seriously....if we had darren bent or agbonlahor instead of EMILE HESKEY, we would have done so much better, those 2 players have incredible pace and they are absolutely sikk...emile heskey may have set up Gerrard but after that he done shit.
@MrAnthropophagy actually, the team was awful because of the managers choice of players, he should have picked lescott, walcott, bent instead of heskey, ledley king, lennon and even S.R.Phillips
@TheZadzzz The managers choice of players? These were the same players who did so well during qualifying. Don't see how the players you've mentioned would've done any better. Lescott, Bent, Heskey, King, Lennon and Phillips are hardly, lets say, world beaters and Walcott is inconsistant. Capello has a fine record as manager and i'd rather him pick the team than some armchair 'expert'. The players couldn't even pass the ball over 10 meters of grass to each other!!! Players bottled it.
@MrAnthropophagy As for me, I blame the press feeding frenzy after the Green howler. Combined with talk like "anything less than a 4-0 win against Algeria will be a disappointment." It totally messed up the team for the Algeria match, destroyed their confidence. We sorted it out for Slovenia, had to win and did and did well, but then it was Germany, and, well, it's Germany. That and the ghost goal, but they were the better side anyway.
@MrAnthropophagy Oh and I also blame the press for Germany a lot too. It's the only match where I've taken real issue with Capello's tactics, that high line was absolutely suicidal, played right into their hands. But then every idiot behind a microphone was saying not even one German player would make our team, and then there's the fact Capello dominated Germany in Germany with a second string side. But Germany made big changes since then and these idiots didn't report it.
@Elvetianul09 Ha. I like your enthusiasm. I wouldn't bet on it. Still, I predicted an improbable Bulgaria victory once. I predicted Bulgaria would beat Germany back in 1994 in front of a room full of people. I was just a kid and knew nothing of the strengths of the national teams, it was my first viewing of an International tounrament. They laughed at me, but they were all wrong. I got the Ireland win over Italy too.
@afterthefact15 Worst World Cup ever. Some of the matches were pure torture, but I did watch almost all the matches. That stupid ball making teams go defensive as it was smart with attacking ability greatly reduced because of the ball, vuvuzelas draining all personality out of it, fans drowned out and players unable to draw off their support, and awful refereeing. Worst World Cup ever, an absolute joke that that was the showpiece 4 yearly event of the greatest sport on Earth.
@Lorric101 exactly i actually fell asleep during the final and i have never done that. when i woke up i was so pissed that i would do such a thing, haha. The vuvuzelas were bittersweet though because for the continent of Africa they were fitting but for us viewers i couldnt bear to stand the noise. Hopefully they World Cup in Brazil will be a better one. Also the refs always seem to be awful during both the World Cup and Champions League especially.
@afterthefact15 Ha ha. The actual noise of the vuvuzelas doesn't bother me, but they wipe out everything else.
If a World Cup in BRAZIL, the most football mad nation on the planet can't beat this one, then the World Cup is doomed!
Champions League refs this year will have a little help from the extra officials that were employed in the Europa League last year. I've never had any real problem with the standard there overall. There are mistakes sure, but no more than would be expected.
@Lorric101 two years ago Chelsea vs. Barcelona. I'm not one to believe in conspiracy's but that was a pretty bad game. 5 PK attempts in Chelsea's favor i would agree that UEFA didnt want another English final.
@afterthefact15 I don't actually agree. I think it went down about equal. For Me Barca were denied a penalty in the first leg, they had a guy sent off in the 2nd leg for nothing, and only 2 or 3 penalties were proper penalties (I can't remember whether I thought it was two or three.) If they wanted Barca in the final, there's no way they'd hand Chelsea a massive advantage in the 2nd leg by reducing Barca to 10 men with Chelsea holding the lead at home when there wasn't even a foul.
@afterthefact15 Matches like that stick out, but really, how many other CL matches were destroyed by the referee? The standard is quite good in the CL imo, especially when you consider the high level and high pressure.
@Lorric101 true true, i guess i just have a little grudge with the referee because of that game, haha. Essien had a freaking colossal goal that game... weak foot on a volley, upper V, cant be matched.
@Lorric101 very true. Chelsea has always been my team, beginning of 200's to mid they always seemed to be the underdogs and fought hard and i loved watching them play.
@afterthefact15 I thought Chelsea were favourite to win last year. I don't actually support a club team, but I support the English club teams in Europe, and my loyalties when they meet each other go to the team with the most English players. So for instance I was rooting for Chelsea in all those Liverpool matches. Also, it's about our players getting further. So I wasn't rooting for anybody in the final between Man U and Chelsea, because our players had already got as far as they could.
@0894499966 Thanks. Rooney was banging them in in qualifying, and for Man U where he scooped up almost every award going in the Premier League. But his form dipped at the wrong time. I wonder how he will do in the new season.
@5551Batman That imo is the biggest problem. The press is the cause of the 2nd problem. Without these idiots telling us "Oh, we're the best in the World, we can win the World Cup, oh the Germans, no more than 1 or 2 guys would get in our team" etc etc. The public would have to use their own judgement. Plus, the press pump our opponents to beat us. I bet every team in Group C had a picture of that EASY front page on the Sun in their dressing room. I know I would do that if I was US, Slo or Alg.
@5551Batman If I was writing that report, instead of focusing on the fact they're not big names, I'd be saying we shouldn't underestimate them. Slovenia probably went down the hardest road of any team to qualify. Algeria qualified at the expense of the most dominant team on their continent. United States topped the CONCACAF qualifying Hexagonal, beat Spain at the Confed Cup and took Brazil to the limit in the final. But instead the press tell us they're shit and we should beat them easy.
Two planes landed in engalnd today, one carrying a bunch of underachieving overpaid morons and the other seven coffins draped with the union jack. Footballers give for 90 mins, soldiers give their lives, even in a pointless war, yet footballers get paid 10x the amount. This is the real joke, not the england team
@jimsmells67 Well that's the way the business works unfortunately. Wars are not lucrative. Football is. I saw that on the news today live. War isn't pointless though, and we should be sending more troops to finish the job properly, not pulling people out. Wars should be finished, instead politicians think they can put timelines on them and regulate them. Hey terrorists! Hold out for 5 years and you've won! We'll all go away, then you can pick up where you left off and start killing us again!
@Lorric101 Very interesting, again typical of that English superiority complex, yes lets go and drop more bombs on innocent people in a pointless war driven by a corporatecracy and elite band of war profiteers, while innocent people get killed (soldiers and civilians alike). Terrorists are those that use phony documents and false pretexts for war so their paymasters can profit as usuall! Afghan nor the Iraqi's killed anyone here. Al-cia-da is prodcut of the CIA
@diggsde Explain to me how someone from the CIA could persuade someone to end their own life and the lives of hundreds of innocents as well. Stupid conspiracy theories. Nothing could persuade me to do that, nothing.
@Lorric101 Al-caeda was the name given by the FBI/CIA to wanted suspects of bombings in a similar way to orgainsed crimes/mafia etc rather than presenting evidence and bringing individuals to justice. They decied upon the name Al-quaeda and kept repeating it in the media. I don't believe this organisation exists (see "power of nightmares"). "consipracy" is word used like a rubber stamp to silence those that question the official line... still we are of topic but do your own research:-)
@Lorric101 Yes terrorists do exit and its all relative, to the iraqis/afgahns, the american and the english war mongers are terrorists; they live in terror of being bomed from 10,000 feet.
@diggsde Changes nothing. Taliban are a worse threat to them than an errant bomb here and there falling from the sky. Unlike Iraq, a real difference can be made to these people's lives.
Their lives can be changed greatly for the better. And it's a cause worth fighting for imo. Plus, we, and they, are past the point of no return. Pull out, and the Taliban will slash and burn their way through Afghanistan punishing all who defied them on a level that makes everything that's come before tame.
@Lorric101 Oh listen to your Imperial/colonial talk, it's breathtaking! Yes we are more "civilised", we bomb you to make your lives better because we know best..."errant Bomb" what hypocracy! The Taliban can in the end only be defeated by its own people not by foriegn powers. It only unites them against the western forces even more. You are simply reflecting the mainstream media view...a bit like how brilliant our footbal team was and are favs to win the WC2010....
@diggsde I don't want us to conquer them, stop it with the assumptions.
We get rid of the Taliban, and the persecution and draconianism that comes with them, we get rid of all these men with guns, for us and for them. We get rid of the drugs, have them grow food instead of poppies, for us and for them. All to be taught in schools so they can stand on their own two feet and live full lives.
@Lorric101 Only the Afghans can get rid of the Taliban, you are fooling yourself if you think otherwise. Western nations always seem to approach politics/conflicts, with non western ones from a point of power and hence this misplaced superiority complex. where did u learnt that the poppy fields/drugs were being run by the Taliban? Under the Taliban they had destroyed them! it was their opposition that continued to grow then with the help of CIA (funding)
But drop the friend lock please. A debate like this doesn't belong here, and these comment boxes are too small for it too. I will not respond to any more talk of this on this page, but would like to continue the debate.
It is a concession to the locals so they will not starve. Once the country is on it's feet, we can torch them.
