Liam Mackey

Do you remember the World Cup, the big football thingy in Brazil just a couple of months ago?

If you view your English football almost entirely through the prism of Sky Sports, you could be forgiven for concluding that the World Cup never happened at all. Even on the odd occasion when the camera has picked out Roy Hodgson as a face in the crowd, the voiceovers have tended not to mention the war, simply noting that the England manager is there to watch the game.

But no, barely had the Three Lions returned early from South America with their tails between their legs than England’s football commentariat turned, with undisguised relief, to “the greatest league in the world”, investing all their hope and hype in the Premier League’s proven ability to entertain the masses at home and abroad.