DESPITE the fact that the national football team has failed to win the World Cup for nearly half a century, England supporters have gone into major tournaments with inflated expectations.

That is not the case this time. Expectations have probably never been lower, and that underlines how far the reputation of English football has fallen.

And that is why Football Association chairman Greg Dyke has put forward radical proposals to tackle the shortcomings of English football a month before a ball has even been kicked in the World Cup.

It is a pre-emptive strike in the knowledge that England are unlikely to progress to the latter stages in Brazil and the pressure will then turn on the FA’s management of the national game.

Mr Dyke is right to express concern about the way homegrown talent is being stifled in the highest echelons of the game. With the Pre - mier League, England has the best league in the world – but the price has been paid by the national team. It is clearly being undermined by imported talent.

The FA chairman is wrong, however, to sug - gest that the answer might be a new tier within the Football League to accommodate Premier League B teams.

The current league structure embraces clubs which have deep grass roots, and they should not be undermined by teams comprising the reserves of the richest clubs in the world.

There are already plenty of opportunities for Premier League players, who are not making the first team, to be loaned to clubs further down the football pyramid. It is a system which helps players develop and supports clubs in the lower leagues.

English football needs more investment in high quality coaching at the grass roots – not an unnecessary new tier in the league system.