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Are David Beckham and Fabio Capello inseparable?

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This mutual admiration society is become a little sickening.

Every time David Beckham says something about England Coach Fabio Capello, it invariably is to praise the Italian.

Every time Beckham praises the Italian, he seems to be given a few more minutes on the England team, another cap to add to a collection that now totals 107. Caps, for the uninitiated, equate to international appearances.

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Over the past week, Beckham has played twice for England, in a 5-1 rout of Kazakhstan in London and in a 3-1 defeat of Belarus in Minsk.

In the first game, he came off the bench to contribute 11 minutes. In the second, he was limited to the final two minutes. In fact, over England’s four World Cup qualifiers to date, Beckham’s playing time has added up to less than half an hour. Total.

But Beckham smiles and says all the right things. He was at it again on Thursday.

‘There’s a manager now that knows how to win,’ Beckham gushed to a BBC interviewer. ‘Not just at Wembley but away from home. He’s very excited about the World Cup -- and it’s great to be involved in that.

‘I worked with him in Madrid for a year, so I know what he is like as a manager and a person. I know what he expects from players and he gets the best out of them. There’s a seriousness, but that has to be there because you are playing for England and on such a big stage.

‘He has installed that back into the team, and it’s important that it stays there because we are getting the right results and we are getting everything we need.

‘Things are looking bright . . . and hopefully it continues,’ Beckham said. ‘It’s about time the country and the fans had something to look forward to.’

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It’s also about time Beckham started lighting a fire under the team that pays him $6.5 million a year on a five-year contract. It’s too late for this season. For the Galaxy, this season should be over and dusted by the end of this weekend.

But what about 2009? Unless Beckham stands up and starts demanding better players around him and starts demanding that those players perform, he is destined to be what one English newspaper earlier this month scathingly called ‘a mediocre player for a failing team in a terrible league.’

That was an unkind and not necessarily accurate cut, but if Beckham’s U.S. legacy is to be anything more than that of a glorified jersey salesman, then he had better start paying as much attention to the Galaxy and to MLS as he does to winning caps for England.

At least the Galaxy will give him some real playing time.

-- Grahame L. Jones

Top Photo: England’s David Beckham, shown during a World Cup qualifying match between England and Belarus in Minsk, Belarus on Oct. 15, 2008. Credit: Sergei Grits / Associated Press Photo

Insert Photo: England’s manager Fabio Capello during a news conference in Minsk, Belarus on Oct. 14, 2008. Credit: Sergei Grits / Associated Press Photo

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