English sport in meltdown

[Johnners]

Dunno about the rest of you Aussies... but i'm loving this thread It reminds me just what a great country we live in....

Clearly England need to use more convicts in their sporting teams

 

[TT Boy]

Peter Roebuck will tell you it's because of the closure of the mines, the rejection of stoicism in public schools (as if all English sportsmen either worked in a colliery or were privately educated before 1980), and that as a result we're obsessed, and I quote "with pork pies and clever dicks", the whole nation now largely consists of ignorant, racist, xenophobic, drunken louts, and what sporting culture we have is obsessed with the individual rather than the team.

Fair comment.

 

[PhoenixFire]

Peter Roebuck will tell you it's because of the closure of the mines, the rejection of stoicism in public schools (as if all English sportsmen either worked in a colliery or were privately educated before 1980), and that as a result we're obsessed, and I quote "with pork pies and clever dicks", the whole nation now largely consists of ignorant, racist, xenophobic, drunken louts, and what sporting culture we have is obsessed with the individual rather than the team.

You have just either called yourself one of many ignorant people you were describing in your post, or contradicted yourself greatly.

 

[BoyBrumby]

You have just either called yourself one of many ignorant people you were describing in your post, or contradicted yourself greatly.

TBF that's what Roebuck was saying, Chubb just quoted the old child-beater.

 

[BoyBrumby]

There's very few countries that compete to a high standard in all of the sports we are doing rubbish in currently.

Australia are the closest (as ever) but I wouldn't class their footy team quite there yet but definitely getting there.

Fair point....

....but.....

Oz are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay ahead in League & Cricket, shading us in Union (although they aren't that flash just now either really), we're still ahead slightly in the football & Oz still manage to have their own football code, everyone's favorite Victorian oxymoron, Aussie Rules.

 

[Chubb]

TBF that's what Roebuck was saying, Chubb just quoted the old child-beater.

Aye. I was referring to Roebuck's view of England, not what I think, Phoenix Fire.

 

[Langeveldt]

the whole nation now largely consists of ignorant, racist, xenophobic, drunken louts, and what sporting culture we have is obsessed with the individual rather than the team.
.

Haha, whoah! I haven't been hacking into Chubb's account!

Yeah, English sport is in crisis, but this is just the natural ground that sport in England has inhabited for years, so it shouldn't come as a shock.. I blame the following

1) Massive amount of apathy - So I'm not the most proud Englishman about, but I begin to think I'm not the only one.. I know countless people who support other nations, or just generally don't care about sport and have other things, like Celebrity Big Brother on their minds.. People will generally support whoever is winning, rather than actually caring about or liking a sport

2) Bad weather, it doesn't help when it comes to cricket.. If I wanted to bowl a cricket ball now I'd have to pay thirty quid to hire a lane at the county ground.. Grass is mud, tarmac is full of cars or people on this crowded and muddy island..

3) The Drink culture - So while all my South African/Aussie/Kiwi friends are down the cricket club braai, most Brits are getting tanked and knocking hells bells out of each other.. If there was a world cup for Disorderly behaviour, or Tossers, England would win hands down (but only if I was allowed to compete).. Englishmen drink with a background to sport, Aussies play sport with drink in the background..

4) Softies - Makhaya Ntini was brought up in shoes made of ****, and he's a damn good fast bowler for it.. I get the impression many English sportsmen are pampered and expect success to come to them.. Maybe it takes a bit of adversity to get the drive to be the best you can be, but I think life here is a bit too cushdy, and many would rather take to the armchair than the rugby pitch

 

[Langeveldt]

Dunno about the rest of you Aussies... but i'm loving this thread It reminds me just what a great country we live in....

You have Kath and Kim on your stamps, the English have Isembard Kingdom Brunel, The Queen and Father Christmas. Three great British institutions.. You may have the ashes, but I wouldnt get too carried away with how "great" your country is..

 

[pasag]

You have Kath and Kim on your stamps, the English have Isembard Kingdom Brunel, The Queen and Father Christmas. Three great British institutions.. You may have the ashes, but I wouldnt get too carried away with how "great" your country is..

And you have a 40 year old woman in your avatar

 

[steds]

And you have a 40 year old woman in your avatar

You have a tubby St Kilda fan in yours.

 

[pasag]

You have a tubby St Kilda fan in yours.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

tbf he's got 699 more test wickets than the 40 year old woman.

 

[PY]

And the same size chest.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Can't hold that against a man, IMO.

 

[Johnners]

You have Kath and Kim on your stamps, the English have Isembard Kingdom Brunel, The Queen and Father Christmas. Three great British institutions.. You may have the ashes, but I wouldnt get too carried away with how "great" your country is..

Nah, Australia is the greatest... admit it

 

[sledger]

pap.

 

[Steulen]

Long may it continue! There are few things that improve my mood more than logging onto the BBC website just after an England team which was deemed invincible goes down to an obviously superior opponent.

It's all so inevitable. Steven Gerrard is the best midfield player in the world, Beckham the best passer, Pietersen the most destructive batsman, Harmison a World no. 1 bowler etc. etc.
They're all good at what they do, but somehow to the media it seems impossible to comprehend that somewhere out there there may be someone who is, whisper it, better than an Englishman .

The cricket team is actually quite good when it can play in whites, the football team was, is, and always will be dire, and given that hardly anyone plays rugby, you're bound to be top of the tree sometime in the future again...just keep that in mind and it's no worries!

 

[Langeveldt]

Long may it continue! There are few things that improve my mood more than logging onto the BBC website just after an England team which was deemed invincible goes down to an obviously superior opponent.

It's all so inevitable. Steven Gerrard is the best midfield player in the world, Beckham the best passer, Pietersen the most destructive batsman, Harmison a World no. 1 bowler etc. etc.
They're all good at what they do, but somehow to the media it seems impossible to comprehend that somewhere out there there may be someone who is, whisper it, better than an Englishman .

The cricket team is actually quite good when it can play in whites, the football team was, is, and always will be dire, and given that hardly anyone plays rugby, you're bound to be top of the tree sometime in the future again...just keep that in mind and it's no worries!

Hardly anyone plays rugby? South Africa won the world cup after re-admission when a maximum of 10 percent of the male population had any kind of rugby pedigree whatsoever.. It's all to do with skill, fitness and passion, not sheer numbers..

Apart from that, I agree, I wanted England to retain the Ashes before it started, but it's lovely to see Fletcher who has transpired to be a bit of a tool this winter, as well as the English media and the Barmy Army come up with egg all over their faces.. Shame for everyone else, but heyho, at least they aren't losing to India..

The English media build people up as if they were world beaters and shoot them down hard when things don't go their way.. It's all to do with selling more copies

 

[Matteh]

The English media build people up as if they were world beaters and shoot them down hard when things don't go their way.. It's all to do with selling more copies

They love to turn on their previous sporting heroes. The English gutter press effectively pick and then sack the England football manager not the FA.

 

[BoyBrumby]

They love to turn on their previous sporting heroes. The English gutter press effectively pick and then sack the England football manager not the FA.

They need to pull their finger out with McClaren sharpish then.