England vs. Germany FIFA World Cup: England Humiliated, but It Was Expected

England have been knocked out of the World Cup by an embarrassing 4-1 defeat to rivals Germany in Bloemfontein, ending a truly miserable campaign in South Africa.

After much hype and expectation from the media and fans before the tournament that always accompanies England into any major competition, England proved how mediocre they really are and how overrated their "star" players are and how deeply flawed English football is.

Players like Wayne Rooney, who was wrongly billed as world class before the tournament, a myth that has now been exposed as a lie, and others like John Terry, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard have not delivered once again on the big stage, but why? What is so badly wrong with the system that they cannot perform to a level expected of one of the proudest footballing nations on the planet and one that invests millions into its national game?

Let's start with the players. About 10 years ago a new generation of young English talent emerged from the academies, to complement the previous generation that had got so near to success in the 90s. The signs were positive, however things went wrong at about Euro 2000, where the team failed to get out of the Group Stage and went on to lose miserably in the first World Cup qualifier at home to Germany in the last game at the old Wembley.

Sven-Goran Eriksson was appointed to sort the mess out, and the team was built around Michael Owen and David Beckham, and a famous 5-1 win over Germany in Munich seemed to suggest the arrival of the golden generation of English football, but a scrappy draw against Greece in the final qualifier meant England scraped through.

Under Sven England reached 3 quarter-finals but no further, before the disaster of Euro 2008 qualification under Steve McLaren, but in those 8 years this generation had become multi-millionaire superstars, with the domestic media calling them world class stars in the best league in the world. The smokescreen had been put in place.

The fact is, these players are nowhere near good enough. They are overrated, egotistical, lazy, half-hearted millionaires who do not care about the shirt they wear. The sad indictment of English football. The players have been fed the hype and money and have taken it, and now we blame them for when they don't deliver. In reality, the problems stem much deeper than that.

This generation was overrated, not good enough, but they have become the Status Quo. The Premier League clubs obsession with only having as much English talent as they can get away with and then flooding their sides with foreign talent, leading to the demise of the next generation. There isn't one, only a handful of players like Joe Hart, Adam Johnson and Jack Rodwell who might make it if given the proper opportunity, but they most likely won't.

The likes of Rooney, Lampard, Gerrard and Terry have proven they can't cut it at this level and should be dropped. Sorry but they should earn their place, and taking them down several pegs is the only option if we want to progress as a footballing nation. The FA need to revamp the system, put in place targets and regulations for English clubs to develop youth talent and integrate it into their first teams instead of foreign players, look at Germany, a young, prospering side that could become one of the top few sides in the world for a long time as the current generation of young and hungry players develop and a couple of others replace the old guard, the absence of Michael Ballack has become a blessing as the youngsters have not been given the excuse of expecting the old guard to bail them out, they have had to perform, and they've done it. German clubs are competitive but bring through plenty of young talent, English clubs don't, the big difference.

It's obvious Fabio Capello doesn't have the respect of the players, or the ability to be brave enough to pick in-form talent and the players to suit his system rather than the players with the biggest reputation. European clubs develop their youth talent at a far higher rate and to a far higher talent level, English clubs have a lot of catching up to do and a long way to go.

As it is, I don't see the situation changing, and in reality this will carry on and only get worse and there is very little top quality talent coming through and being developed properly with technical ability mixed with pace and strength rather than 1 or the other, normally the latter. Even with big changes made, I don't see England being a competitive force for 8 years at the best. It's a sad situation but it's the reality of the problems and mistakes made at domestic level through the FA management.

England have a lot to learn and a long way to go, whether they can reform their game and get the public on side again with realistic expectations remains to be seen, but it is a huge uphill battle.