Originally Posted by
DannyInvincible
I think I'd have to agree with you that contact with the ball alone shouldn't be enough to cancel out the possibility of a foul having occurred. Do you know what the official line on it is or if refs have any further guidelines on the matter besides regulatory clarification as to what is meant by "careless"? I was having a look around the web for some thoughts and opinion on the actual significance of making contact with the ball but my search was largely fruitless.
Y'reckon it's down to bad international management or bad club management? Or are you referring to Hodgson in particular?
I'm not sure what a player's motive in wanting to avoid international duty might be - ask Stephen Ireland how it is to have no affiliation with one's national team - but I'm not sure what a witch-hunt will achieve for England here. Naming and shaming?... It sounds like the type of mid-summer campaign the Daily Mail would happily sponsor in the run-up to a new season. I hope Harry Redknapp does the decent thing and keeps his trap (and jeep window) shut on this one. Gerrard is just a nasty piece of work. Imagine the reaction of English fans at games up and down the country week in and week out towards the "named and shamed". I can't say I have much time for Gerrard at all. For a captain, he possesses such scant emotional maturity and commands very little sense of authority. In fact, his interviews of late have done little besides humour me; it's as if he's desperately trying to exude this wise, authoritative aura by saying things he thinks someone in his position should be saying, but he fails so miserably at genuinely convincing me he's ever been a leader. He's a cod. Thoroughly uninspiring.
If players aren't interested in the international game, leave them be. Their loss. Why bother wasting energy getting angry about them? It's a (relatively) free country and there's no duty upon them to show up against their will. Forget about them. Instead, focus on players who do want to represent their country and ensure the experience is an appealing one for those willing to give up their time.
A lot of players are also pressured out of international fixtures by disapproving club managers. It's fairly well known that Alex Ferguson loathed Roy Keane and Ryan Giggs competing in international friendlies.
