Voyeruism: You could say it’s all about your perspective. Watching from afar, as England threaten to do a France and implode under the World Cup spotlight, is arguably more entertaining than the first set of matches which have failed to capture our collective imagination.

But why should so many big stars fail to fire and prove more effective with their words than their boots?

And is the situation likely to improve as the competition progresses – or will it become even more volatile?

The clever money would be on the latter as the top stars in the England camp show serious signs of becoming stir-crazy.

Another few weeks cooped up together are unlikely to ease the tensions clearly building behind closed doors.

Exceedingly wealthy men who are accustomed to having a good time, off and on the park, are guaranteed to struggle to come to terms with the conditions they currently endure, even if they are cossetted in five-star accommodation.

Locked away from the ones you adore, and possibly more importantly the ones who openly adore you, can do strange things to the mind.

If you are winning games, the sacrifice can all seem worthwhile. If, like France and England, you are not, the cracks – and the crackpots – can quickly come to the fore.

Little irritations assume huge significance, creating fissures which can become chasms between groups and management.

International stars with countries such as England are accustomed to meeting for a few days, playing a game, then going back to their clubs where they are feted to the nth degree.

Their millionaire lifestyle is little disrupted, and they are not removed from the very comfortable groove they inhabit.

Then, every four years, a World Cup Finals comes around and it’s all change. It’s not just the month in which they hope to be competing. They must also factor in the two or three weeks prior to the competition, a time when preparation begins in a relaxed manner but which must come to a controlled peak.

Such an intense period is sure to breed cliques, as countries including Holland have found to their cost before now.

The trick is to retain unity and focus on the common goal of emerging from this seven-week boot camp with good memories and, hopefully, a trophy to show for the effort.

Fabio Capello’s aloof manner, allied to the strong characters in his charge – including but not solely John Terry – appears to be more of a Molotov cocktail than a recipe for success.

The indications are that it is all beginning to come to the boil, and no amount of positive PR spin in the 36 hours before they face Slovenia in a must-win game can disguise this.

The sight of Terry’s troops having a beer and discussing where it all went wrong while Capello looked on from across the room a few hours after the draw with Algeria was a cameo of the drama being enacted within the camp.

Getting the balance right in terms of letting the players relax, with or without the aid of alcohol, can be as important as picking the right team and selecting the correct tactics.

We were reminded of this as recently as last year when Boozegate exposed how poor a grasp then-Scotland boss George Burley had of the importance of dictating where the lines are drawn for men accustomed to taking a mile when given an inch.

In the good old days, when Scotland did actually qualify for the finals of the World Cup, mistakes were made, both in terms of being too lax and too rigid with the ground rules.

After the disaster of Argentina 1978, when insurrection over travel and accommodation undermined Ally MacLeod’s prediction that his side could go all the way, the drawbridge was pulled up.

The world’s press had descended on Scotland’s base in Cordoba, and feasted on a daily diet of moans and groans before turning their attention to enquiring if Willie Johnston was the only one taking banned substances.

By the time Jock Stein headed for Spain four years later, the players found themselves behind a fence with armed guards patrolling the barrier at the front gate, not keep them in, but to keep the rest of the world – families et al – out.

Despite living on a golf complex at Sotogrande, they were not allowed to swing a club. Their only night out came on the way back from drawing with Russia in Malaga, a result which saw them fail to qualify for the knockout stages.

Just along the coast, their first-game opponents were wandering around the hotel they shared with holidaying families wearing T-shirts which proclaimed: Yes, I am a Kiwi soccer player.

The balance is somewhere in between. But in these days of multi-millionaire players who enjoy the lifestyle of pop stars, getting it right is more difficult – and important – than ever.