The European football thread

[The Funk]

The pace of the English game though also means that the British players are generally seen as reletively inferior to many other leagues.

[bababui]

Originally Posted by The Funk

The pace of the English game though also means that the British players are generally seen as reletively inferior to many other leagues.

Why is that?

[The Funk]

Originally Posted by bababui

Why is that?

Generally because they're usually technically inferior.

There are a few reasons:

1) - The English game is very fast, that is to say players close the opposition down quickly and don't give them much time on the ball. As a result it's harder to play possesion football and you end up with more long balls. British football is more of a territorial game than a possesion game, as opposed to most other countries. Against top technical teams who are very good at keeping the ball, even under pressure, this can be exposed, hence England's relative lack of success in international competition.

2) - The attitude of the players. British players generally are physically strong and have great determination. High workrate is demanded and technical players who don't like to muck in are often criticised. It's been said by one top manager [I forget who] that British players play football as a game, whereas most 'foreigners' play it as a job. Jose Mourinho, Portuguese Chelsea manager, has a great many foreign players, but he's said that he likes having a couple of English players (eg John Terry and Frank Lampard) in the middle of the team to act as its heart, to drive the others on and provide that never-say-die attitude.

3) Coaching - Britain has got left behind in this respect, probably due to this attitude of playing as a game rather than a job. It's also affected the coaching side. Many of the new ideas - scientific diets, specific coaches for technical training etc. are generally adopted later in England than in other top countries. As such we get left behind on the coaching front, which means young players are not as well trained.

The old 'get stuck in' adage still pervades British football. There is a huge sense of teamwork in the English game, but it also means that individual flair and ability is often de-emphasised at a young age, so kids aren't encouraged to play as an individual and practice their skills. Teamwork is a great attitude, but it can be learnt later and it often comes at the cost of hampering individual skill sets.


There are obviously many very technically gifted British players - Gerrard, Rooney etc. but the general standard is certainly lower than many nations nations such as Holland, Spain or Italy.

[ukhotstove]

I'd have to partly disagree with you on this, first if you look at the Champions League/European Cup, English (10) teams are only 1 win behind Spanish (11) teams who have won the trophy most times even though English teams were banned for 6 years and 5 of the Spanish wins came in the first 5 years, and in the last 10 years only Spain have produced more Champions League/European Cup winners.Also if you throw in the UEFA Cup England are equal with Italy on most winners produced by a nation and the old Cup Winners Cup England produced most winners of that trophy.

Also England are 1 of only 7 teams to have ever won the World Cup, whichever way you look at it they should/could have won more, 1970 Banks/Bonetti food poisoning, 1982 out to Germany in the second group stages even though they didn't lose a game, 1986 Maradona and the hand of God, 1990 out to Germany on pens, 2006 out to Portugal on pens.

One of the faults which imo stop English teams dominating like they used to is for some strange reason they think they have to play the European way of football even though it was the English way of playing football that made us a dominating country in the past, Alf Ramsey played an English type of football and nearly won 2 World Cups.

[thehatfield]

The "English way of playing football" in Europe at the club level, Arsene Arsenal Wenger's Gunners excepted, is like the "Scottish way of playing football" at the international level. That's why England doesn't get respect from the rest of Europe it has nothing to do with the actual trophy case. Some thugs are billionaires in this world it doesn't mean their respected for their methods.

[ukhotstove]

Originally Posted by Purple Cowboy

The "English way of playing football" in Europe at the club level, Arsene Arsenal Wenger's Gunners excepted, is like the "Scottish way of playing football" at the international level. That's why England doesn't get respect from the rest of Europe it has nothing to do with the actual trophy case. Some thugs are billionaires in this world it doesn't mean their respected for their methods.

Obvious you have seen very little of English football through the years, lmao Liverpool in the 70/80's were far from thugs nor were the Forest winning teams or the Villa team nor either of the Man Utd teams.