@Lorric101 your views are that of the press and the usual talk from politicians, you know the type.."we are there becuase they want us there" "they will greet us with flowers" ad infinitum! Some consession to the locals, when there's enough food that can be delivered by UN?!?!?
@diggsde As for errant bomb, civillian casualties are part of war, it is unavoidable. And the taliban and terrorists have no scruples about killing innocents.
The people must be brought round. And it should be done by showing them on the news what we can do for them, lets ask the girls what they learned in the brand new school that was opened for them today. Instead of body bags and explosions and politicians looking to find ways to keep their seats in an election.
@Lorric101 That is your typical "offical" media/politician talk, it helps to demonise the enemy making it so much easier to except their casualities as "unavoidable" By the same reasoning, why not just accept the casualities of soldiers as unavoidable, why fuss over them?..it's part of war right? Afghans have every right to defend their country no more or less than you and I have if we were invaded, no matter what the logic or morals of the invading force! We've brought more misery not less.
@diggsde It's getting really confusing trying to keep up with that mess of comments on thi page, and we really shouldn't be filling a football video with talk of war. Couldyou drop the friend lock, so I can message you please?
@Lorric101 Because I question your opinion/view? if you can state things touted by the mass media and think therefore it must be true, I can equally challenge that view. The CIA did not need to persuade anyone, they could have been innocent people with middle eastern names or were CIA assests told they were taking part in a security excercises that day, which were being conducted, simulating those very attcks...hmmm coincidence eh? Still nothing to do with Iraqis & Afghans.
@diggsde Control the media, control the mind. But not mine. Afghanistan is the only war I approve of, I was against Iraq from the very beginning. So now that we've got the idea that I might be a drone who believes everything he hears on the news, on to Afganistan.
That war has been going on 9yrs. The troops on the ground would know by now if they were pawns in someone else's plans. And believe me, they wouldn't like it. And you don't want to piss off men with guns who know how to use them.
@Lorric101 Troops are nothing but cannon fodder for the elite profiteers of wars. Yes we shed tears for the dead soldiers but they should not be there! It all comes down to control and goepolitics, oil pipelines and innocent people stuck in the midddle suffer. Troops take orders not point guns at their superiors or their paymasters, if only they did!! 9yrs or 90 years, we'll never win through military means..period!
We have one of the best leagues, but it's not the British players who make it that - it's the foreign players, our players are over-rated, overpaid plodders, who can't pass, retain possession, have no pace, first touch or flir and can't beat a man.
Our press and ex-pros say Rooney is world-class, but he lost the ball more than any other player in the entire world cup! On a par with Messi and Ronaldo? Don't make me laugh.
@jackHNv Those two haven't exactly lit up this tournament. Messi hasn't scored, and Ronaldo got a tap in against a dead and buried North Korea. It is others who are making a name for themselves. Not for lack of trying for Messi though, I'll give him that certainly.
@Lorric101 Ronaldo and Messi haven't played that well yet, but Rooney's stats are the worst of any player in the tournament.
We've got to get realistic about England's players - they're not very good, but we refuse to accept it.
You can't be a great player who plays poorly at every major tournament - if you do that you're a poor player, and we've failed at every tournament since 1990.
All our recent managers have been proven successful managers - it's not them, it's the players.
@jackHNv Not the worst. No way. We're probably behind all the "elite" countries, but in front of the rest. In general, we get past those teams, but fall to the first "elite" team we come across. McLaren hadn't done much before we got him. Sven with 3 quarter finals was not to be sniffed at, that was the 2nd best record of any team in Europe.
@Lorric101 Rooney's stats for the world cup are abysmal, he was the most dispossessed player in the whole tournament, and lost the ball 54 per cent of the times he got it, had no assists, no goals, one shot on target in 4 games - that's not a world-class player is it?
McLaren's just won the Dutch league with a really unfashionable team and no money, so he must be OK.
Gary Neville said yesterday that our players are not up to the level of the top nations - he's right.
Y'know my Mum's been watching the World Cup. She normally pays no interest in football, but she does watch the World Cup. And while she doesn't know much about football, she is very, VERY good at telling when someone is not well, and she thinks Rooney is ill.
McLaren, yes, that was very impressive. But he was terrible as England manager. He is the only manager that I've ever wanted sacked. He just didn't seem to care at all.
@Lorric101 She's probably right, he didn't look fit to me either, I do think he's not at the level of Messi etc but he's certainly better than he looked at the World Cup.
@jackHNv Messi to me is in a league of his own. He's like Maradona, without the cheating, and the drug use and the shady stuff. I hope he surpasses Maradona and makes people forget Maradona.
@Lorric101 Every player cheats, it;s the nature of the game. Accroding Jim Greaves, no player would own up to foul play. Maradona was not the first and will not be the last player to have used a hand. By the way it is very unlikely that Maradona will be forgotten, he's simply too great a player, no England player of past, present and future could even come close to his shadow! Even if Messi surpasses Maradona, the genuis will still be the greatest player. His personal life is his business!
@jackHNv Yes these players were very good, especially George Best but in terms of sheer skill and ball control, awareness to create magic out of nothing, poetry in motion, Maradona is untouchable, G Best comes close but no way "better" As for the Bobby's, not a chance, they had limited range compared to the little genius.
@diggsde No, they were just different - defending, shooting and passing are just as much part of the game as dribbling, and it's just as important to be good at them.
Bobby Moore couldn't do what Maradona did (obviously), but can you imagine how poor Maradona would be at centre-back?
Best had all the skill and pace Maradona had, but had two feet, could tackle,and was good in the air, also he played when defenders were allowed to kick lumps out of skillful players.
@jackHNv Maradona could have played in any position, his passing, shooting (check out some of his free kicks, not just for Argentina) are second to none and not bad in defence when required! Best had all the skills you refer to but a number of levels below Maradona. I would have liked to seen Best tak NI to the world cups as Maradona did with an average set of players in 86 and then go on to win.
He never tackled, and couldn't head a ball! Could have played in any position? What, centre-back? - Have you ever played football?
Best's NI team had one or two other Div 1 players, the rest were lower league, or even non-league - you can't possibly compare them with Argentina, that's the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard.
@jackHNv You've obviously not seen many of his games, why would you when your dislike for him is blatantly obvious! Maradona was the centre piece, the heart of the team, he was, if you like the master conductor....Yes I have played football, I spent 10 years playing in Germany (non-league), where i had the privledge to learn far more than I ever could in England. Ludicrous comparison? Then do away with your ludicrous "if Best had" this and "if Best had" that! "what if" comparisons.
@diggsde Best was unlucky to come from NI, so never hadthe chance to play in a World Cup or for a great international side, if he had played for Brazil, Argentina etc he would have eclipsed anything Maradona did.
As far as Maradona being 'untouchable', Pele was a far better player, played longer, scored more and won more, and did it without diving, cheating or taking drugs.
@jackHNv Sorry but Pele was not far better!! Pele was surrounded by great players that made him look extra brilliant. Take Pele out of the Brazilian teams and they would never have looked like a non world cup winning side! Maradona stood alone in a team of average players on the international stage. Without him Argentina are left out to dry. If goal scoring is a criteria then Arthur Friedenreich (Brazilian) scored more goals than Pele in his career.
@diggsde Well OK then. you can disagree with me and practically every ex-pro that's ever been asked.
Yes, Maradona was the best player in an average team, but Pele was the best player in the best team in the world!
Pele was two-footed, faster than Maradona, and incomparably better in the air.
His drug taking has 'nothing to do with his football'? He was thrown out of the 1994 World Cup because he tested positive for 5 different performance-enhancing drugs - during the tournament!
@jackHNv Which ex-pro pray? do you mean that FIFA survey commissioned to find the player of the century? It was returned with an overwhelming victory for Maradona. FIFA obviously didn't like this and commissioned a second award but his time voted for by "pundits" and footbal journalists!! haha..what do they know about football?? Like all the English pundits telling us England were gonna win, they're the favs..etc
@jackHNv Which 5 different drugs was he banned for? He was banned for Ephadrine! Typically English eh..exaggerating reality! Ephadrine, atheltes believe improves their stamina but cannot improve your skills, talent in anything, especially in footballing terms! Pele was two-footed and Maradona was not...well all the more reason why with 50% of the tools he could play like he did, makes him greater! Maradona was not fast? ask the English team of 86 and other midfield to defences he tore apart!
@diggsde I didn't say he wasn't quick, I said Pele had more pace, which he did.
I don't care particularly about the 86 world cup - it's history and we weren't good enough to win it anyway.
Yes, loads of players dive - that doesn't make it right does it?
He feigned injury, dived, tried to get opponents sent off for nothing and took banned drugs, after he reitred things didn't improve either. I make no apologies for thinking he's a pretty loathsome individual, he's one of top 5 players though.
There are loads of things to take into consideration when you judge a player - touch, pace, vision, heading, tackling, positional sense, finishing, dribbling, passing, character, length of career etc
Maradona may be top in one (dribbling) at a stretch, two, but that's it.
@Lorric101 That's part of the point I'm trying to make. My God - Maradona as a role model? It makes you weep!
