It's a Clarkian law of relativity that the amount of Irish antipathy directed towards the England Football team is in direct proportion to our chances of doing well in a major tournament.
The fact that I've heard no one query Roy Hodgson's parentage or ask Her Majesty to engage in anatomical impossibilities these past few weeks suggests that the Three Lions are going to have another stinker of a tournament.
Taking maximum points from our qualifying group sounds impressive until you recall that it was San Marino, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovenia and an uncharacteristically rubbish Swiss side in that were blocking England's route to France.
The tabloid's can talk him up as much as they like, but Wayne Rooney is a shadow of his former (and even then) over-hyped self.
Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy look like world-beaters when they're having balls pinged into them by their foreign teammates, but having to rely on the likes of Jack Wilshire and Dele Alli for ammunition they've badly misfired in recent friendlies.
Sure, Roy's a decent old skin but his last century tactics are Kryptonite for the few genuine flair players his team possess.
It's at the back, though, where you just know that England are going to self-destruct. Hart, Stones and Smalling are all good for one howler per game and the blood 'n' guts leadership of yore that the likes of Tony Adams and John Terry used to provide is but a distant memory.
I think we'll limp out the group, but woe betide us if we come up against Germany, France, Spain or Italy in the knock-out stages.