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The England team has been woundback 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.

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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