As David Beckham continues to train with Arsenal to boost his chances of winning his 100th cap, FFC Rob Facey asks whether Capello would be making the right decision by starting his reign as England manager with a sympathy vote?

Out with the old and in with the new was the conclusion reached by those looking at how to solve the England crisis after the defeat against Croatia. No more mollycoddling our pampered stars; they would need to earn the right to play for their country.

With this in mind it is unlikely Beckham would have joined Arsenal if had already become a centurion. While nobody is questioning his professionalism or work ethic, the responsibility now lies with Capello to state whether or not he thinks Beckham could help England succeed in the 2010 World Cup campaign.

If the Italian thinks that Beckham's career as an England player is over he should make it clear that if the former captain is included for the Switzerland friendly it will merely be his swansong; a golden handshake for Goldenballs.

Otherwise, questions will be raised over his inclusion in the squad because as a right midfielder Beckham has no future as an international player.

This is not dismissing the fact the LA Galaxy star has been one of England's best serving players throughout his career and is still immensely popular and rightly so. Indeed, transforming the public's perception from villain to hero is something that the current band of England players should be looking to emulate.

His range of passing and set pieces remain unrivalled but they are of limited use in the international game and will be even more useless by the time England's next competitive tournament comes about. His tackling capabilities leave a lot to be desired so a central midfield position may be too much for him to undertake also.

For these reasons it must be assumed that Beckham will not a long-term fixture in the Capello era and it would be hypocritical for the media, after claiming McLaren and Sven had favourites, to be angered if he is omitted. There are a huge number of candidates to take over the number ‘7' shirt for England, with Bentley, Wright-Phillips, Lennon and Milner just some of the names looking to stake a claim.

Capello may be forgiven for allowing Beckham to reach 100 but this is hardly the iron fisted rule that people were expecting him to use to cure England's problems. Is this bowing to pressure the precedent Capello wants to set before any competitive games?

Arguably, it may be a decision to ensure he wins over the press and public, but nobody would mind if Beckham was stranded on 99 caps so long as England are successful in the future.