Thought I'd start a football blog, we might keep this going until 2010.....England doing well....did not see the match or even the goals....I'd like Michael owen back in the squad though....and I think Peter Crouch would make a very good substitute...remember against Argentina in Geneva a few years ago....with Michael Owen and some very good movements on and off the ball...they caused havoc.....did see Scotland's missed chance....that could be very costly losing those 2 points !.

RF.as the Old Churchill dog would say.OH NO NO NO NO NO!and I do remember your proposed candidates.Chris WaddleFFS.we are two months off of April?its only opinion though?

Trying hard to make sense of previous post...but can't...

Sorry RFmy reply to you was cryptic and poorly writtenthe gist went something likeyour choices are imo a Cosmos awayand to mention Chris Waddle in the same breath as Beckshad to be April 1st .I attempt too many things at once my friendhence write total bo**ocks at times

Chris Waddle was fantastic..... a million miles better than "always on the telly Beckham", even if we take the goal against Greece that permitted us to leapfrog the Germans for qualification in 2001 for the world cup 2002.....instead of celebrating for ages the team should have got back ready to try to score a third goal as the other game was still ongoing...it's things like that that, that were the letdown........ManU looking very strong and the Gunners looking like their usual "not going to get far selves".....why on earth are there not more British players in that side ?...the best two, just now were Theo Walcott and a very good Sol Campbell...the goalkeeper is a muppet....what a mess.....the Gunners will never win this without a lot more UK players !.

tabby 702 , too true but you make your own mind up which bit .... :- )

Father came visiting yesterday and chucked a dart at the paper (imo) and had one bet and a 11/1 second (got a bit better than that for him on betfair).

3.30 at Ling I think ... you wanna borrow his darts ?

Waddle ... 5% brilliant and rest of time was a lazy useless non performing waste of a shirt from a neutral point of view (when he played for England).

Performed a lot better for Spurs (and on Top Of The Pops).

England winning the WC. ?? ..Very unlikely Too many top draw imports in prem. lge to have allowed English talent to have thrived. .You may have the best two defensive and offensive midfielders in the WORLD ever in Gerrard and a tank in Rooney who knows how to hustle and bustle,deliver a killer pass, and knows exactly where the net is - the trouble lies in finding suitable specialist midfielders with subtle different skills to partner them .EG ..Lampard. - never played well with either SG. or R.{ Despite age Becham must be in the squad - sleek is the word and opposition fear him . BUT Englands REAL weakness lies in a top notch striker pairing /s .Even a single striker would be a start.To be generous Defoe is very average .Crouch lacks accuracy and needs a hatful of chances .He must be the only player of 6' 6" to be out jumped by a midget.Heskey is to old, stationaryand overweight. Bent is ........Forget it There is NOT one English striker that puts fear in opposition defence, Look at the pairing of the Spannish side with Messrs Torres and Villas - and eat your heart out England . ,,Defensively JT has the fire in his belly ! ( still a big crybaby )but the rest including Ferdinand ( lost pace ) are very average . No-ne who has the confidence nor real ball skills to play feet to feet fast flowing football But a game of footie is won and lost in the midfield. Can SG and R do it alone ???? Methinks all the travel and heat of SA will not help and ENG. will wilt like the proverbial ..............................JC must be selected ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,England are not a bad side; juste an average side.

Ridiculous FC...heat...what heat ?...it will be winter in South Africa ...and they are based in the north....I think a semi final place is a possibility...beyond that I'm not so sure..anything can happen in semi finals and I'm not convinced that the Spanish will go all the way...they could come unstuck somewhere along the line...Has everybody forgotten Chris Waddle's performances for Marseille ?...he was sensational there, as good as Pele (the great Brazilian player) for about 2 years....during that time there was some rift with the England boss at that time...shame...because CW was incredible with Papin and sorts....

mes amities RF. l agree CW was a sensation at marqseille for a season or so; but thats history . But do tell: im quite honestly intrigued . Who would you play up front ? Thats Englands MAIN concern . .ln addition who is competent enough let alone good enough to form the back four? Who partners SG and Rooney in m/f and who plays between the sticks ?. ..........................England ALWAYS had a great tradition in producing truly great g/k -from Banks , Shilton ,Clemence to Seaman - but who have they now ?? ..Please dont say Flapper James ! Pleeeeese.

