Gameweek 21 kicks off on New Year’s Day, the perfect time to have a quick recap on some of the season’s best performers so far.

Starting between the sticks we have Manchester City’s Joe Hart, the Blue half of Manchester are serious title contenders and much of this is due to the brilliance of their young stopper. Points wise Hart is head and shoulders above all other Goalkeepers with an impressive total of 95. If his 6.8 million price tag puts you off, there are cheaper alternatives. Birmingham’s Ben Foster(5.1) 81 points and Blackburn’s Paul Robinson(4.6) 72 points provide excellent value for money.

There is a reason Nemanja Vidic(8.0) is at the heart of 32% of Fantasy League defences, well actually there are 87 reasons. Man United’s rock at the back is top of the defensive pile going into the New Year. Following closely behind are Chelsea’s Ashley Cole(8.3) with 86 points and Everton’s Leighton Baines(7.5) 85 points. Sneaking into the top ten defenders is Sunderland’s Ahmed Elmohamady(4.8) with a 68 point return. Just one point behind Elmohamady is Baines’ team mate Seamus Coleman(4.9). Directly below Coleman you will find Patrice Evra(7.3) and John Terry(7.0), even further down the list is Man City’s Kolo Toure(6.4). It just goes to show that you don’t always get what you pay for.

Moving into midfield we start to find members of the 100 club. Rather surprisingly Everton’s Tim Cahill(9.3) leads the way with 106 points. Not only does the Australian run the midfield he often finds himself thrust upfront and has tucked away nine league goals in the process. Man United’s Nani(9.6) is just 2 points behind Cahill. The winger has been showing real quality throughout the campaign. Like Ronaldo before him Nani looks to have learnt that the tricks, however pretty they may be, do not win you Football matches and has vastly improved his all round game.

Special mention goes to Stoke City wide-man Matthew Etherington(5.9). Normally any left footed Englishman with an ounce of talent is treated like the second coming, however Etherington has quietly gone about his impressive business, three league goals and numerous assists place him ninth overall in the midfield rankings with 85 points.

Leading the way upfront is Newcastle’s Andy Carroll(6.5). They love a number 9 at St James Park and Carroll is no disappointment, the lanky striker has bagged 11 league goals this season and has 113 points to show for his efforts. It’s no surprise that the young Magpie is in 55% of Fantasy league teams.

Hot on Carroll’s heels is Carlos Tevez(11.3). The Argentine has 12 goals to his name and now that his Wayne Rooney style transfer tantrum is done and dusted he can get back to doing what he does best. A note of caution on wee Carlos this week as he is a slight doubt with a thigh injury.

And finally, I can’t go without singing the praises of Bolton’s front two. Johan Elmander(6.5) and Kevin Davies(6.5) have 191 points between them. Owen Coyle’s team are enjoying a cracking season so far and are the only team to have two strikers in the top ten.

That’s all for 2010 folks, I sincerely hope you all have a very Happy New Year.

If you feel like joining in the fun then join the EPL League by visiting: http://fantasy.premierleaguem.com/ the code you need to join is 13413-5300

Gameweek 17 ended with Manchester United taking sole ownership of first place after they were able to overcome Arsenal at home, 1-0. It was a tight game that often lacked the quality needed to make it the weekend’s marquee match off paper, but it was a result the Reds will welcome. United’s defense of Rafael, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra are slowly coming back into their best form as a collective while a midfield five led by Darren Fletcher and Anderson were staunch enough to keep Samir Nasri, Andrei Arshavin and an unfit Cesc Fabregas mostly quite.

While the win by United was expected by many, what can football fans learn from the match, if anything? For me, the answer: not much at all. Arsenal, while entering into Monday night’s encounter as league leaders, still lack the winner’s mentality needed to challenge for the title by beating stronger teams such as United and Chelsea. For now at least it seems as if the Gunners are destined for another ‘there, or there abouts’ season.

Manchester City emerged from Gameweek 17 the more viable title challenger than Arsenal did. Although their 1-3 victory away to West Ham was expected, Premier League fans are starting to learn more and more about City each week. The lesson? That City can hurt you at anytime and are not solely reliant on just one or two players. While the sad but true Carlos Tevez saga continues to boil off the pitch, City continue to rage on it.

