in a sense he (thriker) is right ... English media made England NT look better then they truely are = more pressure LOL
I think the English players put too much pressure on themselves, and as a consequence are often paralysed by a fear of failure. Comments from players during tournaments often make you think they are concerned above all else about excessive media criticism. The result of it all is a string of England performances akin to watching a small child carrying a tray of drinks, with every step infused with undue trepidation.
And it's not "not winning" that's the pressure. Hardly anyone tips England to win, ever, despite the uncontrolled wildfire of belief to the contrary that clearly exists outside England. The pressure is around trying to avoid a shambolic failure, or being hounded as the national scapegoat as the one player whose mistake dumped England out.
You're going to have to excuse me here with all due respect, although I may (or perhaps not) understand what you're getting at here, I'm struggling to convince myself that it's totally relevant. For football purposes, England is England, end of. It matters not that the actual sovereign nation is the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland. For football purposes, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland (who may very well leave the UK anyway if Alex Salmond gets his way) do not count. They all have their own leagues, so in football terms operate like sovereign nations in their own right. England still has a bigger pool of registered players than most nations and the only players they lose to RoI are the likes of Townsend and McAteer who were never good enough for England anyway. Having said that, losing players to Ireland is irrelevant as all national teams can lose players to other nations - Brazil probably have the biggest claim in this regard losing genuine talent like Deco, Pepe, Liedson, Diego Costa, Senna etc to other nations. In any case Northern Ireland and Scotland are sheight and Wales have probably had about 4 players in the last 15 years that are/were good enough to play for England. The question was "Is England a World Power in Soccer?" - not "is the United Kingdom..."
You're talking solely about the national team's quality today, right? Because if it's historically, I mean no disrespect, but England has always been much more respected and traditional in the sport than Spain. Untill 2010, the football world was indifferent to Spain. Their best campaign till them was a fourth place in 1950. I'd say that even the Netherlands, which has no world cup titles, is more respected than Spain, because it has always been competitive in the international scene, has built some memorable squads and played some epic matches throughout the history. To put Spain in the same league of Brazil and Germany is kinda insane.
The problem with England is that they are treated like royalties like celebrites and rock stars. Even though they havent come close to winning the world cup in over 50years the media haunts them everywhere they go. I think in their minds the players feel they are stars and great players as well with all the attention. England players need to humble themselves and realize they are on the Level of Ecuador, Ghana, USA, Mexico and that they have to work hard to achieve anything. The players and even the FA think they are part of the worlds best and they would answer this poll with a big yes. Once they realize their limitations maybe they can start building a strategy to change their level of talent. []__[]
I'm talking present day whilst appreciating the past. England have done nothing for over 20 years and have only ever won 1 major title - which was nearly 50 years ago. Spain have 4 titles, 3 of them recent. They are a world power. Germany and Brazil need no explanation. Read my post again and you'll realise that I didn't state (or deny) that Spain were in the same league as Germany or Brazil. All 3 are miles ahead of England regardless of where they stand in relation to each other.
England has a wonderful following and when it comes to a country that lives and breathes football, England has to be near the top of that list. The EPL is arguably the most popular league in the world. When it comes to the national stage, England is very competitive but not really a "power".
England are not a world power in football.. They will not get humbled by the top nations, they will compete but they certainly wont be playing good football because they dont have the players.. the midfield is a joke.. Carrick gerrard milner etc hardly likely to strike fear into opponents.. And the least said about rooney the better - the last time he played well for england was euro 2004 -overrated beyond belief. Yet people call him world class !! The sad thing is he could end up as englands all time top scorer.. Look at englands so called "golden generation" - scholes beckham lampard gerrard- they werent a bad team but they definitely werent golden.. Not on the same technical level as other nations and its the same now... .. How many england players play for chelsea,man city, arsenal etc every week ? Most english players in those teams are squad players yet when we get to june and the world cup all the english players will be "tired" after a long season ! .. Yet all the foreign players that make up the premiership and play week in week out will be fresh as daisies ! It makes no sense at all.. And to top it all off we have the likable but dull dinosaur of a manager roy hodgson in charge of our hopes.. Sorry for the rant !! Im english but i cant stand english football
A poor post.. Im just being honest..maybe i worded it wrong but england have disappointed for years.. Rooney has not gone on to realise the potential he had..scholes was poor at international level the majority of the time.. And i stand by what i said.. England get shown up technically even by the so called smaller nations...the golden generation were a complete let down
A really poor post?.. Maybe i could have worded it better..but i stand by what i say.. England have disappointed for years.. Rooney never realised the potential he had.. Scholes never performed for the majority of his england career.. Listen..world class players do it on the world stage.. England get technically outplayed by so called smaller nations.. Im sorry but theres not one english player who would get in a world XI..
I see what you meant ... but I think many might expect a bit a lot ... toward England NT I agree that they no longer have many worldclass in their starting XI but overall they are not as bad as their names sound, depends on the coach to bring the best out of them ... the youngsters ... in Wilshere, Chamberlain, Wellbeck, Sturridge , Tom Cleverland, Sterling, Walcott , Joe Hart ... Along With Rooney, Carrick, Leighton Baines, Johnson to be a good team. Will they be a srtong team to win WC? NO, and like they were not since last 66 (50years ago)
I stand by what i said.. English players are ok when they are surrounded by the quality imports at club level and absolutely shocking playing together at international level. Rooney is perhaps the most overrated player i ve known..not a bad player..just decent and average.. No english player would get in a world Xi
in general I agree with you ... however in term of "all time XI" Bobby Charlton and Bobby Moore would have a skim chance there ... or at least in the reserve
I think english players should go abroad to play their club football ..spain italy etc and learn the game from a different perspective... International football is completely different to the premier league..the foreign players that play in england like silva, toure, oscar etc have experienced two types of football and its no coincidence they are more technically gifted than the english..
Thta's true ... Either that or English football gotta changed the way they train and develop their players (inside leagues) the ball is playing ON GROUND and so player needs "techniques" to control it
That would mean Uruguay is on the same level as Brazil, Italy and Germany. It's right when you say that England and Netherlands have been historically more respected than Spain but they were not coming from nowhere in 2010. Spain's overall quality was charging insane between 2006 and 2007. They were in fact one of the favorites to win the European Championship 2008. And that is where the great era has started. Since then, they did win all the upcoming, important titles by dominating every team. Now it's 2014 and they are still on top of the world. Can't say that England has had a close run to nowadays Spain. Spain wasn't steady over the years, but they have already written a far better history than England ever was.
That would mean Uruguay is on the same level as Brazil, Italy and Germany. It's right when you say that England and Netherlands have been historically more respected than Spain but they were not coming from nowhere in 2010. Spain's overall quality was charging insane between 2006 and 2007. They were in fact one of the favorites to win the European Championship 2008. And that is where the great era has started. Since then, they did win all the upcoming, important titles by dominating every team. Now it's 2014 and they are still on top of the world. Can't say that England has had a close run to nowadays Spain. Spain wasn't steady over the years, but they have already written a far better history than England ever was.