Are England the World's most over-rated soccer team?

[chirpychirpy]

Discuss

[DrFilth]

ayabrea footballers have been getting extra payments for years, some were unlucky and got caught

The following season Manchester City again challenged for the championship. City needed to beat Aston Villa on the final day of the season. Sandy Turnbull gave Alec Leake, the Villa captain, a torrid time during the game. Leake threw some mud at him and he responded with a two-fingered gesture. Leake then punched Turnbull. According to some journalists, at the end of the game, Turnbull was dragged into the Villa dressing-room and beaten-up. Villa won the game 3-1 and Manchester City finished third, two points behind Newcastle United.

After the game Alec Leake claimed that Billy Meredith had offered him £10 to throw the game. Meredith was found guilty of this offence by the Football Association and was fined and suspended from playing football for a year. Manchester City refused to provide financial help for Meredith and so he decided to go public about what really was going on at the club: "What was the secret of the success of the Manchester City team? In my opinion, the fact that the club put aside the rule that no player should receive more than four pounds a week... The team delivered the goods, the club paid for the goods delivered and both sides were satisfied."

The Football Association was now forced to carry out another investigation into the financial activities of Manchester City. They discovered that City had been making additional payments to all their players. Tom Maley was suspended from football for life. Seventeen players were fined and suspended until January 1907.

[DrFilth]

manchester city was also forced to sell their players and at an auction at the Queen's Hotel in Manchester. The Manchester United manager, Ernest Mangnal signed Billy Meredith for only £500. While at City he scored 145 goals in 338 games. Mangnal also purchased three other talented members of the City side, Herbert Burgess, Sandy Turnbull and Jimmy Bannister.

In 1906 John Henry Davies, the chairman of Manchester United, provided the funds for Billy Meredith to set up a sports-equipment shop in St Peter's Square, Manchester.

These new players did not make their debuts until the 1st January 1907. Manchester United beat Aston Villa 1-0. The only goal of the game was scored by Sandy Turnbull from a Billy Meredith cross. United only lost four games during the remainder of the season and climbed to an eighth-place finish. Meredith managed to score five goals in 16 games that season.

[GrumpyPom]

Mighty WBA do you live in Palmy by any chance?

[cc1]

Which teams have played well? It seems to be a feature of the 2010 World Cup that few nations are living up to their hype, Italy drawing with New Zealand for God's sake! I love NZ, but even their best friends probably didn't expect that!
I thonk it's the widest-open competition for years

[cazzz1975]

no one is playing well at the moment but its a great opportunity to have a pop at england again. we may be broccoli but unlike some countries at least we qualified.

[mightyWBA]

Grumpy Pom I don't live in NZ (more's the pity) Just showing support for one of the NZ teams players who plays for the club I support.

[craft1948]

How come you're all saying they're crap now but they were the bees knees when they won their qualifying matches......

[mightyWBA]

I didn't say it Craft...Not sure about the other 49 million :-)

[craft1948]

Now if you really want to have a go at the English my favourite sport is tennis :-(

[piggynose]

thanx dr filth for that peice of history

piggy

[mightyWBA]

Oh blimey!
People moan moan moan about footie on the telly but now there's 2 weeks of 24 hour a day Wimbledon coverage! :-(
Just have Federer/Nadal and the Williams sisters sort it out from the start.
It could be settled in an afternoon!

[craft1948]

I ♥ Wimbledon.