Well, alright then Steve McClaren, you may have made a complete mess of this qualification campaign, but you can stay as England coach. After all, better to be a lucky manager than a good one isn't it?!
I hate to say I told you so - I don't really - but didn't I say Israel would beat Russia at the weekend and that lucky little so and so would end up keeping his job. As anyone who can remember Middlesbrough's run to the Uefa Cup final a couple of years ago will testify, the red-faced one has made a habit of unlikely and dramatic last-minute escapes!
So, it's not cheerio Steve just yet, but let's not count our chickens before they're hatched, put all our eggs in one basket or some other egg-related phrase which means not getting ahead of ourselves, we've still got to draw with Croatia on Wednesday night.
For what's it's worth, England will get the point they need and then a player, probably Frank Lampard or Steven Gerrard, will immediately say this is England's best chance to win a major tournament since, well the last one in Germany!
Whatever happens in the Croatia game, McClaren has had a very fortunate escape and I stand by my original piece, England should not have made such hard work of qualification, they should not be relying on Israel to do them a favour. That they have is a damning indictment of the players and coaching staff. End of story.
So Steve, grin smugly to yourself as much as you want, but please don't insult our intelligence by saying you never doubted England would reach Euro 2008 because, let's be honest, you'd probably already started to clear your desk, taking your Kirsty Gallagher 2007 calendar with you.
Mind you, I might just have a sneaky £10 on England to win the European Championships now. Anyone remember the England rugby team? Then again, they lost in the final didn't they so maybe I'll just put £5 on them to get out of their group!
Of course, England's lucky break should not mean we ignore Michael Owen's latest injury breakdown. Early estimates suggest the Newcastle striker will be missing for six weeks with a torn thigh muscle. Cheers England. That means, by the turn of the year, the club's record signing will still have only started 21 games for the club he joined for £17m two-and-a-half years ago.
It will, however, appease those supporters who want to see Obafemi Martins given an extended run in the team, it will also mean Shola Ameobi will be involved before the opening of the January transfer window and it means Michael can spend some time pondering his next Horse Racing purchase.
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