International Football

[OddJob]

See Montenegro only drew at home to Bulgaria meaning the Guffs stay top on goal difference. That was a real chance to put pressure on them and they've probably blew it now tbh.

[vanderark14]

watching SSN this morning and noticed a few newspaper headlines saying now is the time to get rid of capello. :hysterical:

[RUL]

Would make sense to me, he's totally going through the motions.

 

 

[vanderark14]

Would make sense to me, he's totally going through the motions.

 

it still amazes me that they pay him so much and it will cost a huge fortune to get rid of him

[OddJob]

watching SSN this morning and noticed a few newspaper headlines saying now is the time to get rid of capello. :hysterical:

England manager Fabio Capello blames draw on fatigue

 

England boss Fabio Capello said a lack of energy was partly to blame for the 2-2 draw in their Euro 2012 qualifier against Switzerland at Wembley.

 

Capello saw England come from 2-0 down to rescue a point but then fade badly in the latter stages, while Darren Bent missed golden chances to win it.

 

"After 2-2 we got four chances to score the third goal," said Capello.

 

"We missed those chances but I can see that in the last 10 minutes some players were without energy."

 

England were 2-0 down just after the half hour through two Tranquillo Barnetta free-kicks but pulled one back from the penalty spot after Frank Lampard converted.

 

ubstitute Ashley Young then equalised in the 51st minute with the Aston Villa forward injecting some much needed energy into a tired looking England side.

 

"Some players arrived at the last 10 minutes without energy. In modern football if you can't press it is difficult," added Capello, who said that he had not underestimated Switzerland.

 

"For this reason I was happy for the reaction and for the chances that we created but the last 10 minutes I was worried. I saw the Swiss team doing really, really well."

 

After Young's equaliser England then had several chances to take the lead - with Bent in particular guilty of wasting two gilt-edged opportunities - before they faded but managed to hold on for a point.

 

Capello lamented those missed chances from Bent, who saw one shot smothered by Swiss goalkeeper Diego Benaglio when clean through and another blaze over the crossbar with the goalmouth gaping. Young and Stewart Downing also later missed clear-cut opportunities.

 

"Bent always has the chances but this time he missed the chances. It is incredible because we missed four chances that were really clear," Capello commented.

 

Bent though was confident his misses would not result in him being dropped from the England side.

 

The Aston Villa striker revealed afterwards that Capello had reassured him about the misses.

 

"Fabio said, 'Don't worry about it'," Bent said.

 

"I'm a striker, all strikers miss chances and I'm sure when the next ones comes along I'll bury them.

 

"As a striker, you practise taking chances and, obviously, today it wasn't meant to be.

 

"But we move on from that, take the positives from the game.

 

"I thought our second-half performance was good and we'll move on to the next international."

 

Saturday's game was Bent's third start in the last four internationals.

 

He added: "It's gone really well.

 

"Fabio's shown real faith in me this season - I thank him for that.

 

"And he's played me again for another 90, which hasn't happened before in the past, and I'm over the moon about it.

 

"All I can keep doing is doing well for my club side, which I've done this season, and get a good rest under my belt. It's been a long old season."

 

Meanwhile, the Football Association has played down the problems experienced by England fans before the game.

 

Although the qualifier was a sell-out, there were a significant number of empty seats at kick-off.

 

Angry fans made their displeasure known on the social networking site Twitter.

 

It is believed problems were caused due to the larger than normal numbers who arrived at the stadium shortly before kick-off.

 

"There were a large number of late entries to the stadium which contributed to queues at several turnstiles," an FA spokesman stated.

 

"Nonetheless, over 80,000 fans were in their seats 15 minutes after kick-off."

Fatigue????

 

I bloody hate this excuse from any manager and footballer. Would he have been saying that if they'd won? Of course not.

[NorthernLights24]

I see Uganda, managed by Bobby Williamson are edging closer to a place at the African Cup of Nations after beating Guinea-Bissau 2-0 yesterday.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Africa_Cup_of_Nations_qualification#Group_J

[minijc]

Fatigue????

 

I bloody hate this excuse from any manager and footballer. Would he have been saying that if they'd won? Of course not.

How do you know he wouldn't? managers have done it before, thing is most of the England players have played 45+plus games over the season so it is bound to catch up with them and play apart on their performance.

[OddJob]

How do you know he wouldn't? managers have done it before, thing is most of the England players have played 45+plus games over the season so it is bound to catch up with them and play apart on their performance.

Maybe if they were playing the likes of France or Spain then yes but Switzerland, f**k me they're hardly world class, but then again England have hardly set the heather alight themselves i suppose. I just hate hearing that 'excuse' brought out when a team hasn't performed to their ability or have been out-classed by an opponent.

[minijc]

Regardless it still plays a big part on a player and teams performance.

[Iversen]

Fatigue????

 

I bloody hate this excuse from any manager and footballer. Would he have been saying that if they'd won? Of course not.

 

Made even more ridiculous when compared to his pre match comment, couldn't find the actual article but they're at 16:06 on the live text from the game.

