After Englands disapointing result against the Swiss it was mentioned that many of our players were tired and that it was not the right time to expect them to up their game to International standard at this time of the year. This got me to thinking, is International football really a step up any more? I think not. An international side, by its very nature, is limited to playing only players that qualify as that nationality. This is obviously not the case for clubs. Don't get me wrong, there are some very good international sides out there, but all of them carry 3 or 4 players in their sides that are not quite up to the standard of their stars. Take Spain for instance, 'World and European champions' speaks for itself, but I think Barca are better. Most if not all the best Spanish players play for Barca and then they also have the likes of Messi on top. I think if it were possible for Barca to play Spain at the moment that Barca would win comfortably. I would imagine this would play out the same if you took the top 10 national sides against the top 10 clubs. This brings me to the point of this post. Norwich head into the Premier League next season and I honestly think that the top 4 or 5 are probably better than almost all national sides. I know we will not be competing with the top sides, but the majority of players up against us even for the lesser clubs will regularly represent their country (we have very few). It really is a huge ask. It is a time for boys (in the sence of their careers) to become men. I think they will do it. It will certainly be fun watching them try. Who knows, by the end of the season maybe 8 or 9 of our boys will also be representing their country on a regular basis. Here's hoping.
Remarkable Welly Blue. Go and get your Hunters on you KNOB. Reality for you? We are currently better than you. Jog on....sigh
I would certainly rather be a yo-yo team for the next few years (if that is to be our fate) than sit as a permanant fixture in the lower mid-table area of the Championship like some others, Ipswich being one.
