Bentley Wants Beckham's England Place
Blackburn Rovers winger David Bentley is gunning for David Beckham's England place.

David Bentley has warmed David Beckham that his aim is to claim the former England captain's place in the national team as his own.

England veteran Beckham, now 32, needs just one more cap to join the exclusive band of players who have worn the Three Lions on their chest a hundred times.

The LA Galaxy and former Manchester United and England star has won 99 caps for his country so is only one tantalising appearance away from his century. Now, ironically, his fate lies in the hands of Fabio Capello, who dropped and then reinstated Beckham when they were both at the Bernabeu with Real Madrid.

Capello spoke glowingly of Beckham when giving his first press conference on being presenbted as the new England manager. The Italian tactician clearly regards Beckham's determination and professionalism highly - but will be monitoring the midfielder's fitness closely.

LA Galaxy’s season is over until March, meaning that Beckham will not have played since November by the time England’s first game under Capello comes round in February - against Euro 2008 co-hosts Switzerland. That gives Blackburn winger Bentley, 23, ample time to impress Capello in Beckham's wide right role - starting on Sunder when Rovers host Chelsea.

The Young Challenger

The former Arsenal trainee who lacks nothing in self-confidence, and who has blossomed at Ewood Park with Mark Hughes as his manager, told The Sun: “I don’t think Capello knows who I am but he will do, I will make sure of that.

In an interview with the newspaper, he explained: “I have to make an impression in every game, not just against Chelsea. But while I treat every game the same, it seems you are noticed more for what you do against the big clubs.

“It’s time for me to perform. I’m confident enough I will force my way into the team. It’s my job to stop David Beckham. That has to be my aim and I don’t think David would argue with that.
“Don’t get me wrong, I will be delighted for him if he gets the 100 because he’s a top bloke and a great player. If he does reach the 100, I hope he gets it by coming on for me after I’ve had a stormer!"

Bentley continued: “I really admire David for everything he’s done in football but I want to be breathing down his neck.
“I’ve a bit of banter with Becks. I tell him I’m the new Becks and better looking. Some players are in awe of him but he’s just Becks to me.

“I believe I should be in the England team instead of him. Any footballer has to think like that.
“It’s up to you, nobody can do it for you. If I don’t get picked it will be nobody else’s fault but my own. I know I’m good enough.

“We will start on a level playing field with Capello. We will all be judged on performance.”
Bentley is determined to play for England in the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa.
Of course, England have to qualifyy first, which is never a foregone conclusion; but Bentley told The Sun has no doubt that England will get there despite the fact that their Euro 2008 nemesis Croatia are again standing in the way.

The Blackburn star said: “I thought we’d batter Croatia and go through to Euro 2008 but it didn’t happen. I still believe we’re better than them though. We can be as good as we want to be.

“We are like a wounded lion. Not qualifying has been nagging away at me for weeks and I didn’t even play.

“I know I can’t really go shouting the odds when I’ve only got two caps but in my view we’ll qualify for the World Cup all day long. We’ve got to be in South Africa.”
He does not use the influx of foreign players as a scapegoat for England's shortcomings. That's just a convenient excuse in his opinion.

“Foreigners aren’t killing us off," he stated . "If the English footballers are good enough they’ll make it. Having one really good English player is better than having 10 average ones.
“There’s a lot of crap about us not having young players. We have got them, we just have to believe.

“Ashley Young, Dean Ashton, Matt Derbyshire, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Wayne Rooney are all top Premier League players.

“I don’t go for the foreigners argument. It’s an excuse — and not a very good one.

“There are around 70 English players regularly involved in a Premier League which is probably the strongest league in the world.

“If we can’t find 11 out of that lot then we have got a problem.”

Mark Hinton, Goal.com

i picked this article not only bcoz of it is related to becks but also bentley involvement in england squad. i'd love to see england qualify to WC 2010, but not in this fashion. david bentley is known as a loud spoken player and his off the field antics. his controversial departure from arsenal had attracted wide spread coverage from around england. considering his young age at that time, arsene wenger hadnt thought his young gun woud have caused so much controversy. hes a good player, but only for himself. england need a team player who can contribute in any positions possible. they dont need a someone whos looking for a personal glory; not this time. he would be considered in the squad if he could change his attitude both on and off the field. moreover, capello isnt keen to have his players tangled with unacceptable behaviour. he will, someday replace becks or any players perform for england but until that time he needs to relax and let act speaks for itself. anyway, i had to agree with one thing he said, which is foreign players do not cause any hazardous to local players. if one is a good player he will be triumph....