Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Oh stop this "English are disillusioned" crap and admit it, you just don't want England to win because there is a normal rivalry between us ;)

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

I do find it a bit silly how the English media with almost every tournament create a hype where England is 99.99% certain of winning, only to crash out at the quarter finals, at which point everybody goes: oh well, perhaps we were a little optimistic...

I do like to see them do well though. Just not as well as I'd like Holland to do. (but I'm not getting my hopes for Holland up too high. Then again, San Marco may be able to weave his magic).

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Nice try but have you noticed my sig? ;)

I've said plenty of times I'd like to see England win. It's just I know they won't :)

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

You know I said this earlier but I think all this hype started around Euro 96, I can't really remember any real fuss being made prior to competitions before that certainly not the media frenzy we get these days at any rate.

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Okay you are obviously taking what the media states as the gospel fact of what every England fan thinks.

Don't fall into that trap.

Like I said, I just hope that we don't do a Scotland.

It annoys the hell out of me that media goes on this way. I suppose it just makes a new story after the tournament about sacking the manager ;)

So, I would just like for people to admit, that this is rivalry thing not a media bigging England thing up ;)

I am actually okay about that. I mean, I didn't subscribe into the feeling of supporting Arsenal in the European Cup final just because they were an English team. That would just be wrong, as a Man Utd fan ;)

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Well, thank goodness it will start soon, and all the hype & speculation can turn to irony & cynicism, once again, when reality kicks in ;)

- If I'm wrong I'll watch from the quarter finals, on :)

Good luck England, don't get me wrong, but I don't expect a departing manager, an ageing crosser, an injured scouser, the metatarsally challenged shrek, or the untried schoolboy, to gel, much - hope I'm wrong :shrug:

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

The reason I have my opinions is because I'm tired of, yes, the media ramming it all down my throat and treating us Celts like second class citizens. If all the home nations are playing one night, guess which team gets the most coverage in the news?

If I was a betting man I'd wager that anyone who thinks I'm exaggerting is English ;)

You guys can't see it - it's perfectly normal for you lot to have your team given prominence in the media.

I'm not entirely bitter, that's why I'd like to see an England win. What would annoy me is the fact we wouldn't hear the end of it til 2046 - but that's besides the point.

Me, I went out and bought a Barcelona top :D

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Do you actually believe the media and think that all English fans think that we are going to win it?

Okay you may be just fed up with the media, but BR's posts do suggest a rivalry issue, not a media thing. I am just on a crusade for honesty ;) :D

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

It's not really about whether or not anyone thinks you'll win - it's about complete media saturation and the only way to ensure it dies down as quickly as possible is an England loss, as has been demonstrated for 36 years.

I refer you to the second post in this thread if you're after my view ;)

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Hmm, you just said 'we have a superb chance of winning'. That smacks of that attitude as well imo. You may have a better chance of winning than in recent years, but superb? I don't know. Realistically, imo, any team that wins it will need (apart from a decent team) a whole lot of luck. Luck in players not getting injured, luck in refereeing decisions going your way. Luck in hitting the target, not the woodwork. Sixteen teams will proceed to the knockout stage. Given their group, I think England will be one of them. Then there's four matches against tough opposition. Hard to call really...

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

I think we have a chance of winning it, even if we didn't at least we could be happy in the knowledge that Sven won't be getting his dirty little hands on an honoury knighthood!

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

But my question was do you believe the media and then think that all English fans think that we will win?

Just BR's now ;)

---------- Post added at 23:50 ---------- Previous post was at 23:48 ----------

I think we have the same chance as anyone else. I don't think that we have an exceptionally good squad though. If all our opponents get the same chef as Tottenham did, then we may increase our chance ;)

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

I believe the vast majority of you think you're "in with a chance" - but I see nothing different in this year's squad to that of WC's gone by. Every 4 years we get the same "this is the strongest squad we've ever had" and all the usual pep talks but it never leads to anything. You'll be out by the semis then it'll be weeks of blaming all kinds of things - the pitch, spontanious human combustion, the lack of decent irrigation facilities in remote African countries etc

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Is this belief from what you read in the media or actual fans?

