To hope England get the "GROUP OF DEATH" on Friday.

[soul2000]

Despite being the biggest England fan ever.

I'm Dutch so am patriotically and probably futilely cheering for my own side. But I prefer skating. Speed more than figure. And I love how jumping and dressage.

Haha, yes! The highlight of the last World Cup for me was the game where an English footballer scored in the first minute of the game, then we got totally battered. My next door neighbour was doing a victory lap around his garden after that first goal. Then all went quiet

England is a quarter final quality team. If they ever get further than that it's by fluke. But I enjoy it all enormously, especially watching the parade of red and white painted men trudge dejectedly past the house after the game has finished at the pub.

If you think it extends to the premier league then I'm not the one with the ridiculous logic. how does that work then? If one person on the wrong side of Seven Sisters supports Arsenal instead of Spurs then the team is fucked? What do I do if my dad supports Chelsea and my mum supports Fulham?

As for glory supporter if you don't have any natural allegiance then how else should you choose a team except by picking one whose style you like? (which is what I did -- not the best team but the style I liked) I'm not supporting the team of a country I'm never going to live in again.

I know plenty about football, I just don't buy into all this nationalist bullshit. Support who you like.

Its really really simple.You should support your LOCAL team.
Only way you are a true fan IMO.
How the fuck can you feel passionate about a team you have no ties or connections to.
And there are shockingly enough other divisions than the Premier League you know...
My team have in recent years been relegated from League 2. They are truly terrible. But I love them.
Maybe a foreign concept but I even go to ACTUAL MATCHES.

Shiny Bauble - England can do without fans like you, you idiot.
Should have known a MN thread about football would be laughable. DH and friends enjoyed reading!

Where I grew up there was no LOCAL team. There wasn't even a national league. I guess there was a national team but they never qualified for anything. So that wasn't really an option.

When I moved to England and started following football I did support my local premier league team and still do. Even when they make me tear my hair out. I've been to quite a few ACTUAL MATCHES even!

I decided not to support England because, well, I'm not English and didn't feel obliged to, and frankly they seemed a bunch of spoiled brats and not very good. All my friends and flatmates were from around the world and supporting different teams so why not? I picked a team and have stuck with that team ever since.

I don't care if you find that laughable. Football has made me laugh and cry and jump for joy and yell at the screen, I love it to death and don't really care whether anyone thinks I'm worthy or not.

Certainly I've met lots of English people who 'support England' but can't name a single player, go laugh at them.

'Should have known a MN thread about football would be laughable. DH and friends enjoyed reading!'

Are people meant to feel embarrassed and chastened that you and your DH 'knew a MN football thread would be a laughable.'?

Why would anyone care what he or his friends think? Honest question. It's like you expect a medal because you're a woman who enjoys football. Hardly a novelty dear.

Bazoo I am sick sick SICK to death of being patronised about football by people like you. I am as knowledgable (if not more so) than most people I meet. Have certainly been to more games (home and away) than most of them have had hot dinners and yet I am constantly treated to bullshit like yours about "plastic fans".

I am more interested in my club team (a League One side - I hope that's authentic enough for you) than England tbh because I am constantly disappointed by Engand's performances. But once the WC starts I'll be swept up in it all again.

I will watch or listen on the radio to pretty much every game. Because I love football. And I will also cheer on Holland because I have a large Dutch family (in laws). I don't ecpect to have to run that past someone who calls me a "plastic fan" thanks very much.

DH's family have always supoorted Man U. DH was born in Sussex. So by your logic, dh is unable to support a team his family have followed for years?

Pointy I think Holland have got a really tough group too - especially the opening match!

My Belgian friends all think they're going to win the whole shooting match!

depends if dh's family live in Manchester or just support them cause they win a lot?

oh give up on the whole support your local team, people can choose whoever they want to support whether that be at a national or international level

anyway i havent yet decided who im supporting at the world cup apart from every team in englands group thats not england (im scottish hehe) ...but i do normally have a soft spot for Italy, after being there just after the world cup in 94 so will prob go with them

Wow what a load of shit is being spouted on this thread.

Bazoo I assume you, your husband and all of his friends who are eagerly reading through this thread would be perfectly happy to see a lot of the larger clubs go bust.

Because, as I am sure you are aware being an expert in football, if the larger teams didn't have such a widespread fan base they would lose the ability to function as a top flight club. This would then create a ripple effect throughout the football leagues and we could see the collapse of an entire industry.

Is that more desirable to you than some people support a team that they have no geographical or historical link to?

I am a life long Mansfield Town supporter (The Mighty Stags) we are shit but my God I love supporting them. I also have a couple of premiership teams that I support. I am also a huge England supporter.

I don't care who anyone else chooses to support, even a glory hunter that changes there team every few seasons, as long as they do so peacefully.

One thing I do hate is how some people are always so negative about England and England supporters. General competitiveness and the usual banter no problem at all, but the nastiness and bitterness some people have, for no reason, towards the national team is ridiculous.

at Belians thinking they will win the World Cup. Yes, they have come on a hell of a lot in the last 2 years, but win it? Oh well, we can all dream.

Bazoo my nearest League team is either Ipswich or Norwich. Cant be doing with either of them really, I much prefer Mildenhall Town, who are resolutely and eternally non league but whose games I can hear from my house. One of these weekends I will go and see a match, but if it's that or my own sport (archery) then being a spectator just loses out.

'Belgians', even.

Pointy I know but you know what those pesky Belgians are like

Yeah, always saying mayonnaise is the best thing to have on chips when everyone knows satay sauce is far superior though mayo is a good second best.

I hereby command you to stop referring to the Dutch national team as "Holland." It is the Netherlands. (Both a football fan and pedant here.)

My country didn't make it this time, so I'm rooting for England.

But I am from Holland (= the provinces of Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland). So it comes naturally to me.

Anyway, the slogan is 'Hup Holland Hup, laat de leeuw niet in zijn hemdje staan' so I claim bad football anthem exemption.

Well, if there is a bad football anthem to that effect, then that is another matter entirely.

Who else is excited just looking at the results of the draw yesterday? We're going to have a wallchart in every room of the house (one-roomed flat ).

• Group A: Brazil, Croatia, Mexico, Cameroon
• Group B: Spain, Netherlands, Chile, Australia
• Group C: Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast, Japan
• Group D: Uruguay, Costa Rica, England, Italy
• Group E: Switzerland, Ecuador, France, Honduras
• Group F: Argentina, Bosnia, Iran, Nigeria
• Group G: Germany, Portugal, Ghana, USA
• Group H: Belgium, Algeria, Russia, South Korea

Roll on next summer.

And roll on all those whinging because Coronation St and Eastenders get displaced for a few weeks. :)

One of the great joys of the world cup is several weeks free of crap soaps.

My DH is American and is not happy about the group they are in...

It is a proper bad football anthem, falcon. You need to have drunk quite a lot of beer to sing it, more than I can manage these days...

Erm maltesefalcon all of my Dutch family refer to the team as holland and as pointy pointed out, they chant hup hup holland at matches. And being as pointy is Dutch, I think I'll take her word on it

And pointy I am so with you. Chips met pinda saus. Good of the gods!!

We will be over there in January and as soon as we get on the ferry at harwich we head for the restaurant for a fix!!

Food of the gods. Obv

I am far too excited about this already.

I finish my first year placement at the end of May and then am off until October so will be able to watch every single game, even the 2am kick offs!

Come on England!