What if.... England V France

Barr

I'd be sickened if France won , hope they get kmocked out early.

Degag

gibson wrote: »

speaking of looking at the wall chart...if Brazil win their group, Portugal come 2nd and Spain win theirs...1st round knock out is Spain Vs Portugal. Winner of that could face Italy. Could be a difficult few games for Spain if theyre gonna win it

Or the Ivory Coast, whom i personally think will come out of the group. They will have a few difficult games in any case.

LeeroyJones

Everyone is, of course, within their rights not to support France given the circumstances but all this anti-France dribble is pushing me towards actually supporting them.

It should be noted that the days after that match in Paris there were polls in Le Monde and L'equipe suggesting the French people were ashamed at the circumstances in which they qualified, as well as big names Lizarazu, Cantona, Ginola and Wenger all echoing that sentiment.

It was dissappointing that a player like Henry would do what he did, and comments by Raymond Domenech and I think Evra were in no way sympathetic but I don't think that reflects the general French opinion.

If France play England in the final, I really won't care who wins because I'm neither French or English. I suppose I may lean towards the English because they generally back us

eagle eye

Minstrel27 wrote: »

This has got to be the worst arguement for supporting the England team. The Premier League has so many players from all over the world.

Are you kidding me. There is one team with 11 players on the pitch and a full bench of EPL players and thats England.

I never made an argement either, I asked a question as to why you would support somebody else.

I don't see any good reason for Irish people to support France over England. I don't see any good reasons for anybody to support Spain or anywhere else over England if you are an EPL fan.

I hope England win the World Cup more than any other big soccer nation. I would love if some underdog team won it. I think I'd also like to see Argentina win it, its nice to see the best player in the world win a world cup.

Le King

I'd never support the ENG-GER-LAND crew. If people have trouble getting over a hand ball then how are they able to get over what England done to Lansdowne?

Bit stupid if you ask me. I'd take a guess at least 50% of people on here supporting England are under 18.

Get over it. The hand ball is over and done with.

ALLEZ LES BLUES.

Minstrel27

eagle eye wrote: »

I don't see any good reasons for anybody to support Spain or anywhere else over England if you are an EPL fan.

Who supports the English Premier League?

And for the record I will be supporting no teams in the world cup.

TheTosh

Osu wrote: »

I'd never support the ENG-GER-LAND crew. If people have trouble getting over a hand ball then how are they able to get over what England done to Lansdowne?

Bit stupid if you ask me. I'd take a guess at least 50% of people on here supporting England are under 18.

Get over it. The hand ball is over and done with.

ALLEZ LES BLUES.

I'm 24 and supporting England all the way

gibson

peejay1986 wrote: »

The French team has Evra, Malouda, Anelka, Gallas, Sagna and more from EPL. Should Arsenal fans automatically support France? You don't support the players, you support the team they're playing for. Well, I do anyway. Plus, a lot of the EPL players in England team I dislike. Just because I watch them doesn't mean I like them.

Im an Arsenal fan and wouldnt automatically support France as you said but Id like to see the Arsenal players do well, English, French, Spanish, wherever

eagle eye

TheTosh wrote: »

I'm 24 and supporting England all the way

I'm a lot older than that and supporting England.

I lived through times when people hated England whenever they played a match but those times are long gone.

greendom

papagormo wrote: »

if it were Ireland vs France in the final, id imagine the English would back the oul emerald, so for that reason id like to see it go down to penalties and England to snatch it.

That's not much of an argument really; if it happened to be an Ireland -England final virtually the whole of France would be supporting Ireland

eagle eye

greendom wrote: »

That's not much of an argument really; if it happened to be an Ireland -England final virtually the whole of France would be supporting Ireland

Yeah but if it was Ireland vs Spain/Portugal/Italy/Greece who would the French support?

I know the majority of English people would still be supporting the ROI.

greendom

eagle eye wrote: »

Yeah but if it was Ireland vs Spain/Portugal/Italy/Greece who would the French support?

I know the majority of English people would still be supporting the ROI.

