With Lord Triesman having been caught yapping about their rivals’ potential for corruption (what is it with FA chief executives who can’t keep their mouths shut?) England’s bid for the 2018 World Cup now looks more hopeful than probable, which will leave London with a lot of post-Olympics infrastructure lying idle.
Not that we should be wishing any ill winds to blow their way. Declan Lynch was urging us ‘Paddies’ in the Sindo to swallow hard and break the habit of a lifetime and cheer on the Three Lions in South Africa. After Ireland’s World Cup dream ended in such harrowing circumstances last year (Christ, the craic we’ve been cheated of) the English went out of their way to protest our case. Maybe it was fuelled by a bit of anti-French bias, but there’s no escaping the fact that our neighbours couldn’t have been more empathetic, when, let’s face it, if the boot was on the other foot we’d have been laughing our holes off.
So isn’t it time we reciprocated and cheered on Capello, Rio and co? Probably. But will we? And take away the last bit of craic we’ve got left… maybe next time.
