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Euro 2008

Eduardo and John Terry just two of many Euro 2008 absentees

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"Mystical" Mike Norman is looking forward to seeing the likes of Fabregas, Ballack and Ribery in action at Euro 2008 but saves a thought for the players that will miss out on this summer's extravaganza

You might consider a big international football tournament, that doesn't have England as participants, about as exciting as Avram Grant doing stand-up comedy.

Undoubtedly this summer's European Championship has lost a bit of its sparkle because of England's absence, but let's be honest, the Three Lions have been looking like Tara Palmer Tomkinson for years now (good at the back but nothing at all up front), and failure to qualify for a big tournament was always going to happen sooner rather than later.

But we're not the only ones to miss out - Scotland didn't make it, the Irish didn't make it, neither did the Welsh - in fact, all of Denmark, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Serbia, Norway, Belgium and Slovakia failed to qualify. And yes, I'm talking about Euro 08, not the bloody Eurovision Song Contest.

So what does it all mean? Well it means that despite all the big nations (excluding England of course) being present, and some world class players having an opportunity to showcase their talents, the likes of Lampard, Rooney, Berbatov and other outstanding European footballers will probably be doing a Michelle McManus this summer - getting snapped on the beach looking vastly overweight.

Euro 08 is still going to be a great spectacle however, with Germany ([5.4]), Spain ([7.2]), Italy ([8.4]), Portugal ([8.8]) and France ([9.8]) being amongst the favourites to win it, but you can't help feel that the absence of some huge names will dilute our interest just slightly.

Take the defenders for example. Arguably the Premiership's (and possibly Europe's) best defensive duo at the moment is Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic - yet neither will be at Euro 08 because not only did England fail to qualify, but so did Serbia. Add Ashley Cole and John Terry to the absent list, as well as Denmark's Martin Laursen and Daniel Agger, and Liverpool's new Slovakian star Martin Skrtel, then you can begin to paint a picture as to why this summer's European Championship might have been robbed of some excellent defenders. Mario Melchiot will be there though (Netherlands are [14.5] to lift the trophy) so it's not all bad!

In midfield, Euro 08 won't have to put up with that tiresome debate about whether Lampard and Gerrard can be effective in the same team - because they won't be there. I think the absence of Steven Gerrard is one of the biggest blows of all, not only for England fans, but for fans of football worldwide. He is rightly regarded as one of the best European-born midfielders in the world, but whereas the likes of Fabregas, Ronaldo, Ben Arfa, Ribery, De Rossi, Ballack (to name but a few) get the chance to enhance their reputation, Stevie-G will have to endure what I've had to endure ever since I first set eyes on a topless Linda Lusardi - he can watch, but he can't have any of the action.

Other notable absentees from the midfield area will be the excellent Dejan Stankovic (team-mate of Vidic), Belgium's highly rated Anthony Vanden Borre, and well-known Premiership stars such as Stiliyan and Martin Petrov (Bulgaria), and Norway's John Arne Riise and Morten Gamst Pedersen. With both Norway and Denmark failing to qualify, it leaves Sweden as Scandinavia's only representatives at Euro 08, and they can be backed at [36.0] to cover themselves in glory.

From an attacking perspective, Euro 08 could well be like going on the pull to a nightclub, only to see a lack of talent. Once again, the most significant absentee will be an Englishman. Wayne Rooney was born to perform on the big stage yet his dreadful luck continues at these big events. You will remember he got injured at Euro 04, missed the lead up to the last World Cup through injury before being sent off against Portugal, and now misses Euro 08 because of England's limitations.

Yes the likes of Torres, Henry, Podolski, Benzema and Quaresma are all capable of setting the tournament alight, but it would have been great to see Rooney, Berbatov, Robbie Keane, Shevchenko, Owen, John Carew and even Denmark's Jon Dahl Tomasson on the big stage.

From an injury point of view, Eduardo is the most definite of non-starters for Croatia, who have now drifted to [15.5] to win the competition, while both Tomas Rosicky from the Czech Republic ([16]) and Sweden's star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic are reported to be out for the rest of the season at least, and this puts their Euro 08 participation in serious doubt.

So it's plausible to say that for every big name that is present, there is another that will be absent - Cannavaro/Vidic, Fabregas/Gerrard, Torres/Rooney etc, but will this affect your enjoyment of the competition? There's always going to be big names missing from international tournaments because not every nation can qualify - but I'm sure that once you see the wide range of betting opportunities available on this event when introduced by Betfair, you will forget all about England not being there.

Let's face it, England weren't going to win it anyway, because as that funeral director lookalike Avram Grant would say, there's some 'stiff' competition out there.