World class? England are simply not good enough

Roy Hodgson isn't picking the right players. The system doesn't play to the strengths of the England squad. The players don't display enough commitment when they represent their country, and the status of the England shirt has been chronically diminished in recent years.

The explanations are inviting because they hint at the possibility of a better future if only the inadequacies of the present were properly addressed. A tinker here, a change of mindset there, and the good times could be set to roll again.

What, though, if a different assessment was recorded? What if instead of looking for excuses, we simply accepted that England's players continue to struggle because they're simply not good enough.

Nothing like as optimistic in terms of the future, admittedly. But surely a much more realistic verdict of where we're at when it comes to the state of our national side.

Watching England labour to a listless 1-1 draw with Republic of Ireland on Wednesday, one thought stood out. At the moment, the England side does not contain a single world-class player, and by 'world-class', I mean capable of competing for the highest individual honours in world football.

Wayne Rooney? He was struggling to get into the Manchester United side in the second half of last season and has never really kicked on since the earliest days of his international career. Steven Gerrard? Thirty-three, with his best days surely behind him.

Ashley Cole? He's often touted as one of the best left-backs in the world, but I'd argue he wasn't even the best left-back in the Premier League last season and he's another member of the current squad comfortably on the wrong side of 30.

Joe Hart? He was going to be the answer to all our goalkeeping prayers, but after an error-strewn campaign, it's hard to dispute he's gone backwards.

Compare the current England side to the very best international line-ups, and it's impossible to argue that any of Roy Hodgson's players would make it into a combined world XI. In fact, I don't even think any of them would make the bench.

Hasn't this always been the case given England's track record of under-achievement? After all, it's not as though previous England sides covered themselves in glory on the international stage.

That's true, but even in the relatively dark days of the 1980s, 90s and 2000s, it was possible to extol the talents of a handful of special players.

Gary Lineker won the Golden Boot at the 1986 World Cup finals. Paul Gascoigne was undoubtedly world class for a while. David Beckham, for all his supposed faults, was twice runner-up in the World Player of the Year awards. Even Rooney briefly entered the 'world-class' category when he exploded on to the scene at Euro 2004.

We might not have had a truly top-class team in the last three decades, although the side that made the semi-finals at Italia 90 was pretty close, but there have always been individuals that threatened to lift the rest of the squad above the average.

Today, those individuals have either disappeared or grown old, and Hodgson is left with the unenviable task of attempting to mould a group with limited ability into a squad capable of out-performing the rest of the world in Brazil next summer.

Perhaps he should be more tactically flexible? Maybe he should be a bit more adventurous when it comes to promoting players from the under-21s?

Ultimately, though, the underlying issue remains. Pick who you want, line them up how you want, they're still not going to be good enough to succeed at a major competition.

Thanks to the profile and hype that surrounds the Premier League, far too many of England's players have assumed a reputation that far outweighs their ability.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is touted as a world beater because he's beaten a few average full-backs in an Arsenal shirt. Stick him up against a top-class defender though, and his limitations are soon apparent.

Daniel Sturridge, Danny Welbeck and Jermain Defoe are hailed as expert marksmen when they score a goal or two in the Premier League, but do we really think any of them would get a game for a Bayern Munich or a Barcelona?

And that's before we even get to the likes of Phil Jagielka and Gary Cahill, reliable enough centre-halves at domestic level, but way short of the standards that are required in the very highest echelons of the game.

We build our players up into superstars because they're some of the highest-paid footballers in the world and Sky are constantly telling us that the Premier League is the best league going.

Strip away the Emperor's new clothes, however, and you're left with the reality of what they are - an unremarkable bunch who are pretty much interchangeable with the players lining up for any other mid-ranking European side.

We're a Montenegro or a Croatia, a Russia or a Sweden. And no matter what Hodgson does in an attempt to change that, the lack of talent at his disposal will always hold him back.

CHAMP OF THE WEEK
KEVIN PHILLIPS

The evergreen 39-year-old held his nerve to convert the decisive penalty as Crystal Palace won promotion to the Premier League in the Championship play-off final. He might turn 40 in July, but he remains a consistently reliable goal-getter.

CHUMP OF THE WEEK
DYLAN HARTLEY

The England hooker couldn't keep his mouth shut in Saturday's Premiership final, and will miss the British Lions' tour of Australia as a result. In other sports, swearing at the referee is ignored. In rugby union, it is an extremely serious offence.

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
NEWCASTLE FALCONS BEATING BEDFORD

It has been a long, old season, but it had a glorious end as Falcons secured an aggregate 49-33 victory in the Championship play-off final. Dean Richards' side will deservedly compete in the top-flight again next term.

TIP OF THE WEEK

It's hard to see past the favourite, Dawn Approach, in tomorrow's Investec Derby, but odds of 10-11 are prohibitive. German sport is on a high at the moment, and unexposed German colt, Chopin, could be the joker in the pack. An each-way nibble at 10-1 appeals.