Alg

England population: 50,000,000 ish
Ireland population: 4,100,000 ish
New Zealand population: 4,100,00 ish
Australia population: 20,000,000 ish
Northern Ireland population: 1,700,000 ish

How the hell can we be so crap at whatever sport we try and participate in at International level when we have so many people to chose from.
The Rugby at the weekend showed the England team as a nation of weak willed, flacid, fightless, spiritless surrender merchants.
The only one with any skill was that new Strettle bloke and he was only given the ball as a last resort when there was nobody else to give it to.
I've seen more aggression and determination in the January sales.
Why are English representative teams/sportsmen/women so completely pants.
Our football team's useless.
Our rugby team's useless.
Our cricket team surrendered the Ashes without so much as a whimper.
Our one Racing driver is useless.
Rally driver?
Our tennis players are chinless hooray henry types.
Our heavyweight boxing division have all got a glass jaw.

If you go out and about in town centres on a Friday and Saturday night you see true English spirit (albeit stupid and misplaced).
We're a race of scrappers/defenders. We sailed all the way to the Falklands to grab a crummy set of islands back.
Our forefathers fought in wars and were never going to give up.
How comes these people with fire (and alcohol) in their bellies don't seem to represent us.


I reckon we should proclaim the Boat race (Oxford and Cambridge) winners the World Champions. They do this in America for the winners of the NFL Superbowl.
At least we'd have a team that were world champs then
What's going wrong? Where's it all gone wrong?

CrisPDuk

Our sporting institutions suffer with the same afflictions as our military has always done.

All the important decision making positions are stuffed full of **** kissing, self serving, fcukwitted bunglers who just happen to have been buggered by the right people at the right schools

Whenever we've had success, be it on the sports grounds or the battlefields, it has always been in spite of the leadership rather than because of it

Dracoro

You only have to look at the emphasis they put on sports in other countries to see why. They invest in sport and have loads of decent facilities.

Here facilities are rarer, expensive to use, playing fields sold off by the government etc.

TimWRX01

iTrader: (1)

St Helens rugby league team are the best club side in the world so at least we can be proud of them.

There isn't enough going on at grass roots for us to be successful in this country. As for the modern day footballer all they seem to care about is money and what it brings them.

Generalising I know but that statement probably covers 90% of them.

Abdabz

Exactly - end of thread

Well done the Saints and the mainly English squad

Flatcapdriver

Apart from a lack of decent sports facilities (cycling and sailing the exceptions) English people lack mongrel and are too busy whingeing, so that coupled with a generally negative outlook does not make for a good sporting population.

Little Miss WRX

Also too much influx of foreign talent and not enough nurturing of local talent.

Local clubs only look after themselves and will do anything to gain the main prize of the comp they are in. They don't care about the national pride or national teams - if foreign players are better than they will look at including them.

Dracoro

It can be argued the opposite thought 'chelle. The influx (in football) of foreign players has upped the bar for all premiership teams, they all have to raise their standards to compete. That's why the p'ship is seen as the best league to play in.

Having said that, it's a bit ridiculous (am I the only one on SN who spells this correctly?) when you have teams like Arsenal where they are just about ALL foreign...Mind you, what have Arsenal won lately? not much. Man U have it about right, a few top foreign players raising the standard for the home grown talent to match. Still want them to lose though

Miss Pitstop

Its a lack of facilities - if you ever fly over Europe on a clear day look down and see running tracks & outdoor swimming pools etc. Apart from when the local school paint some lines on the playing fields we don't have any running tracks. Government seems happy to give any lottery money to housing assylum seekers etc
I think its also a blame of the parents - yes you do get pushy parents at swimming galas/local footy matches, but that's cos your child wants to do it. Most chav parents don't care what they children do, and children input to be able to give them choice.
Possible the country obesity problem also is a factor with the fact majority of secondary school not even doing 2 hours of PE a week how can you get excited about a sport if you don't get the chance to explore your potential.

cuprajake

iTrader: (11)

as above, this country doesn't put money into sports for children, they would rather pump money into handing out asbo's thatn making good sporting arenas and football pitches.

i mean look at the us, if your good at sport it can pave your way through school/collage/university, and focus is still put on the education if the sports fail.

this is why british kids are fat and lazy

Little Miss WRX

Dracoro, I agree, I was trying to make that point also about the clubs having the bar upped as a result of the foreign players but failed miserably.