Stars shining on Euro 2008 big stage

A couple of tough groups helped, as teams new that they had very little margin for error and so the matches in, say, the group that contained Holland, France, Italy and Romania were tense from the outset.

Another interesting theory for why these Championships have been so open is that international managers get so little time with their squads nowadays that they find it difficult to get them organised and well drilled enough to enable them to suffocate games.

Even the Germans, for all their power and athleticism, have looked uncharacteristically vulnerable at the back.

Their semi-final opponents, Turkey, while not a side that many people would have named as one they were looking forward to watching, have been responsible more than even the enterprising Russians, Dutch and Spanish for reminding everyone just why this daft game is so endlessly absorbing.

In particular, the final moments of their quarter- final against the much fancied Croatia more or less encapsulated absolutely everything that is wonderful about football. After all, what other form of entertainment can come close to recreating the way the emotions swung back and forth within the space of a minute, as Croatia scored and then the Turks struck back instantly, and then the unbearable tension of the penalty shoot-out? Fabulous stuff.

Obviously the managers of all Europe's top sides have their eyes on this tournament for more prosaic reasons, hoping to identify players they can recruit for next season.

It always seems odd that they do that, as you would think that any decent scouting network would bring these players to light over the course of their domestic seasons, although it may be more of a case that most of the players know that it is in their interest to sit tight and hope that a decent showing for their country will strengthen their bargaining position.

Obviously that could backfire if you are Karim Benzema, the Lyon striker who was apparently wanted by everyone from Manchester to Milan, but looked like a French James Beattie in Les Bleus' opening match and now can't be worth a blow on a ragman's trumpet.

An alleged long-time Everton target, Andrei Arshavin, on the other hand, has certainly seen his stock rise.

The Russian schemer is now thinking more about Barcelona than Bootle, by all accounts, and it seems highly unlikely that Everton will be pursuing any interest in him.

He is clearly decent enough, but the figures being bandied about, of transfer fees upwards of £20million, seem ridiculous for someone who has all of a sudden, out of the blue, become flavour of the month.

Now he might move from St Petersburg and live up to all the hype, but on the other hand don't be surprised if he is compared to Sergei Rebrov or Karel Poborsky some time in the not too distant future.

If Arshavin looks like he represents a gamble, another player linked with Everton, Orlando Engelaar, should be outright avoided.

Quite frankly, if we wanted an eight-feet tall Tobias Linderoth we would have asked for one.