David Beckham's superb delivery for England's second and third goals against Estonia underlined how important and useful he can still be for the national side. But his recall could prove to be the biggest mistake Steve McClaren has made in his short and turbulent reign as manager.

I can't quite see how it's going to work if McClaren wants Beckham to be a long-term fixture with his impending departure to another Galaxy in Los Angeles.

Even if his new bosses allowed him to fly the six thousand miles back to play for England he would be too knackered by the jet lag to be of any use. And some of the fixture clashes for the games coming up shortly are just unworkable with Galaxy playing either the day after or the day before England games in some instances.

There seems to be no way out of it, even if Becks does want to give it a go and play for his country as well as living and playing in LA. His massive £120m contract would take some turning down even with all the dosh he already has in his bank account.

There is also the possibility of being sued should Becks do a U-turn and walk out on the Galaxy. I don't think for one minute that will happen. Even he can't risk being taken to court with that sort of money at risk - and anyway his missus would never allow it. After all, she's got her dream move as well as she bids to get herself onto the Hollywood circuit while hubby struts his stuff just down the road.

It's all very unfair on Aaron Lennon and the like who will be called on to fill in the gaps and paper over the cracks once Beckham goes. Lennon deserves better treatment, as does anyone, and I think this may prove to be the final straw for England fans as far as McClaren is concerned.

It's a crying shame and threatens to push the real issue of European Championship qualification firmly into the background until it is resolved and that can only be damaging for English football as a whole in the long run.