Football...

Last night was our manger, Craig Miskin's leaving do. 

About halfway through the evening the England - Peru game came on the TV and it got me thinking. 

England's world cup group fixtures are:

14 June 2014 - England v Italy, Arena Amazonia, Manaus,  30C (87F) and 80 per cent humidity.

19 June 2014 - Uruguay v England , Arena de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo

24 June 2014 - Costa Rica v England, Estadio Mineirao, Belo Horizonte

So in two weeks the English Team will be playing in Brazil... Last night it was 17 Degrees in London.  So playing in London on a cold 17 degree night against South American opposition is the same as playing in Brazil?

I think they've missed the point. Sure it was South American opposition, but the problem won't be who you play but the effects of travelling and the local climate on their physiology. 

What is it with football? Why can't they do joined up thinking?

The problem in Brazil will be how we react to the temperature and humidity. Surely it would be more sensible to play a series of warm up matches in countries that have greater heat or humidity. 

Doing a tour maybe of Singapore. It'd be hard physically but surely a better way to prepare physiologically? You'd arrive and it would be easier. 

Then the other obvious thing was you have a whole bunch of young footballers, and they are going to put them into a team hotel sharing a room. At home my son sleeps through the night, send him on a sleep over and he spends the whole night pissing around. It's what boys do. 

They're all professionals. Playing for their teams, most are superstars. 

Do they live with the team during the season? Of course not. They live disciplined lives at home. They train, play 38-60 games a season, and still manage to live normal(ish) lives. 

When I grew up John Salako lived in Westerham. He was playing for Crystal Palace at the time. He had a curfew and would regularly pop down and spend an hour with us, before going home. 

So why would they consider that footballers bringing their wives or girlfriends with them would be wrong?

The most sensible thing to do would be to set the team up exactly as it works at home. 

Give them normality so they can get on and play the game they're good at...