Wilson and his bitter

Compare and contrast Beckham's tears with Gazza's in 1990. The latter had lit up Italia 90 and was upset at being ruled out of a likely final appearance he had done so much to bring about. It didn't happen, but he was not to know that. Beckham was one of England's dampest squibs in Germany, and he just looked damper when he started blubbing. Gazza inspired a generation of kids, not with his tears but with his football. If Beckham does the same, one fears it will be a few more generations before England get a grip on reality, let alone the World Cup.

There is nothing wrong with dreams, every footballer's career starts with them and the excellent Andrea Pirlo, for one, has just described reaching a World Cup final as a boyhood dream come true. Every aspiring footballer should dream of playing in a World Cup final, but when you become a professional footballer and take part in a World Cup tournament, the dream has to go on hold until the work is completed. No waving to friends in the crowd, no tears because you can't get your own way, no WAGs hamming it up on the giant screen. The last stages of World Cups are brutal, for players only. England have always been a bit rose-tinted about their place in the world order, but the Eriksson years will go down as a decadent period of wild over-optimism and blatant self-delusion. Fortunately, the FA have invested in an antidote. He's called Steve McClaren.