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I've got no horse in this England debate but this is the most realistic assessment on the state of English football on here. I've been watching this sport since the 1970 WC (what a world cup that was including England's heroic efforts) and they've been pretty much crap for most of the last 40 years, give or take an outlier, or to quote a prominent Englishman living in LA. "England is a little dog that thinks its a big dog". One final in WC history and never been in a Euro final tells it own story. Also agree with the folks that think Gerrard had a good game last night. What were they watching I thought he was a limp wrist of a player out there. They have some good young talent coming thru but as soon as the PL starts up again nobody will give a flying **** about the national team. The obsession with the PL is simply overwhelming.

Roberto Martinez is doing stellar commentary for ESPN and when asked what could be done he said the first place is to start with a manager strong enough to tell the FA that a 6 year contract is his starting point and then commence at point zero ratcheting expectations down to where they should be namely that of an average team trying to scale upward and see how it goes from there. I'm quite confident that won't happen because of the little dog, big dog syndrome so England will just continue to play a little dog role in international football.

Contrast that to Germany where the national team takes top billing and where they also went thru a stretch of great misery from the late 90's to 2006. Klinsmann came along and with the ruthlessness for which he is known he initiated the reforms necessary, against at times fierce opposition to people within the federation and the club hierarchies and brought the whole thing full circle with a new attacking style of football with fresh young talent charming a nation of eternal pessimists in 2006. Since then they have again been a major force with football that is entertaining and successful and look as good a candidate as any to go all the way.

It can be done.

<blockquote data-quote="brendanr" data-source="post: 2487281" data-attributes="member: 65800">I&#039;ve got no horse in this England debate but this is the most realistic assessment on the state of English football on here. I&#039;ve been watching this&nbsp; sport since the 1970 WC (what a world cup that was including England&#039;s heroic efforts) and they&#039;ve been pretty much crap for most of the last 40 years, give or take an outlier, or to quote a prominent Englishman living in LA. &quot;England is a little dog that thinks its a big dog&quot;. One final in WC history and never been in a Euro final tells it own story. Also agree with the folks that think Gerrard had a good game last night. What were they watching I thought he was a limp wrist of a player out there. They have some good young talent coming thru but as soon as the PL starts up again nobody will give a flying **** about the national team. The obsession with the PL is simply overwhelming. Roberto Martinez is doing stellar commentary for ESPN and when asked what could be done he said the first place is to start with a manager strong enough to tell the FA that a 6 year contract is his starting point and then commence at point zero ratcheting expectations down to where they should be namely that of an average team trying to scale upward and see how it goes from there. I&#039;m quite confident that won&#039;t happen because of the little dog, big dog syndrome so England will just continue to play a little dog role in international football.Contrast that to Germany where the national team takes top billing and where they also went thru a stretch of great misery from the late 90&#039;s to 2006. Klinsmann came along and with the ruthlessness for which he is known he initiated the reforms necessary, against at times fierce opposition to people within the federation and the club hierarchies and brought the whole thing full circle with a new attacking style of football with fresh young talent charming a nation of eternal pessimists in 2006. Since then they have again been a major force with football that is entertaining and successful and look as good a candidate as any to go all the way.It can be done.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="brendanr, post: 2487281, member: 65800"] I've got no horse in this England debate but this is the most realistic assessment on the state of English football on here. I've been watching this sport since the 1970 WC (what a world cup that was including England's heroic efforts) and they've been pretty much crap for most of the last 40 years, give or take an outlier, or to quote a prominent Englishman living in LA. "England is a little dog that thinks its a big dog". One final in WC history and never been in a Euro final tells it own story. Also agree with the folks that think Gerrard had a good game last night. What were they watching I thought he was a limp wrist of a player out there. They have some good young talent coming thru but as soon as the PL starts up again nobody will give a flying **** about the national team. The obsession with the PL is simply overwhelming. Roberto Martinez is doing stellar commentary for ESPN and when asked what could be done he said the first place is to start with a manager strong enough to tell the FA that a 6 year contract is his starting point and then commence at point zero ratcheting expectations down to where they should be namely that of an average team trying to scale upward and see how it goes from there. I'm quite confident that won't happen because of the little dog, big dog syndrome so England will just continue to play a little dog role in international football. Contrast that to Germany where the national team takes top billing and where they also went thru a stretch of great misery from the late 90's to 2006. Klinsmann came along and with the ruthlessness for which he is known he initiated the reforms necessary, against at times fierce opposition to people within the federation and the club hierarchies and brought the whole thing full circle with a new attacking style of football with fresh young talent charming a nation of eternal pessimists in 2006. Since then they have again been a major force with football that is entertaining and successful and look as good a candidate as any to go all the way. It can be done. [/QUOTE]

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