In with the new: Spurs boss Harry Redknapp is expected to take over

Are we better than them over a month-long tournament, playing every four days? Are we better at passing the ball and keeping possession in difficult countries such as Poland and Ukraine in a hot summer environment? That will be very difficult.

The work starts now towards England finally winning that elusive major trophy. What the FA do today will impact on the next 10 years. Of course, at the most basic level, that involves appointing the right manager and the FA are trying to create a short list, as they don’t want to be beholden to one man. In reality, though, there isn’t a great choice.

You might argue Roy Hodgson could do the job but clearly Harry Redknapp is the outstanding candidate and the FA have to broach the subject with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy pretty quickly.

But the FA are not just appointing a manager, they should be building a structure to put around a manager. Let’s not repeat the mistakes of the Capello era, where he was allowed to bring in five or six assistants with him, most of whom lived in Italy between games. All of them have now gone, leaving no legacy for our game.

And it was incredible that Capello famously didn’t go and watch the Under 21s in a tournament during his summer break. The new man has to have some involvement in the kids coming through from Under 16 level to the Under 21s.

That, too, has been a huge mistake of the Capello years, a complete waste.

A good structure at a football club or a governing body should mirror the famous Boot Room at Anfield, where Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Reuben Bennett all knew the club inside out, from the 11-year-old coming through to the 30-year-old star player. And it created a succession of managers over the years.

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