Ingerrrland

Id much rather watch town play than watching these over rated cuunts who apparently are the fifth best team on the planet, only saying like UTM

Agreed.

Holland are a much better team than England. Take England's best player out and the gap widens.

Completely forgot about the game,which would once never have happened,then turned it on at 52 mins.Watched us give the ball away about ten times in 5 mins,got bored,went to make a brew and came back to my telly to find us 2-0 down and two players spark out on the pitch.

I see we are playing the latest batch of no-hopers who will fail to win anything fo the next few years 'til the next batch of no-hopers come along.

Bored rigid with the England team and would also rather watch Town.

Agreed totally no interest whatsoever in England n can't stand Pearce as a manager, he takes players with potential and removes any talent imagination and flair. Roll on Sat. UTM.

And the band....Oh Lord, the band......

See now what I do is, in a similar fashion to what Rob Scott would say "if I don't farkiiin like it I don't farkiin watch it".

Theres plenty of other tv channels, and I for one am proud to support an England team with a proper captain that you can be proud of.

Come on England!! I would of agreed with above post a few weeks ago, but it's good to have a fresh start now that Italian sharp object has gone, also pleasing to see a bit of a cull regarding our so called big names, give this new generation a chance with Harry in charge, and you never know we could even end up being proud to be English once again.

It was a decent game

Put up a decent fight but Holland are a long way ahead of us. Robben is soooo good.

Quoted from psgmariner

Put up a decent fight but Holland are a long way ahead of us. Robben is soooo good.

To be fair, we had a team lacking experience, it was in effect an experiment by Pearce, which didn't look too bad at all, once we get a settled manager and squad we won't be too shabby, and I pray Scott Parker stays on as captain, Gerrard can go intercourse himself.

Great goal in the under 21s game - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfNudtI5E5s

I don't have any interest in the england team anymore, thought i'd have look tonight and it was rubbish, needed some experience in there and some players that are decent on the ball, parker and barry not good enough on the ball, wellbeck not good enough to lead the line. Least there's a good goalkeeper. But should have played a different team to create a slight bit of interest for those who are not.

Micah Richards is one big unit. Seems a bit too heavy in his legs.

Quoted from 2075

See now what I do is, in a similar fashion to what Rob Scott would say "if I don't farkiiin like it I don't farkiin watch it".

Theres plenty of other tv channels, and I for one am proud to support an England team with a proper captain that you can be proud of.

This is it. It's the same thread after every England game with probably the same people saying they don't care!

In my opinion I see it as supporting town, im Grimsby born and bred so I obviously support them, but I'm also English born and bred so I obviously support them.

Quoted from Abdul19

This is it. It's the same thread after every England game with probably the same people saying they don't care!

I am that so disinterested in England that I can't even be bothered to finish this sent

Well i make no apologies for it -I'm  Grimsby born and bred and a Town fan first, but proud to support England as well, this 'trend' for clubs supporters (its usually prem teams fans, but clearly spreading to GTFC fans as well) to care nothing about our national team, makes me sick to be honest.

I actually enjoyed the game, had a fresh feel about the England side, which was nice to see, and yeah it lacked experience, but nobody has ever said that that specific team was a finished article, it was a chance to give players a go and to prove themselves, the more experienced players pick themselves, the young lads need to stake a claim and I think a few of them did make a statement tonight

Not impressed with Stuart Pearce's reaction to our second goal.  Expressionless!  Strange to say the least.  

Is it now cool to not care about England?

Quoted from 2578

Come on England!! I would of agreed with above post a few weeks ago, but it's good to have a fresh start now that Italian sharp object has gone

Would this be the same Italian sharp object who is one of the most successful club managers of all time? I think it is pretty obvious to most that the failings of the players had more to do with his relative lack of success with England than anything else. I say relative here because, don't forget, despite the dire displays in South Africa, he still had the best win ratio of any England manager. Can't wait to see who his successor will be - Pearce (never won anything as a manager) is currently the caretaker but Redknapp (one easy F.A. Cup victory to his name) is apparently the favourite.

As for the game last night, first goal was the fault of Sturridge, who lost the ball to Robben in the opposition half and didn't bother to try and get back at him. I don't really blame the defence too much for running out of the way of Robben as it is the first time they have played together. But for that mistake (and missing the sitter), Sturridge looked OK.

Second goal was a good cross and a brave header so no complaints with that one and the third was a little unfortunate, though Robben was much more threatening than any of our players.

Cahill's goal was fortunate as he was offside, but I thought Young's goal was well-worked.

Ultimately, we're a team with some OK players for international level and others who are inadequate at this level. We will probably keep up the cycle of reaching the Final tournaments relatively comfortably before being dumped out by the better teams in the knock-out stages. To win anything, we'll need to have a flukey run of hard-won results in the way that Greece managed in 2004. Not likely to happen, I'm afraid.

