Back in the real world where England did do the usual bottle-it-on-penalties routine, the press conference continues. David Beckham is on stage and he is practically crying as he reads out a prepared statement giving up the England captain's armband. The way he's reading this you'd think he was retiring having lost a limb during yesterday's match. Bad news for Shaun Wright-Phillips - Beckham's not actually retiring.

He got a round of applause from the press too, which is a damn sight more than they bothered giving Sven just now. I appreciate not everybody agrees with Sven's tactics but I'd like to think that had I been there, I'd have applauded the man. It's not as though he didn't want to win the World Cup. Whatever you think about his modus operandi, he gave it his best shot, and I'd applaud that in anybody.

So, Steve McClaren then, the Grand Master of Dull. I'd have had Sam Allardyce in. I'd have had Scolari in (but then so would the FA). I'd have had Cristiano Ronaldo in, frankly, ahead of Steve, but that's not an opinion I can back up with over-much quantifiable evidence. It just doesn't feel right after five or six years to just hoof Sven out the door and let the bloke who's sat next to him for years get on with the job. Surely if Steve McClaren can do the job perfectly well in the FA's opinion, why on earth have we been paying Sven all this time?

This is no change in approach, no change in agenda, no change in personnel. It's a non-decision. And now we'll go and win Euro 2008.