Mailbox

If you have anything to say on any subject, mail us at theeditor@football365.com

I Hate England Too
Adonis Stevenson will, I imagine, take a lot of stick this afternoon for his email about actively choosing not to support England. Well not from me he won't. I understand exactly where he's coming from.

I wrote into the mailbox saying a similar thing, about three or four years ago. At the time, my main concerns regarded the Eriksson/McClaren coaching set up, and the complete ineptitude shown by the FA in general. However, at the time, the absolute clincher for me was my total feeling of alienation from the players that were supposed to be representing me as an Englishman. Quite frankly, I couldn't stand about 95% of them. The section of Adonis' letter today where he describes similar feelings towards the playing staff really struck a chord with me.

For me though, times have changed. I've mellowed a bit in my attitude towards the players (well, most of them) and I really don't have that much of an issue with the FA anymore. In fact, when we finally appointed the best man for the England job, I told friends that my period of actively disliking the England team was over, and if Capello managed to get us playing some decent football for a change, I might actually find myself supporting them. So it proved, and I have spent the last eighteen months or so quite enjoying England's gradual improvement.

Until Wednesday.

I won't go into details, as it was tedious enough at the time, but all you need to know is that I watched Wednesday's game in the company of two friends, whose footballing opinions I hitherto respected fully. Until one of them said "Mind, if Rooney gets hurt we have no chance of winning the World Cup". My response was "surely we don't anyway?" At this point, all hell broke loose. I might as well have wiped my behind with the Cross of St George, before presenting it to the Queen whilst wearing an SS uniform. I was, in their eyes, a complete heretic. As the argument raged on, and I presented evidence from games against France, Spain and Brazil, it became more and more clear to me that I was wasting my breath. They just would not listen to any point of view that claimed there were even three better sides than England, let alone a more realistic six or seven.

That was when realisation finally hit me - if these two, usually sensible, knowledgeable football fans, whose opinions I have always respected, could buy into this s**te even before the media hype has been ramped up to ridiculous proportions, what chance does the common, everyday idiot stand? Then it all came flooding back - those stupid flags on every car you see, the adverts for Mastercard and s**t lager, the S*n...this is what I've got to look forward to in the next few months. It was like a vision of the Apocalypse.

So Mr Stevenson, I'm with you. Not because of the players, not because of the FA, not because of the manager, but because of my fellow Englishmen. They make me ashamed. And even though I've enjoyed supporting England under Fabio, if making myself hate my own national team is what it takes to separate me fully from these idiots, then it's a price worth paying.
Rich Prince, supporting Chile since two days ago.


And Some Who Don't Agree
Re Adonis Stevenson.

You, my friend, are a psychologist's wet dream.
Kris (if I don't support them then it doesn't hurt when they lose - I win!) Garthwaite, Darlo


...Adonis, yeah the England team don't represent you any more. Or the real reason you find yourself feeling detached, a woefully under-performing 20 year old is the only thing your club has that represents anything about England. Go cheer on France.

Stuart Bell...BINGO!
Joel Bradley, London


Welcome Back Mr Hargreaves
I might be getting a little ahead of myself here but, I'd just like to say how pleased I am (from a club AND a country perspective) about the impending competitive return of a certain Owen Hargreaves. He is exactly the sort of player Man Utd have been missing this season and will add some much needed steel to our sometimes lightweight midfield. Carrick and Fletcher do an admirable job against the lesser teams, but we need a real enforcer to see of the big teams. If he's back in first team action by the time Chelsea come to Old Trafford then we'll have a much better chance of beating them than we would have had without him.

On the England side of things, if he can get match fit and back into the first team at United for the final 7/8 games of the season then there is no reason I can see that would stop him from being on the plane to SA. Perhaps his inclusion could even convince Capello to go with a different formation and have Rooney as the lone frontman with a 5 man midfield behind him. A holding midfielder (Hargreaves) two centre midfielders (Lampard and Gerrard, with Hargreaves behind them they could have license to roam) and two out and out wingers flanking Rooney (Lennon and A.N.Other). This would also free-up Barry to fill in at left-back if Cashley isn't fit and avoid us having to play the entirely average duo of Baines or Warnock.

