At least the crazy is over

So. That was that and England are home. We all have our ideas on where it went wrong for England and what the F.A. need to do to address the problems before the next major championships in two years time. Personally I don't think its specifically the FA that is wrong, or specifically the players or fans or managers for that matter. I believe it to be a collective problem.

Capello led England through a decent qualifying campaign with the minimum fuss while getting himself the most respect any recent England manager has received from the national press. As the countdown began the fans and media alike seemed to respect the guys wishes and looked forward to their country being led to the lions den by the Italian.

Fast forward three weeks and post the opening game versus the USA the wheels were just about being held on by a clearly distressed Capello. The press were on his back, the players weren't happy to follow him and the fans were booing their own players from the pitch. The same players that they idolise from the terraces for 9 months of every year.

Maybe its because I'm Irish but it always strikes me that the English and French need to take a lesson from the Germans on how to stay cool. Now that England have taken that lesson first hand maybe they can move on with a look at how one of Europes super power conducts itself under pressure. Dieter Hamann was on Irish TV as a pundit last Sunday and just before kick-off he made the most telling remark of the day. He said 'In Germany this is just another game, its just about progressing'. Contrast that with the non-stop hype being pedalled by Sky Sports since the tie was arranged and you get to see a very clear difference.

Central to Germany's win on Sunday was Mesut Ozil. Ozil has collected less than 20 caps and is only 21 years of age. The guile he has displayed throughout this tournament highlights that you don't need to be a 7foot monster with an excellent physique to excel at football, first and foremost you need to be able to execute all the basic skills of the game.

How many English players can pass, dribble, shoot and head the ball with a decent rate of success. Now ask yourself this, how many of the English u-21 squad would be able to do it in a world cup finals knock-out game and how many of them would be left. My guess would be none because they wouldn't even be considered for a seat on the plane. They wouldn't be considered 'ready' which is another way of saying we need to coach more skills and natural instinct out of the player and then bulk him up before he is 'ready'.

England has stopped producing real footballers and until the FA decide to encourage these players, until the fans get off players back when they are misfiring, until Sky Sports et al get a grip and until the players themselves decide that they are good enough and truly believe it then it will be more of the same at the next major championships.

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