Terry Butcher brings nothing to the A-League

[Fozzie]

What another English coach getting a prime time gig in Australia??

Terry Butcher brings nothing to the A-League.His hoof 'n' run style of football will be the death of Sydney FC.They'll go the same way as Newcastle,Perth and the NZK who all employed English coaches who have little or no idea about the technical side of football.

English coach = FAILURE

Sydney FC should firstly employ a French technical director maybe someone like Aime Jacquet and a Brazilian first team coach.This would enable the Sydney FC players to improve their technical ability.The technical side of the game is something the A-League lacks in a big way this is because generations of Australian players have been coached by English coaches who only know the direct hoof 'n' run style of football we see from the EPL.

If A-League sides took a Brazilian,French or Dutch approach to the technical side of the game then we would see a greater improvement in the technical ability of our young players who are at the minute technicaly inept.

For example lets look at Brian Deane a typical hoof 'n' run style of English footballer his technical ability was very poor indeed what did he bring to the A-league??

Nothing thats what,the A-league should have made funds available to bring in some Brazilian,French or Dutch players to give the A-league a level of technical excellence that it doen't have at the mimute as a lot of the players have been brought through the system that has been dominated by an Englsih coaching mafia whose technical atributes have been non-existant.

Australia has for many years played the game of football the English way from our young juniors right through to our international team the socceroo's.Basically that mean teaching our juniors that the only way to play the game is to hoof the ball up the paddock and run,this is the English way and because of this we have been well below the world clarshhh standards of Brazil,France and Holland.

England have never one anything at international level apart from a lucky WC win way back in 1966 this is because the English play a type of football that can only be described as rubbish pure and simple.

If we as Australians want our national team to win the world cup by say 2010/14 which the great man himself the late Johnny Warren said we should be thinking about we need to sack all the English and English influenced coaches working in the Australian system from the junior to the elite level.The English mentality on our game has held us back for many many years and will continue to do for more unless we rid ourselves of this insipid style of kick and run football.

Give me the keys to the FFA technical and it'll be good bye to all the English coaches working at the various football bodies throughout Australia.

Next I would bring in a world clarshhh technical director someone like Aime Jacquet the French footbll genius who could oversee the technical develpement of our future generation of footballers let them learn the game the way the Brazilians,French and Dutch do and I promise you that Australia will be world champions by 2018.

As for the thousands and thousands of English coaches well send 'em back we don't need them they are farking useless.

Send 'em back!!!


THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ

Discuss

Fozzie

[s3tTz]

WUM rating - 8/10

:D

[cigar69]

WUM rating - 7/10

P.S Remember to leave a space after a coma. :)

[magpie]

Humour rating: 6 out of 10.

Spelling rating: 2 out of 10.

[Krzysiu]

wat is WUM?

anywayz you my friend are an idiot...

[FMP]

England have never one anything at international level apart from a lucky WC win way back in 1966 this is because the English play a type of football that can only be described as rubbish pure and simple.



Hmmmmmm. And the Dutch have won how many World Cups? ;)

[nicolasss]

i think its true in some respect, however i believe the best is to combine the two styles of football, technique, skills, one-two plus long ball and speed in the end that would create beautiful game.

[BlueDragon]

Took Hearts to the champions league for the first time and split the 'old firm'
for the first time that i can remember, yeah he's shite innit :rolleyes:

5/10 for making the effort ;)

[riesso]

Took Hearts to the champions league for the first time and split the 'old firm'
for the first time that i can remember, yeah he's shite innit :rolleyes:

5/10 for making the effort ;)


Actually he was manager of Motherwell not Hearts

[Portillo]

Hes a good no nonsense coach. He made something out nothing at motherwell. And most sydney fans are glad with his appointment and arent going on a FOZZIE RANT.

[Victory2006]

WUM 7/10.

Krzysiu - WUM = Wind Up Merchant

[huzzman5]

Hes a good no nonsense coach. He made something out nothing at motherwell. And most sydney fans are glad with his appointment and arent going on a FOZZIE RANT.