Quoted from Maringer

Would this be the same Italian sharp object who is one of the most successful club managers of all time? I think it is pretty obvious to most that the failings of the players had more to do with his relative lack of success with England than anything else. I say relative here because, don't forget, despite the dire displays in South Africa, he still had the best win ratio of any England manager. Can't wait to see who his successor will be - Pearce (never won anything as a manager) is currently the caretaker but Redknapp (one easy F.A. Cup victory to his name) is apparently the favourite.

As for the game last night, first goal was the fault of Sturridge, who lost the ball to Robben in the opposition half and didn't bother to try and get back at him. I don't really blame the defence too much for running out of the way of Robben as it is the first time they have played together. But for that mistake (and missing the sitter), Sturridge looked OK.
Second goal was a good cross and a brave header so no complaints with that one and the third was a little unfortunate, though Robben was much more threatening than any of our players.

Cahill's goal was fortunate as he was offside, but I thought Young's goal was well-worked.

Ultimately, we're a team with some OK players for international level and others who are inadequate at this level. We will probably keep up the cycle of reaching the Final tournaments relatively comfortably before being dumped out by the better teams in the knock-out stages. To win anything, we'll need to have a flukey run of hard-won results in the way that Greece managed in 2004. Not likely to happen, I'm afraid.

Admitedly I missed the first half of the game due to work but I was surprised to see Sturridge given man of the match at the end of the game. I was along the same lines as you in saying that he didnt challenge with Robben enough in the Dutch half and then failed to track him properly. Both defenders were dragged away by the run from Huntelaar, plus his miss was fairly terrible despite how the commentators were trying to dress it up. (However they did call Ashley Young, Luke Young a few times so what do you expect?)

For me Parker was man of the match, although Johnson and Downing seemed to do ok in their times at left wing.

I thought that 2-2 would have been a relatively fair reflection as I think Hart was saving the 3rd until it hit Cahill's shoulder.

I thought Baines attempt to block the cross for the 2nd Dutch goal was pretty lame as was his lack of blocking Robben's shot for the 3rd. That said Robben is class. Could never understand why Chelsea let him go.

I know it was only a friendly but the atmosphere at Wembley for England games seems so flat nowadays. I suppose this is what happens when the FA have spent years driving the more vociferous fanbase away as they are undesirable and don't fit in to the face painted fun and corporate New Wembley. The band just top it all off for me. They just suck the life out of any atmosphere there is. They killed the atmosphere on the Kop at Hillsborough and are now doing the same at England matches.    

Cannot understand the mentality of some people.  I can't be bothered to find the quotes but some people in this thread have hit the nail on the head.  I'm a Town fan first and foremost, but I'm also a passionate England fan.  It's my country of birth, lived there most of my life - don't see much difference to supporting Town.  Except, it is now cool (as someone said previously) not to support England.  Probably because there players are hammered in the press all the time, but last night there was no Terry, Ferdinad, Lampard, or Rooney (and after a while no Gerrard either) just a lot of talented yougn players. We're not the best in the world, and not as good as the Dutch, but when on Earth has that ever been a reason for a genuine football fan not to follow a team?  And as for the poster's comment about being even further behind without our best player (I'm guessing that you meant Rooney, who has to be fair been pretty terrible internationally for 6 years), the scoreline was basically England 2 Robben 3.  

Quoted from One Decent Lester

I thought Baines attempt to block the cross for the 2nd Dutch goal was pretty lame as was his lack of blocking Robben's shot for the 3rd. That said Robben is class. Could never understand why Chelsea let him go.

I didn't think Baines could do a great deal about the cross for the second. It was one of those where he tried to block it, but the ball went through his legs. I agree that he should have been in a better position to block the shot which led to the third goal. You've just got to force a player like Robben onto his right foot and not let him get a shot in. Richards was guilty of this in the first half as well when Hart had to make a save. Speaking of Richards, did anyone else think that he looked a bit, well, fat?

He's always been hefty but seemed a bit heftier and slower than in the past.

Richards looked powerful enough, I liked him at CB when Jones came on, he's a bit of a powerhouse though the middle, brought something different to the game.

I enjoy watching the international footie not least because it gives me the chance to see football being played 'properly' and to see better technical players than those that generally grace the premiershite. thought england actually looked quite good for a long periods - some nice inventive play especially in the first half around the edge of the box. for a change there seemed to be a little less english hit and hope and a little more care with the ball. you have to forgive them for some naivety - smalling for example was given a real lesson last night (how is he btw?) and  hopefully will be a better player for it. didn't help that parker, who was supposed to be the older,steadying influence, was one of those who made a few too many mistakes. thought richards, cahill, wellbeck and sturridge did well. hart and baines are both solid as is parker (usually). enjoyed robben and van bommels performances and huntelaar looked v good for his cameo performance - what a run to take 2 defenders away when robben scored. that emanuelson who did well for milan the other wek also looked decent when he came on.
think soemone else is right that people expect too much - we don't have a single world class player in our ranks. hart, rooney and gerard are the closest , but generally we are made up of adequate international players and when we come up against the french, the dutch, the germans , the spaniards and probably portugal an ditaly we'll be found wanting as we always are.