When I was a kid Santos played my hometown team, Plymouth Argyle and I was lucky enough to get Pele's autograph, he stood outside and talked to us kids for a while and was a real gentleman - there's no comparison.
@jackHNv Yeah. Wow, you really are lucky! Ha ha ha! Oh, there'll be no getting you to back down here if you got Pele's autograph, ha ha ha! Look at Messi. Modesty and respect at that level of ability is very admirable. There's a purity and love of the game about Messi.
At least Maradona has been speaking of fair play at the World Cup. I'm sure he's just trying to protect Messi, but the man has power to influence, and anything to make the game fairer is good in my book.
@jackHNv No it does't make it right but if loads of players do this, even the great ones, feigning injury, trying to get players sent off (Ronaldo-rooney?, rivaldo, the whole italian team...etc), why only make a point about Maradona...because somewhere in the back of your mind it's all about the "hand" against england, so you'll use every argument which can equally apply to whole string of players! He is number 1 player and idolised by many young players the world over!
@jackHNv whatever type of person he is has no bearing on you! His personal ife is not your business. His morals and character are no lower than any footballers you like. Cruyff was serial womaniser, his wife stopped him attending the world cup, is that not of a lower moral character? Maradona only hurt himself for which he often apologised to his fans for and tried to make amends...He that is without sin....let him.....what???
@jackHNv speed only means anything in footbal if you can control the ball as though it's tied to your shoelaces! No one showed that more than Maradona, he moved with speed, agility, trickery leaving a litany of sprawling bodies of players behind him:-) Never seen Pele do that! He had the luxury of having the support of great players around him. Yes Pele was the best in the air no doubt! But if I had a choice to have the skills of Pele or Maradona, being left-footed myself, it would be Diego
@jackHNv He did have good close control but show me or point me to footage of Pele going through players seamlessly as if the ball was tied to his shoelace. I've not seen him do that. So, yes Peke did have excellent close ball control but still not as good as Maradona. Diego made it look too easy, he glided, passed players with ease and not only over short distances.
@jackHNv Sorry but Maradona would have been the best player in any team! He could have walked into any team internationally or at club level and he would be the star attraction! even as a manger today, the South African crowds come to see messi and who else? Yes Maradona sittinng/standing on the sidelines, albeit wearing a suit:-)
@jackHNv Furthermore, drug taking is a non issue, that's his personal life and has nothing to do with his footbal skills, the two are mutually exclusive. As for cheating, only England fans go on about this, rather than blaming others, we should improve our football and stop whinging about the past. As for diving, you mean when he was hacked to pieces in WC 82 and numerous other games at national & club level, resulting in a broken leg?
@diggsde I'm not just talking about the 'Hand of God', - Maradona dived and tried to get opponents booked or sent off on a regular basis - both for Argentina his club sides.
If you want to see a great player 'hacked to pieces' watch Pele's 1966 World Cup.
Maradona was a proven drugs cheat, as well as a cheat in other ways, and as such (like in athletics) he should be stripped of his medals and erased from the record books.
@jackHNv He was banned for ephadrine, this is not a performance enhancing drug in the strictest sense, especially in football, it cannot teach you skills!
"As well as a cheat in other ways"??? So for what else was he banned for?
Just get over the fact that he turned england inside-out shredded them in the WC with his beautiful play! If you feel so passionate, then by your exacting, yet rather biased standards, many players would be banned. How many players dive as a matter of course? Lots
@diggsde That's Maradona taking a shortcut, like he did with everything else. Why train properly, when you can just boost up your stamina with this drug, give you an advantage when others start running out of gas.
@Lorric101 no one ever accused Maradona of not training hard enough, even his own team mates testifiy to that, just watch one or two documentaries about him. You can boost up your stamina as much as you want but skill is what matters. Perhaps we should bring on Usain Bolt next time for the last 20minutes and with his stamina and speed..we'd have no problem winning!
@diggsde Why are you defending this guy? Performance enhancing drugs are performance enhancing drugs. Tell that to someone who's tiring out while someone else is still going thanks to drugs. Especially if it goes to extra time.
Usain Bolt is Jamaican.
By the way though, it brings something up. Walcott. I was glad he was left behind. Were you?
All footballers who do things the honest way are above Maradona. This man shouldn't be on a pedestal, he should be vilified.
@Lorric101 I'm defending this guy for his beautiful football, he was in my opinion the greatest player and yes he did have a side to him that was less than pleasant at times on the field but no more so than most players and what he did in his personal life I do not judge him on. Yes I now Usain Jamaican, I was making a point about speed and stamina without football skills.
Walcott is a very good player not sure if FC should have left him behind, he couldn't have done worse than what he took!
@diggsde But surely there are others mouch more worthy of admiration. Forget Maradona. Messi is here! Unlike Maradona, Messi appreciates his gift, and is respectful, humble and honest. He plays with a happy smile on his face, and you just can't hate the guy. In fact, I think that will be a key to his survival. Every game I've seen involving him, players don't seem to hack at him. While it is practical from a gameplay point of view not to, he is unlikely to provoke people into doing so.
@Lorric101 Perhaps you should ask Messi, who is football idol is and makes him want to be a great footballer? his answer will most likely be ..Maradona!
I never saw hate/misery on Maradona's face when he played, I only see that on the English players, especially against Germany and Argentina (perhaps past wars have some relation to this, stoked up by the press for good measure).
@diggsde You are so negative thinking the worst from everything I say. I was never inferring that Maradona played with hate or misery on his face. Open up your mind. Never seen any hate on English faces at tournaments. Misery, seen that way too often. The joy on Messi's face is as happy as any player I have seen. He truly appreciates what he has.
I don't know who Messi's favourite player is. Tried to find out. Maradona is the obvious bet though.
@Lorric101 Actually Maradona has already complained on his behalf, of you like, through his WC press conferences how Messi is being fouled and chopped without the ref's protection.
@Lorric101 H'es been man marked and brought down on a number of occasions that even promtped Allen Hansen to say the ref should start pulling out yellow cards, especially against Greece
@diggsde Well I kind of meant targetted more than you'd expect. He IS Messi after all. But maybe I'm wrong on this one. However I will stick by an assertion that no one was trying to damage him. No malice was directed at him.
@Lorric101 Wait till he gets to Maradona's level, he'll be hacked about like Maradona was, just check out some of the games WC 82 and WC 86 games, also his club career where his leg was broken. Malice will catch him up as Messi becomes bigger and better! Anyway I'm off for now, this has been way too much time in front of the PC!
@diggsde Alright then. But I think I have more faith in human nature. If Messi's character remains the same, he won't be harmed by malice. He's good enough that he might get hurt by accident, and maybe by one or two unscrupulous players, but he's done well for himself so far.
@Lorric101 We could around in circles here but most footballers don't do things the honest way! If they did that only makes them more honest than Maradona but not better footballers. I played non league football in Germany for about 10 years, while living there and for many of us and the younger players coming up, in pure footballing terms, Maradona is umatched! the England team should be villified, they should not have turned up!
@diggsde No no no. The team from this tournament that should be vilified is France. Everyone else pretty much gets a pass after the way France conducted themselves. Everyone can at least say "Oh, at least we weren't as bad as France!"
Plus, I wouldn't have been able to make my videos if England hadn't shown up :)
Maradona abused and pissed on talent that some footballers would probably cut off an arm to have.
Can't argue with the actual talent, but it is so undeserved that it was his.
@diggsde How can Maradona be the greatest if Messi surpasses him?
Not owning up isn't much of a problem, I had no problem with the German keeper in our match. Deliberate cheating is. As is taking drugs, especially with such phenomenal talent. He doesn't deserve the position he holds in history.
@Lorric101 Depends on your criteria for "surpassing" him? Is it a matter of goals scored, caps etc? Messi will hopefully become one of the greatest players too but I still don't see the elegance of ball control, dribbling, spatial awareness that Marodona displayed, who could have played in any position, as he was that type of player. All players will cheat dilberately for the "greater good" of the team. Micheal Owen dilberately cheated against Argentina by diving and getting a penalty!
Anyway, I really like Messi's honesty. He could even be not quite as good as Maradona, but get past him based on that. It will be about longevity and ability at the end of the day. It is simply too early to judge Messi at this point. But he's always getting bettter. He hasn't hit his prime yet. I would judge a footballer on the complete package, and that includes attitude to the game as well as raw talent.
@Lorric101 Its gone down as one of the best 10 dives:-) of course you don't remember it, it's ok when English players cheat here and there, we tend to turn a blind eye, after all they're english! but foriegn players..now thats a different story! A usual case of double standards. Yes, I agree Messi will become great but for most football fans around the world, Maradona was the complete package, his personal turmoils notwithstanding! Attitude?? no one displays more passion for the game as Diego
@diggsde You don't know me well enough. One of the primary reasons I can support England is a level of fair play above most other teams. I've watched the replay, and I see two angles, and one looks like a blatant dive, the other, a stonewall penalty. But anyway, vs Argentina is the one country on this planet I won't feel ashamed of it. If he dived, it's the equaliser, and Argentina become just another team to me.
