andyoxon said:
Any bothered if England fail to qualify...?
I would actually be pretty happy. I fell out of love with footie years ago.
I think "The National Game" needs to sort itself out in this country and just maybe such a humiliation might be what's needed.
Considering the money, the coverage in the meedja and the plaudits poured over the game and it's players, there seems to be a lack of desire/ability/hunger to perform at a national level. Everybody tells me we have the talent.
This, in a week where one of the papers stated that in the Premier Division foreign players outnumber British by something like 3 to 1. IIRC Arsenel fielded a team the other day that had 1 British player! This suggests to me that we are not producing enough home-grown players of the appropriate level, hence we are constantly relying on the same tired old "names" with not enough new hungry talents snapping at their heels for their places.
Also tactically England are a shambles, we need to get back to attacking football and realise that IF we get into the lead, we cant then spend the rest of the match in our own half defending. Change the formation for more players up front and scare the opposition defence sh1tless.
Improve discipline in the team, get a yellow-card, you don't get paid or selected for the next game (we could do this with a larger squad of home grown talent).
Pay the England team on results only, no win, no fee.
Replace the current FA, with new blood with new ideas/remit.
Personally, I think the England Rugby team woke the nation up. There was true grit and determination in the England camp...the game mattered to them, and the SA hammering was a call to arms. Somehow you just never get that same spirit with the England Footie team.
Time to make 'em earn their cash and deliver some results.
Hopefully being the laughing stock of Europe might just create some action...but I doubt it, everybody involved is just too cosy.