After Michael Owen' applauding of The Riverside crowd, following his brace of goals that sent the England players off on their hols optimistic of Euro 2004 qualification, I had a withdrawal pang. How on earth will we all manage, without football, until the annually boring schedule of pre-season friendlies?
I wonder how many loyal patrons of givemefootball remember when the football season ended with the FA Cup Final in the first week of May and only resumed when you came back from the annual fortnight's holiday. Okay, so there was the occasional friendly, or testimonial, in late July but, to all intents and purposes, 'proper' football didn' kick-off again until August.
The other day my better half asked me 'what happens about televised sport when the football season ends?' I thought hard, for a few seconds, before reeling off a list; Rugby Union, cricket, athletics and tennis, oh, I nearly forgot, Formula 1.
I know football and television have become as inseparable as Big Brother and couch potatoes but most people fall into one category or another when it comes to a period of non-football. Whether you are a bottle half full or half empty kind of person it's a fairly straight call between the, 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' or 'familiarity breeds contempt' school of thought when it comes to television and its seemingly unending diet of football.
But when I read that Bangor City are due to play their opening tie on the Intertoto Cup against Romania's Gloria Bistrita on Saturday - MIDSUMMER'S DAY - I was stunned. I wondered if it was a very late, forgotten, game from last season's competition or a sickeningly early match for 2003-2004. But, at least, for some football fanatics, who are suffering from midsummer soccer withdrawal, it means that they won't have to wait too long for a quick football fix.
Those die-hards might also wish to consider that we could actually end up with two football breaks, in the not too distant future, if UEFA ever decide to implement a mid-season break. But, for now we can all look forward to a first ever YEAR LONG football season, starting in June, 2003, and culminating with Euro 2004, in Portugal, in June 2004.
In fact, thinking on, that might give me a chance to break my PB of 109 games in a domestic season. Curiously enough the century was achieved with a Welsh FA cup tie when Hereford United played at, and I know you are way ahead of me, Bangor City.
But, for goodness sake, mine was just a watching brief. I wrote about Michael Owen earlier and I remember when, after the Slovakia game, he was asked about playing a competitive international in the second week of June and he spoke about talking to some of his Anfield teammates who were in Barbados, Spain or just about anywhere but Middlesborough.
There was an ever so slight touch of envy in his voice, which he quickly qualified by saying that at least he could now have four weeks off before returning for pre-season training having helped England into at least a play-off place for Euro 2004.
I suppose it could have been worse. He could be a Bangor player and if they beat the Romanians, then Brescia Bangor could, in four weeks time, be facing Barcelona, and it would still only be July!
