English Football Thread! 2005-2006 Season

[Cz]

No club should be obliged to buy players on the basis of their nationality. If English players good enough for the Arsenal team come along, then fine. But if not, I see no reason for us to compromise our squad for the sake of supposed national loyalty. Yes, this is the English Premier League, but Arsenal is a football club first and a member of the League second. Besides, by that logic, there would be no problem with us fielding an all-european side in the European Champions League, which was Pardew's initial complaint anyway.

To best demonstrate the difference that foreign players make to our game, I direct you to our match against Charlton this afternoon. Watch the way that the two teams play, and you'll notice that Arsenal's football is not only far more attractive, but more effective than that of Charlton. I'm not saying that English players are incapable of playing this sort of football, but they have to be of a certain standard, and very few actually reach this level. Not to mention that English players are far more expensive than their foreign counterparts. Why buy an English player when you can get a superior Frenchman for the same price?

So yeah. Alan Pardew is a jerk.

[Shoden]

If that's the case wwe should have foreign players in the England squad! Sure foreign players are ok but when they make up a whole team then it spoils it, there should be a limit for how many foreign players a team can have.

[Resha]

But the Alan Shearer in the past has scored more extraordinary goals within the last 4 seasons. I found this AMV with his top 10 throughout his NUFC career, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0SLW...Alan%20Shearer .
Come on Resha, Arsenal is almost all French, hardly any English players in their starting 11 these days, Speaking of which Chelsea are bad for this too, This the EPL not the World Premier League.

Balden!

It's an international sport. If everyone played with an English-only English-majority it just wouldn't be the same. Patriotism is all very well when it comes to the WC or something, but why so much in a domestic League? When foreign players are willing to come and play with their heart and soul for an English club, shouldn't it be admired? I admire the way Bergkamp loves arsenal so much he stays on to play even though he's retired from international football. Do you think his love for arsenal is less than Sol Campbell's, then?

What difference would it make to a MU or a Liverpool fan if the Gunners won the CL with a team full of English players? They'd still find a reason to rip us. Heck, what difference would it make to an arsenal fan if we won the CL with or without a team full of English players? I don't think anyone would be less ecstatic either way.

In fact, welcome this as a chance to learn. If everyone played all-English or all-Spanish, then players wouldn't get a chance to interact and learn new styles and stuff they wouldn't otherwise know. Our having so many non-English players HELPS England. They can watch and learn! (Oh yes, argue y'don't need to -- but why not? Everything helps.)

It's annoyed me so much when people make the "so un-English" comment. I have vented my spleen!

[Cz]

If that's the case wwe should have foreign players in the England squad! Sure foreign players are ok but when they make up a whole team then it spoils it, there should be a limit for how many foreign players a team can have.

Heh, that brings back memories of this old Football Management game for the PC, with this glitch that allowed you to select any player from an English club for your English side. This one time, Andrei Kanchelskis scored a hat-trick against Germany in the World Cup semi-final.

Anyway, UEFA is going to implement a system over coming seasons that requires clubs to enter a certain number of domestic players for European matches. This completely screws over English clubs, who are far more reliant than other nations (like, say, the Italians) on foreign talent. Talk all you want about how Arsenal and Chelsea are overloaded with foreigners, but the fact is that without those players neither of them would've got past the group stage of the Champions' League.

[Shoden]

I'm saying that there should be a LIMIT to foreign players, sure they want to come play but a limit in the starting 11 could make things more interesting but people like Bergkamp are rare, alot of foreign players only play for money like Rudd Van Nistelroy for example. It's either put a limit on quantity or put a limit on wages and I think we'd have a much, much better EPL, but then again we may have teams like Peterbrough in EPL top 5 for all we know, but then again unpredictable results are interesting.

Good point BM, but then again teams would be making their star English players do manual labour till they're good enough for UEFA tournaments.

[Resha]

I bet unpredictable results are interesting Newcastle may still beat Liverpool.

