USA ENGLAND SOCCER GAME RIGHT NOW

[SammyG]

Tune in on espn, england scored on a free kick like 3 minutes into the game :rant:

[Team Sheep]

Yeah I'm watching it now, great support from the yanks, looks like a sellout. Do you guys go and watch football because it's something different to watch or do you actually like the sport?

[BCWWF]

The crowd is reacting very well, and there are a lot of English in the stands making for a good atmosphere, and there have been some good chances so far. Be back later.

BTW, that bleached hair dude is a douche

[BCWWF]

WHAT A FUCKIN RIP BY DONOVAN! Damn that was close

[Team Sheep]

USA just hit the post off a free kick. James was beaten. :y:

[Team Sheep]

And a great save from Keller.

[BCWWF]

Also, where is this, Soldier Field? They said it was near Arlington Heights, but it doesn't look like Soldier to me. It can't be St. Louis either, they only have a dome. WHERE?

[Team Sheep]

Yeah, the info button on my remote says Soldier Field, Chicago.

[El Capitano Gatisto]

The crowd is reacting very well, and there are a lot of English in the stands making for a good atmosphere, and there have been some good chances so far. Be back later.

BTW, that bleached hair dude is a douche
If you mean Alan Smith, his hair is naturally that colour. Also, he is a thug.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Also, where is this, Soldier Field? They said it was near Arlington Heights, but it doesn't look like Soldier to me. It can't be St. Louis either, they only have a dome. WHERE?
I'd imagine the big sign that says Soldier Field might be some sort of hint.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Also the US squad gets new unis like every other week. Seriously, Nike has made them their bitches.

[Team Sheep]

I'd imagine the big sign that says Soldier Field might be some sort of hint.

Some people watch the game rather than looking at the advertisement boards...

[Supreme Olajuwon]

No they don't.

[Team Sheep]

Only when they're watching Aussie rules.

[Team Sheep]

0-2

[El Capitano Gatisto]

Devoured by a Yardie.

[Rob Ban Fan]

<font face=verdana size=3 color="#ff6600">Campbell and James are shite :$

Neither side has looked great to be fair. Joe Cole has looked bright though :cool:</font>

[Wengerland]

Well we've been quite shambolic defensively and 2-0 is pretty flattering.

[Rob Ban Fan]

If you mean Alan Smith, his hair is naturally that colour. Also, he is a thug.

<font face=verdana size=3 color="#ff6600">what? :$ Seriously? :$

or was that some kind of joke that just went over my head? :$</font>

[Rob Ban Fan]

<font face=verdana size=3 color="#ff6600">hey, anyone fancy an England cap? Zat Knight just got one so I can't be that far away. </font>

[SammyG]

Isnt england missing 12 of their players or somethin.. this is the 2nd squad kinda isnt it

[RoXer]

I'm watching it on Telemundo.

Isn't the goalie for Endland an American guy?

[RoXer]

GOAL USA!

(I dont know who because its in spanish)

[RoXer]

2-1

And if the SAP button works on English speaking stations, why not on Spanish speaking ones?

[Mr. Monday Morning]

It's like the 3rd string team, at best. One player, maybe two of those who started would be first choice.

And no, there's no Americans in the England team :wtf:

[RoXer]

I swear there was. 60 minutes did an interview with him calling him "the greatest American athlete that America hasn't heard of" or something. It might not be him, but there is one somewhere.

[Mr. Monday Morning]

There's American players who play or have played in England. Keller, Bocanegra, McBride.

It might've been Tim Howard, I guess, but I don't know if he's in the US squad.

[Rob Ban Fan]

<font face=verdana size=3 color="#ff6600">lets hope and pray that Paul Robinson doesn't get injured before the World Cup.</font>

[BCWWF]

I'd imagine the big sign that says Soldier Field might be some sort of hint.
I didn't see it, and this post was made about 10 minutes into the game

[packt up]

Fucking Luke Young got a Cap. What is he like fucking 100th choice centre back or something.

[Rob]

Reading this has been hilarious. Yanks talking "soccer" are always good for a laugh.

[SammyG]

I can talk all the soccer i want, i got all state in it this year

[BCWWF]

Keep underestimating the US soccer system. It doesn't hurt us

[Mr. Monday Morning]

With all due respect you're not as far advanced as say the FIFA rankings might have you believe. 10th best team in the world? No way.

