Where did it all go wrong?

I was devastated to witness England crash out of the European Championships on penalties, but the quarter final highlighted one thing. We are not good enough. Simple as that. Going into the championships I really thought we had a chance of going all the way, but around half way through against Italy it just hit me. This England team just don't have the ability to match the best. Regardless of what tactic we played, whether it is the long ball or high tempo football, we would've been beaten by Italy either way. I was quite surprised we made it all the way to penalties in fact, due to how much pressure we absorbed over the course of the game. We put in a valiant effort, but in the end Italy were worthy winners, and the result highlighted the mediocrity of the England squad.

Pirlo showed his quality and ran rings around the England
midfield

Watching Pirlo run rings around us was painful more then anything and he is 33! Every good player has class in their team, but it seems as if this England team just spells mediocrity. The defence is good enough to be classed as one of the best, but as we move further forward, that's where we are lacklustre. Gerrard and Parker are both incredible defensive footballers, and put their bodies on the line for club and country; but there ability to get hold of the ball and dictate the tempo of a game is questionable. Young was useless all tournament, and on the opposite wing Milner seemed as if he was scared to go forward. Welbeck was a bright spark upfront but lacked service, but does look like he has the attributes to develop into a world class player. Lastly, Rooney was poor and looked unfit, which really gave us no chance, considering we are particularly reliant on his flair and creativity.

In my opinion, our hopes rid on the performances of Wayne Rooney. Rooney is a fantastic player and has the ability to link midfield and attack, but he didn't bring his A game to the Ukraine. He may have scored against Ukraine, but he had a shocker in the tournament. He looked slow on the ball, and frankly he looked unfit. Rooney hasn't shown his true quality in major competitions for his country, proven by his failure to score in both World Cup 2006 and World Cup 2010. Without Rooney at his best, England look lost for ideas and uncreative, and this really took it's toll as England crashed out against Italy without creating any real golden opportunities.

I have previously outlined this problem but I will reiterate, England's youth policy is a problem. We create the best defenders, but our mentality of win at all costs at grass roots football hinders the quality of our youngsters. Youngsters therefore never develop the ability to play high tempo football, nor do they develop the technical ability needed to cut it at a world stage. We effectively destroy youngster’s potential from an only age, meaning they don't fulfil the heights that they could fulfil. This has had a major impact on the national team, meaning we've had to use desperate tactics such as a defensive counter attack in order to grind out results.

England have really missed Wilshere in midfield

But most of all, I think the players we had at our disposal were not of high enough quality to ever come close to beating one of the major powers in world football. With numerous players out with injury, we were always going to be massively under strength. Jack Wilshere’s on going fitness problems proved pivotal, as we really lacked his energy and play making skill in the centre of the park. He would've been an invaluable asset, as he has the quality to link up play and grab hold of the ball. More alarming, is the lack of depth we had in attacking departments was frightening. A key example is resorting to bringing on Jordan Henderson, who has been dire for Liverpool this season. In addition, the unlucky injuries that struck the England camp seemed to take its toll with key players such as Frank Lampard and Darren Bent missing out, consequently severely weakening the overall quality of the England squad.

So onto World cup 2014 qualification we go. After disappointment in yet another major tournament, the England squad will be looking to bounce back with a solid qualification campaign. I am completely certain that we will progress to the world cup finals top of our group, but our world power status is really in the question. With a new generation of players it will be a fresh start for England, but the new breed of young hopefuls will have to excel to ensure that they have any chance of ending England's 46 year trophy less run. With expectation lower then ever, can England qualify with considerable ease and pose a major threat in the lead up to Brazil 2014? I seriously doubt it.