Where there's a Wilshere, there's a Way

So England went to the World Cup and got embarrased. The media went into a frenzy, the public went home disappointed and the phrase 'I told you so' was so overused in every pub in the country that it's now safely been put away under lock and key until the next International tournament of any note. Not particularly groundbreaking stuff is it?

By the time the new season came around, Englands exit was a distant memory as fans engrossed themselves once more in the vibrant multicultural world that is; Premier League football. The national teams issues had been shelved once again, under the assertion that we'll probably qualify for the Euro's with relative ease, and nobody really made a song and dance about it.

In fact the whole process felt a bit cyclical, like we'd been here before too regularly. And yet, despite the depressing manner in which we were catapulted out of Africa, this season has brought hope and more importantly it's brought us an opportunity. An opportunity to start fresh, to leave our old stagnant ideas, characterised by fear and failure, by the wayside and instead put faith in the new batch; the untouched batch.

Jack Wilshere and Kieran Gibbs at Arsenal, Andy Carroll at Newcastle, Martin Kelly at Liverpool and Jordan Henderson at Sunderland head a list of talented young players that need to be catapulted into the England squad and exposed properly to the vigours of International Football in the early years of their career. Forget inexperience and forget whether they are good enough to win the World Cup now. They are the future and the sooner they become regulars, in not just the England squad but in the starting team, the sooner we can properly build for the World Cup in 2014.

In Wilshere, England have an artist. Somebody in the Xavi/Iniesta mould who is constantly probing defences, with instinctive one touch passing and glorious through balls. For so long now we've had the Gerrard-Lampard question and now we have an alternative, a different style of footballer, who should be given precendence over both.

Andy Carroll is equally an interesting proposition. For too long we've berated our target men for not having either the necessary touch or composure, in the case of Heskey, or for lacking the physical presence, like Crouch. Carroll has both and will provide an excellent partner for Rooney.

Gibbs and Kelly are full backs (Kelly can also play center back) with exciting potential and although Gibbs shouldn't dispossess Cole of his shirt just yet, he has undoubtedly shown that he is the future once the Chelsea left-back comes to the end of his career.

Add Joe Hart, Wayne Rooney, Adam Johnson and Theo Walcott to the four mentioned and you've already got the basis of a fresher looking, dynamic England team ready to cause a stir at the Euro's and build towards the ultimate prize; the World Cup.

So suddenly things don't look so depressing. Maybe there are some answers? Let's just hope Fabio puts in faith in the new batch and gives it a real go.