I know this is off topic for Gills related stuff but did anyone else watch the 1962 World Cup highlights on BBC2 this morning. Sorry not condoning violence but several proper punch ups in the games. Not men rolling about but one on one boxing matches lol...one guy floored with one punch, not even sure if the players got sent off. Always reminds me of this, although not world cup; please log in to view this image South America is a tantalising prospect this year if the players of all countries can manage to stay on their feet.
1990 Tensions; [video=youtube;jfpaPIVO69Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jfpaPIVO69Y[/video]
Another thing off topic from the Gills Name the one thing that you think is to blame for our woeful World Cup attempt (Other than we are SXXX)
Personally myself i don't blame the England team as a unit or the manager but the structure that creates and influences it's failure to achieve. Dyke tries to bring in B Teams like a sticky plaster over a massive wound that is bleeding profusely and only to affect the Lower Leagues. I've given views such as this that are only the tip of the issue; From Italia 90 to the virus of SKY 1992 - within the space of 24 months, English football changed forever, despite the billions that has passed through the Premier League, English football for the national team has continued to decline. What is the point of having an elite league that produces no national achievement for England. The FA is a dinosaur, it has created a monster that is now completely out of control. People wonder why it continues to go so wrong, blaming individual players such as Gerrard and Rooney but that is just bias club loyalties placing untold pressure on England managers. Whereas the real problem is deep rooted in our game at the very top. It's like trying to ask Sepp Blatter of FIFA to step down, the monster goes from strength to strength on the pure greed, individual celebrity status, corruption and plastics and that is just the tip of the iceberg for me. Trouble is now the purist's are a dying breed, losing a battle to the modern game....yet we wonder why England continue to do so badly. I would write an entire book if i could find the time covering every avenue of this topic but in short I hate modern football because of it. But the one point that has stuck in my mind since saying the above is this; What is the point of having an elite league that produces no national achievement for England. Viva Costa Rica, yes, I can only assume they will not win it but they have progressed further than us (England). I'm not qualified to give the technical answers and nor would i try, I can only respond as aging supporter eyes but I truly believe a monster has been born and even the FA do not have the power to slay it or choose not to suffer the consequences. To add another equasion From a political point of view, I find it very concerning when the main three party political leaders are pictured holding 'The Sun' - now i don't know if any of those pictures were docted (is that the right word) but all i can think of is the influence of Murdoch. Infestation is deep rooted because it involves billions not just in football but the political consequence. It's like asking McDonald's to shut down overnight because of the health of the nation...unlike smoking...it will never happen. Shall i go on...what about £90 for a Nike shirt for WC2014...I wouldn't even wear one now for free, because if you bought one then you are part of the problem, like the disgusting 30 million + spent on players. It's 'obscene' and that's the premier league summed up in one simple word. The English problem.
I agree with alot of what BRB has said and the money floating around the game at the highest levels in this country is frankly obscene. But that does not cover all the reasons for Englands poor showing at this tournament. I actually still love the game, I am still an England Supporter, a Gills fan, and I even enjoy premier league football the actual product to my mind is still worth watching. But in England we cannot motivate people to play for their country in ways that the Costa Ricaâs can, they have come to this tournament to enjoy their football and play the game to the best of their ability. But how many Costa Rican players would be able to play at at a Gerrard, Lampard or Rooneys level week in week out I wonder. Take our own Brent Sancho a player most Gills fans would probably leave out of a list of the 10 best centre halfs to play for our team in the last 20 years, he played at the World Cup finals and didnât look out of place where as English players freeze on the biggest stage when it comes to internationals. This time we sent them off with the lowest expectations I can ever recall (hardly surprising as we sent the weakest squad in living memory), but they still failed to perform. I sometimes wonder if we should actually pick players from the bottom half of the premier league / championship for England as they may have the desire that the small nations show in such abundance. We also need to stop appointing coaches who are old and set in their ways, we need young dynamic motivational coaches who the players both respect and understand.
