So the World Cup has reached its natural conclusion. No, not just the inevitable dismal England exit - written from the same script as the one in France 1998. But the predictable press indulging in their usual game of sack the manager on behalf of the FA.
This is not a game of devil's advocate. Let me make it clear that I have previous on this. A more infantile version of me me sang the same tune as the rest of the media during the dying days of Graham Taylor's tenure in the hotseat.
And there was consensus that Sven Eriksson had taken England as far as he could before handing over to Steve McClaren. Oh yes, McClaren, what became of him? Having been dismissed as the 'wally with the brolley' he left England on the first plane to manage an unfashionable Dutch club called FC Twente and learned the local accent in record time. This was much to the hilarity of everyone back home, who understandably thought their judgement of him had been vindicated. Then he went and filled up their trophy cabinet as giants such as Ajax could only watch helplessly.
So among the wreckage of three England managers who have failed to get the best out of this amusingly perceived 'golden generation' of players, is it not time to shine the light solely on the main suspects of England's downfall - the players themselves?
When they cross that white line and enter the field of play, there is only so much the manager can do. He cannot go out there and kick the ball for them.
Once again, too many of the 'stars' failed to shine, and unlike the admittedly better informed journalists out there, I simply cannot buy into the nonsense that the Fabio Capello boot camp was a significant contributing factor to this latest failure.
Perennial under-achievers on the world stage, sadly including the talented Wayne Rooney, complained of being "bored." Why is that? Bored because the beer was not endlessly on tap? Bored because they were not allowed to 'get their leg over'? Surely they had televisions in their rooms, so here is a suggestion: Perhaps they could have used some of their ample downtime to watch some football, perhaps.
At the same time that the feckless micro-scale player protest was gathering steam (or maybe a gentle plume), there were three football matches per day taking place in South Africa. If the lads tuned in, and we all hope they did, then maybe they would have been a little more aware of the challenges they faced. Indeed, they may have witnessed how football was played elsewhere in the world and what was required to succeed. Sadly, apart from some opportunistic photography showing certain England players smirking, the popular press have limited their front page and back page vitriol to the easiest of targets - as usual.
Get rid of the gaffer and all will be well, we are told. The problem is, we have already dumped two managers with this set of players and nothing has changed. We are in danger of becoming the old Manchester City of world football by constantly changing our managers, feeding back into a cycle of inconsistency and underachievement.
And while the players, who apart from the one or two Champions' League winners in the side boast little success outside of our island are being shielded from the blame, here are a few reasons why disposing of Capello would be futile.
Firstly, before the World Cup he signed a £12 million two year-deal with the FA. At the time, he had taken England to the World Cup finals with the minimum of fuss. Five competitive matches ago he was the best thing since sliced bread.
Secondly, in a desperate attempt to direct the blame to Capello, his decisions regarding the use of certain players and formations have been used as ammunition against him. But what manager has not frustrated his supporters at some point with puzzling squad decisions? Even the great Sir Alex Ferguson must have infuriated Manchester United supporters from time to time with the use of players and formations. Just like some may ask why Walcott was not playing for England over the past few weeks, others may ask why the likes of Diego Forlan and Carlos Tevez are not still at Old Trafford. All managers make rash judgements on players, whether based on form or financial prudence.
Thirdly, does a manager really need to be that good anyway? (If not, why are our managers remunerated so handsomely?) Six months ago, Diego Maradona was considered a managerial joke, his antics generating more of that smirking and smugness in the media. Maradona's approach has not changed. He remains erratic and volatile, but also as entertaining as ever. But the results have changed. The difference is that he has players such as Lionel Messi at his disposal.
And that last point takes this debate full circle. If you have a decent enough squad of players, a group which can also play as a team, the job becomes easy. The problem is we do not have the team. We may not even have the quality of individual players we previously thought.
These players have now failed on too many occasions. Taking the easy option of wasting up to £12m paying off a manager, who before turning up to this hellhole boasted a bloated trophy-laden CV, will not change that.
