2014 World Cup Betting / Discussion thread

[pleno1]

stones jones shaw all could be v good in 4 years

[arbboy]

stones jones shaw all could be v good in 4 years

Been hearing this for 28 years '(select three random england footballers under the age of 25) could all be very good in 4 years time' its comical how it keep getting thrown around.  'golden generation' another comical phrase used to describe future england teams for the last 28 years none of which has ever been close to being factual.

Our game has never had more money in it yet we are going further and further away from even competing at WC's to the point where it's embarrassing.  The two key things we lack for me at 'street smarts' and passion/drive/hunger.  No one in this england squad looks like they care less about the WC.  Players for teams like Costa Rica are not financially secure for life and are playing like their life depends on it and their next contract depends on it.  Everyone in the England team never has to work again and you can see it massively in our performances at times.  I think we are naturally a lazy nation who likes to wallow in the past and doesn't move with the times.  Suar is a unique individual that he come from such averse poverty in his childhood money just doesn't seem to have changed his hunger for the game/success.  He plays every game like he needs to win to eat that night or his kids will go hungry.

BTW this doesn't just apply to football i think we have massively under achieved as a country in numerous sports in my lifetime for the above reasons.

[arbboy]

1994 World cup

No appearance

1998 World cup

England    2–0    Tunisia   

Romania    2–1    England   

Colombia    0–2    England   

England 2 Argies 2

2002 World cup


England    1–1    Sweden   Saitama Stadium, Saitama

Argentina    0–1    England   Sapporo Dome, Sapporo

Nigeria    0–0    England

England 3 Denmark 0

England 1 Brazil 2

2006 World cup

England    1–0    Paraguay   Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt

England    2–0    Trinidad and Tobago   EasyCredit-Stadion, Nuremberg

Sweden    2–2    England

England 1 Ecuador 0

England 0 Portugal 0


2010 World cup

England    1–1    United States   Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg

England    0–0    Algeria   Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town

Slovenia    0–1    England

 Germany    4 England    1

2014 World cup

England 1 Italy 2

Urug 2 England 1

If you actually look at our world cup performance over a reasonable sample size there are no excuses.  We have never given a team a hiding at a WC finals game in the last 24 years.  Given the average ranking of the teams we have played in that period if you actually think we have a chance of even reaching the semi's of a WC final at least two of those teams should have received a 4 or 5 goal beating like numerous other teams 'of equal ability' to england in the betting seem to do routinely.  Some of the results in these group matches are shocking.  I don't know the average fifa ranking of the group stage opponents but just looking at them at a glance our performace is just consistently poor.  

This is through the 'golden era of the man u home grown treble winning side, Gerrard, Lampard, Ashley Cole, Rooney, Rio/Terry centre half partnership etc etc'.  Are we really in the next 10 years going to have a bigger talent pool than we have had in the last 16/20 years?  If not then group round exits at WC finals should be considered normal and not a surprise in the slightest.

[horseplayer]

said it before but the four or even two years argument just wont work out... Different players will be involved e.t.c

Hodgson is a good coach but not an intuitive one, this group perhaps needs someone with more ideas and attacking flair to thrive.

[buzzharvey22]

said it before but the four or even two years argument just wont work out... Different players will be involved e.t.c

Hodgson is a good coach but not an intuitive one, this group perhaps needs someone with more ideas and attacking flair to thrive.

not even sure if he is a good coach to be honest. all the reports from the players say that hes a "good man manager". Thats all very well and good, have a team that gets on and is happy to play for the boss, but if the boss cant give the team any strategy or direction then whats the point.

[kinboshi]

Hodge-ball is awful. He'd be better off saying to the players that they're all half-decent, so get out there and enjoy yourselves. Better than putting round pegs in square holes.

[Junior Senior]

does anyone think a time will come soon when a nation doesn't bother entering a team in a major champs? it seems players care less and less the more time goes on and clubs who pay wages would probably rather that national team football didnt exist. 

maybe international football should be something players do when their career is over. maybe make it an over 35's thing. reckon that would be more interesting.

[Omm]

Did anyone see that free kick? A lot of power.

[MintTrav]

It's not the manager. His extraordinary record proves that. It's the players.

England has had three of the best managers in the world in recent years but, despite their skills, none of them has been able to really make it work in international championships for one simple reason - the players they have been given just haven't been as good as the players from several other countries.

Unless they can attract someone like Scolari or Hiddink, England's best option is to stick with Hodgson.

[Woodsey]

does anyone think a time will come soon when a nation doesn't bother entering a team in a major champs? it seems players care less and less the more time goes on and clubs who pay wages would probably rather that national team football didnt exist. 

maybe international football should be something players do when their career is over. maybe make it an over 35's thing. reckon that would be more interesting.

No, I don't really subscribe to the 'they don't care BS', teams/players fail mostly because they just aren't good enough, it just a lazy accusation for the most part. Their reaction of winning and how gutted players are when they are out tells you enough.

[Woodsey]

It's not the manager. His extraordinary record proves that. It's the players.

England has had three of the best managers in the world in recent years but, despite their skills, none of them has been able to really make it work in international championships for one simple reason - the players they have been given just haven't been as good as the players from several other countries.

Unless they can attract someone like Scolari or Hiddink, England's best option is to stick with Hodgson.

This. We always have this silly knee jerk reaction, the players just aren't good enough end of.

[TheDazzler]

I agree the players aren't good enough.
The Premier League is to blame imo. I think the ratio is 30% English players to 70% foreign and falling.
The Irish team has similarly suffered as the Premier league has grown. We used to have Pool players, Man United players, Chelsea players etc. Now we have lower Prem players and Championship players. 
Soon England won't be qualifying for tournaments at all.

[mulhuzz]

We have an OK side, choke against big teams who will exploit any mistake.

We went out of World Cup because we a) can't defend for 90 mins consistently and b) can't take chances or even create enough when teams get 11 behind the ball.

We went out because we were so tactically naive and don't have enough quality. You can blame many things for the lack of quality, but the tactical naivety lies firmly with Roy.

We didn't lose to Italy because we were the worse side, we lost to Italy because they game managed us to bits, like Italian teams have being doing really well for years, and somehow Roy didn't see it coming. Ridiculous.

Unless there are huge changes made to the structure of the game in England we will continue to qualify easily and then get nowhere. Won't be different in four years.

Players like, e.g. Shaw. Great player/potential but won't play against Europe's best with Soton and won't get the game time with a 'big club' that he needs in these formative years, so it's game over, he'll never be the best or top 5 LB in the world because of this.

When was the last time you could genuinely say 'we have the best X in the world'? Ashley Cole, maybe?

Go through the Italian, German, Spanish, whoever teams and you can make arguments for so many of them being best/top 3 in their position.

[david3103]

The malaise in English football is the number of foreign players strangling the life out of the England team's supply line.

What chance would the 'Class of 92' have of getting a run of games in 2014? With the possible exception of Southampton, and Liverpool under Rodgers, where is the English talent being developed for whoever it is that the Hodgson Out brigade think would do better under Mourinho or whoever.

Let's work out a way of ruling that no squad should have more than 50% of players not eligible for the national side and the 11 on the pitch should reflect that with 6 starting and substitutions managed so there are never less than 5.

Let's not ever again put ourselves in a situation where I can find myself thinking that we needed John Terry for one last hoorah.

[stribling]

Why can't our young players learn there trade abroad like so many other nationalities do?

I don't think changing the premier league is the answer.