NJS 4411 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 It's worth it if it produces moments like the quick goal in the 8-1 in 93 or whenever it was which is still one of my favourite comedy football moments ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 31202 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 It could be argued that by letting the minor nations play in a pre-qualification group amongst themselves that it is more beneficial for their own development than getting humped by average teams like Ireland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 15716 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Not much motivation when the "prize" for winning your pre-qualification group is to go and get humped by average teams like Ireland anyway, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fish 10965 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 I think that's where the mindset ends up, at least. But then a qualification round would be more in keeping with the Champions League approach to exclusivity and I'm more of an "unseeded European Cup" kind of guy, so y'knaa. It's worth it if it produces moments like the quick goal in the 8-1 in 93 or whenever it was which is still one of my favourite comedy football moments ever. So maybe a proper knock out competition? Worth it if a smaller footballing nation, not minnows but, say, salmon knock out the sharks of Germany and Spain? Problem is, that what UEFA & FIFA want are the biggest teams playing on the biggest stage to get the biggest audiences buying the biggest brands for the biggest price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fish 10965 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Not much motivation when the "prize" for winning your pre-qualification group is to go and get humped by average teams like Ireland anyway, though. Unless consistently doing well in the smaller tournament allows them to properly fund a footballing authority that improves the standard of facilities, coaching and players? Which finally grants them promotion into the higher tier? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 31202 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Not much motivation when the "prize" for winning your pre-qualification group is to go and get humped by average teams like Ireland anyway, though. Yeah but it gives them a chance to play against teams more their own level and an opportunity to learn how to play their own game rather than spending most matches with their backs to the wall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 15716 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 A lot of the appeal for smaller countries is getting to play against the big boys, though, particularly when you know you're never going to be that good. Just look at the interviews with the San Marino and Andorra players ahead of the England games in recent years. Telling them "right, the biggest team you get to play is Kazakhstan and maybe in ten years from now you might be good enough to play Montenegro, but don't worry, you're definitely not second-class citizens or anything" is a bit rough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 15716 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Maybe a setup like the European Team Championships in athletics would be an idea - have the current qualification system, so the smaller teams still get to play the larger ones at some point, but then at the same time as the regular Euros you hold several smaller tournaments at the lower levels too with the qualification determining which bracket you end up in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fish 10965 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Maybe a setup like the European Team Championships in athletics would be an idea - have the current qualification system, so the smaller teams still get to play the larger ones at some point, but then at the same time as the regular Euros you hold several smaller tournaments at the lower levels too with the qualification determining which bracket you end up in. Would that get the the attention (and therefore the only important thing; money) that they need to progress beyond simply being pointless exercises the bigger nations have to run through? What are they getting from the playing the likes of Spain and England, that they don't get from playing, say, Croatia or Greece? It's like essembee getting into a philosophical debate with Plato or a Lamppost; it doesn't matter which, because he's still embarrassingly out matched. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 15716 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 It's like essembee getting into a philosophical debate with Plato or a Lamppost; it doesn't matter which, because he's still embarrassingly out matched. He's not even playing the same game, it'd be like Liechtenstein sending its Paralympic swimming team out to face Germany. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex 35583 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 It's worth it if it produces moments like the quick goal in the 8-1 in 93 or whenever it was which is still one of my favourite comedy football moments ever. Classic moment that. Ironically it took all of the tension out of the situation as reality struck home that England weren't going to be at the World Cup (even if the goal itself had no actual impact on that). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew 4857 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 A lot of the appeal for smaller countries is getting to play against the big boys, though, particularly when you know you're never going to be that good. Just look at the interviews with the San Marino and Andorra players ahead of the England games in recent years. Telling them "right, the biggest team you get to play is Kazakhstan and maybe in ten years from now you might be good enough to play Montenegro, but don't worry, you're definitely not second-class citizens or anything" is a bit rough. Letting them have their shot at the big teams is all very nice but they should be there on merit, it is a competitive sport afterall. Having so many teams bloating the qualifiers and then the tournament itself is getting a bit school sports day with a professional sport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 15716 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 I do agree the expansion of the end tournament itself is daft - 16 rather than 8 teams makes sense given the increase in the number of UEFA member states, but 24 is taking it too far. Still think pre-qualification is a flawed concept though. You either accept the geopolitical setup as it is or you don't bother playing international football at all (considering how arbitrary nationality is in the first place when you think about it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex 35583 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 The group stages of the finals themselves will be daft too, with four out of the six third placed teams going through to the last sixteen knock-out phase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kelly 1260 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Unless consistently doing well in the smaller tournament allows them to properly fund a footballing authority that improves the standard of facilities, coaching and players? Which finally grants them promotion into the higher tier?Would funding a proper football authority help the likes of San Marino anyway? They just don't have the numbers to get enough talent. It's possible that they might produce one star player once in a while but when the rest of the team are comparable to North Shields it's not going to help them much when they come up against countries the size of England or Germany. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fish 10965 Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 The PFA supports oil seed rape Football is ran by absolute idiots. Either that or they sit around a table and intentionally think about what is the worst possible decision they could make on a daily basis. That is why I wasn't surprised to see that convicted rapist Ched Evans was in the PFA's League 1 team of the year. Evans has 35 goals in 42 games for Sheffield United and clearly should be in the League 1 team of the year based on his footballing performances. However, maybe I'm old-fashioned but I don't think that anyone who has been sentenced to five years in prison for rape should receive an award. Chief executive Gordon Taylor said that if the PFA had decided to withdraw Evans from the team, it would have caused a storm as it was fellow professionals who voted and it would be manipulating the vote. Footballers are not the brightest but they still understand that rape is bad. Well I think they do, I could list the 100s of footballers who have been accused but I would get in trouble. Alternatively you could join in on our facebook page and make your "accused XI". Anyway, there is absolutely no way this would have caused the "storm" he was predicting. Like anyone really gives a shit about the League 1 team of the year. If it wasn't for this story I wouldn't have even known there was one. Someone called Rhoys Wiggins is in the team, is Rhoys really a name? He sounds like a mix between a gangster rapper and Mr Bean. The PFA are happy to keep Evans in the team because it was a professional decision and not a moral one, showing they have the morals of a Nazi general. Evans is going to appeal his sentence and this is something they are also mindful of, as am I. If he appeals successfully, I will have to go and delete every comment where I have called him a rapist and I'm just too lazy to do that. Sheffield United might give his old job back. http://t.co/TcZ7MaZbXq Served bugger all time and is unrepentant? I wouldn't let him out out the cones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew 4857 Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 I can understand peoples problem with it but hes served the time he was required to by law and anyone who has done that has the right to return to work, If a private company wants to employ him that's up to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 31202 Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Yeah I agree with that. And it's hard to show remorse when you're protesting your innocence. Though he was found guilty, the case was far from watertight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddockLad 17654 Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 If the club employ women he'd fail a CRB check as hell be on the sex offenders register as far as I can make out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 31202 Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 I'm not sure that the sex offenders register precludes him from working with women. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tooj 17 Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 I shouldn't laugh but imagine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essembeeofsunderland 811 Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Could he do a job for us ( as a footballer i mean ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 31202 Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Just to be be clear, you don't want to hire him as a professional rapist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 15716 Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Leave that kind of thing to the Mackems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Dynamite 7169 Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Just to be be clear, you don't want to hire him as a professional rapist? Good job he clarified Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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