"no Nonesense coach" is code for 'Fuckin kick it and chase it wee man'. It's one of those pom sayings like 'maradona is a clever little player' which implies that to have skill or tactics is cheating and playing physically and directly is the only fair way. It's justified to go on a 'FOZZIE RANT' when your country takes technical advice from a country that has been beaten by Belarus and Northern Ireland in the last year. A country who's best left winger is stewart downing, Stewart fucking Downing! A country who think Frank Lampard is God's gift to football, even tho he suspicously became good when the team around him increased 200 million pounds in value, a country which gave Glenn Hoddle, a technical genius only 50 caps. IGNORANT, SKILLESS, ARTLESS CRAP!

[Melbourne Red]

Change the record

[huzzman5]

maybe the fact that it is said so much shows it has great validity. Like how it's said all the time that Ronaldinho is the best player in the world because he is.

[Melbourne Red]

"It's justified to go on a 'FOZZIE RANT' when your country takes technical advice from a country that has been beaten by Belarus and Northern Ireland in the last year.

I see no mention of the fact that they also beat Argentina (again) and won 70% of their games played in the last year and a half.

[LS 11]

Along the same spirit of English make crap coaches cos of the results they produce...
A Spanish manager would be shyte
A Portugeezer would be too
Urugyans would be good as well as Hungarians or greeks???

Just asking

Oh and please explain what great leaps forward Motherwell took this season???
Me, Im over the moon Shitme Fc have got a coach of this "calibre"

Tho he did play for Rangers so I still have respect for him

[huzzman5]

are their players better technically than Argentinas? is lampard technically better than Riquelme? is Joe Cole as good as Messi? is Peter Crouch as good as Crespo? england have no depth, players like Walcott get in because they have no system for developing many players of high technical standard, they just rely on 11 naturally talented players per generation. A BRit Coach at the FFV told me that kid's should be discouraged from using the outside of their foot because it's unreliable, and that his under 11 victorian team does equal parts physical and technical training. Now we see why Netherlands have Ryan Babel where we have Kristian Sarkies.

[Pepinovic]

A BRit Coach at the FFV told me that kid's should be discouraged from using the outside of their foot because it's unreliable, and that his under 11 victorian team does equal parts physical and technical training. Now we see why Netherlands have Ryan Babel where we have Kristian Sarkies.

That is why, dear Melbourne Red, we can never change the record ;)

[Melbourne Red]

A BRit Coach at the FFV told me that kid's should be discouraged from using the outside of their foot because it's unreliable,

Now just off the top of my head I have seen both Rooney & Cole playing the ball off the outside of their feet. I wonder where they learnt how to do that.............?

I defer to other peoples greater knowledge of the junior football coaching in Aus but all this talk of British coaches in Australia and the Scottish mafia. When did these guys learn their trade and how long have they been in Aus. Hasn't Merrick been here for twenty to thirty years. They are hardly representative of the coaching practices currently in play in British coaching academies.

[huzzman5]

i was using the outside of the foot example to indicate the lack of imagination, improvisation and technique in English football. Poms stagnate every player into the same up and down crappy lampard midfield type. Why didn't they pick hoddle? because they said he was lazy. What rubbish, he was an attacking midfielder like riquelme or ronaldinho, he's not supposed to track because A- he's not very good at it and B- it disolves team structure if everyone retreats and defends in a line. Trust me mate, i know your defending what you know but British football does not respect technical skill and is obsessed with physical elements like speed and strength. There is little beauty and much violence in British football. No Ronaldinho 'Shoulder passes', no Riquelme sole of the foot taunting the opposition like a matador, no Pablo Aimar nutmeggin people for the fun of it, no Wizard like Zidane (Hoddle was but got payed out for it). Theres just Big men, Wee men, 25 yard goals, 50 yard passes and headers. Brits play it like a sport, the rest of the world sees it as an art and that's the difference, creative freedom and the validity of the beauty of expressing one's self through football is non existent within Britian. And regarding your point about ex pats not being british any more, this guy from FFV called everyone 'little jimmy', thought it was fantastic that victorian kids didn't look out of place at swansea's accademy (he took two 6 foot 14 year olds over there, they sound like real technicians!). sounds like he's still fairly English to me.

