England Blades

[Ball_Sup (Phil)]

You wouldn’t be able to see him. He’s little and not very good at football. Rather like England.

But Pinchy I'm your nightmare aren't I? I like supporting Youth Football & England. So, I saw England U21 win a trophy only yesterday in Martigues, Provence.

And, this time last year I saw England U20 win the World Cup in Suwon, Korea. (Dom CL scored the winner in the Final)

You need to come back at me with;
Why Youth Football is shit
Why England Youth teams are shit
How I am myself shit at embracing culture around the world
Pictures of England supporters burning flags at those tournaments

I thought you'd want the full attack list....

 

[Hamburg Blade]

To me that’s the part of international football I like the most, the fact that you are stuck with the players you have got. You have to try and develop players and can’t just buy success.

The money in the club game has gone so crazy that you can’t even dream anymore. We have a great manager in Wilder, but he can only achieve so much without financial backing. It’s pretty sad that our only chance of winning a trophy is hoping that a multi billionaire decides Sheffield United is the club for him/her.

I don't think you quite get my point. Internationals should be played with the different levels in mind, I don't know quite how to describe it, rather than treating every game as if it's the top two PL teams in a vital derby match. The jubilation at beating lesser nations is ridiculous, as is all the goading, sneering and name-calling. People doing it at club level is part of football - though I have never felt the need to participate in it; it's not a necessary part of football as far as I'm concerned - but to do it to people who are supporting their national team because that's where they were born is distasteful to say the least. It's another of those things that belongs in the past and it's something England fans seem so good at. It's noticable that there are only a handful of country's fans that still do it.

 

[Hamburg Blade]

Well I do. So, I'll have a go at that one.

I'm a football fan. I have a club side I support. They are called Sheffield United. I started going to matches in the 1960s. Since I started going, they have often been shit. Occasionally in the top flight. But more often than not screwing it up in some way. I care, of course I care. But, they're my team. Thick n thin. In sickness or in health.

I also have a national side I support. They are called England. I started going to matches in the 1970s. Since I started going, they have often been shit. Occasionally in the top flight. But more often than not screwing it up in some way. I care, of course I care. But, they're my team. Thick n thin. In sickness or in health.

If Sheffield United ever played England. I would definitely support Sheffield United in that game. But, they won't. So, there is no conflict there at all.

But, England are shit & lose games (I hear you say). Mate - have you even heard of Sheffield United?

I've made lifelong mates supporting England. Including many who are also Sheffield United fans. I never met them at The Lane, but I met them in Budapest, Minsk, Lund. I met my wife on an England away trip. We're on an England away trip now in the South of France. I have seen the World watching England. Brazil, Korea, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Albania when it was still closed. Transnistria, which still is closed. Tourist places. Famous places. Unusual places. Met people. Looked 'em in the eye. Bought them a beer.

I'm a football fan. I like watching my team(s). No conflct between Utd & England obviously. People support shit teams. Many support Sheffield United. Are we getting anywhere?

That was a very well written reply, early on in the thread, which got you a lot of likes, but I suspect as the thread has gone on a lot of people are seeing the irony of you attempting to take the moral high ground.

 

[JackSUFC]

That is of course untill the " golden generation " donned the famous shirt . I've never before witnessed a bigger set of overpaid egotistical whining scumbags in my life . There was a time when wearing the England shirt was a source of immense pride but not with that set of full blown wankers . I stopped going during their ' time ' and never even bothered watching them in any tournament on TV . I've not returned to the fold since

If (and a big, big if) Sheffield United were competing at the top end of the PL, we would no doubt have players with ego’s as big as their 6 figure weekly wages.

I assume you and a couple others (who’ve made reference to this) would stop supporting the club then?

 

[Hamburg Blade]

If (and a big, big if) Sheffield United were competing at the top end of the PL, we would no doubt have players with ego’s as big as their 6 figure weekly wages.

I assume you and a couple others (who’ve made reference to this) would stop supporting the club then?

I would find it more difficult to be proud of my club. Just as I have been when certain undesirable players have played for us. The first time I remember that was with Vinny Jones.

 

[BushBlade]

If (and a big, big if) Sheffield United were competing at the top end of the PL, we would no doubt have players with ego’s as big as their 6 figure weekly wages.

I assume you and a couple others (who’ve made reference to this) would stop supporting the club then?

I can’t speak for anyone else but my principle issue with them was that they didn’t care about playing for England enough. If the Blades were a top end club then our players would be putting a shift in.

 

[Dave Robinson]

I can’t speak for anyone else but my principle issue with them was that they didn’t care about playing for England enough. If the Blades were a top end club then our players would be putting a shift in.

I wouldnt count on it. A Huddersfield fan was telling me not long ago that their top earner on 50k a week can hardly be bothered to break sweat some games!

 

[Ball_Sup (Phil)]

That was a very well written reply, early on in the thread, which got you a lot of likes, but I suspect as the thread has gone on a lot of people are seeing the irony of you attempting to take the moral high ground.

