TEAMtalk's John Baines believes the Euro 2012 qualifying phase has proven the need to place international minnows in a 'development' group.
International breaks are like the days where you did detention at school.
You immediately treat it as a bit of an inconsequence and convince yourself that it will be over before you know it, but before long it's dragged on and on to the point where you feel punished.
So, with a vast supply of football for the consumer, a crowded schedule for the competitors and a waning interest away from the club game, is it time to reshape the qualifying process for major international tournaments?
Once again, the high-octane chivalry of domestic football has been temporarily suspended whilst international commitments are completed. Over the next six days, the 15-month qualifying process for Euro 2012 will be almost finalised, with only the four two-legged play-off ties in November remaining.
For some, the whole process has been a formality; for others, it will soon end in glorious success or failure and for a few, it may as well never even have started in the first place.
Ahead of the penultimate round of qualifying fixtures, four of the nine top seeds - Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Spain - have progressed serenely. The remaining five top seeds - Russia, France, Croatia, England and Portugal - all lead their respective groups and look good for an appearance at next summer's championships.
But down the other end of the tables, the tune has been just as familiar. So far, the nine European sides currently ranked lowest in FIFA's world rankings - Iceland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Faroe Islands, Kazakhstan, Malta, Andorra and San Marino - have lost 61 of the 73 games they have played between them, winning just seven and drawing five.
That amounts to a collective tally of only 26 points from a possible 219, scoring just 33 goals between them and shipping in 185.
Not one of the victories recorded by the intrepid bottom nine has come over a team ranked in Europe's top 30 and only Moldova have clocked up more than four points during qualifying - that coming courtesy of being paired with the hapless San Marino. Everyone's favourite Italian principality have not even scored yet, whilst picking the ball out 49 times in seven ties as they and fellow sitting-ducks Andorra remain quite literally pointless.
Given the damning statistics that highlight the futility of the theoretical qualification attempts of these lesser lights, it once again raises the issue of quite why UEFA feel the need to continuously torment these minnows by allowing them to get trampled on by vastly superior sides.
The Netherlands hammering 11 goals past San Marino and Spain tormenting Liechtenstein is akin to a champion boxer pounding an unfit amateur. It's just not sport, and nobody can be getting much out of it.
One of UEFA's remits is to promote and develop football in Europe, and it's difficult to see any benefit for these countries to be part of the current qualifying process. For the good of all, change is needed.
FIFA's world rankings have long lost any semblance of reason or meaning even before England were bestowed as the fourth best team in the world, but a method could and should be devised whereby the eight worst sides in Europe are partitioned off into their own event, similar to that used in cricket where associated nations compete for the honour of appearing at the various ICC championships.
This 'development' group could see the weakest nations playing one other during one qualifying period, to enable the top two to be 'promoted' to the main qualifying stage for the next tournament.
Far from being elitist to the top dogs, it gives those lesser countries the opportunity to have an achievable goal rather than the fruitless pursuit of trying to reach a tournament they have no hope of appearing at. Their players and fans wouldn't have to simply make up the numbers and endure the indignity of being routinely humiliated. Across a condensed period, nations who see tangible improvements over a short-to-medium term would earn the right to then participate in the prestigious fixtures against the continent's best sides at the top stadiums.
A promotion-relegation system would also create accountability towards those who have found themselves slipping down the rankings. Amongst those sides lingering around the cut-off point are Wales and Austria and the threat of demotion should kick-start them and others into retaliatory action to stave off the drop.
The present all-in qualification process is old and uninspiring but more to the point, there are virtually no barometers of success for the sides who are frankly inferior to be competing at this level.
There would be few losers with the introduction of a 'development' group and certainly fewer losers than there are now. It's a simple call, Mr Platini.
Follow John on Twitter at @bainesyDiego10 and check out his blog at Blue Menace.
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