The England team has been wound back to Year Zero

Adam Jelley When the last England player sloped off the pitch and down the tunnel in Bloemfontein, sheltering himself from the shame of looking into the glaring crushed faces of the loyalist England supporters, the door was finally slammed shut on the so-called Golden Generation. Obviously this moniker has now become even more speculative than ever before after the dismal World Cup exit last week. The history books will not flatter this group of players with such unfounded praise. But the disbanding of the squad that will now take place before they meet up again to qualify for Euro 2012, will be both profound and exciting. The national side has now reached a generation change-over a checkpoint that will usher in an unrecognisable squad from the one seen in South Africa. Much has been made of the fact that this enforced changing of the guard will highlight just how poor the English games grass-root level is. Sir Trevor Brooking, Director of Football Development for the FA, has insisted that instead of there being a fresh wave of players to inherit this countrys bloated expectations in major tournaments, the tide is out and the water is cold. This would be forgetting that this years England Under-17 side won the European Championships in Liechtenstein, beating Spains highly praised youth team in the final. But these young talents are like a batch of souffles you accommodate for extra because you know many of them will not make it. Therefore Brooking thinks that the national side will enter into a dark age before this fresh blood can be trusted to perform on the world stage. But this would forgetting about the suitable return of players such as Theo Walcott and Leighton Baines that Capello had to needlessly let down, plus those young hopefuls that he didnt even consider for his long-list.

An excitingly young centre-back pairing of Michael Dawson and Phil Jagielka, both already playing regular Premier League football, would not leave fans pining for the sluggishness of John Terry for too long. Also Ashley Young, Adam Johnson, Jack Rodwell, James Milner and Jack Wilshere are all worthy contenders to spread across the midfield in the coming years. The injection of new players is the healthiest, most exciting thing that could have happened to the national side. For too long the expectation has been placed on a clutch of players that proved time and again that they could not come together and form a team that equaled the sum of its parts. This is not a time to close our eyes and accept a fate of further humiliation the men who follow may just surprise us. WC: 440