Very good players. Cole is a world class player, I'll give you that, but I think Beckham had qualities that elevated him above the likes of Cole, Rio, Gerrard, Lampard, Terry et al.
Beckham was a talisman, a leader, an inspiration, a captain in every sense of the word, and an absolutely top class footballer. A game changer. Like I said, England haven't had one of those since Gascoigne, and they're a million miles away from having any in the team now.
If it wasn't for Steve McClaren, I don't think Beckham would have spent the last however many years in the US and on loan in Europe, and I think he would still be playing for England now. Cheers, Steve.