In the weekend’s other match of extreme importance, struggling Chelsea were able to cancel out an early Roman Pavlyuchenko strike to earn a point at White Hart Lane. Much has been spoken about John Terry’s solid performance in the heart of defence yet Chelsea’s more glaring concern at the moment should be their inability to create good chances and score goals.

To put Chelsea’s struggles into perspective, the Blues are a team that scored 21 goals in their opening five matches of the season yet have scored only three goals in their last five league matches while earning a paltry six points out of a possible 21 since the start of November.

Honorable Mentions -

Nemanja Vidic – Manchester United- United’s back line was solid and stingy on Monday night, rarely tested, but effective when asked to be. Vidic, as always, was an integral part of the the clean sheet United enjoyed. Many would say United’s ability to keep Arsenal scoreless was more attributed to Arsenal’s stagnant attack, but Vidic’s second half lunge to block what looked to be a certain Marouane Chamakh equalizer was a moment of defensive brilliance.

John Terry, Chelsea- Another defender makes the list this week who turned in a great performance. Although Terry’s Chelsea weren’t able to overcome Spurs away, it wasn’t the former England captain’s fault. Terry was brilliant in the heart of defense, displayed the poise and defensive positioning that’s made him one of the best defenders in England, and won the majority of his tackles over the course of the full 90 minutes. Did John Terry announce to the league that he’s coming back into his best form with Sunday’s performance?

Stuart Holden, Bolton – The American midfielder fired home a dramatic late winner on Saturday while it seemed as if Blackburn were still celebrating their 87th minute equalizer. Bolton were deserved of the three points they earned on Saturday in large part because they were able to score twice after going down to ten men in the 56th minute. Holden’s 88th minute strike was one of those emphatic blasts into the back of the net that was destined to be a match winner.

Premier League Footballer of the Week -

Yaya Toure, Manchester City- The City midfielder purchased from Barcelona last summer was sensational on Saturday at West Ham. Toure was credited with only one goal but should have been awarded a second when he skinned James Tomkins on the left side of midfield and surged his way into the box to shoot past Robert Green. Toure’s effort was adjudged to have hit off the post before bouncing off Green and in. It was laughable that the goal wasn’t awarded to Toure who did all the work to create the opportunity, but the three points gained by City on the day will likely be all the Ivorian is concerned with.

Early in the match, Toure opened the scoring when a simple ball into the box from Gareth Barry caught West Ham’s Jonathan Spector sleeping. While attempts such as Toure’s have witnessed the ball soar into row Z more times than anyone can count, Toure blasted his shot emphatically past Robert Green and City never looked back. Goals aside, Toure was at his best on Saturday surging forward into the space that Spector and Scott Parker gifted to City in the center of the pitch.

With a gifted supporting cast surrounding Toure in the form of David Silva, Jo and Gareth Barry, City always looked a threat moving forward against West Ham. Toure’s performance both in attack and defensively was welcomed as City were without club captain Carlos Tevez due to suspension. While the potential loss of Tevez in January on paper is a disaster, if Toure, Silva and Adam Johnson off the bench can continue to turn in performances like they did on Saturday, the little Argentine’s absence may not be felt as much as City fans are anticipating.

October ended with Chelsea looking imperious and pulling away from the chasing pack at the top of the Premiership. The side seemed to playing with such verve and spirit that I simply couldn’t see where any worthy challenge could come from. Manchester United were struggling to hit any real form, but continued to pick up points other sides would lose. Arsenal being Arsenal, looked amazing one week and then lost a game from nowhere. Manchester City continued to play as if expression was something to be feared.

Liverpool and Aston Villa were struggling to cope with the hangovers from summers of upheaval and Tottenham are still getting used to being involved at this end of the table. Then from nowhere, Chelsea hit the skids and suddenly, we have a title race again. November has been a hellish month for the Blues, with the Wilkins situation, Lampard’s continued absence, Terry and Alex both struggling, Essien suspended and Drogba’s illness sapping him of his strength and power. Then from nowhere Frank Arnesen announces his departure and you begin to think just what is going on at Stamford Bridge.

