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Reminds of an arsehole sitting beside me at Rovers vs UCD on SaturdayQuote:
Originally Posted by Kingdom
He was moaning when someone misplaced a pass "these lads can't string two passes together" then when we were playing it around the park doing some patient build-up play he was moaning "get it in the ****ing box for ****s sake"
You can't win with those people, There does seem to be an attitude of getting the ball in the box as soon as possible
Van Gaal would never resort to such tactics.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
You did see the Czechs lumping it forward continually in the last 15 mins until they got an equaliser. The Spanish played with the ball firmly on the ground until they got a late equaliser in their u21 sf.
Anyway it's a sign of a good team when they can play good technical football and use their technique to exploit when they have to lump it into the box.
I referee in my local league and recently a new astro pitch was opened and the diffrence in standard with the games played on a level astro pitch compared to a boggy downhill pitch is amazing the games played on astro are of a very high temp and extremely high scoring where as on the crap pitch it's slow and usually 1-0Quote:
Originally Posted by jbyrne
Seen the second half of that game alright - jeez was a brutal game and to be fair to the Dutch the Koreans took the sting out of the game by constantly falling around the pitch every 5 mins - shud have had 10 mins extra time not 5!!!!!! Was strange seeing a dutch winger get by a player on the wing and then see that there was no one to pass to at all then beat the player again to go back and try and long ball it into the box where there were about 5 Dutch players waiting for it - total football it was not!Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
The koreans were woeful, and fell over the ball everytime they got near the Dutch goal - and they had loads of good chances too.
Was thinking of this thread while watching the game wondering that it must be only the Spanish that can play this passing game everyone keeps talking about.:)
Its refreshing that the English in general seem to finally be warming to the idea that their national side is absolute garbage. Seems like it only took 20 years of being muck for that to sink in.
I prefer it though that they think its great so we can enjoy the bi-annual car crash.
I'm not sure Martin Tyler has got the message yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by Murfinator
Most of the English fans/public have got the message but their media continue to talk crap
Exactly. Scroll down to the part about "Montenegro should be of no concern to Engand". The sheer arrogance is baffling.Quote:
Originally Posted by cornflakes
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/b...tional-weekend
To be fair an England team shud be beating a bad Montenego team - whats wrong with that?
Facts don't bear that out though do they?
This is a Montenegro team that is level on points with England and drew with them in Wembley. Its the sheer arrogance of that article particularly in light of the fact that it's written in the immediate aftermath of another poor performance by England against Switzerland.
U mean the stats. They are a rubbish team (as are England but u would reckon they could muster a decent 11 from the EPL?)Quote:
Originally Posted by French Toasht
And Switerland were muck too
ok... why don't you post the full quote "They should be of no concern to England. They probably will be.".... not quite as arrogant me thinks.Quote:
Originally Posted by French Toasht
yes relative to you.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
uphill, downhill, downhill from left to right.
The wet weather and teh wind, where the ball wont go 5 yards along the ground, hoof ball is the only way....
Thats because outside of dublin anyway most pitches are owned by the clubs.Quote:
Originally Posted by jbyrne
As usual I'm right, only this time(there is evidence of one) I have an expert in the field, to back me up :DQuote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
Double entendre intended.
People speak about coaching and whatnot but ultimately I think the reason why the UK produce such bad players is down to culture. British culture is a tabloid culture, that cherishes famous people for fame alone rather than their talent. Its not coincidence the UK is regarded worldwide as having a wide range of the most awful bands ever seen, none of them musically astute; all of them trying to be stars. This is the land that invented the Popstars / X-Factor / American Idol format, a system designed to churn out textbook singers of established songs, a system designed to override the less glamorous but fundamental element of song writing. The part of music which most would regard as the most difficult and the most critical to excellence.
Soccer is the same, oodles of players over there who know the status of a "footballer" and covet it. Many who are fine athletes who do excellent gym work and can follow instructions to a tee, few whose motivation to play for the love of the game is convincing. Very few british players leave their shores for that reason, they know they won't be a star in another country and will be judged far moreso on their technical ability and football intelligence, of which almost all of them are lacking.
It unfortunately trickles into Ireland. To use a comparison the English rugby squad has a very similar mindset to the English soccer squad, the corresponding leagues as well. But the Irish rugby squad has a vastly different mindset, its stronger, galvinised, focused on teamwork and skillsets. These are guys who are coached well through the system and playing the game for no other reason than the love of it. We have no Hensons, Powells, Cipriani or whatnot in this country showing that tabloid culture is present in British Rugby but not in Irish rugby. We have the same deal in GAA as well
The problem for us is how our soccer league remains so heavily influenced by a UK mindset while our other sports don't. Its been said a million times before but having our players playing in other leagues than England and Scotland would benefit us immensely, its nothing but bad news to have our players coached through the ranks in a culture like that.
I actually think that they have also given the world some of the best rock / pop music too. I think every country has some degree of "talent show" obsession.Quote:
Originally Posted by Murfinator
I don't live in Ireland, but always seems to notice media coverage of Leinster & Ireland rugby stars at celebrity weddings, queen's dinners etc. The Hensons & Powells of the game in the UK (Welsh, not English btw) are only some examples and are not wholly representative of our rugby culture being better than "theirs". Whose U20 rugby team is in the World Cup Final, while ours might come eighth? Sure our own Trevor Brennan was a flippin' fruitjob too.
I agree that our football playing culture is very similar though. In fairness, it'd be very hard for us to adopt a distinct Eastern European or Latin playing style when our game has been so intertwined with the English game over the generations. It's not just football - our whole society is. Look at what TV shows are popular, and music etc..
I'm not really sure I'd believe that, take Munster rugby for example. Its a very, very strong self-contained sporting culture there. Same with Kerry football or Kilkenny hurling. They're uninfluenced by anything but themselves, they have their own style of play that is timeless passing through generations and have been at the top of their sport for so long and will continue to do so in the future. We have a similar culture to England sure, but as we do with the US or Australia as well, I feel like soccer in this country is far more intertwined and influenced by England than it really should be.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
I know GAA and Hurling aren't great examples since they aren't professional or played outside this country but rugby really is a great example of how we can breed successful teams and players with their own style unique to the country who aren't inheriting the flaws of our neighbours. Rugby players in Ireland are just so technically better than their equivalent in England, they're trained and coached vastly differently with different philosophies and its plain to see watching them. For a foreigner watching english and Irish players they could be forgiven for thinking they were interchangeable, they're very alike. Which is not necessarily a situation we "have" to be in, since we aren't in other sports is the point I'm trying to make.
If we can't support our own league in this country I think it'd benefit our squad more if they were in better technical leagues than the EPL.
English club sides have done very well in Europe over the years so they must be doing something right.