@diggsde No. We're talking about emotions there. It would be fitting for Argentina to be dumped out unfairly by England. But if he dived, a dive is still a dive, and if he did dive, and we had won the World Cup, it would have stamped a black mark over the win.
@Lorric101 That is the fundamental problem with England and the English football fans...EMOTIONS!! This is something, I fear we will never understand...hence why do terrible at major competitions.
@diggsde Elaborate please. The English fans are as passionate as any football fans on the planet. However, the emotion of fear certainly holds England back.
@jackHNv I've since had a look. Problem is the two angles I got, one angle looks like a blatant dive, the other, a stonewall penalty...
If it had to be anybody, let it be Argentina. If it was a dive, it's the equaliser. The only team it could possibly have been done on without making it feel empty.
@Lorric101 George Best was a drunkard and drank himself to death (alcohol is a far more damaging drug) but had phonemenal talent, so shall we deny his place in football history? Everyone has their demons/vices, geniuses probably more so! whatever Maradona took was NOT to enhance his football skills, drugs don't work that way:-) I don't condone taking drugs, but who am I to judge and decide someone's place in history based on their personal vices that are unrelated to their phenomenal talent.
@jackHNv Neville is probably right, like I said, I think we're probably better than the rest, but worse than the best. 9th in the World I'd say, behind (not in order) Spain, Brazil, Portugal, Germany, Italy, France, Argentina, Netherlands.
@jackHNv Lets be clear, some of them are among the best, Lampard and Gerrard run the show at their clubs. Rooney got just about every award going last year at Man U and scored a ton of goals. A.Cole is widely regarded as the best LB in the PL. John Terry is a rock at Chelsea. James Milner comes highly regarded and just keeps getting better. And many others are integral first team regulars at some of the best teams in the PL.
@Lorric101 They look better for their clubs because they're playing with far more gifted players than they do with England.
Lampard does well at Chelsea, but he's had Makelele, Essien, Mikel or Ballack in midfield holding for him - all far better players than Barry, who can't run or keep possession.
Rooney has had Ronaldo, Giggs, Valencia or Nani providing for him - all better than our wide men, none of whom can cross a ball.
@jackHNv Not that simple. Sure the big clubs are better than England. But these players are among the main men there, when they play other big clubs from other countries too. No Ronaldo to help Rooney out at Man U. Many goals were all his own work too. Upson was far from our first choice. King looked real good in the little time we had him. Milner's been doing quite good at crossing. Of course we have Beckham, but not atmo. Johnson has played in some really good balls, don't underestimate him.
@Lorric101 King will never be fit, he's a crock, so forget about him.
No Ronaldo, but Valencia, Giggs and Nani are all better wide men than ours, the creative players, the men who can go past defenders and do something unexpected, are nearly all foreign, and they're the ones who make our 'big players' look good.
@jackHNv King can be used, but should not be relied upon. They wouldn't dance around him like they do at Tottenham if the man wasn't damn good and he is. I don't see it though when I watch these clubs in Europe. I'm sure some of it is a factor, but I'm sure they hold their own a lot better than that, our players. And no way would they get the big contracts if cheaper foreign talent could be brought in to replace them.
@Lorric101 One of the main problems is we don't trust 'flair' players at national level, we'd must rather have someone who runs around and shouts a lot.
That's enough to beat mediocre teams, but to break down quality defences you need vision, touch and flair - we don't produce those sort of players, and when we do they're ignored.
Xavi said a couple of weeks ago that the player he admired most when he was young was Matt Le Tissier, we picked Geoff Thomas and Carlton Palmer in front of him!
@jackHNv I've seen plenty of 'flair' in the players in our youth teams. Full of tricks and flicks and guile. And they have beaten players with it and got into the box. I desperately hope this confidence and freedom of expression I've seen doesn't get sucked out of them somehow
@Lorric101 Terry has had Carvallho or Alex beside him, both quick and far better players than Upson.
Gerrard looks good for Liverpool because he's playing behind Torres, who's world class, and he hasn't looked good against any of the top PL sides has he?
@jackHNv Gerrard was not good this season. But he's been the undisputed top man by a million miles at Liverpool for years, long before Torres came along.
We should realise that we're not a major footballing nation, and haven't been since the 1960s. We've got to one semi-final of the World Cup in 44 years, and not even qualified for several, we're on a par with Greece, Denmark and the like, not Italy, Germany, Brazil, Argentina or even France.
Everyone always blames the managers, but they can't all be crap, most of them have been proven successful managers with other countries or clubs - it's the players who aren't good enough.
@jackHNv I sometimes wonder if they don't gel properly because they spend the rest of the year up in each others faces all playing in the same league. The Gerrard Lampard thing is no surprise, when those two clubs often played each other 4 or 5 times a season, 2 times league, 2 times CL and one of the cups. They'll have seen way too much of each other in midfield.
ok lorric101 you are nice and polite i respect that.yup you beat us 4-1 and 5-1 but i think your revenge would be incomplete if croatia would have made it on world cup. you see,we all knew which scenario is going to happen: red card and then sorry croatia we did our best but tough luck. but nevermind thats all in the past now and what goes around comes around. peace
@roic1 I just hope that you accept that England did not throw the match (and the perfect winning streak) against Ukraine. And actually, if you want to talk about revenge, the very sweetest revenge would have been to beat Croatia again in the World Cup. I don't think it was about "revenge" though in the first place. Think about the way England played. It was just pure football. I think it was more about showing Croatia that they're better than what you saw last time.
go england go you are truly great to let ukraina win last match on purpose just to stop croatia to go to world cup,yeah truly great and noble thing to do.but we dont care we will laugh at you when you lose to germany again
@roic1 Did you even watch the match? Go to part 4 if you can handle the truth. You're just embarrassing yourself and Croatia saying that. You lost. 4-1 and 5-1. Why would England go to the trouble? If you were so good you'd have beaten Ukraine and made the match a dead rubber. Accept England were the better team as I accepted Croatia were back in 2007.
whats with the final fantasy music?..
SM1TH1122 3 months ago
@SM1TH1122 There's nothing from Final Fantasy here...
Lorric101 3 months ago
a tea bag can stay in a cup longer than england can!
iLuzions94 6 months ago
why put music over the video its best to hear the reaction of the crowds and and commentators i give this 0/10 shit video
adambelfast1 7 months ago
seriously....if we had darren bent or agbonlahor instead of EMILE HESKEY, we would have done so much better, those 2 players have incredible pace and they are absolutely sikk...emile heskey may have set up Gerrard but after that he done shit.
TheZadzzz 8 months ago
@TheZadzzz Emile Heskey ruled at the World Cup. And if you don't believe me, download my Emile Heskey man of the match videos for USA and Algeria.
Lorric101 8 months ago
@TheZadzzz no we wouldn't. The whole team was awful. Don't know what World Cup you were watching.
MrAnthropophagy 1 day ago
@MrAnthropophagy actually, the team was awful because of the managers choice of players, he should have picked lescott, walcott, bent instead of heskey, ledley king, lennon and even S.R.Phillips
TheZadzzz 1 day ago
@TheZadzzz The managers choice of players? These were the same players who did so well during qualifying. Don't see how the players you've mentioned would've done any better. Lescott, Bent, Heskey, King, Lennon and Phillips are hardly, lets say, world beaters and Walcott is inconsistant. Capello has a fine record as manager and i'd rather him pick the team than some armchair 'expert'. The players couldn't even pass the ball over 10 meters of grass to each other!!! Players bottled it.
MrAnthropophagy 1 day ago
@MrAnthropophagy As for me, I blame the press feeding frenzy after the Green howler. Combined with talk like "anything less than a 4-0 win against Algeria will be a disappointment." It totally messed up the team for the Algeria match, destroyed their confidence. We sorted it out for Slovenia, had to win and did and did well, but then it was Germany, and, well, it's Germany. That and the ghost goal, but they were the better side anyway.
Lorric101 1 day ago
@MrAnthropophagy Oh and I also blame the press for Germany a lot too. It's the only match where I've taken real issue with Capello's tactics, that high line was absolutely suicidal, played right into their hands. But then every idiot behind a microphone was saying not even one German player would make our team, and then there's the fact Capello dominated Germany in Germany with a second string side. But Germany made big changes since then and these idiots didn't report it.
Lorric101 1 day ago
We played so well in qualifying but completely fucked up in the tournament itself :(
OvertPolarStorm 8 months ago
@OvertPolarStorm At least we had a tournament to fuck up in this time :)
Lorric101 8 months ago
and people say rooney did nothing :S yet he got that many goals and assists in like 3 or 4 matches
freakybomwha 9 months ago
@freakybomwha He already has a goal, 3 assists and a motm in Euro qualifying too.
Lorric101 9 months ago
england sucks:-p
MultiWillem1234 11 months ago
6:17 celebration fail
JoseGough 1 year ago
BULGARIA WILL BEAT ENGLAND! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!
Elvetianul09 1 year ago
@Elvetianul09 Ha. I like your enthusiasm. I wouldn't bet on it. Still, I predicted an improbable Bulgaria victory once. I predicted Bulgaria would beat Germany back in 1994 in front of a room full of people. I was just a kid and knew nothing of the strengths of the national teams, it was my first viewing of an International tounrament. They laughed at me, but they were all wrong. I got the Ireland win over Italy too.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Elvetianul09 I chose Bulgaria because my grandparents holidayed in Bulgaria every year. So I rooted for Bulgaria.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Elvetianul09 the awkward moment when england beat bulgaria 4-0....
