The hopes that Italy could give England a hand proved forlorn, and the Three Lions have exited the tournament with a whimper rather than a roar. Unlike most people, I do not see the prospects as quite so bleak.
It may be a case of interpretation, but England have been nowhere near as miserable in Brazil as they were in some other major tournaments (Euro 1988, Euro 2000, even World Cup 2010). And at least this time around the ineptitude was concentrated more on defensive frailties than the usual paucity of creativity and technical skill.
Some of the more alarmist pronouncements of the pundits are a bit exaggerated, I feel. There is reason for optimism, in the form of Sturridge, Barkley, Sterling, Wilshere and Lallana. To my eyes, many of the shortcomings in forward positions looked to be a product of a lack of experience, rather than inherent defects in "the system". Yes, the deficiencies at the back are a matter for concern, but the prospect of remedies in that department somehow always seems less intractable. Good defenders are arguably less difficult to find than those elusive creative and flair players.
All the same, the current England defence is probably the least impressive that I have seen in my time watching England, which goes back four decades. It was unfortunate that the likes of Terry, Ferdinand and Cole all disappeared around the same time, leaving the back line with a very threadbare and mediocre look about it.
I would be inclined to keep Roy Hodgson in his job, not least because there is a lack of realistic candidates to replace him. Many of the players are still developing and improving, and more promising youngsters will undoubtedly emerge in the next year or so. It would be tempting, in the interests of stability and continuity, to give Hodgson a free run up to the next World Cup, but football in the real world does not work like that. Provided that England qualify for Euro 2016 and give a reasonable account of themselves, it would then be perhaps sensible to use that as a staging post for Roy and the team on the way to Russia 2018.
Another thing which England need to bear in mind is that football is a team game, and cohesion and harmony are very important. It is therefore sometimes necessary to leave out "star" players in the interests of making the machine operate more smoothly. Just picking your eleven best players does not always translate into a more efficient team performance. Putting square pegs in round holes, and picking "names", are not the road to success.
The English media is full of the usual anguished post-tournament talk of bringing in winter breaks, grassroots reform and quotas on foreign players, but I for one am not quite so downcast. I'll let you known in two years' time whether my (very) cautious optimism was justified. I have been known to be wrong before....
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