So who is the most important man in English football these days? Fabio Capello? Wayne Rooney? Perhaps.
What about Jack Wilshere, who has been held up as the type of technical player our national game needs to be producing if it is to challenge other forward-thinking European nations?
Football can play a key role in helping heal the rifts which have divided our communities in recent months, according to Gareth Southgate.
Some of the blame for the recent riots in cities across England has been apportioned to an apparent breakdown in communication between young people and the older generations.
Barcelona’s humiliation of Manchester United in the Champions League final was the wake-up call English football needed, according to former Leeds defender Danny Mills.
The Spanish club recorded an astonishing 67% possession of the ball as they beat the recently-crowned Premier League champions 3-1 at Wembley.
