England Football Team

[Howe Magic]

Does anyone really care about the England football team anymore - I for one would prefer my club to do well before England doing well..... What does everyone else think ??

[bigreddog]

If presented with the choice between the two. Then Morecambe comes out top every time.

not because of some half arsed jingoistic problem with there being an italian running the team, or the fact that market forces mean everyone good enough to represent their country these days is a multi-millionaire, or even that top level football is cagey, boring and predictable or that the FA is run by OAP's who couldn't find their own arses in a dark room with their own hands. not even because these people can't be bothered singing my national anthem.

But that they get paid, and then they get win bonuses. for playing for their country.

When the likes of stanley matthews or bobby moore did it for pride, even the likes of stuart pierce would have chopped his left arm off for one more cap. and the rest of us can only dream of the absolute honour of wearing an england shirt.

I'll get interested in international football, especially our international football when the squad volunteers to either forego its appearance money all together or they all donate it to charity. other wise they can get lost. tommorrows game will merely be an excuse to frequent my local hostelry.

[Moose]

When the likes of stanley matthews or bobby moore did it for pride, even the likes of stuart pierce would have chopped his left arm off for one more cap. and the rest of us can only dream of the absolute honour of wearing an england shirt.

I'll get interested in international football, especially our international football when the squad volunteers to either forego its appearance money all together or they all donate it to charity.

Quite, wouldn't say altogether, but to charity.... yes. At the end of the day they are being asked to represent their Country! That in itself should be enough for their personal achievements.

Morecambe first for me every game, then.... (please don't hate me.... yes...Man U...) sorry.... but then the National side. I don't seem to get the same sort of feeling I did as a lad watching the England side, can't explain it, I will watch the games, but when we lose....... nowhere near as gutted as when we lose!

So how does that work then? Don't get me wrong, I hate to see England lose, but it's a different kind of hate.

The point I was trying to make was.... should they be paid for representing their Country? - or should the privilege alone be worth more than that? And would that change the way we look at a defeat?

I know what I think and where the money should go - But what do I know?..

[campdave]

To be honest, I think most of the present apathy is down to the poor form of the team.

[Aspers]

I care about the England team but like Moose its Morecambe man U England.
I expect us to be leathered by Croatia, I'll tune in hoping we won't be.
Thats football.
Out of the present lot only Rooney and Beckham would play for nowt.
The others I'm ashamed of.

[Wild Bill]

For the one off excitment, watching Morecambe win a play-off final etc would be better than watching England win the world cup.

But, as for how good it would make everyone around feel, I would have say England. Remember the buzz of Euro 96? Or even when we beat the Germans in Euro 2000 or thrashed them 5-1 in their own back yard a couple of years later? Rare times times when almost everyone is on a high and proud to be English.

[P/T Indie]

Fabio thinks we play better away as the players are not under pressure did he see the Andora match!

[wijit]

Just to put the record straight, yes, when picked for England they do get paid. However! There is an agreement in place whereby ALL players have their wages and expenses given to charities, with some going directly to the Football Foundation. This was well publicised earlier this year when new rules regarding payments were implemented and was suggested to the team by one David Beckham when he found out that this was the norm up until a few seasons ago.
For my money, we have been let down by England players who are possibly distracted by their clubs or simply don't try too hard to avoid injuries and because they know they are first choices either way.

[Keith]

Just to put the record straight, yes, when picked for England they do get paid. However! There is an agreement in place whereby ALL players have their wages and expenses given to charities, with some going directly to the Football Foundation. This was well publicised earlier this year when new rules regarding payments were implemented and was suggested to the team by one David Beckham when he found out that this was the norm up until a few seasons ago.
For my money, we have been let down by England players who are possibly distracted by their clubs or simply don't try too hard to avoid injuries and because they know they are first choices either way.

Must admit, I didn't know that.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/sportsNew ... 3320070609

Good on them [Keith goes looking for a different stick to beat them with!]

[slackAlice]

Does anyone really care about the England football team anymore - I for one would prefer my club to do well before England doing well..... What does everyone else think ??