Quoted from sonik

Not impressed with Stuart Pearce's reaction to our second goal.  Expressionless!  Strange to say the least.  

maybe he,d got some money on 2.1 with ladbrookes!

I usually try to avoid biting the cherry when it's dangled out in front of me but I just can't resist this time.

I find it hard to understand why so many Grimsby Town fans need to berate England - they are after all our most realistic shot at European and World glory (even if it does always seem unlikely) and chance to travel the Europe and the world mutually supporting one team with thousands of other like minded supporters.

People say they are over paid. Clearly, a well thought out argument. All footballers are overpaid today from the Premier League down to players representing Grimsby in the Conference and even Cleethorpes Town's alleged £1000 a week budget in the Lincolnshire League. It has become ridiculous but bearing in mind the aforementioned circumstances does this really serve as a reason not to support England?

The sensational British press are terribly influential on people's opinions too. And it has a detrimental effect. As soon as the Sun had decided that Capello couldn't speak English that was it. When the press wanted Keegan, they got him, and when they've had enough they get rid too. It would be nice to hear an acknowledgment for patience and actually see it through on their part for a change.

As a football fan some of my favourite moments and matches have taken place with the national team - England v Holland at Euro 96, England v Scotland at Euro 96, Beckham's free kick v Greece and the 5-1 demolition of Germany in Munich during the World Cup 2002 qualifying campaign, to name but a few. These moments rank up there (not equally) with the Wembley 98 double in terms of pure ecstasy. One of the best atmosphere's was I've ever experienced was an England game even.

The people I normally associate with disapproval of England are those who support Premiership teams and never have the need to look below 7th. They worry selfishly their precious players might get a knock whilst playing for England and their real focus, albeit naturally, is the Premier League, FA Cup or a European berth. This is fine, but we should not forget that more people file through turnstiles every week at Football League grounds than in the Premiership. Not to mention non-league followers like ourselves. When you look at the flags dotted around grounds where England play they largely represent fans of lower league teams in search of that glory that is unattainable to them due to the modern nature of football. Yet I'm sure the people who slate England now will be happy to bathe in their glory when it eventually come our way.

Last night clearly showed there's is potential down the line for England, as have the U21 down to U16 sides too. I don't think we'll win anything soon but if we stick with it, just like we have for Town of the last 10 years, I'm sure we'll have something to shout about again.

I thought we did OK considering the Teams average age was 22 when Gerrard was hooked off, I like the way that SP can ignore the old usual suspects and try something new, win lose or draw it came over as a breath of fresh air not hearing Rooney, Lampard and Terrys name being lauded over, should have been a draw

I enjoyed the England game more than I have done for a while. Players seemed to care a bit more than the old guard. Parker is not particularly good with the ball but infinitely better suited to be captain than King Cuunt Terry or Stevie GBH. I don't think they have much chance of success in the Euros but neither did the overrated "Golden Generation". Holland were miles ahead in every aspect of the game and thoroughly deserved to win. Robben was awesome.

I get drunk off with people thinking England are better than they actually are, fact of the matter is we are miles behind the best teams in the world. Why don't people support England through thick and thin like they do town? Its still our national team and the squad that is picked for the euros will without doubt recieve criticism but I challenge anyone to pick a better one! U get the cards u are dealt and it's up to u to deal with them. What does our nation do, get the tabloids finding as much scandal on every player possible, refuse to be decisive on the manager to take us forward and we fail to back our team when they are up against it. Yes they've let us down in the past but which club/country hasn't?

Quoted from Maringer

Would this be the same Italian sharp object who is one of the most successful club managers of all time? I think it is pretty obvious to most that the failings of the players had more to do with his relative lack of success with England than anything else. I say relative here because, don't forget, despite the dire displays in South Africa, he still had the best win ratio of any England manager. Can't wait to see who his successor will be - Pearce (never won anything as a manager) is currently the caretaker but Redknapp (one easy F.A. Cup victory to his name) is apparently the favourite.

As for the game last night, first goal was the fault of Sturridge, who lost the ball to Robben in the opposition half and didn't bother to try and get back at him. I don't really blame the defence too much for running out of the way of Robben as it is the first time they have played together. But for that mistake (and missing the sitter), Sturridge looked OK.

Second goal was a good cross and a brave header so no complaints with that one and the third was a little unfortunate, though Robben was much more threatening than any of our players.

Cahill's goal was fortunate as he was offside, but I thought Young's goal was well-worked.