Not to say that there haven't been considerable advances in the last 20 years or so, but it's extremely difficult to make the jump from a good team to a strong team - I'm not sure if the MLS is capable of producing the players good enough to perpetuate that advance. Some of the players who make it into Europe are decent and perform well but you'll need at least a whole team of them before the US is truly taken seriously (not that you aren't now, it's just that a lot of people are mindful of the fact that it's not the #1 sport by a long way, whereas for the majority of other countries football is undisputed as the #1)

[BCWWF]

I don't think the United States is the best country or anything, far from a contender right now, but maybe the 2002 World Cup wasn't the perennial good countries performing poorly, maybe it was the rest of the world catching up a little bit. I mean with all due respect, many of the top players in the premiership aren't English, so you can't really base anything off of how good the club leagues are. Obviously the Premiership is primarily English players, so England will always be a great team, but when enough players lesser football countries get in there it advances them just as much. A country with 11 great players is just as good as a country with 111.

I really don't know if USA will get out of the first round of the World Cup next year, but teams like them will. Turkey in 2002, Croatia in 1998, if you can get your 11 good players you can compete.

That being said, soccer is the only sport in which I can actually still support the United States in. It's no use in basketball, bronze medal or not we are undisputed the top in the world, thats no fun. International hockey has too many tournaments it seems, and even though the US isn't the top team there, I've gotton kind of sick of the old players like Brett Hull and stuff. Soccer is the only sport that we are a developing nation at, and the sense of being an underdog is more fun.

[Rob]

It's no use in basketball, bronze medal or not we are undisputed the top in the world, thats no fun.

Sounds very disputable to me. USA got their arses handed to them every time I turned on basketball in the Olympics.

[Mr. Monday Morning]

I don't think the United States is the best country or anything, far from a contender right now, but maybe the 2002 World Cup wasn't the perennial good countries performing poorly, maybe it was the rest of the world catching up a little bit. I mean with all due respect, many of the top players in the premiership aren't English, so you can't really base anything off of how good the club leagues are. Obviously the Premiership is primarily English players, so England will always be a great team, but when enough players lesser football countries get in there it advances them just as much. A country with 11 great players is just as good as a country with 111.

The infrastructure is far far more...I dunno, 'advanced' I guess, here though. I mean the US has what, 250 million population? And 12 teams to cover that? England alone has 1/5 of the population and nearly 8 times the number of professional clubs...even though it doesn't happen as much nowadays the best young talent does still come through at the top level. I just wonder how much potential in the US is going to waste in places like say Florida where there is no pro team within a few hundred miles.

I really don't know if USA will get out of the first round of the World Cup next year, but teams like them will. Turkey in 2002, Croatia in 1998, if you can get your 11 good players you can compete.

1st round will depend on the luck of the draw. Croatia in 98 is a bit of a false analogy though since they had a lot of players in or just coming to the end of their prime playing for major European clubs, very talented players at that. You'd probably be better off looking to a team like Greece IMHO...not the most talented team, but with structure and good tactics they won Euro 2004 (which is still a bit weird to say)

[The Miz]

Sounds very disputable to me. USA got their arses handed to them every time I turned on basketball in the Olympics. We did not send anything close to our best team. We sent at best our 3rd string team and they still got bronze. A lineup of Kidd, Wade, Garnett, Stoudemire, and Shaq or anything similar would destroy every other country.

[M. Banana]

This thread is making me laugh as well.

The English forming complete sentences always makes for a laugh.

[BCWWF]

The infrastructure is far far more...I dunno, 'advanced' I guess, here though. I mean the US has what, 250 million population? And 12 teams to cover that? England alone has 1/5 of the population and nearly 8 times the number of professional clubs...even though it doesn't happen as much nowadays the best young talent does still come through at the top level. I just wonder how much potential in the US is going to waste in places like say Florida where there is no pro team within a few hundred miles.
No that is pretty much like what I am saying. England will always be one of the top national teams in the world because they have one of the top leagues. Same goes for Italy, Spain, and Germany. But what I am saying is that while almost all of the players on an Premiership team are English, if a smaller country can get just 11 good players in those leagues then they are just as good.

As for the MLS, its makeup is much different from the real leagues in Europe etc. It is still expanding, and looks like it may be in a strong period right now, but it really doesn't serve as the true supplier for the national team.

