Rio, Kerion, Andy Cole, James.

They're not in form?

(I can't think what else you are pathetically trying to imply)

3 of the 4 used to play for Newcastle.

If this is a Magpie joke in the making, I will KICK YOUR ASS! http://www.soccergaming.com/ubb/biggrin.gif http://www.soccergaming.com/ubb/biggrin.gif http://www.soccergaming.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

OBVIOUSLY CAUSE OF THEIR COLOUR, RIGHT?

BY THE WAY, ANDY COLE WAS NOT DROPPED.
KEEGEN SAID HE WAS RESTED BECAUSE OF FOOT PROBLEM.

With Cole, could it be that he never does the biz for England? Naw, it must be because he's black.

Oh yeah! It must be a race issue!

The fact that Sol Cambell, Paul Ince, and Emile Heskey are in the squad must be irrelevant.

Muffin your right he never does his "biz". But you gotta give some one a chance first. Ah well at least he was conviently injured minorly, i might add so Keegan can pull this bs and say he was cut cause of an injury.

Oh well believe what you wanna believe I know I do. All i said is what do all the cut players have in common.

A_shearer Sol Campbell is a defender known world wide. Who are they going to start with Adams???

Real Madrid offered a record fee for him this summer to replace Hierro. As did Manchester United.
Campbell must be in the squad.

With Heskey, well he's the future. I mean what are we suppose to watch old Teddy and Shearer up front.

And Ince made the smartest move. He said Kevin if I'm left out I'm retiring. No more WC qualifiers you can rely on Gerrard for that. Also I wouldn't be suprised if the Guv'nor was forced to sit for Dennis Wise. Although Ince has a much better international record.

It is definately not a race issue. I was just replying to the question set.

OK i change my answer, they all have very short hair!!!

I think they should have left Kieron Dyer and dropped Paul Ince. England have Wise, Scholes and gerrard in the midfield centre position.
Kieron can play in most places and could have been an advantage on the right full back position.

I hope England goes out in the first damn round. The powerful countries like Holland and France will teach KK a real lesson. Do you think for a minute Davids, Seedorf, Klivert, Bogarde etc would ever be left out.

But wait great news England - the man the English media proclaimed the Next Bobby Moore - Rio Ferdinand is booted out. And great news Phil Neville is in.

Also Kerion Dyer who is the next Ince is out while that wanna be Liverpool anchor relies on Hyippa way too much.

And taking a div 1 keeper over James a slap in the face.

I aint even going to touch Cole because by walking out of the training ground he knew what happened when he heard the cuts.

3 times in a damn row for this guy. Man i feel for him.

I hope Cole says he will never wear the England kit again. Then England becomes like Germany by kicking out all these young great stars Dyer, Ferdiand etc.

Remember Effenberg boy they could sure use him now.

Mate, I think it's pretty much a given that those players were left out for reasons worse than race............I won't say now, i'll wait for more comments. This guy is ridiculous, who the hell is this guy to pick all these Liverpool players and reward them for what. Fowler is (to quote Bates) a two-bob player on present form. His speed has dipped alarmingly, he can't play with his back to goal, he is weak in the air, etc., etc..
Forget it.....it's a waste of time. England are going to be humiliated in one of those games because they will not be able to score. Shearer is at the point of diminishing returns, Owen is a sprint away from making an icyhot advertisement. Heskey thinks he's a winger, which is strange because he can't cross the ball, but understandable, because he has probably the worst goalscoring ratio of any striker to play for England in the Euro. Barnes scored more goals per game than this guy.

For those who care, Trinidad and Tobago are going to BE THE SURPRISE TEAM OF THE WORLD CUP.

I hope the Liverpool players prove me wrong.

And what was I saying about the English????

REMIND ME MRKOVIC

WHAT DID U SAY BOUT ZE ENGLISH???

England have a habit of doing this to black players. quickly in and very quickly out, they have no patience with 'black' players. fowler over cole, give me a break. Ferdinand just for the experience alone should have gone and so should of Dyer, i'll give him james because he messed up in the cup final and he was out.

England is a multi racial society but the old guard hate to see black players coming out for england much like the french used to be. France learnt their lesson and won the world cup I hope England wake up one day.

Its a travesty and a disgrace.

