After a weekend spent analysing all things sport and many things otherwise, there have been a few days to digest what has been argued. Among several other things, the conclusion was reached that England has the world’s best sports fans. This is apparently not up for debate, however it’s a point worth marinating on. Especially since tomorrow night against Hungary at Wembley the fans are expected to boo the team in response to their limp effort at the World Cup.

You can’t deny that sports fans from the UK and Ireland are fantastic travellers (think British Lions and Ashes tours); naturally they spend a lot of money supporting their teams abroad. So after investing a small fortune on travelling to South Africa for a month only for their team to disappoint so resoundingly, they have every right to feel aggrieved. Captain Steven Gerrard even said if he was a fan he would boo the players at Wembley tomorrow night.

But it’s been a couple of months since the World Cup ended for the world’s most hyped football team. Clearly the pain of an early exit is still fresh in everyone’s mind, although a pre-meditated boo seems a bit extravagant. Obviously old habits die hard and these fans have long memories, but paying money to boo a team because of how they lost the World Cup seems to defeat the point. The administration would perk up a bit more if it wasn’t a sell-out so maybe voting with their feet might awaken the FA to the improvements required.

But that’s not the way they do things around here. If they pay the price of admission they can support their team any way they like, including not supporting them, as it were. Yet, you have to wonder whether it has any real effect on the players. It’s pretty clear that the problem with English football is systemic and while the players must be criticised for their performance in South Africa, booing them might make the fans feel better but it will hardly make the players play better. And what effect will this have on their opponents? What happens if they score early? Will the crowd celebrate a Hungary goal? It would seem to be the next logical step.

Unfortunately they won’t. The boo-boys generally find their voice and eventually change their tune in the second half, which shows just how easily the English can turn on their side – a famous trait of a nation that loves to see how far the mighty can fall. And it’s only fair since Fabio Capello will ring the changes after halftime, replacing those from his World Cup squad with a bench full of new faces who missed the debacle.

So is a pre-meditated boo indicative of good supporters? Well, it cuts both ways. The reason they are booing is because they’ve been magnanimous in support of their team and been burnt. But by the same token, is that really being a good supporter? The whole point of supporting your team is to provide support that gives your team an advantage over its rival.

It’s a vexing issue. In the end, the fans are free to do what they want and if booing their team makes them feel better, then fair play to them. But then that’s the English, great supporters they are – the always-singing, always-loyal, never-say-die fans who boo their national team at least once a year. Go figure.