Pardew wants us to have at least two or three home players starting? Is Henry replaceable by an Englishman? He might be, but then that'd be ripping the soul out of football. Not letting talent play because of nationality -- and people are making this sound like it's some sort of mini-World Cup. It's a domestic League, for god's sake. Nationalities shouldn't even matter, if we take it literally -- it's a game between arsenal and Liverpool. Not between France and England. In our defence, I'll just spew the same old: we do have the said 'two or three English players' -- Cole and Campbell are just injured, that's all.

You just ask Michael Owen why he left his brilliant English team to go play with the Spaniards. Or Beckham. Why anyone does it.

[Loony BoB]

Van Nistelrooy only plays for money? I'm sorry, last time I checked he plays because he wants to play, hence the whole uproar about him not starting in the last three games. Don't go around saying things unless you know it's true. That always bugs me. That would be like me saying that Lampard or Henry only plays for money - why would I unless I knew it were true? They both enjoy scoring goals more than anything, last I checked. Yes, money is involved, but you show me a superstar who would rather play for their home side for £30,000 a year than play for a major side for millions.

I do have a problem with Arsenal having such an overload of foreign players - not because it's an excuse to rip at them but because it defeats the purpose of being an English club. Why not move every one of them to France if they're not going to field any English players at all in their starting XI? Seriously, there is a point to it being the English Premiership. Man U, Chelsea and Liverpool all manage just find to field a lot of English players, let alone Tottenham and co, and they can do well. If Arsenal wants to spend big bucks, tell them to spend big bucks on English players.

I agree that a limit would be nice. 3-4 English players in every starting lineup would work. Chelsea, Man U and Liverpool would all be fine. Arsenal would have, what two players (when they are in full health) they could field? Cole and Campbell is all they have, I think.

[Shoden]

I can answe that. Money, these foreign players are moving in and out for money, hardly any of them are in it for the soul of football.

Talent can still play and you can cheat the rule, substitutions, there should be a limit to around 4 or 5 players foreign max on a team, but here's one, if wages for footballers were reduced and put into a system such as Rugby's then I think less players would want to come here.

[Loony BoB]

I can answe that. Money, these foreign players are moving in and out for money, hardly any of them are in it for the soul of football.

Talent can still play and you can cheat the rule, substitutions, there should be a limit to around 4 or 5 players foreign max on a team, but here's one, if wages for footballers were reduced and put into a system such as Rugby's then I think less players would want to come here.

And if rugby was increased to the likes of football then you'd have rugby players over here. Goes both ways. *shrugs* You targeted Van Nistelrooy unfairly, though, as if he was the one, when it's clear that English players and others all do the same thing - look at Owen for a good example.

Once you come down to it, the wages for footballers is a global thing, not an English thing. England just happen to have one of the two most prominent leagues in the world, so they tend to have more money to spend. English players are just as likely to travel to a club that isn't their own as any other player in the world is. It's great for football in that it means that you get to see more talent-filled games. The key is finding a balance, hence I think 3-4 in each starting lineup should do the trick.

[Shoden]

Probably, but I was using Ruud as an example, alot of people up here believe he's out for the money, glory seekers like Owen and Beckham are leeching off money, that's why Chelsea have so many good players
overpricing and giving hyped wages.

But still, who can buy out Fat Freddy, he owns the club, sadly.

[Resha]

I do have a problem with Arsenal having such an overload of foreign players - not because it's an excuse to rip at them but because it defeats the purpose of being an English club. Why not move every one of them to France if they're not going to field any English players at all in their starting XI? Seriously, there is a point to it being the English Premiership. Man U, Chelsea and Liverpool all manage just find to field a lot of English players, let alone Tottenham and co, and they can do well. If Arsenal wants to spend big bucks, tell them to spend big bucks on English players.

I agree that a limit would be nice. 3-4 English players in every starting lineup would work. Chelsea, Man U and Liverpool would all be fine. Arsenal would have, what two players (when they are in full health) they could field? Cole and Campbell is all they have, I think.

I'm sure Wenger would spend big bucks on English players; but think about this: we're competing against the likes of Chelsea and MU and Liverpool. We need a team capable of giving them competition and something to worry about. Yes they field English players, and they field world-class English players; they field Gerrard and Neville and Lampard and Rooney. There's also a limit to the number of the said world-class English players that exist. Who's left on the market now that Wenger can rope in? (Not a rhetorical question; if there is someone, please enlighten me! I want to know!) I don't see why Wenger would want to bring in poor players just because they're English, when he has to compete at such high standards. No, leave that job to Pardew.

