After watching BBC's coverage of the england game

[Aile]

I dont know why, but I found this poem really hit a spot and made me semi patriotic again :>

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;
Let pry through the portage of the head
Like the brass cannon; let the brow o'erwhelm it
As fearfully as doth a galled rock
O'erhang and jutty his confounded base,
Swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean.
Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide,
Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit
To his full height. On, on, you noblest English.
Whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof!
Fathers that, like so many Alexanders,
Have in these parts from morn till even fought
And sheathed their swords for lack of argument:
Dishonour not your mothers; now attest
That those whom you call'd fathers did beget you.
Be copy now to men of grosser blood,
And teach them how to war. And you, good yeoman,
Whose limbs were made in England, show us here
The mettle of your pasture; let us swear
That you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not;
For there is none of you so mean and base,
That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game's afoot:
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'

 

[Raven]

yep i like the poem at the start, then we scored in the first few minutes and i thought yeah, this is our year! then svens tactics kicked in

 

[Everz]

yep i like the poem at the start, then we scored in the first few minutes and i thought yeah, this is our year! then svens tactics kicked in

yeh after the first goal i was thinking that this was gonna be a thrashing of paraguay.. 3-0 at least.. then sven happened :/

 

[Cadiva]

Ah the wonders of Shakespeare Henry V Act 3 Scene 1 - marvellous piece of prose.

 

[Marc]

After watching BBCs coverage of the world cup....

I want Alan Shearers/Ian Wrights/Alan Hansens job!! Getting paid to go to foreign countries, getting lashed up then spouting a load of bollox about the match that no one really listens to anyway is an ideal job!

Sign me up!

 

[DocWolfe]

I prefer the poem "three lions on the shirt"

 

[Levin]

It's tiring to hear how you guys keep bashing Sven no matter what he does these days. If something goes wrong, it's of course all his fault. If you win, it's "despite" his efforts. You never seem to consider the possibility that you win thanks to how he built the team, created a good mood in it, etc. As for active coaching, can you point out exactly what he did wrong this time? From my point of view it looked like England's ball ownage had died down before Sven tried to change things to do something about it.

Also, i think you underestimate Paraguay as a team. They did beat some greater football nations than England, you know. Sorry if that stings your pride, but it needed to be said. Be grateful you for once came out on top in the first game (against a very good team) and stop being such whiners. You have a great shot at going really far in the tournament this year but with this attitude of yours i'd say it would be "despite" all the Sven bashing.

If you pull a Sweden and score 0-0 against T&T i won't stop you from whining though.

 

[Raven]

wrong...taking owen off and leaving crauch alone up front....bringing that useless bag of shit hargreaves on, the guy is clueless about english football, you cant score one goal then sit back and defend, we arent the italians.

 

[Levin]

wrong...taking owen off and leaving crauch alone up front....bringing that useless bag of shit hargreaves on, the guy is clueless about english football, you cant score one goal then sit back and defend, we arent the italians.

Obviously you could, as you came out with 1-0.

 

[Raven]

1-0 against a crap team, you really think that sort of playstyle would work vs anyone good? sven is quiting after the world cup, he couldnt give a shit whether we win or not (not that he did before) you can see when we concede a goal he just sits there, when we score a goal he just sits there, the man is a joke.

 

[[NO]Subedai]

1-0 against a crap team, you really think that sort of playstyle would work vs anyone good? sven is quiting after the world cup, he couldnt give a shit whether we win or not (not that he did before) you can see when we concede a goal he just sits there, when we score a goal he just sits there, the man is a joke.

idiots like u are completely clueless, as if the average english person knows better than sven about tactics and the use of his own players, was exactly like the post match commentators, they were just completely laying into sven, but none of em are better managers than he is.

and his win ratio is better than any previous england manager for years and years, and still u diss him.

 

[Corran]

idiots like u are completely clueless, as if the average english person knows better than sven about tactics and the use of his own players, was exactly like the post match commentators, they were just completely laying into sven, but none of em are better managers than he is.

and his win ratio is better than any previous england manager for years and years, and still u diss him.

His tactics leave a lot to be desired though. England may not have the best team but he could make better use of what was there.

The owen sub meant Crouch up on his own, yet the selected playstyle was to play a long ball onto his head, get him to knock it on then chase after it himself... that is how it felt.

He should never have been selected as manager, said it from the beginning. He has no emotion linked to the country and doesn't care less what happens, especially as his job is over anyways + depending on who Real Madrid vote for to be in charge he could well be set up there as one the candidates stated they will have him as manager.

