United Kingdom Team

[liam88]

The go ahead has been given to be able to enter a United Kingdom team into tournaments without having to disband the national teams i.e The UK can enter the world cup and England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales can enter the European cup.
This was not allowed before and was one of the main reasons a UK team was never created. Obviously hundreds of issues have been raised involving representation, fans, grounds, trouble etc.

I have just thought of an issue that has not been mentioned before...
The UK team would be new so where would they go in the world rankings?
Would they-
i) Start at the bottom under Montserrat
ii) Start at the position of their highest country-England in 7th
iii) Start at the place of their lowest country- Northern Ireland at 124th
iv) Possibly the most sensible idea, take an average of the four nations points and place them in between Israel and Latvia, just below Scotland but above Wales and Northern Ireland though way below England.

Surely it would cause a bit of dispute

[Schumi]

A UK team would likely only be entered into the Olympics so I doubt it would have a FIFA ranking.

[MikeW]

I don't see how this would work at all. How would they qualify for the Olympics? Since the under-21 games that are played parallel with the senior Euro Campionship qualifiers are also the qualifiers for the Olympics, I really don't see how it could work. Are they proposing to have just one combined under-21 team? If so which group does it go in?

A UK team would be virtually all English players anyway. No Scottish or Northern players would get in. A few Welsh would have a chance (Giggs, maybe Bellamy if he's ever fit) but that'd be it. The only reason there isn't a UK team now is because they were playing as individual entities before proper structures were put in place for international football, the same reason several Welsh clubs play in England.

[Plastic Paddy]

Originally posted by MikeW
The only reason there isn't a UK team now is because they were playing as individual entities before proper structures were put in place for international football, the same reason several Welsh clubs play in England.

And because when Sir Stanley Rous as president of the FA bailed out an almost-bankrupt FIFA in the late 1940s, he wrote it into the terms and conditions of the grant that the four home associations could remain separate in perpetuity. The crafty old bugger also wangled a permanent seat on the FIFA governing board for the FA.

PP

[NigeSausagepump]

I'd say the Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish would really go for a UK team in a big way

Come to think of it, I'd say most England fans would probably be against it as well, given the complete lack of support they get from the other 3 in major championships. They can't disband the 4 UK nations as separate entities without their say-so, and I just can't ever see that happening.

[sylvo]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by davros
WHO CARES;All part of a Mutant-'Hun'dream?!F*eck' em alll.......... [


nicely put.

[Paddy Ramone]

Liam 88 your bringing up the subject of an United Kingdom national side makes me think that Celtic FC supporters have some hidden unionist agenda. Do Celtic supporters think Scotland is a bigoted anti-Catholic country and shouldn't have thier own team?

You get fourth generation Celtic supporters (not eligible to play for Ireland) supporting Ireland against Scotland because they regard they own native side as "Huns". Furthermore it's an historical fact that your chairman SIR Robert Kelly (an "Irish" nationalist who had no problem in accepting a Knighthood) in the 50's supported a Great Britain side.

[liam88]

What the heck?!?
I'm not a unionmist and I wasn't saying this as a Celtic fan!
IT is an issue int football at the moment so I thought i'd discuss it in the General Football forum?
Wierd ey?
I think it's a bit strange that your looking for nationalist/unionist links in something that has nothing to do with them.....I think the idea was to win more competitions
Mabye your the Bigot? Who knows

[Paddy Ramone]

Just that I don't think the majority of Scots, Welsh or Northern Irish would accept an United Kingdom side in the World Cup. The Olympic games are different because "Great Britain" enter it. The British enter as Great Britain because some sports in Ireland like boxing are 32 county.

I didn't mean to insult you or Celtic fans. But a small minority of Celtic and Rangers fans do seem to be anti-Scottish. Maybe they'd like to see an United Ireland all-Catholic side playing against a mainly Protestant UK side bringing Old Firm sectarianism into international football. Most Protestants in NI would side with the UK while the Catholics would support Ireland.

I'm not saying these are your views but some Old Firm fans who get off on bigotry may like to see that day coming.

[sylvo]

Chill now fella's, this subject of the uk having a national team has indeed been spoken about over here so Liam is right that it has been an issue, but the only time I have heard it being spoken about is in relation to london getting the 2012 olympic's were they said they'd enter a uk team, but that's the only time i've heard them talking about it.

[lopez]

Originally posted by sylvo
Chill now fella's, this subject of the uk having a national team has indeed been spoken about over here so Liam is right that it has been an issue, but the only time I have heard it being spoken about is in relation to london getting the 2012 olympic's were they said they'd enter a uk team, but that's the only time i've heard them talking about it.

That as far as I know is the only time it will play. As potential hosts, there is nothing to be concerned about qualifications etc. Personally, unionist or non-unionist, Britain is one country and should have one team. If they want to have seperate sides, they should have kept the British championship for it or play friendlies like Cataluna, Andalucia and the Basques.

[Paddy Ramone]

Would be in the British government's interest to see a UK team? The Scottish and Welsh national sides provide a safe outlet for nationalist sentiment which then could be channeled into politics instead. The first international was between England and Scotland. I don't think the vast majority of Scots would want to lose their national side after such a long tradition except for some Rangers fans.

[sylvo]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by davros
[B]It would be like Turkeys,quite literally voting for Christmas......



Are'nt you the manager mr Davros of a united uk team on a sunday or is it more of a la quinte brigada team these day's.

[sylvo]

TRUE.

[BannsideBoy]

If London wants to be successful in bidding for the 2012 Olympics, a strong factor would be if the soccer stadium venues would be full, and one way of ensuring this would be to have a ‘home’ side, therefore a uk team would be necessary if not vital. The concept of a uk team just for the Olympics could create lots of complications, regarding other European nations asking if this should not be the case anyway, so why not have a British championship style competition over two legs to see which team would represent Great Briton out of the four uk teams.

Seems simple enough to me without rocking the boat too much.

[Duncan Gardner]

Originally posted by davros
Would be difficult for me to manage/recognise any team purporting to represent a mythical place,only real in the minds of the people who purported to create it & their mutant heirs.........

Strangely, Davros's dislike of teams from 'non-existent' countries like England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales is temporarily forgotten when they qualify from non-existent leagues to play in UEFA competitions.

I phoned the slapheaded supremo during his holiday in Sevilla to remind of this, but he was too ****ed/ arrested to reply

[Paddy Ramone]

The non-existant country is the United Kingdom. British nationality is a fictional conceit. The only people who really are British are Rangers fans, unionists and loyalists in NI and the British upper class.

Most Engish people regard themselves as English, Scots regard themselves as Scots and Welsh are first and foremost Welsh. Wake up and smell the coffee Duncan.

[Duncan Gardner]

Thanks for the politics lesson Paddy. Election results suggest otherwise, of course. Clear majorities in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales vote for 'unionist' parties, hardly anyone in England for separatists.

Any more ill-informed cliches you want to pass on?

[Paddy Ramone]

Yeah right maybe politically most Scots and Welsh want to stay part of the UK but culturally they have their own seperate identities.

There's an anti-Home Rule poster from before the first world war with Pat (Ireland), Sandy(Scotland), Taffy(Wales) and John Bull(England). There was no sign of Billy the Ulsterman though.

[Duncan Gardner]

As we go to press the 'Tans' as you so charmingly call them are a lot more likely to win this year's European Cup than Celtic

For all this talk of indoctrination, mutation, stupidity and the rest, you are probably the most pompous and PC contributor to this board. Anyone who disagrees with you must by definition be a bigot. Be sure to tiptoe through the Teplice