Ian Russell, Capital Canaries The inevitable axe fell on Steve McClaren on Thursday morning, only hours after the disaster witnessed at Wembley a few short hours before. Never the people's choice in the first place, the moment England failed to qualify for next year's Euro Championships, in spite of the unexpected lifeline thrown at them by Israel, McClaren's short and mostly unremarkable reign as national manager came to an abrupt and predictable full stop.

Ian Russell, Capital Canaries

The inevitable axe fell on Steve McClaren on Thursday morning, only hours after the disaster witnessed at Wembley a few short hours before.

Never the people's choice in the first place, the moment England failed to qualify for next year's Euro Championships, in spite of the unexpected lifeline thrown at them by Israel, McClaren's short and mostly unremarkable reign as national manager came to an abrupt and predictable full stop.

So now we can rest assured in the knowledge that the top chiefs at FA Headquarters will pick us the perfect replacement and all will be well in the English game once more.

We can look forward to a successful and clinical World Cup qualifying campaign, an endless production line of future stars and an increase of English blood into the teams at the top of the Premier League. Can't we?

Where do I start?

I'm talking about the FA; the same FA that ballsed-up the last set of interviews after Sven's exit eighteen months ago - McClaren has been on a hiding to nothing from the moment the world's worst secret that he was not the Association's first choice was out in the public domain.

I'm referring to the same FA that managed to organise a pointless, presumably political, friendly in Austria five days before the country's biggest match since the World Cup.

The same FA that allowed the country's biggest match since the World Cup to be played on an NFL tattooed quagmire.

The same FA that is apparently doing nothing to protect the rich essence of our game, but stands by as the wealthy become wealthier and the Luton Towns head directly for the pan.

When are we finally going to be rid of the dreary, uninspiring unknowns at the top of the FA tree and replace them with people who know the game and want to see our proud football heritage restored to its rightful towering spot?

I want to see our next national manager to be successful as much as the next man.

But there's so much more work to do, grass roots upwards. If we stand any chance of keeping up with the Germans, the Italians and, dare I say it, the Croatians then we must stop money and other agendas taking top priority and start investing in the future with people who know and love the game.

English football has every potential; it just has the wrong people running it.