It wouldn't be as conclusive but for the majority of those countries it would be Ireland. Certainly if they were playing Italy and Spain anyway

Kylo Ren

France, their win would be forever tainted and plus can you imagine if England won the WC! They're still ****ing on about 66'

gibson

eagle eye wrote: »

I'm a lot older than that and supporting England.

I lived through times when people hated England whenever they played a match but those times are long gone.

They're definitely not as bad as they were but i still know people who will support english teams and those same players maybe playing for England but they still hate England and want to see them lose!

I dont really see the point to that I always thought it was a little hypocritical

SantryRed

Keno 92 wrote: »

France, their win would be forever tainted and plus can you imagine if England won the WC! They're still ****ing on about 66'

I don't understand this. They don't go on about it more than what the Irish go on about Italia 90. If we somehow won the WC we would never shut the fcuk up about it either.

DazMarz

I don't care who England are playing, France or anyone, but I will be supporting them in the World Cup. Bury all that stupid B.S. anti-English sentiment, ffs. Time to grow up.

England all the way!:D

Bodhisopha

France. The French supporters were disgusted by what happened and many of them wanted to see a replay. I doubt the English would have taken a similar viewpoint and even if i thought they would i'd still be rooting for the French.

The English football media make me sick.

That stupid band playing the great escape throughout every English game makes me sick.

John Terry makes me sick.

The swaggering arrogance and sense of entitlement the English seem to hold - "it's coming home"- makes me sick.

The boo'ing of other teams national anthems makes me sick.

The thuggish element that follows England (i know it's a small minority but still) makes me sick.

The laying the blame where it doesn't belong (Ronaldo) when they crash out makes me sick.

Their overemphasis on passion and the British bulldog mentality makes me sick.

Calling their football association "The FA" makes me sick. It should be the EFA.

And on and on it goes.

I will delight in their exit just like i delight in all their exits. The football aside, Englands exit is the most entertaining part of every major football tournament they are in.

SantryRed

Didn't they invent football though? So The FA is probably justified.

Do you support an English team?

Villain

Just added a Poll, didn't earlier as I think it prevents discussion.

Personally I'd support France as I believe their fans are far better sports and acknowledged how we were cheated.

Bodhisopha

SantryRed wrote: »

Didn't they invent football though? So The FA is probably justified.

Do you support an English team?

They invented some crude form of football not unlike the football they play today.

Are they the football association of the world or England?

No, i don't support any English team and what difference would it make if i did?

Mr Alan

Bodhisopha wrote: »

They invented some crude form of football not unlike the football they play today.

Actually I believe they formed an assosciation & invented the rules to football as we know it today, hence them being the first football assosciation, and thereby known as the FA.

Bodhisopha wrote: »

The English football media make me sick.

Irish tabloid media are exactly the same, except with an added chip on their shoulder, see the likes of Paul "I can get Roy Keanes name into an article about any sport" Hyland.

Bodhisopha wrote: »

That stupid band playing the great escape throughout every English game makes me sick.

I'd probably prefer that to our leprechaun clad ole ole-ing brigade.

Bodhisopha wrote: »

John Terry makes me sick.

Don't particularly like him myself, wouldn't hold it against the whole nation though. We've had some right pricks playing for us over the years too.

Bodhisopha wrote: »

The swaggering arrogance and sense of entitlement the English seem to hold - "it's coming home"- makes me sick.

The "home" is in reference to them inventing the rules of football & being the first football association. Their arrogance is easily comparable to us thinking we should qualify for major tournaments. They've been the nation of some brilliant footballers & should've acheived more on a world stage tbh.

Bodhisopha wrote: »

The boo'ing of other teams national anthems makes me sick.

Doesn't happen all the time, only rarely, but in fairness, our boo-ing of Rangers players etc hardly shows us as a nation of sportsmanship & good will.

Bodhisopha wrote: »

The thuggish element that follows England (i know it's a small minority but still) makes me sick.

Every country has a small element of thugs attached. The fact we consume the English media means we hear of theirs more than others, they aren't by a long shot the worst, not near.