As I said, perhaps I'm getting a bit far ahead of myself, but show me an England fan that does not want Hargreaves on the plane to SA.
James (A Hargreaves penalty to win us the WC, you read it here first), York.


Yeah, Because This Worked With Cheyrou, Babel...
It's a bit harsh to call Walcott rubbish but the boy is quite useless at the minute. So what should Theo do to win back english hearts?

Go to Liverpool, yes you read right. Rafa needs pace and money is a bit tight, so if Benitez can get him for £5m (anything more would be a rip-off) I think he could turn him into a 12-15 goal forward who get a fair amount of assists every season (which is way more than what he is now). Of course I could talking sh.. & Walcott could just end up being the new Voronin.
Dave(doesnt get worse than Vorornin does it?) Andrews


Lil' Mickey O
I know this kind of embarrassment is usually reserved for the end of the season, but now that lil Mickey Owen has been ruled out for the season could we have a recap of the F365 teams pre-season predictions of how many league goals he'd score? I seem to remember there being some belters with 20+ predicted by some (Nick Miller possibly?), something he never managed in his prime. Some head hanging in shame to be done me thinks. The correct answer was 3 and highlights the problem with buying cheap tat from catalogues.
Jon M, Durham

As it happens, Gill (who claimed he would make more of an impact than Tevez') and Winterburn both said he'd bag 15, while Miller said he'd break at some point, while Johnny Nic foretold some 'boing-boing-snappage' - MC)


What Constitutes 'Hard'?
Isn't it about time we rethink the definition of 'tough' in the footballing vernacular? To my mind being 'tough' on the pitch does not entail throwing rediculous tackles around. That just makes you reckless or, more specifically, a complete s**t. Tough should surely be defined as physically strong, mentally strong, ready to muscle other players off the ball and generally being intimidating though the force of your personality. If we could only rid the game of the notion that toughness equates to having carte blanche to put other players careers in jeopardy then maybe we could have a little less leg breaking and a little more actual football.
John Doak, Britol


Stoke Fans: Rubbish
I am feeling a bit argumentative today, so I just want to highlight that Stoke, whilst gaining plaudits for there vocal support at home, will have a small showing this weekend for a big FA tie, only taking 3000 of the 6000 offered by Chelsea. Tickets are priced £25, and already this season Cardiff and Watford have filled that end...?!

If you're gonna big up their supporters for making noise in the comfort of the Britannia and then slag off other teams for poor atmospheres, then at least we can do is acknowledge the travelling numbers by supposedly fickle, glory hunting, prawn sandwich supporters. This rankles me as the idiot on ITV was quick to laugh and point out that the Chelsea fans couldn't be heard in the San Siro JUST AFTER INTER HAD SCORED! 6,000 at Preston for a 12.45 kick off in the FOURTH round, I could go on but I am already boring myself on such a trivial (typically tribal football argument)

Rubbish email but its Friday!!
Jon, Essex


Pompey Fans Too
Just reading the 'Going to be a big weekend for' column, and I want to draw attention to a fallacy that seems to be published everywhere you look. As said in the article "...Portsmouth's fans are loyal, vocal and long-suffering". Yes, we all remember the ironic cheering at the Pompey v Arsenal game, and yes Henry said the fans were amazing, but this really is an over-reaction.

Considering the dire straits (got to be a 'Money for Nothing' joke in here somewhere...) the team are in, the attendances that the club have had for the last 10 weeks are actually very poor. According to the gospel that is Wikipedia (I know, I know), Fratton Parks capacity is 20,224. The attendances for their last 6 home games is below:

20th Feb - Stoke - 17,208
9th Feb - Sunderland - 16,242
26th Jan - West Ham - 18,322
23rd Jan - Sunderland - 10,315
2nd Jan - Coventry - 11,214
30th Dec - Arsenal - 20404 (over attendance!)

