Barcelona, Arsenal, Manchester United and Milan have what no England manager can call on ... true world-class talent like Lionel Messi, Cesc Fabregas, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka.
Frank Rijkaard has Lionel Messi, Arsene Wenger has Cesc Fabregas, Sir Alex Ferguson's got Cristiano Ronaldo, and Carlo Ancelotti has Kaka. All players for whom the term talisman was coined, players who have the ability to capture the imagination of the crowd and to win matches on their own.
Now I have just mentioned one player from the teams in question, but the youngsters from Arsenal alone are a frightening lot to watch when it comes to skill level and natural talent. They will think three moves ahead of the opposition and have absolute belief that the only way anyone is going to beat them is if they make a mistake. They do not for a minute succumb to the thought that they are inferior to their opponents. Same, too, at Manchester United where Fergie has put together another wonderful collection of players of dazzling ability.

The question then becomes: if you were Arsene Wenger or the former favourite Luiz Felipe Scolari would you take the England job? The money aside, do you believe you can win matches the way you want with the current England crop? In short, putting Steve McClaren's very apparent failings aside, do England have the players, the world-beaters that papers like The Sun would have us believe?

I am tempted to say that there is no world-class player in the England set-up. The press say there is, but show me anyone who can do the job Fabregas does for Arsenal and Spain. Some will mention Steven Gerrard and perhaps Wayne Rooney, but while I can pick out the matches where they have been anonymous at best, I am not sure anyone can remember the last time the young Spaniard had a stinker.

Now, of course, one could easily fix that if you are a club coach. Britain might not be happy with Zimbabwe right now, but the newspapers will wax lyrical about the exploits of Benjani Mwaruwari, the Premier League's current top goalscorer. While he is not necessarily a trailblazer in the grand scheme of things, that is an example of a solution that was best served by importing talent. Unfortunately for national teams, a player has to have a birth certificate that says Made in England. That basically means the choices are limited and solutions are a lot harder.

The truth of the matter is that the only way that England are going to be worth anything is if they stop thinking that they are Brazil. We can't play like Brazil and we never will. We celebrate one player per generation who comes close and go to town on one brilliant performance. Brazil, on the other hand, do that every day because they have the players.

Some will argue that a good manager will work magic, given the resources he has at his disposal but that is tantamount to saying that one would prefer cooking in some back-street eatery because it is likely to showcase their resourcefulness more, rather than work in a plush restaurant.