[Aaron]

FOZZY

2 words ...

You Idiot

[geordie_matt]

What another English coach getting a prime time gig in Australia??

Terry Butcher brings nothing to the A-League.His hoof 'n' run style of football will be the death of Sydney FC.They'll go the same way as Newcastle,Perth and the NZK who all employed English coaches who have little or no idea about the technical side of football.

English coach = FAILURE

Sydney FC should firstly employ a French technical director maybe someone like Aime Jacquet and a Brazilian first team coach.This would enable the Sydney FC players to improve their technical ability.The technical side of the game is something the A-League lacks in a big way this is because generations of Australian players have been coached by English coaches who only know the direct hoof 'n' run style of football we see from the EPL.

If A-League sides took a Brazilian,French or Dutch approach to the technical side of the game then we would see a greater improvement in the technical ability of our young players who are at the minute technicaly inept.

For example lets look at Brian Deane a typical hoof 'n' run style of English footballer his technical ability was very poor indeed what did he bring to the A-league??

Nothing thats what,the A-league should have made funds available to bring in some Brazilian,French or Dutch players to give the A-league a level of technical excellence that it doen't have at the mimute as a lot of the players have been brought through the system that has been dominated by an Englsih coaching mafia whose technical atributes have been non-existant.

Australia has for many years played the game of football the English way from our young juniors right through to our international team the socceroo's.Basically that mean teaching our juniors that the only way to play the game is to hoof the ball up the paddock and run,this is the English way and because of this we have been well below the world clarshhh standards of Brazil,France and Holland.

England have never one anything at international level apart from a lucky WC win way back in 1966 this is because the English play a type of football that can only be described as rubbish pure and simple.

If we as Australians want our national team to win the world cup by say 2010/14 which the great man himself the late Johnny Warren said we should be thinking about we need to sack all the English and English influenced coaches working in the Australian system from the junior to the elite level.The English mentality on our game has held us back for many many years and will continue to do for more unless we rid ourselves of this insipid style of kick and run football.

Give me the keys to the FFA technical and it'll be good bye to all the English coaches working at the various football bodies throughout Australia.

Next I would bring in a world clarshhh technical director someone like Aime Jacquet the French footbll genius who could oversee the technical develpement of our future generation of footballers let them learn the game the way the Brazilians,French and Dutch do and I promise you that Australia will be world champions by 2018.

As for the thousands and thousands of English coaches well send 'em back we don't need them they are farking useless.

Send 'em back!!!


THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ

Discuss

Fozzie
fozzie! your a twat...... plain and simple

how can you say english football is shite? lampard and gerrard are 2 of the best midfeild players in the world (would walk in to any starting 11 in the world) as well as 2 of the most skillfull and then there is joe cole and david beckham who would almost make any world cup squad going around... so please dont talk shite

as for terry butcher i think he is a good manager who will actually improve the scum and make them a bit tighter at the back as well.. just look at motherwell who have improved under him..

[futuremelvicstar]

What another English coach getting a prime time gig in Australia??

Terry Butcher brings nothing to the A-League.His hoof 'n' run style of football will be the death of Sydney FC.They'll go the same way as Newcastle,Perth and the NZK who all employed English coaches who have little or no idea about the technical side of football.

English coach = FAILURE

Sydney FC should firstly employ a French technical director maybe someone like Aime Jacquet and a Brazilian first team coach.This would enable the Sydney FC players to improve their technical ability.The technical side of the game is something the A-League lacks in a big way this is because generations of Australian players have been coached by English coaches who only know the direct hoof 'n' run style of football we see from the EPL.

