4-1

[wobbegong]

But what about national pride? Countries like England, Italy, Germany, Spain, Brazil, Argentina and France should be expected to win their friendlies.

National pride is reserved for competitions that result in silverware, not kick-abouts.

[WageSlave]

And don't put all the blame on James. Most of them had a cr@p night except Rooney.

Good post Wendigo100. I agree with you about all the players having an off night. Simply James seems to have a lot of off nights.

Give Robinson the jersey. We aren't blessed with outstanding keepers at the moment, but he's better than James and might develop into something good.

[wendigo100]

Eriksson has had the best crop of players that England have had since 1966 - possibly including 1966 - but has wasted it through two tournaments so far.

He is still living off that 5-1 win in Germany.

If only the buffoons at the FA hadn't panicked, Sven would have gone to Chelsea and England might have got Mourinho. Although I doubt Mourinho would want to be a national manager, let alone work for the English FA.

Still, losing 5-1 to England gave the Germans a kick up the @rse and they reached the world cup final. Perhaps losing 4-1 to Denmark will help England focus too.

And don't put all the blame on James. Most of them had a cr@p night except Rooney.

[WageSlave]

I hear Big Ron is looking for a job.

Too many darkies in the England squad for his liking

[Lucifer Box]

I hear Big Ron is looking for a job.

[WageSlave]

Come on then WS, suggest a credible replacement - Jose Morinho(sp?) would be my choice at whatever the cost.

I'm a big fan of Mourinho (that sexy, sultry look!) and he would be an excellent choice, as he understands that there's more to success in football than simply picking 11 players. A philosophy needs to be developed, and understanding that there are many connections, young players require development. To give credit, we have started to address this issue in the past few years. We will never be able to play like Brazil; it's just not in our culture. Instead we should look to Holland and Germany. Culturally and racially they are the same stock as us, yet they manage to produce (in Holland's case) players of great talent, skill and technique, and (in Germany's case) team success and tactical nous.

Who should be the England manager? I don't know, and that's worrying. There aren't any strong English candidates. Taylor will never make the transition from B team manager to A grade...Robson? Hmmm....

[Churchill]

But what about national pride? Countries like England, Italy, Germany, Spain, Brazil, Argentina and France should be expected to win their friendlies.

We're English, we're not permitted to mention the words "National" and "Pride" lest we be branded racist!

[WageSlave]

Exactly, who's going to risk injury over a friendly? That's what makes them pointless.

But what about national pride? Countries like England, Italy, Germany, Spain, Brazil, Argentina and France should be expected to win their friendlies.

[Churchill]

Come on then WS, suggest a credible replacement - Jose Morinho(sp?) would be my choice at whatever the cost.

[WageSlave]

It was only a friendly and Sven doesn't give a dog's crusty turd about winning friendlies.

That's true, and I was thinking as much. My feeling that Sven should go isn't a knee jerk reaction against one bad result. Freaky results can and do happen; it's not the first time and it won't be the last time.

My concern is that under Sven we have a tendency to struggle. 2-2 at home against Greece!? We were damn lucky to qualify that day. Even Germany, who for the past few years have been truly awful, managed to get to the WC final. What did we do? Tamely surrendered to Brazil.

In my view, Sven is like a consultant. He took over England at a time when we really needed some tactical sophistication and a different, more objective approach. He was the best man available, but since his appointment there should have been a knowledge/skills transfer, an apprenticeship for talented young England managers.
You don't want a consultant to be in place forever. We are a major football nation and we need to develop our internal talent, both on and off the pitch.

[wobbegong]

It was only a friendly.

Exactly, who's going to risk injury over a friendly? That's what makes them pointless.

[Churchill]

A night of shame. Not even Special K managed such a feat, despite his best efforts.

I was in favour of Sven's appointment, and I still believe it was the right decision at the time. But perhaps it's time to seriously reconsider his position and get rid of James. We've never been good at producing creative players, but we've always had a reputation for quality keepers. So FFS, why does he keep that muppet between the sticks!?

It was only a friendly and Sven doesn't give a dog's crusty turd about winning friendlies.

[WageSlave]

A night of shame. Not even Special K managed such a feat, despite his best efforts.

I was in favour of Sven's appointment, and I still believe it was the right decision at the time. But perhaps it's time to seriously reconsider his position and get rid of James. We've never been good at producing creative players, but we've always had a reputation for quality keepers. So FFS, why does he keep that muppet between the sticks!?

[threaded]

Ahh 'tis sweet. One of my clients has set up a welcome banner in the canteen with Danish and English flags and two A3 prints one with a 4 on it and the other with a 1.

Have tried explaining: Football, it's a proles game.