The start of Euro 2004 is fast approaching. England fans across the
country are debating the pros and cons of the diamond midfield
formation against the more traditional 4-4-2 system. White van
drivers, taxi drivers, people carrier drivers, go faster metal alloy
wheel trim drivers, and family saloon drivers are proudly flying the
cross of St. George from their vehicles.

The supermarkets are bursting with cross of St George design t-
shirts, polo shirts, casual going down the pub shirts, blouses,
dresses, underwear, socks, pyjamas, women's nighties, blow up chairs,
flags, more flags, flags everywhere, big and hang from your living
room window flags, little wave in front of the tele flags, medium
size flags, tea towels, beach towels, barbecue sets complete with
cross of St George plastic plates and plastic cups.

Pubs everywhere are decorated with the flag. They sag and hang limply
on your head from just above as you try to order a pint. The people
lick their lips in anticipation of this footballing feast. Land of
Hope and Glory, The Great Escape, God Save The Queen. We've cried
through 38 years of hurt, but it never stopped us dreaming. Come on
Eng er land. Make us proud.

The problem for me is that I don't feel a part of this mass hysteria
of patriotic flag waving. Why is this? Shouldn't I be letting the
fervour of '66, the pride of Moore, Peters and Hurst, the anger at
the injustice of the handballing incident by the vertically
challenged of '86 and the Italia `90 tears of Gazza pervade and sink
into my very being. Shouldn't it resurface into a stiff upper lipped
pride that makes me want to rush out and hang a couple of pieces of
red crossed cloth from the windows of my car with a third flapping
from the aerial for good measure? Shouldn't I be 100 percent behind
England? My England? My team?

There lies the difficulty. England isn't my team. My team is
Liverpool. Liverpool belongs to me in a way that England never can.
Liverpool is in my blood, Liverpool affects my moods. Following
Liverpool has given me some of the best times in my life, and some of
the worst. Liverpool FC is a part of who I am. To me, England is just
a sideshow. This coming competition, a bit of interest during a
summer barren of league football. England just doesn't stimulate the
same feelings of passion and allegiance that I feel for Liverpool.
England isn't important to me. I may feel a mild sense of pleasure if
England wins, but I'm not elated. There may be a quickly passing
sense of slight disappointment if they lose but I'm not `gutted'. In
terms of football, the only team that can make me euphoric or leave
me feeling desolate is Liverpool. Those strong feelings associated
with a passion in your life are precious, and they can only be
reserved for what is important to you. I'm sorry England, but like
a '74, '78 or '94 World Cup, you don't qualify.

Why do I feel like this? Why do I feel so disconnected from the
national team? Why can't I summon up some passion for the cause? A
major reason was mentioned in the previous paragraph. I don't feel
that England belongs to me. I'm a scouser, a northerner, but this
argument applies if you're from anywhere outside of London and its
surrounding areas. England doesn't belong to the people, because it
doesn't come to the people. This latest footballing road show of the
last few years as a homeless England has cavorted around the country
doesn't count, because we all know that as soon as Wembley is rebuilt
England will return to `the home of football' and `the venue of
legends'.

I'm sure I would feel more for England if they played around the
stadiums of the country and involved the people instead of excluding
them. There are plenty of stadiums in the country that can host
England games. The last few years have proved the point. Why should
people have to travel miles to Wembley when they want to go to an
England match? Wembley will be a valid place to hold an England
international, but it's no more valid than any other league football
stadium that has the capacity and facilities to host an international
match. I will concede that some games need to be hosted in a large
stadium such as Wembley when England play teams that have a high
pulling power, but this is only a small percentage of the total.
Surely its better to play a friendly against, say, Hungary in a
smaller stadium that will probably be filled close to capacity rather
than a half empty and soul less `national' stadium. If I'm ever going
to be involved enough to call myself an England supporter, England
are going to have to make the effort and take the game to the people.
The fact that England has travelled the country lately because they
haven't got a `permanent' home isn't good enough. Easy access to see
your national side should be a right, not a privilege.

