Palios is up for the cup
When TS heard that former Football Association bigwig Mark Palios was to appear on our latest Insider Business Club webcast, we couldn’t help but pop down to the recording studio to ask him the question on everybody’s lips. And Mark was candid in his response.
England has the best opportunity ‘for a long time’ and ‘for some time to come’ of winning the World Cup in Germany this summer, he said. This was down to the age profile of the players and the tournament being played in a familiar and hospitable climate, he believed.
What came as more of a surprise is the admission that the role of the FA was not to ensure England won the competition but to ‘realise the full potential of the interest in this country in the game’. This would mean qualifying for major international tournaments every two years and reaching the quarter finals, apparently. Who says football was a game all about glory?
Perhaps this is why Sven feels confident in selecting Jermaine Jenas and Peter Crouch.