Has she got a point - should we be supporting England?

[Rjk]

Re: Has she got a point - should we be supporting England?

In my football supporting life I've been through phases of genuinely supporting England (before I was even aware there was a Wales team), to utterly hating them and wanting them to lose every match (probably 96-98).

These days I'm a lot more prosaic about it, I can watch them with an open mind - complement them when they win and take the piss when they lose.
they have some likeable players, and the manager seems a nice guy. If Denmark knock them out I won't feel elated or disappointed.

The "it's coming home" stuff is very quickly starting to grate though - so that could all quickly change.

[Bluebirdman Of Alcathays]

Re: Has she got a point - should we be supporting England?

Why don't these kind of articles appear when England are shite?

[LeningradCowboy]

Re: Has she got a point - should we be supporting England?

It's not complicated. Support whichever teams you want and don't try to police which teams other people support.

[Punxsutawney Phil]

Re: Has she got a point - should we be supporting England?

Whilst some of the players actions of late are to be admired, suggesting we should support a team other than our own is a little odd and as we were competing in the competition ourselves it's disrespectful. Does anyone shift their support to another team in the FA Cup when we have our usual half arsed 3rd round effort? If we drop out of contention for the playoffs do we start cheering for one of the teams in the running because some of their players are great ambassadors for the Championship? I very much doubt it.

I'm happy that some the players are taking some social responsibility and the changes the are seeking to make may just make your average England fan more bearable than some of the idiots that have been most prevalent in the past, however cheering when a national team other than Wales score/win? Odd....

[Kind of Blue]

Re: Has she got a point - should we be supporting England?

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/n...rting-20969746

Na you’re alright.

[Baloo]

Re: Has she got a point - should we be supporting England?

Judging by the conga that formed in the Fan Park at Bordeaux when Russia equalised against England at Euro 2016 this idea may struggle to really take off.

[jon1959]

Re: Has she got a point - should we be supporting England?

She has a point that the England manager and squad are far more likeable and praiseworthy than the ones that went before. But she spent the first two thirds of the article giving chapter and verse on all the reasons that many Welsh people wouldn't want to support them (history, media, an ugly core of fans).

I have no difficulty admiring Southgate, Stirling, Rashford and others in the squad but not 'supporting' them in the match.

I also know I will want Denmark to win. Underdog, Eriksen, their manager and squad (impressive in different way), and mostly for the English media melt-down that would follow.

That has nothing to do with 'hating' England or the English. I don't . I live in England and like most of England and most English people (I live with one). But that doesn't change my hardwired identity and disgust at much of the England football circus.

[Tuerto]

Re: Has she got a point - should we be supporting England?

No, I won't be willing England on. The players seem like a good bunch, Southgate is a decent man, but the media will, at some point, slip into a haze of post colonialism, it always happens, and although much better now than previous years, it will happen.

[Trigger]

Re: Has she got a point - should we be supporting England?

Also, why are they so obsessed about us supporting them? Why do they need our approval?

She lives here.

In my experience most of them are oblivious to the feelings of Welsh fans and wouldn't really care. My family find the wanting England to lose stuff just a bit strange considering they were behind Wales for 16.

It's a bit like a Newport fan wanting failure for us but a lot of our fans wanting them to get promoted. Is what it is I suppose

[Tuerto]

Re: Has she got a point - should we be supporting England?

She has a point that the England manager and squad are far more likeable and praiseworthy than the ones that went before. But she spent the first two thirds of the article giving chapter and verse on all the reasons that many Welsh people wouldn't want to support them (history, media, an ugly core of fans).

I have no difficulty admiring Southgate, Stirling, Rashford and others in the squad but not 'supporting' them in the match.
I also know I will want Denmark to win. Underdog, Eriksen, their manager and squad (impressive in different way), and mostly for the English media melt-down that would follow.

That has nothing to do with 'hating' England or the English. I don't . I live in England and like most of England and most English people (I live with one). But that doesn't change my hardwired identity and disgust at much of the England football circus.

