Unbelievable apathy

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Unbelievable

Frankly somewhat disappointed in all of you, here we have a national football team playing their first match in the biggest football competition in the world and not a mention of the fact on these boards, in fact it takes a 60-70% Scotsman to even raise the issue. I appreciate the press have been slightly more low key re expectations, but no mentions at all, none!!

I say 60-70% Scotsman as I have always thought there ought to be a proper formula to define the  percentage of being Scottish/English/Irish/Welsh (accountants really are a right pain, they want certainties).

To explain I had a father who was English although not born in England but in an army hospital in Cairo to English parents (I am therefore eligible to support Mo and Egypt), he first came to England age 2 (Catterick, but doubt that qualified him to play for Yorkshire) and his father was then posted up to Scotland when my dad was 4. All my father’s schooling was in Scotland, his first degree was in England, his war service was in England and his second degree was in Scotland, he then lived and worked the rest of his life in Scotland. So, he appears to have been English with Scottish influences, or as he described himself, North British. And then I had a mother whose father and mother are certainly  very Scottish,  the male line stretching  back to shepherds  from North of Rannoch and  carrying the name of the Clan most responsible for the 45 rebellion kicking off (sorry about that.)

 So, based on the above I ought to have had both national team selectors hammering on my door after the 70th Haymarket reached the final of the Edinburgh seven a sides all these years ago, my resolute defending on the right being akin to Graeme Souness on his Scottish league debut  for Rangers at Easter Road, just without his subtlety.

Anyway setting aside my 60-70% for this evening , I suspect I will also persuade one of the children to support England with me; this was so much easier when my daughter was in love with the Chelsea trio of Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and John Terry- as a concerned father I tried to put her off John but he kept turning up even when not expected.

We will possibly either suffer like the rest of you through a turgid 1-1 or have our hopes raised by  a great England’s performance only to have them later dashed in a penalty shoot out once they reach the knock out stage, the England modus operandi (The Scottish one being to have all hopes dashed much earlier during the qualification process- a form of national euthanasia)

So, can the English team kindle a spark of ingenuity to work out a different way to leave a tournament, or does perpetual groundhog day  now beckon?

p.s. If Scotland were there business would be stopping today at about 3-4 to ensure we could all get to the pubs in time for the game,  something is wrong, you just do not appear to be taking this football lark seriously enough.

Replies (31)

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By Tim Vane
18th Jun 2018 12:38

(Sigh) This is one of the few places you can go on the internet to get away from discussions about football and love island. You've just shattered that peace and quiet, so now I'm going to mug you off.

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Replying to Tim Vane:
Lone Wolf
By Lone_Wolf
18th Jun 2018 12:45

I'll happily entertain discussion on the former.

Any attempt to discuss the latter should be met with a flogging, live streamed on AWeb for us all to see.

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Lone Wolf
By Lone_Wolf
18th Jun 2018 12:43

As a 100% Scot (although there is some Irish (Northern Part) if you stretch back as far as Great Grandparents), all I have to add is:

Come on the Tunisia!

And the Belgium;

And the Panama!

That ought to be enough.

Love you're "North British" comment though. I'd pay good money for someone to make such a remark in Holyrood, just for the sheer joy of watching the separatists contort with rage.

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Replying to Lone_Wolf:
paddle steamer
By DJKL
18th Jun 2018 12:52

You may not be taking your allegiances far enough back at just great grandparents, I was reading that Clan Cameron (my mum's side) might be descended from the kings of Denmark from the 8th century; I am obviously a viking but with more Morningside manners.

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Replying to DJKL:
Lone Wolf
By Lone_Wolf
18th Jun 2018 13:16

It's entirely possible that I have a bit of Viking in me.

One day I'll need to research my ancestry in a bit more detail, but I've had cursory looks in the past and it would seem my family name was common in the Kingdom of Dál Riata.

Given it's location, it's quite possible there was some overlap with the Vikings when they came to say hello.