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

The papers are full of the usual post mortem after each World Cup exit but also on tv, tune in to Talk Sport, read online, even read CF (or nthw.com as it was back then) and the fans come out with exactly what the papers are saying.

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Don't believe the media ;)

Full of the usual nutcases, who are on the same level as the media.

We are not all blinded... ;)

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Is the average fan like me? As in: omg, I hope we don't **** up. Please let us make it to the quarters at least, semis would be great, after that: who knows?

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Well I'm like that anyway ;)

It just annoys me that the media has painted a picture of the "English" fan and everyone else believes it :mad:

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

They did used to say that you need three world class players to win the thing, we have five or six, only a couple of other teams can boast that so I'd say we have a pretty fair chance, yes there are a lot of factors that can influence results but generally you get what you deserve, it also depends on what you'd call success is the semi's such a disgrace, were we all so disapointed last time because it could have so easily all been different, I don't know only time will tell I guess, it would be nice to finish the tournament without feeling that we had under achieved whatever happens.

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

You'll feel the same again this year :D

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

As I said everyone's idea of achievement is different where as our's is to be there or there abouts, yours is to try and avoid finishing bottom of your qualifying group, see different expectations ;)

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Again! Rather than face up to the fact your team will fail yet again, you attack my team - which is a bit of a cheap shot seeing as this thread is about the World Cup!

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

It is just before Scotland v Brazil at the next World Cup Group game. Ronaldino goes into the Brazilian changing room to find all his team mates looking a bit glum. "What's up?" he asks. "Well, we're having trouble getting motivated for this game. We know it's important but it's only Scotland. They're rubbish and we can't be bothered". Ronaldino looks at them and says "Well, I reckon I can beat these by myself, you lads go down the pub." So Ronaldino goes out to play Scotland by himself and the rest of the Brazilian team go off for a few jars. After a few pints they wonder how the game is going, so they get the landlord to put the teletext on. A big cheer goes up as the screen reads "Brazil 1 - Scotland 0 (Ronaldino 10 minutes)". He is beating Scotland all by himself! Anyway, a few more pints later and the game is forgotten until someone remembers "It must be full time now, let's see how he got on". They put the teletext on. "Result from the Stadium "Brazil 1 (Ronaldino 10 minutes) - Scotland 1 (Naismith 89 minutes)". They can't believe it, he has single handedly got a draw against Scotland!! They rush back to the Stadium to congratulate Ronaldino. They find him in the dressing room, still in his gear, sat with his head in his hands. He refuses to look at them. "I've let you down, I've let you down." "Don't be daft, you got a draw against Scotland, all by yourself. And they only scored at the very, very end and all we needed was a point!" "No, No, I have, I've let you down... I got sent off after 11 minutes. :D

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

What amazes me, is that if the newspapers annoy you that much, why read them ? Big Brother annoys me, it's all over the tv, all over the newspapers.

Turn it off ! Don't read the sections of the press that annoys you !

You have a choice folks ! :D

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

So you're suggesting what when I buy a paper I ought to avoid pages 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, as well as the back pages?

Perhaps I should just stick to the horoscopes then :disturbd:

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Sounds perfectly reasonable to me. Plus BB goes on for longer than the world cup, and we are inflicted with it every year.

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Yes......you're not English by any chance are you?

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Twice a year if you include the celebrity BB ;)

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

But if pages 1,3,4,5,6 and 7, and the back pages were full of Man U that would be ok ?

It's simply because the news doesn't contain what we want to read, we moan about it.

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

What's that got to do with Big Brother? :D

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

No that wouldn't be ok, but seeing as United never take up that amount of newspaper space, a bit of a worthless analogy really!

Nothing at all!

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Firstly Russ, I did say IF

But would you be so quick to volunteer your discomfort about it ? Both you and myself support Man U, but we're hardly going to whine about over exposure in the press.


Back in 2000 they did though, remember the World club championships ? Played in south america, it was a round robin tournament, and was plastered all over the papers for awhile, taking up plenty of newspaper real estate.

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Well as it's not something which is going to happen I can't give you an accurate answer - but I would understand and support anyone who objected to such coverage which IMO belongs in the sport pages.

