The Official England Thread-The Team We All Support [Vol 2]
Discussion
Excuse my evident ignorance here, but isn't it the case that (as in any team sport) even an average talent can be moulded into a winning formula by application of certain standards?
Think Greece in the Euros, or some German squads, or Leicester City?
Naturally we'd like heroes - like Saint David of Beckham - but I'd settle for average guys drilled well who can either frustrate opponents and grind out 1 - 0 wins. Wins would be nice.
I imagine that today's richly rewarded peacocks would struggle with accepting 'lesser' roles to the good of the whole...
Think Greece in the Euros, or some German squads, or Leicester City?
Naturally we'd like heroes - like Saint David of Beckham - but I'd settle for average guys drilled well who can either frustrate opponents and grind out 1 - 0 wins. Wins would be nice.
I imagine that today's richly rewarded peacocks would struggle with accepting 'lesser' roles to the good of the whole...
London424 said:
The football media really are awful/embarrassing. Talking about a "brutal new era" after Southgate drops Rooney. Yes the same guy who can't get a game for the 6th placed team in the league.
Southgate does seem to trying to readjust expectations somewhat. Yes on paper that team isn't great but ti's all we've got at the moment.
Time for the media, the pundits and the fans to follow suit.
zygalski said:
Nope. You're wrong. The last 2 or 3 years have seen the worst England squads. We have reached a new low.
Disagree. In the mid 80s Terry Fenwick was a first choice defender. That's how bad things were then. We've been so crap for so long it's difficult to pick a worst ever squad. London424 said:
The football media really are awful/embarrassing. Talking about a "brutal new era" after Southgate drops Rooney. Yes the same guy who can't get a game for the 6th placed team in the league.
I hadn't even noticed that he wasn't there. I mean, I saw who the strikers were of course. But it didn't occur to me he was missing.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
zygalski said:
Nope. You're wrong. The last 2 or 3 years have seen the worst England squads. We have reached a new low.
Disagree. In the mid 80s Terry Fenwick was a first choice defender. That's how bad things were then. We've been so crap for so long it's difficult to pick a worst ever squad. aeropilot said:
RichB said:
TwigtheWonderkid said:
...When we won the world cup we had 3 <world class players>...
Moore, Charlton & Banks? 
Yes, Greaves...
hornetrider said:
Bang average.
I'm not English, so this isn't meant to sound defensive, but what else can the manager do than pick the players in front of him? Scotland are utter s
te, Wales have a once-in-a-generation player and a few slightly above average players, Northern Ireland just seem to slug it out, as do Eire, so I'm not sure why you would make the "bang average" comment?BrabusMog said:
hornetrider said:
Bang average.
I'm not English, so this isn't meant to sound defensive, but what else can the manager do than pick the players in front of him? TwigtheWonderkid said:
BrabusMog said:
hornetrider said:
Bang average.
I'm not English, so this isn't meant to sound defensive, but what else can the manager do than pick the players in front of him? TwigtheWonderkid said:
zygalski said:
Nope. You're wrong. The last 2 or 3 years have seen the worst England squads. We have reached a new low.
Disagree. In the mid 80s Terry Fenwick was a first choice defender. That's how bad things were then. We've been so crap for so long it's difficult to pick a worst ever squad. What players of that quality do we have now?
zygalski said:
A year later that squad narrowly lost in the quarter finals to the winners.
Err, memory recap. 86 world cup. Rubbish against Portugal, rubbish against Morocco, good against Poland, good against Paraguay, rubbish against Argentina. We didn't narrowly lose to Argentina, we were crap. Only started to play for the last 15 mins. Almost equalised right at the death but in truth, based on the 90 mins, the 2-1 scoreline flattered us.BrabusMog said:
TwigtheWonderkid said:
BrabusMog said:
hornetrider said:
Bang average.
I'm not English, so this isn't meant to sound defensive, but what else can the manager do than pick the players in front of him? I know they didn't actually win anything but players like Rio, Neville, Terry, Gerrard, Lampard, Scholes, Owen were top class for their clubs and you could say they could walk into most international teams.
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