England v Germany

[TicTacWoe 0]

Fucking hell, those interviews that were on BBC just there.

 

A lot of them saying that they felt they were in control the majority of the game and it's only the dodgy decision to blame.

 

Only Joe Cole came out and said Germany were the better side.

 

No wonder England are average.

 

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.

[Holden McGroin 6787]

I have no idea why Ireland. Scotland etc want us to fail. I always hope they do well - unless its against us. Pretty pathetic really.

Edited June 27, 2010 by Holden McGroin

[Ayatollah Hermione 14069]

I have no idea why Ireland. Scotland etc want us to fail. I always hope they do well - unless its against us. Pretty pathetic really.

 

Wor lass is Scottish and was watching in a Rangers pub in which everyone wanted us to win which surprised me a bit.

[Sima 0]

I have no idea why Ireland. Scotland etc want us to fail. I always hope they do well - unless its against us. Pretty pathetic really.

 

I'd guess 95% of it is due to the media hyping the England team beyond belief as some kind of massive footballing superpower when they are predominantly just quarter-finalists at best.

 

The whole "this is our time" thing every single time a major tournament rolls around, despite the fact that England have only ever reached one tournament final and 3 semi-finals.

 

Contrast that with Germany, who are a true superpower (and have been frequently described as average recently) who have reached 7 finals and 11? semi-finals.

 

England are an also-ran and the sooner the media accept that, the better.

[khay 10]

More of or lot need to go and play abroad. The English footballer is incredibly insular compared to other nationalities.

 

The whole German XI plays in Germany.

 

More English players need to come from aboard.

 

Anyway.

 

Germany the better side. You could not tell Rooney was a good player like.

 

Capello does need to be questioned. Whoever gets the job next needs to try 4-3-3 if they want to keep players like lampard and gerrard in the same team.

 

Why did he bring on Emile?

 

Very unlucky about the goal. Could easily implement something like Eagle Eye in Tennis. 3 calls or something. At least in the top games (World Cup/Champions League/Premier League). 1 minute to view the footage and if its not clear original decision stands.

 

Thought James was very good and kept you in the game many times. if he had been fit for the first game you might not have been in this position.

[Gemmill 46115]

More of or lot need to go and play abroad. The English footballer is incredibly insular compared to other nationalities.

 

The whole German XI plays in Germany.

 

Aye but they're German. They don't need to go abroad to get better cos they come out of the womb better than us.

[Holden McGroin 6787]

Brining on Heskey was more or less a resignation letter imo. Fucking joke.

[Holden McGroin 6787]

I have no idea why Ireland. Scotland etc want us to fail. I always hope they do well - unless its against us. Pretty pathetic really.

 

I'd guess 95% of it is due to the media hyping the England team beyond belief as some kind of massive footballing superpower when they are predominantly just quarter-finalists at best.

 

The whole "this is our time" thing every single time a major tournament rolls around, despite the fact that England have only ever reached one tournament final and 3 semi-finals.

 

Contrast that with Germany, who are a true superpower (and have been frequently described as average recently) who have reached 7 finals and 11? semi-finals.

 

England are an also-ran and the sooner the media accept that, the better.

 

i didnt think you were a man to listen to the media Sima.

[Barney 0]

I'd guess 95% of it is due to the media hyping the England team beyond belief as some kind of massive footballing superpower when they are predominantly just quarter-finalists at best.

 

sounds about right. As you also mention, the complete cuntishness(see their post match quotes) of 80% of the squad doesn't exactly have the neutral cheering for them.

[Holden McGroin 6787]

The normal massive knee-jerk reaction. I was in a pub in London and they're reaction was :

 

"Get rid of them all and start again"

 

My question was, "Who do you play instead?"

 

The best answer they came up with Was Rodwelll - who does look good but he cant get a regular game for Everton.

 

At the end of the day Gerrard and Lampard etc are top class players but we dont play as a team. We play as individuals. Shame.

Edited June 27, 2010 by Holden McGroin

[Kitman 2207]

England are sleeping giants, they should be competing for prizes but are let down by their players, management and hierarchy. I've had nothing but disappointment from following them, so it's a relief that I can go back to supporting Newcastle United

[Holden McGroin 6787]

Some random observations:

 

Gareth Barry is massively overrated. Decent player but he not great.

 

Ozil is pure quality.

 

I'm going to put my neck on the line here and say Joe Cole is finished as a top quality player;

 

Rooney is class but didn't show it.

