TREVOR Brooking deserves a round of applause for telling it is as it is about the England national team's problems.

The FA director of football development has put his job on the line by criticising the England set-up. He says England are lagging behind several countries in the technical development of our youngsters and paints a gloomy picture about our future prospects.

It's about time someone in authority said what the rest of us could see at this year's World Cup. We're not good enough and not getting any better.