As the build up continues towards Euro 2008 and the eagerly anticipated opening match (Switzerland v Czech Republic!) Footy Boots can reveal that before and during the tournament, it will effect a Euro 2008 take over of the Footy Boots site.

What does that mean exactly? Well this.

You’ll still get all the up to the minute football boot news and pictures as you would expect from the world’s Number One football boot web site. There may be a delay of an hour or so if our respective partners drag us off to Sainsbury’s over the opening weekend, and to be honest, during the Austria v Croatia game we won’t complain that much, but if a football boot story puts it’s head above the parapet, you’ll read about first on Footy Boots.

In addition, we’ll be running match previews of every single game, plus those all important betting odds for you over 18’s and we’ll employ some of the most sophisticated technology on offer to compile unique match and player statistics and the tournament unfolds.

To that end, it’s worth noting that official sponsors Castrol, using their Castrol Performance Index, have come out this week to pronounce that Germany (oh joy) are the favourites to lift the trophy. Where’s Johnny Jensen when you need him, eh?

The Castrol Performance Index is a new tool being used to objectively analyse team and player performance. Although Spain is the strongest team going into the tournament, based on international teams’ performances and results since 2000, their Group draw means the team are second favourites behind the Germans, who have a 17% chance of glory.

The Castrol Performance Index has used the past performances to work out each team’s attack and defence ratings, weighting recent results to count for more. Then, by simulating the tournament more than 100,000 times, it has calculated each team’s chances of progression at Uefa Euro 2008 and then winning it.

The figures look like this:

The Castrol Performance Index will be updated live during the tournament on Footy Boots and we’ll also get to hear from CPI’s panel of experts who include Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, FC Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga-winning manager Ottmar Hitzfeld, legendary Spanish striker Emilio Butragueno and former international referee Pierluigi Collina.