What’s wrong with a bit of trivia? Sure, it’s shallow, baseless knowledge. Sure, it’s often imparted by self-aggrandising people with a satisfied nod, as if to say ‘Aren’t I f**king smart’.
Well, some of them are smart. And some of it is interesting.
The 90Minutes team had their shot at picking an England team, but it appears Fabio Capello isn’t a regular reader. The England manager’s side was different to that put forward by every one of our writers.
Other than Matthew Upson replacing the injured Rio Ferdinand, Capello sent out what you can assume is his ideal starting line-up (see below) for the game against Ukraine on Wednesday. But with the misfortune of Emile Heskey, Carlton Cole and Peter Crouch getting injured, his plans may have to change.
Watching Enzo Zidane pirouette his way through the Barcelona youth team, it’s difficult not to draw comparisons with his old man. And 5-year-old Daniel Maldini is clearly a chip off the old block as he demonstrates a perfectly timed sliding tackle on Clarence Seedorf.
However, not everyone is so lucky in the hereditary stakes. Some of the fruit of the greatest footballers’ loins have every right to feel somewhat shortchanged.
White Hart Lane has long been a source of humour to the impartial observer, but the late 90s was a high watermark.
There was Christian Gross and his London underground ‘ticket to the dreams’, a pre-‘Sir’ Alan Sugar struggling to juggle a failing club with a crumbling Amstrad empire, all coupled with the fans’ customary hubris. A heady mixture of farce.
Much like today, the club was characterised by a succession of over-priced, over-paid signings failing to deliver anything resembling ‘the goods’. But amongst names such as Chris Armstrong, Jose Dominguez, Ruel Fox and Paolo Tramezzani, there was one whose poor performances stood out above the rest. That man was Ramon Vega.
The spectre of England is on the horizon again! Firstly, this Saturday the national team face Slovakia at Wembley in a warm-up to the more important business of a home World Cup qualifier with the Ukraine next Wednesday. After a successful first year in charge, Fabio Capello has risen England to its current air of expectancy.
There has always been a high amount of pressure on England to deliver results together with good performances. Other than Brazil it is probably the international equivalent of Real Madrid - at least when it comes to expectancy. Unfortunately, we know only too well how meagre England's rewards have been over its history, and there is no need to listen to Skinner and Baddiel's 'Three Lions' for us to remember.