[Closed] Engerland, all time low ticket sales?

What is happening tonight?

This is dull - jesus. Did the crowd know it would be so didn't bother turning up?
All that possession and nothing to show for it.
Rashford only player doing anything. Sterling is just shit.
Could do with a Slovenia goal to liven it up 😉

it is a waste of time and money. simple.

just checked on soccerway,..it's nil nil nearing half-time...yawn!

We haven't had a decent England side since 1996,..over 20 years!

Binners no doubt starting to fancy his chances of a 0-0 scoteline, but a scrambled goal by Cahill in the 87th min will ruin his night!

Who are England playing again?

I assume they'll get a scrappy 1-0 against some country that didn't even exist 25 years ago.

Then trot out the usual banalities.

"They were well organized"

"Difficult to break down"

"It's not the performance we would have liked, but it's still a win"

"They came here not to lose, so the game wasn't the most attractive"

Yawn, yawn, yawn, yawn.

The fans leave underwhelmed, the players jump in their Lamborghinis and piss off back to their mansions and look forward to getting back to their club.

Colossal waste of time.

Just checked the score. What a massive surprise?!

Don't tell me.... sideways/sideways/backwards? Have they started just aimlessly hoofing hopelessly optimistic long balls yet? Or are they leaving that until people start actually falling asleep?

Have just put a cheeky bet on Slovenia nicking a 1-0

Have they started just hoofing hopelessly optimistic long balls yet?

That would be better than the so-called (and very popular with England) diagonal ball.

A speculative woft that is neither a cross, nor route 1. Played with just the right angle and lack of pace that makes it nigh on impossible to do anything with as an attacker and virtually impossible to balls up if you're defending.

The 'diagonal' is, for me, the ultimate mark of a team that doesn't know what it wants. Like ordering chicken in a restaurant. It's admitting you haven't got the skill to go though the middle on the ground, haven't got that pace to go around defenders out wide and whip in crosses and haven't got the sheer determination and physical players just to go route 1.

thing is as it stands were about to qualify for the world cup , in a game where we have created 2 chances and looked devoid of inspiration or spark .
Rashford is going to be great

#Pray4Doris

Rashford is [b]going to be great[/b]

How many England players have we heard that particular prediction about?...

Ah, well, something to make the scots happy 🙂

Rashford will be great , Kane is great ...did you see that finish !!!!

Will the score line make it to the front page of the Flailing Whail in the morning, y’no to boost its subterranean ratings?

Let’s see shall we.

about to qualify for the world cup

And do really, really shit when 'we' get there.

The last football match I remember watching was Germany dissecting Brazil in the last World Cup.

Watch that game on YouTube or wherever and try to imagine England playing like that.

Simply not possible. And that Brazil team would have still dicked on England.

Funnily enough a ball nearly hit Cahill in the 87th min in the box, but of course it was Kane wot won it! Bad luck Binners, you’ve proved yet again that you’re shit at this betting business! 🙂

Best leave the gambling to Mrs Binners....

Afraid the club game - the top European leagues and the Champions League, maybe even the Europa League - is of a higher standard than international football. I know what I'd rather watch.

And England have no divine right to swat aside Johnny Foreigner, which seems to be the underlying theme of this thread

Now we wait to find out if Doris had already headed for the exit along with most of the rest of the England fans and missed the goal... 🙂

It's not about some divine right or the out of date arrogant English argument. It's about England's place in the pecking order of world football . At the moment we're unbeaten in 38 qualifiers yet there isn't one England fan I assume who thinks we're going to win the World Cup or even make an impact .
But with the players we have , certainly against the standard of teams we play in qualifying we should be beating these teams with a bit of flare and entertainment for the fans .

Shocking

The players are over-rated. With the exception of Kane, very few are absolutely critical to the performance of their club side. The top players at Premier League clubs are all foreign.

Seems I lacked faith that 'the Lions' would put on a footballing masterclass against those titans of international football Slovenia

Could have been worse I suppose. I could have had to watch it! 🙂

Oh.... and Rashford already is great. When he's got some decent players around him, under a decent manager. Talking of decent players.... was Henderson playing tonight? 😆

We haven't had a decent England side since 1996,..over 20 years

Yep. I remember the demolition of Holland and Gascoigne’s amazing goal against Scotland. Missed the later Germany 5-1 win as I was on a flight somewhere.

Problem is now, this side kind of picks itself as they’re the only 25 English players actually getting regular games in the Premier League. Unless of course you exclude the “unfashionable” teams, like all England managers always do.

Did I read correctly that the fans were throwing paper planes, and cheering those that reached the grass? Sweet baby jesus

Paper planes were about the only thing worth cheering

Exactly Binners - that Henderson was playing (and recently been captain!) reflects the paucity of England's resources. If he can get a game, doing just enough against a so called minnow maybe isn't such a bad result.

It's not about some divine right or the out of date arrogant English argument. It's about England's place in the pecking order of world football .

Hmm. It kind of is about that though. It's the burden of believing that England is a great footablling nation and it's demeaning that you don't win everything.

It's the angst of self-entitled fans who follow a side which qualifies for just about every major tournament.

