A nation in turmoil, brought together and united by a young inexperienced England team expected to get no further than the group stages. Everywhere you look there are Flags of St George flying from lamp posts and hanging from windows. 24 million people tuned in to watch England in their first World Cup Semi Final since Italia 90 and yes, they came up short, but my word they did us proud. As the final whistle sounded out across the Moscow skies, hearts sank, dreams faded and tears streamed down faces but we were held together by a feeling of pride, passion and belief that this side could go on to achieve some wonderful things.
In the last 18 months the national youth sides have experienced much success from under 18's through to the under 21's. The St Georges Park blueprint is starting to come to fruition. We're starting to reap the rewards of a huge investment into grass roots football. We're starting to believe again.
Nevertheless, it will be 4 more years before this side get to fight their way through another World Cup after an agonising extra time defeat to a very talented and very well organised Croatian side.
So what do we do now? Well, we go back to our club sides and get our heads in to pre season training and friendlies and then look forward to the 2018/19 season getting underway.
Some fans are already looking to back their teams to win their respective divisions despite the fact the transfer windows are barely even half way through. There's plenty of water yet to flow under those bridges. Plenty of millions still to be spent. The transfer of the summer so far however isn't Premier League based. Cristiano Ronaldo has left Real Madrid for Juventus in a move that makes him the most expensive 30+ year old at a staggering £105 million. Juventus to win the Champions League next season at 7/1 with Bet365 seems like a good value punt.
Whatever you're looking to bet on for the forthcoming season, be sure to check out where the best bookmaker offers are in order to get the best odds and the best sign up bonuses etc.
At this early stage it's tough to pick divisional winners in England but if I was pushed, I'd be looking to put a few pounds on Sunderland running away with the League One title and regaining their Championship status. Odds of look pretty appetising when you consider the investment that's likely to happen and the lack of serious competition in that division.
