Poor Roy Hodgson. When England line up to play Italy in their first match at next summer's World Cup, Wayne Rooney will be their highest-placed player in our list of the top 100 footballers of 2013. Rooney came 28th in the list and was ignored by a third of our 15 judges. Given that his most memorable attack at the last World Cup came when he stuck his face into a TV camera and berated his own fans, it could be a long year for the England manager.
Hodgson's opposite number, Cesare Prandelli, will be able to pick from eight Italians in the top 100. Italy have as many goalkeepers in our list as England have footballers – despite Italian World Cup-winner Alessandro Nesta's sympathy vote for Frank Lampard, whose best days are surely waning.
England's representation in the top 100 has halved in the past 12 months. Ashley Cole and John Terry have aged disgracefully and Joe Hart, one of the five keepers in last year's 100, has dropped the ball in 2013. There are now more Spurs players than England players in the top 100.
It doesn't look good for Hodgson, but what about Michael Carrick, the Manchester United players' player of the season for 2012-13? Robin van Persie won most of the end-of-season awards, but the United players gave their own prize to Carrick. The team's stuttering form during his recent absence explains why.
Carrick has earned the respect of his peers, but he hasn't made our list and he might not make it on to the pitch for that match against Italy. Hodgson has given more out England caps to Tom Cleverley. At least the England manager can call upon Daniel Sturridge, who is unlucky to miss out on our top 100 after scoring 24 goals in 2013.
The number of English players on the list has dropped, but the Premier League continues to fare well. Luis Suárez, Sergio Agüero, Van Persie and Mesut Özil lead the way for the league's 29 players, but does a league that provided none of the semi-finalists for this year's Champions League deserve to have 11 more representatives than the Bundesliga, whose top teams contested the final?
Shinji Kagawa swapped the Bundesliga for the Premier League in 2012 and, although he was a star at Borussia Dortmund and is now breaking Jürgen Klopp's fragile heart on Manchester United's bench, what has he done in the last 18 months to warrant a place above Javi Martínez, Alexis Sánchez and Eden Hazard? Should he even be in the top 100?
José Mourinho might agree with our panellists in thinking that Samuel Eto'o offers more of a goal-threat than Romelu Lukaku, but is he not in the minority? Should Olivier Giroud not be rewarded with a place in the top 100 after his performances this season? And is Adrián Ramos, who has 10 goals in 16 games for Hertha Berlin this season, not more worthy of a place than red-card magnet Sergio Ramos? Let us know what you think below the line.
Where did we get it wrong and where did we get it right?
