Soccer

» SimonMelville - Winning ugly -- it's not worth it.

I don't care that we are rubbish, I don't care we can't play like Brazil, I DO care that our football is the most torpid of all the quarter finalists -- even France managed to be better than us when they bundled out Spain.

I HATE the way we play. Where's the verve? The excitement? The joie de vivre?

I'd rather we didn't win the World Cup playing the way we are. Even one good performance in the final would not be enough for me if we stodge our way through the quarter and semi-finals.

I feel utterly patronised by the reports saying no England fan will mind how they play if they win the World Cup, because this fan cares -- how hollow will the victory feel if we bundle out the infinitely more entertaining Argentinians, Brazilians or (Lord help us) Germans?

This also assumes that we have become some kind of efficient winning machine just because we have won all our matches so far -- against some pretty poor teams. We've just been crap -- talk about putting spin on our performances.

I may just be a silly old man, with silly old-fashioned views but what happened to the beautiful game? Is it reserved for Nike adverts?

For all those who say that style and the way you play never gets put in the record books, I say: "Who reads record books anyway? Apart from to check facts, and if you are a fact checker that's perfectly alright, carry on as you are." Anyone else if a dried up old pedant, who is more interested in facts and figures than the game itself.

The Dutch team of the 1970s provided many a memorable moment and played some of the best football ever and what did they win? Nothing. Who remembers them? Everyone.

I'm not asking for the England team to reinvent total football but I do want some entertainment outside of the supposed joy of seeing people born in the same country as me donning a white (or red) shirt and grinding out a grim 1-0.

I want to forget that football is now "big business", forget it's "more important than life or death", forget about the spitting, snarling and diving (all at the same time) millionaires playing out their professional fouls in front of Nazi-saluting, monkey-chanting Neanderthals.

I want it to be just a sport, entertainment and above all FUN. I may have to go back to the playground or up my ivory tower to get it but I won't be clapping Sven and the boys if we scrap our way to becoming champions on July 9th.

So there.

-- posted by SimonMelville