LISTENING to the Wally with the Brolly dissect Euro 2008 over the airwaves has given the nation's sporting public the perfect excuse to indulge in its favourite pastime.
The Blame Game.
Steve McClaren, just in case you'd failed to grasp, is wholly responsible for England's absence from events in Austria and Switzerland.
Not players who, in most cases, earn more in a week that Croatia manager Slaven Bilic does in a year.
You see, sober reflection and analysis is not the way we do things over here.
Just ask Urs Meier, Diego Simeone, David Beckham and Sven Goran Eriksson.
It wasn't all McClaren's fault.
But of course it is a damn sight easier to heap sole responsibility upon his bone dry sheltered shoulders than conduct a thorough review into why, barring one or two exceptions, our footballing history is littered with missed opportunities and failure.
Reducing the number of foreign players plying their trade in the Premiership is the latest cause celebre.
Which conveniently ignores the fact that there isn't a manager alive who, given total freedom over selection, would do so on the basis of a passport rather than ability.
Afford coaches the time to build teams rather than call for their heads after every defeat and we might see some improvement. With jobs on the line every time their charges take to the field, who would entrust their livelihood to an untested youngster when you can buy the finished article?
McClaren would be wise to follow the example set by Graham Taylor who, having failed to lead England to the 1994 World Cup finals, took time out to rebuild his reputation before stepping back into the spotlight.
But neither should he be hounded-out of a job or have his credentials questioned forever more.
McClaren is neither the best manager in the world nor the worst. The truth lies somewhere in between.
Which brings me to Gordon Strachan.
The Celtic manager is notoriously dismissive of the media yet has no qualms about working for the BBC as an expert summariser throughout the tournament.
A classic case of double standards and one, I hope, Strachan will be reminded of the next time he sarcastically dismisses a reporter's
question.
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