Not me and neither does Jamie Carrahger , quotes from his book suggest HE was much more 'interested' in Liverpool than England. I have never had the England football thing - I think Steven Gerrard is a great player ; but when he plays for England I could'nt care less if they win or lose. I sometimes think its funny when they lose and you get all the 'fall out' , IF they lose tonight Capello's reign will be cast into doubt.

Any governing body that can appoint a clown like Steve McLaren deserves all it gets. It's a joke of a national team , any other nation, like Croatia, will relish the prospect of playing them - they 'fancy' themselves to beat any other team. It's as if they've got some divine right to beat everybody. Poor form has nothing to do with it , they hav'nt really had any good from to talk about. Just a catalogue of hard luck story's, bad ref's, penalty shoot out defeats, fans causing mayhem across europe - it amazes me how many fans do follow them and I have a couple of mates who go everywhere to watch them, but even they have had enough. I notice the exclusive England Travel Club has had a dramatic drop in membership.

The only time I get excited about a national team in Football or Rugby is the Irish - and that I think must come from my 'strong minded' Irish mother who persuaded me to watch the Irish and support them ! But you get buckfuls of passion and pride from the Irish and no excuses or pipe dreams about what there going to do and what they nearly did.

[P/T Indie]

The thing is Mclarens result against Andorra was better than Capellos.

I don't think its the manager as I honestly believe as a group of players we are just not good enough. In the Euros you looked at teams like Croatia, Turkey, Russia etc who were brilliant and deserved to be there where as we didn't. Rather worryingly I thought if we played any of those teams they would have destroyed us. Those countries added to the championship and played good football where as we would have played dull football and then get knocked out in the quarters.

[BHmfc]

Use to spend alot of time and money going to watch England over the years, but with the introduction of Sky and its millions of pounds pumped into it's plaything called the Premiership, i started to lose interest. I think it was down to paying out alot of money going to watch overpaid millionaires who no longer looked commited to the cause. I don't even watch them on TV anymore, in fact, i have lost all interest with both England and the Premiership. There is only one team now, UP THE MIGHTY SHRIMPS.

[shrimper]

Does anyone really care about the England football team anymore - I for one would prefer my club to do well before England doing well..... What does everyone else think ??

Not me and neither does Jamie Carrahger , quotes from his book suggest HE was much more 'interested' in Liverpool than England. I have never had the England football thing - I think Steven Gerrard is a great player ; but when he plays for England I could'nt care less if they win or lose. I sometimes think its funny when they lose and you get all the 'fall out' , IF they lose tonight Capello's reign will be cast into doubt.

Any governing body that can appoint a clown like Steve McLaren deserves all it gets. It's a joke of a national team , any other nation, like Croatia, will relish the prospect of playing them - they 'fancy' themselves to beat any other team. It's as if they've got some divine right to beat everybody. Poor form has nothing to do with it , they hav'nt really had any good from to talk about. Just a catalogue of hard luck story's, bad ref's, penalty shoot out defeats, fans causing mayhem across europe - it amazes me how many fans do follow them and I have a couple of mates who go everywhere to watch them, but even they have had enough. I notice the exclusive England Travel Club has had a dramatic drop in membership.

The only time I get excited about a national team in Football or Rugby is the Irish - and that I think must come from my 'strong minded' Irish mother who persuaded me to watch the Irish and support them ! But you get buckfuls of passion and pride from the Irish and no excuses or pipe dreams about what there going to do and what they nearly did.

Each to their own and I wouldn't start to try to persuade you otherwise.

But for me it's like this. I accept what you say about the people who choose the manager - instead of McLaren they should at least have approached Wenger with a massive offer but, of course, David Dein (Arsenal vice-chairman) was on the committee and his name was never mentioned - it stank to high heaven. Capello, for me, was a good appointment.
I accept what everyone says about the modern-day players caring more about their clubs (almost all managed by non-English men, so you can imagine what they say to them about the importance of friendlies etc) - one of the many negative by-products of the formation of the Champions' League (don't get me started.....)

