...from 20 to 18, over a four-year period from 2008:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/6363435.stm

All hail the revolution! Steve McClaren must be overjoyed at the prospect of two — yes, TWO — of his mooted 'training camps' (otherwise known as 'jollies') coming up in place of more embarrassing non-performances.

It isn't as if he was ever going to get a better result than this pathetic fudge, given that the white elephant of Wembley has to be paid for.

Thing is, if England's so'called superstars (yes, I'm talking to you Frank and $tevie G) continue to put in such a comical lack of effort in to national team games, there will be nobody left buying tickets...

Discuss.

McLaren is a complete waste of time as a manager. He should never have been appointed. It looks as though we are in for several more years of failure at international level unless the powers that be decided to sack him (which is unlikely, because they have only recently appointed him). There are far better British managers than him, let alone foreign managers.

If we don't qualify for the Euro's, the FA will have to sack him. They must know that the country won't put up with a last choice manager, with no new ideas and no ability to motivate for long.

Also, if we are to push for the Worl Cup in 2018, having a crap team and a lame duck manager won't show our football in the best light.

MCLAREN OUT NOW!!

The only benefit I can see from these 'training camps' is that we aren't going to bored to death by lacklustre performances in friendlies.

But the down side is we will have less to shout at the TV about. 'cos I did at the Spain game.

The problem remains that all the power in football is in the wrong place - the clubs. What we need is two less teams in the Premiership, 34 games a season, and no League Cup; but since the clubs decide how many games to play, it won't happen, players will continue to play vastly too many games, and be incapable of performing to their level on the international stage. Everyone has now agreed that player burnout is a problem - and they're going to try to fix it by CUTTING the number of games England play.

Still less chance, then, of us ever being a decent football team.