TFC,
Teams in the top league over here sold there souls to Murdock early 90s, they never much cared about the national side.. they care bugger all now. Hence the general decline of young talent coming through our club structure. The goal keeping area being the obvious position on the field to see the decline.

The Birmingham goalie deserves a chance....forgot his name...

TFC - As proved on Tuesday night in the second half Man U European match, as long as Rooney gets proper service he will score the goals and my moneys on him being leading scorer in the tournament. It is only since Ronaldo left that Ferguson has seen the light and played him in his natural role centre forward. They certainly have nothing to fear from the French, apart Henri's natural talent for basketball. :o)

"The Birmingham goalie deserves a chance....forgot his name...".. well that says a lot RF -):

Joe Hart, forgot about him came through the ranks at Shrewsbury, and yes most impressed when I have seen him.. but he's a rarity

I think TFCs point is valid.

I saw him the other week on telly.....looked not bad at all....sorry just can't follow every name in the soccer world...

"Teams in the top league over here sold there souls to Murdock early 90s, they never much cared about the national side.. they care bugger all now. Hence the general decline of young talent coming through our club structure"

And the additional funds destroyed home talent how exactly ?

Nonsensical argument put forward all the time - if you think it through then Scotland would presumably be a lot better than they are now !

Oh dont get me wrong .France are in an even worse position - egotistical , ageing and as predictable and boring as it gets !! Been in decline since won Euro cup and WC in 90,s Last game was literal torture ! .Play as 11 individuals and not a TEAM ! -As much as i hate to say it - they are the worst French side i have EVER seen .England are very average; but France are utter pants.

"And the additional funds destroyed home talent how exactly ?"

Because many Directors "think" that they can buy success and "quicker" by buying non-home players from overseas. The result being that our local talent is side lined.

"Nonsensical argument put forward all the time - if you think it through then Scotland would presumably be a lot better than they are now !"

Scotland is in a worst state, a lot of their top players used to be transferred to England and play in our better standard leagues. Not now so much as we shop in the world market, so their home grown players stagnate in arguably substandard Scottish football in general.

So not nonsensical at all.

Stan - if english players were such good value for money then they would be bought - its as simple as that. The reason clubs such as mine shopped abroad was down to the english players (aided by their agents) demands for ridiculous salary packages - even for kids that hadn't broken into the game.

To argue your line suggests that every manager took the same course of action at the same time - I wonder why !

Perhaps you could explain to the board why english players did not ply their trade abroad given the lack of employment at home - there's Hargreaves for one, and ....................who else ?

"Stan - if english players were such good value for money then they would be bought - its as simple as that. The reason clubs such as mine shopped abroad was down to the english players (aided by their agents) demands for ridiculous salary packages - even for kids that hadn't broken into the game."

That's beside the point Joe, if the top or rather the biggest clubs had not had the Murdock money, the demands would not have been so big also the bigger clubs would not have had more money to go abroad to the extent that they did. Consequently the conveyor belt for the national side slowed down to a larger extent.

"To argue your line suggests that every manager took the same course of action at the same time - I wonder why !

Perhaps you could explain to the board why english players did not ply their trade abroad given the lack of employment at home - there's Hargreaves for one, and ....................who else ?"

I never said that we have been world beaters individually or at international level in the past (far from it), my view is a "relative one" and not an absolutist one.

English clubs did not so badly in europe this time.....good old Fulham....knocked out Shaktar Donestk..(not sure about spelling)....Everton : same old thing.....just not good enough.....what on earth do people see in Phil Neville ?....you just know that if he gets the ball ...nothing will come of it...it was the same for the national side.....at least twice we were knocked out because of his shortcomings...euro 2000 (penalty at the end)....euro 2004 (lost the ball or did not tackle in time...Portugal went on to score their second goal)....nothing personal....just don't like the way he plays...