We may be slap bang in the middle of Euro 2012, but beyond that there is a great summer of football to look forward to. While for us, the viewer, that means plenty more football to look forward to, for the players themselves it means plenty of more hard work to be done and a gruelling pre-season to undergo.
For the likes of Jo Hart and Scott Parker who are in Roy Hodgson’s England squad, and Shay Given who is lining up for Giovanni Trapattoni’s Ireland in Euro 2012, that means that there isn’t much time for them to put their feet up and take a well-earned break. While professional footballers at the top level are paid vast sums of money and should feel proud to have the privilege to play for their country, the question that keeps return is are we playing too much football?
I’m sure there will be plenty of complaints throughout the season from Premier League managers like Manchester United’s Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger, for the armchair fan it’s great. Not long after Euro 2012 has finished and the Three Lions have lifted the trophy (in my dreams) the start of the 2012/13 Premier League season will be around the corner and if the last campaign is anything to go by then it will be an absolute cracker!
So, what do we have to look forward to? Well, the Premier League title race is sure to be as close as ever, with Manchester United and Manchester City set to go head-to-head again. However, the London trio of Arsenal, Tottenham and Champions League winners Chelsea will have something to say about that. Liverpool could well be a force again under the management of the talented Brendan Rodgers, Newcastle will be looking to build on last season’s gains and then there’s the question of whether second season syndrome will hit Swansea and Norwich who both find themselves with new gaffers.
The one thing that you can guarantee is that you can catch all the excitement live on Sky Sports, starting with the pre-season tournaments…