If A-League sides took a Brazilian,French or Dutch approach to the technical side of the game then we would see a greater improvement in the technical ability of our young players who are at the minute technicaly inept.

For example lets look at Brian Deane a typical hoof 'n' run style of English footballer his technical ability was very poor indeed what did he bring to the A-league??

Nothing thats what,the A-league should have made funds available to bring in some Brazilian,French or Dutch players to give the A-league a level of technical excellence that it doen't have at the mimute as a lot of the players have been brought through the system that has been dominated by an Englsih coaching mafia whose technical atributes have been non-existant.

Australia has for many years played the game of football the English way from our young juniors right through to our international team the socceroo's.Basically that mean teaching our juniors that the only way to play the game is to hoof the ball up the paddock and run,this is the English way and because of this we have been well below the world clarshhh standards of Brazil,France and Holland.

England have never one anything at international level apart from a lucky WC win way back in 1966 this is because the English play a type of football that can only be described as rubbish pure and simple.

If we as Australians want our national team to win the world cup by say 2010/14 which the great man himself the late Johnny Warren said we should be thinking about we need to sack all the English and English influenced coaches working in the Australian system from the junior to the elite level.The English mentality on our game has held us back for many many years and will continue to do for more unless we rid ourselves of this insipid style of kick and run football.

Give me the keys to the FFA technical and it'll be good bye to all the English coaches working at the various football bodies throughout Australia.

Next I would bring in a world clarshhh technical director someone like Aime Jacquet the French footbll genius who could oversee the technical develpement of our future generation of footballers let them learn the game the way the Brazilians,French and Dutch do and I promise you that Australia will be world champions by 2018.

As for the thousands and thousands of English coaches well send 'em back we don't need them they are farking useless.

Send 'em back!!!


THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ

Discuss

Fozzie
If this is Craig Foster you are an absolute legend mate. Because you are right about english coaches and nearly everything you say.
English coaches = FAILURES.

[futuremelvicstar]

fozzie! your a twat...... plain and simple

how can you say english football is shite? lampard and gerrard are 2 of the best midfeild players in the world (would walk in to any starting 11 in the world) as well as 2 of the most skillfull and then there is joe cole and david beckham who would almost make any world cup squad going around... so please dont talk shite

as for terry butcher i think he is a good manager who will actually improve the scum and make them a bit tighter at the back as well.. just look at motherwell who have improved under him..
None of those players are managed by english coaches.

[Melbourne Red]

None of those players are managed by english coaches.
All produced out of English football academies essentially by English coaches.

[Melbourne Red]

i was using the outside of the foot example to indicate the lack of imagination, improvisation and technique in English football. Poms stagnate every player into the same up and down crappy lampard midfield type.
And regarding your point about ex pats not being british any more, this guy from FFV called everyone 'little jimmy', thought it was fantastic that victorian kids didn't look out of place at swansea's accademy (he took two 6 foot 14 year olds over there, they sound like real technicians!). sounds like he's still fairly English to me.
I know you were only using that as an example but my statement about these players really takes in both your points above. These players were produced out of English academies by English coaches and yes there is no doubt that they had the raw talent to succeed anyway but the British coaching structure has hardly worked to stifle their flair and creativity.

And I certainly wasn’t implying that the FFV guy was not British or Scottish simply because he had been here for 20-30 years. No my point was you make a broad sweeping statement about a Scottish FFV coach that is somehow reflective of the British coaching structure / mentality. How long has he been here, when and where did he learn his trade, what standard did he play at before he became a coach? You mention Swansea for Christ’s sake. Now with the greatest respect to any Swansea fans on here what have they ever achieved and what is their heritage for playing good football? I’m not sure it exists. Lets face it if these Scottish or British coaches were worth their salt they wouldn’t be coaching juniors in the Victorian football federation would they? He probably grew up running around some muddy welsh paddock kicking lumps out of anyone that had the ball.