AlexSnowBob 10 months ago
I WENT TO WATCH ENGLAND PLAY SOUTH AFICA IN 2010 AND ENGLAND WON
lolololp0225 1 year ago
england always perfoms in qualifiers but then ends up sucking in world cup these days.
afterthefact15 1 year ago
@afterthefact15 Not really, much better in World Cups than European Championships. Normally at least make the quarters. This World Cup was unusual.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 it was a pretty bad world cup. usually i try to watch most games but just found myself fastforwarding to the goals after 20 minutes.
afterthefact15 1 year ago
@afterthefact15 Worst World Cup ever. Some of the matches were pure torture, but I did watch almost all the matches. That stupid ball making teams go defensive as it was smart with attacking ability greatly reduced because of the ball, vuvuzelas draining all personality out of it, fans drowned out and players unable to draw off their support, and awful refereeing. Worst World Cup ever, an absolute joke that that was the showpiece 4 yearly event of the greatest sport on Earth.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 exactly i actually fell asleep during the final and i have never done that. when i woke up i was so pissed that i would do such a thing, haha. The vuvuzelas were bittersweet though because for the continent of Africa they were fitting but for us viewers i couldnt bear to stand the noise. Hopefully they World Cup in Brazil will be a better one. Also the refs always seem to be awful during both the World Cup and Champions League especially.
afterthefact15 1 year ago
@afterthefact15 Ha ha. The actual noise of the vuvuzelas doesn't bother me, but they wipe out everything else.
If a World Cup in BRAZIL, the most football mad nation on the planet can't beat this one, then the World Cup is doomed!
Champions League refs this year will have a little help from the extra officials that were employed in the Europa League last year. I've never had any real problem with the standard there overall. There are mistakes sure, but no more than would be expected.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 two years ago Chelsea vs. Barcelona. I'm not one to believe in conspiracy's but that was a pretty bad game. 5 PK attempts in Chelsea's favor i would agree that UEFA didnt want another English final.
afterthefact15 1 year ago
@afterthefact15 I don't actually agree. I think it went down about equal. For Me Barca were denied a penalty in the first leg, they had a guy sent off in the 2nd leg for nothing, and only 2 or 3 penalties were proper penalties (I can't remember whether I thought it was two or three.) If they wanted Barca in the final, there's no way they'd hand Chelsea a massive advantage in the 2nd leg by reducing Barca to 10 men with Chelsea holding the lead at home when there wasn't even a foul.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@afterthefact15 Matches like that stick out, but really, how many other CL matches were destroyed by the referee? The standard is quite good in the CL imo, especially when you consider the high level and high pressure.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 true true, i guess i just have a little grudge with the referee because of that game, haha. Essien had a freaking colossal goal that game... weak foot on a volley, upper V, cant be matched.
afterthefact15 1 year ago
@afterthefact15 Chelsea played an almost perfect match. They made one mistake and it cost them everything.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 very true. Chelsea has always been my team, beginning of 200's to mid they always seemed to be the underdogs and fought hard and i loved watching them play.
afterthefact15 1 year ago
@afterthefact15 I thought Chelsea were favourite to win last year. I don't actually support a club team, but I support the English club teams in Europe, and my loyalties when they meet each other go to the team with the most English players. So for instance I was rooting for Chelsea in all those Liverpool matches. Also, it's about our players getting further. So I wasn't rooting for anybody in the final between Man U and Chelsea, because our players had already got as far as they could.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 i suppose that's is one way to look at it. do you live in England?
afterthefact15 1 year ago
@afterthefact15 Yes. It would be rather strange not to, wouldn't it, with all these England videos?
Lorric101 1 year ago
How did we get on by the way? My tele broke over the summer? Did we win?
Tbaldwin1971 1 year ago
Nice vid man
iknowimsexy56 1 year ago
@iknowimsexy56 Thanks.
Lorric101 1 year ago
the audio made me grin btw... who said rooney suck anyway. (although he really does suck in real game)?
0894499966 1 year ago
@0894499966 Thanks. Rooney was banging them in in qualifying, and for Man U where he scooped up almost every award going in the Premier League. But his form dipped at the wrong time. I wonder how he will do in the new season.
Lorric101 1 year ago
one of the problems is that England the media and people puts too much pressure on there team to win
5551Batman 1 year ago
@5551Batman That imo is the biggest problem. The press is the cause of the 2nd problem. Without these idiots telling us "Oh, we're the best in the World, we can win the World Cup, oh the Germans, no more than 1 or 2 guys would get in our team" etc etc. The public would have to use their own judgement. Plus, the press pump our opponents to beat us. I bet every team in Group C had a picture of that EASY front page on the Sun in their dressing room. I know I would do that if I was US, Slo or Alg.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@5551Batman If I was writing that report, instead of focusing on the fact they're not big names, I'd be saying we shouldn't underestimate them. Slovenia probably went down the hardest road of any team to qualify. Algeria qualified at the expense of the most dominant team on their continent. United States topped the CONCACAF qualifying Hexagonal, beat Spain at the Confed Cup and took Brazil to the limit in the final. But instead the press tell us they're shit and we should beat them easy.
Lorric101 1 year ago
Two planes landed in engalnd today, one carrying a bunch of underachieving overpaid morons and the other seven coffins draped with the union jack. Footballers give for 90 mins, soldiers give their lives, even in a pointless war, yet footballers get paid 10x the amount. This is the real joke, not the england team
jimsmells67 1 year ago
@jimsmells67 Well that's the way the business works unfortunately. Wars are not lucrative. Football is. I saw that on the news today live. War isn't pointless though, and we should be sending more troops to finish the job properly, not pulling people out. Wars should be finished, instead politicians think they can put timelines on them and regulate them. Hey terrorists! Hold out for 5 years and you've won! We'll all go away, then you can pick up where you left off and start killing us again!
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 Very interesting, again typical of that English superiority complex, yes lets go and drop more bombs on innocent people in a pointless war driven by a corporatecracy and elite band of war profiteers, while innocent people get killed (soldiers and civilians alike). Terrorists are those that use phony documents and false pretexts for war so their paymasters can profit as usuall! Afghan nor the Iraqi's killed anyone here. Al-cia-da is prodcut of the CIA
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde Explain to me how someone from the CIA could persuade someone to end their own life and the lives of hundreds of innocents as well. Stupid conspiracy theories. Nothing could persuade me to do that, nothing.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 Al-caeda was the name given by the FBI/CIA to wanted suspects of bombings in a similar way to orgainsed crimes/mafia etc rather than presenting evidence and bringing individuals to justice. They decied upon the name Al-quaeda and kept repeating it in the media. I don't believe this organisation exists (see "power of nightmares"). "consipracy" is word used like a rubber stamp to silence those that question the official line... still we are of topic but do your own research:-)
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde Well then it's irrelavant. Because under Al Qaeda or not, the terrorists exist and must be put down.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 Yes terrorists do exit and its all relative, to the iraqis/afgahns, the american and the english war mongers are terrorists; they live in terror of being bomed from 10,000 feet.
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde Changes nothing. Taliban are a worse threat to them than an errant bomb here and there falling from the sky. Unlike Iraq, a real difference can be made to these people's lives.
Their lives can be changed greatly for the better. And it's a cause worth fighting for imo. Plus, we, and they, are past the point of no return. Pull out, and the Taliban will slash and burn their way through Afghanistan punishing all who defied them on a level that makes everything that's come before tame.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 Oh listen to your Imperial/colonial talk, it's breathtaking! Yes we are more "civilised", we bomb you to make your lives better because we know best..."errant Bomb" what hypocracy! The Taliban can in the end only be defeated by its own people not by foriegn powers. It only unites them against the western forces even more. You are simply reflecting the mainstream media view...a bit like how brilliant our footbal team was and are favs to win the WC2010....
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde I don't want us to conquer them, stop it with the assumptions.
We get rid of the Taliban, and the persecution and draconianism that comes with them, we get rid of all these men with guns, for us and for them. We get rid of the drugs, have them grow food instead of poppies, for us and for them. All to be taught in schools so they can stand on their own two feet and live full lives.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 Only the Afghans can get rid of the Taliban, you are fooling yourself if you think otherwise. Western nations always seem to approach politics/conflicts, with non western ones from a point of power and hence this misplaced superiority complex. where did u learnt that the poppy fields/drugs were being run by the Taliban? Under the Taliban they had destroyed them! it was their opposition that continued to grow then with the help of CIA (funding)
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde I know that.
But drop the friend lock please. A debate like this doesn't belong here, and these comment boxes are too small for it too. I will not respond to any more talk of this on this page, but would like to continue the debate.
It is a concession to the locals so they will not starve. Once the country is on it's feet, we can torch them.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 your views are that of the press and the usual talk from politicians, you know the type.."we are there becuase they want us there" "they will greet us with flowers" ad infinitum! Some consession to the locals, when there's enough food that can be delivered by UN?!?!?
