Tragic Football Stories - Let us Kick Around the misshapen Jabulani that is English football right here

Altho that article has fleshed in a lot of details.

they've all made mistakes in a previous career imo

Let's not bring that story back to life.

i always accept playing the gh academy - even found a 2 star regen playing them one time! made about three million on him iirc.

chamakra

I've got Lineker's show on in the background just now - a nice little detail I hadn't noticed is the caption 'Michael Owen, England 1998-2008'. I guess that's official then.

Lineker doc was hilarious. Show would be lost if Eng were humiliated like this after 2006: er...Italy, yeah Inter Milan have...mostly foreign players, the league is corrupt etc etc. The whole doc rested on an Eng-Spain comparison.

Martin Samuel otm: all English in the 70s and 80s, zilch on the pitch.

Best thing on it was Mourinho's 'every policeman pulling together' speech.

Jose's perception of the country was a bit strange all round: "One thing I know - every Englishman ... is a very proud Englishman"

Actually, my absolute favourite thing might've been the footage of Venables coaching at Barca, all eye movement and gesticulation ("'e trie'a cover that, cover that, cover that ... 'e covered nothing") - and then the poor translator having to run in and reenact the whole thing in Spanish.

Has it ever occurred to anyone in the English games that if foreign players can come to England, English players can equally go and play in foreign?

Rohan Ricketts has just been on Talk Of The Terrace on ESPN, currently plays for Dacia Chisinau in Moldova. Also said there might be a chance for him to join a German team.

Presenters asked Stephen... (didn't recognise him) if he ever fancied playing abroad. He said he had the chance to go to France but he preferred the British game, and that his style of play would have resulted in a few more bookings abroad.

Going to play in Moldova is pretty hardcore, top respect to that lad whoever he is.

The other bloke's name wasn't Gerrard, was it?

McManus? Pressley? Caldwell? Plenty crap tacklers called Stephen/Steven, tbh.

(twitter tells me it was Steve Lomas)

whoever he is?

that's only rohan bloody ricketts mate, the proto jenas

Steve Lomas? Really? Didn't recognise him at all.

My bad - have done my research and do vaguely remember the fellow. I love the multiple levels of myth-making here:

In an reported interview with FC Dacia, Ricketts said that he has played with England at the under-18, and under-21. It is believed that Ricketts also played with the England B team as well

not to mention:

American rapper 50 Cent has been seen sporting the midfielder's shirt

nobody knows

Ricketts mentions 50 Cent in his latest blog.

http://www.sabotagetimes.com/football-sport/what-really-happens-when-a-manager-loses-the-dressing-room/

looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool amirite?

Foster (Birmingham), Hart (Man City), Green (West Ham); Gibbs (Arsenal), Cole (Chelsea), Terry (Chelsea), Jagielka (Everton), Lescott (Man City), Richards (Man City), Ferdinand (Man Utd), Smalling (Man Utd); Walcott (Arsenal), Wilshere (Arsenal), Young (Aston Villa), Gerrard (Liverpool), Barry (Man City), Johnson (Man City), Milner (Man City), Henderson (Sunderland); Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Bothroyd (Cardiff), Carroll (Newcastle), Crouch (Tottenham).

More like Jay Bollocksroyd

class player, if not the most consistent. has played abroad too (perugia?) so fuckit why not. england not blessed with great strikers.

carroll is england CF of ten year tenure if he can (i) cop on and (ii) avoid prejudice in the way k davies hasn't

dunno why bother with terry gerrard ferdinand tho, developmental squad and all that.

where's thudd?

Carroll wd be okay as an impact sub but fuck starting a target man at international level.

rong

Wd rather lose than play that way

'that way' = guy that's good on ground, amazing in the air. newcastle dont play 'that way'

Fair enough I've not been paying much attention since they stopped being lol but I think we're a bit premature with the "good enough to play for England" chat. Need to suck it and see.

I've seen moments of class from Bothroyd but they've been sandwiched between hours of poncing about doing fuck all.

i disagree with the 'wait and see' approach. given the level of talent these guys must have to get to the level they do, (trusting a lot here, out of character) i think form >>>>>> every other aspect of the striker's art.

it's the same kind of thinking that left terry, gerrard, heskey, rooney as undroppable going into the WC- 'who do we have to replace them'?- well. loads of guys, actually. get them into an england short, ask the question of both sets of players- the shirking untouchables, the flushing youth

No, I agree Carroll deserves his chance, I just don't think him doing well is a foregone conclusion.

never is. fabianski for england tbf

@kevindaviesbwfc
Kevin Davies
Not in the England squad time for a beer!!!
19 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone

for crouch to be in there ahead of him is shite, but then i dont get that squad tbh

Smalling, though?

nah, not up front

Smalling over Jones is the most hilarious part imo.

Just turned on ESPN to find Germany Under 21's 2-0 up on England. England appear to have Henri Lansbury in goal! Isn't he one of yours a hoy hoy and James M? Also isn't he a left winger! lol

They're showing Argentina vs. Brasil tmrw btw.

He... doesn't really have a position. And when I say that I mean like James Milner, not like 'he can be a goalie'. wtf.

goalie sent off in that game fyi

He's like a new signing. LANSbury.

not like 'he can be a goalie'. wtf.

Also, this is Arsenal. Anybody can be a goalie at Arsenal.

haha

true true

can totally see that- arsene only ever scouts wingers, and the slower they progress they further back the pitch they land from 15, 16, 17 onwards

haha

arsene only scouts deep lying playmakers

England looking awfully scrappy.

Carroll's playing, then?

Stream went down and I missed the goal. What happened?

Yeh, Carrol's upfront, pretty ineffective so far.

GOAL! England 0-1 France (Benzema 16') That's a lovely goal, as the England players could tell you, given that they stood idly by and watched it.