I heard the BBC's excellent Mike Ingham on 5Live last night on the way home from the game. Of course he wasn't talking about us but about Rooney finally hitting form, and Chelsea too. He cited the last World Cup as to Rooney's, Lampard and Terry's indifferent seasons. Maybe their hangover is finally gone he said.
All sounds a bit pathetic to me, so they play a few games in the summer and it takes them 6 or 7 months to get over it.
Then I realised I too had been suffering from a World Cup hangover. I am unusual, so I'm told, as I am country over club. I have suffered so much disappointment with England over the years. From the non-qualifying of my first World Cup that I followed - '74, through '78, early hope in '82, cheated in '86 and shoot out nightmares in '90, '96, '98 etc etc.
Looking back, and not just as an England fan, I don't think I've enjoyed a World Cup fully since '90. 94 was strange and surreal and '98 well, it went well but the hijacking of the final by the corporates set the tone for years to come.
Anyway, SA 2010 was just bloody awful. Not just us. Everything was so negative. The final a joke. I was peed off with football full time. I was not alone, a lot of my friends felt the same. I bought my ST, moved to excellent halfway line seats but just wasn't interested. Went to the first couple of games but then found myself finding reasons not to go to the Valley. I didn't watch much MOTD, Football League Show, Gillette Soccer Special, Ford Super Sunday or Soccer AM etc etc. Well certainly not as religiously as I used to.
I had not only a World Cup hangover but also a football hangover. I'd fallen out of love.
Well I thought I'd let you know, I think it's over. Last night helped. Not that the football was any good but just that for the first time in ages I enjoyed myself. I loved the fact that we took advantage of some luck and nicked the points. I am, till the next game at least, optomistic, I have even looked at the away fixtures left!
I watched MOTD tonight, all of it. I'm a bit of a romantic and am enjoying King Kenny back. If we also had King Kev at Newcastle, Sir Trev at West Ham and Big Ron at Villa I'd be even more happy.
I really enjoyed going to Swindon in the Play Offs last season and hope we at least get to that stage again.
Come On You Reds!
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I think personally the play-off defeat hit me a lot harder than the World Cup farce... found it quite hard to get into Charlton this season which sounds mental for someone who has followed cafc for as long as I can remember but it's probably true - I didn't even go to an away game until the start of November which is just completely alien for my standards. Because of missing the likes of MK Dons due to work, I hadn't even seen us win at The Valley since Bournemouth on the opening day until the Plymouth game.
However, like you say... it's back to business for everyone now, we've got Powelly in, we've got a competitive and exciting squad, if a little bit short in certain areas and we've got more than a chance in what is a ridiculously competitive division.
Oh... and we've got the comfort that the grim reaper isn't behind us ready to pounce if we don't quite make promotion this season.
COME ON YOU ADDICKS!
{and sod England, even though I'm booked up for Copenhagen I don't really give much of a toss... only in it for the booze and the jaunt! Though Cardiff is a completely different kettle of fish!}
Copenhagen? Beer? It's about €20 a pint out there!
There will not be any drinking done in English/Irish themed bars!
After Basel in September we're confident of our beer-tax avoidance measures... £9 a pint it was over there, even Copenhagen is cheaper than that!