For those who say it isn't race i will ask you one question. If germany's top league team's striker was left out of the national side their would be a riot. Can anybody spell Jancker?

Cole plays for Manchester United, not sunderland or 'the pressure got to us' Liverpool.

ferdinand is one of the most sought after players in europe, Liverpool were prepared to spend 10 million on him. guess where he's spending the summer, Southgate the penalty expert and Barry over him, lets meet the premier league manager that would take that deal, it would be Ferdinand everytime.

Dyer is one of the most versatile players ever to put ona n england shirt, he can't make it either.

So Gerrard no caps goes, Gary Neville who will probably not play unless England goes to 4-4-2 which is unlikely as is his brother phil chance of playing. Fowler who has spent almost the entire season injured goes.

heskey will not play and Ince may also enjoy the bench, that leaves Sol Campbell, look at the premier division and count the black players, only one deserves to play for england, crap. shame on england and shame on Keegan.

I'll agree that Dyer SHOULD be in the squad. But I'm probably just saying that 'cause I'm a huge Newcastle fan.

But the others (Ferdinand, Cole, & James) deserved to go.

If you were putting together a team, who would you pick as a keeper? A proven David Seaman, a great Nigel Martyn, a red-hot Richard Wright, or a so/so Aston Villa goalie?

Andy Cole is crap on the international level. I've NEVER seen a game where he has done exceptionally well for England. MAYBE its because he was never given the chance, or maybe not. But the Euro Championships are not a training ground for Mr. Cole.

I thought maybe that Keegan may ditch one of the Neville brothers in order to keep Ferdinand. He didn't apparently. I can personally learn to live with his decision.

Juninho do u really think that James, Dyer,Cole and Ferdinand are the same quality as Davids, Seedorf, Klivert, and Bogarde? Cuz they're not. If they were the same quality they of course would be in.

I dunno,

Dropping James - yes
Dropping Cole - (cough)

Dropping - Rio and Keiron - I think Kev was on drugs.

The Neville brothers get to go but those two don't.

Sglean, re: Gerrard, "So Gerrard no caps goes" - that's a Chicken & The Egg thing there.

I don't know about the whole racism thing though - I don't think Kev's like that, he bought Cole, Asprillia, gave Heskey his first England start, picked David James in the England squad - I dunno. I hope not.

http://www.soccergaming.com/ubb/frown.gif

In my opinion England should not have more than 1 or two black players at the most. Why you ask??? Well, because this is England, not Nigeria or Ghana. When I watch International football I want to see players who are actually english, french, dutch. Dont call me a racist because I am not. If a white player was playing for nigeria, I would say the same thing. I think France is a disgrace to International football. I mean half of them are not even french! Desailly,Thuram, Zidane, Djorkaeff, trezeguet, and many others arent even born in france. I mean Desailly is born in Ghana. Djorkaeff, however you spell his name...is from Armenia. It is obsurd. Thank god there are still great national teams like Italy, Denmark, Spain, Germany, Russia, Scotland,Yugoslavia etc. who actually play with players who are really from the country. I have far more respect for scotland than france, at least their players are actually scottish. Go ahead everyone, start calling me a racist, I know you will!

I happen to think that black England football players are just as English as you or me. They shouldn't be excluded because of their skin colour!

If they were born in England, lived in England, want to play for England, and have the talent to play for us, then let them play.

Please, don't sound like those Yugoslavian bigots who spat at Emile Heskey last month.

If they got game, they got game.

Neutral you are beginning to step on my corn, lad. Let's be serious for a minute about Cole. The guy is the best striker in England, the facts support this. Put penalties aside and his record is superior to Shearers and Owens. It's absolutely ridiculous to deny Cole a place. You cannot name a single reason bar injury (and I believe Cole has to be injured) to supplant Cole with Heskey. Come on. We are talking Heskey............HESKEY. WHO THE HELL IS THAT GUY.

On a related note I can't wait to see Leeds play Chelsea next season.

Once again England have a knack for making bionic representations of ordinary players and managers. We now know that O'Niell is the next Paisley and O'Leary is a zen master. Haha.