[ewerk 31229]

I have no idea why Ireland. Scotland etc want us to fail. I always hope they do well - unless its against us. Pretty pathetic really.

 

Tbh I've been surprised at the number of people i've spoken to here who wanted to see England doing well, none of them were shouting it from the rooftops but it's nice to see a few people who aren't bitter and twisted.

[Dr Gloom 22187]

England are sleeping giants, they should be competing for prizes but are let down by their players, management and hierarchy. I've had nothing but disappointment from following them, so it's a relief that I can go back to supporting Newcastle United

 

the parallels are uncanny. at least the rest of the country gets an idea of what it's like to support the toon now

[Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0]

Kevin, if you're from Londonderry how come you don't follow Northern Ireland?

[Kitman 2207]

England are sleeping giants, they should be competing for prizes but are let down by their players, management and hierarchy. I've had nothing but disappointment from following them, so it's a relief that I can go back to supporting Newcastle United

 

the parallels are uncanny. at least the rest of the country gets an idea of what it's like to support the toon now

 

All we need to complete the picture is a fat lad with a bulldog tattooed on his belly weeping like a girl......

[Holden McGroin 6787]

When did Klose start looking Usain Bolt by the way?

 

Matthew Upson wouldnt get in the Toon team. Piss poor.

[Craig 6700]

I haven't read any of the thread so far so won't be surprised if I'm re-iterating views made some time ago...

 

First off, the Lampard 'goal' is incosequential as far as we're concerned. It's FIFA's problem, not England's and even if it had been allowed I don't think it'd have made a squat of difference to the outcome.

 

Secondly, we weren't beaten by a 'good' German team. In truth they were fucking woeful with 3 key players who stood out. Ozil, Lahm & Schweinsteiger - if only we'd had the luxury of 3 of our key players standing out... But as well as that we were well and truly raped for pace and that's been the fundamental problem of our entire campaign IMO - the squad is too old and far too slow and what prospects do we honestly have? People keep pointing at Rooney as the future but even he is now a veteran of 2 world cups and (had we qualified for the second one), 2 European Championships. By the time the next World Cup comes around he'll be 29 and considered way past his prime.

 

As already alluded to, none of our 'key' players arrived at the world cup with perhaps Ashley Cole the one exception. I think both Johnson and Milner did OK at times and James did what he could but aside from that, the rest were dreadful. To put it into context I reckon out of the players who represented us on the pitch during the whole tournament, high on the list in terms of performance must come Robert Green - and we all know what happened there... Being subjective, I think a difference between England and Germany is that we as a nation are far too domestic-league-centric. Give us a major tournament and the country is right behind us - at other times though, club comes first and this is true of player, club official and fans alike. But it's more than that, I think our own 'Premier League' is that obsessed with money and revenue that it is to the detriment of it's own national side - where are our future England prospects? Spurs and Man City are fairly well represented but neither are considered to be the cream of the league. Those that are at the top have a smattering of English talent and that's it. Arsenal especially who showcase Theo Walcott as their best English player - a man that never even went! Those who are German (or have lived there) can correct me if I'm wrong but I always get the distinct impression that the German national team comes first and clubs come second.

 

I've reserved opinion about Fabio Capello until this tournament. Some have been wax lyrical about him both in the press and to some extent the fans (including some on here) because of how well we performed in qualifying for the tournament. Sorry like but that's a given for me - it might sound somewhat arrogant but England should be expected to qualify for major tournaments with ease and failure to do so should always result in the manager/coach falling on his sword (e.g. Taylor & McLaren). Conversely, managing to qualify shouldn't be seen as success - it should be seen as the basics of the job being carried out. The real test is under tournament conditions and Capello has been severely found out. Tactical decisions fans nor experts can comprehend, sheer bloody-mindedness in refusing to admit he is wrong and a squad that had more questions than answers before the flight to South Africa had been taken. The 'Pièce de résistance' being that post match interview today where he claimed we played well. Seriously, WTF? Capello should go - great club manager, can't cut it at international level though as he refuses to deviate. We need a change, someone who has the balls to do the same when things aren't going right. Does he have to be English? Not at all. I think we've missed a trick missing out on Hiddink - perhaps we need to give Scolari a call?