 

[Yeke]

LOL's one game in which we won and people are already moaning lots of things contributed to the less than enigmatic england performance for instance the heat certain players also didnt seem quite 100%, we won our opening game dosn't matter how it came its a great confidence boost and hopefully will help a couple of the players that didnt look 100%.

Quit moaning and lets see how we go on from here, would you really have preferred playing well and drawing 0-0 like sweden?

 

[Levin]

1-0 against a crap team, you really think that sort of playstyle would work vs anyone good? sven is quiting after the world cup, he couldnt give a shit whether we win or not (not that he did before) you can see when we concede a goal he just sits there, when we score a goal he just sits there, the man is a joke.

Where on earth did you get the notion that Paraguay is a crap team? If Sven had ordered all out offence in the second half and England had conceded a goal i think we all know what the reaction would have been. As i said, no matter what he does, and lately, no matter whether his strategy actually works or not, you have decided that he is a joke. Besides the point is that England's offence died down pretty much of its own as they gave initiative over to Paraguay. Sven's coaching was a reaction, not the cause of it.

About showing emotions - the fact that he doesn't act like a clown on the bench doesn't mean that he doesn't know what he's doing. Bringing something like that up is just grasping at straws. I don't see much difference from complaining that he has too little hair or wear the wrong clothes to the games.

Sorry, but those arguments of yours sound one-eyed, as from someone who has decided they don't like someone (possibly because of the scandals outside the field which of course was clumsy of Sven, but doesn't mean he doesn't know how to coach) and no matter what they do on the actual job you'll still find the negative angle in everything.

It's definately for the best that Sven goes to coach a team where his actual skills will be more appreciated. I think we can agree on that, at least.

 

[Raven]

idiots like u are completely clueless, as if the average english person knows better than sven about tactics and the use of his own players, was exactly like the post match commentators, they were just completely laying into sven, but none of em are better managers than he is.

and his win ratio is better than any previous england manager for years and years, and still u diss him.

yes because playing the long ball to a lone striker when you have some of the best players in the world at passing it around the 3rd quarter of the pitch is really good tactics....

 

[Ormorof]

1-0 against a crap team, you really think that sort of playstyle would work vs anyone good? sven is quiting after the world cup, he couldnt give a shit whether we win or not (not that he did before) you can see when we concede a goal he just sits there, when we score a goal he just sits there, the man is a joke.

a crap team that beat both brazil and argentina?

 

[Levin]

yes because playing the long ball to a lone striker when you have some of the best players in the world at passing it around the 3rd quarter of the pitch is really good tactics....

I think the thought was that Cole would take a few steps up as an offensive midfielder and link the midfield to Crouch to give him support. Everything isn't black and white you know.

 

[griralith]

why is crouch even on the team?.... just a sack of very long bones. when i see him play it reminds me of a elephant in a glassstore.... total misplaced. hope Rooney gets back or England are DOOOOOMED

 

[[NO]Subedai]

raven was never known for having a very big brain

 

[Raven]

whats the size of a brain got to do with intelligence? the playground insults just go to show what an idiot you are.


the players spent a good part of the 2nd half not knowing what the hell they are supposed to be doing, he brings on downing, who in all honesty shouldnt even be in the squad. he had wilcott (a perfect rep for owen) why not bring him on? its pointless having five in midfield and then playing the long ball to a striker who doesnt work best on his own, crouch needs a partner up front otherwise he is useless. the 2nd half we just fell apart and it was only down to some very good defending and goal keeping we didnt concede a goal, we got eaten alive up front.

the whole game we played as if we werent really there, partly down to heat and partly down to some really odd decisions by sven

 

[Levin]

Seven straight wins for England in international games. Finally a win in the opening game, which is only the second time in the last 10 great tournaments. And you still slag him off and call him a joke... what will it take? Seriously? Do you expect everything to be absolutely flawless? Wouldn't be much of a sport then, eh? Wouldn't it be nice to magically know how things would have turned out if Sven would have coached differently? Come back with your bashing if they start losing. Whining while on a winning streak just seems narrowminded.

It's fine to have your opinions about the coaching during a game, but at least have the decency to admit that under Sven, England has had some pretty remarkable results as mentioned above. I'd like to see any coach being able to please all the millions of self-proclaimed experts in all the homes all over the world, with their own personal choices and favourite players they want to see in the team.

Cut the guy some slack. You've sacked him, and he still does his job to the best of his ability until his contract runs out. Your talk about him not caring about the results is just another insult that he has to suffer until he can finally get away from one of the most ungrateful football nations in the world. I pity whoever gets the job after Sven. I used to root for England, but knowing that you wouldn't give Sven any credit whatsoever if you do win, i really don't know anymore. It's at least nice to see some Englishmen still seem to appreciate a win versus a loss. Those are probably the people for whom Sven and the team are playing for.

