anyone else BOO Sven yesterday?

[Goring Gull]

McLaren certainly wouldn't have been my choice, but lets see what he can do. He's got a fantastic crop of players, its just going to be a case of galvanising them and getting the best out of them to unleash their true potential - something the current incumbant has never been able to do.

I think he's the next Graham Taylor - In taylors defence though he did have a shite array of players.

Everyone knows he's a crap choice but lets be honest Curcbishley and Big sam are hardly world beaters either.

 

[Easy 10]

We'll soon see I guess.
But I will NOT be looking back at the Eriksson Years with anything other than disappointment and frustration at what the team could've achieved, because when it came to the crunch, he was always found wanting.

His coma-inducing press conferences in his basic, stuttering english where he'll take 20 minutes to say precisely naff-all is also something I'll happily wave goodbye to.

 

[Richard Whiteley]

As usual, the statmeisters come out with the case for the defence for this exhasperating buffoon. With the best squad of players in a generation at his means,

oh for fucks sake easy how many times have people said this?

Bryan Robson was supposed to be THE MAN before, we did better without him in 86.

Bobby Robson would have been crucified on NSC if it had existed 20 years ago. Now he's some kind of saint?

When it comes to the national team, English people seem to lose any grasp of reality.

Sven knows more about football than anyone on here. That's a bona fide fact.

Personally I think we're gonna f*** up big time this year, but Sven has got us close enough twice. We're not Brazil, if we win it, we'll need a massive slice of luck, along with the likes of Gerrard performing. Anyone who thinks we have some god given right to be up there challenging every year is deluded.

 

[Richard Whiteley]

We'll soon see I guess.
But I will NOT be looking back at the Eriksson Years with anything other than disappointment and frustration at what the team could've achieved,

if Rooney was/is fully fit I might go along with some of that but, as good as Lampard/Gerreard etc are, they still aren't in the same class as the likes of Ronaldinho. We've got good players but they ain't GUARANTEED world beaters.

 

[Easy 10]

oh for fucks sake easy how many times have people said this?

Bryan Robson was supposed to be THE MAN before, we did better without him in 86.

Bobby Robson would have been crucified on NSC if it had existed 20 years ago. Now he's some kind of saint?

When it comes to the national team, English people seem to lose any grasp of reality.

Sven knows more about football than anyone on here. That's a bona fide fact.

Personally I think we're gonna f*** up big time this year, but Sven has got us close enough twice. We're not Brazil, if we win it, we'll need a massive slice of luck, along with the likes of Gerrard performing. Anyone who thinks we have some god given right to be up there challenging every year is deluded.

All I want to see is an England team giving it their best shot. That happened in 86, it happened in 90, it happened in 96, it happened in 98. Those defeats hurt, but we exited those tournaments with our heads held high having given everything. There was nothing else the team or manager could've done when that bit of luck deserted us. Heroic failures perhaps, but at least we went down fighting.

The exits in 2002 and 2004 were nothing short of PATHETIC by comparison. Both times we had the lead, both times we were subsequently terrified to cross the halfway line again for the remainder of the match, choosing instead to try to hang on for dear life. The team reflected the managers caution, they were totally suffocated by the fear of defeat.

Hope I'm wrong and this time its different, but I've seen nothing in the last 2 years to suggest this tournament will end up any different. He'll STILL bring on bloody Hargreaves if we're losing grip of a match.

 

[Richard Whiteley]

Sorry, I'm not buying that Charge of the light brigade shite. We played for 20 minutes in that 86 QF when we were 2-0 down. 94 we didn't even qualify? 92? Jesus. 96 was great I agree but even then what about that opening game? 2000 we were appalling. Embarassing. Slovenia could pass the ball better than us. 98 was one epic game but it always is with Argentina.

That's England. Not Sven. Personally I think he's brought a bit of stabilty to the side and I've enjoyed back to back qualification for major tournaments. We even look like world beaters sometimes...

 

[Beach Hut]

Euro 2000 we were inept as emphasised by a Keegan classic "We weren't ready to be 2 - 0 up" FFS

 

[Easy 10]

I am judging Eriksson on his performance in the two tournaments he has taken us to. Each time, given the circumstances, we ended up underachieving. Obviously we were never favourites to beat Brazil, but having got the upper hand, we handed it back to them on a plate.

The EXACT same thing happened v Portugal in 2004. Sob stories about disallowed goals are one thing, but almost from the moment we had the lead, we were swamped by a red tide, and Eriksson did nothing to change it.

If we come up short against a better team then fair enough. But to slide out of a tournament with barely a wimper is NOT what I expect from an England team, whoever is in charge. And under Sven, we've done exactly that. Twice.

