England v Scotland: Do you care?

[stss30]

I absolutely hate them, up there with Palace. I've been many times including 87 and 89 and trust me if you had been to either of those you would know the meaning of rivalry. I find all this we don't care about England crap sad to be honest, still each to their own. Watch some two bob rubbish on channel four if you will and pretend you are a 'new football fan'...not for me.

Completely agree, as I've said in the past I find the stance towards the England team on here a bit embarrassing from some. I would like nothing more than to smash Scotland tonight.

 

[Mellotron]

and sadly ,neither are England.
When you think back to the days when the fixture really meant something, was played annually and the whole nation knew the result. Finney, Edwards, Charlton, Moore, Greaves, Haynes, Banks, Shilton, Peters, Robson, Ball, Bell, Mullery, Hurst....Baxter, Henderson, Law, White, St.John, Mackay, Johnstone, McGrain, Dalglish, Souness, Gemmill.....the list is just endless. All top players. The cream of British football.
Now, we are left to rave about a player who has just reached 100 caps, earns £15m a year and can't trap a bag of cement. The rest of them are just ordinary club players as well. Its not their fault our football has been allowed to be hijacked by the rest of the world, insatiable for the riches available, indifferent to the challenge our football presents. Our young players think they are developing. They aren't. They have limited skill-sets. Dribbling is almost non-existent. Very few are truly two-footed. Most can't head the ball. Their first touch is poor and they have no idea how to control the ball in other areas ( chest/thigh etc ) They don't run off the ball. Most of them play in static positions. They don't appear to have been taught how to play on the half-turn or how to use your body with your back to goal.
The wages spiral upwards, the quality spirals downwards. No wonder fans get fed up. We are putting more and more in and getting less and less back in terms of value for money ( i.e quality )
Oh for moments like Jim Baxter at Wembley in 63, running rings round good England players. Or England running riot in 61 ( 9-3 ) playing some of the best football ever witnessed or Gazza in 96, with that glorious and gifted goal.
Days that have sadly gone and will not be recaptured.

Sorry, are you GENUINELY trying to suggest that the players you've listed above are better than modern top level footballers?

Glen Johnson has scored better goals than anyone on your list. That's GLEN JOHNSON, a very average prem player nowadays. Football is lightyears ahead of 40 years ago. Ronaldo and Messi can do things that no one could dream of even 15-20 years ago, let alone 30 or 40!!

Someone posted Hungary v England from the 50s a while back (I think it was) and I couldn't stop laughing at any point, the football was utterly shocking. Would be below League Two standard nowadays.

 

[Wrong-Direction]

Care more then the qualifiers

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Sorry, are you GENUINELY trying to suggest that the players you've listed above are better than modern top level footballers?

Glen Johnson has scored better goals than anyone on your list. That's GLEN JOHNSON, a very average prem player nowadays. Football is lightyears ahead of 40 years ago. Ronaldo and Messi can do things that no one could dream of even 15-20 years ago, let alone 30 or 40!!

Someone posted Hungary v England from the 50s a while back (I think it was) and I couldn't stop laughing at any point, the football was utterly shocking. Would be below League Two standard nowadays.

Nostalgia ain't wot it used to be.

 

[The Spanish]

will be a bit tasty on and off the pitch, anyone going up for a bit of Scottish culture won't miss out, i would expect some of the gers casual's to be backing England on the day
regards
DR

There were England chants at rangers Falkirk last weekend.

 

[MattBackHome]

Sorry, are you GENUINELY trying to suggest that the players you've listed above are better than modern top level footballers?

Glen Johnson has scored better goals than anyone on your list. That's GLEN JOHNSON, a very average prem player nowadays. Football is lightyears ahead of 40 years ago. Ronaldo and Messi can do things that no one could dream of even 15-20 years ago, let alone 30 or 40!!

Someone posted Hungary v England from the 50s a while back (I think it was) and I couldn't stop laughing at any point, the football was utterly shocking. Would be below League Two standard nowadays.

This.

The 66 World Cup final is also laughable.

 

[Raleigh Chopper]

I find the fact that it is a friendly and the scotch will treat it like the world cup final and celebrate for months if they win quite pathetic.
If I was an England player I would not want lumps kicked out of me and risk an injury all for the sake of a meaningless game.
I will watch it of course as it will probably be fun but I wish it was a qualifier then it would be must watch stuff.

 

[Mellotron]

This.

The 66 World Cup final is also laughable.

I get that people have fond memories of the sport they grew up with but I'm fully prepared that in 50 years time people will look back and laugh at the football we see now. It's a game that's constantly evolving and improving, footballers have become proper athletes now.

 

[Westdene Wonder]

Little interest other than it will give us the chance to raise our goals for, tally!

 

[MattBackHome]

I get that people have fond memories of the sport they grew up with but I'm fully prepared that in 50 years time people will look back and laugh at the football we see now. It's a game that's constantly evolving and improving, footballers have become proper athletes now.

Exactly - none of this is to denigrate either the abilities or the achievements of the players at the time. Winning the World Cup is obviously an AMAZING thing. But had Ryan Harley (for example) been playing in that match he would have looked like a cross between Maradona, Superman and Zeus.

 

[jevs]

I take it there will be a ban on giant papier mache effigies of Alex Salmond at Celtic Park?

I do hope you will be keeping an ear out for any anti-English chanting tonight and taking such offences up with your superiors in the morning, Edna ;-)

 

[crodonilson]

Going to be bouncing in Lyme tonight for the big game.

Dave, the loandlord at the Ship, is offering a free scotch egg to anyone who can down a can of Tennents Super in one like a true Scot. Also got a special offer of 15% off all draft lagers whenever England are in front in the game.

Bring. It. On.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Apparently nobody cared enough to bother with a match thread.

 

[maltaseagull]

I have to say I expected a much tougher match than this. It looks like first team versus 2nd team. Massive gulf in quality even though Scotland have the possession stats.(Waits for 3 goals in last 15 minutes )

 

[Driver8]

All a bit of an anti climax predictably.

 

[BensGrandad]

I Scotland it will be classed as a nothing game that didnt matter , the fact England have been superior in all departments wont count.

 

[maltaseagull]

There is no thread. Wilshere is an idiot. Clearly a talented player but his attitude stinks. He just messed up a shot on goal by yards and immediately looks to blame someone else.

 

[Mellotron]

Exactly - none of this is to denigrate either the abilities or the achievements of the players at the time. Winning the World Cup is obviously an AMAZING thing. But had Ryan Harley (for example) been playing in that match he would have looked like a cross between Maradona, Superman and Zeus.

The most notable deficiencies are the defending and positional sense. In the clip I saw, roughly every 10-20 seconds someone would do something that would be considered close to a "howler" nowadays by Championship standards, let alone top level.

 

[Mellotron]

Frustratingly meaningless how good we can look in friendlies and qualifiers. This same fixture in Euro 2016 would probably see us nervously drawing 1-1 at the moment.

 

[jcdenton08]

Really, really good performance I thought. Should've been 4-5, if we'd taken the easier chances (Smalling header, Wilshere chance). Poor Scotland side, sure, but we've drawn and lost to worse. Much better I think.

We've played with a lot of bite and fight - I like it!