Better than I could put it. When the English football team do well, their celebrations always seem tainted with an element of ' I told you so' as opposed to just relief and ecstasy.

[the other bob wilson]

Re: Has she got a point - should we be supporting England?

For me, it’s not the players or the manager, on the whole they seem a decent bunch. It’s the media that’ll piss me off, have you noticed there’s a mention of the upcoming semi final in totally unconnected snippets at the end of tv programmes, ‘Emmerdale is coming up next, support Gareth’s boys’ type of thing. Was the same thing happening in 2016 regarding Wales? I don’t know, I was in France but somehow I doubt it. Also, if allowed in, opposition fans could be a bit unbearable over the next 55 years, apparently they won the World Cup in 1966 and the gloating cycle will start over again.

I agree with so much of what you say. The central theme of the article is that we in Wales should support this England team because they do not adhere to the stereotype an awful lot of us associate that country with. In so far as it goes, it's hard to argue with that logic - if Marcus Rashford has not won a major humanitarian award yet, he certainly should have done, Rahim Sterling has handled himself well in recent years, Jordan Henderson comes over well and I could go on by naming others, while Gareth Southgate is an impressive figure in many ways.

However, for me anyway, there's more to it than that. You're right about the media as far as I'm concerned and in recent days there have been things happen which, in some cases, I've experienced plenty of times down the years, but that does not make them any easier to accept.

Actually, I wasn't too bothered by what Johnson said at PMQs a few weeks back because it was exactly what I'd expect from someone like him. However it still grates with me when I see adverts being broadcast on Welsh channels which are geared entirely at an English audience (e.g. the Deliveroo one we've seen during the Euros). Similarly, what I heard last night whereby Emma Raducanu was referred to as English, while, a few days earlier, the same people were saying Andy Murray was British rankles even though it shouldn't by now because I've heard it so many times before.

At least Wales making it to the last two Euros has meant that you're less likely to see England themed promotions in Welsh supermarkets at the time of major tournaments, but I daresay there have been a few dotted around the country in the last month or so.

it's the laziness, ignorance and, to a small extent, the arrogance of that sort of thing which makes it so hard to be supportive of English sporting teams even when they are made up of what seems to be decent people like the current England football team appears to be.

[cardiff55]

Re: Has she got a point - should we be supporting England?

This England team are very good, despite having Pickford in goal. Their defence has barely been tested yet. They should get to the final at least and then have a 50/50 chance against either Italy or Spain. I believe they can actually win it.

However, I have tried to get behind them but just can't. I saw the Ukraine game with the sound off. It's not the footballers or the manager, it's the press and the England fans. Let's face it, they have only got to one final and then played all their games at home and had a goal given in the final which should have been disallowed. Sounds familiar? Three games at home again this time and a potential final at Wembley. But they are well balanced team and have great attacking potential (although even I could score half nof Kane's goals!).

Compare their achievements to France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Portugal and they have consistently failed. But I think it could be their time. I saw my first Wales v England game in 1970 (1-1) at Ninian Park. There appeared to be no love lost between he fans at that game either. However as a boy I did support them at the 1966 World Cup and in 1970, but I was young and did not know what I was doing!

So I say, Good luck to them, but don't have to support them. To be it's just like watching a game on Sky , say Blackburn v QPR, and saying well done to the winner but having no real interest in it. Or looking at the football results on a Saturday and seeing Barrow won a game. You can't support two international teams, just your own.

[2b2bdoo]

Re: Has she got a point - should we be supporting England?

I don't see any reason why I would support England.

[City123]

Re: Has she got a point - should we be supporting England?

No, should Everton fans support Liverpool when Everton are out of the FA Cup?

[J R Hartley]

Re: Has she got a point - should we be supporting England?

No.

I watched the Terry Venables documentary currently showing on Sky yesterday. That was the one time I can remember not minding if England won it.