Defensive minded wrote:

Ouch!

Oh I completely agree with you. Which is part of the reason I find the whole creation of it around tournament time so forced and false. It's as mental as the efforts to make something of st george's day.

And while I think that it's nice that young danny welbeck is doing well and so on, I just want terry and hodgson to drown in a sea of shit.

I'm rather nauseated by the Roy hodgson is such a decent chap thing. I think that ignores the rather large elephant in the room. I think that some people have a tendency to view things through this decent guy prism and are seeing a fairly typical England tournament performance, albeit a highly fortunate one so far, as praiseworthy, when it's pretty much just the same as usual.

The Bild headline was actually "First German Home Game in Danzig"

you've got to be joking. My flatmate thinks that's pretty funny, as he might say something similar about lvov, but a lot of people might be offended.

Indeed. It's hardly a defence of that particular paper, is it?

The Awesome Berbaslug!!! wrote:


You know, he's been known here in Sweden more years than he's been over there, if we're honest. You didn't really give or knew a flying fuck about him until he signed for Fulham. Let's be honest.

And he is. He is way more than a decent chap. Maybe we did something with him while he was here. Maybe the Swedish culture which can sometimes be overly.... make people so damn humble they almost excuse themselves when they open the door to their own bus which is to take them to their training fascility, but he is highly regarded here. Maybe his stay here in Sweden mixed with his British heritage made him decent instead of a walking swedish zombie coach or a prick who thinks he's commanding a cavalry in 19th century India. He has been top of the list for years as next coach of Sweden.
Because he's a good coach.
Because he's a decent chap.
But decent without being a moron hiding in the trenches as soon as some side ranked above Kyrgystan are mentioned.
He is a decent chap. It is great. Maybe him staying here in Sweden for such a long time, it took away whatever Roy Keane idiotic-like I-think-I-know-everything-about-everything prick-ness out of him.
Maybe it took the Harry Redknapp kind of arrogance out of him.
Maybe it took the Alex Ferguson-like I-should-always-get-my-way kind of cuntishness out of him.

That's what England have been missing. A coach who is decent. And now they have it, that's a fault?

nice rant PPV -- i too, am a Roy H. fan -- not gonna break it down any further.

For the few AEB members who have warmed to this current England side, there is an increase in hysteria and hatred among the staunchest members to make up for the losses.
Each prediction made has been entirely wrong so far. They won't get out of the group. Wrong. They won't win the group and will be dumped out by Spain. Wrong. They won't beat an Italian side who will play a similar game to them. Well, who knows. England have got a half decent chance.
The Chelsea factor has played a part in this too. For all the asseverations that England are shit and lacking in skill and technical ability to win it, Chelsea's Champion's League victory despite the same handicaps has put a nagging doubt in the back of their mind.
Each time England have confounded the odds the panic levels have increased, and the posts have become more hysterical, hyperbolic and silly. Should England beat Italy tonight, and it wouldn't matter how they won it, because whatever they did would be ripped apart, then I expect the response will reach Yosemite Sam proportions. Still, it's just as likely that England will lose in a bad tempered game with some controversial incident and a moment of stupidity from Rooney, and you can al say "told you so" and "ner ner ner ner ner" and the world will start turning like before.

You do talk a load of crap some times, Sean.

This has been the mildest tournament for the ABE/AEB since OTF began.

berbaslug, comparing the UK and irish editions of the sun and daily mail to see what articles don't appear in both seems like one of the dumbest ways anyone could ever waste their time.

that bild headline is fucking unbelievable. i don't care which one of england, portugal or italy wins it at this stage. the thing everyone disliked about the english football team was all the arrogance and bombast. i'm afraid spain and germany have, in this as in so many other respects, left them trailing.

Beltrano Carpinteiro wrote:

For some, yes. But there are some on this board who can't let it go, and ramp up the hate as the awareness of their isolation becomes ever more apparent. The targets are becoming ever more preposterous, I mean, look at Berbaslug's battering of Roy Hodgson. Fuck knows what they'll do at Brazil 2014 if England qualify. Chances are that Terry and Gerrard aren't going to be there, if Ashley Cole doesn't make it what targets will they have left? The thing that scares the hardline AEB is not that England might be a good side, it's that they might become likeable.

Oh, don't get me wrong now.
I still want England to go out.
If I could chose, three own goals and a penalty miss by Rooney.

I don't want there to be any misunderstanding.

For the few AEB members who have warmed to this current England side, there is an increase in hysteria and hatred among the staunchest members to make up for the losses.

It's all a joke, dude.

Chill, dude.

Without doubt. I find it increasingly funny.

Sean of the Szczed wrote:


Really, you are on a different fucking planet.

Sean of the Szczed wrote:


For me, the AEB are the flipside of Wingco. As the other guy said, it's all a joke.

Is Roy Hodgson that loveable a character anyway? Played in SA during the boycott. Picked John Terry. Both leave a sour taste for me.

Be afraid AEB, last night I dreamt that England won the final. Then again in my dream they played France in the final and I was driving a tractor around a multi-storey pub, so it probably means nothing.
I mean, seriously, I don't even go in pubs.

Jimski wrote:


I don't think Hodgson is lovable, but he has come across as a realistic, articulate manager who has done pretty well so far. He hasn't made cocky predictions, he is no little englander, and even if England go out tonight as I suspect we will, he has been quietly refreshing.

As for South Africa, there are god knows how many former players who went there, many of whom have far loftier status in the game. Doesn't make it right but he wasn't alone.

berbaslug, comparing the UK and irish editions of the sun and daily mail to see what articles don't appear in both seems like one of the dumbest ways anyone could ever waste their time.

ah, to be fair, it only ever happens on public transport or in airports, where people leave them lying around. I was in luton airport for a very long time, and bought the guardian, and battered my way through half of Tom Holland's outstanding new book as well, but four hours is a long time.

Roy hodgson isn't lovable or nice or decent. he's personable, people confuse the two. Being patient when answering press questions politely make you professional or eager to impress.

Being decent would involve upholding a sporting boycott rather than going out to south africa for a bit and later pretending that you were unaware of what was going on when called on it. A decent man wouldn't have brought John Terry, and certainly not at the expense of rio ferdinand, and then lied about it because he knew it was the wrong thing to do.

As for South Africa, there are god knows how many former players who went there, many of whom have far loftier status in the game. Doesn't make it right but he wasn't alone.

The others didn't hide it, and act as though their first job was in scandanavia. The others aren't trying to pretend to be sophisticated men of the world, yet also youthful ingenues. The stance that it's only about sport, rather than 'politics' isn't a politically neutral position as he might claim. It's a powerfully political stance.

but he has come across as a realistic, articulate manager who has done pretty well so far. He hasn't made cocky predictions, he is no little englander,

Sounds like sven. He knew that at the end of the day, it's all about lounging around the pool drinking cocktails, and chatting up honeys of all ages, shapes, sizes, colours and creeds.

that bild headline is fucking unbelievable. i don't care which one of england, portugal or italy wins it at this stage. the thing everyone disliked about the english football team was all the arrogance and bombast. i'm afraid spain and germany have, in this as in so many other respects, left them trailing.

I preferred when germans reflexively shied away from that sort of joke. Angela merkel's celebrations against greece instantly activated the eric cartman part of my brain.

You don't go in pubs?

[quote="Defensive minded" post=682067]My Name Is Ian wrote:


Wow and I wanted them to do well for around two minutes.