I hate international breaks. Not because I hate England, but I hate the fact we usually lose two or three players through injury, thereby affecting the following weekend’s squad pick.

More to the point in recent years is the fact no one really shows much interest or even cares anymore unless it’s the finals of Euros or the World Cup itself. This I believe is partly due to the TV companies and the FA selling out to the highest bidder all the time. I know not a soul who paid up to £12 to watch a meaningless game v Ukraine last Saturday. And rightly so. We should never have to pay to watch our national sport being played by our national team.

Let’s be honest though. I and many people I know are just sick of the same 20-25 in the squad with no new young talent coming through. Just who will replace the many players who are bound to announce retirements after South Africa? Gerrard, Lampard, Beckham, maybe even Terry and Ferdinand will probably call it a day post-2010 finals. I suppose my point is that watching England no longer floats my boat in the way the boys do. The recent game v Blackburn was pure football entertainment, a joy to be part of. When was the last time you could say that about an England performance?

Pointless qualifiers are bad enough, but before the season ends I’m sure there will be at least two more international breaks for even more pointless friendly matches. I can’t remember the last England friendly I watched? Probably Eriksson’s first outing as manager.

When I was a teenager someone asked me “England to win the World Cup, or Arsenal to win the Champions League?” Back then, that question would have kept me awake at night. Now it’s a no-brainer. I hope England do well in South Africa, I really do, but as an Arsenal fan, that is very much at the back of my mind.