Now that the main League 1 campaign has drawn to a close, we can concentrate on the next important bit of football. I'm not talking about the play offs - frankly, the prospect of watching Charlton and Millwall being given the chance to make the Championship is one I won't even dignify by watching. The possibility of losing one of our London derbies aside, the play offs still bring me out in a nervous twitch. Stoke City, Crewe, Tranmere, Huddersfield, Sheffield Wednesday…. Bee's fans, you know the drill. Earlier in the season I was lucky enough to interview Jamie Bates for an interview in the programme and he recounted how he still watches the video of his penalty miss against Huddersfield, again and again. But it still doesn't go in!

Of course, there's not an ounce of jealousy that we won't be walking out at Wembley come the May Bank Holiday. Honestly!

I'm not talking about the Europa League either. It's not the fact that the once mighty UEFA Cup has been cheapened with a name change to make it sound more like it's glamorous bigger brother. As for the farce of allowing the rejects from the Champion's League group stages to join half way through - if ever a trophy deserved to be called "Mickey Mouse", it's not the League Cup but this one.

Of course, the important bit of football is none other than the World Cup in South Africa. With less than two months remaining until the host nation kick off against Mexico, the excitement is building. Fabio Capello is about to name his initial thirty man squad but New Zealand coach Ricki Herbert has already gone one better and, yesterday, named his final 23. It's great news for Bee's fans - The Ipswich Town conveyor belt of loanees that has already given us, amongst others, Jordan Rhodes and Pim Balkenstein, has now served up a World Cup squad member. Tommy Smith, who spent 8 games here earlier this year, has made the squad.

Congratulations, Tommy! Having recently made his full debut against Mexico whilst a Brentford (loan) player, I wouldn't bet against him turning out in the group stages.

Tommy isn't the first Bee to play international football at one level or another. I could wax lyrical about the likes of John Buttigieg, Herman Hreidarrson and, really, Gus Hurdle but there can't be many who have made the final stages of football's biggest event.

So come June, sit back and enjoy the World Cup in the knowledge that one of our own might, just might, get his hands on that famous trophy. There's just the small matter of getting past Italy, Paraguay and Slovenia first.

Having last made the finals in 1982, their group record of: played three, lost three, Goal difference of -10, doesn't bode well for the All Whites. Even Scotland beat them 5-2!
It's just a shame Poland didn't make it! Still, there's always Euro 2012.

Nick Bruzon