Assius:

Sorry boy, but your argument is extremely irrational and didn't require any thinking whatsoever

In my opinion, you've made an @ss of yourself...lol

Anyway, I would have loved to have seen those players go. I have always admired England for breaking the race barrier at least a tad bit. I love seeing the forwards on Man U, because they represent all those that were repressed before them. A hand to the black players on England.

KappA

Dont call me a racist because I am not

Ok, how about w@nker? It fits just as much as the title you don't seem to want. Or we could try Kn0b if you like. We could also just state that you are ignorant.

But it is a waste of time because you wouldn't understand it anyway. To understand takes a small degree of intelligence (not too much, you understand) which is something you are so obviously lacking.

Just stuff a muffin in it ;0)

Conformist foolz.

It's easy to say those things probably because both of you are white. You've had it easy BOYS. Grow up and open your eyes to racial equality.

Again a hand for the black English players.

LoL I better stop this before I get banned ;0) I just have to show the ignorant that which they are blind to sometimes.

KappA

Assius: You are a disgrace to the human race.

Antithesis: I agree with you who the hell is Heskey?! This was a supposed wonder-boy 2 years ago but is he all that great that he is considered the future of England? In football you got to put up the goods from the earliest age, if a guy is mediocre at 22 he is not gonna turn great at 28. Cases like that are one in a hundred,(Bierhoff is the only guy that comes to mind). Cole should be in ahead of Heskey, my opinion.

Ince back Im really surprised. And Dyer deserves to be in, he is fast versatile and can break down players on his own.

Antithesis,

You're correct:
http://www.soccernet.com/euro2000/news/20000601engsquadcole.html
http://www.sky.com/sports/football/international/england/story38.htm

I still don't think he's better than Owen, Fowler, or Shearer - and Heskey's a different type of forward than all of them - but we've beat this one to death already.

I agree, I can't wait to see Jimmy visit Elland Road next year.

Oh, btw Houllier is the next Paisley, and Wenger is the Zen master.

http://www.soccergaming.com/ubb/smile.gif

Assius-I support your comment all the way! I am from the US, and diversity on the US national team is great because it represents the multiracial society America is.When I think of an Englishman or Dutchmen, I think of a white person. This is not an irrational or racist statement. And I do think, that whatever their color, a person BORN IN THAT COUNTRY is elgible to play for their national team, regardless if their not white. All you people get mad at these race statements, but try this one: The always entertaining "does a club team represent a country?" argument. this being, if Chelsea won the CL, would an English team have won? Yes and no.Personally, I think it should be mandatory that only 4 Foreigners are allowed per team. I will leave it at that

Feel free to criticize: I like hearing opposing viewpoints. Spare the "Yanks don't know shi* about Football, though. Thank you.

P.S.:What was the statement above about Jancker all about?

You guys are full of crap, many people agree with me. In fact I know many mexicans who say even if a black person was born in mexico and was good, he shouldnt play for mexico. They dont say that because they are racist, but because they want a team made up of real mexicans. I dont agree what just because you are born in mexico, you are mexican, or because you are born in france, you are french. That is total B.S. If a black person was born in Japan, how many of you would really consider him to be japanese, not many. If a mexican was born in norway, would you consider him really to be norwegian. No way, you would think he was mexican. Again, I am in no wasy putting blacks down. I dont think whites should play for south africa either. As far as calling me ignorant, I actually attend one of the top 10 colleges in the U.S., so you can just shutup.

Why did Keegan drop Gerrard for Dyer??
Gerrard got his first cap yesterday and had an okay game, but Dyer who has played for England already and has....what 1 or 2 caps and is fast and has a little skill; better than what I've seen from Gerrard at Liverpool. Alright, so that was a little unfair about Gerrard, but he I don't think is the man to bring to Euro 2000. He is a club player and hasn't got what it takes to be an international. Maybe I might be proved wrong after all Steven Gerrard only has played one game for England http://www.soccergaming.com/ubb/smile.gif We shall see!

Assius,
"As far as calling me ignorant, I actually attend one of the top 10 colleges in the U.S., so you can just shutup."

Don't worry, Hitler was educated too.

@ssius:

You don't deserve to go to that college then.

How can you NOT call yourself a racist when that is the main characteristic that you concentrate when evaluating an individual or group of people ?

Who defined color on teams ? Who defined color in countries ? Racists, discriminative and prejudiced fools.

