image: yahoo.com

On the day Steve McLaren was officially announced as England manager, he answered some awkward questions from a visibly unexcited press. Asked if David Beckham would retain the captaincy under his stewardship, McLaren answered: "He's captain at the present moment under Sven."

Interesting answer, and I think that was the intention. The biggest criticism of McLaren is that he's boring, so this non-committal but headline-worthy quote is genius. However much McLaren is paying PR guru Max Clifford, I say double it.

On the downside, it may cause some friction between McLaren and Beckham this summer. Hinting at a change of captain undermines the current armband wearer, and provides an unnecessary distraction to the job at hand: losing on penalties in the quarter Finals.