World Football Thread XVIII: The Beckham has Landed

[Imran Siddiqui]

Owen

[Cort Haus]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Owen

How to score off your shoulder.

[Imran Siddiqui]

If it counts, it counts .

Ask Mr. Maradona .

[Kropotkin]

Maradona got his hand from god. Who gave Owen his shoulder, the milk man?

[Cort Haus]

Dida and Milan charged over keeper's play-acting:

http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/european/article3041095.ece

[Cort Haus]

[LordShiva]

[Kropotkin]

I ****ing hate breaks for international football. A match against Lichtenstein on saturday evening and then nothing. A boring sunday with nothing to do, no serie a, no la liga, nothing!

Couldn't we just give up national sides all together? After all, it's just wankers and children that care more about their national side than their own club.

[Cort Haus]

Originally posted by Kropotkin
Couldn't we just give up national sides all together?

We should. National football is a boring anachronism. The sooner we get rid of it the better.

[LordShiva]

Russia 2 - 1 England

[Krill]

*shrug* penalty, not a penalty, whatever, England should have scored more. Mclaren might be able to hide behind the excuse that the pitch was tampered with and that the squad he selected provided chances but I can't see England qualifying now.

[Maquiladora]

Exactly, things go against you sometimes but we should be good enough to make those things irrelevant against a team like Russia, even on their "turf".

Some of our best players were disappointing again tonight, but it's time for McClaren to go. Even if we qualify I see no future under him anymore.

[Cort Haus]

Rooney's goal was probably offside. McLaren can claim that England did not deserve to lose but they looked like they were hanging on percariously to me. It's the same old, same old - get a lead, and defend deep trying to cling onto it while desperately scrambling balls out of their own penalty area.

They can't seem to keep control of the ball on the ground by running into space and passing to feet. Lots of hoofing it and losing possession.

At least Scotland lost as well.

[LordShiva]

Originally posted by Cort Haus
At least Scotland lost as well.

That means France will go through

[Maquiladora]

Originally posted by Cort Haus
Rooney's goal was probably offside. McLaren can claim that England did not deserve to lose but they looked like they were hanging on percariously to me. It's the same old, same old - get a lead, and defend deep trying to cling onto it while desperately scrambling balls out of their own penalty area.

They can't seem to keep control of the ball on the ground by running into space and passing to feet. Lots of hoofing it and losing possession.

It amazes me sometimes how we can compete with top teams (compete, not beat) but lose all confidence and retreat into our shell when we take a lead against smaller nations.

Tonight I saw Mexico pass and move around so fast it was dizzying (they lost 3-2 against Guatemala and god knows how many were sent off but I won't go into that), so WTF is wrong with our "world class" players that they seriously can't string 10 positive passes together? Of course McClaren is useless and should be gone, but I'm struggling to remember a game where this "golden generation" have ever impressed me on a world class level under any manager.

I'm with Waddle on this one, forget this lot and start teaching our youngsters how to control a ball properly.

At least Scotland lost as well.

I'm usually for the Scots, but how long would it take to live it down if they qualified and we didn't?