Ultimately, we're a team with some OK players for international level and others who are inadequate at this level. We will probably keep up the cycle of reaching the Final tournaments relatively comfortably before being dumped out by the better teams in the knock-out stages. To win anything, we'll need to have a flukey run of hard-won results in the way that Greece managed in 2004. Not likely to happen, I'm afraid.

yes il say it again a total sharp object who took the urine out of England for years, we were nothing short of a laughing stock whilst he was in charge. Can you remember the last world cup? Just to remind you we ended up being rated 13th out of 32 our worst EVER, not to mention the humiliating defeat to the krauts our highest world cup loss EVER! the man was an absolute stubborn buffoon with no idea of a plan b, he should of been sacked immediately.

We all know why he wasn't sacked but thats the fault of the old farts at the F.A. but this is were he should of resigned, but what did he do apart from standing there  grinning to himself takeing the urine, with that stupid postman pat expression on his face? intercourse all!

I cannot believe you would mock two respected fellow Englishmen that one day might be our next manager, so what,  if they haven't won loads of trophys, being a successful club manager doesn't mean your the right man for the biggest job of them all as we found out with that doughnut eriksson.Then you look at the Germany teams over the last 10 years with klinsman and now low, they'd done intercourse all but led Germany in to two world cup semi finals.

It has to be an Englishman all day for me i dreaded the day England winning a world cup with a Swede or Italian, lets get someone with some passion and understanding with what it means to be the England manager Redknapp and  Pearce spring to mind, is it to much to ask that we have a manager we can call our own and be proud to have?

Quoted from Paris Mariner

I usually try to avoid biting the cherry when it's dangled out in front of me but I just can't resist this time.

I find it hard to understand why so many Grimsby Town fans need to berate England - they are after all our most realistic shot at European and World glory (even if it does always seem unlikely) and chance to travel the Europe and the world mutually supporting one team with thousands of other like minded supporters.

People say they are over paid. Clearly, a well thought out argument. All footballers are overpaid today from the Premier League down to players representing Grimsby in the Conference and even Cleethorpes Town's alleged £1000 a week budget in the Lincolnshire League. It has become ridiculous but bearing in mind the aforementioned circumstances does this really serve as a reason not to support England?

The sensational British press are terribly influential on people's opinions too. And it has a detrimental effect. As soon as the Sun had decided that Capello couldn't speak English that was it. When the press wanted Keegan, they got him, and when they've had enough they get rid too. It would be nice to hear an acknowledgment for patience and actually see it through on their part for a change.

As a football fan some of my favourite moments and matches have taken place with the national team - England v Holland at Euro 96, England v Scotland at Euro 96, Beckham's free kick v Greece and the 5-1 demolition of Germany in Munich during the World Cup 2002 qualifying campaign, to name but a few. These moments rank up there (not equally) with the Wembley 98 double in terms of pure ecstasy. One of the best atmosphere's was I've ever experienced was an England game even.

The people I normally associate with disapproval of England are those who support Premiership teams and never have the need to look below 7th. They worry selfishly their precious players might get a knock whilst playing for England and their real focus, albeit naturally, is the Premier League, FA Cup or a European berth. This is fine, but we should not forget that more people file through turnstiles every week at Football League grounds than in the Premiership. Not to mention non-league followers like ourselves. When you look at the flags dotted around grounds where England play they largely represent fans of lower league teams in search of that glory that is unattainable to them due to the modern nature of football. Yet I'm sure the people who slate England now will be happy to bathe in their glory when it eventually come our way.

Last night clearly showed there's is potential down the line for England, as have the U21 down to U16 sides too. I don't think we'll win anything soon but if we stick with it, just like we have for Town of the last 10 years, I'm sure we'll have something to shout about again.

That is a top class post Paris Mariner, perfectly put and i couldn't agree more with your sentiments.

They played pretty well considering it was a scratch team of young players against an experienced Dutch side almost at full strength in the first half at least. Pearce admits he isn't the answer as manager but to be fair he did OK too. He picked a side that tried to play football and he played players in positions where they liked to play. The full backs and wingers created a fair bit and that was down to Pearce using some brains to put two holding midfielders in. The Dutch goals were down to individual errors, the third was just lack of concentration after scoring an equaliser. I'd be worried about a new manager reverting to the old guard though.

Quoted from Paris Mariner

I usually try to avoid biting the cherry when it's dangled out in front of me but I just can't resist this time.

I find it hard to understand why so many Grimsby Town fans need to berate England - they are after all our most realistic shot at European and World glory (even if it does always seem unlikely) and chance to travel the Europe and the world mutually supporting one team with thousands of other like minded supporters.

People say they are over paid. Clearly, a well thought out argument. All footballers are overpaid today from the Premier League down to players representing Grimsby in the Conference and even Cleethorpes Town's alleged £1000 a week budget in the Lincolnshire League. It has become ridiculous but bearing in mind the aforementioned circumstances does this really serve as a reason not to support England?

The sensational British press are terribly influential on people's opinions too. And it has a detrimental effect. As soon as the Sun had decided that Capello couldn't speak English that was it. When the press wanted Keegan, they got him, and when they've had enough they get rid too. It would be nice to hear an acknowledgment for patience and actually see it through on their part for a change.