Anyway, a debate a like this doesn't belong here!
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde So do you want to drop the friend lock and continue the debate over private messages, or is that it?
Lorric101 1 year ago
@diggsde As for errant bomb, civillian casualties are part of war, it is unavoidable. And the taliban and terrorists have no scruples about killing innocents.
The people must be brought round. And it should be done by showing them on the news what we can do for them, lets ask the girls what they learned in the brand new school that was opened for them today. Instead of body bags and explosions and politicians looking to find ways to keep their seats in an election.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 That is your typical "offical" media/politician talk, it helps to demonise the enemy making it so much easier to except their casualities as "unavoidable" By the same reasoning, why not just accept the casualities of soldiers as unavoidable, why fuss over them?..it's part of war right? Afghans have every right to defend their country no more or less than you and I have if we were invaded, no matter what the logic or morals of the invading force! We've brought more misery not less.
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde It's getting really confusing trying to keep up with that mess of comments on thi page, and we really shouldn't be filling a football video with talk of war. Couldyou drop the friend lock, so I can message you please?
Lorric101 1 year ago
@diggsde You're the only one with a superiority complex here, thinking you're superior to me. I hate superiority complexes.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 Because I question your opinion/view? if you can state things touted by the mass media and think therefore it must be true, I can equally challenge that view. The CIA did not need to persuade anyone, they could have been innocent people with middle eastern names or were CIA assests told they were taking part in a security excercises that day, which were being conducted, simulating those very attcks...hmmm coincidence eh? Still nothing to do with Iraqis & Afghans.
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde Control the media, control the mind. But not mine. Afghanistan is the only war I approve of, I was against Iraq from the very beginning. So now that we've got the idea that I might be a drone who believes everything he hears on the news, on to Afganistan.
That war has been going on 9yrs. The troops on the ground would know by now if they were pawns in someone else's plans. And believe me, they wouldn't like it. And you don't want to piss off men with guns who know how to use them.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 Troops are nothing but cannon fodder for the elite profiteers of wars. Yes we shed tears for the dead soldiers but they should not be there! It all comes down to control and goepolitics, oil pipelines and innocent people stuck in the midddle suffer. Troops take orders not point guns at their superiors or their paymasters, if only they did!! 9yrs or 90 years, we'll never win through military means..period!
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde Oh, miltary coups happen all through history, and they'll happen in the future.
Lorric101 1 year ago
Anyone hear that England has a new coach??It took them to the airport....
Leevancleff 1 year ago
We have one of the best leagues, but it's not the British players who make it that - it's the foreign players, our players are over-rated, overpaid plodders, who can't pass, retain possession, have no pace, first touch or flir and can't beat a man.
Our press and ex-pros say Rooney is world-class, but he lost the ball more than any other player in the entire world cup! On a par with Messi and Ronaldo? Don't make me laugh.
jackHNv 1 year ago
@jackHNv Those two haven't exactly lit up this tournament. Messi hasn't scored, and Ronaldo got a tap in against a dead and buried North Korea. It is others who are making a name for themselves. Not for lack of trying for Messi though, I'll give him that certainly.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 Ronaldo and Messi haven't played that well yet, but Rooney's stats are the worst of any player in the tournament.
We've got to get realistic about England's players - they're not very good, but we refuse to accept it.
You can't be a great player who plays poorly at every major tournament - if you do that you're a poor player, and we've failed at every tournament since 1990.
All our recent managers have been proven successful managers - it's not them, it's the players.
jackHNv 1 year ago
@jackHNv Not the worst. No way. We're probably behind all the "elite" countries, but in front of the rest. In general, we get past those teams, but fall to the first "elite" team we come across. McLaren hadn't done much before we got him. Sven with 3 quarter finals was not to be sniffed at, that was the 2nd best record of any team in Europe.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 Rooney's stats for the world cup are abysmal, he was the most dispossessed player in the whole tournament, and lost the ball 54 per cent of the times he got it, had no assists, no goals, one shot on target in 4 games - that's not a world-class player is it?
McLaren's just won the Dutch league with a really unfashionable team and no money, so he must be OK.
Gary Neville said yesterday that our players are not up to the level of the top nations - he's right.
jackHNv 1 year ago
@jackHNv Really, that bad...
Y'know my Mum's been watching the World Cup. She normally pays no interest in football, but she does watch the World Cup. And while she doesn't know much about football, she is very, VERY good at telling when someone is not well, and she thinks Rooney is ill.
McLaren, yes, that was very impressive. But he was terrible as England manager. He is the only manager that I've ever wanted sacked. He just didn't seem to care at all.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 She's probably right, he didn't look fit to me either, I do think he's not at the level of Messi etc but he's certainly better than he looked at the World Cup.
jackHNv 1 year ago
@jackHNv Messi to me is in a league of his own. He's like Maradona, without the cheating, and the drug use and the shady stuff. I hope he surpasses Maradona and makes people forget Maradona.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 Every player cheats, it;s the nature of the game. Accroding Jim Greaves, no player would own up to foul play. Maradona was not the first and will not be the last player to have used a hand. By the way it is very unlikely that Maradona will be forgotten, he's simply too great a player, no England player of past, present and future could even come close to his shadow! Even if Messi surpasses Maradona, the genuis will still be the greatest player. His personal life is his business!
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde Different types of player, but Bobby Moore and Bobby Charlton are up there with him, and George Best was better.
jackHNv 1 year ago
@jackHNv Yes these players were very good, especially George Best but in terms of sheer skill and ball control, awareness to create magic out of nothing, poetry in motion, Maradona is untouchable, G Best comes close but no way "better" As for the Bobby's, not a chance, they had limited range compared to the little genius.
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde No, they were just different - defending, shooting and passing are just as much part of the game as dribbling, and it's just as important to be good at them.
Bobby Moore couldn't do what Maradona did (obviously), but can you imagine how poor Maradona would be at centre-back?
Best had all the skill and pace Maradona had, but had two feet, could tackle,and was good in the air, also he played when defenders were allowed to kick lumps out of skillful players.
jackHNv 1 year ago
@jackHNv Maradona could have played in any position, his passing, shooting (check out some of his free kicks, not just for Argentina) are second to none and not bad in defence when required! Best had all the skills you refer to but a number of levels below Maradona. I would have liked to seen Best tak NI to the world cups as Maradona did with an average set of players in 86 and then go on to win.
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde Don't make me laugh!
He never tackled, and couldn't head a ball! Could have played in any position? What, centre-back? - Have you ever played football?
Best's NI team had one or two other Div 1 players, the rest were lower league, or even non-league - you can't possibly compare them with Argentina, that's the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard.
jackHNv 1 year ago
@jackHNv You've obviously not seen many of his games, why would you when your dislike for him is blatantly obvious! Maradona was the centre piece, the heart of the team, he was, if you like the master conductor....Yes I have played football, I spent 10 years playing in Germany (non-league), where i had the privledge to learn far more than I ever could in England. Ludicrous comparison? Then do away with your ludicrous "if Best had" this and "if Best had" that! "what if" comparisons.
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde Best was unlucky to come from NI, so never hadthe chance to play in a World Cup or for a great international side, if he had played for Brazil, Argentina etc he would have eclipsed anything Maradona did.
As far as Maradona being 'untouchable', Pele was a far better player, played longer, scored more and won more, and did it without diving, cheating or taking drugs.
jackHNv 1 year ago
@jackHNv Sorry but Pele was not far better!! Pele was surrounded by great players that made him look extra brilliant. Take Pele out of the Brazilian teams and they would never have looked like a non world cup winning side! Maradona stood alone in a team of average players on the international stage. Without him Argentina are left out to dry. If goal scoring is a criteria then Arthur Friedenreich (Brazilian) scored more goals than Pele in his career.
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde Well OK then. you can disagree with me and practically every ex-pro that's ever been asked.
Yes, Maradona was the best player in an average team, but Pele was the best player in the best team in the world!
Pele was two-footed, faster than Maradona, and incomparably better in the air.
His drug taking has 'nothing to do with his football'? He was thrown out of the 1994 World Cup because he tested positive for 5 different performance-enhancing drugs - during the tournament!
jackHNv 1 year ago
@jackHNv Which ex-pro pray? do you mean that FIFA survey commissioned to find the player of the century? It was returned with an overwhelming victory for Maradona. FIFA obviously didn't like this and commissioned a second award but his time voted for by "pundits" and footbal journalists!! haha..what do they know about football?? Like all the English pundits telling us England were gonna win, they're the favs..etc
diggsde 1 year ago
@jackHNv Which 5 different drugs was he banned for? He was banned for Ephadrine! Typically English eh..exaggerating reality! Ephadrine, atheltes believe improves their stamina but cannot improve your skills, talent in anything, especially in footballing terms! Pele was two-footed and Maradona was not...well all the more reason why with 50% of the tools he could play like he did, makes him greater! Maradona was not fast? ask the English team of 86 and other midfield to defences he tore apart!
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde I didn't say he wasn't quick, I said Pele had more pace, which he did.
I don't care particularly about the 86 world cup - it's history and we weren't good enough to win it anyway.
