What on earth has he been smoking?

Football, I'd hoped to avoid the subject for blogging after my last little foray as I enjoy watching the sport and enjoyed playing it when a lot younger. But I can't believe this...

Scotsman.

DAVID Cameron yesterday announced that he would be flying the flag of St George over Downing Street for the World Cup and called on MPs wherever they come from in the UK to cheer on England.
With England the only team from the home nations in the World Cup in South Africa, Mr Cameron has made the unprecedented decision to exchange the flag of England for the Union Flag which normally flies over Downing Street.
Mr Cameron's comments came during Prime Minister's Questions after an appeal from a new Tory MP to get properly behind the team.
He was urged to show his support for the English team by Tory MP Nadhim Zahawi (Stratford-on-Avon), who said: "I ask you to do a great thing for the people of England and cut through the bureaucracy and nonsense and fly the flag of England over Downing Street for the duration of the World Cup."
Mr Cameron replied: "There was some question that this was going to have a cost impact but I've managed to cut through that and I can say that at no additional cost to the taxpayer the flag of St George will fly above Downing Street during the World Cup."
Then, pointedly looking up at the SNP members, he added: "For the purposes of this I'm looking at all the benches here and I'm sure that everyone in this House, no matter what part of the United Kingdom they come from, will be cheering 'come on England'."

If ever I needed a clue that Cameron does not understand both football and the English in relation to the rest of the UK that was the defining moment.

1. Football fans do not support their nearest rivals to win anything, it's a bit like trying to get Newcastle fans to cheer Sunderland, Celtic/Rangers, even Millwall/Charlton it just doesn't happen.
2. England are not Britain, it's not like the Olympics where the whole of the UK are involved, it's just one country England, not Scotland, not Wales and not Northern Ireland and expecting them to support us is is ridiculous, they don't particularly like us as a country in the first place.
3. The very fact that England are there whilst the other home countries failed to qualify is not going to make their fans transfer allegiance, they'd rather we all failed than one rise above the others, it's a type of tall poppy syndrome.
4. Anyone but England has more or less been the Scottish motto since 1998 when England have qualified (save Euro 2008) for every major competition and they haven't, they find this hard to forgive, we aren't supposed to be better than they are (in their eyes) and it has since been adopted by the Welsh and possibly the Irish.
5. We're English, not South Scottish or Eastern Welsh, we wouldn't support them and they don't support us!

 Then, pointedly looking up at the SNP members, he added: "For the purposes of this I'm looking at all the benches here and I'm sure that everyone in this House, no matter what part of the United Kingdom they come from, will be cheering 'come on England'."

They wont, nor do I expect them too, it's possible Cameron was just in a jokey expansive mood, however that was an insult to the Scots and would have been taken that way by some. We might get a grudging "Well done" if England do win it, though I wouldn't place money on that and I know they'll be dreading it if we do win as 1966 will be nothing compared to what will happen for the next 50 odd years. Mostly they'll be hoping that we fall flat on our faces, it's what rival fans do.