What did I tell you? Scintillating, incisive... 😆

At least I did see the goal, unlike the guys behind us who left on 85 mins. But the highlight was probably one of the paper planes that sailed gracefully down and went all the way into the net to a massive cheer...

I can see why everyone loves rashford so much. Had a decent game, and just seems a really likeable player. But I also reckon Henderson gets a bad rap. He was nowhere near the worst England player tonight. Ok so in the centre of midfield you expect a bit more, but Sterling was useless, Stones was a liability and Bertrand didn't have much to offer. Or the Ox. Henderson was just a bit boring, tho that shot was one of our highlights of the 1st half

I was a bit disappointed in the atmosphere tho- really quiet! I suppose it's a factor of not really having club songs that everyone knows. I've been to a lot of lower league footy and it's usually a lot rowdier.

Hey ho. It was a good experience overall 😀

Yep I cant sleep now as I slept during game.

Did you have s bet Doris?
I dropped a right bollock on a random bet that i only had a few quid on, it was over 1 corner for each team in each half. It was at 11/2. What a dick!
Anyway I managed 78 mins and fell asleep. It was shite as predicted.

They should have kept the team on tour & other finals in CDF. (& paid me a hundred million in consultancy fees for making that decision for them.)

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off watching us...[/url]

Aye, we're guaranteed to fall at the last hurdle, but it'll be a glorious failure, and at least the football will be good.

Swashbuckling stuff last night.

Nobberinthefridge - Member

Aye, we're guaranteed to fall at the last hurdle, but it'll be a glorious failure, and at least the football will be good.

Wembley itself stands as a monument to the stupidity of the FA. They were told it'd be an expensive white elephant, and thats exactly what it is

Totally agree about the teams doing the rounds. The country is full of decent grounds. I'm not just thinking the obvious Old Trafford, Anfield etc. Turf Moor is a bloody great ground, and a really intimidating place to go. As Burnley's home record shows. Wouldn't it be great to see someone like Germany playing there?

Instead you end up with the farce of 2 teams from the north west going down to play FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley, so they can justify the obscene cost of building the bloody thing. When they should just have it at Anfield, OT or Wastelands

I've just listened to Gareth Southgate interviewed about last night and got a full house of predictable platitudes bingo. I'm sure we'll hear the same again when he resigns next year, having gone out at the group stage

. I'm sure we'll hear the same again when he resigns next year, having gone out at the group stage

Made me laugh! 🙂

scroterot - Member

Nobberinthefridge - Member

Aye, we're guaranteed to fall at the last hurdle, but it'll be a glorious failure, and at least the football will be good.

Betting on a glorious draw so we miss out on goal difference?

Na, we'll beat Slovenia and get Italy in the play offs... 😆

that team with that manager would be relegated if it played in the championship. It was an abysmal performance last night.

No it would not, calm down , stop being silly and see them for wht they actually are. They are a decent premiership level team without the individual flair or brilliance to break down well disciplined teams- ie they need a messi or a Hazard or a De Bryune or some such to move them up level [ nd two decent midfielders as Henderson is not to top class and Dier isnt either.

You are 15th in the world so you are neither as good as your fans think or as bad as they think depending on which OTT england fan you happen to be speaking to at that moment in time.

It was not a great performance but you still won and you are at the World Cup unbeaten - so yes you must be totally shit 🙄

could barely be bothered to check the score when I got back from the thursdaynightride.

way back, I wouldn't have missed a qualifier, a few years back I would have punished myself watching it.... now, just CBA.

a combination of my age and the waning appeal of the team, or even game.

Did you have s bet Doris?

no - i'm not really a gambler, and there were long queues at the betting stands. They were really trying to push some fairly optimistic combos too - Rashford to score in both halves plus a final score of 4-1, for some unexciting odds.

Glad i didn't, because if anything i would have gone for 1-1 and lost my tenner!

Then yesterday we went for a day out at the Natural History Museum. Pretty scary after todays news 🙁

[quote=scotroutes ]

Nobberinthefridge - Member
Aye, we're guaranteed to fall at the last hurdle, but it'll be a glorious failure, and at least the football will be good.

scroterot »
Nobberinthefridge - Member
Aye, we're guaranteed to fall at the last hurdle, but it'll be a glorious failure, and at least the football will be good.

Betting on a glorious draw so we miss out on goal difference?

Like I said.....

That wasn't glorious, not up to our usual.

Glorious failure again by the Scots..... When was the last time Scotchland qualified for a major tournament?

98.

Scotland are in much the same boat as England imo, a group of unremarkable players to choose from, except with roughly 1/10th of the population the talent pool is smaller which makes things rather tougher.

Kinda have to wonder if there is something fundamentally wrong with the way football is taught in the UK though as we seem to have an entire generation of mediocre unimaginative players.

I disagree slightly, we have some good players playing in the SPL, but have a manager that favours those that play in the English lower leagues.

He's a stubborn wee nob.

The decline in Scottish football/footballers has been stark. In the 60s, 70s and 80s every decent English club side had numerous Scots, and they were usually keen to that side's success, domestically and in Europe. Hardly any Scots at such a level now - Strachan picks Championship players over the SPL as its a better standard.

