The New Wembley: Ready to roll (IanWalton/Allsport)

The fact that, nearly two years on, this project has only just been given the go-ahead means the national stadium that should now be in full working order has been allowed to become a national joke.

But for all those bored with story after story telling us Wembley and all it stands for should be consigned to history, read on.

First and foremost, if we are to have a home for English football it must be at Wembley. Those who have a problem with the capital city of this country being home to the new stadium should rub their eyes and thank their lucky stars the M6 and its picturesque Spaghetti Junction car park will not be the welcoming party for millions of visitors over the course of the next century.

Secondly, we are too quick to dismiss the significance of the tradition and history that is attached to this mecca of football. The mere mention of this venue brings smiles and conversation from football fans around the world and we must make the most of this huge selling point as we look to drag the game into the 21st century.

In commercial terms, Wembley was the only option. Attracting top quality international sides to England for friendly matches is a far easier when Wembley Stadium is the venue in question. Foreign teams love the prestige of the place. And selling lucrative advertising and commercial packages - so vital to the long term viability of the new venue - will be much more realistic in London.

The game's keepers-in-chief have had to rise above local politics and accusations that their decision to stay in the capital of England was an affront to the regions, yet the truth is they barely even considered the option of Birmingham or anywhere else.

Those involved in the rival bids - one laughably from Bradford - must have been foolish if they didn't realise they were batting on an uneven wicket from the first over. The FA prepared the pitch for Wembley's bid and whatever Doug Ellis and his Midlands pals put on the table was always an irrelevancy.

'But 55 club chairman back the Birmingham bid and so do a majority of football fans,' argued Birmingham bid chief Ellis. Sorry, Doug. The FA never cared about your arguments and the tragedy for you is that they never bothered to tell you before you went to the trouble of putting together your highly professional and impressive bid package.

This is one reason, among many, why the redevelopment of this national institution has become a shambolic embarrassment. The Wembley fiasco, as it has become rightly recognised, has been created by a host of colourful characters whose reputation have taken a huge knock in the last few years.

Tony Banks did a decent job in setting up plans that were in place when he left his post as Sports Minister, but it was a real shame he had to pave the way for Chelsea chairman Ken Bates elevation to the head of Wembley National Stadium Ltd.

Bates has made a living out of upsetting people and he did that in spectacular fashion at Wembley. Sticking his bearded oar in everywhere and sacking numerous staff who had been working at the stadium for most of their lives, Bates was a menace from the moment he arrived on the scene.

	After a turbulent reign, Bates was forced to walk away. (Pic/Empics)

He was renting office space to Wembley National Stadium Ltd prior to his sacking as project chief and even took control of the official match day programme for the 2000 FA Cup Final that featured his own team, ensuring it was on sale in the Chelsea club shop in good time to make gain for his club.

But put that to one side and you could say Bates' plans were not so far off the mark. His hotels and subsidiary buildings were needed to pay for the day-to-day running of the complex, but his abrasive attitude alienated Brent council and meant all his good ideas were drowned out in his pointlessly confrontational rhetoric.

With Banks ousted from his cabinet post, his replacement as Sports Minister, Kate Hoey, worked to see our Ken removed from the project and to that end she was succesful.

'Good riddance to Mr Bates' all involved cried, though Hoey herself didn't last much longer. Sir Rodney Walker filled Bates' place for a time and now, at last, under the persistent guidance of FA chief Adam Crozier, we have reached a point where a National Stadium can be built to do us proud.

All this farrago could have been avoided had the politicians who were so keen to get involved put money where their mouth was back in 1998.

Had they suggested that 1p of National Lottery ticket money would go towards this new stadium for a six month period, then most of the cash required could have been raised and the stadium would have been erected by now.

Of course, had England won their bid to host the 2006 World Cup, the money would have been miraculously found and we would already have the new Wembley ready for action.

Instead, the government have insisted they have final say over the development without wanting to get financially involved should it become a white elephant to compete with the Millennium Dome.

In the meantime, ventures like London's Royal Opera House, not exactly known for getting a huge following travelling down the motorway from Yorkshire each week, has been getting vast hand outs.

For the cynics who have been quick to pour scorn on this proposal, try to ignore the suggestion that this stadium will cost upwards of £1billion to build. It will cost a little more than £326.5m, less than the Sapporo Dome that hosted England's World Cup clash with Argentina last summer and not much more than the Stade de France or Sydney's Olympic Stadium. And there will be more seats available than ever before for 'real fans' when it comes to FA Cup Final day.

The train stations around the stadium will be improved to allow fans from outside London to make the not-so-long trip to watch their team, as they do that every week anyway.

	FA Cup Final 1957: It was once every player's dream to walk out on the hallowed turf.. (Pic/Empics)

Journeys to the capital have become an enjoyable part of each season for the likes of Newcastle and Liverpool fans, so why can't they do it again when their side reach the FA Cup Final or for a big England game, especially as many are now played on a Saturday afternoon?

And northerners who seem to enjoy cockney-bashing will doubtless relish the extra-wide seats that will be on offer at the new 90,000 Wembley. With every seat providing a perfect view of the pitch, they'll doubtless agree it will be a bit of upper crust quality! Also, those who constantly claimed Wembley's toilets were (ahem) crap will be pleased to hear the new stadium is set to have more latrines than any other venue in the world.

Going to this venue was once the dream for every kid in England, playing there an ambition few would ever realise. But when the stadium is rebuilt, all the doubters will be left out in the cold and fans will flock to praise a mecca of football with few peers in the world.

Wembley will be great again and provide us with our only chance of bring the World Cup or Olympics to these shores. It will stop us all having to trek to Wales to make use of their stadium and put England back at the forefront of world sport. That simply wouldn't have happened in Birmingham or anywhere else in the country for that matter.