English football team

[David Bailey]

I normally pay zero attention to all sports, but I can't help noticing that they seem to be even more useless than normal at the moment?

What's that all about then?

[Dreadful Scathe]

They just won a game surely ?

[David Bailey]

Well, they beat Andorra. Three-nil. Woo-hoo. Ahem.

But I was judging from the fact that the English team now seem to be routinely booed - by their own supporters - which, and call me crazy on that one if you want - seems to indicate that the fans don't think they're doing very well.

[Dreadful Scathe]

fickle

[David Bailey]

fickle

Actually, English football fans probably have over-high expectations of their side - I think there was an interesting comparison someone posted a while back about how Australians support things compared to how the English do - i.e. the English tend to whinge a lot.

Surely not

[Dreadful Scathe]

ever heard the phrase "whinging poms" ?

i think the same can be said other UK nations too, we all have much less of an expectation of our National side

[Barry Shnikov]

Attention Moderators!

Please amalgamate this thread with the thread "The Apprentice - why do they bother?" producing a new thread which should be titled "The England Football Team - why do they bother?"

[Jhutch]

I normally pay zero attention to all sports, but I can't help noticing that they seem to be even more useless than normal at the moment?

I normally pay lots of attention to sport but i didn't watch the game last night (although i had ceroc to spend my time at instead). Bit of a no-win situation really. England win easily and people say, 'it's only Andorra.' England only just scrape through or don't win at all and goodness only knows what would have happened.

What's that all about then?

England have been apparently under-performing for a while. The answer after the World Cup was to drop David Beckham. Ok, so he may have either scored or created most of the goals England scored but he unbalanced the team. Without him England would play better, therefore scoring goals anyway and we wouldn't have all the Beckham circus as well. Whoops!!!

I don't know what the problems are really. England have some good players but whether they are just made to look good by the foreigners at their clubs, or whether they are that good but can't play as a team is another question. Wayne Rooney going off-form and sinking into temper tantrums can't help matters as England don't really seem to have any strikers at the moment. Eriksson's reason for apparently favouring Beckham and Owen becomes more apparent all the time...

I feel a bit sorry for Steve McLaren. I daresay he is doing his best and who else is there to manage England and what would they do differently? One of the only things i can think of is that the players maybe don't like/respect him? The other thing that i can think of is that there has been something of a decay in the national team spirit over a number of years, maybe something to do with some players being favoured/undroppable.

In reply to what someone said above about England always thinking they should win every football match. This is probably true to some extent.* Against the really good sides though i think that most England supporters realise that a win is not that likely. One thing they do like to see though is a performance where it looks like everyone is working together and trying their hardest.

*One thing that gets me is when people criticise our performance at events like the Olympics and seem disappointed that we don't win every event. At the end of the day (LOL - with that phrase you can tell i watch too much sport) we maybe a sporting nation, but, compared to nations like Australia, more in terms of sport-watching rather than sport-playing.

[the whale]

we maybe a sporting nation, but, compared to nations like Australia, more in terms of sport-watching rather than sport-playing.

I believe we are the current world champions at: -

armchair spectating
massaging/inflating the ego
casting the aspertion
passing the buck
rocking the boat

please feel free to add any I have missed

[Mezzosoprano]

I believe we are the current world champions at: -

armchair spectating
massaging/inflating the ego
casting the aspertion
passing the buck
rocking the boat

please feel free to add any I have missed

Scotland are apparently the current Elephant Polo World Champions - God knows where they found the elephants

[the whale]

God knows where they found the elephants

Well, it's a bit difficult for them to hide

[Lynn]

Northern Ireland won their match last night.



No particular relevance, just felt like mentioning it.

[stewart38]

I normally pay zero attention to all sports, but I can't help noticing that they seem to be even more useless than normal at the moment?

What's that all about then?

yep 3-0 away win which if it had gone on another 15 mins would have been 5-0. Total crap

[Dreadful Scathe]

yep 3-0 away win which if it had gone on another 15 mins would have been 5-0. Total crap

get with the programme S38

[Paulthetrainer]

McClaren is essentially a Sven Goran Eriksson clone. In the Sven days McClaren did just about everything bar pick the team anyway (Members of the FA even did much of Sven's team selection ). Now Sven has gone, McClaren picks the team too.

In the Sven days they lacked inventiveness and passion.

Now, under McClaren, they lack inventiveness and passion.

McClaren is basically Sven without the sex scandals.

Without the sex scandals its easier to see how rubbish the footy is.

Paul

[David Bailey]

yep 3-0 away win which if it had gone on another 15 mins would have been 5-0. Total crap

Seeing as there are 71,000 people in the entirety of Andorra - ie. about as many as in East Barnet - managing to beat them isn't exactly a worldclass achievement.

And they held England to 0-0 for 45 minutes - what does that say about the quality of the English side?

[Dreadful Scathe]

Seeing as there are 71,000 people in the entirety of Andorra - ie. about as many as in East Barnet - managing to beat them isn't exactly a worldclass achievement.

aah but theyre like the spartans - bred for football, train every day since they can walk etc...

as an aside - can you believe Iran is complaining about the film "300" - they don't like the way they depict Persia (which covered most of the middle east) apparently - its about something that happened 2500 years ago you absolute tubes

[David Bailey]

aah but theyre like the spartans - bred for football, train every day since they can walk etc...

Blimey, I never knew the Spartans were bred for football. They were dead advanced, them Spartans, weren't they.

as an aside - can you believe Iran is complaining about the film "300" - they don't like the way they depict Persia (which covered most of the middle east) apparently - its about something that happened 2500 years ago you absolute tubes

Yeah - 'coz the Iranian government is normally so rational and moderate about stuff too.

[Cruella]

Seeing as there are 71,000 people in the entirety of Andorra - ie. about as many as in East Barnet - managing to beat them isn't exactly a worldclass achievement.?

Also they can't get that much practice. They must lose all their balls over the side of the mountain!

[Stuart M]

Scotland are apparently the current Elephant Polo World Champions - God knows where they found the elephants

Did anyone notice that for 4 days last week, Scotland were back to being the Unofficial Football World Cup holders as well?

Na, thought not


PS congratulations to Italy for reuniting the Unofficial and Offical titles.