Are You "Anyone But England"?

[Saul Goodman]

over and over and over with no evidence apart from not liking my posts
even taking glee at me just responding when you quote me, quite odd!

Answer me this:
How would you feel if someone (in the face of your ABE schtick), decided to adopt an ABV (anyone but vegans) stance, and disrupted every vegan thread with anti-vegan bollocks?
Actually, don't bother answering, because it will just be more of your 'I are victim' bullshit.

 

[The39thStep]

Whales had 2.8 million in 1990, so yes. Significantly smaller.

Wales. I think I'm right in saying the only time Wales have qualified for the World Cup was in the 50s ?

 

[Spymaster]

Wales. I think I'm right in saying the only time Wales have qualified for the World Cup was in the 50s ?

See my edit.

 

[not-bono-ever]

Ach
No More contributions to this thread
All getting a bit distasteful

 

[ddraig]

Answer me this:
How would you feel if someone (in the face of your ABE schtick), decided to adopt an ABV (anyone but vegans) stance, and disrupted every vegan thread with anti-vegan bollocks?
Actually, don't bother answering, because it will just be more of your 'I are victim' bullshit.

Why have you dragged me back into this?
Vegan threads are already disrupted and trashed
Do I follow people around the boards calling them out as englund fans on different threads like people already do having digs about vegans?
Do you have a point?

 

[Spymaster]

I think I'm right in saying the only time Wales have qualified for the World Cup was in the 50s ?

1958

60 years of hurt!

 

[killer b]

I wonder why you'd bother doing the whole ABE shtick in the first place if you're going to be a whiny fuck when people abuse you about it. Isn't that the whole point?

 

[The39thStep]

Why have you dragged me back into this?
Vegan threads are already disrupted and trashed
Do I follow people around the boards calling them out as englund fans on different threads like people already do having digs about vegans?
Do you have a point?

England

 

[keybored]

Whales

Wails.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Loads of smaller footballing countries never produce successful teams, or they produce them only fleetingly. Typically you will have a 'golden generation' occasionally, then drop off quickly after that. Examples recently would be the likes of Bulgaria or Greece. Examples from before that would be the likes of Hungary or Austria.

Croatia have maintained a good level for more than 20 years, which is hugely impressive, but you'd expect them to drop back at some point. Uruguay are the most impressive small nation in the world by a mile - record winners of the Copa America, better record than either of their far larger neighbours. They rarely seem to drop back much at all, which is extraordinary.

 

[8ball]

Why have you dragged me back into this?
Vegan threads are already disrupted and trashed
Do I follow people around the boards calling them out as englund fans on different threads like people already do having digs about vegans?
Do you have a point?

It was only the "do you find hysterical vegans somewhat offputting thread?" where that happened recently. Probably a useful lightning rod for shielding the more general vegan support threads, I think.

Unless you mean the ones about hunting, or comments on extreme acts of animal cruelty, which you then try to *make* into a vegan thread by accusing all and sundry of hypocrisy. In which case I expect you are just getting exactly the reaction you are hoping for, as well as disingenuously using it to back up your victim complex.

 

[Sasaferrato]

I don’t support any nation. The idea that a sporting team can somehow represent me or is automatically deserving of my support/respect is baffling. Bollocks to blind patriotism.

I don’t get the idea of supporting a club for life either. The owners, team members, ethos etc can be totally different as years roll by. Why not switch to one you like or has players you respect?

Football fans are a strange lot

Blimey! You mean teams other than Heart of Midlothian exist? Been a supporter for nearly 50 years now. I know what suffering is.

 

[Spymaster]

It was only the "do you find hysterical vegans somewhat offputting thread?" where that happened recently.

That's not even a vegan thread. It's a thread asking a question of NON vegans.

 

[Sasaferrato]

If we competed as a union rather than individual nations it would solve all. Nobody agrees with me tho

Well, we do in the Olympics, very successfully.

 

[The39thStep]

Loads of smaller footballing countries never produce successful teams, or they produce them only fleetingly. Typically you will have a 'golden generation' occasionally, then drop off quickly after that. Examples recently would be the likes of Bulgaria or Greece. Examples from before that would be the likes of Hungary or Austria.

Croatia have maintained a good level for more than 20 years, which is hugely impressive, but you'd expect them to drop back at some point. Uruguay are the most impressive small nation in the world by a mile - record winners of the Copa America, better record than either of their far larger neighbours. They rarely seem to drop back much at all, which is extraordinary.

yes all well and good but I was asking why it is that Croatia have managed to do this but not the Home Nations and the Republic.

 

[The39thStep]

Well, we do in the Olympics, very successfully.

be interesting to see who'd be in a starting XL and five subs if this were to happen. Would have to be on merit though.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

yes all well and good but I was asking why it is that Croatia have managed to do this but not the Home Nations and the Republic.

Point is that there is a certain randomness to it. You'd expect smaller nations to occasionally rise then fall again without necessarily being able to predict which ones and when. There may not be a deep-seated 'why'.

Danger is that you come up with some theory, then the great team disappears for decades as that great Hungary team of the 50s has done.

 

[Saul Goodman]

Why have you dragged me back into this?
Vegan threads are already disrupted and trashed
Do I follow people around the boards calling them out as englund fans on different threads like people already do having digs about vegans?
Do you have a point?

