The last ten years have been a roller-coaster ride for national giants France, but after an early exit in the group stages of the 2008 European Championships, could this be the end of an era?

Things looked promising after a triumph in the 1998 World Cup. The Zinedine Zidane years had taken the world by storm and, after a victorious Euro 2000, the nation became the first side since West Germany in 1974 to hold both the Jules Rimet and European Championship trophies at the same.

But this only made the following four years more painful. The side, still led by Roger Lemerre, failed to score at the World Cup in Japan and were KO'd in the group stages. French legend Jacques Santini succeeded Lemerre whose head was called for immediately after the finals, but Santini could only guide 'Les Bleus' through to the quarter finals of Euro 2004 before resigning.

This is where current coach Raymond Domenech came into the picture frame, though it is unlikely that the 56-year-old will have the title 'coach' for much longer.

Domenech hailed the 0-0 draw with Romania as the catalyst behind their downfall at the championships. Had his side got off to a better start, they may well have had the momentum to carry them through their following fixtures.

But it wasn't to be, and both Italy and Holland made the most of lethargic defending to send them out of the competition.

And with the nation calling for Domenech's head, it seems inevitable that it will indeed happen. Not that, at least in my opinion, he has done an awful lot wrong.

There is nothing more a coach can do than watch as his star player is brought off injured after 7 minutes before his centre-half - only playing because, shortly before kick-off, the 'captain' decided he wasn't in the right frame of mind to play - is sent off for a nudge on a 6ft 5 Italian brick wall who goes down like a sack of spuds.

And in my view, France did not play too badly given the circumstances. Yes, Italy deserved their win and yes, they could have had about 5 goals, but the French never gave up.

At least the nation can now concentrate on building their squad for the coming years. Personally, I think they need a clear out. Lilian Thuram and Claude Makelele have announced their retirement from international football today, and several more should be encouraged to follow in their footsteps.

Including Thierry Henry, who, after a less than impressive season at Barcelona, again failed to produce anything close to what he showed in the Premiership.

And perhaps it was Domenech's squad selection that ultimately led him down. I think this is the only thing that I would criticise the man for, but of course it is a highly important aspect for any competition.

His decision to take the injured Patrick Viera to Austria and Switzerland is indeed a mystery. The Inter Milan midfielder failed to make an appearance while a perfectly fit Mathieu Flamini, after a fantastic season at Arsena, probably sat at home and watched.

Along with Philippe Mexes, star Roma defender, who will have been laughing at Eric Abidal and Jean-Alain Boumsong as they produced defensive errors that Titus Bramble would be proud of.

But if the next manager plays his cards right, France could go on to capture their old form in time for World Cup 2010. The nation has rising stars in the likes of Jeremy Menez, Hatem Ben Arfa and Jimmy Briand.

And if Samir Nasri, widely regarded as 'the next Zinedine Zidane', can reach anywhere near the potential that his label says he can, he could be the one to lead them forward.

But for now, it is time for some of the senior members of the squad to ask themselves if they are really up to the task of playing international football.