What do we think. How rubbish were England??
Awful is not strong enough, but stand back and think from last nights fringe players getting an outing, what sort of team we could field if we were at strength.
I propose that a back 3 of Terry, Woodgate and Rio-the-camel-face, with Richards attacking down the right and Cole doing the same on the left, with Rooney and Lennon up front and a midfield of Lampard, Joe Cole and Gerrard has the makings of a hell of a team.
imagine the bench too. Carrick, Owen, Hargreaves, Wright-Phillips, Crouch and so many others.
All we would need then is a managaer who can inspire them.
What say the panel?

I'd give Dennis some time, although as a CFC fan was extremely surprised he joined you. Am abivalent about whether you drop or not . In one sense it's a shame we're not having our 2 match rivalry each year, and in all honesty playing Fulham, Wigan or Watford doesn't really excite much.

I'd also suggest that Leeds pushed the spending to the limit - all the clubs you quote (and mine) do have foundations in place. For the Mancs, pool and us, its wealthy benefactors, for Newcastle its a large fan base, and controlled spending. Leeds sold their ground (I believe) and then hocked the future, with a naieve manager who whilst spending a fortune, span the myth that he had built a home grown team. If only someone in the boardroom had the guts to stand up to your Chairman perhaps you wouldn't be where you are. That to me is where Ken will kick some sense back into your club.

Agree FV. The key is the fan base. Leeds have that and it would be safe to say that ten years from now they will be back to the Top 6 (in Premiership that is). They are still paying for spending money that they did not have. The other key thing is the wage bill: Manchester and Newcastle United's have kept their ratio at around 50%. But remember that Newcastle were hovering in the then First Division relegation zone until Keegan joined. People love to jeer at Keegan because he is seen as having lost the Title - in fact, if you look at the results, Man U won it with a fantastic run of results; Newcastle had two critical thrillers with Liverpool and Balckburn, both of which they lost 4-3. OK, better to have won 1-0, but that was the downside of Keegan. Don't know whether Wise can turn it round but someone will. As for Coppell, he has done brilliantly at Reading and you see parallels to O'Neill's performance at Wycombe. Best not to rush into it.

Eric