According to Rio Ferdinand in his new autobiography England's players are not treated as adults unlike some of their international counterparts. The former England captain, who won 81 caps between 1997 and 2011, was impressed by how Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal, then coaching the Netherlands, dealt with his players at this year's World Cup.
The ex-Manchester United skipper and QPR defender is a member of the Football Association commission set up to improve the England team, who were eliminated from the World Cup at the group stage in Brazil without winning a game.
He visited the Netherlands squad, who went on to reach the semi-finals, while working at the tournament as a pundit for the BBC.
In his book #2sides, extracts of which he has released via his Facebook page, Ferdinand wrote that the methods of Van Gaal made a "big impression" on him.
He wrote: "One evening we were in a bar at the hotel with Fabio Cannavaro, waiting for [fellow ex-Italy international] Christian Vieri to come along. All of a sudden almost the entire Dutch team turn up and start chilling in this bar.
"I sat down next to [Wesley] Sneijder and said 'What's going on? Are you allowed in here?' He was like, 'Yeah, the manager said to go. As long as we're back in the hotel by 11, it's fine.'
"Our players are treated like complete babies. It doesn't really matter whether that's because people have made mistakes in the past, or the manager doesn't trust the players or he doesn't trust the media who would make a story of it. I don't think the Dutch media even mentioned it. Their players looked free and relaxed."
He feels that the FA needs to take the lead in reforming the set-up of English football if the national team are to prosper in future.
He wrote: "A unified approach has to come from the very top. We need a clear direction and leadership. We're producing good players. But what's the point if no one knows how they can be fitted into the national team in a coherent way? What's the point?
"I'd rather have a team like Costa Rica who over-achieve with players not deemed to be world class."
