| Good evening, Can we allow ourselves to get just a little bit excited? English football fans have seen many false dawns since 1966 - tournaments where we have almost, but not quite, made history. While Italy, Germany, Brazil, France and Spain have all seen multiple wins, we have been the wallflowers, sitting on the sidelines watching others compete in finals and lift trophies. Even our so-called Golden Generation could not make the breakthrough, even with foreign managers brought in to ‘guarantee’ success. So as we go into tomorrow's game against the Ukraine, we are all probably right to be cautious. But perhaps, for once, the stars are aligning. We have a good, if not great, team, with a large number of fearless young players, unencumbered by 55 years of history. We have a manager who knows what tournament disappointment is like and is determined to be a winner. And after the year we have all had, perhaps the country deserves a little bit of joy? For 90 minutes (or so!), let’s forget all the history and look forward. Come on England! Until next time, take care, Gillian Parkinson Editor Lancashire Post and Associate Editor Blackpool Gazette | 
