View Poll Results: do you think a "Team GB" olympic football team is a good idea?

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  • yes

    4 40.00%
  • no

    0 0%
  • i'd need to think about it or consult tea leaves or something

    0 0%
  • don't particularly care

    4 40.00%
  • HELL NO

    2 20.00%
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Thread: Olympic Football

  1. #1
    Papa Smurf
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    Olympic Football

    Controversial - so i thought we could vote.

    A combined GB Olympic Football Team - want one ? (we'll assume for our NI readers they call it the GB & NI team even though we know they won't )



    The government and the English FA like the idea, all other football bodies and probably their respective national populations - hate the idea.

    see here

    What's likely then? well, an English FA spokesman told BBC Sport :"Ideally, we'd like to be part of a team represented by all four home nations."

    which to me reads as, "we'd like that, but we know it's never going to happen and will happily field only English players". And if that happens it would be the exact opposite affect the government is looking for, it will divide the country and probably filter that sense of division through into other events.

    Daft idea if you ask me

  2. #2
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    Re: Olympic Football

    We enter the Olympics as a British team so splitting it up for one event is just stupid and pathetic.
    If people are so bothered about it, we should enter the Olympics as totally separate nations and forget about any chance of ever getting in the top 20 of the medal tables.

    Come to think of it, why don't we should field a GB+ team for both the Football and Rugby world cups? We might stand a better chance of winning more than once in a blue moon that way.

  3. #3
    Papa Smurf
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    Re: Olympic Football

    Quote Originally Posted by Gav View Post
    We enter the Olympics as a British team so splitting it up for one event is just stupid and pathetic.
    Its not splitting it up as its not been "together" for quite some time

    If people are so bothered about it, we should enter the Olympics as totally separate nations and forget about any chance of ever getting in the top 20 of the medal tables.
    Other smaller countries do not have a problem with that, it means you can savour the medals you do get all the more. Look at Jamaica Anyway, its all to do with investment in sport. England alone has nearly 3 times the population of Australia but the Ozzies always manage to be in the top 5 or so of the medals tables.

    We might stand a better chance of winning more than once in a blue moon that way.
    Its the taking part surely, not the winning Which is why the new rule about an "olympic standard" is against the whole spirit of the games, it would prevent Eddie the Eagle, the Jamaican bobsleigh team and other triers from ever entering, but you'll still get a last place

  4. #4
    Registered User Jhutch's Avatar
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    Re: Olympic Football

    I think the difference is between the different national associations. Football has an english FA, a scottish FA, a welsh FA and a Northern Ireland FA. This is how we manage to enter english, scottish etc teams rather than a british football team. In the Olympics it comes under the banner of the British Olympic Committee and we enter British teams rather than english, scottish, welsh, northern Irish. As far as i know the idea of subdividing the british team for one sport in the olympics is too much for various authorities to cope with (doesnt seem that hard to me!). Part of the worry for some is that if britain has a united football team at the Olypmics then there may be pressure for a British football team at the world, european championships. While some may think this is a good idea i think the amount of squabbling and whinging that would go on if various parts of the UK were/weren't involved would just be too much. Quite what would change anyway if britain entered a united team i dont know - i'm quite sure FIFA is aware that england, scotland, wales and northern Ireland form part of the UK.

    I think hockey has a similar set-up with england, scotland, wales and northern Ireland in normal internationals while the team at the olympics is GB and NI. Knowing pretty much nothing about hockey though i have no idea how well this works.

  5. #5
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    Re: Olympic Football

    Quote Originally Posted by Dreadful Scathe View Post
    Its the taking part surely, not the winning
    That's what losers always say.

  6. #6
    Papa Smurf
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    Re: Olympic Football

    Quote Originally Posted by Gav View Post
    That's what losers always say.
    but you can be winners at losing

    btw i have the entire Laurel and Hardy DVD boxset - class

  7. #7
    Papa Smurf
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    Re: Olympic Football

    with hindsight, i really should have doubled the options with a "I'm English" or "I'm Scottish, Northern Irish, Welsh" section. Silly me. Maybe if David Bailey is not currently oppressing us or censoring bits of the forum, he could change that

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