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It's Time More England Games Were Played Away From Wembley

It's Time More England Games Were Played Away From Wembley

The atmosphere at Elland Road for England's World Cup warm up against Costa Rica is much better than it normally is at Wembley.

Ryan Sidle

Ryan Sidle

England need to stop playing so many of their games at Wembley and take the national team on tour after Elland Road showed the way against Costa Rica.

There's no doubting that there's a wonderful mystique about 'Wembley' but ever since it became 'new Wembley' it's very much more been about the prestige of the name and its previous history than the new building.

Now the national stadium has become a symbol of the 'prawn sandwich brigade' where seats are left empty for the first 10 minutes after half time as fans struggle to get back from their drink and burger on time.

The FA have a bid on the table for someone to buy Wembley. It seems the deal would still have the play-offs, FA Cup semi finals and final, League Cup final and many England games still played there.

That would mean the England games played between September and December would have to be played away from Wembley and that's how it should be.

Taking the national team on the road allows more fans the chance to go and see them, especially when it comes to mid week evening games and the atmospheres around the country are always better too.

The national anthem had barely finished at Elland Road on Thursday night, with England playing Costa Rica in a World Cup warm up game in Leeds, when fans had taken to Twitter to make their point heard:

Atmosphere is only part of it and the chance for everyone around the country getting to see the games, and no doubt for cheaper, is the real advantage here.

Games would be spread out throughout the country and there's plenty of stadiums that could hold the games, as was proved last time England had to be on tour.

When the new Wembley was being built the national team went on tour with 34 games between 2001 and 2007 being played up and down the country.

Villa Park, Anfield, Pride Park, White Hart Lane, St James' Park, Old Trafford, Elland Road, St Mary's, Upton Park, Stadium of Light, Walkers' Stadium, Riverside, Portman Road and the City of Manchester all held games there.

Heck the greatest moment in recent England history came at Old Trafford when David Beckham's last minute free kick gave the Three Lions a 2-2 draw against Greece and took the team to the 2002 World Cup.

This is still the people's game, now it's time the FA did something about it and returned the national team to the people!

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Football News, England, Leeds United, Wembley, World Cup