England up to 4th in World rankings (1 Viewer)

How exactly does that work?!

egastap said:

Well, according to that article in the DM, it's based on the last 4 years of results, with more emphasis placed on recent results and giving less emphasis on the World Cup last year. I also would like to know the exact formula as it seems thoroughly flawed. Surely Argentina at #10 and England at #4 is Blatter poking fun at England isn't it? The rest of the world must be quaking to know they will be playing England soon. I don't think I'd fancy England against any of the top 10 listed, do you?

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Absolutely not, we just aren't good enough.

egastap said:

Well, according to that article in the DM, it's based on the last 4 years of results, with more emphasis placed on recent results and giving less emphasis on the World Cup last year. I also would like to know the exact formula as it seems thoroughly flawed. Surely Argentina at #10 and England at #4 is Blatter poking fun at England isn't it? The rest of the world must be quaking to know they will be playing England soon. I don't think I'd fancy England against any of the top 10 listed, do you?

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tbh I would still fancy our chances against the likes of Italy, Croatia, Mexico and possibly Portugal. Given the way we have performed in the last few years though I am surprised to see us in the top 10 though

Chocolate teapot. Handbrake on a canoe. Ashtray on a motorbike. Inflatable Dartboard. #thingsthefifarankingsareasmuchuseas

That just shows we have had good form under capello take away the world cup we would
be higher ranked.

Proof if any that we'd romp to victory in the Copa America. Argentina and Brazil only wish they could produce a forward of the calibre of Darren Bent.

Ernie Machin said:

Chocolate teapot. Handbrake on a canoe. Ashtray on a motorbike. Inflatable Dartboard. #thingsthefifarankingsareasmuchuseas

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Rubber lips on a woodpecker

We gave Mexico a beating in second gear last year and Italy had a worse World Cup than even us and are in a transitional period at best. None of those sides are particularly fearsome.

We're too hard on the England team. We're not bad, we're just not elite. Carragher's comments this week were spot on, the players show fear when they play for England, instead of playing their natural game. Case in point: John Barnes.

egastap said:

Yeah, but remember this is England we're talking about, who blow hot and cold on the day....mostly cold.

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I wouldn't put money on England beating the sides, but I wouldn't bank on a defeat either. I think we're about the same level as them, which has got to be depressing for the Italians really.

They say you make your own luck but in major tournaments we really have not had the rub of the green whether it be by decisions or by our own failure in shoot-outs, but there are valid excuses for many early exits.

It's when looked at as a whole and the expectation levels and negativity that surrounds the team heaping undue pressure on them. But for a few small changes our record could have been comparable with that of Germany, but it isn't. I'm not suggesting that we have been great or that we deserved anything we haven't got, just that with the same set of players and tornanments and even circumstances, there but for one kick or one save ...

Each time we are beaten as if we have some divine right to win, the players and staff are lambasted from all angles and we are told how we should play more like this team or that team because they have success. Spain are currently who we should be copying according to everyone, but until recently they were billed as massive under-achievers who qualify well and fail to deliver. You can't 'out-Spain' Spain as Arsenal found out with Barcelona. We need to play the English way, have the odd break here and there and our time will come.

At the start of each major tournament you look at the big nations which are half a dozen from Europe plus Argentina and Brazil and know that you would be happy to take them against the rest. Sure there will be surprises and I agree that other teams and especially some of the African teams are improving and becoming often more organised or tactically aware, but we're still one of those eight teams that I percieve will have a chance. You ask most of the big nations who are the three sides they most would like to beat and I'm sure we would appear in almost all of their lists. There is probably something inherently wrong as to why we don't get those breaks and ranked 4th might be too high and the criteria need adjusting, but I'm convinced we remain worthy of a top 10 place despite being long starved of success.

That was some epic straw clutching.

England aren't a tournament team, tournament teams have a strong mentality and friendly wins, mundane qualifiers and hopelessly flawed rankings go out of the window. So England aren't a good team.

We got what we deserved in most of these, but definitely due a rub of the green:

82 never lost a game
86 hand of God
90 Semi-final penalties
94 DNQ – Koeman free-kick when he should have been off
96 – Semi final penalties (definitely the better side then too imo)
98 – penalties v Argentina (after the Beckham incident)
00 – late penalty v Romania
02 – poor tactics in the heat lost to Brazil who were awesome but missed tackle from metartasal scared Beckham for their winner
04 – lost on penalties to Portugal
06 – lost on penalties to Portugal
08 – DNQ – wally with the brolly
10 – Well beaten by Germany but Lampard’s over the line was 2-2
12 – ??

egastap said:

The only team on that list we are capable of drawing with would be Croatia. We'd get stuffed by all the others. Realistically, I'd put England somewhere between 15th and 20th, based on recent form.

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The same Croatia we beat 4-1 and 5-1 in recent years, England are not a bad team. As a nation we are going through a difficult time. Hopefully the new transfer rules will encourage teams to blood through new youngsters. Also make sure the next manager can speak English unlike Capello