Shake up of leagues.Subject: FA to consider a new competition for Premier and Championship B teams..   

nzgreen wrote:

England rugby won by playing a game the entire southern hemisphere hates with a kicker who in between decades of injury luckily carried a team to the finals.

Not sure about that, a bit of a myth. As well as a great pack and a good kicker, the side contained Robinson, Greenwood, Catt; Wilko himself could drop a dummy if the situation demanded...it was well balanced. Certainly no more/less one dimensional than the Saffer robots who won the next one.

Maybe. My perspective is that of someone who's spent the last twelve years in NZ and Australia 10 years of which was in Christchurch in NZ. Speaking with friends and colleagues for whom rugby is the be all and end all. That's their opinion and one that I share.

I see the Torquay United co vice-chairman is against the idea.

And from Argyle too then .

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Good on 'em....

"against league 3" on twitter are gathering signatures via change.org for their campaign. They are also asking for pictures of local pitches to show where a relatively small amount of money could be spent to encourage grass-roots football.

apparently danny mills reckons hartlepool would rather play man utd reserves than torquay.

what a twonk !

Good on Argyle. Their statement was a good one.

NZ, what's the World Cup coverage generally like on the opposite end of the planet? Im heading to New Zealand for June.

nzgreen wrote:

Maybe. My perspective is that of someone who's spent the last twelve years in NZ and Australia 10 years of which was in Christchurch in NZ. Speaking with friends and colleagues for whom rugby is the be all and end all. That's their opinion and one that I share.

And some big question marks over the legitimacy of martin johnsons play. Anyway this is ancient history now and at least it was oz England did in the final. The rugby world cup is back where it belongs now.

Just don't mention the England cricket team.

Ok I will. The day that pack of po faced rosy cheeked whingers and cheats left these shores, you could sense a collective sigh of good riddance across this nation.

spowell92 wrote:

NZ, what's the World Cup coverage generally like on the opposite end of the planet? Im heading to New Zealand for June.

In NZ the games will be on sky. Some of the big games will be on free to air too no doubt. The big issue is the time difference and then trying to avoid the score till you get to see the highlights. Not easy. When NZ is awake it seems the rest of the planet is asleep!. With brazil hosts not sure how that will work out for screening times. Probably badly.

Enjoy your trip, we live in Brisbane now and miss the place, just not the earthquakes.

nzgreen wrote:

And if I hear England fans given it the old two world wars and one world cup shit against Germany again, or indeed any xenophobic or racist chanting, I sincerely hope we lose and are humiliated 10 feckin nil.

Wankers. Embarassing. Cretinous. Wankers.

Yeah absolutely, looking forward to watching the brain deads driving around with their stupid little plastic flags on the top of their wagons.
Something tels me they will be disappointed!  

Loads of people have to take the line that they hate England and hope they fail only so that they can say "I told you so" when we do fall short. I would bet a pound to a pinch of pig shit that if we won the WC the Brazil shirts would soon be banished to the back of the cupboard. For me national pride has nothing to do with the FA, I will will our team to win, I'll be gutted if and when we get knocked out. As for NZ green it's a shame that you'll never really fit in over there no matter how much you slag off your mother country. Never mind.

nzgreen wrote:

If this truly is about fostering a better standard of player for England, and an England team capable of winning a world or european cup, I'd say their floggin a dead horse. Sorry to say this but 66 aside (when England hosted it and had friendly officials on their side) England have never looked like winning a major tournament. 1990 was the only exception in my lifetime and that was pre PL anyway and with an English boss.

And 1996. I will never forget the game against Holland, pure class.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]


Since then England have huffed and puffed their way into tournaments, only to fall short once there.

That will not change for many years to come.

Hey Iggy, fitted in just fine thanks. Married a kiwi girl ( which incidentally was the reason for me staying down under) have two lovely kids and a lifestyle and income I can confidentally say was not and is not available to me in England.

That aside it is true that most ex-pats experience a falling out with the English national sporting sides,usually after about 5 to 10 years away, I have found this an interesting experience. I don't hate England, never have but I do not support their teams for the reasons I gave before.

VillageGreen wrote:

nzgreen wrote:

If this truly is about fostering a better standard of player for England, and an England team capable of winning a world or european cup, I'd say their floggin a dead horse. Sorry to say this but 66 aside (when England hosted it and had friendly officials on their side) England have never looked like winning a major tournament. 1990 was the only exception in my lifetime and that was pre PL anyway and with an English boss.

And 1996. I will never forgot the game against Holland, pure class.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]


Since then England have huffed and puffed their way into tournaments, only to fall short once there.

That will not change for many years to come.

Yep they were good in that and 86 too. As hosts that expectation was there. The 4-0 was a good-un, but still, they fell short and on balance weren't the best team.

Just as a further insight, English people who come down under now and have been here a short while, say 6 months to year or two, universally claim how England has 'gone to the dogs' due, they say, to immigration. They're the ones that stick in pommie packs, don't integrate and spend most of their time, it seems to me at least, drinking and smoking heavily and whingeing. Naturally I try and avoid these types like the plague as i find them intensely dull.

nzgreen wrote:

VillageGreen wrote:

nzgreen wrote:

If this truly is about fostering a better standard of player for England, and an England team capable of winning a world or european cup, I'd say their floggin a dead horse. Sorry to say this but 66 aside (when England hosted it and had friendly officials on their side) England have never looked like winning a major tournament. 1990 was the only exception in my lifetime and that was pre PL anyway and with an English boss.

