'Beckham too weak to captain England'

LONDON: England's most inspirational captain in recent memory has slammed the country's current celebrity-footballer saying that David Beckham was not a natural leader and was too weak to captain England.
Bryan Robson, dubbed Captain Marvel for his leadership in the 80s, has even called for Beckham to be replaced before the World Cup, suggesting that Chelsea's John Terry or Liverpool's Steven Gerrard would do a better job.
In his autobiography serialised in the Mail on Sunday, Robson said: "As for the England captaincy, David Beckham would not have been my choice.
"He hasn't done a bad job and he has matured, but he's not a natural leader on the pitch," said the current West Brom manager.
"Steven Gerrard and John Terry are more natural leaders and have the aggression that most managers like in a captain.
"To my mind, Terry, who is also the Chelsea skipper, has probably edged ahead of Gerrard as the best choice.
"He leads by example, is an excellent organiser and has the presence that everyone in the team will respect.
"He also scores goals which is a great bonus for a defender."
There is growing concern over Beckham's leadership and form in the wake of three mediocre seasons at Real Madrid in Spain, one which ended in a flurry of red cards last season. News of extra-marital affairs was compounded with his crucial penalty misses against France and Portugal at Euro 2004.
There is a feeling that English manager Sven-Goran Eriksson is too weak to shake the power structure with the team set-up and he insists on building the team around Beckham, and not as players and experts feel, around Wayne Rooney who is more forceful on the field as an attacking option.
Robson also had a word for Eriksson when he said that an Englishman should be appointed to manage the national team following the departure of Swede.
"I would have no great objection to the appointment of a foreign manager if we had no Englishman good enough to do the job of managing the national team, but I believe we have coaches who are more than capable.