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Don't give up on us, plead England flops
James Olley, Evening Standard21.08.08
David Beckham and Joe Cole today pleaded with fans not to give up on England and insisted they will peak at the right time to mount a challenge at the 2010 World Cup.
Fabio Capello's side were booed off after a dire 2-2 draw against the Czech Republic last night at Wembley, where 20,000 seats were unsold in the 90,000-capacity stadium.
Expectations are high among supporters after the team's failure to qualify for Euro 2008 but Beckham said: "People expect change straight away, especially with the quality of the manager and the players. It's a case of step by step, bonding together as a unit and that takes time.
"Everything is there, everything is right. It's all about getting that confidence up and taking it into these qualifiers. We believe we are going to qualify but there's a lot of hard work to be done."
Cole says fans should stop comparing every display to the memorable performances, such as England's 5-1 victory in Germany in 2001.
The Chelsea midfielder, who came off the bench to score last night, added: "I don't know if they're right to bring up the Germany game. How many times have England done that in the last 50 or 60 years? First and foremost it's about qualifying, then we want to peak when we get there.
"Patience is the key. It's an 18-month campaign and we are making small strides but they might not be noticeable to the public."
Capello's side face Andorra and then Croatia next month at the start of qualifying and Cole admits it has been difficult to bury the memory of Croatia's 3-2 win at Wembley last November, which denied England qualification to a major tournament for the first time in 14 years.
Cole said: "The match in Zagreb could shape the qualifying campaign. It's difficult to talk about revenge but it is fresh in our minds what they did to us, with the celebrations and things like that. We want to go over there and win the game."
Reader views (13)
Spain hadn't won anything for over 40 years too! but now they have won one. Why? because their fans have never stop believing and supporting their National team, that's why. They stayed with their home side no matter what happened, whether the team was winning or losing the fans still believing and supporting them. Snd that from a country who have never won a single World Cup! You should be ashamed when you faced the Spain's supporters. I suggest you go out and support the England team to win a game no matter if it was a friendly, or a competitive game, and forget about the players money! What you want is win, and don't forget, when the players win a thing, they win it for you! No wonder England haven't won a single thing after 1966..because they have no one who support them! do you think they will bother to bring back trophies to people who doesn't support them at all?
- Somebody, mas
The England team should be thoroughly and utterly ashamed of themselves for such a pathetic result. You can blame the Manager or even the Captain if you like, but lets face it - these players have been very lacklustre on the national stage for a long time now, regardless of who the Manager is. James Bond (below) has it spot on. When you watch the Olympics and see the extraordinary feats that come from training, strength and endurance (yet another prime example today is David Davies in the 10k Open Water Race), it makes these overpaid, over rated footballers look like whining, spoilt children. Can you imagine any of them getting up at 6am or earlier to train every day? I don't think so. Also I can't imagine any of our Olympic athletes beating up someone in the street, or rifling through someone's handbag in a night club.
- Stella, London, UK
Come on guys. Who actully watched this game or really cares. The players aren't up for it, they're much more interested in playing for their clubs as the Premierships just started. Would you want to risk injury so early in the season? Come on support your Premiership team. the so called Glory days of England as a team are over. Shame but true. Waste of time! Should have kept McLaren at this rate!
- Stewart, London
I've been a proud English supporter all my life since I watched England win the 1966 World Cup in black and white with my Dad in Yorkshire. But now, racked with a terminally ill, dismal, boring team I really think it would be a great idea to scrap the English team altogether. It was a fantastic experience to watch Euro 2008 without English involvement and with such class acts as Spain and Holland putting on a great show. I really enjoyed not having that expectant tight knot in my stomach waiting for the inevitable pathetic England game and the flaccid excuses afterwards. I love English football and each of the individual players when they are at club level. But at National level, forget it.
- Paul Kerton, Cape Town, South Africa.
The Czechs should hang their heads in shame!
They should have stuffed this useless England shower.
Just how much time do they want? And just how much more do we want to listen to the same tired old tune.
Let's not pretend England are anything other than a very mediocre team with mediocre players.
- Pinkie, London, GB
Until we develop English strikers we will be boring and predictable.
I am not a highly over paid manager, I am not an over paid player but I could see the lack of ideas from the start.
The speed we started was great but went backwards and sideways then a run down the wing from a fullback?
Everyone says after a friendly it was to try out things, bull. There is no such thing as an international friendly.
When/if we win one everyone screams the glory days are back the glory days was one tournament in the 60s.
Apart from 1966 we have not won anything worth shouting about.
Flash back Norman Hunter screws up Poland knocks England out of the World Cup.
Look familiar?
- Colin Srtevens, Farmington, USA
Let's be frank about this. All the players who pull on an England shirt treat this exercise as a spare time activity. Their hearts are not in it and they never have been. What matters to them is the Premiership and the Champions League. This is where the glory really is, not forgetting the money, of course.
England's football team will NEVER win another World Cup or European Championship for that matter. So let's not pretend otherwise. I gave up watching England games years ago. Life is too short and there are enough disappointments elsewhere to contemplate, without sitting through 90 minutes (plus the obligatory penalty shoot-outs) to watch the perpetual bunch of losers with the three lions motif plastered across their chests.
- James Bond, Pinner, Middlesex
Its time to make the changes, its obviously these prefer Champions League then to qualify for the World Cup.
We have a problem that the top 4 teams, all their midfield players are foreigners, I don't think Gerrard or Lampards plays with another English man, so how can there be an understanding? James Englands Number 1, where is the next quality goalkeeper, James too many errors, why? He is playing at top level and pressure on him, at Portsmouth he doesn't have any competition for his place. Replace James with Joe Hart.
- Adrian, London
Capello needs to admit his mistake and dump Terry. Who was captain during the failed Euro 2008 campaign? Who was captain when Chelsea lost the Carling Cup and Premeir League Championship? Who was solely responsible for Chelsea losing the Champion's league? Why is this not clear to Fabio?
- Kb, London
Sorry you bunch of over paid, under worked 'athletes'. I have given up on you. We have real champions in the velodrome, running track, triple jump pit, pool and lake.
They all train hard, get it right and win when it counts.
- Jonathan, London
I suspect teams like Crawley or Stevenage would have played with more skill and enthusiasm than this shower. BOO!
- Michael, London
I found the team selection for last night strange. Surely this was an opportunity to play an alternative goalkeeper to James. Use Micah Richards at right-back. In midfield use Bentley on the right & Young on the left with a central pairing of Gerrard with Huddlestone playing the holding role. Up front a target man such as Crouch with Abonglahore playing off him. The team is crying out for such an injection of youthful pace & enthusiasm.
- Rob Gooner, London
"Patience is the key!" I've been very, very patient since 1966! These overpaid. over rated con artists live in cloud cuckoo land. 99% of them spend all season living off the skills of their foreign team mates in the Premiership, and when it comes to the crunch very few of them are good enough. After watching Argentina crush Brazil the other night, maybe it's best if we don't qualify for the World Cup to save embarrassment all round!
- Paul, London
