Nobody makes you watch it. I don't like soccer these days for my own reasons, so I haven't watched a game in years. Others love it and that is their prerogative, I will take nothing away from them for that!

Unbelievable!

may i ask why...

I'd ask why you added Carrick in there. The first choice centre midfielder for his team who as won five league championships, a Champions League and been in two other Champions League finals in seven seasons.

If he was Italian or Spanish and called Mícheál Carracci or Michel Cardona all the football hipsters would be into him.

hes hardly messi tho..still he may of improved since i last bothered to watch footy...may just watch motd on saturday to see what im missing..

He's hardly Messi! Blimey, you're on a WUM there.

hes hardly messi tho..still he may of improved since i last bothered to watch footy...may just watch motd on saturday to see what im missing..but you must agree about the other names i put up there

So by your reckoning, if a player isn't Messi, he's useless.

As for the other names

Smalling: Solid centre back with potential to get better. Should be around the England squad.
Sturridge: Never really been at a club where he has been settled. But given a run of games, he's capable of scoring goals
Wellbeck: Not my favourite United player but has scored goals at international level, so would expect to be in an England Squad.

There have been plenty worse players who have played for England than them four, even before you stopped watching.

Have you seen Sturridge play recently?

pfft. He's hardly Pele.

Now come on, that is not fair.

bet wire frantic and latchford blob are liverpool and man utd fans...if these players you pair are on about are not so bad then brazil,argentina,germany ,spain,italy ,portugal,france,holland,croatia etc must be ting themselves at next years world cup

Apart from France and Portugal having to qualify via a Play Off the daftest thing about your comments in particular and those of the it's not a proper sport persuasion is that the OP was calling for some support for a local semi pro/amateur football team.

Not a quantum leap thread drift admittedly but daft none the less.

Anyone know how they got on?

Your logic doesn't equate. Out of the four players mentioned, only one will probably start in the World Cup. Of course, Brazil Argentina, Germany, Spain and Italy all have a better chance of winning the World Cup. They have better players/ teams/squads than England.

Your argument is that you think the standard of the English team is down on what it has been in the past and that was one of the reasons you stopped watching. That's means you must have been enjoying it when the likes of Jermaine Jenas, Danny Mills, Andy Sinton and Darius Vassell were playing. Or further back when Geoff Thomas, Carlton Palmer and Keith Curle were getting picked. Or how about the much revered 86 and 90 World Cups when the likes of Tony Dorigo, Steve Hodge, Steve Bull, Terry Fenwick and Kerry Dixon were in the squads

we did have average players back then as you have rightly mentioned but they played along some good uns like robson wilkins hoddle linnekar beardsley barnes adams butcher gazza etc who i did enjoy watching..who do we have nowadays gerrard lampard.then im struggling to mention any more quality players probably why that footballing nation the usa are above us in the world rankins...i`ll leave the last word with you seeing we are not going to agree..