Bodhisopha wrote: »

The laying the blame where it doesn't belong (Ronaldo) when they crash out makes me sick.

Everyone does this, see recent "Thierry-gate fiasco" as proof.

Bodhisopha wrote: »

Their overemphasis on passion and the British bulldog mentality makes me sick.

Similar to our Irish attitude in regards to plucky irish spirit, the battling underdog etc.

Bodhisopha wrote: »

Calling their football association "The FA" makes me sick. It should be the EFA.

We've discussed that already.

the_syco

mike65 wrote: »

I wonder why that might be?*






*hint Ireland not swamped by Francophone media

Yup. Also don't watch much soccer. Watch more GAA than I'd watch soccer at times. I would watch various Scottish/english/Irish/EU games, but wouldn't don't follow any of the teams.

Pepe LeFrits

Keno 92 wrote: »

France, their win would be forever tainted

More likely, they'd start to celebrate the handball. Happened with Maradona in Argentina. Irish people crying about handball after they'd won the WC would be even more embarrassing.

Collie D

I'd have to side with the Three Lions. I'll be hoping Rooney has a good tournament anyway although if they got to final that might change. Depends who I'm betting on really. Oh, and the UK gave us points in the Eurovison whereas the French gave us zip :pac:

OPENROAD

baz2009 wrote: »

France.
I just couldn't listen to Sky shíte on and on about it for the next 60 years.

Bit like RTE going on about our past Eurovision glories

Paparazzo

eagle eye wrote: »

How could you not shout for a team full of players you watch every week in the EPL?

peejay1986 wrote: »

The French team has Evra, Malouda, Anelka, Gallas, Sagna and more from EPL. Should Arsenal fans automatically support France? You don't support the players, you support the team they're playing for. Well, I do anyway. Plus, a lot of the EPL players in England team I dislike. Just because I watch them doesn't mean I like them.

Don't forget what the E in EPL stands for. Do players support a club team, or the players that play for them?

Keno 92 wrote: »

France, their win would be forever tainted and plus can you imagine if England won the WC! They're still ****ing on about 66'

Of course, Ireland would never do that. We'd never go on about a group game we won back in 1988, and we'd never write songs about it.

LordSutch

eagle eye wrote: »

I'm a lot older than that and supporting England.

I lived through times when people hated England whenever they played a match but those times are long gone.

Sadly they are not gone, as I witnessed in many a Dublin pub during the last Rugby Football World Cup > 'Anybody but England' seemed to be the order of the day amongst the hoards of Irish voices with many a sickened face when England beat France

Bodhisopha

Mr Alan wrote: »

Actually I believe they formed an assosciation & invented the rules to football as we know it today, hence them being the first football assosciation, and thereby known as the FA.



Irish tabloid media are exactly the same, except with an added chip on their shoulder, see the likes of Paul "I can get Roy Keanes name into an article about any sport" Hyland.



I'd probably prefer that to our leprechaun clad ole ole-ing brigade.



Don't particularly like him myself, wouldn't hold it against the whole nation though. We've had some right pricks playing for us over the years too.



The "home" is in reference to them inventing the rules of football & being the first football association. Their arrogance is easily comparable to us thinking we should qualify for major tournaments. They've been the nation of some brilliant footballers & should've acheived more on a world stage tbh.



Doesn't happen all the time, only rarely, but in fairness, our boo-ing of Rangers players etc hardly shows us as a nation of sportsmanship & good will.



Every country has a small element of thugs attached. The fact we consume the English media means we hear of theirs more than others, they aren't by a long shot the worst, not near.



Everyone does this, see recent "Thierry-gate fiasco" as proof.



Similar to our Irish attitude in regards to plucky irish spirit, the battling underdog etc.



We've discussed that already.

Mr Alan, you have tried to negate most of my points by basically saying well the Irish do that too and i actually agree with most of what you say. There are many things i dislike about the Irish media and fans too.

I can't stand our media.

I can't stand the boo'ing of Rangers players.

I can't stand the Thierry Henry hysteria.

and on it goes...

