Ultimate Football (Soccer) Thread 2014-15

[The Blaatschapen]

I hate being an England supporter.

Just do what I do and don't support them. It's not like they miss my support, anyway.

So you are the reason why they're playing badly

[Armeia]

I hate being an England supporter.

Being a USA supporter is way worse, at least the English FA is semi capable of making competent decisions.

[Devvo Mate]

Why?

If I was from San Marino or summat it'd be reet cos I'd have no hopes or expectations, and if you lost you'd not think anything of it, and on the offchance you win you go mad. With England we should be doing well but we're just so A V E R A G E and it drives me bananas

[Devvo Mate]

Just do what I do and don't support them. It's not like they miss my support, anyway.

Why don't you support em?

[DesAnges]

Just do what I do and don't support them. It's not like they miss my support, anyway.

So you are the reason why they're playing badly

I'm no such thing.

That would be Chris Smalling

I hate being an England supporter.

Being a USA supporter is way worse, at least the English FA is semi capable of making competent decisions.

As someone who is involved with grassroots football and whose dad is evern more heavily involved - the English FA is in no way even semi capable of making competent decisions.

[The Blaatschapen]

Why?

If I was from San Marino or summat it'd be reet cos I'd have no hopes or expectations, and if you lost you'd not think anything of it, and on the offchance you win you go mad. With England we should be doing well but we're just so A V E R A G E and it drives me bananas

Actually, England is slightly above average.

It's just not top of the world. And hasn't been for quite a while. Quarter finals world cup material at best. Which is still good, but the likes of Germany, Brasil and Italy will generally be better. France and Argentina too, on a good day.

[Devvo Mate]

Actually, England is slightly above average.

It's just not top of the world. And hasn't been for quite a while. Quarter finals world cup material at best. Which is still good, but the likes of Germany, Brasil and Italy will generally be better. France and Argentina too, on a good day.

Right, but on paper we SHOULD be better than that, but we're completely incapable of performing to our best ability. Haven't in a long time really, last I can think of was 2002 where we go booted out by Brazil who went on to win.

[Fartsniffage]

Why?

If I was from San Marino or summat it'd be reet cos I'd have no hopes or expectations, and if you lost you'd not think anything of it, and on the offchance you win you go mad. With England we should be doing well but we're just so A V E R A G E and it drives me bananas

Nah, we're well above average. I think of us as an Everton. Always in or around the top tier but not likely to win much.

[Armeia]

So you are the reason why they're playing badly

I'm no such thing.

That would be Chris Smalling

Being a USA supporter is way worse, at least the English FA is semi capable of making competent decisions.

As someone who is involved with grassroots football and whose dad is evern more heavily involved - the English FA is in no way even semi capable of making competent decisions.

I'm not from there(England) so I can't say anything about grassroots football but both the USA federation and the top league which is heavily involved with the federation don't treat their fans well. You can look up what happened with AO Seattle and AO Columbus for an example. And with the league MLS, they advertise showing smoke and streamers but punish supporters groups that use them in real life.

[The Blaatschapen]

Actually, England is slightly above average.

It's just not top of the world. And hasn't been for quite a while. Quarter finals world cup material at best. Which is still good, but the likes of Germany, Brasil and Italy will generally be better. France and Argentina too, on a good day.

Right, but on paper we SHOULD be better than that, but we're completely incapable of performing to our best ability. Haven't in a long time really, last I can think of was 2002 where we go booted out by Brazil who went on to win.

Yeah, too bad that the game is played on grass and not on paper

Why do you think you should be better than that "on paper"?

[DesAnges]

Just do what I do and don't support them. It's not like they miss my support, anyway.

Why don't you support em?

The FA are fuckwits and Roy Hodgson is a smalltime BIlly Big Bollocks. When both of those things change I might get back on board.

[DesAnges]

As someone who is involved with grassroots football and whose dad is evern more heavily involved - the English FA is in no way even semi capable of making competent decisions.

I'm not from there(England) so I can't say anything about grassroots football but both the USA federation and the top league which is heavily involved with the federation don't treat their fans well. You can look up what happened with AO Seattle and AO Columbus for an example. And with the league MLS, they advertise showing smoke and streamers but punish supporters groups that use them in real life.

Ah, advertising concerns. The English can do that shit just as well.

Why?

If I was from San Marino or summat it'd be reet cos I'd have no hopes or expectations, and if you lost you'd not think anything of it, and on the offchance you win you go mad. With England we should be doing well but we're just so A V E R A G E and it drives me bananas

Fucking hell you are a north Bristol boy.

[Devvo Mate]

Fucking hell you are a north Bristol boy.

As if you've pinned me down to north Bristol specifically jesus I'm scared.

You'll probably be able to work out my job history and eye colour from the way I'm typing this post

[Devvo Mate]

Yeah, too bad that the game is played on grass and not on paper

Why do you think you should be better than that "on paper"?

Lots of exceptionally good players in the Prem who are very good week-in week-out, but stick all these fantastically skilled blokes together on a single team and they just fall to bits, can't work it out for the life of me. We should be a consistent quarter-finalist, and semis shouldn't be beyond us, but we just don't seem to be able to do it in practice.

[DesAnges]

Fucking hell you are a north Bristol boy.

As if you've pinned me down to north Bristol specifically jesus I'm scared.

