It was never my intention to make my first blog post a miserable one.
But after the horror show in Bloemfontein, you might think what little choice do I have?
Alas, I do have a choice.
I'm not going to try and sweep England's performance under the carpet by any means.
I'm not going to pretend it didn't happen - though neither do I wish to dwell on it. It could in fact be one of the best things to happen to English football in the long-run.
I don't subscribe to the fact the players are paid obscene amounts of money and that they "don't care", that is a very simple perspective said by, traditionally, very simple people.
The players do care, that's a given. So what really went wrong?
Against Germany, we were grossly and embarrassingly outclassed. In fact, you could say that the warning signs were already evident. A laboured draw against USA, a lacklustre nil-nil versus Algeria and an improved but somewhat nervous victory against Slovenia; incidentally, the World Cup's smallest nation.
So where now?
There is an old saying that is often re-used in times of crisis - especially so in football. However sickening it is to say, it does ring true; sometimes, you can learn more from defeat then you can in victory.
It's obvious to everyone now that the "Golden Generation" is finally over. No more Lampard, no more Gerrard. Perhaps, god-willing, no more Heskey. The egg timer has finally run its course on their unfulfilling England careers and it is about time as a nation (the nation that gave the world football, nonetheless!) embraced change. Serious, sweeping, indiscriminate change.
Make no mistake, this result has been coming for a long, long time.
Sadly, it is something I have thought but kept to myself for a long, long time. Irrespective, I've spent so much time thinking about it that I've now resolved in my mind a clear picture of where England should go from here.
Firstly, the manager. Now, I'm not one for knee-jerk reactions. I like Fabio Capello, I rate Fabio Capello. His record, at club and international level is and always will be impressive. However, it's about time we tried something different. We've had Sven, we've had McClaren and now we've had Don Fabio. Differing managers, differing regimes and differing styles have brought us limited success. No, change that - no success.
Is it the fault of the manager? The players? Are we overrating the standard of football or quality of players the English Premier League produces?
Perhaps.
We stormed through qualifying, comprehensively demolishing Croatia home and away. We beat the Germans in Berlin. There was, albeit temporarily, a chute of hope that perhaps, finally the "Golden Generation" were realising their full potential.
Capello did bring a fresh impetus and direction. Credit where it’s due, he did begin to blood our younger generation too. Huddlestone, Hart, Jagielka, Richards, Adam Johnson, Walcott, Bentley and most notably James Milner.
Yet we find ourselves on the rough end of a torturous World Cup spanking and most of those players were sat on the beach, in a bar or watching aghast at home as their compatriots wilted under the relatively intense pressure of a last sixteen fixture.
For all their Champions League, FA Cup and League medals we showed a level of performance that some Sunday league sides would be embarrassed to admit to.
Thankfully there could be some positives to come from this whole, sorry debacle.
Firstly, many of the “Golden Generation” that limped out as our country’s best players will no longer be around for the 2014 World Cup and if they are still around then we won’t be in South America.
With any luck, some of them will retire gracefully in the hours ahead whilst the tabloid’s get their sharpened pens scribbling for the inevitably gruesome post-mortem.
But what if they don’t retire? What if they are going to have one last shot at success at Euro 2012, assuming England qualify?
Well, thanks but no thanks. It is about time we as a nation disassociate ourselves from this whole, torrid mess. It is about time we swept the deck clean and gave our brightest younger players the opportunity to shine.
Much like that unfancied, inexperienced German side have done.
The qualification for the European Championship and the forthcoming friendlies are the ideal place to finally rid ourselves of the golden yet underachieving nucleus of the squad and bring a fresh set of players and with that, a different mentality into the senior side.
It’s a bold move. It’s a ballsy move. It’s a brave move – but as a nation, that’s also what we are renowned for, right?
Besides, it is also the right move.
Step forward, England’s next generation and please, please – do not make the mistakes of your forefathers. Learn from their trials and learn from their tribulations.
Oh, and practice your penalties... You never know when that particularly skill will be called upon.
For whatever reason, England froze on the big stage this summer. Their football looked manufactured, slow and methodical. The players themselves looked weary, tense and nervous; a colossal difference to the stars we had come to know and that performed so admirably in the Premier League season upon season.
When you factor in the above mental and physical drawbacks it was no wonder that England capitulated so spectacularly against Germany. We were resoundingly and emphatically beaten by a team of players who were technically superior, appeared fitter and wanted it just as much as our own eleven.
You cannot compensate such major failings through "Guts, grit and determination" alone.
The Revolution Begins Now!
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