Crucially though Chelsea seemed to have no luck both on and off the pitch in the last four weeks. The game against Birmingham was one of the most one sides defeats I’ve seen in years. Chelsea absolutely battered Birmingham but couldn’t make the crucial breakthrough to score. When you play that well and the ball simply will not go in, then you really think things are conspiring against you. It’s unfortunate when 5 of your top stars all get sidelined for various reasons and most sides would struggle to cope with that level of disruption to their first team squad.

The Wilkins situation has, regardless of what the clubs hierarchy have said, had an effect on the dressing room and been a contributing factor. Tactical mistakes too have played their part, as the defeat to Sunderland had a lot to do with playing 3 right backs in a back four left them unbalanced and positionally unsure when defending. By not playing a recognised centre back, the impetus was offered to Steve Bruce’s side and they took full advantage playing with pomp and prowess.

The additional pain of being dislodged from the top of the table on Saturday was not only had Manchester United pulled two points clear, but by thrashing Blackburn Rovers so convincingly, goal difference had been drawn level. All of the advantages that Chelsea had, coming up to a tough December had been eaten away by a series of unfortunate injuries, suspensions and tactics.

Now Chelsea face 5 tough matches in the league, 4 against the current top 6. Visits to Tottenham and Arsenal, coupled with home games against Everton, Bolton and of course, Manchester United. At least it seems Terry and Lampard will return in the next week or so, but Alex faces a lay off for an operation and the front line is still struggling for goals. The old adage in English football is the title is usually decided at Easter, but Christmas could come early for Chelsea’s rivals if their dreadful month continues in to December. The club need to make sure that regardless of the off field problems, things need to get back to normal on the pitch.

Wayne Rooney and John Terry are no strangers to negative gossip media, but do not blame them, it is not their fault

It seems impossible now to go more than a few weeks without a media story breaking that exposes the alleged infidelity, criminality or immorality of a Premiership footballer.

Whilst in a utopian society every individual would subscribe to the narrow excuse for hypocritical morality prescribed in today’s modern media, this in reality cannot be held true for even the most noble of professions, let alone that of professional footballer.

Therefore it is both worrying and frustrating that in recent years the actions of footballers are as likely to adorn the front pages as they are the back of many of the most read British publications.

In previous generations no one seemed to give a damn what footballers got up to after the final whistle, players would go out and drink, womanise and misbehave with carefree abandon.

In these times a professional footballer would only have to convince his wife and not the public that the girl he was spotted kissing in a nightclub was just his friend or that she should take antibiotics because you ‘can never be too careful with your health’.

A time when being a little rough around the edges was acceptable both on and off the pitch, when shirts were pulled, tackles were full blooded and diving was something that belonged in the swimming pool.  A time when the night before a match could involve a threesome or a bar crawl and a hangover was all part of the pre match routine.

However now the boundaries between on and off the pitch problems are blurred, fed by the predominantly female demand for ‘gossip’ media the private lives of footballers are open to the public. This is particularly true for those who go out with the type of woman who sees footballers as a path to their own fame and fortune.

This publicity crosses over from the gossip magazines to the terrace with the hypocritical taunts of opposition supporters who conveniently chastise the behaviour of opposition players, whilst ignoring the behaviour of their club’s players when crafting terrace taunts.

This cross over can in some instances cross over and affect performance or even selection decisions, it is still a year since the John Terry saga, in which a personal problem could have been settled in house seeped into the media fuelling the flames and speculation

Maybe this is a sign of the times; I still believe that thirty years ago any differences would have been settled between the two players on the training ground with the only publicity being curiosity to how John Terry injured his eye.

Footballers are not perfect and football fans know this and to be honest the majority do not care, supporters do not idolise footballers for their personal attributes, they idolise their skill and passion for the game.

The example for this is George Best, a man who despite his talents was regarded by many as a womanising alcoholic. However it was his prestigious talent  that people focussed upon and although his off field activities were reported, it was his football that people wanted to see, his football that made him famous and his football that will be remembered for decades to come.