Now, I would expect these to have been sell-outs. Perhaps it was the away fans not using up their whole allocation, but I'm not so sure. I actually think the teams poor form, owners etc have p****d the Pompey faithful off so much that they don't want to return. I'm not saying they shouldn't do this, but I am saying maybe they aren't as loyal as the media would have them painted out to be. The missing numbers from these games (27639), at £30 a ticket, would have banked them a further £830k. And that's in 6 games. Money they could have given back to the taxman...
Simon 'Do you know what Grinds my gears?' Goddard, SFC


De Wrong
My sympathies go out to Stuart Holden and his family...It's a shame, however, to have to hear it from a Mailbox item rather than the news/media/etc.. I now think that Aaron Ramsey is the only player to get injured...ever...

We should also do well to remember that it was also certain Mr De Jong that jumped two-footed at Ryan Babel, who had recently returned from injury, earlier this year at Anfield. This left Ryan with an injured ankle and left him sidelined for 4 weeks plus....however not even a free kick was granted let alone a card.

Seems that Nigel bloke is a nasty piece of work....

Can we please castigate him for a while...at least he deserves it.
Richard (3rd, witty, inserted, names, team, brackets,etc..) Bell


...How foolish of Anthony (Charlotte, North Carolina) to expect to have seen any attention given to the De Jong tackle. Doesn't he know it only happens to Arsenal players? (You'd have thought so the way they bleat on).
Ex-pat Dave (Support the Knights, end Glazers days)


The Differences
De Jong has not been involved in at least three very dangerous tackles previously where players got badly injured
The US have not seen 3 players having their legs broken in 4 years unlike Arsenal
Holden will be out for 6 weeks, unlike Ramsey or Eduardo who were out for several months and were feared to have lost their careers
The above is partly explained by the fact that you couldnt see Holden's bone after the challenge
You didnt see experienced players pale-faced and almost being sick in case of Holden (in contrast to Fab and Vermaelen)
We dont have Holland fans claiming it wasnt even a yellow and it was all Holden's fault

Thanks, Anthony and Jimmy for proving that football fans are myopic and Americans should stick to Basketball

Incidentally, De Jong has probably put in the most tackles in the City team and he is a good example of a hard, tough as nails defensive midfielder who can make opposition players wince, but also knows how to tackle. He really is that kind of player.
sm, city fan, london


Maths
Wonderful example of basic arithmetics by Mike Nixon this morning. Mike states that 14 Premier League clubs need to vote for something for it to be passed. He then states that the big 4 clubs, and Blackburn, voted against it and, for the life of him, he can't figure out who the other team is that voted against it.

Well, big guy, I hate to urinate in your wishing well, but with 20 clubs in the Premier League, wouldn't at least two more clubs need to have voted against the nonsensical playoffs?

By the by, I was very pleased to note all the praise for Wassim this morning, and more than a little annoyed at myself for not remembering to big-up Wassim's excellent contribution. Genuine football analysis in the Mailbox, who'd have thunk it??
Javed LFC (bully bully, bully bully, bully bully)


Defending Morgan
Chris Morgan is not that kind of player, well not until you are at which point he shows you who's boss. Trust me a watch him week in week out and he plays firm but fair until the opponents start roughing it up. And I know you're all going to bring up the Hume incident but I have a couple of points on that. 1st it didn't look that bad at the ground, in fact the Barnsley staff didn't even send him to hospital to check the injury out which led to the complications he had, so they didn't think it was too bad, 2nd and a bit childishly they started it, there were several incidents involving elbows and raised hands, most of which on Morgan. Really is that the man you want to start it with.

