David Beckham gives his verdict on why England’s ‘golden generation’ really failed

David Beckam has taken a look back at England’s ‘golden generation’ of players, and given his verdict on why they failed to deliver on the international stage.

Despite being part of a hugely talented squad, Beckham never led England to success in international tournaments in the mid-00s, after suffering disappointment as captain at the World cups in 2002 and 2006, as well as Euro 2004.

With world-class players like Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, John Terry, Sol Campbell, Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole and Michael Owen all featuring at the time, the period will always be regarded as a case of what could have been for England.

Back in 2017, Gerrard, Lampard and Ferdinand spoke about the failure of the golden generation on BT Sport, with the consensus being that cliques in the dressing room played a part in the team’s lack of success.

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However, speaking on Gary Neville’s The Overlap, Beckham explained it by saying: “It’s because we weren’t good enough on the day, simple as that.

“I’ve heard numerous people come out and say, ‘well, there was cliques and some players didn’t talk to other players.’”

David Beckham’s World Cup Special with Gary Neville | The Overlapwww.youtube.com

He added: “I don’t care if players didn’t talk whilst they were eating dinner, whilst they were eating lunch, while they’re in the changing room, the moment you get on that pitch, I don’t care if Stevie G’s in a better position than me I’m gonna give him the ball. Simple.

“You’re footballers and you’re professional. It’s not about cliques, it’s not about Liverpool players not liking United players.”

The team at the 2004 EurosPaul Barker/Getty images

It comes after Ferdinand spoke candidly to BT Sport in 2017, saying: “It was down to the obsession with winning. I didn’t want to see Frank have an edge on me. I didn’t want to speak to him about anything he’d be able to take away to facilitate his team winning.

“When I was with England with Stevie, when we were battling for the Premier League, I didn’t want to sit around him and be around him because I just didn’t want to hear about what Liverpool were doing.”

Beckham captained England in 58 games over a six-year period. He played a total of 115 times for his country.