DON'T PANIC, CAPTAIN'S MANAGING
Cynics said that his temperament was not right and although his ability was not in doubt, his capacity to lead the team on the pitch - both physically and verbally - was not going to be up to the required standard.
OPTA took a look at the the games England have played with David Beckham as captain, compared to the previous five and the results seems to suggest that the added responsibility has brought out the best in the Manchester United star.
Since taking the captaincy from Martin Keown - who led the team out away to Finland - Beckham's performances in an England shirt have improved. Of course, the appointment of Sven Goran Eriksson will have had some influence on the player, and he appears to have a lot more tactical awareness than his predecessor Kevin Keegan.
Keegan could be accused of putting big demands on Beckham when he said: 'I want more from David Beckham. I want him to improve on perfection.' But it is under Eriksson that Beckham has made the biggest strides forward. Since being awarded the captain's armband, the media darling with the mohawk scored his first international goal from open play and added two more trademark free kicks.
Previously just three of his eight efforts hit the target, but now eight of his 11 shots have forced the 'keeper into action and with a shooting accuracy of 73% he will always be a threat from midfield.
He doubled his tally of tackles to 12 and won 82% of those as well as improving on his passing. Beckham found a team-mate with 79% of his distribution in the last five games - 11 percentage points better than before - and has been able to rid himself of the shackles of the right touchline more often.
In the last few games, Steven Gerrard has been able to drift out to the right during matches and allow Beckham to create from a more central position. In that role Beckham has embarked on 22 dribbles and runs - compared to six in the previous five games - and has retained the ball on 82% of those occasions.
Even during the spell at Manchester United when his formed had dipped, he was still playing better for his country than he was before leading the team. And the captain's roving role did not mean that he put in fewer crosses, in fact his whipped in 61 balls from wide areas, which is nine more than before.
His occasionally petulant temper has not become an issue so far. Without a booking since becoming captain, the new role appears to have instilled a greater sense of responsibility and discipline in him. Of course the Swedish manager has had a positive effect on the side overall, but as an individual, the captaincy looks like it could well be the making of David Beckham as an international footballer.
Matt Pomroy