I may not understand why millions of people are buying anything at
the moment that bears the cross of St. George, and I may not
understand how and why people summon up the pride and passion to
drive them to hang England flags from their cars and houses, but I'm
glad that the flag has been reclaimed by the people. The St. George
cross had been hijacked by the far right for too long. It had come to
be associated with hate fuelled far right ideologies so it is
desirable that the people have claimed it back to represent their
pride in their national football team and their country.

However, how far does national pride go when you're supporting
England? Even if England did have a lasting policy of sharing the
game with the people around the country I'm not sure if I could get
involved. The connotations associated with the phrase `England
supporter' are alien to me and fill me with dread. It's the mass
display of ridiculous false national pride that I can't stomach. I
don't want to generalise too much, but I write from the perspective
of what I observe.

Why do thousands of English supporters sing `Rule Britannia' while
supporting their national team? Britain hasn't got a football team.
I'm looking at Group B right now. It doesn't say France, Croatia,
Switzerland and Britain. It's pure jingoism. It's the sub text that
says `we are British and we are superior'. It's the premise that
thousands of hooligans work on as they give the foreigners a `good
kicking' as they fight with notions in their head of an empire that
doesn't exist any more. `Britannia rules the waves?' No it doesn't,
it hasn't done for a long time. It certainly used to, and the legacy
of the empire has created present day problems all over the world for
countries in the Caribbean, to Africa, to the Far East. It's not
something to be proud of, and it has absolutely no relevance to
supporting a football team. Singing `Rule Britannia' is nothing more
than crass misplaced pride in a false notion of superiority as a
people, and in a country that has been culturally imperialised by
America, lost its identity, and is little more than the 51st state.
It goes beyond supporting a football team, and I want no part of it.

It's the same premise when England play Germany and the theme music
to `The Great Escape' is blasted out for large portions of the game.
It's that same notion of superiority. It's pure foreigner baiting. I
have nothing but admiration for the brave soldiers of the many
nationalities that liberated Europe from the occupying Nazis, but
this is the 21st century. Germany is a crucial part of the European
Union and the attitude of `we are superior to you because we won the
war' is outdated, simplistic and as ridiculous as John Cleese's
parody of nationalism in the famous episode of `Fawlty Towers'.

Earlier in this article I mentioned that I considered England as a
sideshow. Often it's quite an unwelcome sideshow. Usually when
England is playing it's during the football season. Quite often it's
what I would consider a meaningless friendly which tires my club
teams players and threatens them with possible injury. How can I get
involved and support something that could jeopardise the fitness of
some of the best players in the team that I support? For me, it's an
unwanted distraction and a hindrance. In last months issue of 4-4-2
magazine there is a reader's letter that basically says that the
writer was happy because Scholes received a 3 match ban so he could
have a rest before Euro 2004. He also calls on the managers in the
Premiership to give their England squad members a rest and use them
sparingly for the last games of the season so that they are fresh to
play for England. I can't understand this attitude. To me, my club is
everything. The needs of England don't even register. If players are
fit to play for England that's fine, but to want players to be rested
by their clubs so that England can benefit at the expense of the club
is beyond my comprehension.

Supporting England with total passion cannot be achieved without
overriding your club loyalties. It requires you to switch on and
switch off feelings at a whim and I cannot manage to do this. How am
I, as a Scouser, supposed to get behind the alleged Liverpool hating
Gary Neville. I dislike him with a passion. I just can't do it. How
am I, as a Liverpool supporter, supposed to cheer on Wayne Rooney? I
just can't bring myself to do it. It would go against my whole
identity as a Red. I think it could even trigger a personality
crisis. Some things are just too dangerous to tamper with.

So, forgive me if I don't get too over enthusiastic about England And
Euro 2004. Forgive me that I'm not going to fly the flag or buy the t-
shirt. Don't get me wrong. I want England to win. It's just that I
won't be too bothered if they don't.


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I'd be interested to know how other supporters feel about some of the
issues I've raised.
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'Sing When We're Standing' is an audio cd of the Kop at Anfield
recorded during the last ever game standing v Norwich in 1994. It
captures a moment in history and the end of an era. For more details
and to hear a sample from the cd please visit www.kopcd.co.uk