Why didn't they pick hoddle? because they said he was lazy. What rubbish, he was an attacking midfielder like riquelme or ronaldinho, he's not supposed to track because A- he's not very good at it and B- it disolves team structure if everyone retreats and defends in a line.
You have mentioned this twice now so clearly you also think this is also reflective of the English coaching system rather than of one mans philosophy. It is easy to pick an isolated player and hold him up as an example of why something is wrong and say that English managers misunderstood him. Now didn’t Baggio only ever play fifty something games for Italy? Was he not misunderstood / underused by some Italian coaches? It happens in every country.

There is no doubt that Greenwood underused the man, why I’m not sure but Burkinshaw certainly didn’t. I don’t know much about Greenwoods background other than he had some history with West Ham and probably explains why he kept faith with Brooking. What I can say though is that if Clough had got the job, as he and most of England believed he should have done in the late 70’s then this probably wouldn’t have happened. Hoddle is the kind of player Clough would have understood how to use. Bobby Robson certainly used him during the ’86 WC and I think the bulk of Hoddles caps probably came under Robson. One criticism that I can always remember being leveled at Hoddle perhaps unfairly was that he failed to reproduce the commanding performances he gave for his club when in his national team shirt, a criticism often also directed at John Barnes and also I think at a certain Allesandro Del Piero?
Trust me mate, i know your defending what you know but British football does not respect technical skill and is obsessed with physical elements like speed and strength. There is little beauty and much violence in British football.
Of course I am defending it, as I will until the sun goes down. Any intelligent football fan knows there are differences and limitations too each of the styles of football from England to Italy & Spain thru to South America. England hasn’t historically produced the flair players that say the Brazilians produce partly although not wholly because they have always favored a faster styled game. I do not agree that they stifle creativity though. They didn’t do this with Hoddle, they didn’t do it with Waddle, Gascoigne, Francis or latterly Rooney and Cole.

I’ll put this to you. What do you say to the accusation laid at the feet of the current English coach of Swedish origin having cut his teeth in Portugal & Italy that he too often plays dour long ball football and stifles the creativity of the most talented and creative bunch of English players for two decades? The irony being that they chased a foreign manager who supposedly knew how to coach sides with flair & creativity but has them playing more “English” that they would ever wish?

[Simon]

WUM rating - 8/10

:D
Agreed.

:D :D :D

[huzzman5]

I don't think the British culture deliberately stifles creativity, they just don't understand it properly. they don't think 'geez that hoddle is special player because it's so easy for him', they think 'geez that hoddle makes it look easy so he musn't be trying hard enough'. However, a phil neville type who makes everything look nigh on impossible and sweats and grits his teeth is never questioned, and heralded as an 'honest' player. Is it not an English Cliche to call an up and down working player a 'good honest hard worker'?, hence implying that the subtle, creative artist is a 'Dishonest slacker'? Regarding Rooney and Joe Cole: the fact is that Rooney is not a technical player. Yes he's a genius, and i love him but he's extremely physical and powerful. His assets are mostly forceful, hard shooting, bustling dribbles and the like. he's capable of technical subtlety but it's not his best asset. Hence he is the ideal English player, the best possible from British footballing ideals and he's fantastic. This is why the public adore him, because they can relate to him. He crashes and bustles his way through challenges like the third division players of the local side do. Hoddle (i know i keep coming back to him but a player this unappreciated deserves the air time) on the other hand was like no other English player, purely technical and subtle. the public couldn't relate, just like they could'nt relate to Joe Cole's 'Showboating' for West Ham. Go to argentina or Brazil or Holland and every team will have someone who plays like that. Like a school kidtaking the piss. But they'll celebrate it, they'll love him for his innocence and the spectacle he brings. That he plays for fun and takes joy in the artistry of the game. In England he was victimised and had his confidence destroyed. And don't say he's better for it because England has stern faced hard working midfielders coming out it's arse but it doesn't have anyone who can play for the fun of it like he used to except that shitty robot lee trundle. Finally, a question, where do rate England in terms of technical depth globally speaking, and are there better cultures to be following? because for me, any nation that is obsessed with football, who's midfield is supposedly 'world class' yet has Phil neville in it's world cup squad must be seriously missing the point somewhere and lacks the technical depth that indicates effective technical deveopment. Especially as Netherlands are leaving Seedorf and Makaay at home, Argentina are leaving Zanetti, D'alessandro and Gallardo at home, France are leaving pires and giuly at home and Brazil...you get what i mean.

