The England thread

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

The Welsh team is made up of English players with Welsh grandmothers....

[Summers]

Scolari has apparnatly put himself out of the running now.

[figos]

You fucking suck, he's an over-rated sack of shit.

[Summers]

With Brazil?

Yeah.

[figos]

What about beating Spain, ENGLAND and Holland with Portugal?

[Summers]

Spain underperformed, as did Holland. And England are shit.

[therockbox]

we woz robbed

[figos]

As Summers said:

Luiz Felipe Scolari appears to have ruled himself out of taking over as England coach after the World Cup.

But following his remarks in Portuguese at a news conference in Germany there is still some confusion as to whether he has definitively rejected the job.

"The English FA is going to choose a name. My name isn't one of them because I'm closing this matter here," he said.

"I was very pleased they considered me, but definitely at this time I want to draw a line under this matter."

In the last few days when I was not even the manager of England my freedom was taken away from me

Luiz Felipe Scolari

Strongly tipped in this week's media to become Sven Goran-Eriksson's successor, Scolari explained that he had been shocked by the English media intrusion over the last few days.

"I don't want anything more to do with this England matter because in the space of two days... my life was invaded, my privacy was disrupted," said Scolari, who will remain Portugal coach until after the World Cup.

"There are 20 reporters outside my house now. If that is part of another culture, it is not part of my culture."

The 57-year-old's contract with Portugal expires on 31 July and he has a gentleman's agreement not to commit himself to another job until his current deal runs out.

We will now reflect on his announcement before making any further comment as we move forward with the process

An FA statement

The Football Association has reacted by saying it would "reflect" on Scolari's statement before making any further comment.

But it revealed that the Brazilian had contacted the FA ahead of his announcement to tell them he was pulling out.

"Luiz Felipe Scolari this afternoon made the FA aware of his intention to release a statement regarding the England head coach position," said a statement on the FA website.

"It is no secret that Mr Scolari is one of the candidates that the FA has spoken to as part of the recruitment process.

"We will now reflect on his announcement before making any further comment as we move forward with the process."

After making his statement, Scolari was seen posing with a Portugal scarf at a function outside what will be the team's hotel for this summer's tournament.

"I am committed to the Portuguese FA until the end of the World Cup and maybe longer," Scolari said.

"In the last few days when I was not even the manager of England my freedom was taken away from me and that is not the coaching I am used to.

"I don't want to be a part of it."

Edited April 28, 2006 by figos

[Summers]

Curbs just announced his resignation from Charlton.

Hm.

Edited April 29, 2006 by Summers

[TheArsenal]

A football fan will get damages of £1m if England are knocked out of the World Cup early and he suffers trauma.

Paul Hucker, from Ipswich, Suffolk, has taken out insurance through a broker based in Braintree, Essex and it has cost him £100 plus £5 tax.

Managing director of British Insurance, Simon Burgess said: "We're trying to take some of the negativity out of Wayne Rooney and his metatarsal injury.

"This one-off accommodation takes a realistic view of England's chances."

Mr Hucker, 34, said he had taken out the policy following years of disappointment when England failed to progress to the final stages of a competition, and the agony of watching them lose through penalty shoot outs.

"The pressure of this World Cup is not just on the players and the managers. I think a lot of supporters are under a lot of pressure and suffer because of England's performance," he said.

"I find when it goes to penalty shoot-outs it gets very difficult and I wanted to insure myself against psychological trauma."

If England are knocked out in the first round of the competition the insurer will turn to five sports commentators to judge if their exit is premature.

Mr Hucker will then have to provide medical evidence showing he has suffered severe mental trauma as a result to get his seven-figure payout.

"I feel very patriotic and very optimistic," he said. "To have psychological trauma and depression is something I don't want."

The only thing the policy does not cover is England failing to progress through the tournament as a direct result of players being out due to metatarsal injuries, following news striker Wayne Rooney may not be fit for the event after breaking a metatarsal in his foot.

