DON'T say I didn't warn you...when Roy Hodgson was appointed England manager in May, I wrote in this very column that the FA had plumped for the man who was a safe pair of hands and who would come cheap.
I pleaded that if, early in his reign, if it was clear he was going to fail, the FA and Hodgson himself should at least have the decency to jointly hold up their hands and admit the recession England manager for these recession times had been a mistake.
That Hodgson shouldn't have been employed in the first place.
That, OK, he is a lovely guy, a decent ambassador - but he has been appointed above his level.
That if he was out of his depth, he would make a swift exit before things got worse.
Well, I believe we are now at that stage - less than five months into Hodgson's tenure.
The lucky 1-1 draw with Ukraine at Wembley last night showed up Hodgson's deficiencies.
The visitors are hardly world beaters - I would suggest that most teams in FIFA's top ten rankings would defeat them (unbelievably, England are ranked THIRD but under Hodgson a ranking of 15 to 20 would be more realistic).
Yet England huffed and puffed and, to be honest, I thought Ukraine deserved to win.
Sure, the Jermain Defoe goal that never was should have stood. No way did he foul that big lumbering brute who got in his way as he headed for goal.
But you could as easily argue that it was just karma for the perfectly good Ukraine goal that was disallowed when England had the last laugh against them in Euro 2012.
That it equalled things out.
But last night Ukraine were the better team - and it didn't help that Hodgson fluffed his lines.
He called in every excuse during Euro 2012 (he had not had enough time for the team to gell, he was beset by injuries and he needed patience).
We gave him patience but he rewarded us with a team that would have set the world alight in prehistoric times - a dinosaur outfit bedevilled by his own insistence on sticking to a rigid, dull 4-4-2 format.
Last night his team was slightly more fluid but not good enough overall.
Again, the old bloke was at it - blaming the injuries that had robbed him of the likes of Rooney and Terry.
But, putting that to one side, he hardly helped himself with some truly questionable personnel decisions.
Can you explain to me why Aaron Lennon wasn't in the squad - that he is behind even Raheem Sterling in the pecking order is a joke.
Also, what was the point of going to all that aggro in getting Michael Carrick back in the squad - and then not using him from the start?
Surely, Hodgson accepted England's problem was their lack of ball retention in the Euros...but then he goes and leaves out the man who is widely accepted as England's best passer and retainer of the ball!
And why wasn't Rio Ferdinand marshalling that woeful backline in the absence of Terry?
The truth of it all is this: Hodgson is a dinosaur himself so how can we realistically expect England to move with the times?
Would England play like they did last night - with the same personnel - if say Pep Guardiola or even Roberto Mancini were in charge?
The main worry is this: in a lightweight group England may struggle to grab even the runners-up spot if Hodgson stays in command. I am already assuming Ukraine will take one of the two spots up for grabs - but what if Poland or the very real threat that is Montenegro also prove too canny for Dinosaur Roy?
It would take a real act of faith and bravery to boot out Hodgson now...but dare we gamble any further with him? If he wasn't good enough for Liverpool, can he really be good enough for England?
Yes, I know it could prove tricky replacing him now the season is underway.
But wait a minute...isn't there a chappy out there who is out of work and readily available - and who might be able to turn things around?
But appointing Harry Redknapp now would be an even braver move - and an acceptance from the FA suits that they got it wrong in the first place.
Come on David Bernstein...you're 70 and are about to leave as your legacy the failure of Roy Hodgson, the man you stubbornly - and wrongly - went for despite all the evidence that he wasn't up to the job.
You still have a chance to go down in history as the man who then admitted he had messed up - and saved England - by bringing in 'Arry, the man who took us to Rio with smiles and style.
FRANK WORRALL
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