England - They're As Poor As Us

I GAVE up on England last night. I watched their losses to Italy and Uruguay out of the usual Scottishness - ie, I'd have hated to think of them losing and me not seeing their distress for myself.

 

So, I felt I had to watch their final game, against Costa Rica, just in case they did the Scottish thing and went out in a blaze of glory, winning when it mattered not. However, after half an hour, I gave up - it was like watching paint dry.

 

I tried to get into the Italy v Uruguay match, but couldn't. After all, these are two of the most-cynical nations in football. It says it all, when the two memorable vignettes from an instantly forgettable match were the red card and the latest bit of madness from Liverpool Luis.

 

Senor Suarez SHOULD be told to hang-up his boots forthwith; but, hey, this is FIFA. He will get a mild slap on the wrist, nothing more - and will surely bite again.

 

I have not entirely given-up on this World Cup. It will improve once we get down to the nitty-gritty of the knock-out phase.

 

Meanwhile, England will come home to a three-day orgy of blame and introspection, from which they will probably be released by a Scotsman from Dunblane and the UK Media's obsession with winners. Then, we will go into the Commonwealth Games, which will take us through nicely to the start of the next football season.

 

Cue the drum rolls and the trumpets - the English Premiership - "The Greatest League In The World" will be back, and, provided we all buy our packages to keep the money rolling in, all will be well with the world.

 

"English" football will again rule the world - just don't mention World Cups, European Championships, or, indeed, international football involving England.

 

 

 

GOOD Luck to big Alan Stubbs, one of the good guys in football. IF the men running Hibs decide to carry-n as they have started, trying to bring through their own, home-grown talent, and playing the sort of attacking football which the very few who remember the Famous Five can relate to; then the club will rise again.

 

Stubbs, with his exposure to the Celtic and Everton ways - closely akin to the Hibs way - just might be the right man to supervise this recovery.

 

Just don't make his already difficult job more difficult by having too-high hopes or expectations. The SPFL Championship just may be the most-difficult division in all of the UK to call next season. It will be dog eat dog, but, Hibs have, I suspect, as good a chance as Hearts or Rangers of winning the division.

 

 

 

JUST had a further thought on Luis Suarez and his alleged bite in the Italian job. This could be a gift to the increasingly beleagured Sepp Blatter.

 

Create enough of a media storm around this, throw Suarez to the wolves and, it just might win him enough time to sort out the rather awkward matter of the Qatar bribery allegations, while the media is concentrating on hanging the Uruguayan out to dry.