It all started in Holland, both the holiday and the hooliganism. In a city of decriminalised cannabis, where supporters from all nations congregated in coffee shops, where would you expect to find the England fans?

In the marijuana-less bars of the red light district. Among the red-lit prostitute-filled windows, drunken English shouting was clearly audible.

And these shouts were fuelled on nothing more exciting than over-priced Heineken.

Nearly every bar offers you a plastic cup of this lager, often with more head than liquid.

Perversely, many of these lads would not have touched the beer at home, but put them in the Jolly Sailor, in the heart of Amsterdam's sin-filled district, and they could not have been any happier.

All-day drinking was the norm and the smashed kebab shop windows were inevitable.

AND then to Eindhoven. To prevent trouble, there was only watered-down beer on offer on the day of the Portugal disgrace.

It was an unrecognisable brand, brewed specially for the occasion and sold in plastic half-pints for £2.

The weak beer, combined with the open smoking of cannabis in the square, seemed to deter trouble.

The shirt-sleeved police happily oversaw the England boys trying to drink themselves stupid and failing on the low-strength brew. It was drinkable, but so is lemonade.

One unfortunate fan swore he was drunk after supping five pints within the stadium - only later discovering it was alcohol-free beer on sale.

IF EINDHOVEN was remembered for low-strength beer, the whole time in Belgium was forgotten because of the high-strength beer.

Although the majority of the England boys drunk the Stella on offer, many bars only served Jupiler or Maes, both slightly stronger than we are used to.

From the more adventurous the cry "une blanche" was heard. This summoned wheat beer from the barman, and many a pint of Belgs or Hoegaarden was quaffed by an Englishman.

Drinks were expensive in the town centre, but you could nip into the suburbs to get it down from £3.50 to £2 - oh and there were no riot coppers prodding you with truncheons every time you said how many lions there were on your shirt.

Many fans camped, which led to drinking in campsite bars, where £1.50 bought you a pint of Hoe-gaarden. But the glasses were made of glass, so letting you take advantage of the excellent way the traditional beers are served, with each having its own shaped glass.

The nine per cent Duvel arrived in a large brandy-shaped glass, Juliper had a similar one, some glasses needed a wooden stand to keep them up, as did many of their drinkers.

BARS seem to stay open ridiculous hours in Belgium, which has the 24-hour license we could soon be due in England. Were it not for the football, round-the-clock drinking is a great concept and one which has proved trouble free for this nation of heavy-drinkers of great beer. But there was a football tournament going on and the Belgians paid the price for allowing the English to drink too much beer.

Starting at 10am and finishing when the police tear-gassed the bar, England fans drank all day, with many bars running out of draught beer. Many a chair and plant pot were destroyed by the rampant fans, but the bar-owners who called in the riot squads after the damage should look at their balance sheets.

More beer was sold in Charleroi in two days than the previous six months - and it was the England boys who consumed it.

LOOK out for a saki special after the 2002 World Cup - it is being hosted by Japan and Korea.