Congrats Sven - Clubhouse - Runner's World

Snoop Dogg

16/10/2002 at 23:08

Memories of the World Cup qualifying games tonite.

What is is about England when they play at home in qualifying games against?

Snoop Dogg

16/10/2002 at 23:10

moderate opposition?

Or is it Sven's diversionery tactics that we deliberately play badly, so the headlines are about the footy instead of Ulrika?

Snoop Dogg

16/10/2002 at 23:11

Thank God we can forget about it now until March and get back to the Premiership.

BeerBellyBlues

16/10/2002 at 23:12

Macedonia!

Greece!

Germany!

Whats your worst ever memory of England?

Snoop Dogg

17/10/2002 at 09:57

Well, since you ask, we have been underwhelmed by their preformance on so many occasions now, I think we have come to expect this level of incompetance.

Those matches, when they do sparkle, are like jewels, Holland in '96, and Genrmany in '01 spring to mind, but they are so rare.

It is a collective thing as well, all parts of the team have these dreadful performances, but we tend to remember:-

Waddle and Pearce's penalty misses in '90 v Germany.

Southgate's penalty miss in '96 ve Germany.

Bex being sent off in '98 v. Argentina

Neville's last minute penalty give away in Euro 2000

Seaman's 'goal' v Brazil on '02

Seaman's 'goal' v Macedonia will go down in this category as well.

These incidents are painful at the time, but appear funny in hindsight. However, whilst the individual howlers are remembered, it is also accompanied usually by a team failure, and England put up far too many collective failures for my liking.

Anyway, good riddance to international football for a few months, let's get back to club football and some quality play.

SlowJo Rodriguez

17/10/2002 at 10:04

Snoop

So, Seaman responsible for the first goal, Campbell for the second .... what's the common link?

At least Smith waited until the last minute before he got sent off.

SR ;¬)

Snoop Dogg

17/10/2002 at 10:17

Hi Slowpoke, I wondered where you'd been hiding out since your confident prediction re. Leeds destroying the lads from Highbury!!

The saving grace, for me anyhow, in respect of last night's awful performance is that Seaman saves his howlers these days for England games, where there is no real competition for him from other goalkeepers.

He wouldn't dare (and doesn't) commit them in club games.

To return to the issue, however, as I said, this was yet another abject team performance, Owen & Smith included. Perhaps only Bex could be said to have performed well on the night.

Snoop Dogg

17/10/2002 at 10:18

;¬)

Dragon Breath

17/10/2002 at 10:21

Not being in any fit condition to gloat but doing it anyway. I enjoyed last nights football no end. What made it even better was getting to see the last few minutes of the England game afterwards. There is a God and his name is Mark Hughes.

SlowJo Rodriguez

17/10/2002 at 10:38

Snoop

Though deeply biased, I thought Woodgate had an alright game - better than Campbell anyway.

Beckham was good - though straying over onto the left far too much for my liking. There was one move towards the end where he passed it out to Smith who was on the right (!), who then crossed it in from the right. Surely that's what Beckham should be doing - and Smith as a centre forward, should be on the receiving end.

Perhaps when Sven has a less hectic private life, he can sort the team out a little better?

SR

Snoop Dogg

17/10/2002 at 10:54

Hi DB - on the matter of Wales, well, I was watching the other game, but I hear that Giggsy actually turned up, for once.

Was this a good Welsh performance, and did Giggs make the difference?

Or was it the tempermental Latins having another of their awaydays. They seem to be like England these days, the players can turn it on for their club, but not their country.

On the matter of Sven, well, isn't it about time he got a private life instead of courting the headlines as an international Lothario, then maybe as you say, we might see an improvement in the country's playing fortunes - am I being too harsh?

SlowJo Rodriguez

17/10/2002 at 11:03

No, not too harsh. God knows what they see in him - but he clearly has a taste for drag queens ...

Greeny.

17/10/2002 at 11:07

Snoop – being an honourary Welsh git, I was at the Wales game last night, and I have to say that Wales played really well as a team – good one touch passing, good width and Savage was very impressive. Giggs was ok, nothing outstanding though.
I’m gutted about England especially as I’m surrounded by people at the moment who are ever so slightly smug.

Ooh, SR is here, better go....

Barkles

17/10/2002 at 11:08

Yup, the Taffy's done good.

Mike S

17/10/2002 at 11:09

Snoop - you clearly don't watch too many Arsenal games then. At least, not the ones where Seaman makes an @rse of himself there as well (thinking of Zola, Farrelly in the last couple of months or so....)

Seaman's bottle clearly went after that goal last night & the jitters seemed to spread through the whole back line everytime Macedonia got into our half.

Bridge was doing fine & the crosses he was providing from the left disappeared completely once he got taken off. Very questionable call by Sven, who is starting to look a less accomplished tactician than everyone previously thought.
Vassell did fine & should have replaced Smith, well though he played. Smith's face after seeing yellow & tangling with another Macedonian just afterwards made it quite clear he was beginning to lose it. Got the impression Beckham wasn't too far behind him in that respect also.
A cr*p result, but there's a long way to go, and there were some odd results around last night. Imagine the tabloid reception to our only beating the Faroes 2-1 for example...

Gavo

17/10/2002 at 11:11

International footy generally bores me & I'm glad that I've missed the last 2 England games. Outside of occasional games like vs Argentina in the summer, I'd much rather watch club football. At least the highlights of the Wales game were exciting - they at least had players who were up for it.

Mike S

17/10/2002 at 11:22

You shouldn't have been bored last night Gavo - more than anything else, last night's England game resembled a club (Premiership) encounter. In other words, a poor standard technically; both sides losing possession with ridiculous frequency, and lots of end-to-end excitement.

Dustin

17/10/2002 at 11:22

Firstly well done Wales, especially Mark Hughes who is finally getting something resembling a team together (rather than individuals).

England, disappointing,yes, but we beat Leichenstein and Turkey we top the group next spring.
Seaman, howler, but as the Beeb commentary team pointed out there is no-one pushing him.
Campbell unlucky but I place greater emphasis on the tackling inability of the midfield : Beckham and Gerrard very guilty.
Bridge unlucky to be subbed, think him and Cole mixed well together AND he is a left footer which is n advantage.
Smith very unlucky, by far the most active forward,Becks - although motivational - should have gone for two or three two footed over the top tackles (not to mention the arseing around on throws.

Lastly (I'll be in a minority here) another good game for Neville,G, tackles in, forward play good, doesn't put a foot wrong.

Early days yet...

Mike S

17/10/2002 at 11:32

...mostly agree with that Dustin.

Next year, April 2nd - England v Turkey & Yugoslavia v Wales. Two huge clashes. When do Scotland play Germany?

I note that (for once) no-one is noisily proclaiming their allegiance to the Republic of Ireland....

Legless

17/10/2002 at 11:47

lets face it- what have England achieved in the last year?
we hung on against the Argies
Demark let us win
We lost to the worst Brazil side I have ever seen.
we were crap last night and on Sat.
Sven takes off one of our best performers on the night(bridge), and hasnt got the bottle to do what is a humane and decent thing to do-put seaman out to grass-he is passed it now-once a keepers feet go(ie cannot get into possition)thats him for the knackers yard(I speak from experience).
Well done the Welsh.