the worst English national side I've ever seen in 30 years of watching football.

No pattern, no direction, no leadership either on or off the pitch and most importantly, NO PASSION.

I can't remember seeing a good national side now for over 10 years - Euro 96 was the last time - and the whole media razzmatazz surrounding that can be pinpointed as a major crux in our downfall since.

Gone are the days (yes folks, being one of the older citizens here, I have been to a European Championship final - 1988 in Holland) when the LADS on the TERRACES epitomised the passion and commitment of those out on the pitch.

Now - or rather since Euro 96 - it's all about replica shirt wearing mums and dads with no real interest in football taking the kids for a family day out (as an alternative to Chessington Zoo) to cheer "Rooney" and "Gerrard" and "Owen" without having the foggiest notion of what the game means to those who used to go and support their country.

And as for the "players" - and I use inverted commas to describe them - they are just media celebrities who'd be just as happy on Big Brother or Get Me Out Of Here! as they are pulling on the national shirt as long as they're picking up their wad of cash at the end of it.

And please, please, please, no one mention luck! We had more than our fair share this evening with the penalty that wasn't, the header that hit our hapless goalkeeper on the shoulder (Do Leeds United have an academy for inept goalkeepers or something?) and several refereeing decisions that favoured the home side on more than one occasion.

Still, what else can you expect from a side that chooses a Derby reject as its manager and an overrated scouser as its captain.