Sorry England Had It Coming.

I don't want to sound wise after the event but what, precisely, gave the English public the belief that England were going to beat Germany yesterday in the World Cup, let alone venture past Argentina in the quarter-finals and beyond into the heady heights of the last four? Was it the group matches? Let's see, England drew 1-1 against a USA team who struck an English post late in the game for what was so nearly a winner, then followed that up by a goalless, lifeless draw against the might of Algeria. In a must-win game against Slovenia - the smallest nation at the World Cup finals - England played half-decent football for one half before hanging on a little at the end to record a 1-0 victory. So, two goals in three games against lesser opposition. Moreover Wayne Rooney was a pale shadow of himself, John Terry had proven to be a disruptive influence off the pitch, we had a goalkeeping crisis after Robert Green's howler against the Americans, Steven Gerrard continued a disappointing season, and so on. England looked tired, devoid of ideas, and playing in a formation that was easy meat to good opposition such as the Germans. Let's be honest, apart from a semi-final loss to the Germans in 1990, when have England impressed at the World Cup since 1966? The answer is never and the reason is because club football is what the English care about much more than international football. Give a Manchester United or Chelsea fan the choice between the Champions League or the World Cup and most would plump for the former. Our season is too long, we still don't have the centre of football excellence at Burton built, and while the Premier League and the Football Association continue to be unhelpful neighbours we stand no chance. Whilst many of the stars who wore German shirts yesterday came from last year's successful Under-21 side where are the English former juniors? Languishing in reserve teams or on the bench because highly -paid foreign exports are taking their places. It is a mess and needs a thorough review instead of simply finding the next high-profile, foreign manager who will wave his magic wand and England will become European or World Cup winners.