I think some are going overboard slightly. Yes it was time for some players to go but lets not forget that we have recently beaten Australia and India (in their back yard)
The tour has been a disaster, its a more hungry Australia, playing in their own conditions, and I really do think England have been shocked at the verbals they have received and its got under their skin. The Australians have already warned South Africa to expect the same but the impact will be less as they are now expecting it.
The England team has always been at its best when fighting to acheive, in 05 it was to win the Ashes at home, After that it was to win in Australia, win a short over format championship, become number 1 in the world, win in India...
After we spanked India over here, who recalls how South Africa dominated us?
However last summer and this winter has shown the downfalls of centralised contracts imo. Australia selected weaker sides for tour games and this left us tragically exposed for the test arena.