I also accept what everyone is now saying about the farce that sees TV coverage of our national team restricted to a service that is only just starting to get a real foothold in our market - that's a disgrace and WILL impact very heavily on the interest we have as a nation (me included) in this qualification series. If we can't see it, it doesn't capture our imagination the same, that's only natural.

And there are other things wrong with the set-up (Wembley monopoly being another that springs to mind, it was great when they moved games around the country).

But they are still the team that represents my country in the sport I love best so, while I'd like a lot of things to be vastly different, I will always want them to do as well as they can, I will always get very excited whenever they look remotely like doing so - and I struggle to understand the attitude of other Englishmen who want them to lose games.

[slackAlice]

shrimper

and I struggle to understand the attitude of other Englishmen who want them to lose games.

Just to clarify I didn't say I wanted them to lose games. I'm indifferent to their plight.

If I look at the England football team 'set up' , it strikes me that there stuck in a groove. Capello was heralded as the man to make the changes - but it's just the same squad more or less. I was very encouraged by the inclusion of Jimmy Bullard , who I believe is a very under-rated player. But he's only been called in because of injuries - unless he gets on and scores a hat-trick - he'll probably be out. It needs a real shake up and a fresh outlook. We can all see that basically there's a lack of passion. We are constantly told and have been that we have a 'Golden age' of talent by every pundit but no progress!

Why do teams like Croatia find it so relatively easy to play and beat England ? Better players / tactics - or just belief and real passion OR a bit of both. I would look outside of the so called 'crop of super players' and find English men / players who have a real hunger to play and represent their country and are not just motivated by money / greed.

I did say I think its funny when they lose and you get the world and its wife chipping in with the remedy , scratching their heads about whats wrong with English football. Its funny because its 'repetetive' and predictable.
I wouldn't knock any other English mans passion for his national football team - but the NATIONAL TEAM has been in chronic decline for decades now. For me Morecambe /Liverpool come first. They'll [England] probably go out there and win tonight and then you'll get the flip side of 'English football' - there going to win everything and so it goes on and on and on ....

[badger]

I think all international matches should be on ITV or BBC. But it is all about money these days.
people who cannot aford sky tv or setanta sports will start to lose interest.I also think the premiership is joke, it is a three tear league top middle and bottom. thank goodness for the shrimps ,where you can have a drink with the players and the board after the match, and give them feedback.

[marky]

I have nothing but a passing interest in international football these days. There are only two players who I think seem to particularly care about playing for England, one of whom consistently performs better for country than club, namely Joe Cole. The other, much as it pains me to say as I loathe the guy, is Beckham. As a cricket fan, I certainly care far more about my country's fortune in that sport. At the moment, playing for your country is the ultimate honour. However, I do worry that the Indian Premier League (and the other non-approved Indian breakaway version) will start to create the kind of problems that the Premier & Champions League have created in football. I'm not convinced the English Premier League (cricket) will help or hinder, either.

[wonder shrimp]

At the moment, playing for your country is the ultimate honour

i don't follow cricket much, but didn't harmison 'unretire' just in time for a million dollar pay off? i may be wrong!

[shrimper]

shrimper

and I struggle to understand the attitude of other Englishmen who want them to lose games.

Just to clarify I didn't say I wanted them to lose games. I'm indifferent to their plight.

If I look at the England football team 'set up' , it strikes me that there stuck in a groove. Capello was heralded as the man to make the changes - but it's just the same squad more or less. I was very encouraged by the inclusion of Jimmy Bullard , who I believe is a very under-rated player. But he's only been called in because of injuries - unless he gets on and scores a hat-trick - he'll probably be out. It needs a real shake up and a fresh outlook. We can all see that basically there's a lack of passion. We are constantly told and have been that we have a 'Golden age' of talent by every pundit but no progress!

Why do teams like Croatia find it so relatively easy to play and beat England ? Better players / tactics - or just belief and real passion OR a bit of both. I would look outside of the so called 'crop of super players' and find English men / players who have a real hunger to play and represent their country and are not just motivated by money / greed.

