When Will They Stop Blaming Arsenal?

[gunnerdude11]

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=408881&cc=5901

Although this is not anything we haven't heard before, this one by Venables has struck a chord with myself. When will high ranking England officials stop blaming Arsenal (et al) for its international woes? I'm getting pretty sick of these cnuts trying to point the blame towards everyone but the one's who should get it. You know why England didn't do well in the World Cup last year? Its because they couldn't become a cohesive unit for ONE MONTH. Pound for Pound, England probably has the best players on the planet, but when the competitions role around.....This game is about winning, not about making sure the domestic properly feeds a drab international.

[Bluto11]

i've come to the realization that the england squad just isn't that good

[SLO-Gunner]

Pound for Pound, England probably has the best players on the planet,


Hype for hype maybe.......

[Rewinder]

Hype for hype maybe.......

Exactly. Even the englishmen who do get a chance at big clubs aren't exactly lighting the place on fire.

[Realwood]

Maybe they shouldn't be idiots and start Bentley on the right, than they can thank us.

[flyerhawk]

Yeah it's all Arsenal's fault.

It's Arsenal's fault that teams like Aston Villa wildy overspend for English players simply because they're English.

It's Arsenal's fault that most of the top English players don't give a fig about the national team except during the World Cup and Euro Cup and thus never build any cohesion.

It's Arsenal's fault that the other 191 clubs in England are unable to develop English talent. Apparently Arsenal has the only academy worth going to in English(which I find a highly amusing claim given past claims)

It's Arsenal's fault that the FA had the stunning brilliance to hire on as manager an assistant coach of a failed regime that they just let go.

That's right, boys. It's all our fault. Perhaps the board should stop worrying so much about winning and start worrying a little more about helping out the national side.

[CRASH 4 ARSENAL]

I think Mr Wenger's eye for talent is above reproach at this point. If he isn't spotting much great young talent in his own backyard it is not Arsenal's fault. Or problem.

If England was full of Cescs, Denilsons, and Diabys, Wenger would be trying to sign them. See Walcott, Theo for proof.

[GriffinGunner]

The recruitment of foreign players should, in theory, be raising the standards by which the local academy prospects must be playing. You're supposed to want to compete amongst the best, not just the British. You cannot tell me that so many of the roster spots on every pro team in England are so full of foreign talent that they can't find 20 or so top-level Englishman to fill a national side. And it's not even as if England has been missing the World Cup finals or anything.

Try building a cohesive unit and then inspiring them, rather than relying on your English-ness to guarantee international success.

[VaVaVoomTiti]

i've come to the realization that the england squad just isn't that good

THE ENGLAND SQUAD is above average at best...Players are considered world class by the Media only...Management is AWFUL...Hmm, let's try to play Gerrard and Lampard together again...This is a running joke...Would Venables (idiot) prefer for Arsenal to spend GBP 25M on Wright Phillips or GBP 20M on Carrick, fringe players at best on an above-average nat'l side...AW has fielded an entire lineup that cost less then that this season...

[KevTheGooner]

i've come to the realization that the england squad just isn't that good

I've always felt the squad is good but they've not been well coached.

[CescMate]

It's definitely not Arsenal's fault in any way. It's simply that there are no English coaches at the top clubs. Wenger manages to find room for numerous French prospects/players, Rafa manages to find room for numerous Spanish players/prospects, and Mourinho manages to find room for numerous Portuguese players/prospects. The English managers in the game aren't currently at the big clubs.

That coupled (more importantly) with an extremely incompetent FA. Maccarone summed it up best when he said "only in England" with reference to the ever-smiling turnip.

[KevTheGooner]

Also, making it to the round of 16 and/or the quarter-finals in the WC on a regular basis is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. If they think England are bad, try rooting for the US :o

[CescMate]

Also, making it to the round of 16 and/or the quarter-finals in the WC on a regular basis is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. If they think England are bad, try rooting for the US :o

Exactly, expectations are too high. No you won't win every game and it's foolish to expect so. Spain have yet to win the WC and no one is doubting the caliber of their players. The result against Spain wasn't awful in the scheme of things but the performance and tactics employed (Phil Neville anyone) were dreadful.

You wouldn't expect Venables to sit back and not attempt to justify/defend the performances.

