[Archived] More Madness From Mcclaren

[deftangel]

You can make a case for or against keeping Beckham in the squad. Personally I would keep him in the squad though not necessarily start him, his experience could be required during the qualifiers.

However,

There is absolutely no way in a million years you can make a legitimate case out of including Phil Neville. The man has committed henious crimes against this country, one notable one was being born. WHY WHY WHY?

It is ridiculous to recall him and drop a player of Beckham's experience, ability and 94 caps worth of fine service to this country, albeit slightly muted of late.

Indefensible.

[philipl]

Venables brought back = sick joke

Phil Neville brought back = vomit

McLaren = totally unconvincing actor

Beckham dropping = smart move

Not offering Beckham encouragement to win his place back = dumb move. It isn't as though Beckham has a strong personality.

England's future = grim. This season, perhaps 40 England-qualified professionals will command regular starting places in the top leagues of Europe (and that includes Micky Gray and Andy Todd). No way can we win anything from such a tiny base to select from.

[rover6]

philip, if that figure is accurate, it sounds worrying. However, I don't think the quality of individuals in doubt. The problem is the style of football that is played in the Premiership and therefore the English players are accustomed to.

At the World Cup, those players were trying to play continental football - letting the ball do the work. Yet, in the Premiership ball retention is not the be all. In the average Premiership game the ball pings around from team to team (obviously to a lesser extent when the top teams play).

Before England can seriously consider becoming a genuine force in the world, they need to take a long look at their youth teams. Due to their incapicity to keep the ball, our over-hyped youth teams rarely do anything in U17/18/19/21 tournaments.

And then we expect them to progress and win things with the seniors.

[philipl]

As I've pointed out elsewhere, the Rovers are not alone in the Premiership having an Academy at least 50% non-English.

The big issue is training of young teens which renders non-English recruits much better than the locals. Trevor Brooking has made a stand about this and been frozen out by the primordial FA who are making the building of the new Wembley a 5 minute job compared with their implementation of the Burns Report.

Edited August 13, 2006 by philipl

[thenodrog]

I imagine Gary Neville is gathering the troops as we speak! So if Maclaren really wants to be a new broom and sweep out the old he'd better pot him as well.

name a better english right back

There is absolutely no way in a million years you can make a legitimate case out of including Phil Neville. WHY WHY WHY?

There you go deftangel. It's an obvious move to exact as much revenge on Victoria Beckham as possible whilst at the same time placating her husbands buddy who just happens to be the country's best right back / barrack room lawyer. Wheels within wheels eh? I put that down to Clifford btw cos Maclaren and Venables wouldn't have the gumption to think that one up!

behind the scenes at Lancaster gate.........

Macca........."Now we've got shut of the David and his bitch what we gonna do now with Gary Neville? We need him remember....I've phoned Flopsy and he says he is the country's best right back so thats that. But the sh1t will hit the fan when Gary finds out. He was David sbest man rem. He's sure to get all the others to write nasty things about me and you Tel in their books."

Tel...... "err I dunno Steve. Why are you asking me? Ummm err is Viv Anderson still playing? If he's packed up then we're stuck so maybe I'll get Ray Winstone to go uo norf and 'av a word in Gary's shell like'?"

Max..... Don't be silly Tel Ray's 4ft 6" for goodness aske! "The answers simple gentlemen. Just recall their Phil and it's job done." Next.

Altogether now..........'Clifford for England'

[blue phil]

Oh Phil, you seem to be obsessed with my spelling (or lack of) Id suggest you need to get out and get a life at some point, possibly a real girlfriend too, not an inflatable one

Thanks , Flops - I'll consider that ....

[American]

Flopsy's comments coming from a man who seems to follow Phil around thread to thread and respond to every single post he makes...

[Fife Rover]

You can make a case for or against keeping Beckham in the squad. Personally I would keep him in the squad though not necessarily start him, his experience could be required during the qualifiers.

However,

There is absolutely no way in a million years you can make a legitimate case out of including Phil Neville. The man has committed henious crimes against this country, one notable one was being born. WHY WHY WHY?

It is ridiculous to recall him and drop a player of Beckham's experience, ability and 94 caps worth of fine service to this country, albeit slightly muted of late.

Indefensible.

Just as a matter of interest, who would you pick as England's first choice RB?

Strikers!!!

STRICKERS! STRICKERS! STRICKERS! STRICKERS! STRICKERS!

(Disappears down Scotland's secret bunker)

[Flopsy]

.I've phoned Flopsy and he says he is the country's best right back so thats that.

I asked you to name a better English right back.

Found one yet? Coz I cant think of one better - and to be honest Id rather we didnt play neville coz I think hes a goite but who would you replace him with?

Unless we went 3-5-2

[Scotty]

Gary Neville's the best right-back in England by a mile and has been picked on merit. All this talk of conspiracy theories regarding his selection is just another product of 4 bogs' increasing madness.

[T4E]

If you think that Gordy was suggesting that Gary Neville was picked as part of some conspiracy then you clearly haven't read his last post very thoroughly.

[Scotty]

Oops, you're quite right. I got so confused by his rant about Victoria Beckham that I mistook which Neviller he was talking about. I can only apologise.

[thenodrog]

Scotty........You certainly carry a grudge don't you cock?