Yes, loads of players dive - that doesn't make it right does it?
He feigned injury, dived, tried to get opponents sent off for nothing and took banned drugs, after he reitred things didn't improve either. I make no apologies for thinking he's a pretty loathsome individual, he's one of top 5 players though.
jackHNv 1 year ago
@jackHNv Just so you know, I'm with you in this little debate that's taking over my comments section here.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 To me, it's a no-brainer!
There are loads of things to take into consideration when you judge a player - touch, pace, vision, heading, tackling, positional sense, finishing, dribbling, passing, character, length of career etc
Maradona may be top in one (dribbling) at a stretch, two, but that's it.
jackHNv 1 year ago
@jackHNv And let's not forget character. These men are role models to millions of impressionable children around the globe.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 That's part of the point I'm trying to make. My God - Maradona as a role model? It makes you weep!
When I was a kid Santos played my hometown team, Plymouth Argyle and I was lucky enough to get Pele's autograph, he stood outside and talked to us kids for a while and was a real gentleman - there's no comparison.
jackHNv 1 year ago
@jackHNv Yeah. Wow, you really are lucky! Ha ha ha! Oh, there'll be no getting you to back down here if you got Pele's autograph, ha ha ha! Look at Messi. Modesty and respect at that level of ability is very admirable. There's a purity and love of the game about Messi.
At least Maradona has been speaking of fair play at the World Cup. I'm sure he's just trying to protect Messi, but the man has power to influence, and anything to make the game fairer is good in my book.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@jackHNv OOPS! You've got character in there! I missed it! *facepalm* :)
Lorric101 1 year ago
@jackHNv No it does't make it right but if loads of players do this, even the great ones, feigning injury, trying to get players sent off (Ronaldo-rooney?, rivaldo, the whole italian team...etc), why only make a point about Maradona...because somewhere in the back of your mind it's all about the "hand" against england, so you'll use every argument which can equally apply to whole string of players! He is number 1 player and idolised by many young players the world over!
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde No, it's just that of the true 'greats' Maradona is the only one with the sort of baggage he has!
Of the best players I've ever seen: (Pele, Cruyff, Moore, Beckenbauer, Platini, Best, Maradona, Gullit), Maradona was the only diver.
If a man with the morals and character of Maradona is idolised it's tragic! I admire his skill but detest the type of person he is.
jackHNv 1 year ago
@jackHNv whatever type of person he is has no bearing on you! His personal ife is not your business. His morals and character are no lower than any footballers you like. Cruyff was serial womaniser, his wife stopped him attending the world cup, is that not of a lower moral character? Maradona only hurt himself for which he often apologised to his fans for and tried to make amends...He that is without sin....let him.....what???
diggsde 1 year ago
@jackHNv speed only means anything in footbal if you can control the ball as though it's tied to your shoelaces! No one showed that more than Maradona, he moved with speed, agility, trickery leaving a litany of sprawling bodies of players behind him:-) Never seen Pele do that! He had the luxury of having the support of great players around him. Yes Pele was the best in the air no doubt! But if I had a choice to have the skills of Pele or Maradona, being left-footed myself, it would be Diego
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde Are you suggesting Pele didn't have good close control?
jackHNv 1 year ago
@jackHNv He did have good close control but show me or point me to footage of Pele going through players seamlessly as if the ball was tied to his shoelace. I've not seen him do that. So, yes Peke did have excellent close ball control but still not as good as Maradona. Diego made it look too easy, he glided, passed players with ease and not only over short distances.
diggsde 1 year ago
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diggsde 1 year ago
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diggsde 1 year ago
@jackHNv Sorry but Maradona would have been the best player in any team! He could have walked into any team internationally or at club level and he would be the star attraction! even as a manger today, the South African crowds come to see messi and who else? Yes Maradona sittinng/standing on the sidelines, albeit wearing a suit:-)
diggsde 1 year ago
@jackHNv Furthermore, drug taking is a non issue, that's his personal life and has nothing to do with his footbal skills, the two are mutually exclusive. As for cheating, only England fans go on about this, rather than blaming others, we should improve our football and stop whinging about the past. As for diving, you mean when he was hacked to pieces in WC 82 and numerous other games at national & club level, resulting in a broken leg?
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde I'm not just talking about the 'Hand of God', - Maradona dived and tried to get opponents booked or sent off on a regular basis - both for Argentina his club sides.
If you want to see a great player 'hacked to pieces' watch Pele's 1966 World Cup.
Maradona was a proven drugs cheat, as well as a cheat in other ways, and as such (like in athletics) he should be stripped of his medals and erased from the record books.
jackHNv 1 year ago
@jackHNv He was banned for ephadrine, this is not a performance enhancing drug in the strictest sense, especially in football, it cannot teach you skills!
"As well as a cheat in other ways"??? So for what else was he banned for?
Just get over the fact that he turned england inside-out shredded them in the WC with his beautiful play! If you feel so passionate, then by your exacting, yet rather biased standards, many players would be banned. How many players dive as a matter of course? Lots
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde That's Maradona taking a shortcut, like he did with everything else. Why train properly, when you can just boost up your stamina with this drug, give you an advantage when others start running out of gas.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 no one ever accused Maradona of not training hard enough, even his own team mates testifiy to that, just watch one or two documentaries about him. You can boost up your stamina as much as you want but skill is what matters. Perhaps we should bring on Usain Bolt next time for the last 20minutes and with his stamina and speed..we'd have no problem winning!
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde Why are you defending this guy? Performance enhancing drugs are performance enhancing drugs. Tell that to someone who's tiring out while someone else is still going thanks to drugs. Especially if it goes to extra time.
Usain Bolt is Jamaican.
By the way though, it brings something up. Walcott. I was glad he was left behind. Were you?
All footballers who do things the honest way are above Maradona. This man shouldn't be on a pedestal, he should be vilified.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 I'm defending this guy for his beautiful football, he was in my opinion the greatest player and yes he did have a side to him that was less than pleasant at times on the field but no more so than most players and what he did in his personal life I do not judge him on. Yes I now Usain Jamaican, I was making a point about speed and stamina without football skills.
Walcott is a very good player not sure if FC should have left him behind, he couldn't have done worse than what he took!
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde But surely there are others mouch more worthy of admiration. Forget Maradona. Messi is here! Unlike Maradona, Messi appreciates his gift, and is respectful, humble and honest. He plays with a happy smile on his face, and you just can't hate the guy. In fact, I think that will be a key to his survival. Every game I've seen involving him, players don't seem to hack at him. While it is practical from a gameplay point of view not to, he is unlikely to provoke people into doing so.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 Perhaps you should ask Messi, who is football idol is and makes him want to be a great footballer? his answer will most likely be ..Maradona!
I never saw hate/misery on Maradona's face when he played, I only see that on the English players, especially against Germany and Argentina (perhaps past wars have some relation to this, stoked up by the press for good measure).
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde You are so negative thinking the worst from everything I say. I was never inferring that Maradona played with hate or misery on his face. Open up your mind. Never seen any hate on English faces at tournaments. Misery, seen that way too often. The joy on Messi's face is as happy as any player I have seen. He truly appreciates what he has.
I don't know who Messi's favourite player is. Tried to find out. Maradona is the obvious bet though.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 Actually Maradona has already complained on his behalf, of you like, through his WC press conferences how Messi is being fouled and chopped without the ref's protection.
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde I've been watching all these games. He hasn't been targetted or anything.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 H'es been man marked and brought down on a number of occasions that even promtped Allen Hansen to say the ref should start pulling out yellow cards, especially against Greece
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde Well I kind of meant targetted more than you'd expect. He IS Messi after all. But maybe I'm wrong on this one. However I will stick by an assertion that no one was trying to damage him. No malice was directed at him.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 Wait till he gets to Maradona's level, he'll be hacked about like Maradona was, just check out some of the games WC 82 and WC 86 games, also his club career where his leg was broken. Malice will catch him up as Messi becomes bigger and better! Anyway I'm off for now, this has been way too much time in front of the PC!
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde Alright then. But I think I have more faith in human nature. If Messi's character remains the same, he won't be harmed by malice. He's good enough that he might get hurt by accident, and maybe by one or two unscrupulous players, but he's done well for himself so far.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 We could around in circles here but most footballers don't do things the honest way! If they did that only makes them more honest than Maradona but not better footballers. I played non league football in Germany for about 10 years, while living there and for many of us and the younger players coming up, in pure footballing terms, Maradona is umatched! the England team should be villified, they should not have turned up!
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde No no no. The team from this tournament that should be vilified is France. Everyone else pretty much gets a pass after the way France conducted themselves. Everyone can at least say "Oh, at least we weren't as bad as France!"
Plus, I wouldn't have been able to make my videos if England hadn't shown up :)
Maradona abused and pissed on talent that some footballers would probably cut off an arm to have.
Can't argue with the actual talent, but it is so undeserved that it was his.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@diggsde How can Maradona be the greatest if Messi surpasses him?
