Neville calls England career 'waste of time'

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Gary Neville has said England have no chance of winning Euro 2012 and that he often felt playing for his country was a "waste of time".
"I don't see us competing seriously for a major tournament for at least 10 years," said recently-retired Neville.
And he added: "There have been times when I've reflected on my international career and just thought: 'Well that was a massive waste of time.'"
The ex-Manchester United defender won 85 caps and played in two World Cups.
"[I am] sorry for sounding sour, but my best mate, David Beckham, got butchered after the World Cup in 1998, then my brother, Phil, after Euro 2000," he continued.
"The whole lot of us got it in the neck at other times. Sometimes we deserved it, but playing for England was one long roller-coaster: some ups and downs, but also quite a few moments when you're not really sure if you're enjoying the ride."
Too many players spend too much time fearing the consequence of failure
Gary NevilleEx-England and Man Utd defender

Neville, who played 400 matches for United, claimed many England players fear playing for their country.
Writing in his book, Red, which is being serialised in the Mail on Sunday, he added: "It should be fantastic, the best moments of your life. But there is no doubt that too many players spend too much time fearing the consequence of failure when they pull on an England shirt."
Neville, who is now working as a media pundit, says he feels sorry for the players who are now embarking on their international careers with England.
"They are caught between these massive expectations and the reality of being good, sometimes very good, but probably not of tournament-winning quality," he wrote.
"The Premier League years have seen a rise in technique and skills and tactical intelligence, but it's not a transformation that can happen overnight. It will take time."

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Now I'm no massive fan of Gary Neville, but I think he has a point. Obviously there will be the backlash of people going 'Waargh you shud b hapi to playe for ur country cuz its an honour' but honestly I can appreciate his position. The pressure is immense: you more or less have to win something else you're called a failure. Then, of course the press scapegoat someone. We wouldn't be able to do what Germany did in 2006, play well at a World Cup and work towards a long-term goal of improving to become serious challengers, because we DEMAND results NOW, and I think Neville has hit the nail on the head.


Linky: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/14607562.stm
 
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Neville speaks a lot of sense a lot of the time. <33
 
I see his point, and I can tell you it goes way, way beyond England. Here, expectations are huge, we are always among the favourites in pretty much everything and we have some top-class players, but most fans demand that we win every single time, like there was no opposition. The pressure is immense and failure to win means players are ostracized by the people and, most importantly, the media.
 
He does have a point, the england fans really are embarassing sometimes, believe we can actually win the world cup which will never happen again. Basically most fans consider not winning the wc a failure.
 
Probably got more people that are currently in the team thinking it's a waste of time, likely responsible for numerous ***** performances.
 
It all ties into this "Win NAO or you iz ****" mentality that fans have today. Look at Wenger, some people calling for his head?! Fans love to blame so things of the game on other factors, but they are a big problem themselves. Plenty seem to have lost all perspective
 
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For anyone playing for England, I wouldn't wish it on anybody. Sounds sad when I think like that
 
Wanted to post this in the morning, but didn't want to as I thought it might not go well with few/many.

He was spot on, how come Cole gets so much boos in Wembley playing for England?

There are many who puts Club over country, I wouldn't say its a mistake as its their preference but booing/abusing the player representing your country?

He also made good points on automatic starting 11 and tactical system. Talks lot of sense..

---------- Post added at 08:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:43 PM ----------

More detailed one here

Gary Neville: England players are terrified and live in fear of failure | Mail Online

Haven't checked BBC one.
 
International football has lost some of its appeal imo. Club football is much better
 
I agree with what he says but on the other hand, can we really feel that sorry for the players? They earn millions playing a game and being under pressure is part of the job. I would love to be in their shoes.
 
I agree with what he says but on the other hand, can we really feel that sorry for the players? They earn millions playing a game and being under pressure is part of the job. I would love to be in their shoes.

You think he wasnt under pressure at United? or that the others weren't at their clubs. This is something that also irritates me. The fact that they earn so much doesn't mean its suddenly justifies an England fan spending 90 minutes abusing Ashley Cole, becuause he cheated on Cheryl? That's just retarded. None of that means fan have to suddenly become complete morons
 
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I agree with what he says but on the other hand, can we really feel that sorry for the players? They earn millions playing a game and being under pressure is part of the job. I would love to be in their shoes.

They're paid by their clubs, not country. Even if they earn millions, they're put under nationwide scrutiny, scapegoated under heaps of pressure for no reward.
 
I agree with what he says but on the other hand, can we really feel that sorry for the players? They earn millions playing a game and being under pressure is part of the job. I would love to be in their shoes.

