Wednesday 8 October 2014

Euro 2016: Wembley should share the wealth

ENGLAND head into this week's Euro 2016 qualifiers against the might of San Marino and Estonia well aware that last month's win in Switzerland has already gone a long way to secure a place at the finals. 

The ludicrous expansion of the Championships to 24 teams means the Three Lions can finish third in their group and still make it through. 

And, with six points surely coming in these two games against opponents ranked 208th and 81st respectively, there would seem to be very little to get excited about.  

Just as much was admitted by head coach Roy Hodgson at the start of the season when he said: "We'll find it hard to bring attendances back because the opponents we're playing won't excite the public."

Hodgson was speaking after a 1-0 friendly win over Norway only attracted 40,181 fans to the National Stadium. The crowd for San Marino is not expected to be much higher.

Of course, not all of this is the fault of England or the Football Association. 

Part of the reason for the low crowd will be down to the intolerably tedious nature of these qualifiers, as organised by UEFA.

Meanwhile, another UEFA initiative for Euro 2016 has been to spread the qualifiers out in a 'Week of Football' - naturally, all geared towards the television audience.

But kick-offs on midweek evenings are not much good for England fans living far outside of the radius of the M25.

Here, then, is where the FA should step in by taking some of the national team's matches back up north. 

After all, the atmosphere of around 40-50,000 in Anfield or St James Park would be immeasurably better than the lost cries of a few rattling voices in a half-empty Wembley. 

There is also the desperate need for the England team to reconnect to all of its supporters, including those in the north, following the drab World Cup exit - and matches outside the capital would, at least, be a start.

Sadly, this is not going to happen any time soon. The £757m debt incurred from building Wembley means the Three Lions are committed to play all of their home games at the stadium for the next eight or nine years.

But, surely a restructuring of the repayments could be considered if such an arrangement allowed England to go on tour every now and then.

For every now and then is all it would be - as I am not actually against the National Stadium.

Indeed, I personally admire the redesign of Wembley and its impressive arch - coincidentally, one of the first London landmarks that can be seen from the north on the M1.

It is just as clear, though, that the growing divide between the capital and the rest of the country has already also seeped into perceptions of the national team.

"London FC", a derisive Twitter nickname for the national team, is beginning to stick, no matter how many players from Liverpool or other northern teams are in the squad.

Meanwhile, the regular and unseemly sight of the empty Club Wembley seats near the tunnel can only cause a further disconnect.

And so, while England are already in no peril of missing out on a place at Euro 2016, the Football Association seems to be playing its own dangerous game with its failure to engage the whole of the nation.

Yes, London proudly stands one of the world's most important cities - but England always has been, and always should be about more than its capital.

MATCHDAY TWO FIXTURES
09-Oct Group C, Group E, Group G
10-Oct Group A, Group B, Group H
11-Oct Group D, Group F, Group I

MATCHDAY THREE FIXTURES
12-Oct Group C, Group E, Group G
13-Oct Group A, Group B, Group H
14-Oct Group D, Group F, Group I

GROUP A Netherlands, Czech Republic, Turkey, Latvia, Iceland, Kazakhstan
10-Oct19:45Latvia0-3IcelandRiga
10-Oct19:45Netherlands3-1KazakhstanAmsterdam
10-Oct19:45Turkey1-2Czech RepublicIstanbul
13-Oct17:00Kazakhstan2-4Czech RepublicAstana
13-Oct19:45Iceland2-0NetherlandsReykjavik
13-Oct19:45Latvia1-1TurkeyRiga

GROUP B Bosnia-Herzegovina, Belgium, Israel, Wales, Cyprus, Andorra
10-Oct19:45Belgium6-0AndorraBrussels
10-Oct19:45Cyprus1-2IsraelNicosia
10-Oct19:45Wales0-0Bosnia-HerzegovinaCardiff
13-Oct19:45Andorra1-4IsraelAndorra la Vella
13-Oct19:45Bosnia-Herzegovina1-1BelgiumZenica
13-Oct19:45Wales2-1CyprusCardiff

GROUP C Spain, Ukraine, Slovakia, Belarus, FYR Macedonia, Luxembourg
09-Oct19:45Belarus0-2UkraineBarysaw
09-Oct19:45FYR Macedonia3-2LuxembourgSkopje
09-Oct19:45Slovakia2-1SpainZilina
12-Oct17:00Ukraine1-0FYR MacedoniaLviv
12-Oct19:45Belarus1-3SlovakiaBarysaw
12-Oct19:45Luxembourg0-4SpainLuxembourg City

GROUP D Germany, Republic of Ireland, Poland, Scotland, Georgia, Gibraltar
11-Oct17:00Republic of Ireland7-0GibraltarDublin
11-Oct17:00Scotland1-0GeorgiaGlasgow
11-Oct19:45Poland2-0GermanyWarsaw
14-Oct19:45Germany1-1Republic of IrelandGelsenkirchen
14-Oct19:45Gibraltar0-3GeorgiaFaro, Portugal
14-Oct19:45Poland2-2ScotlandWarsaw

GROUP E England, Switzerland, Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania, San Marino
09-Oct19:45England5-0San MarinoLondon
09-Oct19:45Lithuania1-0EstoniaVilnius
09-Oct19:45Slovenia1-0SwitzerlandMaribor
12-Oct17:00Estonia0-1EnglandTallinn
12-Oct19:45Lithuania0-2SloveniaVilnius
12-Oct19:45San Marino0-4SwitzerlandSerravalle

GROUP F Greece, Hungary, Romania, Finland, Northern Ireland, Faroe Islands
11-Oct17:00Romania1-1HungaryBucharest
11-Oct19:45Finland1-1GreeceHelsinki
11-Oct19:45Northern Ireland2-0Faroe IslandsBelfast
14-Oct19:45Faroe Islands0-1HungaryTorshavn
14-Oct19:45Finland0-2RomaniaHelsinki
14-Oct19:45Greece0-2Northern IrelandPiraeus

GROUP G Russia, Sweden, Austria, Montenegro, Moldova, Liechtenstein
09-Oct19:45Liechtenstein0-0MontenegroVaduz
09-Oct19:45Moldova1-2AustriaChisinau
09-Oct19:45Sweden1-1RussiaSolna
12-Oct17:00Austria1-0MontenegroVienna
12-Oct17:00Russia1-1MoldovaMoscow
12-Oct19:45Sweden2-0LiechtensteinSolna

GROUP H Italy, Croatia, Norway, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Malta
10-Oct19:45Bulgaria0-1CroatiaSofia
10-Oct19:45Italy2-1AzerbaijanPalermo
10-Oct19:45Malta0-3NorwayTa' Qali
13-Oct19:45Croatia6-0AzerbaijanOsijek
13-Oct19:45Malta0-1ItalyTa' Qali
13-Oct19:45Norway2-1BulgariaOslo

GROUP I Portugal, Denmark, Serbia, Armenia, Albania, [France]
11-Oct17:00Armenia1-1SerbiaYerevan
11-Oct19:45Albania1-1DenmarkElbasan
11-Oct19:45France2-1PortugalSaint-Denis
14-Oct17:00Armenia0-3FranceYerevan
14-Oct19:45Denmark0-1PortugalCopenhagen
14-Oct19:45SerbiaA-AAlbaniaBelgrade
Match abandoned on 40 minutes after a flag promoting Greater Albania flew over the pitch. The flag was seized by a Serbia player, which led to a brief scuffle between players from both sides and major violence involving Serbian fans. The score was 0–0.