Organisation: David Beckham

Analysis and commentary by Echo Research.

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Pundits were under no illusions what David Beckham's omission from England's friendly against Greece this week meant for the former captain and footballing icon: "Beckham the history man" (Times, 12/8), "Mac the knife ends Beckham era" (Independent, 12/8), "Bye Bye Becks" (Sun, 11/8). England manager Steve McClaren's decision to drop football's old guard and replace it with younger players was viewed as sending "England's greatest footballing aristocrat to the guillotine" (Daily Telegraph, 12/8). Obituary writers lamented Beckham's performance in the World Cup and his form on the pitch: "It is a subdued end, and a sad one, for a player who has dominated English football for so long, but McClaren was only being polite when he said the door was still ajar" concluded The Times (12/8).

Yet the door appeared to swing wider over the weekend ("McClaren offers hope to Beckham", bbc.co.uk, 13/8) and former football heavyweights came to his defence: "It is not outside the bounds of possibility that Beckham will be recalled by England" noted Gary Lineker (Sunday Telegraph, 13/8). "Beckham ... won't go quietly. You can be sure of that" predicted the Daily Mail (12/8). Despite having been shown the red card, it seems it's too early to blow the whistle on Beckham's international football career just yet.