Bond and Beckham - Unwitting bedfellows

Random article surrounding the release of Casino Royale:

Watching Bond is like watching England; it so often fails to deliver after such promise but we, the public, are duty bound to go back for more lapping up the entertainment from the love affair with two of our nation's foremost franchises. This week Ian Fleming's creation returned to our screens as Steve McClaren's charges too returned to action last night against Holland. The similarities were striking.

Bond, an institution, a franchise, knows it has a captive audience. Bond has been bad for years but with each encounter the general public cannot get away from the fact that it is still Bond and, whilst reminiscing about the good old days of Connery and co., turn out in their droves to cheer on 007's increasingly ridiculous adventures.

Likewise England; the reign of Sven-Goran Eriksson delivered nothing other than mediocrity, three quarter-final exits in major championships, a few howlers in the form of encounters with Northern Ireland and Denmark and the odd ray of hope, that special night in Munich on 1 September 2001. It has been a long time since 1966 (its been a long time since 2001 for that matter) but still the fans flock to stadiums in their thousands to sing songs about the Queen and hope that maybe, just maybe, they might be treated to the type of glorious England performance we've all been waiting for.

Recognising rising tensions and keen to stall downward trends, both Bond and England have sought to reinvent themselves. The past year has seen the old adage take hold of "out with the old and in with the new", Daniel Craig swaggering into the limelight as the first blonde Bond and McClaren being handed the managerial reigns, delivering the coup de grace to Sven's regime by axing long-loved skipper David Beckham. Hair today, gone tomorrow, step forward big John Terry to lead the new generation.

Much trumpeting heralded these changes but neither was greeted with much aplomb by the public. Craig was lampooned as lacking the credentials and the charisma to carry off the tuxedoed caricature of Bond, whilst McClaren was clearly the FA's second choice, earning the moniker "Second Choice Steve". His early results hinted at promise but the disappointing defeat to Croatia shattered what honeymoon period the former Middlesbrough manager had been awarded by the media and the fans at large.

How the stars like to prove their critics wrong though. Craig has banished his doubters in the best fashion by keeping schtum and proving his worth on the silver screen in a back to basics bare-knuckle Bond that has had the pundits cooing in his direction.

McClaren sought similar success by culling Beckham, banning the WAGs (or at least frowning on past profligacies) and shying away from the obscure (Eileen Drewery) and the unfortunate (sting meetings with fake sheiks).

However, as proved by last night's draw with the Dutch, McClaren's back to basics treatment has failed to cure England's malaise and the jury is still out on his tenure and tactical tinkering. Admittedly his hand was swayed by a swathe of injuries, real or imagined, but although there are no cries to bring back Beckham, for England to impress, results are required regardless of excuses. Time is on McClaren's side though, he has until March before England's next competitive outing to plan the subsequent steps to re-inventing the England franchise.

Bond and England, two of Britain's great institutions juggernaut onwards and, regardless of the results this time and next, you can guarantee we will be back for more. Theatre it isn't, but entertainment it most definitely is.