I may not agree with what you say, but I enjoy the way you say it. I don't think Sven was cack either, I'm glad you've said that. My reasoning is exactly as yours is - qualifying for tournaments was a formality in all instances under him. Unfortunately not all England fans can view this with the perspective that you do - qualifying is now seen as a right rather than the earned privilege that it should be. The issue at hand is being slightly lost here - and its not an issue that purely effects fans of the English national side. All football fans will immediately look to blame the manager in times of crisis - because the manager is just 1 man, and can be sacked an replaced within days. It's a hell of a lot easier to bury your head in the sand than it is to look at the deeper issue, which is far more often the playing squad, and their lack of quality and/or bad attitudes. Almost every England manager in my short lifetime has suffered this curse - it just amazes me that otherwise intelligent and rational people fail to see this when the subject of the national team arises.

When was the last time Norway beat France?

Has every manager England have had since Sir Alf been cack then? It seems that England managers are deemed failures if they don't win the major tournament that England are quite clearly entitled to. No one has managed it since '66 - and thats because every single one has been @#/?? Methinks not.

Wow, that was a pleasant surprise. I wonder if MGP has been teaching him some neuro-linguistic programming.

It isnt that I overrate Spain - I just don't underrate them as much as you do. I think England would probably edge a 10 game series versus Spain, but they certainly are not that much signifcantly better to say they'd win 9 out of 10. England have some average international players, like Crouch, Defoe, Carrick, Phil Neville, Dyer, Wright Phillips etc. It's very easy to blame the manager, and as far as McLaren goes I agree that he is feckless, but you have to ask yourself why so many England managers have failed. There must be one common denominator....

No, but his name was Michael Weiner. I wonder how he gets on with Quim and Jorge Butt?

If you think England would beat Spain 9 times out of 10 then you're as deluded as McLaren. England have some cracking players, but they do not have a divine right to be successful as some seem to think. It has to be worked at, by the players and the coaching staff. Neither seem to really take it seriously - perhaps its just a distraction - a game they have to play without having their usual astronomical win bonuses at stake. The problems in English domestic football cast a shadow that engulfs the national side. The whole thing needs a shake up - not further perpetuation of the old boys club that it seems to be at present.

England were pants pants pants pants. Spain weren't much better. Rubbish game, good goal. Spoke volumes for me though when, late on the game, Spain brought on Fabregas and England brought on Downing. Different leagues.

BBC is reporting it as goals from Maloney and Gow. Maloney still languishing in the B team is a complete joke. Hope Eck sees sense on that one asap.

What a cracking night it was. I've rarely felt as proud to be a Rovers fan, for various reasons. Our support was tremendous, the fight the team showed was unbelievable and we pulled the result out with no little amount of skill and ability. I enjoyed that whole season trememndously - although thats easy to say in hindsight!

Thanks for keeping us up to date mate - hope to hear more of your opinions on the lad throughout the rest of the season

You're such a plonker

Its hard to see us keeping hold of Nonda. I think Sparky will be looking to hold on to Benni Mac and Derbs in the Summer, and hopefully Roberts will show something when he gets back to justify some optimism in him for next season. Nonda in fairness has done OK. How many goals has he scored - I think its 5? If he gets 10 by the end of the season in a semi-support role it'll be perfectly acceptable - problem is he's played more often than perhaps we all would've liked. All of that said, if Benni can get himself up to 20 goals, and Nonda and Derbyshire can get 10 each, you've got to be happy with the 3 of them for the season. If Sparky chooses to keep him I will be pleased enough, if he doesn't it's just another opportunity to look for some new blood. We can't lose.

You're not the first to try, and you wont be the first to fail. Thats our Abbey, you'll grow to love him

...do big oak trees grow. I simply meant that every gambling addict has to start somewhere

From small acorns, mate.

The Drummer in a gimp mask?

Friedel

No, sing us a bit of it.

God help them.

EDITED BY T4E Naughty Admin

Just goes to show you should never go out with your mates sister.

Yeah, but you're stupid.

I can't take that comparison seriously American - despite it being a widely cited one. If a regular person is doing a job for £30,000 p.a and gets offered a position somewhere else for £40,000 p.a, of course you'd think strongly about it, and probably take it. Thats a relevant consideration, as most regular people rely on continuous work to live month to month, year to year. In the case of Lucas Neill, we're talking those figures PER WEEK. If he's been offered £40k a week at Rovers, he'd be on £2.08m p.a. On £50k a week at West Ham, he'll get £2.6m p.a. With that much money coming in each and every week, is it really worth sacrificing your ambition for a little bit more? A footballers career is very short, they have to make the most of what they have while they are in their prime. Lucas going to West Ham means that, assuming he sees out his contract there, he'll be past his prime by the time he is ready to move on, and will have missed his chance to really make his mark on the game. A footballers working life is in no way comparable to that of a regular man.

So Lucas needs a new challenge. Fair one, I think we can all respect that. Does a player who is all about the challenge of the game demand a release clause upon signing for a new club in case they are relegated? Any tiny bit of respect I still had left for Lucas Neill will completely evaporate if that turns out to be true.