As a football fan some of my favourite moments and matches have taken place with the national team - England v Holland at Euro 96, England v Scotland at Euro 96, Beckham's free kick v Greece and the 5-1 demolition of Germany in Munich during the World Cup 2002 qualifying campaign, to name but a few. These moments rank up there (not equally) with the Wembley 98 double in terms of pure ecstasy. One of the best atmosphere's was I've ever experienced was an England game even.

The people I normally associate with disapproval of England are those who support Premiership teams and never have the need to look below 7th. They worry selfishly their precious players might get a knock whilst playing for England and their real focus, albeit naturally, is the Premier League, FA Cup or a European berth. This is fine, but we should not forget that more people file through turnstiles every week at Football League grounds than in the Premiership. Not to mention non-league followers like ourselves. When you look at the flags dotted around grounds where England play they largely represent fans of lower league teams in search of that glory that is unattainable to them due to the modern nature of football. Yet I'm sure the people who slate England now will be happy to bathe in their glory when it eventually come our way.

Last night clearly showed there's is potential down the line for England, as have the U21 down to U16 sides too. I don't think we'll win anything soon but if we stick with it, just like we have for Town of the last 10 years, I'm sure we'll have something to shout about again.

I think it is telling that the England highlights you have picked out are from 10 years ago or more. The semi final in 1990 is probably the most powerful and devastating match I have ever watched. A great memory despite the outcome. I cannot speak for others but I lost interest in the national team post 2006.

It's not influenced by the press - they have always attacked the England team.

I stopped caring when I felt that the players did. Players retiring in their late 20s. Players pulling out of squads in vast numbers with the slightest knock. Players timing medical operations to miss England games rather than club games. Players believing their own hype and acting in increasingly disgraceful ways despite the fact that they've achieved nothing in the game other than making a shed load of money. Every international friendly match being slated as "unnecessary" or "coming at a really bad time".

I hope one day I feel what I felt during those tournaments of the 1990s and it really wouldn't take too much for that to happen. Personally, I don't care too much about winning a tournament. I just want to feel proud of the team. Like us, the USA only won one group game in South African (against Algeria) before losing their 2nd round match. But their players went home with pride after giving everything they had and I envied their fans for that.

Jesus our reserves took Holland into injury time before defeat yet people moan!

Holland are aging and their defence is not great.....they will struggle imo

Quoted from Paris Mariner

I usually try to avoid biting the cherry when it's dangled out in front of me but I just can't resist this time.

I find it hard to understand why so many Grimsby Town fans need to berate England - they are after all our most realistic shot at European and World glory (even if it does always seem unlikely) and chance to travel the Europe and the world mutually supporting one team with thousands of other like minded supporters.

People say they are over paid. Clearly, a well thought out argument. All footballers are overpaid today from the Premier League down to players representing Grimsby in the Conference and even Cleethorpes Town's alleged £1000 a week budget in the Lincolnshire League. It has become ridiculous but bearing in mind the aforementioned circumstances does this really serve as a reason not to support England?

The sensational British press are terribly influential on people's opinions too. And it has a detrimental effect. As soon as the Sun had decided that Capello couldn't speak English that was it. When the press wanted Keegan, they got him, and when they've had enough they get rid too. It would be nice to hear an acknowledgment for patience and actually see it through on their part for a change.

As a football fan some of my favourite moments and matches have taken place with the national team - England v Holland at Euro 96, England v Scotland at Euro 96, Beckham's free kick v Greece and the 5-1 demolition of Germany in Munich during the World Cup 2002 qualifying campaign, to name but a few. These moments rank up there (not equally) with the Wembley 98 double in terms of pure ecstasy. One of the best atmosphere's was I've ever experienced was an England game even.

The people I normally associate with disapproval of England are those who support Premiership teams and never have the need to look below 7th. They worry selfishly their precious players might get a knock whilst playing for England and their real focus, albeit naturally, is the Premier League, FA Cup or a European berth. This is fine, but we should not forget that more people file through turnstiles every week at Football League grounds than in the Premiership. Not to mention non-league followers like ourselves. When you look at the flags dotted around grounds where England play they largely represent fans of lower league teams in search of that glory that is unattainable to them due to the modern nature of football. Yet I'm sure the people who slate England now will be happy to bathe in their glory when it eventually come our way.

Last night clearly showed there's is potential down the line for England, as have the U21 down to U16 sides too. I don't think we'll win anything soon but if we stick with it, just like we have for Town of the last 10 years, I'm sure we'll have something to shout about again.

Quality post - I totally agree.  Wish I could have said it so well!

Quoted from 2578

yes il say it again a total sharp object who took the urine out of England for years, we were nothing short of a laughing stock whilst he was in charge. Can you remember the last world cup? Just to remind you we ended up being rated 13th out of 32 our worst EVER, not to mention the humiliating defeat to the krauts our highest world cup loss EVER! the man was an absolute stubborn buffoon with no idea of a plan b, he should of been sacked immediately.