I guess I may be alone then, but when I consider someone, I don't care about their color. I'm from Mexico and we aren't all tan, there are people of all types of skin pigmentations, and I never judged them to be different or unworthy of anything. Up until you brought that up, I hadn't even considered such a thing. Who cares what color you are ? If you are born in a country then that's where you're from and if you decide, that is what defines your background.

A perfect example from my country was Zague, not an incredible player but one that I think was pretty good in his day. His father was a star player for America in Mexico, and happened to have children there. And Zague grew to become part of the national team. Everyone knew about his Brazilian roots, but he took pride in his Mexican nationality and everyone acknowledged that.

I also knew some black people down in Mexico and they weren't treated any different, at least not where I lived. So no fingers pointing at you or anything of the sort, but you are a racist. I'm not going to bash you for it or anything, I just wish you could see differently. But hey, you probably lived in a suburban white environment your whole life, so you've been conditioned to believe these things.

KappA

Alright assius, let me ask you something...
Where are you from? Are you from US? perhaps white? cuz if you are, then you're not american!!! according to your statements, you wouldn't be. If you studied american history you would know that the natives are the real americans, oh and by the way, "indians" is a misused term.
Now, the REAL nationality comes when you're born on a certain country, and you are RAISED with their customs. True, maybe the blood isn't from you were born, but your CUSTOMS, and VALUES make you from where you were born, because you're exposed and adapted to that standard of living.
So, if a black person is born in Japan, knows the language, eats with sticks, expresses himself just like a (what you would call) real japanese person, I'd say that black dude looks pretty japanese to me.
I hope you get the point, it's pretty simple.
I'd give you a brief example: Mi ancestors are italian, heck, I even have an italian last name, but I was born and raised with the customs of a south american country, MY country is not Italy anymore, because if I was to live in Italy now, I wouldn't know how the live (well I do, but let's say that I don't know). So, therefore, if you were a "white american" , you could call yourself that, because you were raised as an american, not as an english person anymore (that's where the whites from the US originally came).
It's very simple, if you can't understand that.... well....

one of the top 10 colleges in the US? As a janitor?

If you can find a dictionary (I am assuming you have one) look up the definition of racist.

And just because other people agree with you, that doesn't make you right. It just makes then ignorant trailer-trash too.

And AC makes a good point. What exactly IS your family background. You are probably one of those sad w@nkers who calls themselves "Irish-American" or something to try to give yourself a sense of history.

You are right AC Milan, I am not american, I am Italian. I was born and raised in America, but my parents are italian.

"But hey, you probably lived in a suburban white environment your whole life, so you've been conditioned to believe these things."

Actually I was born and raised in los angeles, which is one of the most diverse places on the planet.

"How can you NOT call yourself a racist?"

I am not a racist at all, I dont hate anyone because of their color. I simply think countries like Holland and England should be represented by players who are of their countries descent. According to your logic, I am racist towards whites as well then, because I said whites should not play for south africa.

Let me ask you people a question, what if one day england's team is made up of pure blacks? Would you have no problem that? Be honest now.

Hey Assius.

If the USA fielded a basketball team, what color would the players be. If the Us fielded a hockey team what color would the players be. Answer who gives a crap as long as they were the best 'Americans playing'.

The french team has 'french' players. they are french by frances's qualification standards. Same for Dutch, Portuguese and dare i say it English. Whats worst for England is most of the players are actully born in England and their parents were also. Shame you would judge them by the color of their skin.

To answer your question if they were the 11 best players who gives a you know what.

Rascism uses nationality, blood and all other guises to convince itself that it is thinking about the greater good. Hitler thought all Germans should be non jewish, in fact he thought the only people that deserved to live were blonde haired and blue eyed, which he was niether.

Your fear is based on the misguided notion that England Italy and Germany are 'white' countries, they are countries stupid whose citizens come from diverse backgrounds. All hell brole loose in Italy a couple of years ago when a black player played U21 for Italy, his father was american but his mother was italian. He is an American by birth but he is a citizen of Italy, you say because he is 'black' he should not play for Italy so if both his parents were white would it be OK. Sadly your answer would be yes. Thats right? Take a close look at italians and then look at your map, ever wonder why there skin is dark and many have curly hair, their ancestry is not all white believe me.

