Is failure to win Saturday the end for Steve McClaren?...

[¤DãŃn¥ §êãGüLL¤]

I concur.

I can assure you we wouldnt be in this mess if Sven was in charge.

Yep. He never would have played that ridiculous 3-5-2 with 6 defensive players formation in Croatia and we would have emerged with a draw at least.

 

[Silent Bob]

And - I ask purely as an interested by-stander who finds the whole England coach thing highly tragicomic - the evidence to suggest that anyone else might have done better is what exactly? Does the legend of the "golden generation" still have legs?

Worse teams have made the semis at least.

 

[Les Biehn]

I think we should have an English coach and that is for purely sporting reasons rather than nationalistic ones. If the team has to be English then surely the coach should be or it is not an England team.

I have and never will use the phrase 'Golden generation' in reference to the team of the last 5 years, however there is no doubt that a very talented team has under performed.

I won't harp on because no one will read it but I think the problems lie with the FA (lack of investment in youth, tactics and technic which has resulted in players who lose possesion and a lack of decent English coaches), Sven who took them tactically in the wrong direction and the media who go over board whether we win or lose.

 

[Man of Harveys]

Worse teams have made the semis at least.

I tend to think that the teams that make it to the semi-finals of the world cup are in fact better than those that get knocked out in the quarter finals, by virtue of the fact that they've made it one round further in the biggest tournament in the world.

I really don't think that, for England, a continuous self-pitying attribution of failure to a combination of bad luck, lack of "passion" (the morons' favourite, esp. with regard to Sven) and dirty cheating foreigners every 2-4 years really deals with the awkward problem that other international teams aren't actually too bad either. Just my HO.

 

[Simster]

Is failure to win Saturday the end for Steve McClaren?...

It should be, but alas it won't be. We won't qualify for 2008 and the RUDDY FACED PRICK will be allowed to continue his incompetent reign until it's too late for 2010.

 

[Nemesis]

The FA will never admit to f***ing up, regardless of what it is they've f***ed up.

Stuart Pearce-f*** up
Malcolm McLaren-f*** up
Ignoring Grass Roots football-total f*** up

They aren't fit to run our National Game.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

I think we should have an English coach and that is for purely sporting reasons rather than nationalistic ones. If the team has to be English then surely the coach should be or it is not an England team.

I have and never will use the phrase 'Golden generation' in reference to the team of the last 5 years, however there is no doubt that a very talented team has under performed.

I won't harp on because no one will read it but I think the problems lie with the FA (lack of investment in youth, tactics and technic which has resulted in players who lose possesion and a lack of decent English coaches), Sven who took them tactically in the wrong direction and the media who go over board whether we win or lose.

Was the side better than portugal the side we got knock out twice by?

In there side they have a number of players that have won the Champions League, Domestic leagues and cups and learn their trade abroad and picking up different ways to play the game and ways to break down other teams.

I think have the problem is we dont have many players playing overseas.

 

[Trufflehound]

Malcolm McLaren - f*** up

Was that before or after Buffalo Girls?

 

[Les Biehn]

Was the side better than portugal the side we got knock out twice by?

In there side they have a number of players that have won the Champions League, Domestic leagues and cups and learn their trade abroad and picking up different ways to play the game and ways to break down other teams.

I think have the problem is we dont have many players playing overseas.

Maybe not better but i wouldn't say worse. Still all a matter of opinion.

Was the Portugal side worse than the Greece side?

 

[Silent Bob]

I tend to think that the teams that make it to the semi-finals of the world cup are in fact better than those that get knocked out in the quarter finals, by virtue of the fact that they've made it one round further in the biggest tournament in the world.

I really don't think that, for England, a continuous self-pitying attribution of failure to a combination of bad luck, lack of "passion" (the morons' favourite, esp. with regard to Sven) and dirty cheating foreigners every 2-4 years really deals with the awkward problem that other international teams aren't actually too bad either. Just my HO.

