The past five years in Amsterdam have seen a gradual decline in my following of English football. Sure, I've always kept an eye on what the Canaries were up to -- usually being relegated or failing miserably to be promoted -- but I've not had my finger on the pulse of Premiership and wider Championship action. However, two things have reawakened my interest: 1) The World Cup. It will be worth following Premiership action just to see Christiano "Winker" Ronaldo get booed at every match; 2) Having friends who support Crystal Palace and West Brom, thus sparking my competitive instincts.
I thought my new-found interest was doing pretty well; I now subscribe to a couple of excellent footballing blogs (Who Ate All The Pies and Who Ate All The Bratwurst), which were keeping me informed of transfers and bickering. But, I failed to realize that the Championship actually kicked off last weekend -- and that Norwich set the standard for the season by losing 1-0 to Leeds, despite being, my father assures me, the better team. Mild redemption came last night in the form of a 2-0 victory over Preston, but Crystal Palace are already heading the table, with West Brom in 4th. Curses! I need Norwich to repeat their usual streak of winning lots of matches before Christmas, and thus avoiding relegation, but then avoid their usual habit of falling apart woefully in the New Year -- resulting in mid-table obscurity.
Fasten your seatbelts, folks: it's going to be a bumpy season!
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