You'll probably be able to work out my job history and eye colour from the way I'm typing this post

1) You're a Rovers fan, rare-ish to get one of those south of the Avon
2) I read your post on the election thread about your constituency.

But yes, I'm psychic.

[DesAnges]

Yeah, too bad that the game is played on grass and not on paper

Why do you think you should be better than that "on paper"?

Lots of exceptionally good players in the Prem who are very good week-in week-out, but stick all these fantastically skilled blokes together on a single team and they just fall to bits, can't work it out for the life of me. We should be a consistent quarter-finalist, and semis shouldn't be beyond us, but we just don't seem to be able to do it in practice.

It's often a complaint about English players that they aren't technically proficient - players like Rooney, Wilshere (I'll give him that very grudgingly), Sterling, Barkley, Gerrard, Lampard etc. etc. all disprove this.

Brendan Rodgers thinks that English players lack the tactical and mental game that their continental counterparts have - I think this holds much more water.

[Devvo Mate]

1) You're a Rovers fan, rare-ish to get one of those south of the Avon
2) I read your post on the election thread about your constituency.

But yes, I'm psychic.

Ah well that makes more sense. I do know a Rovers fan who lives in Burnham which is a seaside town about 30 miles south of here, but yeah the general rule is north Bristol and the northern surrounding towns are Rovers, South and central Briz, plus the southern satellite towns are City filth.

[DesAnges]

1) You're a Rovers fan, rare-ish to get one of those south of the Avon
2) I read your post on the election thread about your constituency.

But yes, I'm psychic.

Ah well that makes more sense. I do know a Rovers fan who lives in Burnham which is a seaside town about 30 miles south of here, but yeah the general rule is north Bristol and the northern surrounding towns are Rovers, South and central Briz, plus the southern satellite towns are City filth.

Keynsham and Bitton tend to be a bit more Rovers.

Source: Keynshamite.

[Devvo Mate]

It's often a complaint about English players that they aren't technically proficient - players like Rooney, Wilshere (I'll give him that very grudgingly), Sterling, Barkley, Gerrard, Lampard etc. etc. all disprove this.

Brendan Rodgers thinks that English players lack the tactical and mental game that their continental counterparts have - I think this holds much more water.

Yeah I'd back that. You cannot look at these players and say they aren't excellent, because they are, they jus don't seem to mesh on a national level.

[Devvo Mate]

Keynsham and Bitton tend to be a bit more Rovers.

Source: Keynshamite.

Oh you're from Keynsham! Why did I think you were scouse? Or did you move there? Yeah it might be on the basis that Keynsham's out the southeast, and Rovers used to be based in Eastville, there's a bit of historical support still knocking around?

[DesAnges]

Keynsham and Bitton tend to be a bit more Rovers.

Source: Keynshamite.

Oh you're from Keynsham! Why did I think you were scouse? Or did you move there? Yeah it might be on the basis that Keynsham's out the southeast, and Rovers used to be based in Eastville, there's a bit of historical support still knocking around?

Dad's a wool, I'm a wool by birth, but been down here for 99.9% of my life.

And I think the split is just because we're more removed from the insularity of the rivalry. There's a bit more exposure to both teams.

[Devvo Mate]

Dad's a wool, I'm a wool by birth, but been down here for 99.9% of my life.

And I think the split is just because we're more removed from the insularity of the rivalry. There's a bit more exposure to both teams.

Ah I wasn't totally making shit up then.

Hahahaha acting as if Keynsham is some metropolitan paradise where you're above such petty things as football rivalries and instead pick teams based on merit, love it.

[DesAnges]

Dad's a wool, I'm a wool by birth, but been down here for 99.9% of my life.

And I think the split is just because we're more removed from the insularity of the rivalry. There's a bit more exposure to both teams.

Ah I wasn't totally making shit up then.

Hahahaha acting as if Keynsham is some metropolitan paradise where you're above such petty things as football rivalries and instead pick teams based on merit, love it.

Ah fuck no I wasn't saying that. It's just which team you're exposed to first is a bit less geographically based.

Besides, we've got our own in-town football rivalry. Keynsham/Fry's can get pretty hairy, you know.

[Osarius]

I hate being an England supporter.

Just do what I do and don't support them. It's not like they miss my support, anyway.

Yup. I only support England when Villa players are in the squad.

Being a USA supporter is way worse, at least the English FA is semi capable of making competent decisions.

As someone who is involved with grassroots football and whose dad is evern more heavily involved - the English FA is in no way even semi capable of making competent decisions.

The amount of truth in these words is painful to bear. After a decade of this bullshit, I'm very likely to "retire" from coaching this summer, because frankly, I don't know if I can handle any more of it.

[Evil Lord Sauron]

Being a USA supporter is way worse, at least the English FA is semi capable of making competent decisions.

As someone who is involved with grassroots football and whose dad is even more heavily involved - the English FA is in no way even semi capable of making competent decisions.

So much truth. You could argue they do more for the Premiership, but as the Premiership is run separate from the FA and is only loosely associated with them they have very little say. Go down past Championship (and I doubt many Championship sides have a good thing to say) you'll find very few people or fans who have a good thing to say about the FA. The amount of money flowing into the game the FA should be doing more to ease the cost of grassroots football and also the cost on the average fan right the way through the pyramids. Instead it feels like we are being bled dry despite the record TV deals that are flowing in, not just for the Premiership but various other competitions.