| clyde sseb wrote: |
A very fair post, Jezz, and refreshing as well. If I may throw in my tuppence worth?
I’ve nothing against England, the country. Their people are by and large and on the whole, more good than bad. In terms of national traits there is more that unites us (the Scots) than divides us. (Overall I mean. There are some distinctions, primarily in a cultural sense.)
Yet the English football team……
I LOATHE them. With a passion. I NEVER tire of watching them fail.
Why?
Well, the reasons are many.
The English football hierarchy are a self-deluding bunch. They honestly believe that the English football team belong at the World football top table. Yet what evidence is there to back this up?
Since 1966 (and only then with the most monsterous good fortune), with very few exceptions, they have failed (by the standards they set themselves) at major tournaments. Every failure brings a new round of hand wringing and scapegoat hunting. They can NEVER accept they were not good enough. It is only the, frankly bizarre and cartel-like, UEFA and FIFA seedings and world rankings that has given them relatively easy draws that allows them to progress to the last eight of these tournaments. Almost without exception, when they come up against a team with the slightest merit, they lose. Yet they still feel it a divine right to be ranked amongst the elite.
But any manager that took the England job and told the truth – “We do not have the players to match the worlds best. Hopefully, with the right blend of organisation, fitness and team spirit, we can progress. But as long as our League is a play ground for agents to top up the retirement funds of overpaid foreigners, then English talent will fail to progress to a good enough level.”
Any manager that said that would immediately be slaughtered by the media and would not have a chance.
Aaaah the media.
They are scum on a level that goes a long, long way beyond football. More Scottish people than ever before entered into this World Cup trying to at least be neutral with regards to England but the press and the pundits blew that magnanamous attitude away with some bizarre complacency and some of the most absurd hype I've ever heard.
In a way I feel sorry for the players. Players such as Lampard, Gerrard, Terry, Ferdinand and Cole (A and J) have never claimed to be world class. They, patently, are not. Yet they are lauded as such, because they look good in the “best league in the world”(sic).
This time, and many, many times previously, England were nothing like the best team in the tournament, not even close. They did and do not have the best collection of players, not even close. To claim they are in the top ten teams in the World is laughable. To claim they are in the top twenty would take selling skills worthy of Arnold Clark.
But that is no reason not to do well. Greece 2004, Denmark 1992, Sweden, Turkey and Bulgaria as semi finalists at various World Cups. Yet England are not allowed to copy the “pragmatic” or "workmanlike" style of these teams, because “they are better and have better players”.
I’m convinced Eriksson saw the limitations this time out (while outwardly building his players up) hence why he adopted the “careful” approach. Had it not, again as I said earlier, been for the seedings and a VERY favourable draw, they would not have got out of the group stage.
And then, there are the supporters.
Fifteen hundred plus arrests, with only frequent racists songs and bottle throwing, is deemed successful, because it is not as bad as it used to be. The self-awareness of these people makes me shake my head in disbelief.
So for as long as they remain a self deluded, non-self aware, jingoistic, arrogant football nation, I will continue to enjoy every failure.
Sorry if it sounds hard-hitting, and I must reiterate that I do not have the slightest problem with England. As soon as some amendments and character developments are sorted (see above) I may consider wishing them well in the future. |
As far as I'm concerned it is people like you who are a disgrace to the UK, you applaud people in Scotland who share your view and remonstrate about Scottish people who don't share your view..
You applaud English people who fit in with how you want them to be and remonstrate about any English person that does not fit in or share your opinion..
As for football hooliganism , Scotland have 2 teams who's supporters take things way way past anything on the pitch, there have been many instances of death threats being sent by Scottish fans to players and managers who don't conform to the sort of standards you set...The home internationals were abolished partly down to Scottish fans behaviour..Some of us old enough can remember 100's of Scottish fans invading Wembley and tearing the place apart..No one keeps going on about it , we just accept that that's the way it is and it basicaly a minority of people and move on...Many countries have football hooligans and we are no worse/better than anyone else..The real English fans the other day in the stadium were magnificant and a credit to the UK
Your statement that players like Gerrard, Terry and Lampard are clearly not world class is laughable to be polite..Anyone inside the game or with any knowledge of football atall knows how good these players are..Even Pele knows and he knows far far more about football than you
"Brazilian legend Pele says Steven Gerrard is good enough to make the Brazil team.
The football legend and Viagra salesman has praised the recent performances of Steven Gerrard and says the
Liverpool captain would be the ideal player for the Brazilian national team.
"Brazil is not a defensively-minded team and Gerrard is always going forward and he would play in my team, no doubt," said Pele.
"Gerrard is an excellent player, absolutely world-class. If I was a manager, everywhere I went I would buy Steven Gerrard.
"He is what Brazil needs, because he is always looking forward and has a big heart.
"Two years ago I saw Gerrard play and then I saw him in Tokyo in a game against Sao Paulo. I said then that Gerrard is a great player. To me he is one of the best midfielders in the world. He is an excellent player."
As for your comment about Andy Murray well i can guarantee that there were more Scottish people tuning in to watch Englands game than Andy Murrays tennis match
Again to refer to another of you comments about the "little teams" like Greece,Sweden, Denmark and Turkey being small nations and doing well...If that is the case then why do Scotland never acheive anything like this?..Is that down to the English aswell?...Get your own house in order before you start critisizing others..
We are fed up this side of the border with the minority of people like you who can find nothing better to do than critisize everything English and constantly complain about how hard done by they are...There are many Scottish,Welsh, Irish and English people here who enjoy a bit of National banter and sometimes it goes too far, myself included but you have clearly just decided that with Englands defeat you would sign up and try and cause a bit of trouble..
To say you are embarassed to be part of the UK and are just unfortunate to be stuck next to England is shameful...Maybe you personaly would prefer to be stuck next to Iraq rather than the shameful English?
It seems perfectly respectable and honourable to keep dishing it up to England everytime we fail to acheive but very taboo to critisize another nation...Yes we are sometimes arrogant, yes we are sometimes deluded and yes we sometimes under acheive but no more so than any other nation and why the hell should we be embarassed about being English..
Your post was nice and long and full of little reminders of how impartial a view it was but ultimately it was just another English bashing post
I guess this is an handling to get him away and after all english (and specially manchester) deserve that he backs away and go to play in Real Madrid. I would do that, because he doesn´t deserve what english are doing with him.