We all know why he wasn't sacked but thats the fault of the old farts at the F.A. but this is were he should of resigned, but what did he do apart from standing there  grinning to himself takeing the urine, with that stupid postman pat expression on his face? intercourse all!

I cannot believe you would mock two respected fellow Englishmen that one day might be our next manager, so what,  if they haven't won loads of trophys, being a successful club manager doesn't mean your the right man for the biggest job of them all as we found out with that doughnut eriksson.Then you look at the Germany teams over the last 10 years with klinsman and now low, they'd done intercourse all but led Germany in to two world cup semi finals.

It has to be an Englishman all day for me i dreaded the day England winning a world cup with a Swede or Italian, lets get someone with some passion and understanding with what it means to be the England manager Redknapp and  Pearce spring to mind, is it to much to ask that we have a manager we can call our own and be proud to have?

Capello was (and, I expect), probably still is a very good manager. He's got just about the best record of any manager around these days, winning titles in two of the biggest Leagues in the World and at a number of clubs. He also won the Champions League with Milan.

Similarly, Eriksson was also a very good manager in his day, winning trophies in various countries and with a great deal of experience of European football including trophy wins.

If these two managers failed to take England beyond the quarter-finals of the major tournaments, do you think that might indicate the problem was with the players, rather than the managers?

Let's see how our last English manager did (whose managerial career at the time had 1 League Cup and a battering in the UEFA Cup Final to his name). Hmmm. Failed to qualify with pretty much the same group of players who had reached the quarter-finals in previous tournaments. McClaren was a bad appointment at the time but, ultimately, the same group of players failed him who also failed Capello in South Africa. Don't forget, Capello's win percentage was higher than any other England manager in history, despite the South Africa debacle.

I don't disagree that, ideally, you want an Englishman to become manager. However, more important is to have an experienced and successful manager. Pearce is neither of these and he, himself, has admitted he isn't a long-term option. Redknapp is certainly experienced but, other than an easy F.A. Cup (where Pompey had lucky draws and only needed to play 1 Premier League club in the competition that year, albeit this being Man United), he's won nothing in his career. He's doing OK at Spurs but they have spent a lot of money in recent years and have some good players. Won't win anything this season, however.

I'm sorry, but I don't see why I should be proud of any England manager. They are very well getting paid to do the job so where does pride come into it? Similarly, passion is irrelevant as well. Success is the only thing that counts for a manager.

Regardless of who takes charge, if the players were miraculously able to raise their games to the level where they could compete well enough to sneak a trophy, I'd be proud of that achievement. Don't think it is going to happen any time soon, however.

Incidentally, the situation in Germany is rather different to the UK. Players in Germany at all levels are very well coached and know what they have to do. Similarly, in Holland, Spain, Italy etc etc. We often develop talented players, but the coaching they receive when young is generally poor so, while they may have ability, they rarely get the best out of it. Better coaching for kids ensures that they develop into better players. Most of our youth players don't receive good coaching.

This article explains why we will be lucky to be able to compete with the other big nations around the world for some time to come yet:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jun/01/football-coach-shortage-england

Just a pity that the F.A. (who know Sweet F.A.), decided to spunk £800 million on Wembley stadium instead of investing a good chunk of that money in the coaching infrastructure to assist young footballers all around the country.

God post.

Yes some good points raised it was a good post, but I wouldn't go as far to say a post from god.  

Quoted from Garth

I thought we did OK considering the Teams average age was 22 when Gerrard was hooked off, I like the way that SP can ignore the old usual suspects and try something new, win lose or draw it came over as a breath of fresh air not hearing Rooney, Lampard and Terrys name being lauded over, should have been a draw

Agree.. I'm not a big fan of watching England (i know i'm english and i should) but I thought it was refreshing to see the youngsters play. Although maybe should have had someone else upfront

Quoted from 2578

yes il say it again a total sharp object who took the urine out of England for years, we were nothing short of a laughing stock whilst he was in charge. Can you remember the last world cup? Just to remind you we ended up being rated 13th out of 32 our worst EVER, not to mention the humiliating defeat to the krauts our highest world cup loss EVER! the man was an absolute stubborn buffoon with no idea of a plan b, he should of been sacked immediately.

We all know why he wasn't sacked but thats the fault of the old farts at the F.A. but this is were he should of resigned, but what did he do apart from standing there  grinning to himself takeing the urine, with that stupid postman pat expression on his face? intercourse all!

I cannot believe you would mock two respected fellow Englishmen that one day might be our next manager, so what,  if they haven't won loads of trophys, being a successful club manager doesn't mean your the right man for the biggest job of them all as we found out with that doughnut eriksson.Then you look at the Germany teams over the last 10 years with klinsman and now low, they'd done intercourse all but led Germany in to two world cup semi finals.

It has to be an Englishman all day for me i dreaded the day England winning a world cup with a Swede or Italian, lets get someone with some passion and understanding with what it means to be the England manager Redknapp and  Pearce spring to mind, is it to much to ask that we have a manager we can call our own and be proud to have?

