Fuck me that was as bad as it gets surely?

Tell me again how good Wayne is please.

Apart from the the manure lovers on here. Your views are not worth shit.

The fixtures themselves are as close to pointless as it gets. Teams like Malta even when they go behind don't make any attempt to equalise. They have one ambition, not to get hammered. I'm not sure what your expectation is of a fixture like that, it was 2-0 it should have been 5 or 6 at the end of the day it doesn't matter the result at no stage was in any doubt.

I'm sick of every fucker banging on about Rooney, it's the only thing more tedious than actually watching the games. Well he's not starting the next game so the papers can thrap themselves daft about that now.

To be fair, a match against Malta is always going to be dull. Maybe not quite as dull as that but still very dull.

Wiggy spud boy has become a freakish sideshow that rumbles on regardless of the football. If he gets to 150 caps he gets to shag the granny of his choice in the royal box with the Queen watching (unless he picks her in which case Phil has to watch).

Going to watch Holland v France tonight - plenty at stake.

It's about time teams like Malta and San Marino played in the pre qualifier to earn the right to get into the qualifiers. I was watching Andora play Portugal on the telly on Friday night they are comical. Just after Ronaldo scored his fourth of the night one the Andorans ran up behind him and just booted him up the arse, nowhere near the ball, just because he fancied booting Ronaldo up the arse, of course he got sent off buts it's one of the funniest things I've seen in ages. So they are both useless and unbelievably dirty. These nations presence is adding nothing.

You could a cheap fridge in Andorra while you were there. Combine that with booting Ronaldo up the arse and it puts them ahead of England so far.

sorry like but how exactly is keeping Rooney in the spotlight?

Surely its the Managers, that do it, then critisise the fans for booing him.

The media, mainly radio, and the rooney fawning pundits, also keep him in the spotlight.

Ray Stubbs yesterday wouldnt shut up about him.

It was a game to fill your boots on saturday................in nearly every paper Rooney got 5 out of 10.

Better and younger players are still being cast aside, and its worth talking about. the sheer disgracefulness of it is worth talking about.

And this is a fucking message board, so anything is worth talking about.

Rooney been dropped for next game.

Got to get with the programme PJ.

FIFA won't be satisfied till Malta, Andorra, San Marino and the Cayman Islands are in the World Cup Finals.

In the round of 128.

I think that Malta will win one of their group games. Let's hope it isn't against England at Ta Qali!

Too right Mr PJ those little countries should be put into pre qualifying groups with Bigger Nations under 23's. A great 2 pronged attack, A) the little uns need to pre qualify, and B) it will it will give the U23's meaningful competetive games!!!!!!! Now where have I heard that idea????????

What right do we have to say to any country that they should go in pre qualifiers? We just beat them by a whopping 2 goals. Hardly lambs to the slaughter. Maybe we should go in the pre qualifiers and iceland go straight through.

Turned it off at half time n put FIFA 17 on


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Who's talking about Iceland? What have they got to do with this?

I'm talking about teams who never win any qualifying matches and don't even attempt to play football. It is a complete and utter waste of time that nobody is taking anything from. Why should every country to automatically go into the full World Cup qualifiers, surely it's not a ridiculous suggestion that these nations have to be at a certain standard as some of these qualifiers are to the detriment of the game.

Well teams like Iceland were whipping boys until the last few years but there is obviously progress being made with some of these smaller countries. Look at the Faroe islands, yes they will probably never qualify for a tournament in the near future but they are progressing into a good side these days. Sometimes players need to play higher quality opposition to improve! I might be sad but I enjoy watching the smaller nations play so personally Im glad they don't need to pre qualify!

The better sides amongst the minnows would progress it would just get rid of teams that are never going to improve.

It seems Rooney is making some sort of announcement at half six. Probably that he will retire after the 2020 World Cup.

Hang on. There isnt a world cup in 2020.

The fat useless lying bastard

Is that not a cricket thing?

You are correct.

This takes the fucking cakenow, Rooney is now being shoe horned into our 20/20 world cup team as well.

Unfuckingbelievable.

What's the better game.....FIFA17 or PES17?

Is that maltese?

Rooneys press conference was a bit of a waste of time.

Southgate needs to be very careful here, he is spending far too much of his short trial period, talking up Rooney and critisising the fans.

It wouldnt tale much for the fans to turn on him as well. And the way he is going he is asking for it.

Because they were once minnows. Thats what it has to do with it. We beat malta 2-0 it wasnt 12 or 13 nil whos to say malta cant beat us in a few years? Dafter things have happened. What about northern ireland couldnt beat anyone till about ten years ago. Faroe islands improving all the time. Bloody hell i hope the fa dont listen to you when it comes to the football league. That hartlepool united have never been any good we dont want them in the championship.

With all due respect you are talking bollocks and taking what I am saying completely out of context.

If Pools reached the Championship it would on merit due being promoted. Pools don't get put straight into the Third Round of the FA Cup we come in earlier. I am not suggesting excluding any nations from the qualifiers just bringing them in at a different stage. San Marino as an example are just put into qualifying groups for the World Cup and the Euros, in 26 years the have not won a competitive game (they have only won one friendly) yet have no incentive to improve. I don't see what they offer or see the point of them being in the process when they aren't good enough or even anywhere near good enough to compete. If the teams who finished bottom had to pre qualify the next time they'd at least have something to work towards and at least take part in a couple of games of some relative interest against nations at similar competive level.

I wish I'd seen Ronaldo getting booted up the arse, until I read this thread I didn't even know it had happened. What the hell is wrong with the internet and news if you don't hear about these things.

