For the first time ever fans had the chance to put their questions to the England Manager, FA Chief Executive and FA Chairman at the same table as supporters gathered at Soho Square to discuss all the burning football issues with three hugely influential figures.

Fabio Capello, Lord Triesman and Brian Barwick met with a group of England fans from across the country for an historic meeting, that saw everything from the England captain to the National Football Centre at Burton discussed in a lively debate.

Having gathered in the atrium at The FA's Headquarters, fans met with Barwick, Triesman and Capello before sitting down to discuss the issues that mean the most to the supporters.

Triesman, who began work at The FA as the first Independent Chairman at the start of February, received the opening question from the fans about his priorities in his new role.

Drawing on his own experiences as a football fan Triesman told the gathered supporters that he has three aims: "I want to see us with a winning team, one we can feel proud of, and one that qualifies for major tournaments.

"Secondly, I believe that football requires long-term planning and I want to see us with a system in place right from the grassroots of the game, the kids, through to the England senior team. We need to have our coaching right, our standards right and our performance criteria right so that if we have the success of my first priority, we can then sustain it over the years.

"My final priority is that I really would like us to win the bid for the 2018 World Cup. People have used the expression that we are the cradle of football, and there is that history here, and I would like to feel that people could see the greatest competition of all come home to this country."

Joyce Cook, a member of the Disabled englandfans branch, asked Brian Barwick how confident he was that England could host the World Cup, and he responded by saying: "We have a football culture in this country that is fantastic and it is recognised globally. We fully understand that other nations will also want to host the tournament, but we have a real appetite to try and get this. We feel that 52 years on from the last World Cup in this country it is the right time for us, we want to win it for the public in this country."

Fans then asked Capello about what is likely to happen in the coming months regarding the captaincy of the Three Lions, to which the England Manager explained that he would look at the candidates and decide upon the right person in time for the World Cup qualification.

Capello said: "I think it is very important to choose the captain for the World Cup qualification games, but I have to know not only the player but the man as well. He must be a symbol of the England team.

"To be that symbol he must be a good player, a good man and he has to represent the England team, always, in every situation."

Fans went on to talk about the issues relating to foreign players competing in England, before discussing the importance of the National Football Centre at Burton to which Barwick said: "It is really important to our work to have our footballing people based there, so that they can look out their window and not see other buildings but football pitches, footballers and young players."

One of the key areas of discussion for the supporters was England's new home, Wembley. With fans getting their first taste of the ground in 2007 there was much to talk about and Barwick was keen to stress that feedback from supporters was crucial to improving the experience for all supporters who attend the stadium.

When Ken Malley, an England supporter from the South West, asked about the possibility of matches kicking off earlier in the evenings Barwick explained the different factors that go into deciding when a match begins and the difficulty that exists in pleasing everyone.

The aptly-named Lindsay England asked Capello about what he would do to foster a winning mentality amongst the England players, and ensure that they were able to perform at the same levels they were achieving for their clubs.

Capello said: "This is the first problem I have met with after the match with Switzerland. I watched a lot of games and followed a lot of players and when they played with their clubs, they were very good and very confident. But when they played against Switzerland it changed.

"I think since the England team failed to qualify for the European Championship, the confidence within players has not been so good and I have to work a lot to recover the mentality and improve the confidence."

Lord Triesman discussed the proposals of the Premier League to play matches abroad, with fans voicing their own opinions on the plans, before Joyce Cook asked Brian Barwick whether it was likely that the Home Nations tournament would be rectified. Barwick said that while The FA had wanted to play Scotland this summer, the match would not happen as the Scots felt they were unable to fulfill the fixture.

When asked about his approach to friendly matches in general, Capello simply responded that 'friendlies do not exist'. Capello was then asked about the likelihood of David Beckham earning his 100th cap and he admitted that if he is fit, in form and playing regularly then it is likely the former England captain will reach the milestone.

Mark Perryman discussed with Lord Triesman just how far England fans have come in recent years to improve the image of football supporters in this country, and Triesman agreed that what has been achieved should be applauded.

Olivia Platt asked just how realistic it was for England supporters to believe that they could win something, and while Capello admitted they first had to qualify for the World Cup there is always a chance.

"It will be tough after the defeat to Croatia, we have to recover the confidence of the players" said Capello. "If you qualify then you can think about whether you can win or not, but first you must qualify.

"We have good, young players in the Under-21s squad now, and we have two years until the World Cup."

An historic meeting for all the fans present, it was a deeply interesting debate between football fans from across the country with three people who really can make a difference to the sport that so many follow with such passion.