[NobBe Nobbs]

That's insane and awesome in about equal measures.

[Ignition]

Haha. that really is awesome! Would he actually get the million though? I doubt it.

[TheArsenal]

Haha. that really is awesome! Would he actually get the million though? I doubt it.

[ONO]

Middlesbrough boss Steve McClaren has been appointed the next England manager, ending months of speculation over Sven-Goran Eriksson's successor.

McClaren had looked set to miss out to Portugal manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, who was offered the post by the Football Association in April.

But when Scolari ruled himself out of contention McClaren, 45, became the FA's first choice.

Eriksson's current assistant has agreed a four-year deal starting on 1 August.

"This is the biggest honour that any coach can have, and is obviously the highlight of my career," he said.

"It's a massive challenge and one that I welcome. I have hugely enjoyed my time at Middlesbrough and am very grateful to the club.

"However, this was an opportunity I couldn't refuse.

ROUTE TO SVEN'S SUCCESSOR

23 Jan: Eriksson to quit

25 Jan: Hiddink interested

7 Feb: Curbishley tipped

17 Feb: O'Neill tops poll

13 March: Charlton give Curbishley all clear

22 March: Pearce plays down England rumours

26 March: Allardyce calls for English boss to succeed Sven

5 April: FA options open

9 April: Hiddink ruled out

16 April: Scolari 'out of England running'

20 April: Media back O'Neill

25 April: Allardyce in the frame for England job

27 April: FA deal for Scolari

28 April: Scolari rejects deal

"My immediate priority is next week's Uefa Cup Final with Boro, and then working with Sven and his coaching team to achieve success in Germany this summer, before I turn my thoughts to the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign."

McClaren made his way to London from his Yorkshire home earlier in the day and arrived at the FA's Soho Square headquarters at 1540 BST.

He was immediately rushed inside before an official announcement was made at 1620 BST.

McClaren has been involved with the England set-up on and off since becoming Sir Alex Ferguson's assistant at Manchester United.

His silverware during five years as team boss at the Riverside Stadium, however, has been limited to the Carling Cup two seasons ago, although he has led Boro to the Uefa Cup final this year.

Speculation over Eriksson's successor was rife when the Swede announced in January he would be stepping down from his role as England manager at the end of the World Cup.

McClaren has luck of the English

Former Celtic boss Martin O'Neill was the initial bookmakers' favourite, while McClaren was not heavily fancied as Middlesbrough suffered heavy defeats to Arsenal and Aston Villa around the time of Eriksson's decision.

But after turning around Boro's fortunes, McClaren became the reported front-runner of a shortlist including Scolari, O'Neill, Alan Curbishley and Sam Allardyce to the extent that Boro started their search for a new manager.

But in a late change, reportedly instigated by Arsenal chairman David Dein in his role at the FA, Scolari was offered the post which he later rejected paving the way for McClaren to take over.

McClaren will be by Eriksson's side during this summer's World Cup in Germany and his reputation would be enhanced by a successful campaign.

However a disappointing tournament could place him under early pressure.

[Guest muddatrucker]

If thats the case I'd like for McClaren to just take over now, Sven can sit on the bench but let McClaren do everything else.

[Buford Ripley]

Fina-fucking-ly. I always thought that he'd get the job at least there's no more fannying about on the issue.

Edited May 4, 2006 by kulex

[fineintent]

*smacks head against the wall*

Aghhhhhh. The one manager I didn't want.

[Thomas]

I don't think he's as good a manager as Sam Allardyce, but he has the best track record to date, and really should be given the chance.

[Darloboy]

I'd rather him than Allardyce, but I still don't think he's the best man for the job. Scolari would have been better, but what I don't understand is that if we were willing to go foreign again with Scolari, why the hell didn't we try and get Guus Hiddink?

[EddieG]

Maybe because he's going to be Russia's coach after the WC?