I'm pretty comfortable with that.
I wasn't attempting any moral high ground
But I can understand why it might come across like that. I just wanted to be honest.
I see a fundamental difference between how you behave in the frenzy of the 90 minutes & how you behave for the other 4 weeks in a country.
That's how it works for me.
I did want to prick the pricks who wanted to tell me how it is & how it should be, without ever having been to an England game.

 

[BushBlade]

I wouldnt count on it. A Huddersfield fan was telling me not long ago that their top earner on 50k a week can hardly be bothered to break sweat some games!

Maybe that’s why they’re not competing at the top end?

 

[CopenhagenBlade]

You wouldn’t be able to see him. He’s little and not very good at football. Rather like England.

8 pages into a thread that you and have no interest in, but still commenting . Attention seeking again?

 

[Bert]

I did want to prick the pricks who wanted to tell me how it is & how it should be, without ever having been to an England game.

Bert only ever went to one England game, it was against Italy at the old Wembley, Zola scored their winner.
What put Bert off was the thousands of Rule Britannia and "No surrender to the IRA" cretins.

 

[coolhandluke]

If (and a big, big if) Sheffield United were competing at the top end of the PL, we would no doubt have players with ego’s as big as their 6 figure weekly wages.

I assume you and a couple others (who’ve made reference to this) would stop supporting the club then?

Am I missing the obvious here and having a ' whoosh moment " or are you being serious ?

 

[Ball_Sup (Phil)]

Bert only ever went to one England game, it was against Italy at the old Wembley, Zola scored their winner.
What put Bert off was the thousands of Rule Britannia and "No surrender to the IRA" cretins.

Understood. You went. You assessed. You chose. I'm in the happy position of being able to just watch a game & let any peripheral shit wash over me. "swinging a pig" "he'll shag who he wants" "scab scab scab". I just let the cretins get on with it & switch off. I accept that not everyone can do that.

 

[cahill]

I'll go with the flow that Boozers from England kicking it off in a bar full of families in a Turkish resort while watching a game on the big screen are out of order.

But, I'm posing a simple challenge.
Do you really think that England supporters who have traveled to World Cups in Japan, Germany, South Africa & Brazil, don't embrace the local football culture, meet locals, get on with them, learn from them? These traveling fans are some of the most experienced & resourceful tourists in the world.
OK. Games in Amsterdam, Paris, different story.
But, come on, really, people who are committed England football tourists enjoy & embrace more cultures & different countries than many other people.
It makes no sense to brand those supporters ignorant.

Naughty that Phil. You know full well I was referring to fans booing other countries anthems not describing all England followers as ignorant. Behave yourself

 

[Dkc]

I've been to two tournaments (World Cup 2002 and Euro 2000) but never saw England play at those tournaments. It was still a laugh watching games in the bars with other ticketless fans and
rioting in the city centre enjoying the beer and the craic. Been to a few other games too including the 5-1 in Munich and the game in Copenhagen previously mentioned. For me it's all about the drinking and partying with other fans, English and foreign.

World Cup 1990 was probably at the height of the Golden Age of Football Hooliganism. I'd say at least 25% of England fans were up for trouble at Italia 90 (nowadays its probably more like 2%) "Among the Thugs" is a great record of that tournament written by an American journo (It's particularly satisfying when he gets decked towards the end)

 

[Ball_Sup (Phil)]

Naughty that Phil. You know full well I was referring to fans booing other countries anthems not describing all England followers as ignorant. Behave yourself

That post was not aimed at you cahill
I'm just trying to make the general point that the vast majority of England's long distance traveling fans are experienced & resourceful tourists. They go those long distances & embrace local culture & customs.
Sorry if you felt I was coming at you. I wasn't.

 

[Dave Robinson]

Maybe that’s why they’re not competing at the top end?

My point is that even with players competing at the top end, there is no guarantee that are going to "put a shift in" every week.
Majority are on long contracts which means there is little incentive to perform regularly at their best, as at the end of their careers they should be financially set-up for life.

 

[Dkc]

My point is that even with players competing at the top end, there is no guarantee that are going to "put a shift in" every week.
Majority are on long contracts which means there is little incentive to perform regularly at their best, as at the end of their careers they should be financially set-up for life.

But surely pulling on that famous white shirt with the three lions crest is incentive enough to put in a shift...isn't it?

 

[BushBlade]

My point is that even with players competing at the top end, there is no guarantee that are going to "put a shift in" every week.
Majority are on long contracts which means there is little incentive to perform regularly at their best, as at the end of their careers they should be financially set-up for life.

If the players don’t put a shift in then the team wouldn’t be competing at the top of the PL. Teams full of players that don’t give a shit end up like Sunderland and Villa.

 

[Dave Robinson]

But surely pulling on that famous white shirt with the three lions crest is incentive enough to put in a shift...isn't it?[/QUOTngland
As England players donate their match fees to charity i would like to hope so...

