Another cheating footballer but should we care?

This week we have seen national newspapers revealing secrets about a footballer's private life once again. It seems that this sort of thing is happening on a monthly basis. So far this year we have already endured days of front page articles about John Terry's bedroom misadventures and the seemingly endless Ashley and Cheryl Cole affair. However, this week Chelsea players took a back seat in the game of 'who can be the worst role model' when it was revealed Wayne Rooney had an affair with a prostitute while his wife was pregnant.

Now I have never been a fan of the red-top papers and I've never understood this country's fascination with rumours and gossip regarding celebrities. I will not bash these papers in any way though. What other people want to read is up to them. What I don't like is how these newspapers time the release of these articles. Right from the first day of the World Cup earlier this summer, the press have been proclaiming just what a disgrace the England team is and calling for Capello to be axed. Now we have our first international break of the season. This is supposed to be the start of a new England. We stroll to victory over an admittedly weak Bulgaria team and just as the side prepare to travel away to what should be our toughest game during the campaign, The News of the World decide to let everyone know about Wayne's domestic mishap. This lead to people questioning whether Rooney should be in the squad or even travel to Switzerland.

Now can somebody tell me why The News of the World would release this story at this time? It seems they want to unsettle the England team. Distract Rooney from the game. It's as if they want England to fail, giving them more ammunition to fire towards Capello.

As it turned out, Capello did take Rooney to Switzerland. He played well. He put all the tabloid stories behind him and scored England's first goal in an impressive 3-1 victory. He will now return to the country to face a barrage of questions and allegations. As a Chelsea fan I hope this does in fact distract him from his game. However, from an England perspective I worry about what stories the press have lined up for England's next games. Why do they not brush these stories under the carpet until we reach a lull in the international calander? The answer? It's because despite how much they claim to be behind the team in the build up to a major tournament. Despite their claims that this is a new era in English football, a new generation for us all to get behind. At the end of the day, they are out to make money. If this means disrupting the national side, knocking them off their stride as they go for glory, they won't care. As long as they get paid, it won't matter how many years we go without winning a competition.

What I want all of us to do next time an England game rolls around is ignore the papers. Ignore the press. Ignore all those who aren't saying this is going to be another great win for England. Let's just focus on the game.