How rubbish are international breaks?

[Neville Kneville]

Disagree

Sometimes it’s nice to watch your team give someone a good thrashing! Like saying a Minnow shouldn’t be allowed to play a Premiership team in the cup, smaller clubs thrive on playing glamorous big clubs and every now and then you will get a shock result.

It really isn't 'nice' for most people watching England win 6-0 vs a bunch of postmen in a qualifying game.

It's also not 'nice' watching England win 1-0, against a bunch of fisherman parking their trawler in front of the goal, for no reason other than to say 'we only lost 1-0'.

In fact, it's fucking SHITE. It's even shite playing Slovenia, win lose or draw, as shown by all the 8.6 million London ****s who couldn't be arsed turning up to watch it, even though they have been handed the England football team as their own home team & can even buy fucking season tickets for it.

It's dying on its arse & anyone at FIFA who genuinely gave a shit would do something to try & revitalise it.

But they get loads of money & votes from small FAs & people still watch the finals (so far) so they are pushing it as far as they can take it, to line their pockets.

 

[BlueHammer85]

It really isn't 'nice' for most people watching England win 6-0 vs a bunch of postmen in a qualifying game.

It's also not 'nice' watching England win 1-0, against a bunch of fisherman parking their trawler in front of the goal, for no reason other than to say 'we only lost 1-0'.

In fact, it's fucking SHITE. It's even shite playing Slovenia, win lose or draw, as shown by all the 8.6 million London ****s who couldn't be arsed turning up to watch it, even though they have been handed the England football team as their own home team & can even buy fucking season tickets for it.

It's dying on its arse & anyone at FIFA who genuinely gave a shit would do something to try & revitalise it.

But they get loads of money & votes from small FAs & people still watch the finals (so far) so they are pushing it as far as they can take it, to line their pockets.

Qualifiers will never be exciting no matter how you try and dress it up - how many ‘glamour’ clubs playing against each other in the Champions League group stages - people are bored of them - it’s not until you reach the knockout stages in any cup competitions does it become interesting - England v Slovenia in a group match is boring, England v Slovenia in a Quater final and all of a sudden it’s exciting.

 

[KentBlue]

England v Slovenia in a Quater final and all of a sudden it’s exciting.

'Exciting' is the one word I would never associate with this current England set-up.

I've said before in a previous post, but I'll repeat myself because I'm a tedious little nobody desperately trying to be relevant. For too long now the FA has put profit before anything else. They have continuously employed managers who just can't cut it at the top (McClaren, Taylor, Hodgson, Keegan, Southgate etc). The football has become predictable and monotonous, and it's been many a long long year since players were chosen for their ability - I mean, Jordan Henderson...WTF! Look at the amount of caps one-trick pony Beckham picked up. For the last few years Shrek has been a fucking embarrassment, but he was picked in order to break the records: plus he was a rag so the plastics would buy tickets just for the chance to be able to brag to their grandchildren that they had actually seen this grotesque Billy Bunter tribute act score yet another penalty against some bunch of backwater part-timers.

I'm 61 and I can remember the England teams of the past. I can remember the excitement, the buzz in the air whenever there was an international game on the horizon. The feeling of exhilaration watching the players representing my beloved country step out on to the pitch, ready to do battle.

It might be an age thing, I don't know. But those feelings - for me, at least - disappeared a long time ago. Maybe if in some dim and distant future an England manager picks players on merit I might begin to take an interest again, but until then, fuck it, I'm out.

 

[Neville Kneville]

Qualifiers will never be exciting no matter how you try and dress it up - how many ‘glamour’ clubs playing against each other in the Champions League group stages - people are bored of them - it’s not until you reach the knockout stages in any cup competitions does it become interesting - England v Slovenia in a group match is boring, England v Slovenia in a Quater final and all of a sudden it’s exciting.

Exactly, even the Champions League group games are often less than exciting, but that is effectively a 'finals' tournament & there are always some big games on every match day (usually involving us, due to a shit draw).

The teams don't play each other in groups for two years in order to qualify to play in groups again, before getting into the knockout stages. They just play the 'finals' tournament & it happens during the domestic season.

Imagine if City had to play Bate Borisov, Brann Bergen, TNS Network Solutions, Inverness Caledonian Thistle & Everton, twice each, over a two year period & all other football stopped for a week each time, whilst they did it, then they get the chance to play Napoli, Shakhtar Donetsk & Feyenoord, over two weeks in the summer, in order to possibly play Monaco in a knockout game.

How fucking BORING would that be ?

The City team & manager who started the competition, might be completely different to the one who finishes it. What absolute bollocks it would be.

Today's delights on Sky red button: Slovenia v Scotland (ok, fun in case they comically fuck it up but y know) Denmark v Romania, Germany v Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan vs Armenia, Poland v Montenegro, Slovakia v Malta.

They are taking the fucking piss.

 

[squirtyflower]

Disagree

Sometimes it’s nice to watch your team give someone a good thrashing! Like saying a Minnow shouldn’t be allowed to play a Premiership team in the cup, smaller clubs thrive on playing glamorous big clubs and every now and then you will get a shock result.

I can understand why you would disagree, you're shit scared England would never win again if they had to play decent teams instead of the cannon foder we barely beat.

 

[BlueHammer85]

I can understand why you would disagree, you're shit scared England would never win again if they had to play decent teams instead of the cannon foder we barely beat.

Well. Yes. Why make it harder ?
Would you want Man City to be playing likes of Chelsea and Arsenal in the 1st round of the FA Cup as who cares if Man City are playing Oldham.
You can’t have international football with England Spain Germany continually playing against each other through qualifying and the main stage. That would be even more boring.

 

[Neville Kneville]

Well. Yes. Why make it harder ?
Would you want Man City to be playing likes of Chelsea and Arsenal in the 1st round of the FA Cup as who cares if Man City are playing Oldham.
You can’t have international football with England Spain Germany continually playing against each other through qualifying and the main stage. That would be even more boring.

Just don't have qualifying.

 

[squirtyflower]

Just don't have qualifying.

Qualifying is unnecessary

 

[squirtyflower]

Well. Yes. Why make it harder ?
Would you want Man City to be playing likes of Chelsea and Arsenal in the 1st round of the FA Cup as who cares if Man City are playing Oldham.
You can’t have international football with England Spain Germany continually playing against each other through qualifying and the main stage. That would be even more boring.

I want to watch good and interesting games, after all it is supposed to be entertainment.
And Thursday was the furthest from entertainment one could get.

 

[Alex - City Matters]

Well. Yes. Why make it harder ?
Would you want Man City to be playing likes of Chelsea and Arsenal in the 1st round of the FA Cup as who cares if Man City are playing Oldham.
You can’t have international football with England Spain Germany continually playing against each other through qualifying and the main stage. That would be even more boring.

The point you seem to be missing. If we played Oldham in the FA Cup, that's a one off. What use do San Marino get from getting leathered 8-0 every game? FFS, they've scored 6 goals since 2010 and haven't even won a game in that time. What is the point in that? Similar with the likes of Malta, Liechtenstein and Andorra.