 

[Drumstick]

Don't hold your breath. McLaren is going to make McGhee look like Mourinho

Well at least our moaners will be happy for once then!

 

[Richard Whiteley]

If we come up short against a better team then fair enough. But to slide out of a tournament with barely a wimper is NOT what I expect from an England team, whoever is in charge. And under Sven, we've done exactly that. Twice.

and what about all the times that we've just been utter shit?


There's gonna be many more of them

 

[Easy 10]

and what about all the times that we've just been utter shit?


There's gonna be many more of them

We've been utter shit plenty of times, I agree. But with this group of players we have no RIGHT to be shit. We should be pretty bloody GOOD.

 

[¤DãŃn¥ §êãGüLL¤]

The EXACT same thing happened v Portugal in 2004. Sob stories about disallowed goals are one thing, but almost from the moment we had the lead, we were swamped by a red tide, and Eriksson did nothing to change it.

Be fair Easy we took a good Portugal side with home advantage all the way the lottery penalty shoot-out without Rooney. Disappointing yes but I wouldn't call that a failure.

 

[Les Biehn]

I don't i find his startled rabbit look most amusing as the clowns Gerrard and Beckham play like thickos launching unnessecary long balls in the hope a half fit Owen will get on the end of one.

Well it would be funny if we weren't loosing.

Spot on.

 

[Rangdo]

As usual, the statmeisters come out with the case for the defence for this exhasperating buffoon. With the best squad of players in a generation at his means, he an expert at setting up the team to avoid defeat against the minnows during qualifying. Unfortunately, as we already know, he gets found out when we meet anyone decent, and has proved himself incapable of thinking on his feet when things are going wrong. He's almost Keegan-esque in that respect.

Whatever happens in Germany, I'll be popping the champagne when he finally fucks off over the horizon. We've wasted 2 years under him, he should've gone after 2004.

Yeah, because your incesant rambling about Sven is worth much more than his actual record isn't it?
You are right though about getting found out against decent opposition though. Apart from Germany. Oh and Turkey. Sorry, World Cup Semi-finalists Turkey. And Argentina. Twice.

 

[Easy 10]

Yeah, because your incesant rambling about Sven is worth much more than his actual record isn't it?
You are right though about getting found out against decent opposition though. Apart from Germany. Oh and Turkey. Sorry, World Cup Semi-finalists Turkey. And Argentina. Twice.

Germany was 5 years ago. As said at the top of this thread, he can't live off that result forever (even though in some peoples eyes he seems to have managed it).

Turkey have improved from the 8-0 days for sure, but that WC semi seemed to send their stock through the roof. Subsequent failure to qualify for 2004 and now 2006 is proof that they're nothing more than an average footballing nation who had their moment in the sun. Christ, South Korea were World Cup semi-finalist that year - would beating them be anything to write home about ?

Argentina 2002 was a good backs-to-the-wall win, I agree. Rode our luck a bit during that 2nd half battering, but they were on the plane home before the knockout stages, probably the poorest Argentina in modern times. And entertaining though that 3-2 win was last year, I don't read too much into friendlies when theres' nothing at stake.

I maintain that when it matters - when we've desperately NEEDED a world class coach in the dressing room or in the dugout, someone who can make the right changes at the right time and drive the team on to get that extra 10-15% out of the players, he's not been there. The startled rabbit, as Icy said.

 

[Sid James]

Nice to see everyone being as positive about the national side as they are our club.

You are an effing morose lot aren't you. Get your flags out and sing up ffs.

 

[Les Biehn]

Nice to see everyone being as positive about the national side as they are our club.

You are an effing morose lot aren't you. Get your flags out and sing up ffs.

Are you not a bit fed up with seeing perhaps the most talented generation of English footballers in at least the last 20 years playing dire football while the personality defective swede makes ridiculous squad selections and substitutions?

 

[Sid James]

Completely, but I like my glass half full and the tournament hasn't even started yet.

When ( and yes, it probably is when ) we go out in the knockout stages due to him trying to sit on a lead rather than score another I will be the first on here moaning like hell but until then I prefer to let cheerful blind optimism wash all over me.

 

[zefarelly]

When England players don the shirt, they play for the pride and country.

thats a day I'm waiting for, and until it happens we'll never win anything, theres still too many primadonnas in the squead

 

[Uncle Buck]

But that doesn't really make up for the rest of the dross bullshit that I have had to watch under Sven. Well it does a little bit but not enough. It certainly doesn't make up for his Graham Taylor style squad selections.

I would say during his tenure, the one thing that has been fairly consistent is his squad selection (I grant you a couple of the World Cup selections are a bit different), but the core has stayed the same. Very few Gordon Cowans, Keith Curle, Paul Warhurst type players suddenly appearing in squads.