TicTacWoe

That's a load of guff, the arsenal youth squad as well as their reserves are littered with English players, they never get through in the end because they're simply not good enough. Chelsea's youth squad would be a far better target, they won the cup last season with only one englishmen in the youth teams starting 11 IIRC. You're right. But will they make it into the first team, will they fuck!! I agree, but who's fault is that? If Wenger suddenly starts playing a load of shite Englishmen Arsenal will finish outside the top ten and he'll be out of a job. Brining in this rule will just mean that shit English players will get more game time, and that can only go so far in terms of improving a players ability.

That's a load of guff, the arsenal youth squad as well as their reserves are littered with English players, they never get through in the end because they're simply not good enough. Chelsea's youth squad would be a far better target, they won the cup last season with only one englishmen in the youth teams starting 11 IIRC.

Out of interest who is he? Also add the likes of Phil Jones from Blackburn to that, he looked absolutely top drawer for a young centre half in the games he played in the season just gone. That Shelvey lad liverpool signed from CHarlton could be good too.

This is the damning indictment for me. The best 'English represented' clubs in the Premier League are Spurs and Man City and both of those are considered some way off the pace. English (and by that I mean home-grown) football talent has gone way off the boil ever since they disbanded with the foreign player limitations in the European competitions. The spine of the team that played yesterday Cole, Terry, Lampard, Gerrard and Rooney have all been regular top perfromers in champions league sides for the last 5 seasons, the rest come from teams who have come close to champions league football bar one or two exceptions (James + Upson). There's no team where every starting player comes from a top club-with the exception of Spain to some extent. Brasil have players playing in Greece and Turkey in their starting 11, Argentina have a Newcastle player for gods sake and a keeper playing for a mid table dutch side etc

If Argentina win the World Cup will Jonas be the first Newcastle player ever to win it while playing for us? (can't remember had we already signed Guivarch before France 98)???

completely agree, this is a lot to do with the fact the best players in the world are from a much wider number of countries now so the best international teams are rarely as good as the best club teams added to the fact that the international squads don't play with each other week in week out.

Hard to see what they even have to gain by going on like that, they surely know they played shite and should admit as much and apologize to the fans imo.

they produce in these tournaments when it matters. "If they play to their potential" - is a non starter. NEVER playing to their potential is more accurate, which asks the question what "potential" do you talk about here ? Who is overhyped when they have just walloped us and always beat us when it really counts. Never for England yes, if you're talking purely about how these players play for their national sides the Germans are much better players I have no argument there.

I think he escapes the worst of it, because his hype is not as grand as theirs. Probably but his role in the side was vitally important and he really didn't perform, I think a lot of the defensive errors could have been avoided had he provided more cover.

The English League is no less competetive than the Spanish where it's a battle between Real Madrid and Barca year in year out with the third team finishing miles behind or the Italian league where Inter have won the league 5 seasons in a row with relative ease on the whole.

Barry has gotten away with a lot less critisism then he probably deserves due to the fact he's less hated than Lampard/Gerrard/Terry etc but he really was abysmal today.

There's serious over-hyping of the Germans going on now, some of them are genuinely great players like Lahm or good prospects like Ozil/Neur but most of them are quite average. Friederich- relegated to the german 2nd division with Hertha Berlin Boateng- good player but played out of position Metezacker- Technically appauling Sweinsteiger- Couldn't get into the Bayern team at times in the last couple of seasons Podolski- 2 goals in the league last season Klose- Bayern bench warmer these days They play exceptionally well as a team but the England team should be easily able to beat this side if they played to their potential.

Park Life really called it right in the OP of this thread, there was no element of fear in the German side, they played with enthusiasm and freedom whereas there was an almost tangible sense of fear and nervousness about every pass an English player made. Part of that's due to the fact they're a young side, were unfancied coming into the tournament added to their history/pedigree and natural arrogance whereas a lot of people were genuinely bigging England up as contenders for the World Cup.

It's shocking alright, shouldn't be anywhere near the squad these days, Crouch should have featured more.

Are you serious? The England players are far superior to the Germans in almost every area, they just play pants as a team. Real Madrid are interested in buying Lampard and A.Cole for instance, how many of the Germans are they after? The german team are good like, underrated by some but nothing amazing, the key fact as I said before is they play as a team unlike England. A team who went out in the last 16 of the Champions League (when Bayern with a good number of the Germany squad got to the final) are allegedly after Lampard is your argument? I'd be surprised if they signed him and then even more surprised if he played regularly. Who would you drop form the Germany team to play Lampard? Any one of them, every single season Lampard has scored more goals and had more assists than every single German has for their clubs over the past 5 seasons, he plays absolutely wank for England, horrednous most of the time, but he's still a much better player than the Germans. Mind you, he is on the way down now at his age, so it is time for England to be thinking about his replacement. As I said the problem isn't the quality of the players, I'd say this Englad team is at least top 8 but more like top 5 in terms of best squads, the problem has always been getting them to gel properly which no one has succeeded in doing really.

Agreed, it will stil be the excuse though, turning point and all that. well with the 6+5 or whatever the numbers are that is being phased in over the next howevermany seasons should help at least I thought FIFA scrapped that? oh yeh they did, its the squad of 25 now though isnt it, with gradually greater % of english players? The problem isn't so much the quality of the players though is it, it's getting them to play well together that seems to be the never ending problem for England.

Are you serious? The England players are far superior to the Germans in almost every area, they just play pants as a team. Real Madrid are interested in buying Lampard and A.Cole for instance, how many of the Germans are they after? The german team are good like, underrated by some but nothing amazing, the key fact as I said before is they play as a team unlike England.

Ozil may become world class but Sweinsteiger is definitely not, he's been pretty erratic for the last few seasons, many Bayern fans wanted rid of him until recently when his form has improved. Lampard and Gerrard play like world class players for their clubs but not for England. The problem is for whatever reason the Germans play as a team and England don't.

Not a single member of the german team that just won 4-1 plays abroad though

and so the answer to this question was a defiant no. What on earth happened to him, didn't look unfit to me as some are saying, he didn't see much of the ball due to most of the other players playing shit as well but his work rate compared to his usual Man U performances wasn't there which I find very odd.

To me one of the biggest problems seems to be a massive lack of unity in the squad, always get the impression most of the players hate each other. Another thing that's occurred to me is that not many players, be it English or otherwise, who play in the Premiership have performed particularly well at this world cup. Just look at the likes of Rooney, Lampard, Torres, Evra, Drogba etc Might be just a coincidence like and there are some exceptions but still.

learn to fuck up till its over you little bollocks incase they win what a load of pathetic petty shit, almost hope they win just to shut you two up with your German flags, get a life.

more like the good ones ie Zambrotta/Cannavaro/Buffon/Pirlo have gotten either old or injured and the new ones are rubbish on the whole.

any idea why throughout the world cup the BBC website has had no football headlines on the home page? Instead it's all wimbledon this rugby/F1 that. You'd think it wasn't even happening.

Uruguay are the best of that bunch imo, theres going to be a lot of south/central American teams in the last 16 from the looks of things