And 1996. I will never forgot the game against Holland, pure class.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]


Since then England have huffed and puffed their way into tournaments, only to fall short once there.

That will not change for many years to come.

Yep they were good in that and 86 too. As hosts that expectation was there. The 4-0 was a good-un, but still, they fell short and on balance weren't the best team.

1986 was not bad and if it was not for 'the hand of God', England could have gone on to win the World Cup.

Poor ol' shiltsie.
Maradona was a shit, but his second was amazing.

akagreengull wrote:

nzgreen wrote:

And if I hear England fans given it the old two world wars and one world cup shit against Germany again, or indeed any xenophobic or racist chanting, I sincerely hope we lose and are humiliated 10 feckin nil.

Wankers. Embarassing. Cretinous. Wankers.

Yeah absolutely, looking forward to watching the brain deads driving around with their stupid little plastic flags on the top of their wagons.
Something tels me they will be disappointed!  

Too right. Have you seen the doco on England fans during euro 2012, by that bloke McIntyre? Its on you tube. Gut wrenchingly embarrassing. But if you look close mid way through there is an naked old codger with a st George flag drapped over him, dancing in the Berlin square with his tackle out. The team on his flag? PAFC! I shit you not.

My last experience watching England in England was in Portsmouth with some work colleagues in 2002. We lost, forget who too but anyway, one bloke from work was a pompey fan and he reliably informed me that 'waterlooville were bringing a hundred down to pompey' for a fight, regardless of the result. They did too. I made my excuses and left but apparently a mass brawl erupted in mcdonalds( where else) in front of families during the afternoon. My work colleague was so drunk he barely remembered kicking some teenagers head in on cctv. Luckily for him he was wearing a cap and a scarf so he didn't go to jail like he should have done. And he was a well respected, intelligent member of the Portsmouth community with a good job.

Think also that night foreign made cars were rolled and vandalised too.

Also remember my Canadian mate expressing how angry he was that his back packing trip with his girlfriend to some euro games in 2000 were utterly ruined by rampaging drunk England fans and how they ran for their lives. I had to explain not all English were like that.

So yeah guess my disillusionment with the national side and its supporters has been brewing for quite a while.

nzgreen wrote:

Poor ol' shiltsie.
Maradona was a shit, but his second was amazing.

That second goal by Maradona is one of the all time classics, the way he went through the England defence was like a knife through butter.

nzgreen wrote:

Good on Argyle. Their statement was a good one.

Aye, here if anyone missed it......

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

nzgreen wrote:

And some big question marks over the legitimacy of martin johnsons play. Anyway this is ancient history now and at least it was oz England did in the final. The rugby world cup is back where it belongs now.

No different to McCaw, constantly off-side, constantly borderline infringing, constantly in the ref's ear.

Can't argue with that last line, though I'm interested in how England's make-shift side do in June. No, the other one.   

X Isle wrote:

nzgreen wrote:

Good on Argyle. Their statement was a good one.

Aye, here if anyone missed it......

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

In the latest news section on the baggo,it states "Lee Cox is returning to Home Park as Argyle manager".Talk about the cheap option.Can already hear the calls for "Cox out" reverberating around Home Park.

Mock Cuncher wrote:

nzgreen wrote:

And some big question marks over the legitimacy of martin johnsons play. Anyway this is ancient history now and at least it was oz England did in the final. The rugby world cup is back where it belongs now.

No different to McCaw, constantly off-side, constantly borderline infringing, constantly in the ref's ear.

Can't argue with that last line, though I'm interested in how England's make-shift side do in June. No, the other one.   

Yes Ritchie has his moments. That reminds me any word on when England will be playing in their away strip again? You know the all black one that tore easy, first used during the 2011 world cup hosted by the all blacks, er, oh wait.

As for England football wc team, loads of names I've never heard of, so I'll wish them well on the basis they haven't pissed me off. Yet.

nzgreen wrote:

My last experience watching England in England was in Portsmouth with some work colleagues in 2002. We lost, forget who too but anyway, one bloke from work was a pompey fan and he reliably informed me that 'waterlooville were bringing a hundred down to pompey' for a fight, regardless of the result. They did too. I made my excuses and left but apparently a mass brawl erupted in mcdonalds( where else) in front of families during the afternoon. My work colleague was so drunk he barely remembered kicking some teenagers head in on cctv. Luckily for him he was wearing a cap and a scarf so he didn't go to jail like he should have done. And he was a well respected, intelligent member of the Portsmouth community with a good job.

Think also that night foreign made cars were rolled and vandalised too.

Also remember my Canadian mate expressing how angry he was that his back packing trip with his girlfriend to some euro games in 2000 were utterly ruined by rampaging drunk England fans and how they ran for their lives. I had to explain not all English were like that.

So yeah guess my disillusionment with the national side and its supporters has been brewing for quite a while.

Funny that, I had a similar experience with a load of Maori and Tongan rugby players in Winchester a few years ago. We started at a after match party at one of the players houses in Newbury (where some of them played) they were smoking the strongest weed to seemingly no effect, had a few beers then went out in Winchester. First pub we went into was trashed, glasses thrown through windows, toilets smashed. Second pub much the same but not quite as bad which is when I decided to do one. Later on they got into a fight with some local chavs who got a right kicking, one of whom was in a coma for about four weeks.
I think that New Zealand actually has the highest rate of violent crime in the world or is that just the Maoriis?
They aren't all like that though I'm sure.