Why dont the UK put a team in the Olympics football ?
 

:?:

it would give the young stars a chance to gain international experience and also give us a chance to see our future stars in action other than a meaningless under21 friendly.

Thoughts?

The Olympics is meant for amatuers, not professionals.

The olympics was for amatuers half a century ago, Boxing is the only event which doesn't allow professionals now

Because one of the home nations (Scotland I think) doesn't want to.

The fact the UK doesn't have a football team might have something to do with it. And possibly the fact that Olympic football isn't exactly very credible.

Because it would have to be a British team rather than an English team. In order to do so there would have to be a British Football Federation which would mean the FA, SFA, WFA, NIFA all merging into one organisation. This would mean that instead of there being 4 British votes on FIFA matters there would be just one.

For obvious reasons the SFA are opposed to such moves as are all the other organisations as it would mean a reduction in their power.

There are also far too many games being played already. Look at how Purple Alex has bitched about the boy-diver Ronaldo being involved. Can you imagine the managers being willing to let even more players go?

so ronaldo is an amatuer ? :?:

they dont have to merge together all they need to do is agree to put a team in, i know cameroon take it as a serious contest and it would give younger fringe players the chance of winning a medal and also gain international experience. they have to be u23 anyway with i think 2 overage players.

i know managers would winge but i think it would be good for the combined national teams and it would also prove once and for all if a Great Britian
team would work!

Who gives a shit about Olympics football anyway. Its like the most worthless "serious" competition ever.

They would have to merge. You have to be recognised by FIFA in order to put a team in. There is no British football federation, hence no British Olympic team.

Moonax is right, if they attempted to put a British team in then FIFA would insist on a merging of the national teams into a Britain team, which obviously isn't going to happen.

o well

Actually Moonax is wrong. Sepp Blatter said Britain could enter a team without merging national bodies. Scotland still said no.

Mind you, it is Sepp Blatter we are talking about so we would probably enter a team and then he would say "well you entered a British team for the Olympics so you can do it for FIFA now".

Blatter has long sought to reduce the power of the home nations - especially as the Scottish representative was one of the prime movers against him during the corruption probe.

maybe because they aren't good enough.

The Olympic football competition should be strictly youth orientated. None of this 3 over 23s bullshit. That said, the 1996 competition was a good watch. Nigeria won it, with Kanu being absolutely immense, back when he was rightfully seen as one of the best players in the world at the age of 18. Soon after he had that heart scare, though.

Hernan Crespo lit up that competition too, and moved to Parma just after it.

What I was saying, the question's been asked before before Atlanta '96 and Sydney 2000 and Fifa to the best of my knowledge have indicated if a team was entered they would at the very least press the home nations into forming a British FA.

Hey ECG, do you know how old Tevez is? Just that I just saw the highlights of Argentina-Costa Rica and he looks on fire, as he did in the Copa America.

Tevez is 19/20, around that age. He is immense. He and Cavenaghi are fucking great in 'tinian football.

Those 'tinian youngsters can decieve you a bit, though. Aimar, Saviola and Riquelme haven't been the superstars people assumed they would be since coming to Europe. Good players, alright. Saviola is still very young, in saying that.

Those three won't live up to their hype. They all signed for the wrong clubs.

Were'nt the birth dates of the Nigerians called into question in 96?

Some players never live up the hype.

Remember Viola?

Also, there was that guy who was signed by Ajax at the age of 10.

Yeah, apparently Kanu wasn't really 17/18. That puts him at 25/26 now.

There are always questions over the African players ages. Roger Milla was quoted anywhere between 38 and 54. Freddy Adu, the American hype sensation, who is supposedly 14 and is actually from Ghana, is rumoured to be several years older.

I don't know about that. If a South American player is going to make it anywhere, it's probably going to be Spain. They are all class players, the expectation can just be huge for them coming to Spanish football. Saviola was only 18 when Barca paid 20 odd million for him.

Africans have been bullsh</>itting about their ages for years. Apparently there are hardly any birth records available.

I know that in some places your birth is registered when you first attend school. So people can go any number of years before being 'born'.

England team + Ryan Giggs = British Team

The Northern Ireland team is so weak, I wouldn't take any of their players to get into a united Ireland side. Aaron Hughes, Neil Lennon and David Healy would make the squad, alright.

Scotland are pretty weak too. I'd have Darren Fletcher and Barry Ferguson to make a British squad. Wales, probably Giggs and Bellamy to push for first team places.

Scottish manager, we all know how shit English ones are.

Welsh ballboys

Too bad you still couldn't have Brad Friedel :shifty:

i think his name was sonny anderson or something like that, am i right in thinking we has the little blond haired lad ?

Sonny Anderson plays for Villareal. He's really quite good.

His name was Sonny, he was some curly haired kid who was always on Fantasy Football and could do loads of keep ups.

Sonny Anderson was the man at Barcelona. Don't remember him ever having blond hair though so nope.

Isn't Sonny Anderson black? The blond hair bit doesn't seeem to go.

The kid's name was Sonny. Sonny Anderson is someone completely different.

Incidentally, I saw Sonny Anderson play for Servette against Crusaders in the UEFA Cup about ten years ago. He was shite.

Whatever happened to that kid at Charlton who did all those keepie ups on the McDonalds advert?

was it sonny liston ? i remember him on fantasy football though in his ajax kit!
think he was about 8 - 10 years old at the time, think he must be at leat 20 - 22 by now .

He joined Chelsea for £12 million in January.

Sonny Liston was a boxer. Stop confusing big black guys with little white kids.