England World Cup bid

[-V-]

Loving all of the hubris on display in this thread.

Wish it was possible to get the english to stand back for a second to assess themselves on how they come across to everyone else in the world. Their self-importance is very amusing, particularly because they just can't understand why they get rejected

[Arn]

Wish it was possible to get the english to stand back for a second to assess themselves on how they come across to everyone else in the world. Their self-importance is very amusing, particularly because they just can't understand why they get rejected

We have the same problem with Roy and the English media. They simply can't blame him because he is English.

[Shaggy]

You Scots

You don't seem to get it - it's not necessarily that England didn't get it, it's the fact they got TWO votes which exposes the whole thing as extremely bent. If you don't think FIFA, and this process, is bent, then you must be pretty naive.

[Reece]

If the whole process wasn't so blatantly corrupt, then I'm sure you'd find a far more dignified response from us horrible English.

Whatever the merits of each bid, and whether ours deserved to win or not, it's hardly been a fair process has it?

I think that's what most are pissed off about, rather than "we're English we should win!!".

[-V-]

Bent or not bent for your sake Fifa does need reform because I promise you that you will never ever win a popularity contest because of your own self-importance and arrogance. Don't take that too personally though ;-)

[Shaggy]

Scots don't need much of an excuse to try and stick the boot in - their chances of doing so are so few and far between that they take every opportunity they can with great relish, misguided or not

[Shaggy]

Bent or not bent for your sake Fifa does need reform because I promise you that you will never ever win a popularity contest because of your own self-importance and arrogance. Don't take that too personally though ;-)

I promise you Scots you'll never win anything full stop

Don't take it personally.

[-V-]

Typical English response, can't handle the truth..............

[Shaggy]

Typical English response, can't handle the truth..............

Scotland = Everton. Endless chirping about their bigger and more successful neighbours.

[-V-]

Scotland = Everton.

Were not happy that you lost. Why would we be? id have quite liked to have gone to a few games.

The amusement is about your collective reaction of disbelief that you only got 2 votes

[Arn]

FIFA is corrupt all the way through to the top. They have a President that you more or less know only is the President because of the money he used in a certain way in the election against Johansson.

Change the voting system so you use ?? ex Players and managers to do the voting. They shouldn't be involved in anything else.

Maybe 25 is a to low number. Maybe it should be 200-300 people that votes.

[Tee]

The truth is that FIFA have no credibility. Their committee is a joke and full of corrupt members who you could clearly not trust as far as you could throw them. The English bid team was promised at least 5 or so votes yet when it came to it they were let down.

It stinks and the fact is the Russians knew they had it in the bag a long time ago. We were just taken for a ride.

[Shaggy]

It isn't disbelief - it's a natural reaction to the fact that our game is run by crooks and corrupt incompetents. We knew that anyway but this is absolute proof.

[spud_gun]

Its not the fact england missed out it is the manner of which they lost out.

FIFA have arguably made a major **** up with England going out at Stage 1 and with just 2 votes.

That result in itself shines a massive searchlight on them, and opens themselves up to the type of scrutiny that has been needed for years.

There is simply no way that the 2 votes for England stands up to scrutiny.

It was arguably the best bid on paper - commercially and technically - and the best presentation on the day. No one could credibly argue that the bid itself bombed.

I'd actually have preferred to see the world cup come to Western Europe be it England, Spain/Portugal or Belguim/ Holland simply because of the time zones. There's no doubt that the English bid was solid. However it would appear, and the English bid organisers, media and general populus can't seem to get their head around this, the game in terms of hosting the tournament has changed. After SA 2010 countries and football association's around the world should have realised this. It's not simply about who has the best stadia or who's trains run on time. It's about brining the game to places in the world that it's not yet been. There's nothing wrong with that. FIFA infact should be applauded for making such brave decisions.

That does not mean it had to win, but it gives massive credence to those that argue it was the result of "politics" - and "IF" the real aim all along was to give 2018 to Russia via an engineered voting process, then they screwed up badly.

As for the 'politics' argument. This is frankly incredulous. The chap who was head of the English bid has let it be known that Jack Warner and the CONCAF block had promised the English bid their votes. So what deals were done with Warner and his lot to afford him the offer of apparent support to the English bid? English national team vs Trinidad and Tobago in 2008. Oh the horror. This sort of 'poloticking' appears to be the very sort that the English media and bid team are up in arms about.


If they had wanted to take away all the scrutiny, then England should have got through to the final stage, and then lost out to Russia by the odd couple of votes. No-one could then argue with the result.

Why? clearly the delegates felt that the English bid did not merit their vote. You can't expect England to progress simply because they're England. It's this type of attitude that so offends others from around the world.

FIFA could argue that the UK media "slurs" had played no part, and that FIFA bore no grudges to the free press, the likes of the Blues -v- Villa trouble had not come into it, or anything like that - they could have simply argued that it was a great bid, but it just lost out by a whisker to another great bid, and that Russia were therefore the deserving hosts.

However, the 2 votes to England does nothing but put a bloody great flashing light against the result along with a sign saying "Investigate Me" - it simply cannot stand up to scrutiny, or be explained away as a "freak" result - and the more FIFA try to explain it away, the more it will stand out as being exactly what it was - the result of a morally and procedurally corrupt system.

In way, the FIFA exec may have just signed their own death warrants - as that result now gives all those media, investigative, regulatory or other agencies the perfect excuse to unleash the dogs of war in terms of exposing FIFA for what many believe they really are.

Arguably, the gloves have just been taken off and FIFA could ultimately reap what they have sown. Here's hoping.

[b]

To expect a root and branch reform of an autonomous organisation simply because the vote to host the world cup went against you is incredulous.

FIFA are an autonomous body. They answer to no one. The world cup is their party. You play by their rules or you don't play at all. Think BAE and the Saudi government.

[Shaggy]

I'd actually have preferred to see the world cup come to Western Europe be it England, Spain/Portugal or Belguim/ Holland simply because of the time zones. There's no doubt that the English bid was solid. However it would appear, and the English bid organisers, media and general populus can't seem to get their head around this, the game in terms of hosting the tournament has changed. After SA 2010 countries and football association's around the world should have realised this. It's not simply about who has the best stadia or who's trains run on time. It's about brining the game to places in the world that it's not yet been. There's nothing wrong with that. FIFA infact should be applauded for making such brave decisions.

This has to be a joke.