Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Going into last Wednesday's game against Croatia it was difficult to decide whether Steve McClaren deserved a reprieve from all the abuse he was getting ... but by 10pm it was not in doubt anymore.
A complete disaster of a performance left a nation wondering how things had got so bad, but in reality it was a position we were always destined to be in once the ill-fated appointment was made two years ago by a bumbling Football Association. McClaren at least walks away with £2.5 million while we are left with virtually nothing of worth to build on.
The game itself started off badly, the middle was at least an improvement but the less said about the end the better. Blaming Scott Carson for a howler of a mistake inside seven minutes is no place to start as he himself should not have started anyway.
What sane coach would put a 22-year-old in goal for only his second appearance in such an important match? Maybe he just thought the 1-0 victory in a pointless friendly against Austria was enough preparation for the lad even though he rarely touched the ball. Alas, it would take a more qualified psychiatrist than me to fathom the depths of this particular coach's mind.
It is difficult to remember such an array of poor performances, Crouch excepted, from a group of England players. Then, given the chance to make amends after a soft penalty and a quality finish from the tall Liverpool striker they managed to grab defeat from the jaws of an undeserved draw.
Where was McClaren when this was going on? Hiding under an umbrella is where and there is just no other way to view this spectacle.
Things had got so bad, his mind had gone walkabouts and he literally hid under his brolly away from the glaring stares and abuse from a vociferous Wembley crowd.
The press conference called by McClaren the following day underlined the complete lack of composure and understanding of what he had actually done. Refusing to answer any questions about how it had gone wrong he proceeded to say he had learned a lot from the experience and stressed he would come back a better man. This was an astonishing disregard to any England fan who has the right to know how he had made such a mess of what was the easiest of the qualifying groups and who had no interest what-so-ever with what he would be doing next.
And what of the future?
Many of the early front-runners have already ruled themselves out including O'Neil and the only two men to stake an early claim are Italian Fabio Capello and Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp.
Capello has an impressive record of managing top players at top clubs and even the language barrier, which may be an issue in some quarters, never stopped Barwick approaching Big Phil Scolari under similar circumstances last time.
Meanwhile, Redknapp would be a popular choice and while not undermining his credentials it is worth remembering that the last time we wanted a manager with the ability to galvanise our pampered stars was Kevin Keegan and that ended ignominiously on that fateful day against Germany on the old Wembley's big farewell.
Of the others being touted are Alan Shearer who would be a big risk given his inexperience, Wenger who won't accept as he believes an Englishman should do it and the previous candidates Alan Curbishly and Sam Alladyce and I don't think they would have been asked this time anyway.
The FA bosses have promised to take their time but while former Chelsea boss Mourinho - the self-proclaimed 'Chosen One' - remains unemployed it seems foolish not to pursue him with everything at their disposal.
Probably the first step would be to approach him and ask him to name his price and if it is not too outrageous, taking into account they were willing to pay £5 million for McClaren then they should just hire him and get on with it.
This would then allow them, as the team itself would be in safe hands, to get on and start addressing the issues that at the grass-roots level where 10-year-olds still play on full size pitches to cries of 'get rid' from under-qualified coaches.
