Kenny Dalglish Won't Be Delivering the Module: English Premiership 2011-12

multixps - Roma's traditionally a leftist club, no? Insofar as that's a useful description of football fans. Also aiui the traditional choice of Rome's Jewish population, which wouldn't sit particularly easy with right wing ultraism (though yes, things are different in Italy)

i meant rather that the english media are pervasive/xenophobic enough and the english players are powerful enough that the introduction of any extra complicating factors would be disproportionately problematic

this is a decent argument. remember when capello took the job and we thought he'd put those surly prima donnas in their place? that went well.

redknapp as boss takes out player power- he's v good with cuntish talent- and media, to a large extent - they're in his pocket- and he's english and he's not moronic tactically/selection-wise and he's experienced. he'll keep it simple and positive and that'll keep the fans happy- even when results go against you it'll be swashbuckling ave-a-go stuff.

tell me what other boxes need ticking, tbh, or who else will tick em

when results go against us it won't be "oh swashbuckling expressionism" it will be "found out at this level to be tactically naive(see keegan)"

don't think i've ever denied that arry could make a good fist of the england job. obviously what won't go away are systemic problems underneath. what happens once arry's finished?

also i wouldn't assume that he won't be indulgent of the usual suspects - remains to be seen imo

he's been indulgent of that type of player in the past, justified by the results for the most part.

capello was indulgent of the usual suspects without ever getting a performance from them imo

such a disspiriting mess, the england team. can't think of the last time they strung 2 or 3 coherent, convincing performances together.

early sven? maybe hoddle actually

i only consistently watch the tournaments so i'll take your word

Actually, come to think of it, Englaland could use a decent captain.

98 or 02 tournament performances were good iirc, maybe even 00 but i didn't see a lot of that one. don't have any recollection of a string of convincing performances under either capello or schteve

04 was good until Rooney got crocked

maybe 3 matches good?

well croatia away was v good, don't know what the 2 games following that were though.

2000 was keegan i think, england were terrible iirc lost to romania and portugal i think

yeah 2000 was comical, late Neville fuck-up iirc but can't remember which one

phil, gave away a penalty.

thought that was group 98 wc tbh

nah, 98 was Owen wonder goal and Beckham sending off

no that was le saux fucking up and us conceding late on after owen equalised. keegan was doing the commentary and had just said "there's only one team that will win this now" (i presume he meant england)

xp

we beat colombia in last group match then lost to Arg

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/419969_250175661723813_160886773986036_571051_1731275724_n.jpg

:D

Didn't we have that exact same picture on here yesterday?

such a disspiriting mess, the england team. can't think of the last time they strung 2 or 3 coherent, convincing performances together
....
i only consistently watch the tournaments so i'll take your word

The last time I can remember watching any England qualifier / friendly was seeing the last ten minutes or so of McClaren's umbrella disaster, so I'm far from qualified to answer this - but I had the impression that qualification for the last WC under Capello was pretty impressive?

i dunno i surf on my phone at work, apologies

xp no, it was efficient and competent but hateful to watch for the majority of the times iirc

I'm prepared to believe you, given that England were incompetent and hateful to watch in SA, and given that I couldn't name a single one of England's group opponents under Capello apart from Croatia.

A piece on City's away form - "City’s struggles started with a 1-1 draw at Anfield on 27 November. Since that day only Wigan, QPR and Fulham have taken fewer points away from home, and all have played five games to City’s six."

Must say I hadn't noticed the pattern, and am a bit shocked by this. Big game against Villa then, who are dreadful at home iirc.

Haven't looked but would guess that their lead is pretty much the same at the top as it was on 27 Nov though.

So after tmrw LFC haven't another League game until March?

fuck international weekends

Neither we do. Six games scheduled for April though, and that's not taking into account any cup run.

matthew stanger piece in f365 today so determined to portray redknapp as an idiot that it's .... idiotic, tbh

fuck international weekends

― dayove cool (Noodle Vague), Friday, February 10, 2012 10:54 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Seriously. They make me all 'old man yells at cloud' IA.

i think, tbh, that attitude has come about because of what's being served up. I don't remember that ever being an attitude that prevailed under eg venables, hoddle. Under sven, nope?

Under staunton, trap- yes. Under kerr- sometimes. McCarthy, not always.

Comes back to football as a aesthetic entertainment imo. If you are compelled by loyalty to watch shite, you'll resent it very quickly- particularly if

i) the shite interrupts weekly portions of non-shite

ii) the same ppl can deliver either shite or non-shite according to whim

I don't remember that ever being an attitude that prevailed under eg venables, hoddle.

Premiership wasn't as all consuming then?

I think I've always hated international breaks

both epl & international football were better, tbh, i dunno about all-consuming, but where and how does a change occur there?

International games weren't breaks 'till a few years ago, they were just squeezed in at midweeks. Which was fine, really. I can see the appeal of a decent break for qualification double-headers - if more than a handful of such games actually mattered - but a break of a fortnight for a friendly is the absolute worst.

I've got a lot invested in this tweet

rioferdy5 Rio Ferdinand
When Welbz + @tomclevz23 bring their 1 2s I see in training to the PL its going to be OVER for opposing teams, trust me!! #SameWavelength
21 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply

i think, tbh, that attitude has come about because of what's being served up

I was thinking last night about the travails of watching Scotland. I think most assume it's torture because the SPL is shite and we don't produce any players anymore but the torture started long before that - when we still had some good players! It started with Andy Roxburgh and his slide rule UEFA coaching badge hyper cautious approach which Craig Brown carried on with plenty of cowerin' and timorousness but not enough sleekitness. By the time Brown was finished we didn't have any good players anymore and we were almost as scared of our own shadows as Brown himslef was. Since then a couple of comedy managers in Vogts (who actually got us to a playoff) and Burley and then the grim Siege of Derry tactics of Smith and McLeish. Now Levein, nice guy, intelligent (wears glasses), puts out a team against the Czech Republic with no forwards, we lose + we're fucked once more, plus ca change...

otm

I could recite a similar litany of tragic persecution but we'd be a right clichèd pair of moaning celts then eh?

International football is about more than scorelines, and imo it's about a lot more than qualification. The 45 mins against france where we played football was worth every point or three earned in the two years before or since

I'd settle for being able to moan about what you've got to moan about tbh

^ this

But then I'd moan about that too.

England under Venables was 2 years of friendlies followed by a tournament where England were outstanding in one game, good in one, and decent in one.

matthew stanger piece in f365 today so determined to portray redknapp as an idiot that it's .... idiotic, tbh

Harry Redknapp? The guy who's spent two weeks swearing to his own idiocy under oath?

a big improvement!

I don't think that being unable to read and writes constitutes 'idiocy' but whatever.

http://images.45cat.com/norman-wisdom-dont-laugh-at-me-cause-im-a-fool-hmv.jpg