[deaner1971]

I just don't understand the complaint. Are they actually saying that there are players out there who immediately become world-class when they put on the kit of one of the top four?

They are more than welcome to call up Theo and Hoyte. If they chose not to, then good enough for England and good enough for England are not one in the same.

This is all a smoke screen to allow blame to be somewhere other than where it belongs: on the shoulders of the players and coaching staff of the national side. Imagine if that team lost Rooney long-term. Would they honestly match up with the best in the world?

I know there is a desire to contantly assume that if England doesn't dominate, there is someone to blame. In reality, this generation has just not shown itself to be cut from 1966 cloth. No matter how much the press wants to hype to the contrary.

[Miles Brasher]

To some extent Venables is right to say what he says. McClaren is getting a right doing from the press, and it's certainly not all his fault. By hitting out, Venables is trying to deflect some of the snipping from his boss, and is simply doing a part of his job.

The problem is that although the 1st 11 is pretty good

Neville, Ferdinand Terry Cole

Gerrard Hargreaves Lampard Cole

Rooney Owen

the backups quickly drop away in quality

We really only have 2 top strikers. There's not a lot of pace about them either in attack if we lose Owen, which happens weekly. The only place we're strong is central defence.

Is Wenger to blame ? Well, he's certainly biased away from English players, but he has good reasons, price, wages, availability, attitude, these are all issues with English players that seem not be so much of a problem with foreigners. Would I do the same thing in his place? Well, I don't know the total facts that he does, but I suspect I wouldn't be far off.

[PsychedelicCeltic]

The current situation is that Arsenal haven't got the money to pay the wildly inflated prices for English talent, and the English talent isn't that good anyway. Steve Sidwell's the only Arsenal reject who would get a sniff at the club and he's showing the proper English attitude by leaving a club who may well be playing in Europe to go to Aston Villa because it's more money for him.

[surfcam]

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=408881&cc=5901

Although this is not anything we haven't heard before, this one by Venables has struck a chord with myself. When will high ranking England officials stop blaming Arsenal (et al) for its international woes? I'm getting pretty sick of these cnuts trying to point the blame towards everyone but the one's who should get it. You know why England didn't do well in the World Cup last year? Its because they couldn't become a cohesive unit for ONE MONTH. Pound for Pound, England probably has the best players on the planet, but when the competitions role around.....This game is about winning, not about making sure the domestic properly feeds a drab international.

I see the current England squad like the American Ryder Cup team. They are some of the highest ranked and paid individuals, but they're unable to work together as a team. The worst part is that Chelsea and ManU have a number of England players, so they should have an advantge because they are used to playing with one another.

Arsenal have nothing to do with the teams inablilty to come togther as a cohesive unit.

[DaPrince84]

It's definitely not Arsenal's fault in any way. It's simply that there are no English coaches at the top clubs. Wenger manages to find room for numerous French prospects/players, Rafa manages to find room for numerous Spanish players/prospects, and Mourinho manages to find room for numerous Portuguese players/prospects. The English managers in the game aren't currently at the big clubs.

That coupled (more importantly) with an extremely incompetent FA. Maccarone summed it up best when he said "only in England" with reference to the ever-smiling turnip.
thts just not true... English players are not that good when it comes to their counterparts... its not any of the Big 4s fault that they aren't... stick that with poor coaching, the FA being a mess, and you see why England has not been as good as the media hypes them up as...

Wenger, Benitez, Mourinho, and Fergie would buy English guys by the pound if they were worth it... instead average guys have a 10 million dollar price tag attached to them, while the uber talents in other countries could be had for pennies...

[GriffinGunner]

Is Wenger to blame ? Well, he's certainly biased away from English players, but he has good reasons, price, wages, availability, attitude, these are all issues with English players that seem not be so much of a problem with foreigners. Would I do the same thing in his place? Well, I don't know the total facts that he does, but I suspect I wouldn't be far off.

You go on to qualify your statement but I think it fairer and more correct to simply say Wenger is biased away from overpriced players. He's openly confessed to interest in several Englishmen but isn't going to buy anyeone who can't help the side or comes at too steep a price tag.

Just so no one thinks exclusively of the line "biased away from English players."

[GriffinGunner]

Hey, Spain and Holland have never won a World Cup! Clearly Real Madrid and Ajax are detriments to their respective national sides! C'mon professional clubs, get your priorities straight!


:rolleyes: