Beckham = Ronaldo

Not much about again today, still concentrating on the England performance. The only aspect of this I want to mention is the discussion on Wayne Rooney. I shall just mention this report in The Times, there are others and they all say pretty much the same thing: that Rooney isn't really suited to the lone forward role - it works for him at Man Utd because he has Ronaldo/Tevez/Giggs (delete as applicable) to "carry" (my word, but this is the essence of the argument) him. No one seems to notice that this statement is preposterous next to the conventional wisdom (also mentioned in most of the articles) that Rooney is our only world class player: on the one hand, he is good for Man Utd because he has these players carrying him, on the other, without him England are lost.

What I would argue is that the service to England's forward line is terrible, it doesn't matter who plays up front if the quality going into them is so awful. On Wednesday the passing from midfield was so slow that no forward would have stood a chance. Beckham's usual 50 yard hoofs (sorry, wonder passes) up front don't help either.

I like Capello, but his comments about Beckham being England's Ronaldo are frankly insane. He must have been joking. Surely.

The most ridiculous aspect of this is Steven Gerrard, in the Times report, saying:

“I think Wayne slightly has to adapt his game as well, because for me to get space in there and for it to work, he has to play a lot higher and stretch the defence,” Gerrard said. “I think that is why myself and Torres are having a lot of joy, because he is so direct and plays high up."

Steven Gerrard, England manager. The idea that Rooney should change his game to allow Steven Gerrard's ego to flourish is almost as insane as Beckham being England's Ronaldo.