Right vibes: Terry Venables lifted spirits with the appointments he made

I think, looking back, that Glenn Hoddle and Kevin Keegan might regret simply appointing a group of coaches around them who had served them well at club level. International football is about getting the brightest and the best.

The structure the FA put in place should cover everything from the training of 11-year-olds at clubs, ensuring we produce new players with technical ability and skill, something the newly introduced Elite Player Performance Plan is intended to achieve, to nurturing English coaches and managers for the future.

The FA are already doing some of this work with Under 16 and Under 18 teams, and now I see a generation of young players coming through for England who have grown up through those age group structures who have a togetherness I never felt with England.

Last weekend, at half-time in the Chelsea-Manchester United match, Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welbeck were coming off the pitch, chatting to each other, having a laugh. I couldn’t have thought of anything worse when I was a player than walking off with an England teammate who was beating me 1-0. And, to be honest, that was a failing. We have to tap into this new spirit.

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