 

[Dave Robinson]

If the players don’t put a shift in then the team wouldn’t be competing at the top of the PL. Teams full of players that don’t give a shit end up like Sunderland and Villa.

I heard plenty of Man Utd fans complaining about some of their players workrate last season, and they finished 2nd in the league!

 

[Pinchy]

8 pages into a thread that you and have no interest in, but still commenting . Attention seeking again?

It’s in General Blades Chat. Blade I am, so I have a look. Had we a section dedicated to ‘England wank’, which is where all this flag-waving, Rule Brittania, respecting other nations’ cultures by abusing them, drivel should be, I would have gladly left it alone.

 

[Rodley]

It’s in General Blades Chat. Blade I am, so I have a look. Had we a section dedicated to ‘England wank’, which is where all this flag-waving, Rule Brittania, respecting other nations’ cultures by abusing them, drivel should be, I would have gladly left it alone.

I think the old chant goes “It’s nice to know you’re here...”

 

[YES Blade]

I don't think you quite get my point. Internationals should be played with the different levels in mind, I don't know quite how to describe it, rather than treating every game as if it's the top two PL teams in a vital derby match. The jubilation at beating lesser nations is ridiculous, as is all the goading, sneering and name-calling. People doing it at club level is part of football - though I have never felt the need to participate in it; it's not a necessary part of football as far as I'm concerned - but to do it to people who are supporting their national team because that's where they were born is distasteful to say the least. It's another of those things that belongs in the past and it's something England fans seem so good at. It's noticable that there are only a handful of country's fans that still do it.

I wouldn’t say that’s the case, there is only over celebrating beating weaker nations at major tournaments because the matches are massively important no matter how small the nation is.

In qualification it’s more of a run of the mill match, no one gets excited beating small teams because there is generally far less importance to the match.

I don’t see how you can say it’s part of football to goad, sneer and name call at club level but not at international level. To me being a knob head isn’t acceptable in any situation and a football match regardless of who is being supported is no different.

 

[Yellarbellyblade]

It’s in General Blades Chat. Blade I am, so I have a look. Had we a section dedicated to ‘England wank’, which is where all this flag-waving, Rule Brittania, respecting other nations’ cultures by abusing them, drivel should be, I would have gladly left it alone.

Feel free to think what you like about the National team and those of us that care about it, but why bother coming on this thread if you’re not interested? I don’t read every thread if I don’t have an interest in the subject under discussion so why don’t you follow my lead on this and stick to threads about stuff you care about and are interested in? Not all about you you know

 

[Pinchy]

Feel free to think what you like about the National team and those of us that care about it, but why bother coming on this thread if you’re not interested? I don’t read every thread if I don’t have an interest in the subject under discussion so why don’t you follow my lead on this and stick to threads about stuff you care about and are interested in? Not all about you you know

No, it’s all about General Blades Chat. That’s what I expect to find, not England Bollocks Chat. Take it elsewhere and you England fans can talk daft to your hearts’ content.

 

[Ball_Sup (Phil)]

No, it’s all about General Blades Chat. That’s what I expect to find, not England Bollocks Chat. Take it elsewhere and you England fans can talk daft to your hearts’ content.

Pinchy I hear you Brother .....

 

[BushBlade]

I heard plenty of Man Utd fans complaining about some of their players workrate last season, and they finished 2nd in the league!

I’m making a very simple point;
The golden generation underachieved. That’s why I found it hard to get behind them.

The Blades will never be in a situation whereby they finish second in the PL and are considered to be underachieving. So you can’t equate one scenario with the other.

When we underachieved under Adkins I found it hard to get behind the players. Just as I found it hard to get behind the golden generation.

 

[CopenhagenBlade]

It’s in General Blades Chat. Blade I am, so I have a look. Had we a section dedicated to ‘England wank’, which is where all this flag-waving, Rule Brittania, respecting other nations’ cultures by abusing them, drivel should be, I would have gladly left it alone.

But you read 8 pages of it. You could of got the jist of it after 1 page and left well alone. I know I would

 

[Hamburg Blade]

I wouldn’t say that’s the case, there is only over celebrating beating weaker nations at major tournaments because the matches are massively important no matter how small the nation is.

But that's the fault of the way the competition is constructed. I am also a critic of the way they throw top teams in with minnows to create a banana skin for the top teams and "give the minnows a game". It's all very contrived and it creates these odd situations where fans are extatic about a win over a country that hardly stood a chance, usually a 1-0 win because the fear of losing was over-riding. It's just my cynical take on it.

I don’t see how you can say it’s part of football to goad, sneer and name call at club level but not at international level. To me being a knob head isn’t acceptable in any situation and a football match regardless of who is being supported is no different.

I'm not saying I agree with it; as I said, I don't do it, have never done it and I'm in complete agreement with you that it is a knob head thing to do, but it's sadly a part of football (still) but I find it particularly distasteful if you get obnoxious behaviour of major nations towards lesser nations, in or out of the stadium.