03 Jun 2018 10:42:32
Is anyone getting excited about the world cup?
Obviously it's difficult to get excited about England but there seems to be little buzz from anyone I've spoken to about the whole tournament so far.
Maybe once it starts interest will grow but I can't remember there being such little momentum in the weeks building up to the competition before.
03 Jun 2018 11:06:34
What World Cup is it mate?
03 Jun 2018 11:39:35
Um good point mate :-) .
It's me age, I remember back in the day there used to be a festival of football held every 4 years where you would get to see different players you had only read about or seen clips of before and lots of different styles of football from all over the world, the Brazilians were breath taking, the Italians were boringly defensive but effective and the Dutch were Europe's nearest thing to South American football, well apart from Uruguay who for some reason used to send their rugby team if they qualified that is.
03 Jun 2018 14:04:14
I don't know if anyone likes or watches last week tonight with John Oliver, but I remember him doing a really good piece on the world cup and fifa last time around, really funny and informative if you can find it 😊 I imagine it's on YouTube.
03 Jun 2018 14:36:13
Ah yes 62, I remember watching that fabulous Alberto Carlos goal in the 1970 final, used to love watching Brazil back then, wonderful players, Socrates was another who took the finals by storm.
Really was something magical about them.
03 Jun 2018 14:52:16
Stoner you have just burst my bubble mate I thought you were my age lol 😂.
03 Jun 2018 15:53:27
1970 Brazil and Pele
74 Cruyff Beckenbauer Muller
78 Mario Kempess Ardilas Cruyff and co again
82 a young Maradona and a Braziliant Brazil
86 Maradona Lineker Sir Bobby Robson
90 Gazza Lineker those tears both from Gazza and the nation and of course Sir Bobby Robson who lead our country to our first SF away from home with such dignity and patriotic pride at all times despite having our own media and FA plotting his downfall each step of the way.
94 Reerto Baggio and a very young Ronaldo mk1
98 Beckham Campbell disallowed goal Henry Zidane Petit Vieira and Ronaldo and the mystery that surrounded his final.
2002 Brazil Ronaldo and that goal v England plus Turkey getting to the semi final and Germany getting so far with such and awful team
2006 The Wags and Svens Circus plus Ranoldo Mk2 winking
210 Capello keeping the England team under lock and key and the players looking relieved when they could finally go home after a terrible experience for them and us
2014 was Neymar really that good was the question most people were asking before the tournament started? Plus Germany thrashing Brazil 7 1 in their own back yard and Holland v Argentina showing the world how to not lose games in the other semi final ( I quite enjoyed that game even though most people thought it was boring )
2018 who will excite us?
Who are you looking forward to seeing, not Ronaldo Messi Neymar because we see them all the time year in year out
Will all the teams play cautious European style football or will someone be brave enough to express themselves and go for it and just be them self's and win all our hearts?
Can an unpopular Russia get people to see them differently after these finals or will they live up to thier unscrupulous reputation with conspiracy theories coming out of everywhere about how they got to the final after being awarded 7 penalties in every match and each team they played against having at least 2 goals disallowed all the way through:-)
03 Jun 2018 17:26:28
I just can't get excited by England and as for the world cup, it has been degraded by dirty money, getting the next two world cups in rediculous places that just don't shout out world cup. It all for me is losing its identity and status.
{Ed025's Note - im the same steve..
03 Jun 2018 17:28:39
Loved all those early tournaments 62 and remember all those players and sorry about that Sanogo, I’m actually still 25 in my head! 😂.
03 Jun 2018 18:04:14
Wonderful memories Stoner mate and we were lucky to have them that's for sure, we maybe losing our hair and no longer able to play box to box midfield :-) but we had italia 90 and poor old Sanogo for all his youthful good looks and full Barnet was a mere 7 year old who was probably tucked up in bed when we shared tears with Pearce and Gazza and the rest of the country that night, wonderful memories :-)
03 Jun 2018 18:34:35
Steve Ed025 I share your feelings both about England and this world cup.
We should be taking under 23s only and looking to the future in my opinion.
Why any player who went to Brazil 2014 or France 2016 wants to put themselves through it again is beyond me, we are not what people feel we should be yet people still set a high target for us to come home less than failures.
In truth a quater final is our limit but people still for some reason think we are or should be capable of last 4 the the final it's self or actually winning it, it's a no win situation for those who have been their before.
Personally I'd have played the under 20s 19s and under 17s in the qualifiers and half hoped we didn't qualify for Russia 2018 at all but if we did at least we'd be going with all eyes on the future.
04 Jun 2018 03:56:50
It's amazing isn't it that until recently we were always expected to win it or go far, when we had only reached the final once and semis twice and only reached 2 semis in the euros!
04 Jun 2018 09:01:45
I think we judge our players on what we see of them in the premier league Eden mate and think they are better than they are so our expectations are not based on their true ability.
In the 70s there were few not British players in the premier league but many Scots Welsh Irish and England didn't qualify for any finals now we have lots of players from all over the world but we are no better really other than we qualify but struggle once we get there.
The one thing we've never had is English players playing abroad, Germany France Holland Italy Brazil Argentina all have players playing outside their own national league and we have none.
The home grown rule hasn't helped because it's simply made our players more valuable than their ability warrants, would Sterling and Stones be at City if it was not for the home grown rule?
If we got our young players playing in European leagues like Portugal Holland France Germany then I think that might improve us but the problem is wages, in England reserve players are on 30k a week while in Portugal or France they might get 5k for first team football at some top division clubs.
Little England mentality and way to much money at far to young an age keeps us very very insular.
Like us Spain and France were once international also rans but now their players are based in other leagues as well as Barcelona Real or PSG or Monaco.
Capping young players wages and getting them playing first team football abroad rather than under 23 football in England on 30k a week might help improve their game and thier lives too.
04 Jun 2018 12:50:14
For me there is only one thing i watch the world cup for, and that is to witness the day when Brazil go out. I absolutely love it when the TV pans to the Brazil crowd to show them all (men, women and especially the children) bawling their eyes out, their arrogance bubble (its our world cup) well and truly burst, it absolutely makes my tournament. Of course, no occasion will ever beat the last world cup and the 7-1 thrashing they took, and I didn't even have to wait until the end, the TV showed the crowd blubbing at half time, brilliant! When i need cheering up i still go onto certain view tube type websites to re-live that wonderful day. Petty, me, who said that.!
04 Jun 2018 14:15:48
Why such a downer on Brazil and Brazilian people Epping mate?
04 Jun 2018 14:46:52
Nothing against the people of Brazil or their wonderful country G62. I think I just have the classic English trait where I dislike the favourite and always root for the underdog, which when it comes to major football tournaments, its not going to be Brazil! Also, you have to admit, seeing a grown man blubbing his heart out over just a game of football is very funny.