And as for trophies England rank only second to Italy in Champions League/UEFA Cup/Cup Winners Cup/World Cups/European Championships in total Cups won.

Thugs = lmao

[thehatfield]

Are you kidding? My dad's from Bulwell.

[ukhotstove]

Originally Posted by Purple Cowboy

Are you kidding? My dad's from Bulwell.

What club did Terry Butcher play in?

lmao and your point is.

[thehatfield]

My point is anyone with eyes outside of the UK says the same exact thing.

[thehatfield]

Dola, that was a very anti-climactic 500th post, thanks mate! :cheers:

(ps: didn't butcher play for ipswich?? )

[ukhotstove]

Originally Posted by Purple Cowboy

My point is anyone with eyes outside of the UK says the same exact thing.

Then they know nothing about football, you ask any football supporter around the World and they would say that the Liverpool teams of the 70/80's played the best football your likely to see and the same goes for the other teams I have mentioned, honestly if anyone tells you that English football is just thug football tell them to be quiet and not to display their ignorance of football.

[ukhotstove]

Originally Posted by Purple Cowboy

Dola, that was a very anti-climactic 500th post, thanks mate! :cheers:

(ps: didn't butcher play for ipswich?? )

And Rangers/England.

[thehatfield]

Originally Posted by ukhotstove

Then they know nothing about football, you ask any football supporter around the World and they would say that the Liverpool teams of the 70/80's played the best football your likely to see and the same goes for the other teams I have mentioned, honestly if anyone tells you that English football is just thug football tell them to be quiet and not to display their ignorance of football.

Yeah man well that's just like, your opinion, man.

[ukhotstove]

Originally Posted by Purple Cowboy

Yeah man well that's just like, your opinion, man.

Not really seeing that English football is the most watched football around the world, I think there's more than me in the world.

[theasfl]

Originally Posted by The Funk

Well I have no idea about any college sports in America so I can't diss you and take the high ground (although actually I did know those colleges have good progammes). Anyway...

In European football the big three leagues are England, Italy and Spain. Germany is probably slightly behind them and then France and Holland a bit lower. Then maybe Greece and Portugal. OF course many of the smaller leagues produce a lot of very good players, but the best ones tend to end up in the bigger leagues.

Of the leagues the English Premier league is the richest, possibly due to the language being more universal and thus the product is more investable. Also the pace of games is usually a lot higher which can be more exciting for neutrals.

very well explained

[thehatfield]

Originally Posted by ukhotstove

Then they know nothing about football, you ask any football supporter around the World and they would say that the Liverpool teams of the 70/80's played the best football your likely to see and the same goes for the other teams I have mentioned, honestly if anyone tells you that English football is just thug football tell them to be quiet and not to display their ignorance of football.

What have you got against the Irish - last I remember it was Northern Irie one-nil, and that was before your fancypants English manager!?

[ukhotstove]

Originally Posted by Purple Cowboy

What have you got against the Irish - last I remember it was Northern Irie one-nil, and that was before your fancypants English manager!?

Personally I would have gone with Macedonia 0-0 or Denmark 4-1 as the Macedonia game was recent and the Denmark game was a bigger margin and at around the same time as the Northern Ireland game.

[Raderick]

Could someone explain to me UEFA or even England's drug policy and punishments?

[Sdpm100]

Originally Posted by theasfl

theres no harm in expecting the worst and hoping for the best, though you can always try again next season/year.

I'll forget by then unless someone reminds me, so if someone could that would be nice.

Originally Posted by theasfl

dead on the panhandle (the actual jut into the gulf) if Im not mistaken; its somewhere between Tallahassee and Pensacola otherwise.

Looking at a Florida map, yes it is.

Originally Posted by theasfl

", though I think its recycled?

Recycled? It took me ages to find this one yesterday...

[Sdpm100]

Originally Posted by bababui

Or if they get caught up in illegal activities (bungs, for instance) like Juventus.

Speaking of which - Lazio and Juventus had eight points reinstated on appeal yesterday, and Fiorentina 4.