 

"This week, in training, the players have been like children wanting to play. They have been really happy, and that is so important. I learned a lot from the World Cup. What happened there, with the physical situation, surprised me. They were really, really tired where, before, we had played well and fast. When we arrived at the World Cup we were tired. So, if we qualify for the Euros, I want the players to go on holiday for a minimum of 10 days before joining up. This week they have been absolutely fresh."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/9504565.stm

[OddJob]

Made even more ridiculous when compared to his pre match comment, couldn't find the actual article but they're at 16:06 on the live text from the game.

 

"This week, in training, the players have been like children wanting to play. They have been really happy, and that is so important. I learned a lot from the World Cup. What happened there, with the physical situation, surprised me. They were really, really tired where, before, we had played well and fast. When we arrived at the World Cup we were tired. So, if we qualify for the Euros, I want the players to go on holiday for a minimum of 10 days before joining up. This week they have been absolutely fresh."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/9504565.stm

You've hit the nail on the head there

[Dynamo]

I see Uganda, managed by Bobby Williamson are edging closer to a place at the African Cup of Nations after beating Guinea-Bissau 2-0 yesterday.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Africa_Cup_of_Nations_qualification#Group_J

 

Let's start a rumour that Blobby is :tup:

[ScottishJohn]

USA currently down 2-0 to PANAMA at half time in the CONCACAF Gold Cup

[stand_free]

How do you know he wouldn't? managers have done it before, thing is most of the England players have played 45+plus games over the season so it is bound to catch up with them and play apart on their performance.

 

I saw a stat that had Spain's national team as having played an average of 50+ club games, compared with England's 40 odd at the time of the last World Cup. Fatigue's just an easy get out. These guys should be fit enough and have the desire to cope with playing that amount of games. It's hardly a f**king chore!

[tup]

Let's start a rumour that Blobby is :tup:

 

The Ugandans better not turn up expecting to be entertained.

 

If they want that Blobby tells them, in broken Ugandan, 'go to the f**king cinema'

 

Guaranteed he is the recipient of some Ugandan manlove, tons of persecuted homos there as the BBC never tired of telling us :tup:

[Henry]

Scotland have fallen two seeding levels and will be in pot four for next month's World Cup draw in Brazil.

 

After the latest round of Euro 2012 qualifiers and friendlies, the seedings have become clear and Craig Levein's side will face a tough task to get to South America in 2014.

 

Although not official yet FIFA will confirm the seeding places in July, with the draw being made in Rio on July 30.

 

Other countries in the fourth pot include Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, Lithuania, Albania, Northern Ireland, Georgia and Poland.

 

For the 2010 group qualifying stages, Scotland were placed in pot two. They then finished third behind Norway and group winners Holland. Macedonia and Iceland were also in the group.

 

Pot one: Spain, Netherlands, Germany, England, Portugal, Italy, Croatia, Norway, Greece

 

Pot two: France, Montenegro, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Slovenia, Turkey, Serbia, Slovakia

 

Pot three: Switzerland, Israel, Republic of Ireland, Belgium, Czech Republic, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Belarus, Ukraine, Hungary

 

Pot four: Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia, Lithuania, Albania, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Austria, Poland

 

Pot five: Armenia, Finland, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Moldova, FYR Macedonia, Azerbaijan, Faroe Islands

 

Pot six: Wales, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Malta, Andorra, San Marino

[Sonoftherock]

Scotland have fallen two seeding levels and will be in pot four for next month's World Cup draw in Brazil.

 

After the latest round of Euro 2012 qualifiers and friendlies, the seedings have become clear and Craig Levein's side will face a tough task to get to South America in 2014.

 

Although not official yet FIFA will confirm the seeding places in July, with the draw being made in Rio on July 30.

 

Other countries in the fourth pot include Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, Lithuania, Albania, Northern Ireland, Georgia and Poland.

 

For the 2010 group qualifying stages, Scotland were placed in pot two. They then finished third behind Norway and group winners Holland. Macedonia and Iceland were also in the group.

 

Pot one: Spain, Netherlands, Germany, England, Portugal, Italy, Croatia, Norway, Greece

 

Pot two: France, Montenegro, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Slovenia, Turkey, Serbia, Slovakia

 

Pot three: Switzerland, Israel, Republic of Ireland, Belgium, Czech Republic, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Belarus, Ukraine, Hungary

 

Pot four: Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia, Lithuania, Albania, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Austria, Poland

 

Pot five: Armenia, Finland, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Moldova, FYR Macedonia, Azerbaijan, Faroe Islands

 

Pot six: Wales, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Malta, Andorra, San Marino

 

Wales down to the bottom pot! Oooft!

 

I'd take:

 

Norway

Montenegro

Belarus

SCOTLAND

Faroe Islands

San Marino

 

.... we'd still probably manage to f**k that one up though!

[Dynamo]

Hope we get England.

[Bluto10]

after the italy, and francy euro08 qualifiers our chance really was the world cup qualifiers with holland. we were never going to beat them but really should have finished 2nd and got a play off.

[weapon]

Paddy mccourt goal last nite against faroe islands:

 

 

I know it's against the faroes but it is a good goal like, think celtic might loan him out????? We could definitely do with his creativity