[Melbourne Red]

Firstly Huzzman I have to take you to task on two points.
However, a phil neville type who makes everything look nigh on impossible and sweats and grits his teeth is never questioned, and heralded as an 'honest' player.Firstly, with perhaps the exception of some Manure fans Phil Neville is not admired as some honest hardworking gritty player. Most people in England don't believe he should ever been allowed near an England shirt so that is rubbish. just like they could'nt relate to Joe Cole's 'Showboating' for West Ham.
Secondly, the public did understand Joe Coles showboating at West Ham and this is the reason people were clamouring for his inclusion in Erriksons 2002 WC squad as he was recognised as one of the few players in that crop with genuine flair. Indeed most people including myself lost some respect for Errikson at that WC for not using him more especially in light of the unfit Beckham, hardworking Butt and the fading Scholes. In fact he may not have got any game time at all as I recall.

I mean Jesus what are you reading or which propaganda are you listening to?

Rooney, not a technical player? Similarities to a third divison player? Come on.

Again you are talking in broad general terms and have not reponded to any of my questions re the FFV coach nor on my comment regarding the Errikson (wonder coach) tactics.

And again with the Swansea connection. WTF is all that about, who the hell are Swansea on the footballing map? Lee Trundle? Effective div 3 forward. Hardly the cream of the english stocks. Cult hero at Swansea perhaps but give me a break.
Finally, a question, where do rate England in terms of technical depth globally speaking, and are there better cultures to be following? because for me, any nation that is obsessed with football, who's midfield is supposedly 'world class' yet has Phil neville in it's world cup squad must be seriously missing the point somewhere and lacks the technical depth that indicates effective technical deveopment.
I have agreed that there are countries for one reason or another produce more technical players with more flair however on the footballing landscape England is up their in the top half dozen nations. And that is the crux of this issue. Imbeciles such as Foster saying a country ranked forty something in the world appearing at only it's second world cup in 32 years has nothing to learn from the English game. It is laughable. I'll listen to that argument when Australia has the same standing in the world game as England.

PS: Phil Neville is not in the squad, he is on standby and I have every hope that he will not be on the plane.

PPS: That is a world class midfield. Lampard was ranked in the top three FIFA players this year. Beckham despite all the doubt has carved out himself a place in that Real side and everyone wants Gerrard, not to mention the way Cole is coming on. It's not just the English saying it's a world class midfield you have Brazilians coming out saying the same thing.

[huzzman5]

RE Australian football learning from British football. Australian sport is saturated with:
'Physicallity'
'Hard work'
'Fair play'
'team spirit'
'Competitiveness'
'Target men'

All valuble things, yet prevelant, sometimes overly so, in Australian football.

Australian sport lacks:
'Artistry'
'Respect for Skill'
'Tactical and technical awareness'
'Subtlety'
'Number 10's'

all good things, all lacking in Australian football.

Which list is Britain more likely to offer us? What we already have an abundance of. What will France, Netherlands Brazil and Argentina offer us? What we lack and desperately need.

England's midfield is world class, but has little depth. Carrick isn't world class, Neville's not, parkers not, bartons not ect ect. Why? because if your not as talented as gerrard and you grow up in England you don't have a system that can give you the technical skills to make it at the top. And Beckham would not be in Brazil's 3rd team because he has lead-like ball control, can't carry it and juninho is a better set peice taker. I think lennon should start instead of him for England because the midfield lacks one v one ability.