Man for man worse teams I mean, worse is probably the wrong word, teams with less talented individuals. Australia probably would've beaten us had we played them, it doesn't mean their players are better.
I'd be happy to hold my hands up and say we were beaten by a better team if it were actually the case - as it was we were beaten on penalties by a Portugal side who never really threatened to beat us despite our bizarre tactics.
That's my problem really - while I don't necessarily believe we are/were as good as we were made out to be, there is enough talent there that a good manager the fact is a good manager could at least mould them into something at least resembling a coherent team.

 

[Tooting Gull]

Was that before or after Buffalo Girls?

'So I said to Downing, I said 'Go round the outside, round the outside...'

 

[Simster]

For the neutral, that would be pissingly funny - the final admission that actually, he wasn't THAT bad. Would it finally - finally - finish off the "golden generation" myth?

myth my arse. We had some great players who were/are simply played out of position or haven't been properly managed so as to perform effectively as a unit. Take Lampard, sure he's overrated, but he's much much more effective at club level than when playing in the England set up. Why is that? Because Sven never got to grips with playing him alongside Gerard. And talking of Gerard, he's a quality player who would walk into any national side in the world. So how come the German midfield looked far more effective than ours over the WC?

We also had one of the worlds greatest strikers playing for us (if not two when Owen is fit) and our defence has always been perfectly well organised when they have an outlet and don't do as they're told by Sven and sit too deep inviting trouble.

Sorry, but Sven was shite.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Maybe not better but i wouldn't say worse. Still all a matter of opinion.

Was the Portugal side worse than the Greece side?

No, but they are more of a team - something England will never be all the team the hatred between Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Utd.

Again something that most other international sides seem to be able do.

 

[Les Biehn]

No, but they are more of a team - something England will never be all the team the hatred between Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Utd.

Again something that most other international sides seem to be able do.

Not sure what the hatred between the teams has to do with it, teams in Italy, Spain and Holland hate each other but still have a coherant team. Well the Italians do, the spanish are a bit shit but play as a team and the Dutch seem to want to punch each other but can pull it together as a team on the pitch. The problem is we don't play to our strengths, we are just not intelligent enough to.

 

[Chesney Christ]

I concur.

I can assure you we wouldnt be in this mess if Sven was in charge.

What about those of us who didn't think Sven did a particularly good job (who on this board COULDN'T get a team including the likes of John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney into the Quarter-finals of a major tounrament?!!?), but never wanted McClaren appointed either?

 

[Chesney Christ]

myth my arse. We had some great players who were/are simply played out of position or haven't been properly managed so as to perform effectively as a unit. Take Lampard, sure he's overrated, but he's much much more effective at club level than when playing in the England set up. Why is that? Because Sven never got to grips with playing him alongside Gerard. And talking of Gerard, he's a quality player who would walk into any national side in the world. So how come the German midfield looked far more effective than ours over the WC?

We also had one of the worlds greatest strikers playing for us (if not two when Owen is fit) and our defence has always been perfectly well organised when they have an outlet and don't do as they're told by Sven and sit too deep inviting trouble.

Sorry, but Sven was shite.

Spot on. Sven was shite, McClaren worse.

We have the manager we deserve though.

 

[Nemesis]

Was that before or after Buffalo Girls?

I know that you know that it was intentional but I'm verifying it anyway...

 

[Chesney Christ]

I think have the problem is we dont have many players playing overseas.

Nail. On. Head.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Not sure what the hatred between the teams has to do with it, teams in Italy, Spain and Holland hate each other but still have a coherant team. Well the Italians do, the spanish are a bit shit but play as a team and the Dutch seem to want to punch each other but can pull it together as a team on the pitch. The problem is we don't play to our strengths, we are just not intelligent enough to.

Sorry typed that in a rush.

What I mean is the Greece side that won Euro 04 had a really close team despite not being the best side.

England will never have this due to the nature of out demestic league, and players like Lampard and Neville are to pro club to put it to one side when it comes to England.

 

[Without Limits]

dey wont get rid of him yet, would prove they were wrong to hire him.

Shoud of been big Sam