The irony is that this media attention is not driven by those who watch football at all; it is more likely to be their wives and girlfriends providing the demand that fuels the ‘celebrity’ status of footballer’s wives and girlfriends that in turn makes the actions of footballer’s front and back page news.

In short football fan WAGs have helped create the beast that is the footballer WAG and the tangled web that this encompasses.

Therefore in future when a story breaks that attempts to shame a footballer, for being weak and unable to resist the 36DD glamour model that was offered to him on a plate or dare I say it for a fee,

I urge you not to blame the player, blame your girlfriend

The next time the striker in the team your support seems distracted by something outside of football and fluffs an easy chance in front of goal,

Don’t blame him, blame the media.

After all if she didn’t buy the magazines that probably exposed his cheating, he would still be a wholesome family man scoring both home and away, whilst his wife or partner would be none the wiser and everyone would be happy.

I mean ok, no one wants their player to be breaking the law or cheating on the mother of their children. As no one wants them to miss matches as they have a court date, or have to babysit the kids as the onlyday they could get custody was Saturday afternoons.

But no one is perfect and with a bottomless pit of money, poor advice and endless amounts of time players are going to make mistakes and that’s just the intelligent ones let alone the players who think that you can fail an IQ test.

So remember in future, don’t let the media fool you, it’s not the player’s fault he can’t keep it in his trousers it is the media’s fault for bringing it your attention, oh and I suppose for letting his wife know.

With the pressure on Fabio Capello,  England finally delivered a performance to make the country proud. But was this result and the performance the start of a change in fortunes for Capello or another result that get’s our hopes up only to be disappointed down the line?

England may have gone some way to igniting some confidence amongst fans last night. While it wasn’t a faultless performance it was a lot better. They played with the pace and confidence that was so desperately lacking in South Africa.

Jermain Defoe showed the sort of clinical finishing that nobody was able to show at the World Cup, and in midfield Steven Gerrard and Gareth Barry were easily dominating the midfield battle. At the other end of the pitch Joe Hart looked assured between the sticks. Wayne Rooney was also looking somewhat like his usual self.

The negatives for Capello’s side were that 4-0 probably flattered England a little. Bulgaria had plenty of chances themselves. While Michael Dawson and Phil Jagielka didn’t look out of their depth Capello will have been concerned at the amount of chances the visitors had.

But we should probably take in to consideration the missing experience at international level of both defenders, and I highly doubt whether Bulgaria would of had so many chances if John Terry was representing the Three Lions last night.

So the signs are good looking forward ahead to England’s potentially crucial qualifier in Basel on Tuesday night. This will be the result that will really indicate just how far, or how little Capello’s side have progressed since the disastrous defeat to Germany in South Africa.

England are going to have to improve on last night’s performance if they are going to get anything from Switzerland.  But the pleasing thing is for Capello that some confidence will have been restored in his management.

Had England dropped points last night or even stuttered to a win last night the knifes would of been out for Capello, but a convincing win may just have bought Capello more time to please the ever doubting English faithful. But after a desperate World Cup, Capello’s tenure is very much one game at a time, and a disappointing result in Switzerland will see the knifes out for the Italian once again.

After a hectic start to the Premier League season attentions now turn to England who face two crucial games in five days that will set a trend for Fabio Capello’s next two years in charge of England.

Before the World Cup Fabio Capello could do no wrong. He was seen as the saviour of English football for turning around our fortunes after the disaster that was Steve McClaren’s tenure.  Capello guided England to a near faultless qualification for South Africa that included a stunning 4-1 victory in Zagreb.

All was set for England to mount a challenge for the biggest prize in football. But since the turn of the year things have slowly started to go wrong for England. First there was the John Terry saga; there were then injuries to the likes of David Beckham and Rio Ferdinand before a woefully disappointing World Cup in South Africa.

The pressure was mounting on Capello and only a Steven Gerrard brace rescued the Three Lions from an embarrassing defeat against Hungary. But still England fans are unsure whether Capello is the man to take the side forward.

