I don't blame Evans for appointing some ****e managers and giving them millions to waste on crap players!
Back to the OP.I know it sounds unpatriotic but I enjoy major championships more when England don't qualify.I can really do without the antics of the overpaid primadonnas,press hype and twonks driving round in their cars adorned with cross of St George flags!
When I was a teenager there felt like there was an awful lot to be proud of in Britain - Mandela had been freed, walls were coming down across Europe and there was optimism and buoyancy and we had Euro 96, loads of great music, art and culture. Now our best-known musical export is One Direction, we have a shameful government, rising unemployment, families relying on food banks, hate speech everywhere and we come almost last in a numeracy and literacy poll: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-24433320 I think all this makes it very difficult to comprehend waving a flag big al.
I have just been reading an interesting extract from 'Arry Redknapp's new book and he does make a very good point about how shamefully the FA and indeed West Ham treated Bobby Moore during the years leading up to his premature death. Trevor Brooking got a knighthood for doing what exactly? Whilst our greatest ever English Captain only got an OBE! All the adulation for Bobby Moore from both club and country only came after his death! Makes you feel proud to be British!
quick question. if england were currently the best international side in the world or were at least competing at major tournaments to win, would you all change your tune and follow them again? it strikes me that quite a few people are only interested if england are any good - doesn't that make you a glory hunter? we all pick our club sides (to a degree) but we don't pick our international team as it depends where you are born. think yourself lucky you weren't born in san marino! at least we have an outside chance of progressing. 'club before country' goes the saying - it is possible to support both you know!! i shall be cheering england to gain the results required to qualify for brazil next year and i'm only 3/4 english (1/4 dutch if you're wondering). i totally understand why people are annoyed by the non-attitude of some players and the dreary football often on offer but how can you turn your allegiance on and off at will? i hope if england ever do become a success one day, you continue to 'switch off' - why should fair weather fans get the glory? if that were the attitude of your fellow club fans you'd be spitting feathers at them. i see little difference here. just to add to that, it is similar in a way to the england cricket team. i've followed them since the early 90s and watched them when they were absolutely useless. then, we get a bit of success and a whole load of people who never even liked cricket before jump on the bandwagon, telling me about how much they love the game! now in a way its good - the more people who like the sport the better - but it is incredibly frustrating. this happens at club level. i know two people there the day we lost 1-7 to colchester yet they now can't get tickets anymore, yet i know two people who are by their own admission liverpool fans who have claimed their tickets! only in it for the glory. it shouldn't be that way
Bit depressing isn't it Hamps, can't help think you've got your rose tinted glasses on and that chip on your shoulder?? Depends what side of the coin you look at, times are tough but then again certain things are alot better now than they were then and still alot to be proud about. Weren't the Spice Girls our best known musical export back then..... I never knew you were a Spice Girls fan Hamps?? Reminds me of a few years ago when I heard an old bloke harping back to the good old days (and this was before the reccession), saying he wouldn't want to be brought up in todays world funny thing was he was brought up in the second world war with people being persecuted because of their race, religion and sexuality
How'd u know she was my favourite? I've always followed the England football team because I like football never followed the Cricket team because I hate cricket and honestly am a fair weather Rugby fan because I only really enjoy it when we win...not sure what that makes me Superman??
isn't she everyone's? i think it makes you a football loving, spice girl obsessed, cricket hating, glory-hunting rugby fan
I am just totally bored of the whole circus that surrounds our national football team and after what went on during the World Cup in 2006 I am now totally disinterested. I have supported English Cricket since the mid 1970s even through the lean years and I much prefer to watch and support the England Cricket Team! As far as the England Football team I couldn't give a toss! (no pun intended)
Two things, yep you do sound very unpatriotic Big-Al. Supers, don't tarnish us all with the same brush, I will be at Wembley Friday night & PR next Tuesday.
Weighty made a very good point before on this subject when he said that it all started going wrong when they appointed a foreign manager!
I do think the National game took a nose dive when the FA in all their Patriotic wisdom gave the top job to first a Swede and then an Italian and as a Nation i don't think we can fully recover from it..............and trying to use loop holes to get Non-English players elegable (ala Almunia and now Januzaj) won't help. Also i think to most players the National team is no longer their ultimate aim. Glad to see you take on board some of my comments Warky.....
why do you say that warky? when erikssen first started out he had an extraordinary run of results, including beating eventual world cup finalists germany 5-1 on their own patch. i can't remember too many complaints back then. i would suggest it is preferable to have an englishman in charge but at the end of the day you should appoint the best man for the job, no matter what his nationality. i don't agree with the vast sums offered to the england manager but when you see the slack they get it's not exactly that glamorous! when you look on paper, england's squad isn't one of the best in the world - it's probably top 16, just, but no better, so what do you expect when the team struggles to compete for honours? did you turn your back on your club side when things took a turn for the worse? why is it so different when it's your national side? i appreciate we all probably have stronger feelings for our club sides as we see them week in, week out, but why would someone english not 'support' the english national team? it makes no sense unless you are only in it for the glory. if england won the world cup in brazil (stop giggling at the back) would you be out partying and lapping it up?* i bet you bloody would! we ALL would!!! *a public holiday must be pretty much guaranteed if we ever win anything!
are yourself and warky frustrated that the english cricket team and rugby union sides pick foreign players to represent us?
Ipswich Town every time for me and I couldn't care less about the national team! Another low point was when the FA decided to PAY players for wearing the jersey when it should be seen as the absolute pinnacle of any footballers career. The FA through its incompetence has demeaned the England team as far as I am concerned. The way they treated Sir Alf Ramsey was disgusting. I'll just be glad to get this weekend's anti climax over so that we can get back to domestic football.
