BEFORE we start, let's lay to rest some myths and half-truths.

FACT: Lee Bowyer was found not guilty of grevious bodily harm and affray at Hull Crown Court last December.

FACT: Jonathan Woodgate, who was convicted of affray but acquitted of the more serious charge of GBH, has served his sentence of 100 hours' community service.

FACT: They are two of the best young players in England.

So, why has the Leeds two's international call-up triggered apoplexy from some parts of the country's footballing fraternity?

This is not to say that Bowyer is the sort of role model that impressionable young England fans should be trying to emulate.

His arrogant attitude towards Liverpool, who baulked at his demand to offer him the same wages as Michael Owen, and his disrespectful treatment of Leeds United after they stood by him during his two court cases leaves an unpleasant taste.

Yet with England crying out for a goalscoring midfielder since David Platt retired, Bowyer is the nearest thing to an identikit replacement.

By the time Euro 2004 comes around, more than four years will have passed since the attack on Sarfraz Najeib took place.

Would you like to be constantly punished for, and have your reputation sullied by, an offence you have been proven to have had no part in committing?

Which brings us on to Woodgate.

Yes, he does have a criminal record because of his behaviour on that fateful Leeds night in January 2000, but as far as an independent judge and jury are concerned he has paid his debt to society.

Who are we, as people who did not spend one minute in that courtroom, to decide the Football Association should penalise him further?

Woodgate was hailed as an England mainstay for more than a decade when he made his international debut in Bulgaria in June 1999.

And since then...nothing. Of course, this is largely due to the lengthy suspension that was imposed on him by FA during the legal proceedings.

But two years and nine months after Najeib was assaulted, isn't the time now right for everyone to move on - including Woodgate?

If not, when? Next year? The year after? Never?

And ask yourself this: if Woodgate and Bowyer are part of an England team that wins Euro 2004, will you be shaking your head in disgust, appalled that the country needed to rely on such loathsome individuals?

Or will you be cheering as loudly as the next supporter, drinking a toast to Woodgate and Bowyer as well as the rest of the England team?

I think we all know the answer to that one.