BILLY BUNTER

Weblog: The football punter

Patriotism? I'll be bathing in Spain's glory

PATRIOTISM paid off when England's Under-21s landed a tasty correct-score wager for me on Thursday but I'll be abandoning my country for Saturday's clash with Spain.

Ugo Ehiogu was the last English player to score against the Spanish and I reckon he could hold on to that rare honour for a while yet.

Hilariously, I saw an article suggesting that England's best hope of winning was to play like Arsenal. What, rely on Robin van Persie to score all the goals while you defend terribly? Of the woeful plans I've heard that the Three Lions should adopt that isn't the worst, aside from the minor issue that RVP is Dutch.

Rather than worrying about whether England can win this game, the FA have been keen to stress that the future for the national team holds promise thanks to the development centre St George's Park, which opens in Burton next year.

Judge us in 20 years, they're saying. I'm all for long-term thinking but if we all got two decades to decide whether we'd done a good job on something or not, the country would bein a woeful state.

I've just had my bathroom refitted, but can you imagine if when I asked why the toilet flush was so weak the plumber had told me to judge my lav in 20 years? I'd have stuck his plunger where the sun don't shine. 

Anyway, apparently the Burton centre has got an extensive hydrotherapy area. Yep, that's what's going to solve English football's problems, a posh bath.

Speaking of which, I'm expecting to treat myself to a nice soak in the suds while Mrs Bunter watches The X Factor after the England game.

Yep, call me unpatriotic if you like, but I'll be bathing in Spain's glory.