Also, you mentioned Florida. I don't really think any talent is being wasted by not having an MLS team in Florida. Believe it or not there are actually a couple pro soccer leagues in the US. We have a team called the Minnesota Thunder who used to play in the A-League and now play in a new one called the USL First Division or something. It's random but I assume there is a random smaller level team somewhere in Florida. But as for the rest of it, soccer in the US works pretty much the same as any other pro sport here. You go to college wherever you want, and if you are good enough you get drafted into the MLS. So a player from Tampa Bay who plays soccer at UF (assuming they have a team) could get drafted by the Kansas City Wizards, it doesn't really matter where he is from.

But the US still does have a long way to go. I don't understand why so many people keep leaving Europe and coming back to the US (Donovan, Mathis etc), but what I am saying is that we could still sport a very solid team just based on our top players. Not a contender, but a possible second rounder, maybe even a quarterfinalist if we meet Mexico again :p

[El Capitano Gatisto]

Landon Donovan was fucking woeful at Leverkusen. That's why he went back. Couldn't make the grade.

[road doggy dogg]

BENEDICT MCCARTHY

[El Capitano Gatisto]

He's a big black man.

[road doggy dogg]

This is true.

[El Capitano Gatisto]

Look out, he wants to eat your children.

http://www.vg.no/bilder/bildarkiv/1102484107.85808.jpg

[Dazz]

Is Smith's hair really naturally that colour?

[samichna]

We did not send anything close to our best team. We sent at best our 3rd string team and they still got bronze. A lineup of Kidd, Wade, Garnett, Stoudemire, and Shaq or anything similar would destroy every other country.

It is ridiculous that professional athletes are competing in the Olympics anyway, so whatever.

[The Miz]

Fine then. Chris Paul + Deron Williams + Danny Granger + Marvin Williams + Sean May > your country's team

[BCWWF]

I kinda wish the US did send college athletes to the Olympics for basketball

[Loose Cannon]

yea really. That team had not one pure shooter. Just a bunch of random all-stars who played together for like 2 weeks.

[Rob]

It is ridiculous that professional athletes are competing in the Olympics anyway, so whatever.

Because people will pay to see amataurs in the big events won't they?

[El Capitano Gatisto]

It doesn't matter.

[Dazz]

Goddammit it EC fucking G, answer mine and RBF's question, were you being serious about Smith's hair?

[El Capitano Gatisto]

Yes, his hair is really that colour. It's been that way the entire time I have seen him playing, and even when they did this documentary about him and Franny Jeffers and a few other England youth players a few years back when they were only 16 or whatever and he had gay floppy blonde hair and looked like a tiny little boy.

[Dazz]

What, that doesn't mean its natural. When he has his hair shorter it's all blonde, when it grows the roots go black, then he gets it bleached again. You sir are wrong.

[El Capitano Gatisto]

I'm not that bothered, you big poof. I don't really want to get into a discussion about a footballer's "roots" and all of that. Let's see you go about 2 hours without talking about fucking hair or hair straighteners or dying your hair.

[Dazz]

Don't get all annoyed and bitter at me for crushing your dreams of being a hair stylist.

[El Capitano Gatisto]

Pube stylist.

[Rob]

Yes, his hair is really that colour. It's been that way the entire time I have seen him playing, and even when they did this documentary about him and Franny Jeffers and a few other England youth players a few years back when they were only 16 or whatever and he had gay floppy blonde hair and looked like a tiny little boy.

I remember that. They made him practise interviews and signatures over and over because they couldn't do them.

[The Mackem]

I wish I could read one thread where Dazz doesn't turn it into a gay fest by talking about hair 'styles'.

I didn't watch the match, did Claudio Reyna play? Best American ever.

[Dazz]

Actually ECG, RBF and BCWWF had already mentioned hair :(.

[The Mackem]

And if ECG, RBF and BCWWF jumped off Stamford Bridge, would you?

[Dazz]

No, just don't make it sound like my hair mentioning was completely irrelevant :p

[The Mask]

http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~sph2/lufc/images/asmith.jpg

back when he dyed his hair to make it look normal.

[Wengerland]

I didn't watch the match, did Claudio Reyna play? Best American ever.

Nah, Kasey Keller did though :cool:

Colombia game tonight, Crouch is making his debut. It's the defence that worries me though - Phil Neville, Glen Johnson, Zat Knight and then Ashley Cole, christ.

[Rob Ban Fan]

<font face=verdana size=3 color="#ff6600">United's latest 'whizz-kid' Alan Smith</font>

[BCWWF]

Reyna usually doesn't come back for qualifiers or friendlies I don't think