It didn’t come home. I did have hopes we’d at least make it to the final given our draw. We all know what happened there but it won’t stop me dreaming.

The rules of engagement in our penultimate match were different – the goal posts were moved and the game got dirty. I’ve been watching football for a long time and that’s not the kind of play that I enjoy watching. Not the kind that upholds the spirit of the game. Farcical at times, frustrating at others, downright pathetic in moments. 

It wasn’t cricket.

This footballing nation considers itself held to a higher standard. Our players gentlemen of a cause with an ethos of quality and integrity. Fans quoting stats on players – clubs, appearances, cards, assists, goals, penalty conversion rate, shoe size – right down to the training methods – we want it all.

Hop forward to our last match, against France, when our players demonstrated a freedom and dynamism previously unseen as they conformed to expectation. With a liberty we rarely see, they passed the ball lightly; unhindered by the restriction and eight of conformity.

We all enjoyed the experience of something a bit different. A true representation of the skills and abilities of the players and how, in the right blend, they could shine. What a performance it was!

If England’s players only gave 35 per cent effort in their performances there would be a public outcry. A watered-down appearance, not tracking back, not pushing forward content to take part but not wholeheartedly. Players would be dropped, managers would have some explaining to do.

If we are a footballing nation then we are also a cider nation. The UK remains the world’s greatest consumer of cider.

Looking at cider’s starting 11 we see the highest-paid players whose expression of the game favours consistency over finesse. Looking to cut corners, play dirty and just get through the 90 minutes without too much effort. Scrabbling over the backs of their opposition, nipping at their heels and taking them out in the centre circle if the counter is on. We wouldn’t accept such behaviour from our sporting icons so why do we for cider?

The lines of comparison between football and cider are closer than at first glance as their core should come down to quality, skill and an integrity to present the best to fans. If a starting 11 slouched around the pitch for a mediocre 90 minutes we’d feel let down. If the same were true for cider, why is that accepted so quickly without appreciation that there could be more to the content of our glass?

We see the cider industry represented by players oceans apart in their approach to the beautiful game. For what else could small makers consider the machinations of huge corporations determined to dilute the quality of something that could be beautiful. In truth the playing fields of the cider industry often overlap only in principle, with teams and players found leagues apart in ethics, skill and scale.

The legal definition of cider or perry sits at a 35 per cent juice content. Many producers already surpass this. For CAMRA’s cider and perry month it was pushing the government to increase the minimum juice content 50 per cent. No doubt a 50 per cent minimum juice content proposes an improvement to the current quality standard for our orchard fermentations but we can offer more to guide consumers?

The EU is considering a traffic light system to inform consumers of the type of product they’re choosing (or leagues from another viewpoint). So, in the way that we’d expect a certain level of performance from the Premier League to League Two why don’t we rank products based on their juice level? The minimum juice content of a cider would be legally defined and remain at the hand of the fermenter but there would be transparency for consumers where those standards are exceeded. Most consumers don’t appreciate the varying methods of production, or need to, but would be able to make an informed choice if a simple ranking system were applied. Would that encourage industrial producers to change their tactics? Probably not, but it would offer clarity to drinkers from the outset.

Premier league cider; produced from 80-100 per cent juice.

League two cider; produced from 50 per cent juice.

With varying leagues between.

We all want to see the beautiful game played with skill, heart and soul. Half the flair? Half the joy? Half the juice?