I was thinking, if it is really going to be the end of the world if England cannot qualify for EURO08 in the end.

No doubt there will be disappointment. But my point is that we should not let the disappointment condemn the England squad to hell. There are lot of problems existing in the current national squad of England now, things like the manager, the line up, the choice of players between the experienced and the young, the conflicts in players use between clubs and national squad, the frequent injuries due to the highly competitive nature of the premiere league. These are the problems that the FA will have to deal with, and my point is, it is better to deal with it earlier- even if the price is to miss one major international game like EURO08. Qualifying for EURO08 marginally will divert people's attention to England's extraordinary good luck, and delay the process of problem solving. Honestly saying, how many times can you expect a team to have such good luck? Remember, in 2001, England barely made to the World Cup 2002 as Becky scored a free kick during injury time vs Greece. There were so many times that Becks saved England in the last minute, how long can England still depend on the good luck brought by Becks? Who can be the next Saviour then?

Obviously there will be losses- the revenue loss due to the failure in brand, the loss in confidence, the loss in financial support and sponsorships, financial difficulties and etc. and everyone foresees that will be a hard time for the FA. However, it seems almost inevitable in the development of England Football. Problems like the balance of league games and national squad commitments, like the insurance for players injured in international games, these are the problems the FA will have to deal with sooner or later.

Some of my friends are mourning over the fact that if England misses EURO08, then players like Michael Owen, David Beckham will not be there for 2010 world cup anymore. I can't deny that. Michael Owen, aged 28 now, the frequent injuries and loss in his competitive edges- fast speed has already lead to tons of debates over who the real wonder kid is; David Beckham, not able to play in the best league games will have a serious problem of how to maintain his form at an age of 32; and there are so many more, Gary Neville, my beloved captain, is still on the sideline trying to come back in 2 weeks, Carragher, has already quited the National squad(I translated the news for theFA.cn) and so many players belong to our generations will leave. Of course it is disappointing to retire without even one international title, but just think about it, does that fact deny one as a great player?

Eric Cantona, his appearance in the France National Squad is really countable- not to mention any trophies, that does not stop the man utd fans calling him Eric the King.

Alan Shearer, the legend of the Magpies, did not win any international title either, but it does not stop him being one of the greatest strikers in England history...

I started watching soccer in 1998, there were only two teams that I remember: one is the Champion lead by Zidane, another one is England.

Sol Campbell, David Beckham, Michael Owen, Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville, Alan Shearer- these are the names that you still can see in soccer news recently; people like David Seaman, Paul Ince, Sheringham(How can I forget 99 championship league final vs FCB?), Mcmanaman(My favorite LFC player then tho I am not sure if I got the spelling)... those are the names no longer familiar to people started watching soccer in 2002 or 2006...

What else can I hope for? At least they left me some bitter sweet memories- 1998 world cup, the game vs Argentina, for that goal, I remembered the name Michael Owen; for that ridiculous red card, I remembered David Beckham. In the past 10 years, I have witnessed how Owen's generation matured, that is more than enough to me- as a female soccer fan. I was telling my friend, I am just so glad that Owen was not injured, and Becky started to play again for LA Galaxy today. Just think about Deisler, just imagine, if Owen or Becky is going to retire tomorrow, what will you do? I take every single game that they play as a bonus, that is what I am hoping for... As for the result, if they win, I will be happy, if they don't, I just hope they are not injured.

Being a player fan means you put everything about the player in front, while being a club fan means you care about the club more than any individual players. And to me, as far as I can enjoy watching soccer, it does not matter if I am a club fan or a player fan.

All the best to England! and my Michael Owen and my blah blah blah...