And in your first sentence lies the problem. The money is being spent on foreign players to the detriment of local people. Exactly what happened here with Murray at deadco.This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
In my opinion, the money and foreign players caused problems at international level, and could well do the same to the England team. But I hope not.
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Thread: England Semi
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13-07-2018 10:47 AM #361
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Last edited by AltheHibby; 13-07-2018 at 10:52 AM.
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13-07-2018 10:51 AM #362
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If you read my post again you'll also see I'm not disputing they got beaten by a stronger team in Croatia.
If I thought England were 'lucky' I'd acknowledge it. Personally I still think they were lucky to win the World Cup final in 1966. That 'goal' was never over the line and the fourth one shouldn't have counted with a pitch invasion already under way. However, this time I thought they performed well with a young team and an impressive manager and they reached heights Scotland can only dream of.
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13-07-2018 10:56 AM #363This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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13-07-2018 11:00 AM #364
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Croatia have for the most part been a strong side since their inception less than 30 years ago whereas England haven't, for reasons which go beyond population.
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/footb...llow-1-4767975
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13-07-2018 11:07 AM #365This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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13-07-2018 11:09 AM #366This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
btw, if Scotland and England had entered the world cups pre-1950, we and they would've been favourites and they at least would have multiple to their name. The FA and SFA considered international tournaments beneath them!
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13-07-2018 11:12 AM #367This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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13-07-2018 11:17 AM #368This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
For a nation the size of New Zealand, Wales or Ireland, there are large numbers of people who play regular rugby either at youth or adult level allowing them to supposedly punch above their weight with larger nations.
I'm convinced the same is true with football.
If we want to be as good as Croatia, we need as a nation to play as much football as Croatia.
The best players can be creamed off to be adequately coached.
Iceland do well because in spite of their climate they have have built facilities that allows them to play regular football.
My brother is a wee bit dejected that his little boy doesn't seem to be much of a football player. He goes to his coaching once a week but he doesn't play football in the playground every lunchtime, with his pals after school every day and every minute he can at weekends like we did. If he did, he'd get better, then the coaching etc comes into it.
TBH we could do more to kick a ball about with him (which incidentally is another problem I think we have with hardworking parents in this country).
It would be interesting to know how many people play football regularly in Scotland, England, Croatia, Brazil, China, USA, Iceland etc.
In many ways I'm not convinced that there's that much of a gulf between nations now. We were seconds from beating the World Cup semi finalists in qualifying. If we hadn't lost that goal we'd have got the same amount of points in qualifying as Croatia, the World Cup finalists did.
I got the feeling that under Strachan we were going in the right direction, even if he did have a tendency to pick teams I disagreed with and make nonsensical comments that I totally disagreed with.
Big countries have struggled against smaller countries of late, and I think there is some decent Scottish talent emerging.
Sometimes having a decent manager, a consistent team, a solid gameplan, a bit of team spirit and players who really want to play for their country can overcome all sort of technical or "genetic" deficiencies.
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13-07-2018 11:40 AM #369This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
It starts at grass roots , at school level. Todays kids aren't even getting an hour of physical education a week in some parts of the country now a days. Paying for after school sports events and clubs were tuition and coaching are supposably better are out of most parents budget in this economical climate. More money is needed from government and the SFA to support such clubs and causes but its not an bottomless pit. Money has to be found from somewhere.
Look at the results that have emerged for St Georges Park. Winning youth teams right across the board. Money invested by the FA is now reaping rewards of sorts. I don't know the answer but I for one is hell of a depressed by the lack of financial support for all forms of sports in Scotland .
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13-07-2018 12:03 PM #370
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I've never suggested Scotland shouldn't be a country though.
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13-07-2018 12:13 PM #371
Don't see how changing manager, slating/praising McLeish. There's no tinkering at the top with selection or coaching which will take Scotland anywhere. The problem lies below the surface.
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13-07-2018 12:41 PM #372This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
Modric is coming off the back of Madrid having won 3 Champions Leagues in a row and Rakitic's Barcelona have just won the double in Spain. Roy Keane alluded to this on Wednesday as well, the Croatian team is full of serial winners.
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13-07-2018 12:56 PM #373This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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13-07-2018 12:58 PM #374
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What was less forgivable was the inability of the media to pick up on the fact that Croatians of their age might have been through things which would be "character forming" to say the least.
Instead we are hearing about how great it is that England (finally) has a team of modest young men, from ethnically diverse backgrounds.
A bit of balance, and respect wouldn't have gone amiss.
At the end of the day, how many of the English lads are even first choice at their own club?
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13-07-2018 01:00 PM #375This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
It would be interesting to see if a UK team did any better than England over the long term.
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13-07-2018 01:01 PM #376This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
Yes, I'd agree.
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13-07-2018 01:37 PM #377
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13-07-2018 02:02 PM #378This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
But when daring to criticise an England side as being a bit lucky to get to the semi's (which they ****ing well were, look at the ****ing draw! Why was there media debates on the BBC and Itv about whether to throw the Belgium game or not, if there wasn't a favourable and unfavourable side let's get real fgs) the usual suspects on here get all political and see McGlashans when there aren't any. It's a bit pathetic to be honest.Last edited by hibsbollah; 13-07-2018 at 02:46 PM.
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13-07-2018 02:07 PM #379This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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13-07-2018 02:46 PM #380This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
Last edited by snooky; 13-07-2018 at 02:49 PM.
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13-07-2018 02:55 PM #381This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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13-07-2018 02:58 PM #382
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England weren't lucky to get to the last four. That would suggest they were fortuitous to win the games they did or that they were the beneficiaries of some sort of injustice (as they were in the 1966 final). From what I saw that didn't appear to be the case in Russia. Sure, they would have been happy to avoid certain teams but it's not as if they rigged the draw. They did what they had to do, did it well and IMHO earned credit in doing so. There's nothing 'political' about saying so.
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13-07-2018 03:06 PM #383
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13-07-2018 03:17 PM #384This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
Again, whether I happen to be Scottish while thinking this has nothing to do with it.
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13-07-2018 03:38 PM #385
Just in the door from italy & have to say that I was chuffed as hell watching England come unstuck, along with 95% of everyone watching in the bars & restaurants along the lake front.
Does my head in that I feel I have to ensure folk in Europe know I'm not English but it's especially important to me just now that I'm not seen as part of the Brexiteering Little Englanders who want to Rule
Britannia. Just not possible to separate the politics from sport & that's not just England; Putin's also done pretty well out of Russia's over-achievement.
England's team did better than expected but the football on display from Brazil, Belgium and France has been in a different league. Good luck to Croatia but I'd expect France to do them pretty
comfortably.
Meanwhile, the Hibees continue to do us proud.
GG
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13-07-2018 04:03 PM #386
yep lets have a team GB, we could maybe nickname it ermm team engerlund, we could then have the token scotsman, welshman and an norn irishman, we can play the home games at ermmm maybe wembley ? sounds very wallace mercerish, ram yer team GB where the sun doesn't shine
:)
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13-07-2018 04:09 PM #387
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Not for you anyway.
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13-07-2018 04:31 PM #388This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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13-07-2018 04:34 PM #389This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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13-07-2018 04:38 PM #390
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