England 1 - Australia 3

[Gillies]

What did everyone think of the England teams defeat to Australia?

 

I didn't expect them to win at all, as they are cr*p right now. Following their performances over the last few games where they were lucky against so called lesser teams, I had the feeling that they would loose. No matter how you look at it, it seems the team is full of players whom can not play together, and are massively overhyped as gods by the media. The first half was comical.

 

What can England do to make themselves better? replace some of the first half dead wood with the second half boys? or try to get them to stop beleiving their own hype to get rid of their complacency? who knows ...

 

As for Scotland, I expected us to loose, we are still playing rubbish (and will be a long time) ... well done the Irish, was a good start for their new manager. Also, well don to the Welsh!

 

Gillies

[Paul_D]

I just hope that someday soon the management will realise that Gary Neville is not an international standard defender.......

[bitsbobs]

Far too much greed thoughout the game.

 

They all seemed desperate to get the goal and be the hero rather than keeping it simple. Bloody shame I say.

 

I blame the media.

[Polly]

The whole fiasco was a joke and not worthy of time and space on this forum, let alone the time I wasted watching it on the box last night!!!!!

Feel sorry for Erikson, he's on a no win ride to nowhere!!! Club football and overpaid prim-donas are winning the day I'm afraid. This country may as well resign itself to living in the footballing gutter as club most definitely is put before country these days.

[RobStubbs]

The England team appear to thrive on playing cr&p to give them a kick up the butt they seem to need. Did they not get beaten (or draw) with Calais prior to one of the big competitions recently ?

 

There are too many prima-donnas but then the media hype them all up until they believe they are something special. Get them playing as a team rather than 11 individuals and they might start playing properly. That said without sufficient training sessions (which all the clubs whinge about), they will never gel together as a team.

 

Rob.

[Peter M]

Austrailia wanted to win more than england did.. To England it was a meaningless friendly, not work breaking sweat for. But to the fans, starved of success aganist the Aussies it meant more than that. I wanted us to win and win big. if the players and their manger can't strive to win every game then don't play them, they might as well have just had a kick about in the park with each other. I feel sorry for those who actually paid money to watch this trash.

[Gaffer]

Well, it was just as I thought it'd be, pants!

 

If you think about it the muppets in the first half lost 2-0, but the youngsters in the second half drew 1-1, which isn't so bad.

 

Calamity James shouldn't have been anywhere near the England squad, I mean, just look at his club record! Ferdinand thought he was faster, stronger and cleverer than Kewell, but he was very mistaken. Neville was always a yard behind his man, and as for Mr Lampard, well!

 

[ 13. February 2003, 03:59 PM: Message edited by: Gaffer ]

[catchaplenty]

A lot of English people think England are a top football nation based on our club sides success. The problem is that success is built around foreign players.

e.g. 1. Cudicini

2. Lauren

3. Silvestre

4. Keane

5. Desailly

6. Gallas

7. Pires

8. Vierra

9. Henry

10. Van Nistelrooy

11. Robert

 

Of course their could be injuries so we could take Zola, Gudjonson, Veron, Gilberto, Llundberg,

Bellamy, Giggs, Svensson, Anelka, Schmeical, Carr, Keane, etc.etc. Long live club football!

Dave

[Guest sslatter]

Time for a rant.

 

Is the great english public FINALLY waking up to the fact that certain players that they have been lauding for a few years aren’t actually up to the task? Are they finally about to admit that they too were taken in by all the “pundits” (most of whom wouldn’t recognise a decent player if he jumped up and gave them a danish kiss) who all proclaimed the new messiah(s) of english football? Do they finally get it? That David Beckham is nothing more than an ordinary player with a better-than-average dead ball technique, and that’s ALL? That Michael Owen’s strength is over 10-15 metres in the ‘corridor of uncertainty’ and that’s ALL? That Rio Ferdinand is ordinary, just another centre-half, and that's ALL? That Steven Gerrard is Colin Bell-WITHOUT the class? That there isn’t ONE player in the squad who has the touch of CLASS about him? That all it takes to turn us over is ONE opposing player who has that extra touch of flair and quality that NONE of our players has? (Witness Harry Kewell). That Wayne Rooney, great potential that he has, is TOTALLY lacking in any positional sense or responsibility? And that Ashley Cole is even worse? But don’t blame the media…blame yourselves for going along with all the hype. Where was the criticism when Beckham was nominated for ‘World Player of the Year’ with Zidane and Ronaldo? World player of the Year? Do me a favour. It was a disgrace to even mention him in the same breath as the others. Laughable. Stop looking at England through rose-tinted spectacles, and start realising that we need a boss who doesn’t pick his team according to what the media/public thinks, a boss who is prepared to bite the bullet, and get rid of the old Man. Utd. dressing-room clique, and actually build a team according to his OWN beliefs, not those of a poorly-informed media and patently ignorant mass who clamour for their own particular favourite club stars, who look at players through their own extremely-biased myopic bifocals.

 

Phew…I feel better now.

[Wordbender]

Chill, chaps. While WE may have wanted the Aussies to get a tonking, Sven's got a longer-term job to do, and THAT's what last night was all about.

 

As for none of our players being world class, well, they've got some of the best (professional)football brains in the world seriously fooled, from what I've seen and heard from foreign coaches.

 

I truly hope James signed his personal England embargo at Upton Park last night, but the rest is just experiment and observation. Sure, we're a fair way from being world-beaters, but we're no mugs, either - and neither is Sven.

 

Personally, as with anything, I bow to those with greater knowledge and credentials, and if any of us on this forum outranks the present England manager on that score, I'll bow to them, too.

 

Oh yes, and NEVER forget that Sven gave Ulrika one. Or possibly several. Not the most exclusive claim in the world, but it shows a certain gift for tactics dunnit.

 

Terry