After World Cup exits, it is natural to look for reasons or excuses, especially if the departure comes at the first hurdle. Often the blame falls on the coach, players or referees and while, in this case, it may not be wide of the mark to question the domestic setup it should be kept in mind that there are no easy answers.

 It should also be remembered that although the K-League is the oldest professional league in Asia, it is still a baby compared to the big European competitions. When the five teams contested the inaugural season in 1983, the English league was only five years away from its centenary celebrations. It would be miraculous indeed if Korea could compete with such well-established football nations.

 Possible ways to improve standards would fill a great deal of column inches but the fact that there are the first stirrings of a debate at all is as welcome as it is long overdue.

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Such discussions would surprise more than a few people abroad. Scores of scribes were genuinely shocked and delighted at the performance of the Red Devils in Frankfurt, Leipzig and Hanover - seasoned old hands that waxed lyrical about how Korean fans are the best and most passionate in the world. They were right as far as the World Cup goes; no other fans came close in Germany. It always seemed unnecessarily cruel to shatter illusions that the same excitement and passion was common back in the Land of the Morning Calm.

 Fans should not hold their collective breath. With a few notable exceptions, it is only now that the Korean media, one that devotes more column inches to the Premier League exploits of Park Ji-sung and Lee Young-pyo than the games between the fourteen teams in its own backyard, is talking about how to raise standards in the K-League. It remains to be seen what happens when the English season gets underway.

 It is understandable that football journalists who returned to Korea to witness games played in front of small crowds are comparing those negatively with the festival of football that they had been a part in June. The K-League Cup (the competition taking place at the moment) is a pointless one and should be scrapped but