Hayden Meikle: Thinking of England

It's international week in football. That means no Premier League games and that's always a pain in the Arsene.

Football must stand alone as a sport that breaks up its domestic season to allow international teams to play qualifiers or friendlies.

You certainly wouldn't see NBA teams asked to take, well, a time out to play international basketball in the middle of a season. The NFL doesn't even have to consider it, because American football isn't an international sport.

Things like cricket do run international games alongside domestic action, but the domestic games simply proceed without the best players.

Rugby in New Zealand has a similar situation, with the All Blacks playing at the same time as an All Blacks-less national championship. Though, if plans proceed for a ridiculously long Super competition, the Highlanders and company will have a week off here and there to allow some tests to be played during the competition.

Here at the ODT office, which is a nice microcosm of world football as it has a Liverpool fan (me), a Manchester United fan (the online dude), a Portsmouth fan (the boss) and The Only True Football Fan (the arts guy), international week is greeted with about as much enthusiasm as
another story on John Wilson Drive.

The lifeblood of the distant football fan is office chit-chat, most of which is unprintable and a good portion of which is semi-defamatory.

With no Premier League games, how will we keep debating these questions:

1. Are Spurs a genuine contender this season?

2. How can Michael Turner, an English defender you've never heard of, be worth 12 million quid?

3. What was more theatrical: Eduardo's dive or Wenger's clamber into the Old Trafford stands?

4. How on EARTH did that Darren Fletcher tackle not result in a penalty?

5. Could Harry Redknapp possibly steal any more players from his former club?

6. When do we start to get really worried about Manchester City?

Still, the World Cup is less than a year away, so at least this international window has some relevance.

It's funny how most New Zealand football fans could tell you more about Fabio Capello's England than about Ricki Herbert's All Whites.

That's both understandable - England's always on television and the leading players are household names for the same reason; England also plays regular games against quality opposition - and a little sad.

The truth is the All Whites won't become sexy again until they return to the World Cup for the first time since 1982, which they can do by beating either Bahrain or Saudi Arabia in a two-legged tie later this year.

Then maybe we will be talking about the deadly boot of Shane Smeltz, the lovely crosses of Leo Bertos and the bizarrely under-rated goalkeeping of Glen Moss, not just the merits of playing Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard together, the left midfield problem and the god that is Peter Crouch.

I have to confess I'm a big England fan - though I stress I also follow the All Whites and will be one of the first on that bandwagon if they qualify for South Africa 2010.

Just like little English kids, I dream of following an England team that wins something, anything.

I look at a lineup that features Wayne Rooney, Stevie G, Fat Frank, Rio Ferdinand and John Terry and I wonder how this team CAN'T win something. Or at least beat someone on penalties for a change.