There's speculation Wenger might rope Beckham in -- would Beckham want to come and play for former club's bitter rivals? Would he leave Real friggin' Madrid to play for arsenal? If he doesn't, then would it still be Wenger's fault?

'Fat Freddy' seriously needs to go. He seems to me the root cause of all the problem at St. James'. What a horrible man.

[Cuchulainn]

But the Alan Shearer in the past has scored more extraordinary goals within the last 4 seasons. I found this AMV with his top 10 throughout his NUFC career, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0SLW...Alan%20Shearer .
Come on Resha, Arsenal is almost all French, hardly any English players in their starting 11 these days, Speaking of which Chelsea are bad for this too, This the EPL not the World Premier League.

I'm sick of this pathetic English attitude. The fact that Arsenal have no English first team players is a shame, but not a crime. The team is ARSENAL not ENGLAND. If and when Arsenal have an English player as affordable & as good as their present squad, they'll play. This is the typical English racism with a small 'r'. Look how much United had to pay JUST to get England 'best' in Ferdinand & Rooney. Not everyone can pay that, therefore they have to branch out for good players at affordable prices. It would be retarded to the extreme to play some English players who are mediocre over foreign players who are GOOD in your squad JUST to play English.

I'm not a fan of Arsenal so ^%&% You for making me defend them.

[Psychotic]

Of course, Liverpool fans could use a few lessons on respect and the like. Chelsea fans haven't been too great either.

Liverpool fans are the greatest fans in the world, bar none.

Now, if you're going to drag up things like the assault on Smith's ambulance, that's not the work of fans. That's the work of morons looking for trouble. Same as when Everton played Man Utd. From what I've heard, a bunch of morons, who I would not call Man Utd fans, pulled Everton fans out of their cars and beat the crap out of them for being scousers, whilst the Everton fans' kids watched in the car. Every club has morons associated with them, but I would never call them fans.

NOW ONTO ARSENAL AND ENGLISH!

Are you seriously telling me there's no English defenders as good as, or better than, Pascal Cygan? There are no English midfielders better than Song or Flamini? And don't give me the "THEY COST TOO MUCH!" line. Raise them in your academy, like we did with Carragher, Gerrard, Fowler, Mellor and Warnock, and you can get them free. Or get them from lower league clubs. Carson and Anderson are good examples of this. (Anderson is only 17, and was an unused sub against Benfica. I can't wait for his full team debut)

Having said that, if there's a limit to foreign players, this seriously screws over countries with poor quality leagues. Like, for example, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, and failing that, Africa. How good would Toure and Drogba be if they played only in the Ivorian league, or Sissoko and Traore (I daren't think) if they played only in the Mali league?

However, personally, I am in favour of 4 or perhaps 5 English/whatever players per side.

[Shoden]

I watched the match, and my theory was right to my surprise, they were disgusting, I thought Bowyer was bad but jesus christ those boys in red are seriosuly bad at tackling, so many fouls, so many kicking, I still think it should of been 3-2 to you's though, The next manager needs to buy back Jonny Woodgate and another defender because boumson is as useless as a spyware loaded computer with no removal software.

[Psychotic]

How come Newcastle got one player sent off and just as many bookings as Liverpool (I don't count Cisse's, because that was for showing a message on a t-shirt, not for a foul) if Liverpool are much dirtier?

I'm very intrigued by our formation. 3-5-2, or 5-3-2, depends on if you count wing-backs as defenders. No, wing-backs aren't the same as full-backs (left-backs/right-backs), basically they're more attacking than full-backs but more defensive than wingers. 3-5-2 never usually works against good opposition, and I hope Rafa doesn't use it again. Glad that Cisse and Crouch both netted again too, now Crouch has scored in both Newcastle games. It's a good result, especially when we didn't start with some of our most creative players like Finnan, Alonso and Garcia.

And now we have more points than we did last season (61 to 58) with 7 games remaining, so it's been a vastly improved season.