 

And finally my biggest gripe - Her Majesty's gutter press! No doubt they've all penned their crucifixion of Capello and his bunch of losers and are already rubbing their hands and the prospect of the revenue drawn from peddling their shite. IMO they collectively (i refuse to single out individuals either side of the fence) have to shoulder a substantial amount of blame for the debarcle that we've seen. We've seen 3 instances in the last 6 months where their chance to earn a quick bob has resulted in our chances of success be severely dented. The most prominent is the Terry / Bridge saga. JT has seemed a broken man this tournament and a shadow of the man who plays for Chelsea. Did the revelations in the press affect him? Undoubtedly in my mind. On top of that there's been the similar revelations about Gerrard and also the Lord Triesman carry-on which can't have helped.

 

The press have a history of this though and I can think of examples as far back as 20 years where they've made attempts to de-rail the campaign. Attacking SBR for resigning in 1990, the 'dentist chair' episode in 1996 and Gazza beating the shit out of the hotel room in 1998 all spring to mind. Yet every campaign they're at it again - destroying the campaign before it begins then suddenly getting right behind the team throughout the tournament itself and then crucifying them when it all turns to shit.

 

Well on this occassion, rather than sharpening their knives in that direction, why not turn their bitterness on FIFA and ask some serious probing questions of how a multi-billionaire industry such as this cannot introduce technology to prove whether or not a ball crossed the goal line. Shearer said it himself at half time - every man with an interest in the game be it players, managers, ex-players, officials or even fans are totally behind the idea of bringing in such technology. Every man that is except one..... he needs to go too.

 

Finally, big hats off to the England fans out there. Never gave up the whole game (or tournament for that matter) and were there right to the bitter end today. And not an ounce of trouble during the whole tournament either so it seems. Well at least we have someone to be proud of....

[Park Life 71]

More of or lot need to go and play abroad. The English footballer is incredibly insular compared to other nationalities.

 

Very good point. Platt, Gazza and Lineker for all the better for playing abroad.

[Park Life 71]

Rooney looks like he's got all the pace of Shearer at his testimonial. Fucking weird.

 

It'll probably turn out he wasn't really fit after all.

[Park Life 71]

More of or lot need to go and play abroad. The English footballer is incredibly insular compared to other nationalities.

 

The whole German XI plays in Germany.

 

Yes but the way they are brought up with the game here is light years ahead of what we do. Look at the youth sides results lately and the way German players are confident and comfortable on the ball.

[The Fish 10972]

More of or lot need to go and play abroad. The English footballer is incredibly insular compared to other nationalities.

 

The whole German XI plays in Germany.

 

Yes but the way they are brought up with the game here is light years ahead of what we do. Look at the youth sides results lately and the way German players are confident and comfortable on the ball.

 

The U17s won the Euro championship mind.

[Park Life 71]

I have no idea why Ireland. Scotland etc want us to fail. I always hope they do well - unless its against us. Pretty pathetic really.

 

I'd guess 95% of it is due to the media hyping the England team beyond belief as some kind of massive footballing superpower when they are predominantly just quarter-finalists at best.

 

The whole "this is our time" thing every single time a major tournament rolls around, despite the fact that England have only ever reached one tournament final and 3 semi-finals.

 

Contrast that with Germany, who are a true superpower (and have been frequently described as average recently) who have reached 7 finals and 11? semi-finals.

 

England are an also-ran and the sooner the media accept that, the better.

 

Yes but now England is a brand and all the hype and marketing comes with the need to build interest in the brand.

[Park Life 71]

More of or lot need to go and play abroad. The English footballer is incredibly insular compared to other nationalities.

 

The whole German XI plays in Germany.

 

Yes but the way they are brought up with the game here is light years ahead of what we do. Look at the youth sides results lately and the way German players are confident and comfortable on the ball.

 

The U17s won the Euro championship mind.

 

I would say the 3 biggest enemies of Eng football are:

 

Too many foreign players in key roles in Eng club football

The rough and tumble and high intensity of the PL and playing through winter

Spoilt super rich playboys who become millionaires often in their early 20's.

[Park Life 71]

"We knew that the midfielders - Gerrard and Lampard - always support the forwards and that their midfield would be open.

 

"We knew there would be spaces. Our objective was to set Terry up with Klose to force him to come out of the defence.

 

"We knew the full-backs would be very much to the side, and that would create space that we could penetrate.

 

"We knew they might become impatient and lose their discipline. We did that successfully.

 

"We could have been 3-0 up in the first half because we did penetrate them."

 

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