Doom and gloom for Euro 2012

Reading a bit on a few forums I get the impression yer average England supporter is a bit down on our chances in Polkraine come the summertime, i too wasn't planning on having me wad on Harry's or whoever's boys pulling off the biggun, but then I was mulling over the state of play ref young pacey attackers, an area I feel is vital in modern tournament football, you have got to jolly the opposition up a bit or they will just snuff you out.

The list I came up with to fill the two positions which might be available was in no particular order :-

Ashley Young.
Theo Walcott.
Oxtail Chamberlain.
Adam Johnson.
Aaron Lennon.
Daniel Sturridge.
Scott Sinclair.
Nat Dyer.
Matt Jarvis.
Stuart Downing.
Jermaine Pennant.
Pilkington.

The last four maybe not quite so sharp but decent crossers of a ball and none of them really screaming world class, but who in Europe really does in this position ?

All I am saying is that Shirley there must be something for the new guy to work with there ?

Lord Tisdale wrote:

Reading a bit on a few forums I get the impression yer average England supporter is a bit down on our chances in Polkraine come the summertime, i too wasn't planning on having me wad on Harry's or whoever's boys pulling off the biggun, but then I was mulling over the state of play ref young pacey attackers, an area I feel is vital in modern tournament football, you have got to jolly the opposition up a bit or they will just snuff you out.

The list I came up with to fill the two positions which might be available was in no particular order :-

Ashley Young.
Theo Walcott.
Oxtail Chamberlain.
Adam Johnson.
Aaron Lennon.
Daniel Sturridge.
Scott Sinclair.
Nat Dyer.
Matt Jarvis.
Stuart Downing.
Jermaine Pennant.
Pilkington.

The last four maybe not quite so sharp but decent crossers of a ball and none of them really screaming world class, but who in Europe really does in this position ?

All I am saying is that Shirley there must be something for the new guy to work with there ?

Ashley Young deserves his chance in goal. Also, I see you have Pilkington down as sub. Whilst on the subject; why only one sub, and not 7?

Perhaps if the media stop labelling average players as world class ones expectations will match the competancy of the standard of play.

Looking forward to the usual - 'england going to win the tournament after the firs tgame then bounced out in controversial circumstances in the quarter finals' as usual

There'll be the usual pre-tournament over hyping of England by the press and pundintry. There'll be the usual expectation, the flags will be out and the songs in the charts. Then the tournament begins and the reality will be yet again that England are and always will be a poor international side.

I will be enjoying the games on the whole, the trouble with most fans is that their expectations are too high. Why should we be in a position to automatically win any European or World championship? It is the same with people that won't accept that Argyle will always struggle to be a Premiership side, it may happen one day but I am not going to not watch us because we haven't managed it. Back to the Euro's and a top 4 finish would be a good result with a young side (I hope whoever comes in to manage bins all the old prima donna's) and the finals would be amazing. Another tip to help you enjoy your internationals is to avoid the Premiership and all newspapers.

Freathy wrote:

There'll be the usual pre-tournament over hyping of England by the press and pundintry. There'll be the usual expectation, the flags will be out and the songs in the charts. Then the tournament begins and the reality will be yet again that England are and always will be a poor international side.

Agree with your assessment of the next 5 months, but nothing is permanent if the right course of action is undertaken. At the last count England had something like 2-3000 fully qualified coaches amongst a population of 50 odd million compared to much higher figures for the rest of Europe.

Link - Guardian - Football Coaches

That is just one example where our focus (and money) on the Premiership does the National team no favours.

It's not just football. The highest grossing tennis tournament in the world is Wimbledon, the highest charges for watching cricket are at Lords and the most expensive place to watch rugby is Twickenham. Yet in all these sports we have under-performed, apart from one rugby world cup win and the last 2-3 years at Test cricket.

I don't know the answer but maybe, as in society, the happiest nations are those with the smallest gap between the very rich and the very poor. I would hazard a guess that a fairer redistribution of income would be one part of the answer.

Iggy wrote:

I will be enjoying the games on the whole, the trouble with most fans is that their expectations are too high. Why should we be in a position to automatically win any European or World championship? It is the same with people that won't accept that Argyle will always struggle to be a Premiership side, it may happen one day but I am not going to not watch us because we haven't managed it. Back to the Euro's and a top 4 finish would be a good result with a young side (I hope whoever comes in to manage bins all the old prima donna's) and the finals would be amazing. Another tip to help you enjoy your internationals is to avoid the Premiership and all newspapers.

You're not wrong. I haven't watched a MOTD or England International (non tournament) for years. It was only at the last World Cup that I realised Michael Dawson was white and Tom Huddlestone black. I used to countdown the number of tournaments I had left in me now I just enjoy the spectacle and fully expect us to be home before the semi-finals.

Enjoy Life wrote:

Iggy wrote:

I will be enjoying the games on the whole, the trouble with most fans is that their expectations are too high. Why should we be in a position to automatically win any European or World championship? It is the same with people that won't accept that Argyle will always struggle to be a Premiership side, it may happen one day but I am not going to not watch us because we haven't managed it. Back to the Euro's and a top 4 finish would be a good result with a young side (I hope whoever comes in to manage bins all the old prima donna's) and the finals would be amazing. Another tip to help you enjoy your internationals is to avoid the Premiership and all newspapers.

You're not wrong. I haven't watched a MOTD or England International (non tournament) for years. It was only at the last World Cup that I realised Michael Dawson was white and Tom Huddlestone black. I used to countdown the number of tournaments I had left in me now I just enjoy the spectacle and fully expect us to be home before the semi-finals.

When I watch MOTD it is like I am watching a different sport, it almost epitomises everything that is wrong with the country today with the rampant capitalism, gone are the days when you judged a man or woman by their actions, more by the cost of their car, size of their house or the label on their jeans. In the prem. chequebooks now outweigh the number of fans who support the team, 'tis all wrong and cannot carry on like this forever.