England Under-21s: 10 things we have learned from the debacle in Israel

1. Who is to blame?

As the manager, Stuart Pearce has to accept responsibility for three dismal performances. The players, so woeful throughout, also have to take their share of the blame. There is, however, a much bigger picture to address.

What we have seen in Israel highlights just how shallow the talent pool is in English football, which is not entirely surprising when the Premier League is so focused on commercial success, the clubs have little interest in the national team, managers are too worried about the next result to think about giving young players a chance, and there is a chronic shortage of highly qualified coaches.

2. How does the Football Association come out of all this?

Very badly. How does it look when the Under-21 manager is saying one thing – we need our best players – and Roy Hodgson, the senior coach, holds a completely different view and believes it is more important for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to be a substitute in a friendly? That disconnect points to a complete breakdown in communication at the top level within the FA and the absence of a clear strategy when it comes to tournament football.

3. Is it time for Pearce to go?

In a word, yes. Pearce defended his record in the wake of the Israel defeat, by pointing out England are the only nation to qualify for the last four European Championships. What he omitted to mention is that across that period they have won only three of 15 tournament matches in normal time and in the last two finals they have failed to get out of the group stage. The results and performances in Israel, where England looked tactically and technically inept, were the final nail in the coffin for Pearce.

4. Who should get the job?

A coach who has a proven track record in working with elite players. Someone like Paul Clement, Carlo Ancelotti’s first-team coach at Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, would be ideal. René Meulensteen, the Manchester United coach, is another excellent candidate. But would Clement, Meulensteen – or any other top coach, for that matter – want to work for the FA and take a job that is hardly seen as a progressive career move? Another option is Glenn Hoddle but it is hard to see the FA being brave enough to go down that path. We are more likely to see Gareth Southgate, Peter Taylor or Michael Appleton appointed.

5. Did anyone in the England Under-21 squad come out of the finals with any credit?

Nathan Redmond, the Birmingham City winger who had never played at this level before, produced a few promising moments, and Andre Wisdom, whom Pearce believes should be England’s Under-21 captain for the next two years, could not be faulted for his display against Israel. Otherwise it is hard to think of anyone who did themselves justice.

6. Who was the biggest disappointment?

Jonjo Shelvey would have to be near the top of the list. The Liverpool midfielder used the ball poorly, showed little inclination to work for the team and generally gave the impression that the tournament was getting in the way of his summer plans. Wilfried Zaha, who spent much of the Israel game running into cul-de-sacs, was another who fell well short of what Pearce would have expected. Some of the individual performances were so bad that it is little wonder some England players questioned whether a few of their team-mates wanted to be in Israel. That accusation could never be levelled at Jack Butland but the 20-year-old goalkeeper was below his best. Connor Wickham and Nathaniel Clyne also struggled.

7. What has happened to Josh McEachran?

Once hailed as one of the brightest talents in English football, McEachran has badly lost his way since breaking through at Chelsea under Ancelotti. The season before last he barely kicked a ball during a loan spell at Swansea, and in 2012-13 his form faded while on loan at Middlesbrough. Pearce played McEachran out of position when he came on as a substitute, on the left flank, in the Italy match, but even when the 20-year-old was deployed more centrally against Israel he made little impact. He is neat and tidy in possession but too often the game seems to take place around him. Age is on his side but there are now genuine doubts about whether he will become the player we hoped he would be. Another season-long loan in the Championship beckons.

8. Who has worn an England shirt for the last time?

Jason Steele, Declan Rudd, Clyne, Adam Smith, Steven Caulker, Craig Dawson, Tom Lees, Jordan Henderson, Jason Lowe, Danny Rose, Henri Lansbury, Nathan Delfouneso and Marvin Sordell are no longer eligible for the Under-21s. In truth, the majority of them are unlikely to ever pull on an English shirt again. Caulker and Henderson, who have both represented the senior England team under Hodgson, will need stellar seasons behind them to have any chance of being on the plane to Rio next year.

9. Is there any fresh hope before the next Under-21 campaign?

Of the 23-man squad here, Butland, Wisdom, Jack Robinson, Nathaniel Chalobah, McEachran, Zaha, Tom Ince, Shelvey, Redmond and Wickham are all eligible to play for the Under-21s again. As are Phil Jones, Jack Wilshere and Oxlade-Chamberlain, although there is more chance of Pearce staying on as manager than that trio going to the finals in the Czech Republic in 2015. The Southampton left-back Luke Shaw and the Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling, both of whom pulled out of the original squad for Israel, are likely to feature for the Under-21s next season. Sam Byram at Leeds and Chelsea’s highly-rated Lewis Baker and Ruben Loftus-Cheek could be among the new faces.

10. Will St George’s Park, the national football centre, and the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) prevent a repeat of what we have seen in Israel?

The idea is that St George’s Park will help to increase the number, as well as improve the standard, of coaches coming through, which is something the FA has neglected for years, leaving us well behind France, Italy, Germany and Spain. As for EPPP, the top clubs will have greater access to, and be able to spend more time with, the best young players. But speak to academy coaches and directors and most of them will say the same thing: the biggest problem is that there are so few pathways for a young English player to break into his club’s first team. And that is something which it is hard to see changing.