England Vs Bulgaria - bothered?

[Pavilionaire]

I'll be watching, but that's partly down to a morbid curiosity in case we lose and Cappello is subsequently sacked.

Had Bobby been playing I'd have been well up for the match.

Had Berbatov been playing it might have been interesting but as it is I expect a dull 1-0 win for us.

 

[Eggman]

If only Kish had been selected.

 

[pasty]

Is no-one else sick to the back teeth of the f***ing press/public and the glee in which they attack Cappelo and the England team?

We had a bad world cup. Ho hum. How is that some sort of shocking national disgrace?

Really, how is it??

We didn't even qualify in 94 and we're certainly not the only team to not live up to our 'reputation'.

I think this is where arrogance really shines out with England fans. It's football, it often doesn't go quite they way you want/expect it.

I don't buy the passion bollocks either. I think every one of those players who went to SA wanted to be there and wanted to play for England, they just didn't have the technique, or, Rooney being the best example, lost it. That's also the nature of football, anyone who has played even a little knows that sometimes your touch just deserts you.

I'm watching tonight and I really really hope Cappelo sticks it to the English press who time and time again are a f***ing disgrace to England.

and that's my rant

Excellent post Mr Partridge. I posted something similar around the time of the WC. All through WC qualifying in the press Fabio was the new messiah working miracles and the best manager England had ever had. Now he's losing the plot and doesn't know what he's doing. All the things he was being lauded for before like the strict regime, keeping the teamsheet quiet and so on, are now his biggest mistakes.

Cappelo summed it up himself yesterday saying about the press "You created the God, now you create the monster"

English footy journos =

 

[Brovion]

Yeah, I care. Mind you I'm used to it. I'm 53 and apart from one little hiccup in 1966 we've been shit (or at best merely 'ok') all my life. Even before '66 we were shit - check out England's international record from 1950 onwards and it's a list of failures and disappointments. Before every tournament it was always the same: "we've got the best players, we're gonna win this!" Then afterwards it was: "What the f*** happened? Sack the manager!" (Sometimes of course we'd get to this stage before the finals themselves as we'd have failed to get through the qualifying group).

You just have to accept that as a nation we're collectively not very good at football. I don't know why, but we aren't. Yes we can produce good individuals, but when they all get together something happens, some sort of 'English disease' sweeps over us and above a certain level of expectation we perform like rabbits in headlights. I think it was Bill Shankly used to say you needed three Scotsmen in your team or you wouldn't win anything - any more and you had a problem. I'm beginning to think the same applies to Englishmen.

 

[Sheebo]

I'm 53 .

And still play regular football / 5 a side - You are a great example matey

 

[Brovion]

And still play regular football / 5 a side - You are a great example matey

Yeah, but I'm crap!

 

[Giraffe]

Is no-one else sick to the back teeth of the f***ing press/public and the glee in which they attack Cappelo and the England team?

We had a bad world cup. Ho hum. How is that some sort of shocking national disgrace?

Really, how is it??

We didn't even qualify in 94 and we're certainly not the only team to not live up to our 'reputation'.

I think this is where arrogance really shines out with England fans. It's football, it often doesn't go quite they way you want/expect it.

I don't buy the passion bollocks either. I think every one of those players who went to SA wanted to be there and wanted to play for England, they just didn't have the technique, or, Rooney being the best example, lost it. That's also the nature of football, anyone who has played even a little knows that sometimes your touch just deserts you.

I'm watching tonight and I really really hope Cappelo sticks it to the English press who time and time again are a f***ing disgrace to England.

and that's my rant

Top top post, and I completely agree. I'll be there tonight. We should expect to qualify in these tournaments but have no devine right to do well. Effectively in the last world cup we finished somehwere between 9th and 16th. Our FIFA ranking puts us about 7th-8th and if you look at those teams below this I don't think we have lost to any of these for many years. So we are probably about top ten in the world. I think that's a bit right really and people should except this and adjust their expectations accordingly.

 

[Pavilionaire]

It's crazy to generalise about the press all being anti-Cappello and being culpable in England's demise.