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Teignmouth
By Paul Scholes
18th Jun 2018 12:45

Blimey - I'm 100% with TV on this.

Might have felt different if there was an EU team, but can't see one on the list, so back to gardening.

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Replying to Paul Scholes:
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By andy.partridge
18th Jun 2018 14:46

Can't think how an EU team would enthuse you if an England team can not.

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Sarah Douglas - HouseTree Business Ltd
By sarah douglas
18th Jun 2018 12:54

The site is called accountancy web not football web. I don't see anyone discussing any other sports. The sooner football is off the telly the better lol

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Replying to sarah douglas:
paddle steamer
By DJKL
18th Jun 2018 14:08

Which is why there is an off topic subject heading.

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By Rammstein1
18th Jun 2018 12:58

Finishing at 4pm, ordering pizza, pub for 5pm, game kicks off at 7pm, deliriously happy / miserably sad at 9pm!

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By cathygrimmer
18th Jun 2018 13:32

The football fans like me are probably busy getting work done so we can watch the matches later! I shall be in my England shirt (kindly bought for me by my children) cheering them on but probably not expecting great things. My son burst my optimistic balloon this morning on the way to school when I said England should easily beat Tunisia - to which his reply was that Germany probably said the same thing about Mexico!

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By brian-scholar
18th Jun 2018 13:44

These days, I get thoroughly depressed watching overpaid English primadonnas trying to kick a ball in the correct direction!

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Tornado
By Tornado
18th Jun 2018 13:59

I went to a football match once ..... in 1961.

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Glenn Martin
By Glenn Martin
18th Jun 2018 14:28

DJKL is a new tactic we are employing, as since 1990 the media has backed the team so heavily that we usually have it won before a ball is kicked, the best players in the world then crumble under pressure, or in the case of Wayne Rooney get caught with an 80 year old hooker and we crash out with a wasted generation of talent.

This year we are trying a different approach saying nowt not giving ourselves a chance until we get to the semis.

I must admit I would be struggling to name any of the players if they were standing next to me.

Dare to dream.

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Replying to Glennzy:
paddle steamer
By DJKL
18th Jun 2018 14:49

Presume she sat on Wayne's metatarsal.

Stealth approach, in and out of the tournament before anyone notices.

You probably need a Panini sticker book, it may be wholly inaccurate (went to print before the squads firmed) but would help with the recognition issues when the press do start baying for their blood.

An interesting fact, Peru ran out of Panini stickers, they obviously take these matters far more seriously.

I have suggested to my offspring that they start selling their duplicates on Peruvian E Bay or go into the export business with a London based bear ,providing he washes the marmalade of his paws before handling the stickers.

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By ireallyshouldknowthisbut
18th Jun 2018 14:40

Isn't Cricket the sport for accountants?

Cracking match last weekend scotland vs england

I will be watching what will probably be my first football match all the way through out of choice since the last world cup tonight.

I think I suffer long term football fatigue following being off work on long term sick during a world cup.

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Replying to ireallyshouldknowthisbut:
paddle steamer
By DJKL
18th Jun 2018 14:51

Up here it crosses over, which former Scotish international footballer also played cricket for Scotland?

Clue-he was known as The Goalie

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Replying to DJKL:
Lone Wolf
By Lone_Wolf
18th Jun 2018 14:58

Andy Goram.

I had no idea he played cricket.

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Replying to Lone_Wolf:
paddle steamer
By DJKL
18th Jun 2018 15:04

Four Cricket caps- one of these useful facts that one day may win me a pub quiz.

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By SteveHa
18th Jun 2018 14:44

I have no desire to watch or hear about 22 grown men running around a field practically in their underwear kicking a ball about and being paid stupid money to do so.

There are much better things to do. They just painted the walls next door. I may go and watch them dry.

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Replying to SteveHa:
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By andy.partridge
18th Jun 2018 15:17

Sounds like sneering through envy.

