England head down the pan once more... only earlier

I'm not talking about the rugby team who excelled themselves in grit, determination and team spirit.

Nope, I'm talking about the usual bunch of overpaid whining losers that constitute the English national football team. OK, England were unlucky in Russia, to some extent, but they were also guilty of the usual tactical naivety and sheer foolishness that seems inherent in everything they do. NO other international team of repute gives the ball away with such abandon - it's as if each time they say "here's the ball back - have another try." You cannot hope to win against teams who know what to do once they've got the ball = sooner or later they're going to score, as happened against Russia last week.

More to the point, we don't seem to have gameplans that reflect realities. We are often reduced to hoofing it forward in hope rather than building a solid passing game and moving the ball forward whilst retaining possession. This is what the great teams do - all we need to do is watch France, Italy and Germany play to appreciate this.

Also, we often find that stars make it in to the team whether they're playing well or not - that's no way to win. You pick a well balanced team that also reflects who you're playing against. Obviously when playing Brazil you need a more defensive team to reflect the opposition's amazing attacking skills. And against Andorra, you need an attacking team as you're not going to be under attack much. Also, you need a goalkeeper who has the respect of players, not a nervous wreck who makes mistakes in every game and no longer deserves to play.

So, in a group that England really should have walked through with one eye closed they now find themselves on the brink of missing the European championship in its entirety. Why? Because we couldn't even beat Macedonia at home. We played like amateurs. Why? Primarily the blame has to rest on the manager, Steve McClaren, who it has to be said does not have the qualifications for the job - he has always been second rate, and under Eriksson he was an awful coach with failed tactics stretching back 6 years. So why did the FA pick him? Probably because they are equally inept at understanding the demands of the modern game. We need a manager who has proved himself as a good tactician, such as Martin O'Neil, not someone who can simply impress in powerpoint demonstrations.

SO, if England fail to qualify my anger will be tempered by the fact that the manager was a wretched choice, and that players on 200 times the average salary of the country of their birth are spoilt and overrated. Boohoo? Not really.