Allardyce sacked

[darmstadt]

You'd think for all our hugely disproportionate success across so many sports at the Olympics AND Paralypics, we might actually be able to be competent at the most popular sport in the country... I'm not a big football fan but it's a bit sad. Our other national sports of cricket and rugby both enjoy pretty consistent success as "world powers".

Quite agree, possibly after Brexit when all footballers that play in the UK are British then we'll be a major player again, 1966 and all that

Sadly football in the UK is more about money than the sport now. This can quite clearly be seen by Allardyce's greed...

[original PM]

Quite agree, possibly after Brexit when all footballers that play in the UK are British then we'll be a major player again, 1966 and all that

Sadly football in the UK is more about money than the sport now. This can quite clearly be seen by Allardyce's greed...

And also the teams performance

No mater how crap the manager the team should be able to play a basic 4-4-2 without falling to bits and should at least be able to put up a fight against all teams.

I just see a complete lack of desire when they play

[shaunbhoy]

I just see a complete lack of desire when they play

That is basically the root problem. They all earn a gazillion quid these days and when the League season ends all they want to do is go off on some extravagant holiday and blow some of their ill-gotten gains. Major tournaments just interrupt that, so the sooner they can get themselves knocked out of them the sooner they can jet off to Bora Bora.
Of course, the FA's dogmatic insistence on the Manager being "English" at a time when England has a complete dearth of decent managers doesn't help.

[d000hg]

The Scottish players don't have those problems and they're even worse (OK right now on a par). What's their excuse?

I don't think I buy the "they don't care" argument. Even at the top level, getting selected for your country is an accolade most don't get. And then look at people like Murray - he's loaded, plays all year, but you can see what the Olympics means to him.

Maybe they're just knackered. We've seen lots of big names under-perform in recent tournaments (Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar). Saying they're not trying is an easy criticism but I think it's too easy.

[shaunbhoy]

Maybe they're just knackered. We've seen lots of big names under-perform in recent tournaments

England have been "under-performing" for 50 years though.

[LondonManc]

Allardyce needs to be punished and humiliated in public. Give him his job back!

[d000hg]

England have been "under-performing" for 50 years though.

To a die-hard "we should win every tournament" fan, maybe. England have reached semi and quarter finals regularly until what, the last 15 years or so? Was '96 the last time they were decent, I don't follow it enough to recall?

[LondonManc]

To a die-hard "we should win every tournament" fan, maybe. England have reached semi and quarter finals regularly until what, the last 15 years or so? Was '96 the last time they were decent, I don't follow it enough to recall?

We went out on penalties to the hosts in the quarters in 2004.

Lost to Portugal again on penalties in the quarters in 2006.

Hodgson then developed a fixation with Wilshere and Liverpool players, neither of which were up to standard. We've had players played out of position and generally players who looked like they have lacked passion on the pitch, barring Rooney and a couple of others. The FA arguably needs a top to bottom shakedown to get the blazer brigade out and move forwards.

[MrMarkyMark]

We went out on penalties to the hosts in the quarters in 2004.

Lost to Portugal again on penalties in the quarters in 2006.

Hodgson then developed a fixation with Wilshere and Liverpool players, neither of which were up to standard. We've had players played out of position and generally players who looked like they have lacked passion on the pitch, barring Rooney and a couple of others. The FA arguably needs a top to bottom shakedown to get the blazer brigade out and move forwards.

They simply can't manage to play as a team.

We have individual good players.
As the old man always said about John Terry and some of the others, "They knock them in the net every week, as soon as they don an England shirt, they sky it over the bar"

[LondonManc]

They simply can't manage to play as a team.

We have individual good players.
As the old man always said about John Terry and some of the others, "They knock them in the net every week, as soon as they don an England shirt, they sky it over the bar"

The rest of Europe raved about Scholes being by far our best central midfielder. Sven played him out left to accommodate Gerrard and Lampard.