Finally.. sorry about the ranting. It just makes me want to puke when i see so much hate for a guy who's just a human being and who's actually being successful at what he's been hired for.

 

[- English -]

im glad svens leaving, but if we do win, ill praise the players, not sven

 

[Raven]

i am sure sven is an excellent manager, however, the english team need a manager that thinks english football, a backs to the wall mentality, its nothing personal against sven but he just doesnt understand english football, he never has, sure we have won games under him, we have done very well. the problem is when we start to play badly he just sits there plain faced then starts making desperate decisions. i wish him well in his next job, i am sure the £8 million+ (or however much) he has earned will see him ok.
english football isnt always about just winning games 1:0, we leave that to the Europeans.

 

[Ormorof]

i am sure sven is an excellent manager, however, the english team need a manager that thinks english football, a backs to the wall mentality, its nothing personal against sven but he just doesnt understand english football, he never has, sure we have won games under him, we have done very well. the problem is when we start to play badly he just sits there plain faced then starts making desperate decisions. i wish him well in his next job, i am sure the £8 million+ (or however much) he has earned will see him ok.
english football isnt always about just winning games 1:0, we leave that to the Europeans.

so you'd rather play english football and loose?

 

[Tasslehoff]

english football isnt always about just winning games 1:0, we leave that to the Europeans.

Yeah English football is so much more like South American football, fack all the europeans, they play boring football...!

If that is the general attitude of the english people you seriously don't know what english football is. I love english football, but it's not samba and it's very european-like.

 

[Ctuchik]

yep i like the poem at the start, then we scored in the first few minutes and i thought yeah, this is our year! then svens tactics kicked in

hey! atleast u didnt score 0-0 against T&T like us swedes did

 

[Corran]

Yeah English football is so much more like South American football, fack all the europeans, they play boring football...!

If that is the general attitude of the english people you seriously don't know what english football is. I love english football, but it's not samba and it's very european-like.

English football is a mixture of styles and it has developed to be like both european and south american but neither one or the other.

England has always had a strong defencive backbone, that is why we get away with the 1:0 wins often, that is very european in alot of ways. Well more to the point that is very Italian league!

But then as you move up to the midfield you begin to see the flow towards a south american, silky style of play with the likes of Joe Cole etc, and yet these are players that also rely on power and strength which the brazilians etc do not actually have because they can rely on pure skill.

The thing is, Sven is often happy with just getting the goal and settling into a position of defence. His tactical changes often show this. Yes the players may have started to slow down but the heat etc forced that on them. If he stuck someone upfront with Crouch then they would have had someone fresh for making runs and pressing an attack. Instead he allowed the team to drop off constantly, settling theirselfs a good 20yards further back then had been most the game.

And Para aint a bad team, but they are a team which we are expected to beat, they are not a team with a massive ability to score goals. However, if we try and play the same way against someone like Brazil then we will end the game in tears. Only so many chances you get against them.

And Levin, yes I have made a decision about him, I give credit where it is due to him however his decisions in many games have been dubious and have previously cost us. Hell he made some decisions with team selection that left me wondering what he up to. Why take a player that has never even played a prem level game to the world cup and leave teh likes of Defoe behind. Someone that would have been a great replacement for Owen when he came off.

 

[Thadius]

Im gonna stick up for sven here.

The time he has been in charge, we have lost 4 games in major tournaments.

France in 2004, Portugal on penalties, NI(that was a joke, but credit to the irish) and Brazil in 2002(who went on to win)

In that time, we spanked Germany 5-1, Got revenge over Argentina and Turkey, Qualified for every tournament, reached quarter-finals in every tournament.

All in all, he has been a sucess, even if we didnt win anything

 

[Lethul]

hey! atleast u didnt score 0-0 against T&T like us swedes did

so many moviestars in football games

 

[Phooka]

Sven is a good coach..
But Offense is still the best defence!!!! I have seen it alot of times in Holland games where they started too defend with a 2-0 lead and end up biting the dust.. And apart from that it makes the match friggin dull too watch..

On the other hand it is a tournement, defending is less tiresome then offence and this is only the first match And what fukking coach whohas the oppertunity too coach the england team DOES NOT WANT TOO WIN? Stoopid too claim by he doesnt care for the england team because he is not emotional :S Emotions get in the way, as a coach you need too see things in perspective, its a job, be glad he is serious and not some emo tard about too make a dick out of himself and gets send off too the stands.

I hate unatractive foottie but if you want energy you need versus stronger teams its stoopid too waste it.