F365's England Ladder is Back!

Filed in archive England on July 25, 2007

If you're an England fan, and feel like fretting about England's lack of squad depth, look no further than Football 365's Famous European Championship Ladder.

It's a ranking of 50 players, all of them gunning for a spot in England's 23 man squad for the European Championship finals in Austria/Switzerand 2008, assuming England get there. The top 10 or so are the usual suspects, headed by Mr. Wayne Rooney, but it's not long before we get into the Phil Nevilles and Kieran Richardsons of the world. Way down the ladder, perhaps in an attempt to stir a bit of controversy and garner some attention (which has worked, apparently) is Mr. David Beckham at no. 24, just outside the crucial 23 cut off point.

"24 - David Beckham

If this ladder were for the autumn qualifiers, he'd be in the top five. If he stays with LA Galaxy fo a year and still makes the squad for the finals, I'll eat whatever humble pie you bake."

I'm not so sure the quality of LA Galaxy is the problem. Becks will get a good run-out and the Galaxy's uselessness in comparison to other MLS teams will mean he'll have plenty hard work to do and plenty opportunity to take center stage. The bigger problem is that the MLS season ends in November, when the Premiership season is just hitting its stride. Assuming Beckham doesn't go out on loan he'll have his feet up from November until March, with the MLS season starting up again in April. Becks will then have from April to May to prove that he's match fit and has something to offer Steve McClaren.