1 English footballers are far fresher than their counterparts in Serie A. Kevin Keegan ensured that their energies were carefully husbanded in Belgium and Holland. Other nations flogged themselves into the knock-out stages of Euro 2000 and suffered all the anguish and exhaustion of golden goals in extra time. England had a quick look round the tournament and came home as soon as possible.

2 English football does not suffer from the po-faced dedication that makes young players in other countries so boring (and effective). The great tradition of laddishness lives on in the Premiership. This summer alone, Lee Hendrie, Seth Johnson and Matt Jansen broke a curfew at the England under-21 camp, Rio Ferdinand, Kieron Dyer and Frank Lampard made an unusual holiday video in Ayia Napa and Hendrie had an accident with his Porsche.

3 The Premiership is never ageist. You don’t have to be in your smooth-skinned prime to make an excellent living. Consider Everton, where a diplomatic arrangement among the elders sees Dave Watson, 38, named as club captain while Richard Gough, also 38, is team captain. The pair had better keep an eye on a coltish rascal signed for the midfield this summer. Paul Gascoigne is 33.

4 No other competition is quite so hospitable. Not only are outsiders welcomed, but the honours are reserved solely for them as well. Since the Premiership began, in the summer of 1992, not one Englishman has been voted manager of the year. The players soon got the message too, giving such self-effacing performances that, since 1994, only foreigners have received the footballer of the year award.

5 Despite the commercialism, the Premiership has plenty of compassion. Once, injury-ridden players dreaded a penurious future. No longer. Take the case of Duncan Ferguson. Fitness was already a concern by 1998, when, charitably, Ruud Gullit bought him from Everton for £8m. He has averaged roughly one Premiership appearance for each of his 21 months at Newcastle United while collecting £35,000 a week.

6 The Premiership has thoughtfully retained an obsolete yet operational football ground to serve as a heritage site. If a stadium could actually feel its age, the Dell would be wheezing. Against all the odds, this little place, with room for just 15,000, has been a top-flight venue for 22 years. Southampton intend to move to a state-of-the-art home in 2001. Where, of course, they will immediately be relegated.

7 When Graham Poll’s stay at Euro 2000 ended, after he had given the Czech Republic a penalty for a foul committed outside the area, it was confirmed that the Premiership has the most unconventional referees. Remember Mike Reed punching the air when Liverpool scored after he had played the advantage? Remember Rob Harris allowing Tranmere to keep 11 players on the field against Sunderland, despite an ordering-off?

8 Nowhere else is there such loyalty in the face of failure. Last season, Liverpool played only 43 matches in all competitions, yet still collapsed in the closing weeks, dropping out of the top three in the Premiership. Was Gérard Houllier run out of town? No. With saintly forbearance, fans just accepted that Liverpool were not quite ready for the Champions’ League.

9 The Premiership contains a fascinating puzzle to contradict modern trends. If economics are all that matter, why is it that Aston Villa, in Britain’s second largest city, seem so peripheral? Why is it that their players take turns at handing in transfer requests? How can Benito Carbone be getting a better deal at Bradford? How come the quotable outbursts of John Gregory, the manager, are the only fun on offer?

10 Even if it is not always entertaining, the Premiership is character-building for the crowd. The namby-pamby Scots may have scheduled a mid-winter break, but English football presses on regardless, alternating between torrential afternoons and icy ones at the turn of the year.

KEVIN MCCARRA