Don't get me wrong, I like a good World Cup and European Championship. But I,like many hate the qualifying stages. Playing pointless games against semi professional teams taking up our weekend of Club football. Personally I would like to see an extra stage of qualifying introduced. Where the lower ranked teams have to play off for the qualifiers. It happens in the European and domestic competitions at club level. This way, qualifying can be narrowed down to groups of 4, meaning less fixtures and more interesting and competitive games. Would you like to see this? How would you change it?
I'm happy with it how it is. But I think the dates of games should change. Instead of random weeks here and there disrupting the league there should be a couple of 2 week breaks per season where 3 qualifiers are played.
Although I agree it is ridiculous that we have to play such meaningless games, I also think it is disrespectful to the lower ranked teams. It would also make the qualifying period longer or the period that we play games shorter because we'd have to wait on the pre-qualifying games before being able to draw the groups. I agree it is ridiculous nowadays, especially when you looks at the stats for caps gained and goals scored, some of the players playing now aren't fit to lace the boots of the yesteryear players but they have more individual honours to their name because of all the extra internationals we play now. Look at Peter Crouch's goal scoring record, his goals per games is fantastic but who did he score against?
I agree. Games like last night's are pointless. I'm sure it's great for San Marino's part timers to play against Lampard, Rooney et al but as a game it's worthless. Preliminary qualifiers for the lower ranked teams would weed out the weaker teams and those who play above their expectations would still get the reward they deserve. As you say, this works fine at club level so why not at international? I suppose, because there are fewer international teams it might make it more difficult to match them up, but I'm sure there are enough of them to have their own mini league. It's probably down to money- everything always is these days.
How would teams be ranked? We can't use the Fifa rankings thing, it clearly doesn't work, we are clearly not the fourth best in the world right now
I'm afraid that would be the best way. It's easier to split between two groups of the better half of Europe to the lesser teams. Take Wales for example, they were in one of the bottom groups not so long ago. They were undoubtedly better than their respective ranking, therefore they should qualify easily. If a team is over ranked such as England and they fail, then they will know their place.
Using the rankings would expose them as the fiction we all know them to be, so would be a bonus, imo.
I agree, last night was absolutely pointless for San Marino and England. I do feel like the lower ranked teams need special treatment over the higher ranked teams because it makes a mockery of international football when 8-0 isn't a rare scoreline against them. Personally I think the International football schedule is all wrong. I'd have the AFCON, Euros and Copa America all in the same summer together, leaving a free summer between those and the World cup for all the qualifying rounds to take place. Having international football in the middle of a football season just doesn't make any sense for me.
What would football like in San Marino be like if they were not playing the likes of England and so on, worse than we see now. The problem is their tiny population is it not? To remove those teams would deny the people of San Marino those games, they know better than anyone their chances but hope, and the joy of rare goals against big sides I would imagine is what they live for. We've already seen the leagues of smaller footballing countries ousted out of the Champions League. Not international too Each game is a learning experience and just an experience on the whole, whilst San Marino may not benefit so much from such games due to their miniscule footballing culture other countries have benefited greatly from such participation. Or in short, I think it would be a bad idea and to the detriment of international football, imagine the FA and League cup without those smaller clubs giving us those giant killing moments the English game is so proud of
I don't know, I think you're placing too much importance on the role of International football for them. I don't come from that country so I don't know, but I imagine seeing them lose over and over again has become more of a negative aspect than a positive one. I can see what you mean about the giant killing moments in English football, but usually those teams have to work their way up the ladder to get to the bigger teams, which is what I was suggesting anyway, not sure about anyone else.
Lowest ranked teams like San Marino happily take a tonking every game because they only play to increase the reputation of the country, Football is the biggest sport in Europe so it's the best and easiest source of publicity for them.
I am from Ireland, I know about expectation or a lack of it, but there is a massive difference between the fans from England and San Marino. For you (England fans many of which this is true) it's winning, for them it is the whole experience, the event. For Japanese fans it is the experience they enjoy, winning adds to it but the very game is what they are there for not just the result so with that in mind, why deny football fans the experience because fans of other national sides get bored? maybe we can all learn from those fans in a way.
I don't care much for International football myself, but if its the just the game they enjoy then wouldn't San Marino equally enjoy playing with the possibility of winnings against lower ranked teams? Like you said before when you compared with the FA cup, everyone (almost) looks forward to a giant killing moment but like the FA and league cup, they should have to go through preliminary rounds before hand surely?
International friendlies and stupid qualifiers against bum-**** nations like San Marino, Andora, Wales, Scotland and the Faroe Islands should be ****ed off for good. Waste of time and energy. Free up those weekends and have a couple of extra Prem games
Its fair comment but the fact that there were about 12 San Marino fans in the crowd yesterday says it all.
Ireland are a different kettle of fish to the likes of San Marino, though. The gap is nowhere near as great, and they have a real chance of pulling off a decent result against higher ranked teams. I don't want to sound harsh, but it's not enough that the minnows want to play the big boys and that they enjoy the experience. Surely the greater good of football needs to be taken into account? This is pure speculation, of course, but I think the really low ones might benefit more from at least having a chance against similar opposition rather than getting tonked every time they show up. San Marino's policy was clearly an exercise in damage limitation. It's a poor spectacle and it's arguable whether it improves them in any way. Other sports have seeding precisely to prevent this kind of non-event, and as mentioned earlier, club football has preliminary rounds for the same reason.
Boxing off the small teams just hurts them. The clubs that have been excluded from the CL have paid the price. I am not too hot on international footy, but those other fans are, and we used to be before we got spoiled with Champions League footy which San Marino and other likewise fans will not have a team in in this century if ever, so all they got is International football and playing teams like England and I would not wish to see it taken from them.
Billy, small country, small traveling group, more than 12 too but what about those at home? watching that could not afford to go? What about those? shall we take it away cos they cant afford to travel or because they are not breeding fast enough?
Your own FA arrange friendlies, go complain to them The FA were worse than FIFA and excluded many countries not deemed worthy, I find this an unhealthy attitude
They were playing at home and how fast they breed isn't relevant. The standard of their international team isn't even conference standard and it's a joke. It pisses me off all the moaning that gets done about our players being tired by the end of the season and yet we fly them half way round Europe mid-season to play teams that are never ever going to get any better. How would you feel if Gerrard or Sturridge had got injured playing in such a **** game? It's ****ing madness.