If there is any player from the Lane who is that kind of player over the last few years then sadly I'd have to say it is our beloved Michael Brown. Box to box midfielder for us thug everywhere else. Not even sure why as he had the talent to affect the game at the other end of the pitch yet once he hit the top flight he dropped deep and regularly broke people.
Lewis the Blade


Burn After Reading
Surely if there is going to be a column entitled "It's going to be a big weekend for..." then you really should include the one team for whom this weekend is really pretty massive! We all hear about people going on about the magic of the FA cup, and how it offers lower league teams the opportunity to shine against the traditionally big teams, but the column seems to have neglected the one and one team left in the FA cup who are not in the Premier League - Reading FC!

This year has been a superb cup run, bringing back a club down in the doldrums back to their feet. We're not used to these cup runs, back in the Coppell days the cup was sacrificed for performances in the league. In fact I think we have the record having the most loses in the FA Cup's history (been there since the start and never won it).

Even though Philip Cornwall argues that it would be better for the cup if Reading were beaten this weekend, at least he acknowledged their presence. In fact even the BBC have an article on Reading. Maybe if we beat our third Premier League team and get drawn against Chelsea you might eventually notice us.
Nick Burgess


Well, Quite
In answer to Pablo, Sandwich, USA, I never confuse Villa with Villa as Villa is pronounced Villa and Villa is pronounced Villa. Easy really.
Stevewetts, BRFC


Bingo!
House!
Dan (Stuart (Dinkpassing, Multimegging) Bell, welcome to the world of answering your own question...) (Watford)


...In response to Stuart (Dinkpassing, Multimegging) Bell, considering a full house has to include a post by Conor Byrne, surely the only person who can get a full house in one post is Conor Byrne and that's only if he references himself.
Andy Bull


...I considered attempting a mailbox bingo winning post as no doubt countless cads will. However by inventing the rules of the game, Stuart (Dinkpassing, Multimegging) Bell has made it so only one man can possibly win.

So congratulations to Conor Byrne, who will no doubt eventually write an incoherent post containing all of the criteria, proving the "monkeys-with-type-writers-writing-shakespeare" theory is correct. And fulfill the criteria of being Conor Byrne.

Third Paragraph.
Mike (I got a few in there at least, which is more than can be said for Wigan/Wolves frontline this season arf arf) Coxon, N4 via Northwich


...In response to Stuart Bell:

This reminds me of a post by Conor Byrne.

'Conor Happy With Semi
"That was a mental game...etc. proving to be near faultless."
Conor Byrne'

Now while Conor might be happy with just a semi, let me assure you that the hard men of Wolves and Wigan wouldn't be happy until they had fully overcome their erectile problems. Then they can truly be said to fill out their pants. Wenger must go and take a leaf from these guys' books also. He needs to buy some hard men (pun intended) and stop wasting time with sissy boys like 'Almunia/ Walcott'. Redknapp also. You wouldn't see 'Man Yoo' buying a limp penis like 'Jenas.'

While playing my 'Fantasy league/ Champ Man/ Football Manager' I try to emulate the greats of and bring in tough men who can use their Big Tackle '(Insert Witty Remark)' when needed.

For my 3rd paragraph I'd like to recite a poem : "Tiger Tiger burning Bright, In the forests of the night".

What a poem.

This won't get posted due to the overly homoerotic content and also due to the lack of 'an MC response', but please don't judge me too harshly as I've no idea what the hell an 'an MC response' is! (I used it twice tho so that should make up for something).
Micky Meehan (Ireland)


...Re: Stuart (Dinkpassing, Multimegging) Bell

I got them in one go when I read your email. Does that count?
Sean, gooner, Brighton


The World's Soberest (Is That A Word?) Drinking Game
I wonder if, during the World Cup, people will join me in a drinking game involving our national team. The rules are -

1) Drink 2 fingers every time one of our tiny right wingers completes a pass;

2) Drink 3 fingers each time one of our centre-backs outpaces an opponent;

3) Drink 4 fingers when one of our TV commentators makes an incisive comment; and

4) Down a pint every time you see Steven Gerrard on the left wing.
Sober as a judge.
Tom Davidson