Nope, didn't happen - the World Club tournament was a complete wash-out as far as United were concerned and there was nowhere near as much coverage.

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

I think he meant the fury over us being excluded from the FA cup.

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

If I remember correctly we weren't excluded, we just withdrew.

In any case, United's appeal goes throughout the UK, the supporters are probably evenly spread throughout the whole British Isles - but England's appeal is not as widespread.

When Liverpool won the Champion's Cup, that was given a lot of coverage - no problem there, the media have demonstrated they'll give such coverage to any team which does as well as them

But they have also demonstrated that they won't give the same coverage to all home nations - just the ones beginning with 'E' and that's what I object to - my money is as good as yours, why shouldn't my national team get equal coverage? As I've said, when all 4 countries play, why should yours get prominance over mine?

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

yeah, you were given the option of take part in the 3rd round or not at all. you chose "Not at all"

probably due to the huge difference in ability in the teams

i would like to add though, at least england win stuff occasionally, so they deserve some coverage. i find it for more annoying when the paper is full of crap about how "henman will win wimbledon this year"(despite being absolute rubbish) or that jenson button "is favourite to win the driver's championship this year" when he has yet to win a single race in a car that would win a race with a good driver in

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Excluded or withdrew, the fact is it was big news at the time.

That's fair enough. I'm English, living in England, so I can't say what the media is like in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. All in all, we aren't the media, so it is no good moaning to us. Set up a protest group and lobby the media and government ;)

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

IIRC our "withdrawal" from the FA cup was at the request of the FA, something they denied later. Hence all the press coverage there was. To say our support is "evenly" spread, is dillusional, and something I would expect a City fan to say, quite frankly. And if the Welsh league was more prominent, there would be no need to infultrate another country's league. I'm well aware, we have a national (and international) appeal, but let's not too excited about where the hardcore support lies.

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Yep it was the request of the government and the FA. They were in the running for hosting the World Cup so they had to keep in FIFA's good books by making sure Utd went to the World Club Championships.

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

worked out so well for everyone involved :D

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Are you people deliberately trying not to see the point?? :D

No-one is saying England don't deserve coverage. IMO all home nations deserve coverage. But regardless of how important a game might be to the other nations, the England match will always get more coverage and this as I'm sure you will agree is completely unfair.

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

The thing is Russ, we DO see the point. As Mal pointed out, it's not our fault all the other home nations focus on Englands coverage is it ? It would probably bother me too in your's, and other home nations position, but that's hardly a stand point to dislike other home nations. Maybe it's long overdue, to lobby the powers that be, instead of chastising people who's hands it is out of.

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

:tu: .

Us taffs have to stick together.

Never mind Russ, look on the bright side it has been 40 Years since England won the World Cup and in a Months time it will be 40 Years and one Month since England won the World Cup.

:D

And I also think it stinks the amount of coverage they get throughout this.

FFS unrelated to Football but Wales (Rugby) are playing Argentina this weekend along with England, Ireland and Scotland.

Now then are Wales the forgotten nation as the only game you cannot see on Sky is the Welsh game and the only place to watch this is on S4C Wales (not all of us taffs speak welsh) and S4C Wales is not available on Sky so we are banished to our other TVs that can receive S4C via normal TV Aerial.

:mad:

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

I'm not so sure, seeing OB reckons it's because we're 'jealous'.

I know - and I've not blamed you guys at all!

I don't dislike England, the English (after all, why would I dislike my own father?? ;) ), it's fans or national teams of any sport.

Not chastising anyone! Just giving my opinions on a discussion board!

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

I'll tell you something I love football but this world cup thing is getting on my nerves, it's been rammed down our throats now for well over 3 months. I'm not a firm fan of the national team or the FA the both of them can go to hell for all I care, I'd sooner watch my local team Mansfield Town.

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

I can't speak for OB, maybe she thought the thread title was a little provocative.

As am I, long may that continue.

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

What's the S4C Digidol channel I have on my Sky service then? :confused:

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

a digidol - ntl are definitely lagging behind if Sky are offering that kind of interface :naughty: :D

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Trinidad & Tobago plays England on Thursday.