You and your 'mexican' friends are idiots. In 66 Portugal a 'white' country fielded a player of African descent, Eusabio, he is perhaps still the most famous player to put on a portuguese shirt, do you think the portuguese gave a damn where he was from? By your logic he should never have played.

Wonder what you think of Brazilians? Pele ring a bell?

You pick the best players available who qualify under your nations rules and regulations regarding citizenship.

Cole Dyer Ferdinand and James all qualify as does ince Heskey and Campbell, if they are good enough they should play. doles's injury is accepted (politics still played a part though). James accepted but Dyer and Ferdinand come on. England had a quota only so many blacks, after all as you said we don't want a whole team of them, next they will want to marry our daughters. What nationality would their children be? Black by your standard I bet, remember black is not a nationality it is just a race, there is a difference.

Racism will never leave us and I am sad that a young and obviously intelligent person as yourself still has such 'harmful' views.They are harmful ask the muslims in Yugoslavia or the jews in russia and Germany or the blacks in America.

Interesting Izzet never got picked either.

By the way thank you Juninho for bringing up a good point.It maybe valid. I actually hope its not. I had read some of your pro Brazil topics and comments and you are perhaps a little biased but you should be proud of your country.They still are the best team in the world. When will Alex and Ronaldinho play for the full side? This topic could be used on Brazil too. Don't be shocked.

Brazil has very diverse cultural backgrounds, there was considerable talk at one stage that they too had stopped picking 'black' players. The 94 team was very conspicuous for its lack of 'black' players. They lost to France in 98 a team that picked a number of players of African descent. Before you argue 'black' by Assius standard of 'black' I know many of the Brazilian players are 'mixed. Aldair is not 'black' by his standards or maybe he is, who knows.

Hopefully Brazil learnt a lesson that day.

Thank you for your topic.

someone said about japanese soccer team.,,infact as far as i know there happened to be a brazilian born played for japan's national team..what was his name?? i forgot

ASSius - Why do we call you racist? Because you are! Surey everybody who is English should be allowed to play for their quality, not colour of their skin? Listen to Sol Campbell or Emile Heskey's accent and tell me they're not English - go on! When does somebody become English - or South African for that matter? What if they have lived in a country all their lives? A white South African born in South Africa whose Grant Parents were Dutch for example - should he play for Holland? If you trace your argument back to the source it makes no sense. Scots originally came from Ireland, and the Irish from Scotland - should we change these countries teams around? Many English people are descended from Normans- should they play for France (come on - is Le Saux an english name?!!) - no just wait, the Normans originally came from Norway - so where does that put a French team? Come on man! You can go back for eons tracing where people originally came from, it's just stupid. We will play our best players black OR white. Try telling somebody like Desailly that he's not French, I'm sure he'd disagree... By your logic Kev would drop Campbell, Ince and Heskey just because they were black - can you imagine the outrage it would cause? There are many black people in the UK, so why shouldn't they have the right to play football in their own country ? You also say you know many Mexicans who say a black person shouldn't play for their country - I know many Americans who say Mexican immigrant children shouldn't recieve education. It doesn't make them right though.

USFutbol - "When I think of an Englishman or Dutchmen, I think of a white person.". Do you think there is not a single balck person in our countries? Surely by your argument a black person living here for a couple of generations isn't english yet... But it's OK for blacks to play for the US because they were original inhabitants of the country... whoops! Looks like the US shouldn't have a team, as it's full of Europeans and Africans!!!
I've been on this forum for 6 months, and never have I seen a more puerile idea or argument than this.

On the selection issue, however I think Ince, Campbell and Heskey are good players, I think Dyer should have been in the squad too. Ferdinand wasn't ready, James blew his chance in the cup final, and Cole even said he wasn't fit. So no racism from Kev.

it is clear that some people here are pure racist which they are trying to be ignorant or just take it for granted. However I personally favour Andy Cole...he should be in the England team because hes a very good player.

Right here goes:- I can’t stand racists, for those of you that think race is an issue in football, wakeup!!!

The Squad:-

GOALKEEPERS:

SEAMAN: England’s 1st choice Rarely makes mistakes, but doesn’t seem to make many saves either.

