5. Giving Youth a Chance
The England team will go through a period of transition in the next year or so as older stars opt to retire, and new blood is brought in to explore new alternatives (as long as Roy Hodgson does his job properly). The Olympics offers the perfect opportunity to give those players who might make the step up to the full team a chance to play on a big stage, and one which will be more televised and celebrated than any U21 tournament. The Olympics is an opportunity for those players to mature in a competitive environment, to possibly make a bridging step towards the full team. Like U21 tournaments, this U23 event should be seen as a developmental opportunity predominantly - and though some might say the presence of David Beckham might equally influence those type of players, it is just as possible that such influence would be just as profound if Beckham was given a coaching role in the set-up. By the way, that assertion regarding young England players might seem to undervalue the influence that other British team members might have on the team, but let's face it, the core of the squad is likely to be English considering the comparatively low world rankings of the other teams.