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

A really odd version of S4C.

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Come On The T&t!!!!!

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

I really don't know who I want to win this game. On one hand this WC has made me lean slightly towards England, yet my nationality dictates I should take pleasure in watching them lose.

Tough one.....

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Altogether now!

Feck Alllll!
Your gonna win Feck Alllllll!
Your gonna win Feck Alllllll!
Your gonna win Feck Alllllll!
Feck Alllll!
Your gonna win Feck Alllllll!
Your gonna win Feck Alllllll!
Your gonna win Feck Alllllll!

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

In the interests of national harmony, thought I'd wheel this one out again....

http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/footy/

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

I hate to break it to you buddy, but Scotland didn't qualify :erm: :rofl:

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

I bet I know what TBR is about to post. ;)

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

You are in the perfect position to counsel us then aren't you. I mean, with your experience of winning feck all...

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

:LOL:

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Remind me - when was the last time you won ANYTHING either? - Oh - thats right - 1966 - 50 years ago...

Oh and OB.... Scotland did qualify - what the hell are you on about - Girls and football ei!

Thanks for falling into my cunnily rigged "bird" trap! :D

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Sad really, if that's the best you can do. Scotland (THE FOOTBALL TEAM) didn't qualify. :p:

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

:rofl:

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

...and your point is?

:scratch: let me think...you will have to remind me...have Scotland won anything?

It may have been 50 years ago, but it is still ONE more major trophy than you...

Forgive me about this post...I should have said extensive experience... ;)

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Told ya ! :D

And thanks for falling into mine. :D

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Oh and TBR - I think you'll find 1966 was 40 years ago, not 50... :dunce:

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

I'm surprised TBR got that wrong, seeing as the Saesneg have been ramming that down our throats since 1966....

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

:cleader: :cleader: :cleader: :cleader:

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

*points at theblueraja and chortles*

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Anyone else think England have played like World Champions yet?

Nah, thought not...

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

We don't want to peak too soon. ;)

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

No team has played like world champions yet. Not even the brazilians.;)

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

We qualified, we've won the last 2 games and are through to the knockouts, is that sour grapes I can smell? ;)

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

We didn't play that well. But we won...we have now qualified...and we have now avoided doing a Scotland ;) :D

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

No, it's realism ;)

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Do you get any more points for playing well then?

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

It certainly helps when playing the really good sides...

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

This is superb, honestly, your absolute rubbish even with Rooney and your still happy.

I'd be raging at that result yesterday.

Come on the Sweden! (Change of Avatar coming shortly)

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

England haven't been great but neither has any other team - except Spain. Best team of the tournament so far.

However, Group is for points only. No fancy (or even good for that matter) play is required, just the three points. Which England have got in both their games so far. With a clean sheet too. Come on Boys!!! David Beckham, perfection as always. Gerrard back to form with a screamer, and Lennon bringing the game back to life. :tu:

How did the Scotland team get on last night? Oh yeah, that's right, they didn't qualify....my bad, sorry :rofl:

---------- Post added at 12:06 ---------- Previous post was at 12:03 ----------

The only good side so far Russ has been Spain. And we haven't had to play them, so who cares? :shrug:

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

The fact that the result means we have now qualified, makes the performance seem irelevant ;)

Why? Okay it was not a great performance, but don't you agree that the result was great...I mean it confirmed qualification! ;)

Not unexpected that.

Why don't you wait until you find out who we are going to play in the next round? It is just that Sweden are not able to knock us out, so it is a bit of a waste of time... ;) :D

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

2 - Nil, that's a dreadful result alright :erm: Could you remind everyone where your National team normally finishes in World Cup tournaments?

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Brazil, France, Holland, Argentina - England don't exactly gave a shining record against those? But as you say, who cares - it's not as if England will win the World Cup.

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Sorry Russ, but so far, with the games played in this tournament, none of the teams you've mentioned have played particularly well. Agreed, they've shone in the past, but the past doesn't count in the current tournament. And none of them so far are any better than england. Except for spain.
We might, we might not. How are Wales doing?