Your description reminds me of Danny Baker on Saturday. People generally don't say, 'Apollo Space Mission to the Moon? Just a bunch of men in a tin can,' or ' Picasso masterpiece? Just some paint splashed on a piece of canvas.'

When done properly, there is a beauty to it. I can understand it is not to your taste but there is no need to deride it.

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Replying to andy.partridge:
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By cathygrimmer
18th Jun 2018 15:45

I've noticed a tendency for people I know on Facebook to make similar derisive comments about football and yet as far as I can see they don't spend their entire lives engaging in useful/worthwhile activities for the benefit of society and humanity. They have hobbies or interests that I find boring and pointless but I don't make similar remarks. I'm not sure why people feel they are entitled to make such comments about something I enjoy and feel passionate about as if there is something wrong with me for wanting to watch. Frankly there's lots of activities that I find boring and pointless (Rugby, Dancing on Ice, Love Island, Sudoku, etc.) but I don't make disparaging comments about them as we all like different things. Also, unlike in my youth, there's plenty of other things to watch on TV if you don't like football so the fact that there's 24/7 coverage shouldn't affect those who don't like it.

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Replying to cathygrimmer:
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By andy.partridge
18th Jun 2018 15:53

Easily the most brilliant post of the thread. Thank you.

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Replying to andy.partridge:
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By cathygrimmer
18th Jun 2018 18:02

Thanks - turned into a bit of a rant but I'm not sure what annoys me most - that attitude or the men who challenge me to explain the offside rule when I say I'm a football fan 'cause obviously, being female, I can't possibly understand the rules of football! Less prevalent nowadays fortunately but a regular occurrence when I was younger.

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Replying to cathygrimmer:
paddle steamer
By DJKL
18th Jun 2018 18:07

If you want to really impress explain VAR, we spent more time over the weekend discussing VAR than we did the matches we were watching and I am still none the wiser

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Replying to cathygrimmer:
By SteveHa
18th Jun 2018 16:04

Not possessing a TV helps me, I don't have to avoid it when at home.

The fact that the town centre has a 25ft screen set up to show every match, on the other hand, is a bit of a downer.

I have to admit, though, I fail to see where my remarks were disparaging. I thought they were quite an accurate depiction of "The Beautiful Game".

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Replying to cathygrimmer:
Lone Wolf
By Lone_Wolf
18th Jun 2018 16:18

There does seem to be a snobbishness when it comes to football.

If you are able to name a bunch of paintings you are seen as being intelligent and cultured.

Being able to recite off all world cup winners and host nations in date order, as well as the top 10 goalscorers of all time, not so admired.

Is it a class thing perhaps?

Football has historically been a working mans sport, perhaps frowned upon by those in their ivory towers, who disapprove of the boisterous nature of it all.

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Replying to Lone_Wolf:
paddle steamer
By DJKL
18th Jun 2018 16:35

But even more revered is he (or she) who can recite the obscure bits like the team list when say Scotland under 15 played England on 13th May 1972.

One of the Scotland subs on that occasion being a certain Gordon Strachan (Edinburgh) whilst a Raymond Wilkins (Hillingdon) started for England.

(I cheated- I had the programme in the office)

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By bernard michael
18th Jun 2018 15:10

Tunisia to win @7/1 is a good bet,
a draw @14/5 is not bad either
But I know nothing about football

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By bernard michael
18th Jun 2018 15:10

Tunisia to win @7/1 is a good bet,
a draw @14/5 is not bad either
But I know nothing about football

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Replying to bernard michael:
paddle steamer
By DJKL
18th Jun 2018 15:32

We are running a competition in the family, each of us started with £20 in an online account, winner is person with most cash at end of tournament, only World Cup bets allowed. (Total cash left to be pooled to pay for family meal out or we share a packet of crisps !!!!)

I was doing very well (up to £38 if I included cash out bets) until Germany and Brazil decided to give me a right royal kicking yesterday, perhaps I ought to have sat not betting at all with the £20 intact.

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