Sorry grim, but there is just so much wrong with this that i don't know where to start. maringer got a lot of good points in. capello a buffoon??? christ man have a look at his record and compare it to 'onest 'arry's. if i remember correctly he got us qualified for 2 major tournaments, with the best record in qualifying ever.i think you'll find that other johnny foreigner (sven) got us qualified for 3 tournaments, reaching the quarters in all 3. that, apart from venables' semi(aided by home advantage) is the best england achievement in nearly 50 years.
you might think 13th out of 32 was the worst finish but i'd strongly argue that 11th in the euros in 2000 was a far far worse result. bet it was a johnny foreigner who managed us then..... oh no it was that passionate,proud english yeoman - kevin keegan. 'i dreaded the day England winning a world cup with a Swede or Italian' - REALLY? HONESTLY? what sort of patriotic englishman are you? i want england to win championships and i don't give a flying fook who's in charge. if you could guarentee me that bluddy coco the clown would lead us to vistory in the euros i'd bite your hand off.
it has to be an englishman?? why? oh yeah ,coz they've got pride and passion and they understand english footballers - that worked soooo well with taylor, mclaren, hoddle and keegan didn't it? I'd argue that you select the best man for the job, no matter what his race,colour,sexuality or religion.
sorry for the rant but i just find the argument that we have to have an englishman as manager as utter and total bollox.

rant over. ps nothing personal!

Quoted from forza ivano

sorry for the rant but i just find the argument that we have to have an englishman as manager as utter and total bollox.

That's crazy talk. Look at when Redgrave won his last gold whilst being coached by a German. Ruined it for everybody and has been pretty much discounted. Likewise nobody takes any enjoyment over England being the best cricket team in the world as they're coached by a foreigner. Oh for the days of us struggling to beat Zimbabwe under David Lloyd.

Quoted from Rodley Mariner

That's crazy talk. Look at when Redgrave won his last gold whilst being coached by a German. Ruined it for everybody and has been pretty much discounted. Likewise nobody takes any enjoyment over England being the best cricket team in the world as they're coached by a foreigner. Oh for the days of us struggling to beat Zimbabwe under David Lloyd.

quite right - and i could add that bluddy ozzie bill sweetenham who managed to turn round our nice, soft n cuddly swimming team and turned them into  a bunch of nasty, hard working world beaters. disgraceful.
ps and i'm not cheering andy murray if he wins a major title(wtf does ivan lendl know anyway?), not unless he's coached by a passionate brit like buster mottram

Quoted from forza ivano

quite right - and i could add that bluddy ozzie bill sweetenham who managed to turn round our nice, soft n cuddly swimming team and turned them into  a bunch of nasty, hard working world beaters. disgraceful.
ps and i'm not cheering andy murray if he wins a major title(wtf does ivan lendl know anyway?), not unless he's coached by a passionate brit like buster mottram

Can't win on grass...!

Mourinho best out of the lot, Harry would be a good choice also but can just see Jose as he is 'the special one'

Mourinho would be my choice. He is very close to winning the league in Spain which is an incredible achievement when Barca are around plus he has won the Champions League twice, the Uefa Cup, the FA Cup, the League Cup twice, the Portuguese league twice, the Prem twice and Seria A twice. Compare his medal hall with Arry's FA Cup and Division 2 title. No contest.

To appease the anti foreigners he speaks fluent English, has manged here for a few years previously and would have the respect of the players.

It's WIN WIN WIN for me (that's even better than WIN WIN).

Quoted from psgmariner

Mourinho would be my choice. He is very close to winning the league in Spain which is an incredible achievement when Barca are around plus he has won the Champions League twice, the Uefa Cup, the FA Cup, the League Cup twice, the Portuguese league twice, the Prem twice and Seria A twice. Compare his medal hall with Arry's FA Cup and Division 2 title. No contest.

To appease the anti foreigners he speaks fluent English, has manged here for a few years previously and would have the respect of the players.

It's WIN WIN WIN for me (that's even better than WIN WIN).

He can speak English better than Harry Redknapp and he can certainly write it better as well, but that does not make Mourinho English. I know it is an old fashioned view but it has always seemed to me daft that there is a birth qualification for the players but not the manager. It can't be a "national" team if you have a foreign manager and winning under those circumstances would be devalued for me.

Yeh i agree Ronny - lets return the Ashes and Redgraves gold medals.  Its got be Arry - look at all the trophies he's won over the years compared to them useless foreigners.

Noticed that there is a big difference in the odds offered on Guardiola - from 16/1 at bet365 to 7/2 with Skybet (which makes him their 2nd favourite behind the most honest man you could ever meet). He'd do me nicely although I reckon give him a couple of weeks trying to get Parker, Gerrard etc playing in pretty triangles and he'll be screaming 'Get it in the mixer' and recalling Heskey before you know it.

