Wednesday 4th June

I can remember previous World Cups (well they do come around every four years) and it was quite different.  Flags hanging out of windows, bunting and even mini-flags for cars and the papers full of “30 years of hurt” and “We’re backing our boys” and other assorted jingoistic nonsense.  But this time – nothing.  An eerie silence, and I have to keep reminding myself – did we actually qualify this time?  So why?  Why no bunting? Why, in fact does everyone expect us not only not to win it but to most probably not even scrape through the first round?

Is it because it is in Brazil itself, and Brazil usually either win it or are runners-up?  Is it because there are no superstars in our team this time, though fat lot of good it did us when we had Owen and Beckham and Ferdinand and all.   Is it because the manager is so quietly spoken and, well sensibly boring?  Is it maybe because we have grown up at last and realised that we aren’t actually that good at football (even if we did invent it) and that even against minor nations we struggle?  Is it because we have Italy in our group?  And Colombia?  Or even Costa Rica?

Or is it because we all secretly harbor the burning belief that we will win it one day, and well – you never know, but it is cooler to be self-denigrating, to write off our chances so that when we do get to the final it will be such a surprise and as underdogs we will actually win it?

Answers on a postcard please and the first card drawn will win a ticket to Heathrow airport to see our returning heroes in about two weeks time….