3. There's No Target Man
Aside from the apparently spiritual effect that Beckham might have on the team, which the outraged fans seem to be suggesting would be his major selling point, Beckham would undoubtedly provide excellent service and deliveries from set-pieces. He would effectively be a special team player on the pitch for 90 minutes (or however long he lasted), and that would certainly be valuable in the right circumstances. But consider this for a minute - who exactly would Beckham be aiming those crosses and long cross-field balls at? Without a target man, or at least someone who will win the ball in the air for someone else of Craig Bellamy's ilk to run on to, those crosses - away from set-pieces at least - would be no more valuable than long balls out from the back. Including Beckham would require playing a system that gave him the ball as much as possible in order to build attacking play around his array of passing, but that would entirely change the dynamic of what will otherwise be a forward-thinking, pacey team, based on (presumably) Gareth Bale's wing-play and willingness to advance play with the ball at his feet. Yes, no doubt Beckham would ping cross-field balls towards Bale in the advanced wing position, but the Welshman is arguably more dangerous running from slightly deeper, which takes away the need for Beckham's chief asset. Of course Beckham faced a similar situation when playing on the opposite wing to Ryan Giggs in his Manchester United days, but that team wasn't as lop-sided as the GB team would be with the 37 year old Beckham on the right, because back then, he ran forward down the flanks as much as he crossed from deep. The idea that he could play that way now, after so many years in the MLS, and with the weight of age in his legs is rather optimistic. Had Andy Carroll been in the squad, it might have been different, but he isn't likely to be, and Britain have few younger options who could offer the same sort of outlet.