England Expects. (A bit too much)

Is it any wonder that the stereotype about footballers being thick still exists? Every time you hear one of them being interviewed about the possible pressures they are under they always seem to say 'oh it doesn't bother me because I don't read the papers.' The rumours are that if England win Euro 2008 next summer John Terry and his team are looking forward to shaking Prime Minister Tony Blair's hand before heading off to a lavish reception with Princess Diana.

But perhaps where England are concerned the players are right not to take too much notice of the media circus around them. Today's newspaper informs me that the 'countdown to the crunch Euro qualifier' has now reached three days. Really? Wednesday is three days away from Saturday? Well thanks for clearing that up. Countdowns might be common in space launches or Channel 4's afternoon scheduling but to a home qualifier against a nation who have qualified for precisely one World Cup in their history? Give me a break.

The countdown sums up the amazing hype and expectation placed upon this England team. Everything is sensationalized. An injury to Wayne Rooney and suspension for Peter Crouch constitutes a 'striking crisis,' conveniently ignoring the dozen or so top class strikers Steve McClaren has left to choose from. The one he seems to have plumped for is Emile Heskey, how convenient, here's someone else the 'fans' can boo instead of you, Steve.

This hype of course reaches fever pitch once every two years. You know it's coming, you've seen those white flags with a red cross sticking out from the back of your neighbour's car, draped outside your local and heaven forbid, even painted on the faces of excited pre-teens. Oh god, England are in a major championships.

But no, England aren't just in the tournament, they are going to win it. It's not even up for debate. 'The Boys of 66' (who've been woken from their two year slumber) are inspiring them to do it, dear old Sir Alf is willing them on from up above and inevitably, they have 'the best squad in the competition.'

I'm not being anti-English, far from it, I'm just looking at it from the outside in, the people I'm getting at here are those who utter the dreaded phrase 'I don't really support a club, but I always watch England when they're on.' Has there ever been a more annoying statement uttered? It's right up there with 'and this is the new James Blunt song.'

A sense of perspective is needed. It appears as though England's only chance of winning this weekend lies in the toe of a drugged-up Steven Gerrard (and they used to say Liverpool were a one man team). Israel's players will hardly be shaking in their boots, but England's might.

Guus Hiddink might have been onto something when he said that England's players were 'scared to win'. It's more complicated than that, but he has a point. There is always a villain with England, it's never simply that their opponents were better than them. The players performances are dissected touch by touch. Flawless league form will be overlooked in favour of half an hour in a friendly in your wrong position (the main reason Jamie Carragher decided that he'd had enough).

England will win on Saturday, I'll even stick my neck out and say they'll labour to a 2-0 success (hopefully with two goals from Heskey, that'll show them) but that probably won't be good enough. Be prepared to read overanalysis of the performance in the Sunday papers. Of course by then it'll only be four days to the Russia game...