They were pretty much all on his side as late as the Spring. Then he started to lose it - we had the backtracking on injured players like Ledley King, the botched attempt to coax Paul Scholes out of retirement, the poor handling of the Wayne Bridge / John Terry scenario, Terry vs Gerrard and the schism in the squad over the captaincy issue, the treatment of players like children in the hotels and, finally, the poor team formation and some dubious selections.

Since then his position was weakened by the FA who hung him out to dry for 4 days prompting all kinds of speculation. A number of players snubbed him by announcing their retirement and he's commented on the Beckham issue when he didn't need to, resulting in a complete U-turn and impairing whatever working relationship he had left with Goldenballs.

In my book there's not much more he could have got wrong. This is not the job for him and the press know it, as do the fans.

Stevie G will probably get him out of jail tonight, but the damage has been done.

 

[Springal]

I think we'll draw.

Looking forward to Switzerland next week, few days on the beer in the sunshine (touchwood!)

 

[Acker79]

Until the players came up against some teams who could compete

And now we're back with teams who are unlikely to be able to compete, so he is using what he knows works against teams of that level.

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it.

Look up Italy squad 1974 world cup. Of which Capello was a member. Good article in FFT. Funnily enough we self destructed like the Italians.

Capello has been to one World Cup finals in his career, in 1974, and that too has its similarities with England's progress this time around. Capello will be hoping that history will not repeat itself in June. Italy went to the 1974 tournament in Germany as one of the favourites having won eight and drawn two of their previous 10 games. Then a row over the squad numbers assigned by coach Ferruccio Valcareggi undermined the camp.

Having not conceded in 12 matches, Italy went behind to Haiti in the first group match before winning. They drew with Argentina and lost to Poland – a game in which Capello scored – and went home after the first round. What went wrong? "You have to ask the manager of the team," said Capello with a hint of bitterness. Unfortunately that will not be possible given Valcareggi passed away in 2005.

 

[tonymgc]

Yes i do care. I'll always support my country no matter how shit we are & i hope we qualify for the Euros.
I don't think Capello is a bad manager but i think he isn't progressive enough to take us forward the giant leap we need. He should've cut all the deadwood & players who have no long term England future.

 

[alan partridge]

Italy went behind to Haiti

Haiti!!

 

[alan partridge]

And still play regular football / 5 a side - You are a great example matey

Really?

Brilliant, I've still got 15 years left in me!?

 

[Sheebo]

Really?

Brilliant, I've still got 15 years left in me!?

Brov does indeed! I'd love to be still playing 5 a side at the grand age of 50. I honestly don't think my 11 a side days will get past 30 - I keep getting niggly little injuries at the mo and i'm only 24

 

[Foolg]

Bulgaria 1-0, Stylian Petrov to score
And no, im not very bothered at all, got work early tomorrow so wont be going out and beats anything else on tele. Want us to qualify as i plan on going to the 2012 Euros, but nowhere near as bothered as i used to be.

 

[alan partridge]

Brov does indeed! I'd love to be still playing 5 a side at the grand age of 50. I honestly don't think my 11 a side days will get past 30 - I keep getting niggly little injuries at the mo and i'm only 24

I gave up 11 a side about 5 years ago. Was getting embarrasing.

Play futsal a lot still and love that.

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

* We have a tenth of qualified coaches that Germany have. All other major footballing nations have far more qualified coaches than we do. QUOTE]

And there IMO lies the problem.

Try to progress as a Coach, and the various FAs (including SCFA) seem to make it as hard as they possibly can.

Unless you are unemployed or prepared to use a fortnights holiday up, it is very hard to get beyond Level 1

 

[Pantani]

I'm not bothered at all. I am working tonight as always and may check the score periodically but only as a device to get out of actually doing my job.

On Capello, he should have resigned in shame after the Algeria game. Yes, english players lack in technical ability but they have never been that bad. It was embarrassing that this country's top players appeared to be unable to complete the most simple passes that even some of Albion's clogging centre backs of the last few years could manage. That performance not the Germany game is the one to be ashamed of and that was the night when I gave up on England for the foreseeable future.

 

[keaton]

Yeah, but I'm crap!

You're better than sheebo though