Spring is nearly sprung. Europe is beginning to blossom. Blimey, even the flimsy Swiss pansy known as the Uefa Cup looks attractive after a long, dark winter of England’s Chelsea flower show.
Yup, the last 32 will fight it out for Europe’s not-quite-good-enough cup next week, with Bolton and Middlesbrough to the fore for England. The Champions League resumes a week later, with Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United (er, no, not them), Liverpool and even Rangers still in contention.
I don’t think I can stand another year of recently converted Chelsea fans talking about their title glut (two since 1955) and their next over-inflated transfer target. So the thought of them winning the Champions League is just too ghastly to contemplate.
In the meantime, other European questions will have to be answered.
Bolton versus Marseille promises to be more than just a mundane Uefa Cup tie with tiny crowds. Sam Allardyce knows that his reputation depends on doing well in Europe too if he really wants to become Sven-Goran Eriksson’s successor.
So far he has impressed, but Marseille, who took so long to get over the financial scandals of the early 1990s, are no pushovers.
And then of course there’s Middlesbrough against Stuttgart. Steve McClaren was being groomed as Sven’s successor, but he’s seen his side slump from European contenders to relegation candidates. They’re now 17th.
Last May Boro had registered more points, scored more goals and finished higher than ever before in the top flight under Mighty Mac, the former assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.
This time, with injury and an unhappy goalkeeper, Mark Schwarzer, to contend with, they have managed one win in 11 and relegation looms.
Boro fans don’t generally turn up for Uefa Cup games in great numbers. They might this time, if only to see the final act of the man groomed to be king.