Team GB football for 2012?

[aylee]

I think the NI players should play with the Republic, as they do in the other Olympic sports and in the Rugby, If it's a team GB then they wouldn't be able to play in it anyway.

I think that the GB Olympic team is actually the United Kingdom, which includes Northern Ireland (please note that I am not making any points here as to whether that should be so or not!)

I see absolutely no threat whatever to the independent footballing existence of the four 'nations' that make up the UK, from the idea that we should have a joint GB team in the 2012 Olympics. If the CONCACAF nations and the African nations want to have a gripe about Europe having too many places in the World Cup finals, it would be better for them to have a pop at joke teams like Andorra, Liechtenstein and San Marino being allowed to have representation. The increase in European national teams is attributable also to the breakup of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia.

The CONCACAF nations, in any event, have absolutely no legitimate cause for complaint. If anything, four places is an over-representation for them. I think Africa should have at least one more place, but at whose expense is difficult.

Anyhow, I think it'll be fun to see a UK team competing in the Olympics. It will have absolutely no long-term effect on the independence of the four FAs and it is disingenuous for the Scots and Welsh to pretend otherwise. I hope that any of their players that are selected for the UK squad will simply tell their FAs where to go.

 

[JTG]

The UK Olympic team is officially known as Great Britain & Northern Ireland.

aylee, why are San Marino, Lichtenstein and Andorra 'joke' sides? They're independent nations states, why on earth shouldn't they be given representation in the World Cup? They have more right than England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland!

 

[Red Faction]

aylee, why are San Marino, Lichtenstein and Andorra 'joke' sides? They're independent nations states, why on earth shouldn't they be given representation in the World Cup? They have more right than England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland!

i dont know the history of those nations
but compare them to monaco- an independent principality playing in the french league

then look at wales
another principality

and perhaps thats where concaf etc start to gripe

and steeplejack
where is the 'hissy fit' in my post?

ok- autonomy is the wong word
but accept that FIFA want a team GB made up of 3.5 nations co-operating involuntarily if necessary
who will retain no cultural autonomy etc

and this is just a stepping stone for them to do it

 

[steeplejack]

i think if the caribbean countries did care- they should shut the fuck up
it would be quite easy to turn around and ask why the west indies have so many teams too

This came across as a bit of a hissy fit.

If we're going to ask other countries to understand the unique cultural reasons why each UK nation has its own team, then they might listen a bit more if we make an effort to understand their cultural/sporting history. Yr remarks about the 'West indies have too many teams' came across as a bit ignorant tbh. But, I completely agree with you otherwise.

Aylee- did you actually bother to read the reasons why Scotland and Wales are objecting before scribing that pompous drivel?

 

[mwgdrwg]

No, because if it is a success it will make those that want to deny Wales their own team on the international stage happier (even if we never qualify for anything and get hammered by Cyprus ).

 

[Harold Hill]

Not from the map I'm I'm looking at.
Regardless.
Most of south Britain lies in Europe then?


Ball! Bag!

In my map the Ural mountains at at the beginning of the Ural river which flows into the Caspian. Which would put 90% of Kazakhstan in Asia.

 

[jannerboyuk]

Edit___ Oh and what kind of Jersey's do you suppose early Olympians felt proud to pull on.

I caught some interesting stuff on tv about a champion wrestler/boxing hybrid guy from the ancient olympics. Apparently he was the bee's knees and started winning tournaments just because people withdrew when they realised they were drawn against him. Like an early Tyson. Anyway he started off representing at least in some sense his city of origin but as he won lots of competitions, Olympic and non-olympic, part of the prizes he was showered with were citizenships of different cities so he spent his time living all other the shop representing different places and rather enjoying himself. Sounds pretty cool to me.

 

[STFC]

Anti-British Rantings???

I don't know about you but I like to see individuals in the Olympics whom I take a likening to, regardless of origin, to do well.
Even the rowing (GB) team got my support, because it was not the normal team of 5 or more.
The thing is, the Olympics is about one man, on his own, facing all of the world on his own. He does it for no one other than his own satisfaction.
It's a selfish tournament but no less admirable for it. Leave all that to the individual athletes.


"Anti-British"???


To clarify, you can stick all yir nations up yir arse for all I care.
I support those individuals who gave us their commitment to produce their best.
I have supported many, many "GB" players. Wimbledon. I was a Henman fan, now I'm a Murray fan.
How does that make me anti GB?

Edit___ Oh and what kind of Jersey's do you suppose early Olympians felt proud to pull on.

There's some pretty clear anti-British sentiment in this post, particularly the bit about the "BNP anthem". Absolute bollocks.

I was talking about British Olympians pulling on the GB jersey, pretty obvious I would have thought.

 

[Harold Hill]

I've never heard anybody call Andy Murray English. In fact everyone seems to make a big thing about the fact he's from Glasgow. Thompson was given a chance for England and wasn't good enough - end of discussion.

 

[STFC]

I've never heard anybody call Andy Murray English. In fact everyone seems to make a big thing about the fact he's from Glasgow. Thompson was given a chance for England and wasn't good enough - end of discussion.

Er, Murray's from Dunblane isn't he? Sorry to be pedantic.

I've never heard anyone call him English either.

 

[Rocket Romano]

Surely the big problem for the Scots is that they'd only have players in the squad on pure forced quotas. Arguably, Fletcher is their best player and he's not that impressive.

Wales would probably end up with Bellamy on the bench, Northern Ireland wouldn't have anybody at all but the suits would get nice seats at the games

 

[steeplejack]

Surely the big problem for the Scots is that they'd only have players in the squad on pure forced quotas. Arguably, Fletcher is their best player and he's not that impressive.

Wales would probably end up with Bellamy on the bench, Northern Ireland wouldn't have anybody at all but the suits would get nice seats at the games

Except...it's...an...U-23....squad

Try...reading...the....fucking...thread....

Twat

 

[Rocket Romano]

Except...it's...an...U-23....squad

Try...reading...the....fucking...thread....

Twat

My first post in the thread pointed this out. I was commenting on the fact that even past Olympics many would like to see a senior squad

 

[steeplejack]

making sense would be helpful, too

 

[Harold Hill]

Er, Murray's from Dunblane isn't he? Sorry to be pedantic.

I've never heard anyone call him English either.

Well then only people from Dunblane would have anything to moan about.

 

[Dilzybhoy]

There's some pretty clear anti-British sentiment in this post, particularly the bit about the "BNP anthem". Absolute bollocks.

I was talking about British Olympians pulling on the GB jersey, pretty obvious I would have thought.

I don't like the Anthem.
That's Anti-British?
I don't care what verse it's in. I don't care if no one sings it. I don't care if it's not in the official version due there being none. I don't even care if it wasn't directed at all Scots but only the rebellious ones.
It's still bloody racist.
Anyway. I think the first line is bad enough.


On Andy Murray, I watched Wimbledon and took a keen interest in Murray from the start. I even e-mailed my mum in America to keep an eye out for him.
Admittedly the references were quickly corrected at the time by the lovely sue barker.
It was accidental and no offence was meant.
But it is indicative of what happens when players play in a GB format.

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

I'll be supporting England but you won't catch me singing 'God Save The Queen.' I don't think we should have a royal family so I won't sing songs praising them.

 

[Dilzybhoy]

I'll be supporting England but you won't catch me singing 'God Save The Queen.' I don't think we should have a royal family so I won't sing songs praising them.

I think that makes my point.