The attitude of England players

[Tooting Gull]

Difficult to generalise - but I'm going to. I'm sure there are one or two who really would walk through a wall for their country, but they appear to be in the minority.

Somehow we seem to have reached a point where representing your country, one of the greatest honours a player can win, has become simply a means to mixing with the 'cool' England crowd, getting some huge extra playing bonuses, and triggering wage rises with clubs to ever more obscene levels.

Actually running your heart out is well down the pecking order. Half the team don't even sing the National Anthem. What can be done about it?

 

[Wozza]

Instantly drop anyone who has 'written' a book.

 

[keaton]

Thing is that the bar Hargreaves, the only one who really does give his all every game and would run thru a brick wall for his country is not in the squad. and he's our most technically gifted player. and has been consistently our best midfielder for the last four years.

 

[keaton]

Instantly drop anyone who has 'written' a book.

Or never read one. So our team would be Carrick, Hargreaves and David James

 

[Tricky Dicky]

They need to start reading their reviews, not their bank balances !

 

[n1 gull]

I think they care, I just don't think they are that good.

 

[butchy]

And Hargreaves is Canadian!

 

[Northstander]

Can we just not clone Linekar, Tony Adams, Robson and Stuart Pearce!

Wot a team!

 

[Man of Harveys]

National service.

Seriously, get rid of any talk of "passion" - it's always such a dumb and cheap excuse. Talk about technique and fitness instead.

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

Actually running your heart out is well down the pecking order. Half the team don't even sing the National Anthem. What can be done about it?

You can't hold that against them Shirley.

 

[Tricky Dicky]

I think they care, I just don't think they are that good.

Happy birthday, but I don't think I can agree. The England teams has 3 captains of the best 4 teams in the country - which is arguably one of the top two leagues in the world. We have 3 players out of the 20 in the running for footballer of the year.

Steven Gerrard alone, if he was playing like he does most of the time for Liverpool, would have beaten Macedonia last week.

If Walter Smith can get something out of what he has to chose from, something is seriously wrong with our set up.



Not that I want an argument, I've had a couple of pints for lunch and I'm off home in 20 mins.

 

[Sid James]

Re: Re: The attitude of England players

You can't hold that against them Shirley.

I can, and don't keep calling me Shirley

 

[Tooting Gull]

National service.

Seriously, get rid of any talk of "passion" - it's always such a dumb and cheap excuse. Talk about technique and fitness instead.

I agree there should be no talk of passion, as the clueless McClaren resorted to. It always sounds lame - because it should be taken as a given.

But it is the worst thing to watch your team when they don't seem as bothered as you are, whether it's Albion or England.

You're certainly right that a player contributes as much with his brain and technique as his lungs. So we've got our most technically gifted player sitting on the sidelines.

 

[Man of Harveys]

In most England supporters' eyes, couldn't they sing the theme from the Flintstones before kick-off, as long as they went on and won? Or isn't that being "passionate" enough. Because simply deciding to be "passionate" is obviously that's all it takes to win international football matches...

 

[Wozza]

Steven Gerrard alone, if he was playing like he does most of the time for Liverpool, would have beaten Macedonia last week.

That's the point - he rarely if ever plays well for England.

So why is he picked?

 

[Tooting Gull]

In most England supporters' eyes, couldn't they sing the theme from the Flintstones before kick-off, as long as they went on and won? Or isn't that being "passionate" enough. Because simply deciding to be "passionate" is obviously that's all it takes to win international football matches...

I don't think you get it at all. The National Anthem before a sporting fixture is a focal point for everything you want to go out and achieve for your country. It should be a stirring moment - and what's wrong with that, it's worthy of more than ridicule. It isn't for this lot of players - hence the reference.

 

[Richard Whiteley]

Difficult to generalise - but I'm going to. I'm sure there are one or two who really would walk through a wall for their country, but they appear to be in the minority.

Somehow we seem to have reached a point where representing your country, one of the greatest honours a player can win, has become simply a means to mixing with the 'cool' England crowd, getting some huge extra playing bonuses, and triggering wage rises with clubs to ever more obscene levels.

Actually running your heart out is well down the pecking order. Half the team don't even sing the National Anthem. What can be done about it?

I think we've reached a point too. Where fans immediatley come up with bollocks reasons that England are not as good as they want them to be. The old national anthem one was one trotted out about Adams and co. Now they are some kind of example of the perfect England first eleven?

And these days the entire team sings the national anthem apart from Gary Neville. As a proud Englishman it disgusts me.

 

[Brovion]

I'm with MoH. All the while the slogan is "Pride, Passion and Belief" not "Skill, Talent and Ability" we will be international also-rans. It's the wrong emphasis.

If I played for England I would have BAGS of Pride, Passion and Belief - but I'd still be utter crap. And I don't think that's down to the fact I wouldn't sing the National Anthem either.

 

[Marshy]

£40k for an England start and 20k for the Bench.

 

[Brovion]

P.S. Is it worth mentioning that the other night I had a dream that I was England manager? I don't know who we were playing but for some reason I'd picked Billy Bremner at right back ...