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

AANVALLUH!!!! 'nuff said!

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Going home, just like your lot.

And 2-0 is a dreaful result if you take it in the context of the way the game was played, up until 81 mins you hadnt done anything against the team that were 1000-1 outsiders (and hence the "worst team in the world cup" according to the bookies) to win the World Cup.

In fact they really could have been 1-0 up.

If your see that as a good sign going forward thats fine by me.

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

OK then, we'll just have to wait and see ;)

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

How about Italy and Argentina OB - they have looked really good dont you think?

Definate threats there, perhaps even better looking that Brazil.

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

With all due respect - GIVE OVER!!!! Why are England fans so blinkered on the whole (yes, that is a generalisation - but a fair one I feel, as I am unbias towards or against England, so it's something I have noticed over the years). They never seem to be able to see their faults and continue to bang on about the 1966 world cup (40 YEARS AGO NOW) and Maradonnas 'hand of God' (20 YEARS AGO - GET OVER IT!). I could go on about how the Netherlands have been cheated out of getting into the finals, but it happened and that's that - look forwards....

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

We didn't convert, but we made some great chances, and I reckon possesion was well upn in the 80%'s

Could've yes, but with some fabulous and inspired defending by Terry, they weren't. What's your point?

qualifying with six points and a clean sheet is good enough for me. It doesn't have to be pretty, as long as we win. How are Scotland egtting on?

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

I agree totally.

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

I'm not blinkered and am well over the hand of god ****e. England haven't played great. IMO the only team that have is Spain. But we're through. I support England am I happy we're through, What's 'blinkered' about that? :shrug:

---------- Post added at 12:44 ---------- Previous post was at 12:42 ----------

This tournament? Indifferent IMO. Brazil were also shockingly poor. At the moment, England stand as good a chance as any.

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

<---- ;)

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

The blinkered bit was saying England look the best bar Spain - well no, they don't though, do they? As mentioned since, look at Italy and Argentina. They look very good right now. As for Brazil, they don't even bother trying until the knockouts. Why waste energy, right? I suppose I should mention Holland. They look ok. Probably the strongest team they have had since about 1992. Robben of course looks great, but needs to become more of a team player. There is a fair amount of youth in the team, and with that comes inexperience, but only time will give them that. I don't expect Holland to win this tournament, but they should reach the semi's. Personally, looking at England so far, I think the Quarters will be their last game. Sorry.

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

what's ;) for? Do you know something I don't? Can you see the result in your crystal ball?

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

That is probably true (if England continue as they did in the last 30 mins). It is however, by no means a given that England will win it. And a lot of England supporters apear to think it is, and that really annoys me.

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

:) :D

---------- Post added at 12:50 ---------- Previous post was at 12:49 ----------

THANK YOU - someone who can see it as it is! I've felt so alone all these years!!!!

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

I'mn sorry, please refer to the post where I stated England were the best? :rolleyes:

They look OK. No better than any of the other teams though.
BUt I don't suppose for a moment you'd suggest England woudl think the same as Brazil, as it doesn't fit your agenda, right?

NO apology needed. I'm happy we're thourgh, and hopeful we'll go much further.

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

the difference is, after watching both games, I get the impression England were actually trying most of the game. Brazil just walked it. Of course, I could be wrong, and this is just my opinion, but it is the way I saw it.

We shouldn't forget of course about the 'lesser' teams - those who are not well known for the quality of their international level football. There are some great TEAMS out there, those that really work hard and together - I'm expecting some big surprises this year.

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

But I haven't stated they they will win it and am getting mocked anyway- where as other folk have been quite happy to state they WON'T. Who knows who's going to? I'm an England supporter who WANTS England to win, and at the moment, we do have as good a chance as anyone to do that. Time will tell.

Re: The anyone but England thread!
 

Fair enough. I didn't mock you btw. Personally, I think England do stand a chance if they stop playing the long ball, use the midfield, and play positively. That means not trying to sit on a one-nil lead, and let the opposition camp outside the box (booting the ball up the park giving it away). Sadly, I can see that happening, and it may be their undoing, as it was in the last two tournaments (rember Portugal?).