MARTYN: Makes the odd mistake, by far the country’s best shot-stopper. Debatably England’s No.1 (at least he is my choice).

WRIGHT: England future goalkeeper, excellent bearing in mind keepers reach their peak at 30ish. If seaman plays until the next WC, this kid will stop Martyn from ever being England No.1.

DEFENDERS:

ADAMS: Getting on a bit now, but still a world class player, if he stays fit. Expect him to be rotated with Keown at Euro2000.

KEOWN: Another of Arsenals back 4, my choice ahead of Adams, but will rotate with his club team-mate.

CAMPBELL: One of the best defenders about, quick, strong, versatile. No doubt he is part of the spine of the team.

G NEVILLE: There are better defenders. Only in the squad, like his brother, because he plays for Man U. Dyer should have had his place. Only recognised RB in squad.

P NEVILLE: Better than his brother, but expect Barry to fight him for the LB/LWB slot.

BARRY: Player for the future. In because Wilcox is injured, natural left-footer.

SOUTHGATE: Dependable 4th choice, performed well in 96 (mostly).

MIDFIELDERS:

BECKHAM: Looked good against both Brazil and Ukraine. A threat at set pieces. At his best on the wing in a 4-4-2, not a good RWB.

SCHOLES: Creative midfielder with a knack for scoring important goals.

INCE: Heading over the hill, but still the best available anchor man.

WISE: Can play on the left, backup for Ince in the middle.

MCMANAMAN: Been in great form, didn’t look good against Ukraine.

BARMBY: Can play on the left, surprise call up, but looked good when he came on.

GERRARD: Looked good for Liverpool all season, one for the future, can play RB and I would almost pick him ahead of Neville. He is 3rd choice for the anchor man role.

STRIKERS:

SHEARER: Dirty England captain, but always the 1st name on the team sheet. Retiring after Euro2000.

OWEN: Fast, Fast and erm…. Fast. Expected to be Shearers regular partner.

FOWLER: Not match fit, but KK loves him.

HESKEY: Not a goal scorer, but he gives another option, quick and strong.

PHILLIPS: Surely Shearer’s successor. Will only play if Shearer is out.

CONCLUSION:

I think KK has got it right, perhaps Dyer for Neville but that’s it.

LIKELY LINE UP: 3-5-2 Seaman, G Neville, Campbell, Adams, Keown, P Neville, Beckham, Scholes, Ince, Shearer, Owen.

MY CHOICE: 4-4-2 Martyn, G Neville (no choice), Campbell, Keown, Barry, Beckham, Scholes, Ince, Barmby, Shearer, Owen.

The only one who shouldn't have been picked was James. He is pants. Too inconsistent. He can be good on occasions but generally isn't good enough. I personally would like to see Martyn as first choice and not Seaman but there you go, gotta go with experience.

Richard Wright is good. Nobody should knock or diss him. Even though he is Division One, he still has the right to play for England. Who says that someone in Division 3 can't play for England or anyone else? If you are good enough, you are good enough. Simple as that.

As for the other three that were dropped. Cole would have been there if it wasn't for his foot, I believe Barmby would have been left out if Cole was fit. Rio is good but will get his chances in future competitions as will Kieron Dyer who will be a world star. Dyer is amazing, I would have loved to have seen him in the squad but I guess Kev has his reasons.

Kappa, AC Milan and especially Schumie - Good going, exactly what I would've said to assius

Sglean - Izzet was not considered cause he opted to play for Turkey. He did this cause he didn't see a future in England's team for himself, or was too impatient to wait and play another good season and be picked.

And I agree with Schumacher, Dyer should've stayedin the squad but the rest not. James even if picked (like Wright) wouldn't play, unless there was a big injury crisis and both seaman and Martyn out. Ferdinand albeit a good player was not ready and would've been a spectator had he gone along. If Redknapp had been fit Gerrard would not have gone either. Cole, well, I'm very very sorry, but this man has had opportunities at international level and has not made it count. And the fact that Cole wastes many a chance before scoring can't be good for England who only create a handful of chances. And no I'm not interested in debating this AGAIN Antithesis.

