Matt Reeder: Answers needed fast if England are to bring an end to World Cup misery

It is a poser which has flummoxed each and every one of this country's modern-day coaches and one which, unless answered, will leave the nation forever searching for success on the international stage.

As our shame-faced players hurried from the field after their 4-1 thumping by the Germans, it was confirmed that our 44th year of hurt would stretch at least to a 46th into Euro 2012.

A group of players once described as England's Golden Generation had yet again proved they were not good enough to challenge on the big stage, not good enough to compete with the best in the world ... not good enough with the Three Lions on their shirt.

Players who week-in, week-out bully opponents in the Premier League whimpered in the face of top-quality opposition.

Players who have been described as world-beaters, showing they are, in fact, nothing of the sort.

And therein lies the question which must now be answered. Just how do you get our cream of the crop, the Premier League's wonderboys, to perform as they do for their clubs when they represent England in major tournaments?

Starting from the back and working your way forward it is difficult to find anyone within Fabio Capello's starting XI who came anywhere close to replicating the kind of form which terrorises domestic teams.

John Terry was all over the place, Glen Johnson could not control the ball and Ashley Cole was never a threat on the flanks.

In midfield, Frank Lampard was impotent, Steven Gerrard out of place, James Milner too error-strewn and Gareth Barry too slow.

Wayne Rooney may as well have stayed at home, while Emile Heskey and Jermain Defoe never carried the same threat they do for their clubs.

How many times have we sat down to watch Match of the Day this year, seen one of the aforementioned make a stunning block or score a fantastic goal and think 'I hope he does that in South Africa'?

The pace, the ferocity, the passion, the commitment and the desire to win, ever-present in the Premier League was simply never present in South Africa.

And it is not just this tournament where the problem has emerged to shatter the dreams of a nation.

Kevin Keegan struggled with a decent team of individuals in 2000, Sven Goran Eriksson never made it beyond the quarter-finals of a major tournament and Steve McClaren never even made it to Euro 2008.

So what can be done? Who can discover the secret? Who can take on the reins and transform potential into potency, nearly-men into heroes?

Capello came close to proving he was the man capable of working out the puzzle.

His attitude to the players was such that we had little doubt he was the boss. The matey-matey regime of McClaren was a thing of the past and the players themselves admitted they enjoyed, no preferred, working under this no-nonsence boss.

Early signs were good as qualification was earned with nine wins out of 10.

The football on offer was impressive and in the likes of Terry, Cole, Gerrard and Rooney, pictured, we had very good players playing very well for their country.

We had realistic hopes of going to Africa and actually doing something worth shouting about, something that would finally match the heroics of Italia 90, or even, dare we say it, those boys of '66. But it has not materialised.

The hopes of a nation have been shattered and the pain will take a while to subside.

Even when England started slowly against the United States, we felt that, ultimately, it would all be okay. We used Robert Green's error and the bouncy ball as an excuse, hiding from the facts ... the facts that proved we were in trouble.

Algeria was the most inept display you could wish to see from an England side and although we did beat Slovenia, it was only Slovenia.

And so on to the Germans and yesterday's biggest World Cup hiding for England.

The Germans have impressed with silky, free-flowing football since arriving in South Africa. A collection of decent players knitted together to make a very decent team.

And they proved too much for an England line-up which, despite being full of quality, superstar individuals, could never really be described as being a decent team.

With no real Plan B to speak of, Capello had little choice but to stick to his rigid 4-4-2 formation, ignoring pleas from supporters, pundits and even some of his own players to switch it to the more fluid 4-5-1 or 4-4-1-1.

In keeping steadfastly to his Plan A, you could argue that Capello did not give his players opportunity to perform as they would on a weekend for their clubs. However, there is no excuse for a lacklustre display in a World Cup finals knockout stage match against Germany.

Too many egos, not enough reality in their lives, these men failed their country and deserve to be lambasted.

Capello last night called for urgent talks regarding his future, and maybe he could now learn from his mistakes and put things right. Maybe he can find the answer to the puzzle that has so clearly flummoxed him and those before him. Or maybe it is time for someone else to come in?

But one thing is for sure. Come August and the start of the Premier League season, you can bet that Messrs Rooney, Gerrard, Terry and Lampard all have blinders for their club ... well they will, won't they?

and another thing...

THE words are clearly from someone who is not a true 'fan' of football.

When asked recently if the game would introduce goal-line technology, FIFA president Sepp Blatter defended his position in not being in favour by saying: "It is often the case that, even after a slow-motion replay, 10 different experts will have 10 different opinions on what the decision should have been.

"Fans love to debate any given incident in a game. It is part of the human nature of our sport."

Ah, well, thanks for that Mr Blatter. As England fans we are delighted that your decision not to let officials use technology has given us all something to talk about.

Okay, so it was not the sole contributing factor in England's defeat, or Mexico's to Argentina, but the fact is England were robbed of a goal which would have brought them level against Germany.

The players must take much of the blame for their exit, but FIFA must also look at the subject of technology urgently or this game that we all love will fall so far behind other sports that it will be a laughing stock.