Official Football Thread

Adam Johnson has been sentenced to 6 years in prison after being found guilty of sexual activity with a child.
 

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Johan Cruyff tributes & reaction
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Ruud Gullit:
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Thank you Johan for being my biggest inspiration and teacher. Thank you for paving the way for our generation and for putting The Netherlands on the map. Thank you for being you. RIP.
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Gary Lineker:
Sad to hear that Johan Cruyff has died. Football has lost a man who did more to make the beautiful game beautiful than anyone in history.
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Manchester City and Belgium captain Vincent Kompany: "RIP Johan Cruyff, true football royalty. I don't think anyone has ever influenced the game as much as he has done. We have all been touched and inspired by his vision and his beliefs. Football will miss him but we will never forget."

Former World Cup-winning Germany captain Lothar Matthaus: "Such sad news about Johan Cruyff. A great man, who transformed football. Condolences to his family and friends."

Former Scotland and Barcelona striker Steve Archibald on BBC Radio 5 live: "His body movement was different from everyone else's and he was full of invention, with the machinery of a Rolls Royce"

Manchester United and England legend Bobby Charlton: "I was proud to have known Johan. He was one of those great, great footballers that made you excited whenever he got the ball and began to play. There was always expectation in the crowd when Johan was on the pitch. There wasn't a negative thought in his head. He loved the game, he loved sport and he loved life. The kind of football he played changed the game and still has an impact today."

Roy Hodgson: "We're talking about one of the real greats of the game. Sometimes the word legend is used a little bit loosely, sometimes even flippantly. But there are one or two greats, and one or two legends, and Johan Cruyff is one of those."


West Ham and @england legend Sir Trevor Brooking has paid tribute to the late, great Johan Cruyff #RIP #Cruyff:

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A few Cruyff quotes:
  • "Playing football is very simple, but playing simple football is the hardest thing there is."
  • "Italians can't win the game against you, but you can lose the game against the Italians."
  • "Quality without results is pointless. Results without quality is boring."
  • "It's better to go down with your own vision than with someone else's."
  • "In my teams, the goalie is the first attacker, and the striker the first defender."
  • "There is only one ball, so you need to have it."
  • "Why couldn't you beat a richer club? I've never seen a bag of money score a goal."
 
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Black Wizard said:
The England hype machine will be in full flow now.
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It began before last night, the Daily Mirror last week ran a piece with the headline 'Goalden Generation' and highlighted Vardy, Kane (fair enough), Carroll, Wellbeck and Rashford. Rashford is still in nappies and Wellbeck has scored like 4 goals this season. Clowns.

I think it will go like this..despite the form of Alli, Vardy and Kane, Hodgson will focus on Rooney and throw on the likes of Vardy when England are 5mins form going out. He wont be able to save them and the press will destroy Hodgson and the new/young guys.

And if Butland gets a game he will let in a soft goal and also be destroyed.
 
I'd argue that England has its weakest group of players in a long time. The 93-96 generation does look promising but they're quite far away from doing anything significant.

Not to mention the absolute bonkers generations Germany, Spain and France are coming up with, which is gonna be very difficult to challenge in the first place.
 
Englands press (and players too maybe) always think they are better than they are. FIFA (or UEFA?) released a list of the top 35 players in Europe late last year. Not one English player. Of course I have no problem with England being a mediocre footballing nation, Im Irish so I know what its like but theres an insane level of expectation among the sproting press which can get annoying (I live in Northern Ireland so I get British radio/tv/newspapers).

Although the expectation levels seem lower now than they have been for a long time. I expect this to increase closer to the time
 
The 2010 World Cup was a big wake-up call for English football. They scraped through the group stage and got hammered by Germany in the second round. Expectations were much lower for Euro 2012 and the 2014 World Cup, both of which they failed to impress in.
 
Niall Kielt said:
Englands press (and players too maybe) always think they are better than they are. FIFA (or UEFA?) released a list of the top 35 players in Europe late last year. Not one English player. Of course I have no problem with England being a mediocre footballing nation, Im Irish so I know what its like but theres an insane level of expectation among the sproting press which can get annoying (I live in Northern Ireland so I get British radio/tv/newspapers).

Although the expectation levels seem lower now than they have been for a long time. I expect this to increase closer to the time
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The perception has to do with the league, I think. Premier League is the most popular and to many (including myself) the best league. But that doesn't mean English footballers/clubs/national teams are the most successful. The glory and atmosphere of the league skews the perceived strength of the league, the same issue applies to the reactions to English teams doing fuck all in the European competitions lately.

Hell, the league issue is probably age old. English football was the first to get organized cups and leagues, so they thought nobody would get anywhere close to them, until Uruguay started to dominate tournaments in the 20s.
 
A percentage of fans think England have some kind of entitlement to be the best in the world, probably because it's the national sport and because of the historical origins. They get ridiculously angry when they're proven wrong. This is why I don't usually have anything to do with international matches and just stick to the league.
 
Yeah I think the league is a factor. Wages are very high across the board compared with other leagues (average players at average teams are relatively well paid) so its popular with foreign players which can lead to young English players not getting a lot of first team opportunities with the bigger clubs. This can only be detrimental to the national team and when you consider the low amount of English players who play abroad (which will help their development and understanding of different styles of play) well, thats a recipe for poor performance on the international stage.

As an Ireland fan, I say long may it continue :D
 
Not sure if the extent of foreign players is the thing to blame. Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern München are rich, powerful clubs with a lot of foreign players. Yet, Barça & Real were the basis of the Spanish national team that dominated world football in late 2000s to early 2010s, and Bayern was the basis for the German domination in 2014. If a player progresses enough, he'll get the call. I'd even argue that English players are favored over foreigners in the Premier League, which results in an overvaluation, which then results in English players in general overrating themselves.

The second part of your post (lack of players and coaches that go abroad) is the actual problem I think. English football, as stated by Brigs, has a sense of entitlement because they created the sport. They've had this "We created it, we know it the best" mindset for decades. It results in a very conservative approach to football strategies that are ever-evolving and English football gets left behind as a result.

In light of the recent passing of Johan Cruyff, it's worth remembering that the foundation for Barcelona and Spain's domination in world football prior to the last World Cup lies in Johan Cruyff coming over to Barcelona and establishing the Total Football philosophy there. Barcelona, and then the national team adopted a style that originated in the Netherlands, added their own twist to it and dominated the game. The introduction of the likes of Jürgen Klopp and Josep Guardiola as coaches into the league might spark something.
 
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Brigantium said:
A percentage of fans think England have some kind of entitlement to be the best in the world, probably because it's the national sport and because of the historical origins. They get ridiculously angry when they're proven wrong. This is why I don't usually have anything to do with international matches and just stick to the league.
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I'd say that's a reason to not stick with the league. When international football is taken into account, perceptions of estimated strength mean something. I know that might not be important to many, but I wouldn't let my own fun be spoiled by someone who doesn't want to know how strong their club/league really is.
 
Alright, I didn't realize the beginning of the discussion, and missed what happened in football yesterday, but I'll be damned, that was a great result. An experienced Germany lost from a young English squad!
 
Forostar said:
Alright, I didn't realize the beginning of the discussion, and missed what happened in football yesterday, but I'll be damned, that was a great result. An experienced Germany lost from a young English squad!
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Trivia: Emre Can (Germany / Liverpool) was 2 goals up against Fraser Forster (England / Southampton) twice in one week, lost 3-2 both times :D
 
And the shittiest country in the Euro qualification won from England, which won from Germany.
I am looking forward to the level of football this Summer. <_<
 
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