I did say I think its funny when they lose and you get the world and its wife chipping in with the remedy , scratching their heads about whats wrong with English football. Its funny because its 'repetetive' and predictable.
I wouldn't knock any other English mans passion for his national football team - but the NATIONAL TEAM has been in chronic decline for decades now. For me Morecambe /Liverpool come first. They'll [England] probably go out there and win tonight and then you'll get the flip side of 'English football' - there going to win everything and so it goes on and on and on ....

It may be almost exactly the same team but he HAS made Barry a pretty important addition, which I think is key.
By 'shake-up', I'm not too sure what you mean. The England manager has a particular restriction that doesn't apply to club managers - he has to pick players who are English. If you think there are English players who would do better for England than the likes of Gerrard, Rooney, Lampard, then fair enough. I don't particularly see a crop of them waiting in the wings. But I do think it needed a fresh eye from an experienced boss who wouldn't be swayed by their reputations and would pick players who performed for the country.

It's still early days for Capello but I hope that's what he'll be seen to do and, if the 'stars' don't perform, he'll bring others in.

We haven't done well these past few years - previous to that we made the quarter finals in competitions and then in some we played badly, in others we were unlucky - but we did no worse than, say Spain, Holland, Portugal etc if you take a ten year period.

If we give up being interested in them when they do badly, what does that make us?

[MTID]

Come On Croatia!

[Keith]

If we give up being interested in them when they do badly, what does that make us?

Part-time England fans, full time Morecambe supporters? And that's okay by me!

I'll probably make a bit more effort to go and watch Joe Lewis's first England call up

[morecambe mick]

If we give up being interested in them when they do badly, what does that make us?

Uninterested?

Don't get me wrong though.
I always want my National side to do well, as I do the other "home" nations.

It's a bigger roller coaster ride being English, than it is being a Morecambe fan

They are over-paid primadonna's though aren't they!

[mounse mk2]

I don't expect the England team to win anything.

I just want to see them playing with a bit of passion and flair. I don't expect us to be a combination of Dutch, Spanish, Argentinians or whoever. I just want players to play for the national side who don't look like they are terrified of the burden.

I can't remember the last time i watched an England performance that i was excited by and now thanks to Setanta i won't be able to see one in the forseeable future.

[slackAlice]

shrimper

By 'shake-up', I'm not too sure what you mean. The England manager has a particular restriction that doesn't apply to club managers - he has to pick players who are English. If you think there are English players who would do better for England than the likes of Gerrard, Rooney, Lampard, then fair enough.

I suppose by shake up I mean bring in some new faces or some old ones that hav'nt played for England in a while. I would'nt have Lampard[not consistent enough for England] or Rooney[temprement / attitude] in my first 11 anyway. I think Gerrard merits a place as does Joe Cole ; I mean I'm no expert on English footballers to be honest but what about Agbonlahor , Dean Ashton [when fit] , Johnathan Woodgate , Ashley Young ? Give a few of the 'Superstars' a bit of a shock -drop them and see if it has an effect on their attitude towards playing for their country. You might say the English manager has a potentially bigger 'squad' than most - he can include any player thats English. He doesn't have to stick with the same players / squad if its not working.
I think the pressure from media plays a massive part to be honest - if he drops 6 of the so called 'best' players and loses he'd be lynched ; in effect he's kind of paralysed into choosing the same old players. I didn't know much about Capello before or since he became England manager but what I heard / read was he was a no nonsense , disciplinarian who would drop any player who did'nt perform.
He hasn't had long 6 games [won 4 , drawn 1,lost 1] ; but IF they lose tonight, it will be interesting to see what happens next match

[yozzer]

We are the underdogs tonight though and that has often brought out the best in the English Psyche. I confidently expect a draw or win. Cue a 3-0 thrashing!

[morecambe mick]

We are the underdogs tonight though and that has often brought out the best in the English Psyche. I confidently expect a draw or win. Cue a 3-0 thrashing!

Just in case you want to return and edit Yozzer