I only support Ireland because i'm Irish. I don't support England because of everything i have listed.

peejay1986

Paparazzo wrote: »

Don't forget what the E in EPL stands for. Do players support a club team, or the players that play for them?

Sorry I don't understand what you mean. Could you explain it a bit more please.

All I'm saying is just because we like specific players from the teams we support doesn't mean that we have to support their respected national teams. It should have no baring. If you choose to do that then that's fair enough but it should be a choice based on personal opinion and not "well you watch the Premier League so you can't dislike England". The Premier League is just a platform for the world's best players to perform on. I support Man Utd but I wouldn't say I support England. I don't care what Rooney, Rio etc do outside of their Man Utd duties unless it directly affects their Utd career.

I enjoy national team rivalries and I really enjoy the dislike many people have with England. I don't like when people take it too far but for me it's just banter. People's opinions will vary and the in-your-face attitude i've experience from English fans over here (I live in Chester) is very full on and that's really why I enjoy to see them lose. I get a lot of slagging over Ireland so it's nice to see the English fail after building themselves up so much.

OPENROAD

peejay1986 wrote: »

I enjoy national team rivalries and I really enjoy the dislike many people have with England. I don't like when people take it too far but for me it's just banter. People's opinions will vary and the in-your-face attitude i've experience from English fans over here (I live in Chester) is very full on and that's really why I enjoy to see them lose. I get a lot of slagging over Ireland so it's nice to see the English fail after building themselves up so much.

Nothing wrong with banter but I stopped watching International football in pubs here because it appeared to be a lot more than just banter, I just couldn't get people in English club jerseys( yes they were actually wearing club tops :eek:) in pubs screaming vile abuse at their own players, cause they were wearing a white shirt.

The thing is can you imagine our reaction if it was the other way around, if the English say boo against us, we normally go mental.

Take the Maradona handball, we thought this was so funny, we even had campaigns to vote it the best English sporting moment, can you imagine our reaction if the English started laughing over Thierry.

oconnon9

can't believe the amount of people who'll be supporting england in the WC. Nobody likes the english, I can't wait 2 see them fail horribly again! couldn't give a **** about france 2 be honest

I'd guess when England are playing anyone, every other country in the world would love to see them lose

Can't ****ing wait 2 see john terry crying again!!! twat!!!!!!!!

Bodhisopha

OPENROAD wrote: »

Nothing wrong with banter but I stopped watching International football in pubs here because it appeared to be a lot more than just banter, I just couldn't get people in English club jerseys( yes they were actually wearing club tops :eek:) in pubs screaming vile abuse at their own players, cause they were wearing a white shirt.

The thing is can you imagine our reaction if it was the other way around, if the English say boo against us, we normally go mental.

Take the Maradona handball, we thought this was so funny, we even had campaigns to vote it the best English sporting moment, can you imagine our reaction if the English started laughing over Thierry.

Do we? When did we last go mental when the English said boo against us?

OPENROAD

Bodhisopha wrote: »

Do we? When did we last go mental when the English said boo against us?

We do, ok mental maybe is a bit strong, lol.

oconnon9

the english tore our stadium 2 ****e and we said more or less **** all about it

LeeroyJones

Bodhisopha wrote: »

Do we? When did we last go mental when the English said boo against us?

When did the English ever say boo against us?!

LeeroyJones

oconnon9 wrote: »

the english tore our stadium 2 ****e and we said more or less **** all about it

a group of thugs who happened to be English rioted at Lansdowne. Most English people were ashamed of what happened as any decent people would

Bodhisopha

LeeroyJones wrote: »

When did the English ever say boo against us?!

Ask Openroad, he said it.

OPENROAD

Bodhisopha wrote: »

Ask Openroad, he said it.

Henry handball apparently some English found it funny, some people here furious about that.

Article appears knocking the so called "Celtic Tiger", some people get all upset.

Plenty of examples out there if you look for them.

Would you be upset, if the English organised a campaign to vote the Thierry handball the greatest ever Irish sporting moment?

oconnon9

LeeroyJones wrote: »

a group of thugs who happened to be English rioted at Lansdowne. Most English people were ashamed of what happened as any decent race would

english fans generally cause trouble wherever they go... there's been incidents at nearly every away qualifier, every major tournament. There has never been any trouble with irish fans whatsoever when we go abroad, even after a days drinking.

