Flip Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 It's not fair comparing Sweden, Norway and Belgium with Brazil though. The sheer numbers of youngsters playing football for one thing - small countries can't afford losing talents but have to make sure as many talents as possible make it all the way. Absolutely, I'm just saying that there's a reason to why Scandinavian football is decreasing in level over the past years, I do think it has a lot to do with mentality provided by the coaches. I have seen an improvement over the last few years and hope it continues. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newcastle Fan Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 so, er, Cuauhtémoc Blanco is starting for Mexico tonight. Good call, Mexico. It's not like there's a world cup coming up, and even if there was, I'm sure you will have qualified with ease and definitely didn't need a last minute goal from your biggest rivals to spare your blushes. PSYCH, ALL THAT STUFF ACTUALLY DID HAPPEN OR IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. He''s still alive? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaylorJ_01 Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Are they not taking the world cup seriously then? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deuce Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Are they not taking the world cup seriously then? It was basically a glorified testimonial for him. He's not going to Brazil. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaylorJ_01 Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Are they not taking the world cup seriously then? It was basically a glorified testimonial for him. He's not going to Brazil. Precisely. Seems a bit of a crap use of preparation time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deuce Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Are they not taking the world cup seriously then? It was basically a glorified testimonial for him. He's not going to Brazil. Precisely. Seems a bit of a crap use of preparation time. Tbf it was just Israel they were playing, and he only went 38 minutes. Still, fuck 'em. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEMTEX Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 7 goals in ten games against USA, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama and Jamaica and they give old man blanco a game instead of taking World Cup preparation seriously. Hope they get fucking mullered. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtype Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Are they not taking the world cup seriously then? It was basically a glorified testimonial for him. He's not going to Brazil. Precisely. Seems a bit of a crap use of preparation time. Tbf it was just Israel they were playing, and he only went 38 minutes. Still, fuck 'em. You could've told me he was starting for them at Brazil and I probably would have believed you Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deuce Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Are they not taking the world cup seriously then? It was basically a glorified testimonial for him. He's not going to Brazil. Precisely. Seems a bit of a crap use of preparation time. Tbf it was just Israel they were playing, and he only went 38 minutes. Still, fuck 'em. You could've told me he was starting for them at Brazil and I probably would have believed you He's their Beasley. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pata Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Very true. Also think an issue is that we don't separate the better youngsters from the s*** ones at an earlier time. The mentality we have that "everyone needs to play, it's not about winning but having fun" until they're about 16 years old makes the young players play against s*** opponents rather than play with good teammates against better opposition. x100 We're too scared of it, it's pure scandinavian mentality, no one should be better than anyone. It's just ridiculous. "Everyone needs to play" is a disgrace. It's a noble idea but one that countries our size just simply can't afford. Remember being pissed as a kid when the opposition could choose who plays double shifts in our team if we didn't have full lines in hockey. Like it really matters who wins the U-10 match. Apparently it even got worse after my time and even goals weren't counted, everyone just has to play and have fun. After the last WJHC even the big boss of Finnish Hockey admitted that "everybody plays" resulted in many lost generations. Hopefully things are changing now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flip Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Very true. Also think an issue is that we don't separate the better youngsters from the s*** ones at an earlier time. The mentality we have that "everyone needs to play, it's not about winning but having fun" until they're about 16 years old makes the young players play against s*** opponents rather than play with good teammates against better opposition. x100 We're too scared of it, it's pure scandinavian mentality, no one should be better than anyone. It's just ridiculous. "Everyone needs to play" is a disgrace. It's a noble idea but one that countries our size just simply can't afford. Remember being p*ssed as a kid when the opposition could choose who plays double shifts in our team if we didn't have full lines in hockey. Like it really matters who wins the U-10 match. Apparently it even got worse after my time and even goals weren't counted, everyone just has to play and have fun. After the last WJHC even the big boss of Finnish Hockey admitted that "everybody plays" resulted in many lost generations. Hopefully things are changing now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 I think in England, a little too much focus is on winning at a young age, which as a kid is often down to who is the strongest and fastest. Wenger said kids play too much competitive football here and not enough focus is on time spent training. No left foot. Can't head the ball etc. Same thing with our lower leagues. So many players but the focus is all about winning. I read (maybe here) that in places like Croatia with a population smaller than London, the focus in all leagues is how they play. Ability. Technique. They'll not get much for winning things in Croatia but play well.. you might get a big move abroad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
triggs Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 I think in England, a little too much focus is on winning at a young age, which as a kid is often down to who is the strongest and fastest. Wenger said kids play too much competitive football here and not enough focus is on time spent training. No left foot. Can't head the ball etc. It really annoys me when really good footballers can't kick the ball on their bad foot Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David28 Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 7 goals in ten games against USA, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama and Jamaica and they give old man blanco a game instead of taking World Cup preparation seriously. Hope they get fucking mullered. Exactly what I thought after reading that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 For the insomniacs out there who just love the random combinations pre-WC friendlies throw up, then how's about a double helping of zanyness at 1.30am when Bosnia take on Ivory Coast and Chile say hello to Egypt. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 You want more? Of course you do. So get yourself aboard the 12.30am Uruguay v Northern Ireland train. Next stop, Montevideo. Choo fucking choo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 You want more? Of course you do. So get yourself aboard the 12.30am Uruguay v Northern Ireland train. Next stop, Montevideo. Choo fucking choo. The thought of Northern Irish people simply being in Montevideo amuses me regardless of what they're their for. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaKa Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 The Beautiful Game on BT Sport 1 Covering the issues with football in Africa ... So upsetting really. The way these young men are exploited. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 You want more? Of course you do. So get yourself aboard the 12.30am Uruguay v Northern Ireland train. Next stop, Montevideo. Choo fucking choo. Going to sit and watch the other us get hammered then. This is on red button and on the BBC website for those interested. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEMTEX Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 You want more? Of course you do. So get yourself aboard the 12.30am Uruguay v Northern Ireland train. Next stop, Montevideo. Choo fucking choo. slayed by choo fucking choo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 11 players "unavailable" for Northern Ireland. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Northern Irish commentator absolutely butchering the Uruguayan names, shockingly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belfast Mags Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 This is going to be horrific Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 You want more? Of course you do. So get yourself aboard the 12.30am Uruguay v Northern Ireland train. Next stop, Montevideo. Choo fucking choo. 9:15pm 8th June, Sky Sports 3...I've said too much already. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belfast Mags Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 Actually going OK Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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