THE humble pie is in the deep freeze, says sports editor NEIL BRAMWELL.

As football was coming home, the ugly truth came home to roost.

Terry Venables and his men are not heroes.

They are losers.

The fact that the majority think a semi-final place in a second-rate tournament should be considered a success typifies the British attitude to sport.

Putting up a brave fight is just not good enough.

Other countries battle hard but still win.

Confusion must stem from the bewildering inconsistency of the disgrace that is our national Press.

Five weeks ago Terry Venables was a disaster waiting to happen.

He will now quit the job hailed as some kind of success by the same men once eager to act as his executioner.

Yes, England were unlucky not to have sealed the game before the penalty shoot-out - but so were Germany. Imagine how the Spaniards felt on Saturday after their performance.

Remember how the Scots must have felt when Gary McAllister missed his penalty.

Sympathy blends into a cloudy recollection of the facts.

The whole campaign, from Venables' first friendly to Gareth Southgate's fateful spot-kick, was a strategic abortion.

Alan Shearer has proved that he is the best striker in the world.

So why persist with a role that banishes him to the flanks, chasing lost causes and acting as a rescue service for the clapped out Sherpa Van?

I was amazed when Teddy stepped up for his penalty and didn't pass back to Seaman.

Darren Anderton can be forgiven - it was way past his bedtime and the lad was clearly nodding off.

But why was he asked to play as a virtual full back?

This tournament was there for the taking - the opposition was consistently poor and the standard of football at best mediocre.

Yet we are in danger of suffering a repeat bout of Bobby Robson Syndrome. His ill-fortune in the World Cup semi-final somehow erased the memory banks of the drivel for which he had been previously responsible.

Robson's men were lucky to qualify for the knockout stages, very lucky against Belgium and extremely lucky against Cameroon.

One good performance against the Germans and everything was forgiven.

In this tournament we have been dreadful against the Swiss, poor against the Scots, magnificent against the Dutch and decidedly average against Spain.

We were far superior to the Germans last night but two incidents typified Venables' chronic misdirection.

Paul Gascoigne - who along with Shearer, Paul Ince, David Seaman and Tony Adams emerged with reputations enhanced - should not have been the man who on two occasions desperately lunging into the six yard box in injury time.

Granted, even at club level, Shearer cannot be expected to connect with every cross.

But the number of times he is taken out of the England play in the build-up is almost criminal.

Let us pray that Glenn Hoddle learns from the Venables mistakes, though his pedigree fills this eternal optimist with dread.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.