I hope England win f*ck all.

[blizeH]

Never before have I seen a team's (moronic) fans consistently boo players after having a decent performance.

What the hell is wrong with these cretins? Ashley Cole tonight had a decent game, put in some great balls and worked very hard down the left flank, he gets taken off and it seems every fickle moron in the stadium boos him. It's the same with Frank Lampard; he can have a great game and still gets boo'd whilst he leaves the pitch, in fact, just in a recent match he played very, very well and the MOTM award, what did the England fans do? Boo him.

On the other hand, you've got players who absolutely can do no wrong. Stevie G is a great example of this, he can have an incredibly mediocre game and still everyone will come out singing his praising, hell, even a poor game can result in the media branding him man of the match. What's worse, he's a sulky, cheating bar steward and yet rarely does anyone pick up on any of his faults, the exact opposite of Frank who can do nothing wrong and get sod all credit whilst playing in an England shirt.

Sigh.

[JT26CFC]

I laughed when Gerrard did the same mistake tonight and gave the ball right away to Switzerland. And he was absent for more than half the game-except for the assist on SWP's goal.

[Maksimov]

...Frank who can do nothing wrong and get sod all credit whilst playing in an England shirt....

You mean, he can do nothing right, right?

[blizeH]

No, I didn't word it too well but I mean exactly that - much like Ashley Cole tonight, he can have a pretty much flawless game and still get boo'd off the pitch.

[blizeH]

Oh, and for the record, I'm very much English, and not some random fan just trying to slate the national team and get a rise from people. Still amazed at the Gerrard MOTM thing, just about sums up my entire first post I guess.

[just]

No, I didn't word it too well but I mean exactly that - much like Ashley Cole tonight, he can have a pretty much flawless game and still get boo'd off the pitch.

So, what you're telling us is G4 was at the game tonight then?

PS: I don't think Cashley gave a flawless performance.

[JT26CFC]

ashley didn't gave any usuable crossess and couldn't defend well. It got bad when Rooney was back with ashley defending.

[Gem]

It'll be nice to see Joe Cole with an England winners medal... plus, it'll be one to rub into the Scots so I don't mind if we win a World Cup or 2.

[blizeH]

Another thing which I failed to post in my rant earlier, despite it being the one of my main reasons for posting it anyway - why did the entire of Wembley boo when England worked a good piece of play that involved working the ball back a bit? Do England fans not realise it's better to work the ball and play backwards occasionally than it is to force your way forward and lose the ball? Also, David Bentley was getting jeered at the start, and no doubt cheered at the end. Fickle, fickle, fickle :(

[Barn]

Englands fans were shocking last night, it was the new managers first game a meaningless freindly and more than anything was a chance for the manager to get to know his players. Besides the booing what really pissed me off last night was when Bentley who had a reasonable game, put in one bad cross people started chanting Beckhams name. Do these mourons know nothing about football???

[BLUENUT]

Football fans no longer have a place at Wembley I'm afraid. It's just not your usual football crowd!

Tooo many people go to see the stadium than cheer the team. It's a corporate cop-out.

Crowd was quiet last night, and the ground was about half full with 6-7 mins to go.

Might have something to do with the best stadium in the world having 1 tube station and sh*t old bill policing it!

Oh and I was in the middle tier last night, in the corporate area. I've gotta admit it is f*cking impressive, but it shouldn't be at the expense of genuine football followers.

A bloke near me (English aswell) was pissed off that the Swiss didn't equalise with a corner late on cos I overheard him say he had a spread bet on.

[Nibs]

Englands fans were shocking last night, it was the new managers first game a meaningless freindly and more than anything was a chance for the manager to get to know his players. Besides the booing what really pissed me off last night was when Bentley who had a reasonable game, put in one bad cross people started chanting Beckhams name. Do these mourons know nothing about football???

That really pissed me off too. Total morons

And the complete w**kers that failed to observe the minutes silence - the ref cut it short because of them. Unbelievable.

As for Ashley getting stick though - after his recent off the field activity, he is gonna get that wherever he goes for a fair while now. Frankly, he deserves it.

[Mike O]

I think there are a number of factors at work here, folks:

1. Never underestimate that the pay / lifestyle gulf between fans and players has irredeemably altered their relationship forever. When fans read, for instance, about Cashley's 'injustices' at Arsenal and then his drunken shagging exploits, what else can a half-decent human feel but loathing? The only thing that could ever redeem him would be a super-human performance on the field. Frankly, that ain't ever going to come from a left back.

Hatred for CFC players comes, I believe, from a feeling that they are kings of the hill in terms of pay and therefore first targets when games start to stagnate. It's goodbye forever, I'm afraid, to cheering on Stanley Matthews through thick and thin because he comes from your street and you could be just like him one day. Our footballers come from a different planet altogether and the last thing your folks ever want you to be is one of them. BTW, I believe this gulf is accentuated by the fact that many England supporteres come from the lower leagues / non-league world where it's felt all the more acutely.

2. I agree that the style of play has to change to one of careful patience in order to take on the international big boys. We all do - we've been trained to expect it via JM. But there's no getting around the fact that it is mainly dull to watch and on the whole not worth a £50 ticket. I'm going to get flattened here but I'm one of those who have tramped to Wembley on a cold Weds evening to be bored witless. I can't / won't boo but I will watch on telly next time. Football is, in many people's eyes, supposed to be entertaining. If it doesn't manage to fit that bill, then it will become F1 where only the afficianados (in denial) support it.

3. We live in a new world of reality TV-ness, where our votes count (or do they?) and we are encouraged to make instant hate/love judgements so we can evict the right guy. Alex F made this point and it's a good one but not necessarily new. Check out accounts of the behaviour of the crowds at the Colliseum in ancient Rome and how easily swayed they were to change alliegances at a moment's notice.

4. A lot of people got tickets to see Beckham's 100th cap. They didn't.

Just a personal view - and I think the reaction would have been wholly different if the match had some competitive meaning. And don't get me wrong, I also think that there were a bunch of morons there last night, but at least they weren't the type that support Spain.