Home Championship set to return

[Superphil]

It's f***ing monkey tennis.

Coffee spat on screen

 

[The Large One]

But that match is clearly of interest to people who are Scottish or Northern Irish, which I presume you are not.

It's a bit like looking at the international friendly fixtures and picking out Poland v Albania and saying "hmm, can't wait". You wouldn't because it's got nothing to do with you!

A friendly between Poland and Albania, as you point out, has little to do with me.

If I wanted England to do well in a four-nation tournament, the performance of the other three teams would be of interest.

 

[Superphil]

The titans of Northern Ireland verses the giants of Wales, making them look exactly the same size

[yt]MusyO7J2inM[/yt]

 

[The Spanish]

you watch how many people who will sit through all sorts of shit world cup games not featuring England and talk about them afterwards to give it the global football fan bollocks will claim that they will have no interest in watching internationals not featuring England but the other home nations. Bizarre.

 

[TheBlueAndWhiteStrips]

Looks like its only going to be a one event in 2013 only.

FA says home internationals will be 'one-off'


England last played Scotland at Wembley in 1999
The English Football Association said it is in talks with other home nations to play a one-off tournament in 2013.
But it does not want to revive the home international tournament, which involved England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, on a regular basis.
The FA is investigating the proposal as part of its 150th anniversary.
"We're talking to the home nations about a possible one-off round of matches with them," said FA general secretary Alex Horne.
"I think we'd be talking about a series of one-off matches in 2013 to mark our 150th anniversary."
More to follow.

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

It seems a bit strange to me. It seems to be a fairly common consensus that our style of football is not easily translated to the international stage and that we need to adopt a different style of play if we are to succeed. So how is playing a group of teams who play in exactly the same ineffectual international way as we do going to help?

Also, lets be honest, it'll be a bit crap. Scotland are shit, wales and ireland are mediocre. Does anyone honestly think that the overpaid players in the England squad will give a flying monkeys about playing Scotland, wales and Ireland? They play against better teams every week. They've not grown up with it. It just seems a bit of a parochial and anachronistic idea to me.

If we must hve a pointless tournament can we not at least invite teams who are either a) better than us so we can learn from the best, or b)invite teams of similar ability but who play in differing styles?

 

[SULLY COULDNT SHOOT]

Used to love the home internationals as a kid so looking forward to it.

 

[The Spanish]

Used to love the home internationals as a kid so looking forward to it.

no we are far too good for it and the rest of them are shit apparently. and then we wonder why the rest of the home nations think we are wankers.

 

[ack]

About time these games were re-established, better than all the no interest friendlies played currently. Lets hope they can make these games like the 6 nations rugby within a few years, passion sweat and we want to win player mentality.This would be my dream,but I fear money will talk and prem players would become injured (sic) before any games and we'd be left with 2nd rate teams.

 

[Silent Bob]

you watch how many people who will sit through all sorts of shit world cup games not featuring England and talk about them afterwards to give it the global football fan bollocks will claim that they will have no interest in watching internationals not featuring England but the other home nations. Bizarre.

You remind me of the people that were watching Droylsden Leyton Orient while Barcelona were playing Real Madrid.

 

[The Spanish]

You remind me of the people that were watching Droylsden Leyton Orient while Barcelona were playing Real Madrid.

what about the billions of other people that were doing neither.

 

[Brovion]

I'm definitely looking forward to this. If there is one country in the world I hate with a passion it's Scotland, so the chance to do them over at Wembley will be great. Nobody can argue these matches are worse than playing almost any other international friendly, as 90% of those are turd.

Agree that a lot of friendlies are 'turd' (thank f*** the Thailand game didn't get the go-ahead), so surely we should be looking to drop the 'turd' games against rubbish opponents, not add three more? It's like a club wanting to play Maidstone instead of Man U.

 

[The Spanish]

Agree that a lot of friendlies are 'turd' (thank f*** the Thailand game didn't get the go-ahead), so surely we should be looking to drop the 'turd' games against rubbish opponents, not add three more? It's like a club wanting to play Maidstone instead of Man U.

depends what you want from your national team. i would rather play our oldest rivals and have a load of fun and banter than just watch a distant passionless squad get constantly hothoused to attempt to win some tournament. i think playing home internationals would go a long way to rehabilitating the England set up with the nation again and get some perspective on what its about. we have the players we dont have the bollocks, this way we could grow some bollocks.

 

[Pavilionaire]

Having more competitive international friendlies should help all of the 4 Home Nations. The other 3 will all be gunning for England so we might have to show a bit of fight, which might in turn improve team bonding. Winning 3-2 in Glasgow is bound to have more of a positive effect than winning 3-2 in, say, Oslo.

Conversely, it will give the Celtic Nations a lift with a trophy to aim for. Scotland would have a realistic chance of winning the thing if their fixtures were England and Wales at Hampden, N. Ireland away.

Also, it might make some players think twice before retiring. The likes of Kris Boyd and Robbie Savage might just reconsider with a Home Nations every year.

Scottish football has just reorganised their domestic game and getting the Home Nations back will also help.

 

[GT49er]

I like the idea, as long as the Scottish fans are given a very hard warning - "any repeat of the last visit to Wembley, and Scotland will be excluded from any future home internationals".

 

[Silent Bob]

what about the billions of other people that were doing neither.

Nothing about them.

I expect they won't tune in for England Wales either.

 

[fatbadger]

Having more competitive international friendlies should help all of the 4 Home Nations. The other 3 will all be gunning for England so we might have to show a bit of fight, which might in turn improve team bonding. Winning 3-2 in Glasgow is bound to have more of a positive effect than winning 3-2 in, say, Oslo.

Conversely, it will give the Celtic Nations a lift with a trophy to aim for. Scotland would have a realistic chance of winning the thing if their fixtures were England and Wales at Hampden, N. Ireland away.

Also, it might make some players think twice before retiring. The likes of Kris Boyd and Robbie Savage might just reconsider with a Home Nations every year.

Scottish football has just reorganised their domestic game and getting the Home Nations back will also help.

You were doing so well until that last sentence. I sincerely hope this happens, although as someone has pointed out, they are now only talking of a one-off.

Scottish domestic football has not been reorganised. A suggested new structure was due to be put forward, but due to the fact that it was only supported by the big teams, half of the SPL were opposed, all but 4 or 5 members of the league were opposed, and in a fairly substantial poll over 80% of fans were opposed, they have rather sensibly decided not to put it to a formal vote. The big clubs want a smaller SPL; everyone else wants a larger SPL. And ne'er the twain shall meet.

 

[New Carpet?]

I'm all for it, it'll be a bit of fun.

I'd rather England did this on a tournament-less summer than a tiresome and even more pointless tour of somewhere the USA and the Caribbean like they did a few years back.

 

[Sussex Nomad]

They should possibly do it bi-annually between the Euro's and WC? I don't know if anyone else thinks this but I find the FA extremely arrogant. They expect all the other home nations to jump through hoops for a 'one off home nations'. If I were the other three nations I'd tell the FA where to stick their 150 years of failed administration.