Moving on to FFV. I have little doubt that these guys were kickers, they told us that, and that they weren't great players. I also must say i agree that they are a way down the scale of English style coaches. However you prove my point nicely. If you got similar standard coaches, who played at similarly low level, from france or italy or argentina, they wouldn't be 'Kickers', because in these countries technique is widely taught, and hence prevelant at all levels. If you are like england, and simply wait for your 11 talents per generation, the technical standard of your other players (danny mills, julian gray ect) is awful and gets steadily worse until you get to these 'kickers'. Argetnina don't have 'kickers'. Brits think 'i've got little skill so i'll rely on physicality', whereas argentians, regardless of their level, see there skill as their major asset and weapon. An Argentinian coach, of equal standard to the current coaches but of Argentinian heritage would not have talented kids at the most receptive point in development doing equal parts physical and technical training. it would be all ballwork and we'd end up with players more like Fabregas's and less like Vince Lias.

[Melbourne Red]

Huzzman,

We are going to have agree to disagree.

I do not agree that English or British football is devoid of all these qualities although they may not be as rich in some of these as other football cultures such as Brazil & Argentina.

'Artistry'
'Respect for Skill'
'Tactical and technical awareness'
'Subtlety'
'Number 10's'

It seems to me that you opinion is largely derived from you experiences with low-grade British coaches here in Aus imported potentially decades ago rather than what is occurring today in English coaching structures. I am not for one minute suggesting they lead the world but they are certainly not producing coaches that preach long ball football and completely sacrifice artistry for brute strength. It is like the other day when someone was quoting Adshead, McKinna, Money & McMahon as examples of why British coaches are shit. Now as far as I know these guys had never managed a club above the third tier in English football and probably spent much of their time in the conferences. Money has just picked up the biggest gig of his life managing Walsall FFS! I put it to this person that if we imported lower tier or non-league Uruguayan coaches to the A-league would they take it by store? Somehow I don’t think so.

Another point is that Brazil too has had to change the way they play to remain competitive in the modern game, not winning a world cup for 24 years (prior to ’94) will do that to you. The Brazil we see today is merely a shadow of the 1970 team in terms of their flair and devil may care attitude although I am sure there is still the same individual talent. I’ve also read and heard reports in the past that the Brazilian coaching systems are in fact in turmoil. Anyhow that still doesn’t detract from the fact that they turn out terrific players & teams.

Regarding the midfield. I agree there is not the depth we would want but I put that down to two factors and one of them is not coaching. Firstly opportunity at the topsides with the influx of the worlds top players into the premiership, places are at a premium for English players. They are not getting the time to develop at the pointy end of the competition. Secondly the incumbent English coach has made it clear he will prefer to pick players from the clubs competing in the champion’s league. This has led to players such as Parker & SWP moving to Chelsea, chasing the big bucks and the limelight only for this to backfire on them as they struggled to get any game time. SWP would have had his best opportunity to go to Germany if he had actually stayed with Citeh. Look at the way Lampard continued to develop at Chelsea once he was a regular in that side playing with quality players around him. In my opinion Jenas & SWP are prospects for the future, particularly Jenas. Neville & Barton are not in the England plans.

[huzzman5]

fair enough, good stoush

[Fozzie]

Terry Butcher??

pfft

I TOLD YOU SO!!!!

I TOLD YOU SO!!!!

I TOLD YOU SO!!!!

[Masterchief_the_Return]

Terry Butcher??

pfft

I TOLD YOU SO!!!!

I TOLD YOU SO!!!!

I TOLD YOU SO!!!!

Who do you think you are, Johnny Warren?

[Fozzie]

Who do you think you are, Johnny Warren?

Well i'm tryin'!!!

[futuremelvicstar]

Don't mock Fozzie you faget.

[Ascoli Calcio]

Foster's an absolute joke. I've never had any time for him. He's passionate, but is perhaps the worst 'special comments' man I have ever heard. Random stuff blurts out of his mouth.