I'd love Everton to win the PL next year, but I don't think we will. Doesn't mean I'm not an Evertonian or that my negativity will somehow have an adverse effect on our chances... does it?

I know when Saturday comes, I’ll have a few beers or a couple of glasses of wine and cheer them on, but if Landon knocked a couple in? Well wouldn’t be the end of the world would it?

ps: Michael Kenrick, are you based in the States?

I'd rather cheer for some of these MLS guys whose bonus for playing in the World Cup ACTUALLY meant something to them despite being something like $25k.

Sorry Michael, but you sometimes you just can't defeat patriotism. That particular piece of comment had me rolling on the floor. Never mind, the Yanks will be great until they look at the score after 90 mins.

COME ON YOU ENGLAND

I would love it if Landon creams that money grabbing Ashley Cole. Despite saying that, I expect England to scrape a win and the Hype to reach mega proportions.

Ireland should be in South Africa now rather than the cheating French. Fifa's ridiculous seedings mean that qualifiers are a non-contest in which average countries like Bosnia, Belgium, Poland and Northern ireland have no chance of qualifying.

England seem to me to represent all I despise about football. I have many friends who are British to the core who would be glad to see England lose to a team of Nazi war criminals. I think there is a serious article to be written about this topic if anyone feels like taking it up.

We go into every major tournament expecting to win. No chance, the current England squad is probably the worst for over a decade.

As for being an Evertonian and cheering any team with Gerrard as captain well.... I simply can't even contemplate it.

But... Euro 2004, Rooney's cheerleaders in the Sky Press and the lovely Manc players like Rio, the self-professed Scouse hating Chuckle Brother engineering his move to OT, started to turn me off the national team. Allied with the whole Ingurlland tabloid hype, the scummy players — Stevie Me, Fat Frank, Cashley, 'JT', Rio The Merk and a host of others. Greedy dull Sven, Stcheeevev McLaren... I'd given up completely and took no interest in England's performances in the last few tournaments.

I really thought under Capello that things would improve. This time the hype has lessened, and the players are not the ones running the show but... same old, same old. The same bunch of over-hyped, over-rated players. I'll watch, hope it's a great tournament, but not arsed about England one way or the other any more — which is a shame as I think my national team has sort of been stolen from me.

Whatever... I know I'll get slated for it by some but it's how I feel. And for the World Cup, I know they have an ageing squad... but my money is on on Italy for the Semi-Final.

Not that I am unpatriotic but I do feel our overpaid, egotistical, money gabbing shaggers like Terry and Cashley Cole need to be given a "bloody nose" early on in the tournament to make them realize that they are not there just to just pick up the money and the publicity but that they are there to do a job and represent the nation.

I am already pissed off about the amount of hype surrounding this mediocre and aging England team** — and the fuckin' wags that court the limelight. And our media are already making all the same old mistakes, building us up before a disappointing fall. And if I see Terry Venables doing his pub singer bit one more time I'm gonna kick the tele in ! So frigin crass.

** Oldest average age team in the tournament and also the oldest average age England team since 1966, I think.

There are thousands of goals scored because the players have dived and won a penalty or even a free kick and a goal’s been scored, or a player’s jumped offside, or turned the defender and scored. It’s all part of football, some decisions go for you, some go against, but according to the British press Maradonna ranks up there with Hitler, Vlad the impaler, Jack the Ripper et al, and forget that he was the greatest footballer of his time and scored one of the all time great WC goals.

Oh BTW Conor, if I remember rightly, there was a French player in an offside position when they took the free kick, so you can be doubly pissed off.

Since you brought up '96, I can appreciate the team played well that year and were close. The current lot is nowhere near as good as that squad.

Why we are talked about as possible winners is beyond me. Let's not forget, this will be a team with probably David James in Goal and Heskey up front. That's Pathetic.

Your "Apologists" post was classic TW.

With this, you have refused to jump aboard the "Englund" bandwagon. Keep saying it as you see it - it makes great reading and is very refreshing.