Quoted from GTFC R MASSIVE

Yeh i agree Ronny - lets return the Ashes and Redgraves gold medals.  Its got be Arry - look at all the trophies he's won over the years compared to them useless foreigners.

I agree about the Ashes actually. There are too many cricketers using the system just to swap countries and get in a test side. But cricket has always been a bit like that. Even athletics has gone that way with second rankers joining Team GB from abroad. Football never used to be as bad. Mind you I suppose George Raynor did coach Sweden in the 1950s.

It just doesn't seem right though does it? Our football must be really crap if we can't find a decent home grown manager for the national team.

Football never used to be as bad

sorry rrfc - got to pull you up on that 1! john barnes, owen hargreaves, tony dorigo, cyrille reagis, colin viljoen etc etc

don't think there's space big enough to include all the foreign born welsh, scots and irish intenationals over the years

not forgetting from the past eusebio, di stefano and puskas and nearly all the 1950 US side that beat England

I really can't understand this total anti England TEAM attitude !!

it's a personal choice if y not botherd about your national side fortunes, wether english, welsh, scottish, irish.

BUT TO HAVE NO INTREST STRANGE !

so if  R bennet makes the england team you won't raise an eyebrow in intrest.

AND AS FOR STUART PEARCE HE MIGHT NOT BE ALF RAMSEY BUT CAPELLO DIDN'T PERFORM ANY MIRACLES WITH OUR AVERAGE SQUAD... BUT HE'S 24 MIL BETTER OFF

I was at wembley on weds and I think we played ok The dutch are in the top 3 sides on the planet so not to dispondant

Quoted from forza ivano

Football never used to be as bad

sorry rrfc - got to pull you up on that 1! john barnes, owen hargreaves, tony dorigo, cyrille reagis, colin viljoen etc etc

don't think there's space big enough to include all the foreign born welsh, scots and irish intenationals over the years

not forgetting from the past eusebio, di stefano and puskas and nearly all the 1950 US side that beat England

Not to mention Irish managers!

Yes, fair enough but percentage wise nothing like as bad as the cricket. The ones you mention might not have been born here but they were truly English by adoption, never played first class footie in their country of birth and I think that's the big distinction, the ready made one. Like an athlete who has actually been in the US Olympic Trials, failed and then comes over here to be in Team GB.

Puskas I forgave because he was escaping Hungarian occupation, Di Stefano may be a bit more awkward to forgive being Argentinian and I assume came to Europe for the money, Eusebio only played top football in Portugal not at home didn't he?

I never got that feeling about Petersen when he's batting somehow, different to D'Oliviera for instance.

Quoted from forza ivano

Sorry grim, but there is just so much wrong with this that i don't know where to start. maringer got a lot of good points in. capello a buffoon??? christ man have a look at his record and compare it to 'onest 'arry's. if i remember correctly he got us qualified for 2 major tournaments, with the best record in qualifying ever.i think you'll find that other johnny foreigner (sven) got us qualified for 3 tournaments, reaching the quarters in all 3. that, apart from venables' semi(aided by home advantage) is the best england achievement in nearly 50 years.
you might think 13th out of 32 was the worst finish but i'd strongly argue that 11th in the euros in 2000 was a far far worse result. bet it was a johnny foreigner who managed us then..... oh no it was that passionate,proud english yeoman - kevin keegan. 'i dreaded the day England winning a world cup with a Swede or Italian' - REALLY? HONESTLY? what sort of patriotic englishman are you? i want england to win championships and i don't give a flying fook who's in charge. if you could guarentee me that bluddy coco the clown would lead us to vistory in the euros i'd bite your hand off.
it has to be an englishman?? why? oh yeah ,coz they've got pride and passion and they understand english footballers - that worked soooo well with taylor, mclaren, hoddle and keegan didn't it? I'd argue that you select the best man for the job, no matter what his race,colour,sexuality or religion.
sorry for the rant but i just find the argument that we have to have an englishman as manager as utter and total bollox.

rant over. ps nothing personal!

We will have to agree to disagree on this one for me it has to be an English manager all day long, I stand by my comment "dreading us winning the world cup with a swede or Italian" or any other foreigner for that matter, not sure about coco the clown is he English??
Im more patriotic than you know and as a proud Englishman who has followed England home and away it just wouldnt feel right for me, lifting the trophy with a foreign managerno thanks, I go so far as say im really pleased they failed.
We are a country with a population of around 60 million and its embarrassing that we cannot find an Englishman to manage the English team, you mention the wally with the brolly, turnip head, god squad hoddle, but these idiots where never fit for the job in my opinion, I might be wrong but im pretty sure they wasn't the fans choice which is usually the case with the pig headed F.A. they have always gone against popular opinion and gone for the yes man, yes I know this is bit of a cliche but they always seem to pick the wrong man and i think it will happen again with Redknapp.

We all surely agree that our support is MASSIVE....so why not bin the national side and just have GTFC representing England?