That said, despite the talent pool Scotland as a team underachieved even more than England in that period, having never even got out the group stage at a major tournament, with many glorious failures along the way. Look at some of those Scottish teams and it's bizarre they never achieved anything of note at a major tournament. Now even getting to one seems even more distant.

Strachan took too long to change the central defenders and give Griffith a chance, call it stubbornness or loyalty but in a qualifying campaign you don't have time to make many mistakes. It was the results earlier in the campaign that cost us, not todays.

As an England fan can I just extend my heart felt condolences to my Scots brothers at what must be a very difficult...ah who am I kidding?....Yaaaaaarrrrrrrr yer haggis munchers, have that!

. Hardly any Scots at such a level now - Strachan picks Championship players over the SPL as its a better standard.

How many championship teams in the champions league this year?.

Another World Cup without the Tartan Army which is a shame,looking forward to another english failure in the group stages :-).

The decline in Scottish football/footballers has been stark. In the 60s, 70s and 80s every decent English club side had numerous Scots

They also had numerous English players aswell......

On a personal view, my 14 year old son has just stopped playing football this summer. He used to play for a local club but the facilities, muddy pitches littered with dog shit and the coaches, kick it as far as you can or kick the opposition, weren't great. Despite this he was selected to do a two year programme at high school run by the SFA. He worked really hard and mostly enjoyed it but would get frustrated with other kids not working as hard and the coaches letting them get away with bad attitudes. At the end of the two years the programme finished, we got no feedback and there was no suggestions as to how he could move on with football. I wonder how many promising players are lost like this. It may have been that they know he's committed to diving which he loves and competes at a high level but there were no attempts from the SFA coaches to change his mind. At a senior level I don't think they train hard enough, if you're not good enough, work harder. My son's training 14 hours a week along with going to school, I bet that's more than pro footballers.

England's problem is they are most suited to counter attacking, but the reality is that most teams will sit deep against them and prevent it. The only way of unlocking the defence then is some creative midfielders, of which they haven't really got any. Berkley or Winks are probably the only 2 and neither of them are anything like world class.

Am I the only one who thinks Rashford is over rated? Sure he has promise but is a long way from the finished article. Did little in either game when it came to a decent final ball or shot. The only one i can think of, is the free kick.

Oh and the Ox is sh*t. Arsenal mugged Liverpool with his sale.

DT - course they did. My point was that there are no Scottish players at such a level now, barring the few that play for Celtic who get 6 games a season in the Champions League.

Walk around the parks, no body is playing football. When I was a kid the parks were crowded with people having a kick about. Most of my mates' kids would rather play computer games.

Walk around the parks, no body is playing football.

And further to that, one of my best mates' boys are both utterly football mad (8 & 10). Both play competitively (one for Northampton Town under 10s and is showing huge promise). If they aren't playing it (which is about 90% of the time) they are either watching it (they would happily watch any football they could find on Eurosport, not just 'their team') or playing FIFA 2018 on their console.

Walk around the parks, no body is playing football.

Not true.

I hear the same cliched nonsense regularly from pundits, all the playing fields have gone etc, it's bollocks, there are way more good football facilities than there ever was when I was at school (and due the teachers strike there was no such thing as school teams throughout my whole school years)

Kids that are on pro youth contracts now don't go to their local secondary up here, instead going to a regional centre of excellence, the facilities at these centres is fantastic.

The issue up here is that up until around 16-17, the kids are up there with any nationality, but don't make the step up to pro level. It's been an issue for years.

Everyone loves a game of footie...(apart from the usual stw culprits!) kicking that bag o air into the back of the net always feels good! Its just watching England that's the killer!

I was in Agadir a few months back (west coast of Morocco) and when the tide went out it left a perfect firm flat sandy beach which all of the locals descended on to play organised football matches. Literally you could walk a mile down the beach and it was end to end laid out pitches full of enthusiastic young lads playing football....and some girls too. The standard was really good in places. You can see why we are being left behind.

I hear the same cliched nonsense regularly from pundits, all the playing fields have gone etc, it's bollocks, there are way more good football facilities than there ever was when I was at school

Very much this.

My 8 year old played football on Friday, Saturday and Sunday on 3 different 4G Pitches all within 10 minutes drive from the house, all of which were immaculate with full changing facilites and would have seemed like science fiction when I was at school being forced to slog round a red ash park with rusty goalpoasts, no lines and no nets.

How many championship teams in the champions league this year?.

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Roughly the same number as superleague rugby teams (because the winners don't qualify for the champions league).

@thisisnotaspoon

I think his point is that SPL teams get to play in the Champion's League so get some good experience playing against better teams/world class players than Championship teams do.

I think his point is that SPL teams get to play in the Champion's League so get some good experience playing against better teams/world class players than Championship teams do.

@fifeandy - I agree with you - but I was responding to the comment about Championship teams playing in the Champion's League.

Personally, I think dumped into the Championship, Celtic wouldn't necessarily get promotion at the first attempt.

Even as a Rangers fan, I'd completely disagree with that. Hey ho.

Fair comment, you know what it's like to find yourself in a lower league.