to requirements not so long ago only to publicly renounce these same sentiments for fear of further disruption within the club. Losing away to Croatia was no disgrace but the media frenzy that accompanied some poor performances in friendlies and the 0-0 draw in Israel should be taken with a pinch of the proverbial. In the early stages of qualification for Euro 2008 England have another eighteen months and several home games to finish in the top two of a group where their serious rivals behind Croatia are Russia and Israel.

What happened to the bold optimism of last summer when fans demanded the pace and youth of Aaron Lennon, Shaun Wright-Phillips and even Jermaine Pennant to replace Beckham on the right wing? Well despite an injured Lennon they are all still there and given a good run in the side can offer England a glimpse of an exciting future. Pennant’s sparkling performance in the Champions League final should have convinced McClaren to take a gamble on him and not the spent force that is Beckham. The ex-skipper’s absence could also give the England boss an opportunity to solve the Lampard-Gerrard conundrum in central midfield. With Owen Hargreaves or Michael Carrick in the holding role Gerrard could be shifted to the right where he has played for Liverpool, releasing Lampard further forward and generally giving the team a better shape. Surely these are better alternatives than putting on rose-tinted glasses and harking back to the Beckham displays of yore.

Beckham’s future lies in the footballing backwaters of the USA and Major League Soccer. His decision to cash in on his image and go to Hollywood effectively ended his right to be considered a contender on the international stage. If Beckham was serious about playing for his country again he would have remained playing at the highest level by either signing to stay at Madrid or joining one of the many suitors he had in the Premiership and Europe. No, instead Beckham turned his back on all of this and went running to the land of the Yankee dollar for an easier life for himself and his family. No-one can blame him for that. But to suggest he can still cut it at international level is a fantasy too far. Only in Hollywood could you write a script like that.