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England? No thanks. Give me the Championship any day of the week…

27th August 2008 By Tom Haylett Leave a Comment

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I've never really been into watching England. To be fair, when the Euros/World Cup is on (and England are actually competing) you can't help but get a bit carried away by it all.

But I'd honestly rather watch paint dry than waste my time watching these friendly internationals.

Last week's 2-2 draw with the Czech Republic was as lacklustre a Three Lions performance (I caught a glimpse of the highlights) as I've ever seen. It all begs the question, do they even care?

You always hear the same old claptrap after their latest no-show, but each and every time, they all skulk back to the comfort of their clubs. And nine times out of ten, they'll look like different players the following Saturday.

In his FourFourTwo column, the outstanding Henry Winter sums up it all up in a nutshell and the current crop just lack that edge needed to compete at international level.

“Liberated with their clubs, Rooney, Gerrard and the Coles appear inhibited with their country,” he commented. “Maybe the blame lies with the media. Maybe it is the fans.

“Maybe if England played in an empty stadium, with the press boxes filled only with correspondents from OK!, the players would throw off the yoke of expectation and deliver.

“Capello's greatest task with England is removing the fear factor. The astute Italian cannot admit it publicly, as such an admission would trigger headlines of the 'My Lions Are Scared Kittens' variety, but he has acknowledged privately that restoring English confidence is Challenge No.1”

On Sky Sports' excellent Sunday Supplement show, the Daily Telegraph's Patrick Barclay even suggested that England were now an even worse side than they were under Steve McClaren (talking of McClaren, did anyone hear his now infamous interview for Netherlands TV in which he speaks in a ludicrous Dutch accent?).

Barclay slammed Capello, calling England a “shambles,” claiming he has “never seen an England team worse set up” and arguing that the Italian fails to understand to culture of English football. Then came the biggest statement of the show, “It was madness to get rid of McClaren.”

Now I'm not sure that's the case but they certainly don't seem to be making many forward strides under Capello and for the first time for a long while, the paying public are voting with their feet.

'Only' 69,738 attended last week's bore draw and considering they usually sell-out for these friendlies, the powers that be at the FA will be a little worried at the sudden drop in numbers. But at ?40-odd quid for a ticket, why bother turning up? The players certainly don't.

For pure excitement, if not always genuine quality, you can't beat the Championship and I can honestly say that ITV's highlights package on a Sunday morning is more likely to get me out of bed (OK, I'm up anyway running after my 18-month-old) than Match of the Day is to keep me awake on a Saturday.

And this season's league looks like being as competitive as ever. Whilst it's still early days, it's anyone's guess as to be who will up there when we enter the business end of season 08/09.

This weekend's visitors to Carrow Road, Birmingham City, are the obvious favourites to return to the Premier League. With the likes of Kevin Phillips, Garry O'Connor, Cameron Jerome, Gary McSheffrey, Marcus Bent and Scotland talisman James McFadden in their striking ranks, that firepower alone should be enough to see them get promoted.

In all honesty, they should walk this division and the embarrassment of riches in their forward line makes the Canaries' options in that department look rather paltry.

But after that, who knows? Sheffield United look decent, as do Wolves and Preston. But it will certainly be a campaign of ups and downs, twists and turns and plenty of any other cliches I can't think of at this minute.

For me, City have a hell of a lot to do to get themselves up into the chasing pack but this is the Championship. Who would have predicted Stoke and Hull's elevation to the Promised Land? Not many, that's for sure.

The 'anyone can beat anyone' line has enhanced the second tier's brand over the past few years and I've lost count of the amount of friends and acquaintances who have said they would rather watch the Championship than the top flight, let alone England.

I've got a real hunch that Norwich may well turn over the Blues this Saturday. And it's that unpredictability which makes it such a spectacle – much more of a spectacle than England v whoever at a half-empty Wembley Stadium.


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Filed Under: Tom Haylett

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