Here we go again. Just because the players make a lot of money they are not entitled to the treatment we expect from other human beings? Of course we can feel sorry for them.
 
International football has lost some of its appeal imo. Club football is much better

I think I'm one of the few people who is an England supporter first, domestic team supporter second.
 
I think I'm one of the few people who is an England supporter first, domestic team supporter second.

Little bit similar. Even though I'm a loyal club supporter, I'm also desperate for some England success. Club football may be more appealing as there are extremely talented players from other countries in the EPL, and some of them-well the flair and technique they have is second to none. International football comes across to some people as boring, but imo that's because some countries to counter our players, put 10 men behind the ball, so we can't do a thing. Or as we've seen, have players being played out of position-forcing a square peg into a round hole.
 
Here we go again. Just because the players make a lot of money they are not entitled to the treatment we expect from other human beings? Of course we can feel sorry for them.

This is exactly my point. Its just such a lazy justification. Wayne Rooney earns millions and we crashed out the cup = he has no passion typical overpaid prima donna. oO)

Of course lets not stop and think and realise that he still hadn't recovered from injury, massively unfit from said injury, playing as a 9 and coupled with first two reasons in no position to rampage about at anywhere near his best game
 
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What I don't understand is what exactly is the problem with fans being passionate about England? I think it's totally acceptable for fans to be angry if we can't get past the first round of the World Cup. Of corse the players are under pressure, but you're telling me that Rooney isn't under pressure to perform in every game for United? Or that fans don't expect Gerrard to run the show for Liverpool.. It's a pathetic excuse, if you can't handle the pressure then don't play, simple.

I honestly can't believe that there are people who would rather we went into a World Cup without the intention to win it, every country goes into the World Cup with that mentality, otherwise they wouldn't bother being there!
 
What I don't understand is what exactly is the problem with fans being passionate about England? I think it's totally acceptable for fans to be angry if we can't get past the first round of the World Cup. Of corse the players are under pressure, but you're telling me that Rooney isn't under pressure to perform in every game for United? Or that fans don't expect Gerrard to run the show for Liverpool.. It's a pathetic excuse, if you can't handle the pressure then don't play, simple.

I honestly can't believe that there are people who would rather we went into a World Cup without the intention to win it, every country goes into the World Cup with that mentality, otherwise they wouldn't bother being there!

No one is saying that, but it doesn't mean you turn into a gibbering baboon of a mouth piece without any sense of perspective.

Abuse isnt passion, what the **** has abusing Cole got to do with passion? That's just being retarded. I always want England to win everything them play for, i dont expect them to destroy everything in sight, its perspective. It's not like he said they never deserved it sometimes

"The whole lot of us got it in the neck at other times. Sometimes we deserved it, but playing for England was one long roller-coaster: some ups and downs, but also quite a few moments when you're not really sure if you're enjoying the ride."
 
You think he wasnt under pressure at United? or that the others weren't at their clubs. This is something that also irritates me. The fact that they earn so much doesn't mean its suddenly justifies an England fan spending 90 minutes abusing Ashley Cole, becuause he cheated on Cheryl? That's just retarded. None of that means fan have to suddenly become complete morons

When did I say the fans should be complete morons? Abuse from fans is simply part of the territory. I don't have sympathy for him. Celebrities are under a lot of pressure and are often times treated poorly, but that is simply what you get for being an extremely wealthy and important person. You are under the public scrutiny, it's a part of the job description. If he doesn't like it he can quit football and move somewhere else where he won't be recognized still a very wealthy man. I never said fans should be abusive but I have a hard time feeling sorry for professional football players when they complain.

They're paid by their clubs, not country. Even if they earn millions, they're put under nationwide scrutiny, scapegoated under heaps of pressure for no reward.

So because they're not paid millions to represent their country they shouldn't have any expectations from the fans? The nationwide scrutiny is part of being a celebrity. No one is forcing them to be professional football players and my only point is that I would love to be a professional footballer who earns millions and has the opportunity to represent my country, whether or not the fans put me under a lot of pressure.

Here we go again. Just because the players make a lot of money they are not entitled to the treatment we expect from other human beings? Of course we can feel sorry for them.

They don't get the same treatment as other human beings. They get to play football for a living, they make millions, they are on top of the world, they can have any woman they want, etc. etc. They just don't have a normal lifestyle. Of course there are many downsides to being a celebrity, such as abuse from fans, but no one is forcing them to do it and they can always quit. More importantly, I think any of us would love to be in their shoes. If I could switch places with Ashley Cole or someone like that I wouldn't hesitate.
 
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