I remember watching an english match a few years ago, a friendly against someone, might have been Belarus or Andorra or someone, the English fans booed the other nations anthem, very audibly and it became quite clear that this wasn't just 50 or 60 scumbags acting jack the lad. The commentators were embarrased, didn't know what to say.. I found myself thinking, what is wrong with these people, why on earth would you boo this teams anthem? in a friendly? against a team of no significance? It wasn't a politically charged situation.. it was just sheer arrogance - a "you're in our country now" type message - someone called it the "British Bulldog" stereotype above an I agree with them.

OPENROAD

oconnon9 wrote: »

english fans generally cause trouble wherever they go... there's been incidents at nearly every away qualifier, every major tournament. There has never been any trouble with irish fans whatsoever when we go abroad, even after a days drinking.

.

National team fans maybe have a reputation, but club fans in general who are also English don't from my experience.

oconnon9

OPENROAD wrote: »

National team fans maybe have a reputation, but club fans who are also English don't from my experience.

never mentioned club fans, but they unfortunately suffer from the reputation the National fans created.. see incidents like Roma-United, Sevilla-Spurs etc.. when they wern't really at fault

You'll find that most diehard club fans in England won't support their country anyways

OPENROAD

oconnon9 wrote: »

You'll find that most diehard club fans in England won't support their country anyways

Growing number in Ireland also

Bodhisopha

OPENROAD wrote: »

Henry handball apparently some English found it funny, some people here furious about that.

Article appears knocking the so called "Celtic Tiger", some people get all upset.

Plenty of examples out there if you look for them.

Would you be upset, if the English organised a campaign to vote the Thierry handball the greatest ever Irish sporting moment?

I would think the people behind it were twats and i would think the same of any Irish organising a campaign to do something similar against the English.

oconnon9

OPENROAD wrote: »

Growing number in Ireland also

not that i'm aware of? I'd also suggest that their are a lot more diehard english fans of english teams in england than there are irish fans of LOI teams in ireland, as most irish fans follow premiership teams

OPENROAD

oconnon9 wrote: »

not that i'm aware of? I'd also suggest that their are a lot more diehard english fans of english teams in england than there are irish fans of LOI teams in ireland, as most irish fans follow premiership teams

Sorry meant to say Irish people following their English club and having little interest in the Irish national team, but am sure plenty of LOI fans would rather see their club team doing well than Ireland winning something

SDTimeout

eagle eye wrote: »

How could you not shout for a team full of players you watch every week in the EPL?

Sorry it's a bit hard to hear you up here from my barstool.

oconnon9 wrote: »

can't believe the amount of people who'll be supporting england in the WC. Nobody likes the english, I can't wait 2 see them fail horribly again! couldn't give a **** about france 2 be honest

I'd guess when England are playing anyone, every other country in the world would love to see them lose

Can't ****ing wait 2 see john terry crying again!!! twat!!!!!!!!

I think this thread has proved quite alot of people like the english, i am 17 and hope england do well. I'm also not bitter over the france incident as i feel our national team is a bit of a joke. I came on boards that night and defended thierry henry.

Your guess would also be very very very wrong.

oconnon9 wrote: »

the english tore our stadium 2 ****e and we said more or less **** all about it

You seem to be quite annoyed at the fact a stadia's infrastructure was harmed. I assume you used a similar amount of expletives when Celtic done this in the city of Manchester stadium ?

Kidchameleon

ABF!!

Kev_ps3

One of the highlights of the summer will be watching England crash out the World Cup:D

Handsome Bob

England, but only because I'm actually supporting them in the WC. Could care less about Thierry Henry or France to be honest.

Otis Driftwood

Neither.

Im not French and Im not English.

All this talk about Henrys handball (Jesus will people get over it already) or England being "the auld enemy" is a load of bollocks and at this stage it just makes me sad to hear people churning it out.