This makes the games against Bulgaria and Switzerland absolutely vital to Capello. Football fans are fickle and two positive results may just be the catalyst for the positive feeling to return amongst England fans. But anything less than six points and all confidence will be lost in Capello.

But if England fans are demanding six points Capello has got two very tricky games in which to deliver them. Bulgaria will be like most teams that come to Wembley and up their game accordingly, so England shouldn’t take this game lightly. Switzerland on the other hand will pose a very stern test for Capello’s side and their win over Spain at the World Cup shows just how dangerous they can be.

With England missing the likes of Terry and Frank Lampard, and Wayne Rooney desperately short of form the task of six points becomes a whole lot harder. However Capello has managed to pick England up once before and if he could do it again this week it may just be the end of a rocky few months.

In a quite odd turn of events, former Italy captain and World Cup 2006 winner Fabio Cannavaro believes John Terry is soon likely to face the ax when next Fabio Capello calls upon players for Euro 2012 qualifiers. In a recent interview with the Daily Star Sunday, Cannavaro spoke openly about John Terry and how not to ‘cross’ Capello, or stand in line to suffer the consequences.

“You don’t cross Fabio and he won’t want anybody disrupting his tournament again“, was just one of a few loaded quotes the former Juventus man gave members of the press. Cannavaro also stated he believed Wayne Rooney and Ashley Cole to likely be the only two remaining starters left from a vanquished England squad that fell so dramatically at the hands of the Germans come the opening match of the Euro 2012.

All of this rings slightly odd to me because Cannavaro, now at Al-Ahli Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, really isn’t the person to be coming out speaking about the England national team. Now in the twilight of his career, Cannavaro has of course had a fantastic run, but most recently in the 2010 World Cup, he looked one or two steps off the pace. His Italian side were a shell of their former selves from the team that won the tournament four years earlier failing to even progress out of a relatively easy group stage. So why has Cannavaro chosen to target Terry?

England fans will have expected change from Capello before the next round of meaningful qualification matches begin. But to see Terry axed so quickly especially while central defensive partner Rio Ferdinand’s fitness is still a major concern would definitely come as a surprise to many an England fan.

The rest of Cannavaro’s interview played out as a suck up to his former boss while at Real Madrid. I for one don’t blame him as Capello is such an imposing figure, but the question here is does Cannavaro have a point?

John Terry did take a pretty hefty risk when he called out Capello in South Africa in hopes the boss would take Terry & co’s suggestions to heart and start Joe Cole in the crucial game v Slovenia. Brushed under the rug as if a minor distraction at the time, did Capello have the dropping of Terry in his plans all along as soon as the World Cup was over?

I personally think it’s too early to drop Terry as tested and viable replacements at the center of defense aren’t currently a dime a dozen in England. When Matthew Upson saw action against Germany, he looked unstable at times and was caught out when Germany scored their opener through Miroslav Klose. Ledley King is far too injury prone to be counted on, Michael Dawson had a great year with Spurs but didn’t seem to be in Capello’s plans during the summer and Rio Ferdinand is slowly recovering from the injury that saw him miss the tournament all together. Before we start mentioning the up and coming talent at the back, let’s wait and see who Capello picks for England’s next match, a friendly v Hungary on the 11th of August.

As much as Capello would have hated Terry’s ill-timed outburst in South Africa, he’ll need his experience at the back to build around regardless of what Fabio Cannavaro thinks. On Terry’s end, he’ll want to remember he’s no longer captain of the national team and although he thinks he has England’s best intentions at heart, Capello is the boss and Terry should stick to what he knows best, which is defending.

There is a current malaise effecting almost everyone in England that follows the national side, from fans, retailers, journalists and TV executives. The finger of blame is being pointed fairly equally between Fabio Capello and the highly paid, highly hyped and self important members of the squad. Ashley Cole, despite being the only first team regular who can honestly hold his head high after the South Africa debacle, is now being accused of hating his country due to text messages apparently sent prior to the tournament.

