England/Croatia thread

[bobby1]

The biggest problem we have is judging the ability of our players in the grand scheme of things, because we see our good players playing every week it is too easy to start thinking these are world class in some positions, Lampard and Gerrard are the best midfielders in the country but they are for me a long way below the world class midfielders they have been billed/rated. Best we have , yes but that is way short of top class.

We finished with Crouch, Defoe and Bent up front who cant even get into their club sides, had a half fit Beckham and a patched up back 4, plus a keeper that has been playing reserve footy or at times  lower league footy for most of the last two seasons, how is that ever going to be a succesful International team??

Ferdinand, Terry and Rooney would have made a big difference but in the end we are in decline as a footballing nation and have been for some time.

[Geo the Sarge]

If there ever was a blessing in disguise...this is it.

 The whole system is a shambles.

For us not to qualify saves us from the usual "England expects"..."This is the year" bull5hit. For a team of England's stature not to qualify, and teams like Russia and Croatia to get there ahead of us, means there is something inherently wrong with the system. McClaren is a complete <ock...but who appointed that yes-man?

The stuffy, stuck-in-a-time-warp, idiots at the FA.

I'm probably one of the most staunchly conservative, bring-back-the-establishment and pro-status quo person on here ...but even I think there needs to be a massive overhaul of the institution that has avoided appointing the likes of Brian Clough (because he WASN'T a yes-man and going for the manager who will shake things up, because they need yes-men to vindicate their 5hite decisions).

The squad of 2006-2008 has been one of the most talented on paper, but on paper only, since 1990 and yet we have still failed to get out of a group that consisted of a pub-team, three not-long independent developing nations, a war-torn country and a dictatorship with no football heritage since the days of USSR in the 1970s. We need a figure not unlike Peter Kenyon in charge of the national game's governing body, we need no separation between the FA and our top division, we need foreign quotas to stop us having to rely on just ONE star striker (Rooney), on just two class central defenders (Terry and Ferdinand) and second rate goalkeepers (Robinson, James and Carson) if players are injured and we need a top class(foreign or not...I don't give a rat's ar5e) manager.

For no British team to be in Austria/Switzerland is awful...but I wish we'd had the guts of the Scottish or the Northern Irish. Oh and we need to stop kidding ourselves that we have the best league in the world...it comes a poor fourth to Spain's, Germany's and Italy's...best fans in the world? Croatia's supporters made more noise than we have in the entire campaign.

The English game is sick...it needs healing...and quick.

Can't agree there, I would put the English Premiership a very close second to the Spanish.

However, it  is a league dominated with good (and bad) foreign players......herein lies part of the problem.

I have always enjoyed the premiership and watching the English clubs in Europe, however, I am more often or not watching foreigners and not Englishmen playing these games.

Geo

[boldie]

It's not the amount of foreign players that's the problem though. The problem is that English players are over-hyped and too expensive (16 mill for Bent anyone?) as soon as they show a bit of quality or even have one good season. Clubs can't afford to buy English only. And if the Premierleague wants to remain one of the best int he world it needs the top foreign players to come and play here...

[kinboshi]

There are foreign players in all the top European leagues!  There are plenty of players from the British Isles in the Premiership:

Take the big 4:

Liverpool:  Gerrard, Crouch, Carragher, Finnan, Pennant
Manu: Rooney, Giggs, Hargreaves, Carrick, Neville, Brown, Ferdinand, Fletcher, Eagles
Arsenal: Walcott, and erm......
Chelsea: Cole, Cole, Lampard, Sidwell, Bridge, Terry, SWP

With the exception of Arsenal, you can see plenty of British (and Irish) players in their teams every week. 

Spain is pretty much universally accepted as the 'most skillful' league.  The Premiership as the 'most exciting' to watch.  Well, Spain are even greater perennial under-achievers than England.  A league that is in utter disarray (Serie A) with its corruption, crowd violence, etc., has produced the world champions. 

I don't think the state of the domestic league is the best indicator of the success of the national side.

[boldie]

Mourinho will not take the job..he already said he would only manage Portugal if he ever took a National manager job.

Why all of a sudden would a foreign manager be good enough again? Wasn't the problem with Sven (the most successful England Manager ever..well since 1966 anyways) that he was a foreigner? Isn't the problem really that, other than Sam Allardyce potentially, all the English managers out there are essentially just like the England players?..in other words..just not good enough.

I hope Allardyce gets the job but I fear he won't for the same reason that Brian Clough never got it..the man actually speaks his mind and that's not appreciated by the FA.

[TightEnd]

but surely Allardyce's "ethics" over transfers/Panaorama investigation where he promised he'd sue but never did are something the suits are going to want to avoid?

[boldie]

but surely Allardyce's "ethics" over transfers/Panaorama investigation where he promised he'd sue but never did are something the suits are going to want to avoid?

Nobody really gave a crap over that, did they? Nothing was proven no criminal proceedings started,,,Hell as I recall noone called Newcastle hypocrites for sacking someone over that whole thing and a few months hiring Big Sam a their manager.

[TightEnd]

All I am saying is that right back from Brian Clough onwards the good folk at the Devon FA, Dorset FA and Cumberland FA who get votes on the committee will never ever appoint someone with even a whiff of controversy

It rules out Redknapp (transfer dealing concerns), Allardyce, O'Neill (they hated his telling it like it is at the last interview) etc


Far more likely to appoint someone they can share a Gin and Tonic with, and this sums up the esssential problem

The FA is run by jerks.