[Scotty]

Scotty........You certainly carry a grudge don't you cock?

I just think you're a cock, cock. That's all.

[Grabbi Graeme]

England team to play against Greece

Robinson

Neville

A Cole

Ferdinand

Terry

Gerrard

Lampard

Downing

Hargreaves

Crouch

Defoe

Gerrard to play on the right

[thenodrog]

England team to play against Greece

Gerrard to play on the right

For his own good he should cry off injured / tell Maclaren to stuff it. Lampard and he should be vying for the same position with Gerrard currently in possession.

What is this fixation with Lampard? He is well out of form that will be best cured with a swift boot up his arse.

Edited August 15, 2006 by thenodrog

[FourLaneBlue]

Bit disappointed with that selection...I was hoping he'd give a starting chance to the likes of Ashton, Lennon and Dawson. We know what Ferdinand or Crouch can do. Why not use this game as an opportunity for those on the fringe?

Hopefully friendlies under Stevie Mac won't be quite the farce they were under Sven.

EDIT - I take that back then about Ashton, see post below from pks1984!

Edited August 15, 2006 by FourLaneBlue

[pksrover]

Bit disappointed with that selection...I was hoping he'd give a starting chance to the likes of Ashton, Lennon and Dawson. We know what Ferdinand or Crouch can do. Why not use this game as an opportunity for those on the fringe?

Hopefully friendlies under Stevie Mac won't be quite the farce they were under Sven.

Ashton was due to start, but he broke his ankle on today's training..

[jobo380]

Unlike some poeple i did get excited with Mac's press conference with the chance to see some young stars get experience, this continued with the squad selection and then with this side it has all ended....

Agree with Four Lane that Gerrard and Lamps should be going for the same position. Downing was always going to be given a chance with Cole out and he being a Boro player. But i do like the inclusion of Hargreaves as he earned it in Germany. Defoe and Crounch dont make me excited and so have to do a lot to make me feel any different.

Prediction: 3-1 England

[LeChuck]

Fantastic decison to play Gerrard on the right, I posted a topic on this last season about it being the answer to all our midfield problems...finally we have a balanced midfield with quality in every position;

Gerrard is a terrific wide-right player. His crossing is brilliant, he can beat people, he can cut inside and support the front players...he can do everything from there, basically.

Lampard is currently ranked as the second best player in the world and fully deserves to be starting. With Hargreaves alongside him, the shackles will be off and we shall hopefully see the Lampard that plays for Chelsea week in, week out.

Everything McClaren has done so far has filled me with nothing but optimism; the appointment of Venables, the removal of Beckham and Walcott, Gerrard playing on the right, Hargreaves keeping his central midfield place, a 4-4-2 formation...

Of course, time will tell whether all this will actually lead to success on the pitch, but so far he is doing everything 100% correct.

[blue phil]

Oops, you're quite right. I got so confused by his rant about Victoria Beckham that I mistook which Neviller he was talking about. I can only apologise.

Not like you to totally misunderstand a post , Scotty ...

[Scotty]

Not like you to totally misunderstand a post , Scotty ...

I know, but it was one of Theno's to be fair.

[Anti Euro Smiths Fan]

Scotty........You certainly carry a grudge don't you cock?

I just think you're a cock, cock. That's all.

Curiously enough though, Scotty was actually one of those members who defended Thenodrog and called for him to be reinstated when he was banned from the site.

Perhaps Scotty secretly likes a big cock....

Rubbish! Thats where the woefully weakkneed media appeaser Ericcson went wrong. He spent his tenure at Lancaster Gate picking teams that suited the media.

I think the actions of McClaren recently suggest a desperate manager who is going in the same media-led direction.

For the Greece game, I would have picked a central midfield of Gerrard and Hargreaves, with Lennon attacking on the right flank. I would have dropped Lampard from the side who had a shocking World Cup.

Six months ago, when McClaren's Middlesbrough side were being pummeled 7-0 by Arsenal and humiliated 4-0 at home to Aston Villa - with 'Boro fans tearing up their season tickets in disgust - only a madman or the FA would have suggested McClaren as the new England boss. But after a few good 2nd leg comebacks against fairly average sides in the UEFA Cup, suddenly McClaren was being hailed as a genius.

When McClaren came up against quality opposition in the UEFA Cup, against Seville, his side were thrashed 4-0.

Middlesbrough languished in the bottom half of the table last season because frankly neither the team or the manager was good enough. Despite spending millions of Steve Gibson's money and the manager predicting a top six finish, the team was often poorly prepared and lacked the quality to be in the top half of the table.

One of the reasons the FA gave for employing McClaren was that he's worked at the highest level with Alex Ferguson. So has Brian Kidd, but that doesn't mean that Kiddo would make a good England manager. McClaren has also been involved in three major tournaments with England and Sven, in which the England side has failed to do itself justice.

"I'm my own man," said McClaren yesterday, trying on a new pair of spectacles...

Edited February 2, 2007 by Anti Euro Smiths Fan

[adopted scouser]

Curiously enough though, Scotty was actually one of those members who defended Thenodrog and called for him to be reinstated when he was banned from the site.

Perhaps Scotty secretly likes a big cock....

Edited August 15, 2006 by adopted scouser

[FourLaneBlue]

Did anybody watch to see how Bentley did with the U21s tonight?