If anybody did what you're accusing them of doing, they'd be banned, or at least banned from the thread.
So I guess my point is that you're a hypocrite, at best.

 

[Sasaferrato]

Point is that there is a certain randomness to it. You'd expect smaller nations to occasionally rise then fall again without necessarily being able to predict which ones and when. There may not be a deep-seated 'why'.

Danger is that you come up with some theory, then the great team disappears for decades as that great Hungary team of the 50s has done.

I'd be content with Scotland just making it to the World Cup finals. You would think that a country that has produced many outstanding football players could do a bit better.

 

[strung out]

yes all well and good but I was asking why it is that Croatia have managed to do this but not the Home Nations and the Republic.

To be fair, England have consistently performed about par for where they should be. I know that there's a certain sense of entitlement from some fans, England having 'invented the game' and being former winners, but over the last 20 years, we've finished:

• Last 16
• Last 8
• Last 8
• Last 16
• Last 32
• Last 4

It's not amazing, but for a country of England's size (population 53m), compared to countries with the relative strength of historic superpowers like Germany (83 million), France (67 million), Brazil (207 million), Italy (61 million), and Spain (only 47 million) who have all won it in that time, I don't think we can be too ashamed of our performances.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

To be fair, England have consistently performed about par for where they should be. I know that there's a certain sense of entitlement from some fans, England having 'invented the game' and being former winners, but over the last 20 years, we've finished:

• Last 16
• Last 8
• Last 8
• Last 16
• Last 32
• Last 4

It's not amazing, but for a country of England's size (population 53m), compared to countries with the relative strength of historic superpowers like Germany (83 million), France (67 million), Brazil (207 million), Italy (61 million), and Spain (only 47 million) who have all won it in that time, I don't think we can be too ashamed of our performances.

And before they got good ten years ago, Spain were long underachievers too. But tbh only having ever reached one major final is disappointing. Given the club tradition (I'm pretty sure I'm right in saying that England has more professional teams than any other country, certainly more fully professional leagues), it's poor overall.

 

[Saul Goodman]

Here's an interesting little fact for ddraig... The Wails have only ever qualified for ONE world cup. That was back in 1958, when their name was pulled from 'the-hat-of-losers' to play against Isreal after everyone else refused to play against Isreal due to the Suez crisis. Belgium were actually drawn from 'the-hat-of-losers' before The Wails, but also refused to play, so The Wails qualified by default, because everybody else refused to play
Go The Wails!

 

[sealion]

Why have you dragged me back into this?

 

[existentialist]

Why have you dragged me back into this?

Nobody has ddraigged you anywhere, ddraig. This is a web forum. There are no big hairy arms to haul you in from "trefnu blodau am hwyl ac elw" or wherever you're hanging out, and force you to participate here.

Stop thinking like a victim.

 

[planetgeli]

During the game last night I was astonished to find out how small the population of Croatia is. They've set the bench mark for small countries imo . Question is if they can perform like that why can't the Scots, Ireland and Wales?

Any reply is going to rely on generalisation...so that's what I'll do. Croatia is very much a 'footballing' nation, i.e football is the national sport. This is traditional, goes back through Yugoslavia (though that doesn't explain why Serbia haven't followed Croatia's success).

Wales is a rugby nation.
Ireland has Gaelic games (GAA)
Scotland are just shit at everything? Nah, they've had their moments. Moment. Archie Gemill, 1974. They never lost a game in that tournament. Drew with Brazil. Beat Netherlands in '78.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Any reply is going to rely on generalisation...so that's what I'll do. Croatia is very much a 'footballing' nation, i.e football is the national sport. This is traditional, goes back through Yugoslavia (though that doesn't explain why Serbia haven't followed Croatia's success)..

Serbia qualified for the WC finals this time around. No mean feat. Slovenia have qualified for finals as well, and they're even tinier. Again, I wouldn't look too hard for a deep explanation. In 20 years' time, it could easily be that Serbia are stronger than Croatia, and another small nation from somewhere else is enjoying some years of success.

 

[mojo pixy]

Vatican City should field a side. If I were pope...

 

[Baronage-Phase]

Any reply is going to rely on generalisation...so that's what I'll do. Croatia is very much a 'footballing' nation, i.e football is the national sport. This is traditional, goes back through Yugoslavia (though that doesn't explain why Serbia haven't followed Croatia's success).

Wales is a rugby nation.
Ireland has Gaelic games (GAA)
Scotland are just shit at everything? Nah, they've had their moments. Moment. Archie Gemill, 1974. They never lost a game in that tournament. Drew with Brazil. Beat Netherlands in '78.

I'd like to add that Ireland has a huge rugby tradition and is pretty darn good at it.
And considering that football (Or soccer over here) is the game of our ahem once enemies, Ireland did manage to get to the world cup quarter finals in 1990.
We are doing ok for a small country ...

 

[DotCommunist]

Vatican City should field a side. If I were pope...

He'd hire all the best swiss players

 

[Saul Goodman]

Vatican City should field a side. If I were pope...

They could move the players to different positions on the field in the event of a foul, and pretend it never happened.