Beckham is still miles better than Shaun Wright-Phillips
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by Foolsgold
Following England's 3-0 victories over Israel and Russia, a lot of talk has emerged about who is England's best side. With the emergence of Gareth Barry in midfield and the inclusion of Shaun Wright-Phillips on the right, it has been brought to the forefront whether players who were unavailable due to injury, most notably David Beckham and Frank Lampard have lost their spots.
Well, first of all, Lampard lost his spot earlier this summer when he was 'injured' prior to the Andorra match. I'm not saying he's past his prime by any means, but he requires a side that focuses around him in the midfield and as long as Gerrard is there, he's going to play second fiddle in that regard. How many teams in the world would want a player of Lampard's pedigree on the bench just in case? I'd say pretty much all of them.
As for Beckham, whomever says that Wright-Phillips has taken his spot, you're an idiot. SWP is about on the same level as his headless chicken brethren, Aaron Lennon. He turned over the ball way too much and most of the time when he got the ball down low, the possession turned out to be waste or he failed to get the cross over the Russian defender marking him. Beckham is a much more intelligent player than SWP or Lennon.
The pairing of Barry and Gerrard works because neither have an ego bigger than their brain a la Lampard. At times, Gerrard is content to lay back and allow Barry to push forward and be the man at the top of the attacking pyramid. He may not be England's second best central midfielder next to Gerrard, but most importantly, their partnership works. The ability to work together well as a team will always beat out a group of individuals playing as such no matter the discrepancy in talent.
Originally posted here