[bigalhx1]

after going to all the england games home and away under McClaren i can say that not once have we played well . its just been one farce after another from dropping beckham to putting in carson in to play hist 1st game in such a big game the man did not know wot he was doing its not just the managers fault the players showed not fight in 2 many games they thought they was 2 good for the likes of Israel Macedonia Russia Andorra and even Croatia lets not forget we all thought when the draw for the group was made we just had to turn up to win it thats OK for the fans to think that but not for the players and manager but who must take there blame in all this is the FA they picked the manager and was aware that he was not wot the fans wanted so wot was there thinking in employing him was it that he was a great leader and a master tactician and one of the top 20 managers in the world no it was because he was cheap so wot have we to look forward to in the the new manager the SAME FA will pick god knows but i hope they have learned there lessons or will not be spending my hard earned money on traveling the word to support the team just for the likes of Joe Cole to call on the fans to get behind the team this week  when we lost to Russia the only players to come over to the fans after the game and they did not come fully over 10 yards if that was Rooney Gerrard and ferdinand

[steeveg]

All I am saying is that right back from Brian Clough onwards the good folk at the Devon FA, Dorset FA and Cumberland FA who get votes on the committee will never ever appoint someone with even a whiff of controversy

It rules out Redknapp (transfer dealing concerns), Allardyce, O'Neill (they hated his telling it like it is at the last interview) etc


Far more likely to appoint someone they can share a Gin and Tonic with, and this sums up the esssential problem

The FA is run by jerks.

i agree, the f,a just want someone in as manager whos nice to get on with,not someone who will rock the boat and point fingers, everyone has there own opinions who should be manager but in the past what has happened ,the f a have picked someone way down the list of most england fans, who will they pick next, probably martin jol knowing there track record,

[Nem]

All I am saying is that right back from Brian Clough onwards the good folk at the Devon FA, Dorset FA and Cumberland FA who get votes on the committee will never ever appoint someone with even a whiff of controversy

It rules out Redknapp (transfer dealing concerns), Allardyce, O'Neill (they hated his telling it like it is at the last interview) etc


Far more likely to appoint someone they can share a Gin and Tonic with, and this sums up the esssential problem

The FA is run by jerks.

i agree, the f,a just want someone in as manager whos nice to get on with,not someone who will rock the boat and point fingers, everyone has there own opinions who should be manager but in the past what has happened ,the f a have picked someone way down the list of most england fans, who will they pick next, probably martin jol knowing there track record,

LOL

[Karabiner]

God only knows why they picked McClaren ahead of O'Neill and Allardyce in the first place.

So that virtually rules out two of the best candidates now, as they are very unlikely to reapply having been rejected.

I don't see too many good candidates queueing up for the job now and if the FA can get Redknapp they should snap him up and consider themselves very lucky imo. The trouble is that he might be slightly "soiled" by the innuendo in the bung inquiry and the last thing the FA needs is another Venables scenario.

I might have a look at Steve Coppell's price, he seems to tick most of the boxes. 

[Nem]

God only knows why they picked McClaren ahead of O'Neill and Allardyce in the first place.

So that virtually rules out two of the best candidates now, as they are very unlikely to reapply having been rejected.

I don't see too many good candidates queueing up for the job now and if the FA can get Redknapp they should snap him up and consider themselves very lucky imo. The trouble is that he might be slightly "soiled" by the innuendo in the bung inquiry and the last thing the FA needs is another Venables scenario.

I might have a look at Steve Coppell's price, he seems to tick most of the boxes. 

Why are you even contemplating Redknapp and Coppell? Is it because you want to see an Englishman in charge? Coppell is a good coach but a bottle job. Redknapp is as bent as a 9 bob note. Curbishley would have a heart attack through the stress (have you seen those hand-bags under his eyes?!?)

Capello is the No 1 manager to get to managed England.

[owner]

after going to all the england games home and away under McClaren i can say that not once have we played well . its just been one farce after another from dropping beckham to putting in carson in to play hist 1st game in such a big game the man did not know wot he was doing its not just the managers fault the players showed not fight in 2 many games they thought they was 2 good for the likes of Israel Macedonia Russia Andorra and even Croatia lets not forget we all thought when the draw for the group was made we just had to turn up to win it thats OK for the fans to think that but not for the players and manager but who must take there blame in all this is the FA they picked the manager and was aware that he was not wot the fans wanted so wot was there thinking in employing him was it that he was a great leader and a master tactician and one of the top 20 managers in the world no it was because he was cheap so wot have we to look forward to in the the new manager the SAME FA will pick god knows but i hope they have learned there lessons or will not be spending my hard earned money on traveling the word to support the team just for the likes of Joe Cole to call on the fans to get behind the team this week  when we lost to Russia the only players to come over to the fans after the game and they did not come fully over 10 yards if that was Rooney Gerrard and ferdinand

I thought we played well against Israel and Russia at home, the two games when Owen and Heskey played up front and Gerrard and Barry in the middle as Lampard was injured.  Coincidence ? I think not.

[owner]

And as it has been mentioned countless times on this thread can I just say..

Wembley does not have a roof that closes !

I assume it is because the roof behind the goals moves to allow more/less light in that this confuses people.