WHEN England last played at Wembley the national stadium was more than half empty. The atmosphere was ... well, what atmosphere?

The nation neither voted with their feet or their voices for an international friendly with Norway. An attendance of 40,181 was a record low since Wembley was rebuilt.

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With match tickets priced between £30 and £60 for adults (between £10 and £20 for Under 16s) is it any surprise there were not only vast numbers of empty seats, but empty stands?

There was also a protest.

Although admission is similarly priced the attendance is set to be bigger for tonight’s home game with San Marino, but that stands to reason as there is more riding on the game with a place in the Euro 2016 championships to play for.

But England need to recognise that general apathy is on the increase when it comes to the national team after a woeful World Cup. The appointment of Wayne Rooney as captain has done little to enhance Three Lions enthusiasm.

The FA need to do something about it, and taking England back on the road would be one useful way of engaging more efficiently with the public.

Martin Keown disagrees. In his column for the Daily Mail he wrote: “Wembley is our ancestral home. It’s where young kids dream of playing and we need to make it a fortress again.”

I can’t argue with that. But after leaving the old Wembley behind, signing off with a dismal 1-0 defeat to Germany in October 2000, they lost just five of their 34 ‘on tour’ home games before returning to the new Wembley in June 2007.

They used Old Trafford 14 times, Villa Park, St James’ Park and Anfield three times, The City of Manchester Stadium (as it was then called) was used twice.

They went to the Stadium of Light and the Riverside on other ventures to the north east.

Leicester City’s King Power Stadium, West Ham’s Upton Park and Ipswich Town’s Portman Road hosted England internationals for the first time in their history.

And in May 2007, Turf Moor hosted Michael Owen’s comeback game, with England B taking on Albania.

Burnley’s famous old ground, which had been used for international duty only once before - in 1927 when England played Wales, was packed.

Granted the 22,500 attendance was significantly short of the 40,181 who saw England at Wembley last time out, but the atmosphere was electric.

It also led to the Clarets signing cult figure Besart Berisha, but that’s another story altogether.

Wembley is the national stadium and it will always be England’s home. But even those who live in London boroughs can find it a mission to get to, nevermind those travelling from outside of the capital. On top of the expensive price of tickets, there is travel to take into account too.

Wembley - a near £800million structure - still needs to pay for itself, of course. But with football finals, rugby finals, NFL and pop concerts drawing the crowds then the money will keep rolling in somehow.

By going ‘on tour’ England became accessible to the masses, and it proved to be a largely positive experience for both players and fans alike.

There can only be benefits to doing that again.