All this talk of race and origins has got me thinking about a story I heard about two years ago. In the sixties a Nigerian had dumped her baby in the UK. He was now in his thrities and running a highly successful city firm. However, the immigration officals realised he had been dumped way back when and arrested him. They told him he would be deported to Nigeria, but he couldn't understand the language, and was used to the climate, accent, and comforts of Britain! He spoke with a London accent too! He was only freed after a long, long press campiagn - and I think a story like this settles the dispute over who is English and who is not. This man was English. Full stop.
Now onto my 11. No explanations, just a team sheet, and it would be my 11 if I could pick ANY player in England (not just Euro 2K 22)

MARTYN
G. NEVILLE
ADAMS (C)
CAMPBELL
DYER
WISE
INCE
BECKHAM
SCHOLES
OWEN
SHEARER

SUBS

SEAMAN
SOUTHGATE
MCMANAMAN
HESKEY
PHILLIPS

Yugoslavian bigots, shearer?? LOL i thought Juninhio( who supported England u21) was on your side now he against you, typical of the English. Yugoslavs bigots?? Werent U THE ONES that kept slaves and raped anything which was not of white race?? I THINK SO WHILE US THE SLAVS FREED BLAKCS OR ANY RACE ALL OVER THE WORLD

Never said all Yugos are. In fact I hope Yugoslavia and Spain go through in their group. I said I was sickened by their tactics to get Heskey off their game. In fact I am sickened by England and their tactics too.

Mirkovic I'm a realist. If you ask me what country is better Brasil or Canada I'll say Brasil. Because their are.

You were arguing that Yugoslavia is better than England which I know wasn't true and the preformance showed it.

In short I never said England isn't racist I just said that the fans at the U21 games were and thats wrong to act like that.

Keegan gets hauled over Cole
Exclusive to Sportal

England manager Kevin Keegan was forced on to the defensive when asked to fully explain the reasons for leaving Manchester United striker Andy Cole from his Euro 2000 squad on Wednesday night.

Tension mounted in the Wembley press conference following England’s 2-0 victory over Ukraine as journalists grilled Keegan over the 28-year-old’s omission. The England manager insisted he “would definitely have taken Cole” to the championships in the summer had he been fit.

When asked why he had said Cole was fit earlier during England’s preparations for the games against Brazil and Ukraine, Keegan began to get more agitated and pleaded with one journalist: “Don’t use the word ‘dropped’. He has not been dropped, he is injured.”

United’s 22-goal striker was told of his fate earlier in the day and was excused from going to Wembley to sit out yet another international.

Instead he returned home to Cheshire. Incredibly, Cole has just seven caps to his name under four separate England managers.

Rio Ferdinand, Kieron Dyer and David James were also omitted, while injury had already accounted for Jamie Redknapp and Ray Parlour. However, in an episode that recalled Paul Gascoigne’s omission from France 98, little was made of the others’ disappointment as questions rained in about Cole.

Judging by his opening gambit, Keegan expected nothing else – and he did little to convince sceptics that Cole had reacted well to the omission.

“I will start with Andy Cole,” he announced, “as he is obviously going to be the main bone of contention. If he had been fit I would have taken him.

"I chatted with him this afternoon, in two half-hour sessions. Please don't underestimate this guy. He desperately wanted to come and be part of it but it's my job to say what he knew. Andy wasn't sure he felt quite right with his left foot. I'm sure it's the right decision and so is Andy - you'll have the chance to see that.

"He accepted it was the right decision but it's no good me telling you what he thinks. I’m sure you will hear his reaction. I've had the best part of an hour with him this morning. I know him better than most people because I've managed him twice at club level and here (with England)."

Keegan went on to say he had tried to contact United boss Alex Ferguson but had not had any success.

However, it was always going to be a difficult decision. Any one of the strikers would have had cause for complaint had they been left out.

Kevin Phillips has been in prolific form for Sunderland, Emile Heskey secured his place in the draw against Argentina, while Liverpool team-mate Robbie Fowler has long been admired by Keegan.

The latter, however, has had injury problems himself and Keegan admitted he lacked match fitness despite his goalscoring contribution against Ukraine.

It is likely that topic will have cropped up in the extra half-hour’s conversation between Keegan and Cole.

Those who maintain the pair have a ‘history’ dating back to the striker’s £6million sale to Old Trafford from Keegan’s Newcastle in January 1995 will have nodded knowingly.