Yet there are two points that are seemingly being papered over and as long as it continues, England will continue to regress. Firstly is the ineptitude of the Football Association and the second is the quality of coaching in England. The F.A. board, when it’s not embroiling itself in comedy crisis that are usually self inflicted is a strange beast. Made up of a set of people who’s only interest is themselves and self protection, it is a collection of administrators and people who have progressed through the amateur ranks of the game.

On the 12 man board are 4 members from the County associations, representing those hotbeds of English football, Kent, Hampshire, Gloucesteshire and Essex. One member represents the Scottish football association, for reasons lost on me and 7 other members who have never played football at a decent level. This apparently means these people, who other than working on the administration side of football, are in charge of the English game, its infrastructure, its future and it’s present. An organisation that spent £760 million on a football stadium without a roof and a pitch that has now been relaid 13 times in 3 years. That has had 6 Chief Executives in 12 years and seen 6 different national team managers in the same period. That signed up to a £450 million pound television deal that lasted 18 months until Setanta went bust and treats the Women’s game with utter disdain. Apparently, this is without criticism as they survey the wreckage of South Africa 2010 from the ivory tower of Soho Square.

Why do these people, who have no experience of the game, other than the money making side or administrating side of it, feel they can run the football side of it astounds me. It is beyond belief that people of the abilities of Bobby Robson, Bobby Charlton, Geoff Hurst, Nat Lofthouse, Stanley Matthews and Tom Finney were not involved over the years is a disgrace. This is the organisation that shut the Lilleshall Football Academy in 1999 and is still stalling on its replacement, in Burton Upon Trent which is currently 7 years behind schedule and will apparently be open by 2012. No really it will.

These are apparently all things that we should ignore. Well I’m sorry, you can’t ignore them anymore. Every single one of them should resign immediately, they have created the situation that English football is beginning to feel to its very core. They have strangled the talent, the abilities and the opportunities for skillful, exciting footballers and left us with an academy system that simply produces strong athletes that can run a lot and now clearly cannot play football. It is a national disgrace and leads me to my second point, the quality of coaching.

English football coaching is run by a cabal of men who are obsessed with power, pace, stamina, heart, guts and determination above any technical ability. Skill and technical ability come well down the list of priorities in the coaching system in this country. I have seen this at 3 clubs with my own eyes, players are judged on how strong they are, how tall they are, how long they can run about for. I have been told by two separate football coaches at two clubs that British Asian kids don’t make good footballers because they’re not strong enough. There was no hint of irony or the racial connotations that the statement conjours up. The last great crop of really talented players that came through in English football came through before the academy system came in to destroy any semblance of talent. This country will never discover a Messi, a Ronaldo, a Totti, a Ribery because they would be classed as luxury players. They would never get through the academy system in this country because they are not giants who can run all day. England and its fans often claim that the national side has 5 or 6 World Class players. South Africa has proved that it has one and everyone seems to hate him, Ashley Cole.

Only Rio Ferdinand can possible be held up in Cole’s company now, the rest have been shown to be the overhyped, cossetted athletes honest people believed them to be. Yet, this is what the English coaching system has produced and I’ve seen so many posts, letters and status updates berating the English teams lack of fight, guts, effort, strength. Hardly anyone mentions technical ability or skill and that’s the problem. Fans seem to only judge a player on how much he runs about and gets stuck in. Not the sweet pass, not the dribble, not an ability to control the game.

The situation will not improve until the coaching system is completely changed from top to bottom, allows kids under 16 to play football and not worry about results in junior games. Talent needs to take the place of the winning at all costs method kids have to suffer from, the mad situation that sees 10 year old children playing 11 a side games on full sized pitches that resemble bogs most of the season. No wonder the English players natural defence is to simply learn how to kick high and hard as often as possible. That sees parents of children scream abuse at referees, coaches and opponents if little johnny is tackled or doesn’t score.

Of course, the F.A. will not install this blueprint and will try and fudge South Africa as an aberration. It is not, it is a stark warning to everyone involved in English football of the future. Blaming foreign players, Adidas balls, only playing 4 rounds of golf a week, too much camp discipline or dodgy referees will be put forward as the reason for the death of English football. English football needs major surgery now or South Africa will be the starting point of the end of English football. I fear that once again, the F.A. will blame everyone else but themselves and we will slip away into the shadows of world football.