On Rooney why it's become a sideshow is that just taking him out of the team isn't going to make England good. There's something about footy fans we all seem to want to have one player to blame for the ills of the team as if that person left suddenly we'd become world beaters. Has happened at Pools all my life, I've been vey guilty of it in the past myself (there are idiots who thought Paul Dalton was shit and a fanny for goodness sake). Anyways Rooney is cack in midfield but without him England will still be decidedly average

Of course they will. And will remain so until someone does something radical like what the germans did. Not in 1939.

England need to get shot of all the old players......the losers.

Get all the kids in and suffer the short term consequences.

Anything is better than letting rooney break all these records just to fail yet again as soon as we play a decent team

Think I jinxed the Faroe islands tonight!!! Oops

Henderson and Dier though....if they are the young future of England's midfield we need to find some much younger kids to put in.......

Henderson wouldnt be in the squad for me.

Dier would. As would Alli, barkley and wilshire.

That midfield is decent enough.

Stones is quality. The full bavks are usually decent.

The keepers are decent

Kane vardy sturridge rashford walcott stirling and lallana are decent enough.

We lack a top drawer striker and a centreback as decent as stones.

But all we get is rooney this rooney that. And before him it was lampard and gerrard.

Before them it was beckham.

We never move on and we always fail to deliver.

Don't disagree with any of that apart from the midfielders. I think this is the area we are a long way behind

On a positive note England play Slovenia tonight and there's absolutely no risk of an upset. Can only see a clear win for the favourites Slovenia.

In Malta having a great time weather is brilliant even if England are crap food and beer good here.

Bring us all some of them chocolates back.

England will probably grind a result out - they always do when it's only a qualifier.


And however bad they are, there's always Roon - er, Henderson to complain about.

What is Rooney good at now.....sideways passes & tackling. Can't shoot, his free kicks are dire (obviously) and at least Jordan Henderson can whip in a decent cross.
Surely he is of 'championship standard' right now, or am I being kind ?

So glad Hoddle wasn't considered despite the calls from the media. Just said Rooney still has a big part to play, I don't think he meant as water boy either.

Tell you what we've hardly looked world beaters without him. Joe Harts keeping us in this. Hanging on, against Slovenia

Awful again.

But maybe its needed to ever progress.

Get rid of cahill and sturridge and play two younger players and hope they grow and lwarn from their mistakes.

I dont see an alternative.

There were plenty of cries on the radio tonight to get rooney back in.

Like would we have been better?

We might as well be shit with young players hat might at least give some hope for the future.

Who are all these young players who are going to come in!?

Where are they? Who do they play for?

You mean young players like Lingard? He's mint him, he really looks like an International footballer.

they have two years to develop. Add in Wilshire and Barkley, and its not too bad. Kane and Sterling to come back, who are both playing well now for their clubs.

I dont like this role.....being the positive one.

You can't jettison all of the experience though especially in areas like centre half. We already have a pretty young team especially when everyone is fit.

I'm with you in a way I don't think it's all quite as bad as the media make out but I don't think whoever is in charge has that much scope to change the squad. It wasn't that long ago people were fairly positive about the same group of players. You've seen this week that we don't have a great deal of strength in depth with players like Lingard coming in who's barely good enough to play for his club and a player as limited as Henderson all of a sudden being captain.

Henderson is bobbins, always has been. So is Cahill.

We might as well go entirely with youth. It will cost us short term, but might help in the long run.

Until we do something radical we will continue to drift along, qualifying easily then getting the first plane home at tournaments.

Obviously the FA wont sanction this route, as making money is more important in the short term, than long term success.

So the same shit keeps happening every two years.

We'd end up playing players whose only experience is in the checkatrade trophy

Probably first time in a long time I didnt bother watching a single minute and not even looked for highlights etc.

I see Southgate has said he has inherited a mess. Now I can understand that comment if you take over a league side with unbalanced/poor squad and cant do much about it but he has choice of 1000s of players apparently playing in the best league in the world? Maybe he meant the sitaution rather than the players? Not sure just saw the headline to be honest.

Played FIFA instead.

*dabs*

Was an awful performance all round. Sturridge is far too sticky, you wouldn't mind if he got a few goals doing it but his finishing was poor. Dier was doing well winning the ball back then paying very little attention when passing it on, the worst moment was that horrific back pass. Henderson did a similar thing a number of times but in less dangerous positions. John Stones thinks he's much better than he actually is and plays himself and others into trouble time and time again, everyone bangs on about us needing this "ball playing centre half" but he'd have been better clearing his lines on a number of occasions. Danny Rose is just shit, end of.

Southgate is not the man for the job, but then again I have no idea who is. I am not even sure it matters too much as nothing will ever change, the FA seem to want continuity but why do we want to continue to fail time after time in major tournaments.

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This explains it.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/ ... il-9018299

This all ties in with the introduction of the premiership (as someone mentioned on another thread) on ITV4 last thursday. The david Diens etc. of this world who forced this through at the time never once thought of the other 3 divisions nor the national team only the cash cow! What has happened is all down to the greedy bastards at the top. We will never be able to flush out the system of the sub-standard players who are masquerading as 'internationals' which is not their fault though. We have a shit system which cannot be rectified because after each embarrassing tournament and before the next we paper over the cracks. The players who start off decent are corrupted by the older established ones and they do the same 10 years later with the younger ones etc. The only chance is have a revolution and to forget about going to say the next 4 tournaments and doing well, because we know we won't do well and it starts all over again. Start from scratch but this takes us back to the problem of finding young players who are good enough and haven't been coached by the neanderthalls we are stuck with now and who are playing regularly for their clubs. The percentage of players in any league to play for the national team is very small so judging by the current figures highlighted in the attachment above we have no chance until the FA and premiership etc get their heads out of the trough and do something about it!!

I want to slap Sturridge. Do I need to say anymore?