Not owning up isn't much of a problem, I had no problem with the German keeper in our match. Deliberate cheating is. As is taking drugs, especially with such phenomenal talent. He doesn't deserve the position he holds in history.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 Depends on your criteria for "surpassing" him? Is it a matter of goals scored, caps etc? Messi will hopefully become one of the greatest players too but I still don't see the elegance of ball control, dribbling, spatial awareness that Marodona displayed, who could have played in any position, as he was that type of player. All players will cheat dilberately for the "greater good" of the team. Micheal Owen dilberately cheated against Argentina by diving and getting a penalty!
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde I don't remember it as a dive.
Anyway, I really like Messi's honesty. He could even be not quite as good as Maradona, but get past him based on that. It will be about longevity and ability at the end of the day. It is simply too early to judge Messi at this point. But he's always getting bettter. He hasn't hit his prime yet. I would judge a footballer on the complete package, and that includes attitude to the game as well as raw talent.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 Its gone down as one of the best 10 dives:-) of course you don't remember it, it's ok when English players cheat here and there, we tend to turn a blind eye, after all they're english! but foriegn players..now thats a different story! A usual case of double standards. Yes, I agree Messi will become great but for most football fans around the world, Maradona was the complete package, his personal turmoils notwithstanding! Attitude?? no one displays more passion for the game as Diego
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde You don't know me well enough. One of the primary reasons I can support England is a level of fair play above most other teams. I've watched the replay, and I see two angles, and one looks like a blatant dive, the other, a stonewall penalty. But anyway, vs Argentina is the one country on this planet I won't feel ashamed of it. If he dived, it's the equaliser, and Argentina become just another team to me.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 So your sense of fair player is selective? Two wrongs don't make a right if we go by your fair play standards.
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde No. We're talking about emotions there. It would be fitting for Argentina to be dumped out unfairly by England. But if he dived, a dive is still a dive, and if he did dive, and we had won the World Cup, it would have stamped a black mark over the win.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 That is the fundamental problem with England and the English football fans...EMOTIONS!! This is something, I fear we will never understand...hence why do terrible at major competitions.
diggsde 1 year ago
@diggsde Elaborate please. The English fans are as passionate as any football fans on the planet. However, the emotion of fear certainly holds England back.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 Oh yes, it was certainly a dive, Owen did quite a few of them for England.
jackHNv 1 year ago
@jackHNv I've since had a look. Problem is the two angles I got, one angle looks like a blatant dive, the other, a stonewall penalty...
If it had to be anybody, let it be Argentina. If it was a dive, it's the equaliser. The only team it could possibly have been done on without making it feel empty.
Lorric101 1 year ago
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diggsde 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@Lorric101 George Best was a drunkard and drank himself to death (alcohol is a far more damaging drug) but had phonemenal talent, so shall we deny his place in football history? Everyone has their demons/vices, geniuses probably more so! whatever Maradona took was NOT to enhance his football skills, drugs don't work that way:-) I don't condone taking drugs, but who am I to judge and decide someone's place in history based on their personal vices that are unrelated to their phenomenal talent.
diggsde 1 year ago
@jackHNv Neville is probably right, like I said, I think we're probably better than the rest, but worse than the best. 9th in the World I'd say, behind (not in order) Spain, Brazil, Portugal, Germany, Italy, France, Argentina, Netherlands.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@jackHNv Lets be clear, some of them are among the best, Lampard and Gerrard run the show at their clubs. Rooney got just about every award going last year at Man U and scored a ton of goals. A.Cole is widely regarded as the best LB in the PL. John Terry is a rock at Chelsea. James Milner comes highly regarded and just keeps getting better. And many others are integral first team regulars at some of the best teams in the PL.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 They look better for their clubs because they're playing with far more gifted players than they do with England.
Lampard does well at Chelsea, but he's had Makelele, Essien, Mikel or Ballack in midfield holding for him - all far better players than Barry, who can't run or keep possession.
Rooney has had Ronaldo, Giggs, Valencia or Nani providing for him - all better than our wide men, none of whom can cross a ball.
jackHNv 1 year ago
@jackHNv Not that simple. Sure the big clubs are better than England. But these players are among the main men there, when they play other big clubs from other countries too. No Ronaldo to help Rooney out at Man U. Many goals were all his own work too. Upson was far from our first choice. King looked real good in the little time we had him. Milner's been doing quite good at crossing. Of course we have Beckham, but not atmo. Johnson has played in some really good balls, don't underestimate him.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 King will never be fit, he's a crock, so forget about him.
No Ronaldo, but Valencia, Giggs and Nani are all better wide men than ours, the creative players, the men who can go past defenders and do something unexpected, are nearly all foreign, and they're the ones who make our 'big players' look good.
jackHNv 1 year ago
@jackHNv King can be used, but should not be relied upon. They wouldn't dance around him like they do at Tottenham if the man wasn't damn good and he is. I don't see it though when I watch these clubs in Europe. I'm sure some of it is a factor, but I'm sure they hold their own a lot better than that, our players. And no way would they get the big contracts if cheaper foreign talent could be brought in to replace them.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 One of the main problems is we don't trust 'flair' players at national level, we'd must rather have someone who runs around and shouts a lot.
That's enough to beat mediocre teams, but to break down quality defences you need vision, touch and flair - we don't produce those sort of players, and when we do they're ignored.
Xavi said a couple of weeks ago that the player he admired most when he was young was Matt Le Tissier, we picked Geoff Thomas and Carlton Palmer in front of him!
jackHNv 1 year ago
@jackHNv I've seen plenty of 'flair' in the players in our youth teams. Full of tricks and flicks and guile. And they have beaten players with it and got into the box. I desperately hope this confidence and freedom of expression I've seen doesn't get sucked out of them somehow
Lorric101 1 year ago
@Lorric101 Terry has had Carvallho or Alex beside him, both quick and far better players than Upson.
Gerrard looks good for Liverpool because he's playing behind Torres, who's world class, and he hasn't looked good against any of the top PL sides has he?
jackHNv 1 year ago
@jackHNv Gerrard was not good this season. But he's been the undisputed top man by a million miles at Liverpool for years, long before Torres came along.
Lorric101 1 year ago
We should realise that we're not a major footballing nation, and haven't been since the 1960s. We've got to one semi-final of the World Cup in 44 years, and not even qualified for several, we're on a par with Greece, Denmark and the like, not Italy, Germany, Brazil, Argentina or even France.
Everyone always blames the managers, but they can't all be crap, most of them have been proven successful managers with other countries or clubs - it's the players who aren't good enough.
jackHNv 1 year ago
@jackHNv I sometimes wonder if they don't gel properly because they spend the rest of the year up in each others faces all playing in the same league. The Gerrard Lampard thing is no surprise, when those two clubs often played each other 4 or 5 times a season, 2 times league, 2 times CL and one of the cups. They'll have seen way too much of each other in midfield.
Lorric101 1 year ago
flood warnings in england , because the scots are pissing themselves laughing at the english defeated team
maplebanks 1 year ago
@maplebanks The Scots can't laugh at anything. Yes England were terrible but the Scots are even worse than us.
whitbyjet65 1 year ago
The Met office has issued a severe weather warning for the UK...apparently there is a shower of shit on its way over from South Africa!
Antidote54 1 year ago
@Antidote54 Made me smile.
Lorric101 1 year ago
ENGLAND IN THE WORLD CUP ha ha thats a joke we played like a bunch of CUNTS .....GERMANY 4 ENGLAND 1 THE ENGLISH TEAM SUCKS BIG TIME
h32956 1 year ago
Well that was a waste of time
andymacceltic 1 year ago
@andymacceltic At least we had a tournament this time. I'm not going to enjoy making Part 8.
Lorric101 1 year ago
England campeooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooon 2010
perezito99 1 year ago
@perezito99 Hahahahahahahaahha
hotlips296 1 year ago
ok lorric101 you are nice and polite i respect that.yup you beat us 4-1 and 5-1 but i think your revenge would be incomplete if croatia would have made it on world cup. you see,we all knew which scenario is going to happen: red card and then sorry croatia we did our best but tough luck. but nevermind thats all in the past now and what goes around comes around. peace
roic1 1 year ago
@roic1 I just hope that you accept that England did not throw the match (and the perfect winning streak) against Ukraine. And actually, if you want to talk about revenge, the very sweetest revenge would have been to beat Croatia again in the World Cup. I don't think it was about "revenge" though in the first place. Think about the way England played. It was just pure football. I think it was more about showing Croatia that they're better than what you saw last time.
Lorric101 1 year ago
@roic1 Peace.
Lorric101 1 year ago
go england go you are truly great to let ukraina win last match on purpose just to stop croatia to go to world cup,yeah truly great and noble thing to do.but we dont care we will laugh at you when you lose to germany again
roic1 1 year ago
@roic1 Did you even watch the match? Go to part 4 if you can handle the truth. You're just embarrassing yourself and Croatia saying that. You lost. 4-1 and 5-1. Why would England go to the trouble? If you were so good you'd have beaten Ukraine and made the match a dead rubber. Accept England were the better team as I accepted Croatia were back in 2007.
Lorric101 1 year ago
go wan defoe ..... saved england tonight kid
ald942 1 year ago
Clap! Clap! Clap clap clap! Clap clap clap clap! ENGLAND!!!
Salvus967 1 year ago