Please leave me your comments below and you can find me at https://twitter.com/paulbestall

Out of all of the soccer games you’ve seen in person or on television, how many times have you seen a player move his head out of the way to avoid getting pummeled by a shot that looks like it’s going to hit him? For me, it’s been too many times to count. At that velocity, the ball is going to sting and hurt someone. But some defenders put their body on the line and do everything they can for their club or country.

That’s exactly the case with John Terry who heroically attempted to defend an onslaught from Slovenia where they had three clear-cut chances in quick succession to score, but on the second attempt, Terry dived down low across the ground and attempted to block the shot with his diving header. In an almost salmon-like move, Terry failed to reach the ball and it ended up ricocheting off Glen Johnson’s leg. But it was John Terry’s effort that should be applauded and it shows glimmers of the best of him from previous World Cup and European Championship tournaments when he was at the top of his game.

For a number of months there has been a debate on this site about how good the English team really is.  Most have claimed that this version of the Three Lions represented a golden generation of players finally coming to the pinnacle of their skills and ready to challenge for the most valued trophy on earth.  Others took a decidedly dimmer view.  For those, the real England was the team that failed to qualify for Euro ’08, failed to impress in friendlies against quality opposition, and shuffled managers as if a different cook could turn chicken droppings into Chicken Cordon Bleu.

Two games into Engalnd’s World Cup campaign, that debate looks largely settled.  England may still qualify out of the group stages, but even if they beat Slovenia on Wednesday, few hold out much hope of them progressing much further.

So what is it that makes some of these players so effective on their Premiership team and so stolid on the English National team?

Most critically, on their club team, they are surrounded by better players.  All these great English players rarely partner with other English players on their club teams.  Instead, they are usually paired with an outstanding player who would sooner eat their shin guard than a plate of fish and chips.  Frank Lampard plays with the outstanding Michael Essien of Ghana.  The same goes for John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho and for Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov (and before him, Cristiano Ronaldo). 

This impact can clearly be seen in the case of Steven Gerrard.  In England, it is settled law that Gerrard is one of the most ferocious, driven midfielders in the game.  However, that law became settled when he was paired with Xavi Alonso, a tremendously hard working and efficient box-to-box dynamo.  When Alonso went to Real Madrid last year and was not replaced with anything of similar quality, all of the sudden Gerrard looked very ordinary.  The empty space that Gerrard used to barrel into now was closed down.  Gerrard struggled to make an impact all year and, despite his armband, is struggling in a very similar fashion in Africa.

Gerrard without Alonso, Lampard without Essien, and Rooney without anyone is what you are getting in this World Cup.

And yet, on their club teams, these English players are treated as Gods by the media.  The English media creates its own reality.  In the Fleet Street press, Oasis is the next Beatles, Sienna Miller is the next Katherine Hepburn and David Beckham is the next George Best.  Pumping up their celebrities to impossible acclaim (and then deflating them to figures of scorn) is the business model that sells newspapers.  In that light, it is not at all surprising that a decent player like Rooney, Gerrard or Terry is presented as the undisputed star of their team, handed all the armbands, and allowed to lift all the trophies.  From this side of the Atlantic, it is a little easier to be more objective and see how virtually all of the top teams in England are carried by the imported players, but for the English fans, it takes a mightily objective person to be so calculating.

So, what now for England?  The players left the field yesterday in Capetown to a chorus of jeers.  After a long English season, they are now in a tired place where they cannot to read a newspaper, do an interview or watch a sports show without seeing their own ridicule.  Psychologically, the temptation to bid this messy affair a warm goodbye and spend the next three weeks on a beach waiting for the new season to being must be very enticing.  Whether the players have the stomach to pick themselves up, beat Slovenia and continue forward against this emotional and physical onslaught will be a revealing test.  They may have the bottle to fashion that type of victory on Wednesday.

But what they no longer have is the myth of greatness.  This “greatest team in a generation,” is not anything close.    Instead , they are nothing more than a mid-level European team, and it will take a monumental reversal to indicate otherwise.