Sir Trevor Brooking, in a frank interview, admits that it is simply not realistic to expect England to reach the semi-finals of the next World Cup, considering that this is a team that failed to qualify for the last European Championships.

I certainly agree with Brooking’s assessment of England’s lack of squad depth and his sense of realism. Similar messages of realism were sent out by Jurgen Klinsmann, the previous German manager, prior to the 2006 World Cup. At the time Germany were knocked out of the group stages at Euro 2004 and entered the World Cup after a string of bad results. Klinsmann then noted that his German side would be achieving if they managed to reach the quarter-finals.

That said, I disagree with Brooking’s judgement of England’s level, especially when basing it on their failure to qualify for the European Championships. We have to remember that, unlike the England team that failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup, this team can boast players at the pinnacle of European club football. The England team in the 90s included the likes of Carlton Palmer, David Batty, Neil Webb and Andy Sinton, players at the margins of European football.

Due to the influx of players from abroad and the general improvement in the standard of the Premier League, England's current team boasts stars that play at top European clubs. That claim could not be made about English clubs in the 90s, even with a supposed larger pool of English players to choose from.

The English players that featured in the Champions League final were there on merit, otherwise they would not have been selected. To construe that these players, due to a string of poor England performances, are below par compared to their European counterparts is to send out a needless message of pessimism.

Once again Brooking was correct to identify England’s lack of squad depth, should two or three players be injured, yet similar observations could be made about other European teams. Italy did not perform to their optimum level in their Euro 2008 quarter-final clash with Spain due to the suspension of both Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gatusso. Similarly, Holland would be set back with injuries to Wesley Sneijder or Rafael van der Vaart.

France, at their peak, were not the same team without Zinedine Zidane, as we saw in the 2002 World Cup. Furthermore, they won the 1998 World Cup without a world-class out-and-out striker, mainly relying on Christophe Dugarry, a player who then plied his trade in the French first division.

Apart from Spain, currently the best team in Europe, most teams cannot call on Champions League-standard players in every position. The modern game has become too cosmopolitan to allow international managers that luxury.

However, there is a bridge that England need to cross if they are to be more competitive and expect something more than quarter-final elimination. They require a mental resolve, the ability of their players to be functional, adept, consistent and effective. This can come with group camaraderie, selection that emphasises the team and less pressure that can only come with a dose of realism, as identified by Brooking (without the pessimism).

Spain’s win at the last European Championships, after years of similar failure, has highlighted the importance of all these key characteristics.

This finally leads me to Platini and his plans to introduce the 6+5 rule. Would it have a positive impact on national teams? Judging from the case of England, I don’t think it necessarily would. If players are chosen to fulfil a quota, then the quality will be diluted, even if there is a surplus of talent to choose from.

English players make it through a competitive club system, with five to six of the England players of Champions League standard. England could not always boast that quality in past teams. On the other hand, the influx of international players, and the relatively cheaper cost of players from other leagues, entails the logic of supply economics. Managers will choose players for key positions based on quality relative to affordability.

The market for players is simply larger in Europe than just in England. That being the case, there will be fewer English players filling key positions if cheaper, better quality options are in the short term available from elsewhere. The lack of quality English full-backs, strikers and goalkeepers are all symptoms of this reality.

If it is the performance of the England team that is of concern, then neither the 6+5 rule nor even the current state of affairs can be considered in the interests of the side. The former for diluting the quality of talent coming through and the latter to the detriment of developing a wide range of talent for different positions.

The solution to the problem would probably be something akin to the top clubs collaborating between themselves, to ensure that the national team (in any given league) are well supplied with players for every position. This means the FA might intervene to ensure that clubs are fulfilling that obligation, even if it means regulations are drafted and then enforced.

But I do not believe the issue for Platini is solely with the state of national teams like England, where a strong club culture has negatively impacted on its prospects. Platini was more revealing when he stated: ''There could be rich people coming to help English football and develop it, but they may just want to make money … I fear your clubs will lose identity. If it was in France, I would fight it.''

Here he identifies the negative effects of the free flow of capital within the game, with billionaires buying up clubs and then selling them or hiking up ticket prices to accumulate profit. This has a knock-on effect on the game as a whole - the fans, the tradition of clubs and the attitude and loyalty of players. If that is the case, then the introduction of the 6+5 rule will not solve the problem, as the problem is at the root of the modern game itself.