David Beckham was reduced the role of willing substitute but Paul Robinson did
not even get that compensation after being axed for tonight's do-or-die Euro
2008 clash with Croatia at Wembley.
As expected, neither Beckham nor Robinson figured in what surely would be
Steve McClaren's last England side if they fail to pick up the point required to
reach next summer's finals in Austria and Switzerland.
Owen Hargreaves was missing too as Gareth Barry was handed the holding role in
a five-man midfield.
But it was the omissions of Beckham and Robinson which raised most eyebrows
when news leaked out of the England camp last night that Shaun Wright-Phillips
and Scott Carson had been preferred instead.
But while Beckham was among the seven potential replacements, Robinson was
forced to watch from the stands as veteran David James was named as back-up to
Carson, who only made his international debut in the friendly win over Austria
on Friday.
Carson hardly had enough to do in Vienna to justify his selection, so McClaren
presumably decided to dump Robinson in the wake of his mistake against Russia
last month which left England on the brink of a humiliating exit in the
qualifying stage.
Such an outcome is still a possibility but following Israel's win over Russia,
a draw would be enough, something the Three Lions have managed on each of the
nine occasions they have found themselves in this position before, most notably
six years ago when Beckham's injury-time free-kick saw them reach the 2002 World
Cup.
