Although no one can deny that the World Cup has thrown up some exciting and interesting games, the truth is that for many it is tainted and they just can't get into it, however for those who prefer club to country there is not long to go..

Usually for two years there is not great interest in the England team aside from those that watch their teams regularly in person and also some fans who are squarely club Country before Club and are England supporters rather than any team.

Certainly 30 years ago the England support at away games was firmly drawn from those who actively followed their clubs.

These days though things have changed, although normally an England game against say Hungary in qualifying would draw little interest outside of football, suddenly when a World Cup or European Championship finals loom, mass hysteria starts to build and hence we get TV news pictures of drunken teenage girls staggering out of bars or nightclubs who have had a mass showing of the game against Senegal and asking the World "Have You Heard ?" and then screaming "It's coming home"

For those of us of a certain age who follow football actively the answer is "Yes we have certainly heard", scores of drunks have told us this on tv for 27 years now and it hasn't come home yet, so excuse us for not getting too excited about beating Senegal and facing one of the World's best teams in the Quarter Finals, one swallow doesn't make a summer as they say.

Suddenly the country has forgotten the controversy surrounding this tournament, how FIFA awarded it to Quater for no obvious reasons other than money, how allegedly hundreds of workers have been killed building the stadiums, the human rights issues in Quatar, the way that those who follow the National side to these tournaments have had to pay through the nose for everything surrounding it, flights, accommodation and food and drink.

That matters little for those casual once every two years and then only after we get to the quarter finals England fans, their disappointment when England fail again is fleeting, the traditional public disorder in some places is soon yesterdays news and they can once again put away the little flags and hats they have bought in Tesco for another two years.

But for those of us who go to football matches in the top two divisions, or for that matter even in the lower leagues where kick offs are being altered at short notice to ensure that fans can watch big games, our seasons have been disrupted, we have had to twiddle our thumbs for six weeks to make those in FIFA richer.

When a World cup is held in the Summer it is a welcome distraction, but in mid winter, suddenly we have no news from our clubs, not even a transfer window as is the case usually in a summer tournament.

But fear ye not, this cringeworthy tournament is almost over, of course i want England to win it, of course I will leap off my sofa if it actually does come home, but truthfully for me and many I speak to, this tournament has been tainted ever since it was announced and i can't find much enthusiasm for it when I watch the games in sterile stadiums populated by rich Quatari's and those fans who can afford paying out thousands of pounds to watch it.

Soon the fans will leave Quatar, these new stadiums will crumble with nothing or no one to fill them and we will get back to being able to watch our clubs again.

There are now only 12 games to go before we get back to actually being able to watch a match live, I never thought I would ever be that desperate to watch Lincoln City play, but I am !

No disrespect to the Imps here, I am sure their supporters will be saying something similar about playing Southampton.

We can get back to supporting and moaning about our teams, back to having a pre match drink with our mates and instead of asking the fella next to you in the stadium about his summer holiday, asking if he can afford his Gas bill.

Perhaps the only good thing about this tournament is that whatever the result, even if England lose the Final on penalties, I wont care as much as i will if Southampton lose to Lincoln City and I suspect that around the country there are millions who feel the same.

I of course don't mean that the country is waiting with baited breath on the game at St Mary's, but they care more about their own team than the national side, ask me whether I would prefer England to win the World Cup of Saints the League Cup or Carabao Cup or whatever it is called these days and there is only one answer.

That is not unpatriotic, just that for most of us, we live and breathe our clubs day in and day out and England pops up every two years.

Come on England against France on Saturday night, but my heart and thoughts won't totally be focused on this game, they will be on a cold night at St Mary's in 12 days time.

Photo: Action Images

Ifonly added 11:25 - Dec 9 Well I've enjoyed the world cup immensely. The football itself has been terrific. Most importantly, it's been a welcome relief from the totally s*** experience of watching Saints over the last year. Paying through the nose to watch such a load of dross has been emotionally and physically painful at times. The world cup has been a welcome relief. After Xmas I'll be back to hoping for a turnaround in our quality and results, but until then I'm perfectly happy watching some football that can actually be enjoyed.

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SaintNick added 13:48 - Dec 9 Whilst I do agree with a lot of your comments, I think it is a bit unfair to say we are paying through the nose, if you are a season ticket holder in the wings or goals sections you are only paying about £31 per game, now although you might think that £31 is a lot and it is for some people, its a lot better than many clubs in the premier League. I do appreciate that some people havent got the money at the moment, but fact is I don't set the prices and Liverpool & Manchester united seem to be able to find an inexhaustible supply of fans willing to make a 400 mile round trip North from Slough etc and pay £60 a pop for a ticket

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felly1 added 17:21 - Dec 9 Have to say I've really enjoyed this world Cup. Yes it's not been ideal breaking up the season but there's been some cracking games and great to see all the different sets of fans from all over the world enjoying themselves. Also England have been pretty good too! Not sure if we will get past France but we've done well and played some great football in patches.
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felly1 added 17:23 - Dec 9 Forgot to add, the break actually might have done us a favour as NJ has had a good spell of time to work with our players. Maybe just maybe we'll get to see some entertaining or at leat fighting and winning performances from Saints rather than the endless drudgery of defeat we were enduring during Ralph's final days.
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Ifonly added 18:00 - Dec 9 Nick that's a fair point but when you add up the costs - particularly away games - it's all a hell of a lot more expensive than when I started going, even allowing for inflation. Back then I had less money but never even had to think about the price of a "ticket" (mostly just paying at the turnstile).
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Colburn added 18:43 - Dec 9 I have to admit that I was one of those unhappy about the decision to take the World Cup to Qatar because I believed the media reports about the conditions and deaths in the thousands. Its rare for me to take these reports at face value but for some reason I did.. But having looked into the situation further, it appears that many of stories have been fabricated, exaggerated or misrepresented. I should have seen the signs when Blatter, the most corrupt man in the game, was slating the decision. So after many hours of digging, I realised the media were not being honest and the lack of real drive to address the issue of alleged deaths suggests to me the same dishonesty. In fact the World Cup has been magnificent, no trouble, violence, arrests and idiots shaming the nation and Qatar (note the spelling Nick) deserve huge credit for creating such a success. Just because dirty Lineker and Jimmy Savile TV refused to show the opening, are we supposed to follow them like sheep into the brainwash? And it was Fifa who chose the mid season not Qatar and to be fair, it's been pretty damn good for Saints to regroup!

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SanMarco added 10:46 - Dec 11 You've 'looked into the situation further' Colburn??? Could you pass on your sources to the rest of us? Mentioning Jimmy Saville, Lineker and Blatter in the same sentence gives a hint that your fact-checking may have some flaws. I have seen nothing in reliable media contradicting any of the horror stories. Even without the moral concerns the fact they are already dismantling the stadiums points to something rather absurd about the whole thing.

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stmichael added 23:10 - Dec 11 Loved this World Cup. Wasn’t looking forward to it but it’s been fab. A nice distraction from the dire dross served up at club level by Saints… In fact the WC might have just saved us as it’s given us a reset…
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Kingsland34 added 14:28 - Dec 12 Have not enjoyed this World Cup at all. Far too many extra time stalemates and penalty shoot outs. That is a really detrimental trend to the game. What has been interesting though is picking up on all the ex-Saints that have been involved. Very pleased for Boufal and maybe he will yet produce the wonder goal of the Tournament.
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NewburySaint added 13:26 - Dec 14 Give me dire dross served up by Saints any day over international football, and particularly England games!!
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