We are no Brazil..

Its the same old story every four years, and yet still we manage to delude ourselves that this time we can finally be a proud footballing nation again. However yet again we are left with crumpled England flags, flying sadly in the wind, and fans with nothing but ever fading memories of 1966.

What can we learn from the defeat, apart from the obvious fact that you can throw £6 million at a capable coach, but a group of tired and de-motivated men cannot be transformed into something that they aren't.

Capello thought England could succeed as a team with experience and a proven track record (well, individual track record anyway) and failed to see the glaring weakness of the adopted and too often used 4-4-2 structure: A rigidity that a young and dynamic German team managed to exploit.

A backlash against the FA now begins, with the issue being raised that young talent is not being nurtured and developed as well as it could, as the dawning realisation hits that the golden generation have had their shots of glory and there is no-one to replace them.

Like football, politics needs young people with ideas, energy and adaptability. Climate change, recession, the near meltdown of the global financial system, terrorism and technology mean our generation will inherit a world that needs different and radical approaches, and our voices need to be heard.

Anyway, our our political system was rocked out of its lethargy by expenses scandals and a Coalition Government. Lets just hope that English football has been rocked out of theirs.