Guest Bilo Posted 14 August 2013 Posted 14 August 2013 Having seen the way that this friendly has captured the public imagination, on both sides of the border, is it worth bringing back the Home Nations Championship? They ran for 100 years between 1884 and 1984 before being stopped due to crowd troubles, dwindling attendances and the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Perhaps now, nearly 30 years on, it is time to consider their reintroduction to the British sporting calendar. I'm not advocating anything like a Six Nations Tournament where they're all played together, but a year long tournament played in lieu of friendlies against sides such as Egypt and Sweden. While they may not be the great footballing spectacles you would expect from playing sides such as Brazil and Italy, they would certainly capture the imagination of the fans and get players from each of the four Home Nations used to playing in big game atmospheres. On the other hand, would the novelty wear thin after a couple of years? It'd really only be games involving England that would be genuinely massive, I can't see the Millennium Stadium being rocking for the visit of Northern Ireland for example, and the trophy itself wouldn't mean a great deal to sides aiming for major tournament qualification; a feat that doesn't really look so far beyond Wales these days. So what do you reckon guys, onto something or just a one off?
Soar Fox Posted 14 August 2013 Posted 14 August 2013 Didn't they try this a couple of years ago without England? I'm sure I saw Republic of Ireland versus Wales with crowds less than 10,000.
Guest Bilo Posted 14 August 2013 Posted 14 August 2013 Didn't they try this a couple of years ago without England? I'm sure I saw Republic of Ireland versus Wales with crowds less than 10,000. Aye, even the Republic v Northern Ireland was poorly attended which surprised me. England games would be pretty special though, Hampden Park would be a trip and a half.
Finnegan Posted 14 August 2013 Posted 14 August 2013 It works in rugby because there's high interest, because the sport revolves around internationals and because there's parity between the nations. I voted no. I'd love it if, every two years, we could have a big home nations cup with sold out national stadiums, lots of interest and close competition but we all know that wouldn't happen. The money is in club football and the big clubs would hate the extra fixtures. England would field reserves (and still win 80%), Wales and Ireland would be missing their big names constantly, it'd take place in half empty grounds and on EuroSport and only the jocks would take it seriously.
Guest MattP Posted 14 August 2013 Posted 14 August 2013 Not for me. Fact we have not sold out for tonight says it all after not playing them for 14 years.
Guest Bilo Posted 14 August 2013 Posted 14 August 2013 Not for me. Fact we have not sold out for tonight says it all after not playing them for 14 years. One sided rivalry these days, it'd be much more of an event on the road than at home for England fans.
Guest MattP Posted 14 August 2013 Posted 14 August 2013 One sided rivalry these days, it'd be much more of an event on the road than at home for England fans. Oh I'd be up in Glasgow like a shot
Guest Bilo Posted 14 August 2013 Posted 14 August 2013 Oh I'd be up in Glasgow like a shot Belfast or Cardiff would have potential as well.
Bert Posted 14 August 2013 Posted 14 August 2013 It works in rugby because there's high interest, because the sport revolves around internationals and because there's parity between the nations. I voted no. I'd love it if, every two years, we could have a big home nations cup with sold out national stadiums, lots of interest and close competition but we all know that wouldn't happen. The money is in club football and the big clubs would hate the extra fixtures. England would field reserves (and still win 80%), Wales and Ireland would be missing their big names constantly, it'd take place in half empty grounds and on EuroSport and only the jocks would take it seriously. This pretty much sums it all up.
Alf Bentley Posted 14 August 2013 Posted 14 August 2013 Nah! As preparation for tournament qualifying/participation, it's more useful to play friendlies against the likes of Sweden, Egypt - and better teams, the sort of teams we need to beat to qualify for, or progress in World Cups/Euros. If I had a few quid spare, though, I wouldn't say "nah!" to some sort of cross-channel tournament: involving, say, France, Belgium, Holland, even Germany or Spain....the odd ferry trip for a combo of beer, football and culture. That would be good, though I couldn't afford it at the mo...
Finnegan Posted 14 August 2013 Posted 14 August 2013 Belfast or Cardiff would have potential as well. England in Cardiff was surprisingly tame I found. We had tastier mixes with NI. Obviously I haven't experienced it as an away fan but I doubt it'd be as hostile as Dublin or Hampden. I actually have no idea what the relationship between NI and England is like in football. Do you all hold hands, sit together and sing GSTQ as one?!
Guest Bilo Posted 14 August 2013 Posted 14 August 2013 England in Cardiff was surprisingly tame I found. We had tastier mixes with NI. Obviously I haven't experienced it as an away fan but I doubt it'd be as hostile as Dublin or Hampden. I actually have no idea what the relationship between NI and England is like in football. Do you all hold hands, sit together and sing GSTQ as one?! Christ knows. I would imagine it's pretty friendly with the types who have 'Loyal' on their Union Jacks and St. George's Crosses. It'd probably be the mother of all pissups so long as you don't find yourself on the Falls Road.
Finnegan Posted 14 August 2013 Posted 14 August 2013 Christ knows. I would imagine it's pretty friendly with the types who have 'Loyal' on their Union Jacks and St. George's Crosses. It'd probably be the mother of all pissups so long as you don't find yourself on the Falls Road. I imagine Windsor Park as just one huge mass of Rangers shirts and Union Flags with both sets of fans performing the biggest Dutch rudder train in recorded history while Rule Britannia and No Surrender boom out over loud speaker. With MattP, Reverend Paisley and Nick Griffin leading the cheering in Beefeater outfits.
Guest Bilo Posted 14 August 2013 Posted 14 August 2013 I imagine Windsor Park as just one huge mass of Rangers shirts and Union Flags with both sets of fans performing the biggest Dutch rudder train in recorded history while Rule Britannia and No Surrender boom out over loud speaker. With MattP, Reverend Paisley and Nick Griffin leading the cheering in Beefeater outfits. That is an unerringly accurate depiction methinks.
Guest MattP Posted 14 August 2013 Posted 14 August 2013 England in Cardiff was surprisingly tame I found. We had tastier mixes with NI. Obviously I haven't experienced it as an away fan but I doubt it'd be as hostile as Dublin or Hampden. I actually have no idea what the relationship between NI and England is like in football. Do you all hold hands, sit together and sing GSTQ as one?! The one a few years ago was 5,000 all No Surrendering together, that's the relationship. England in Cardiff was surprisingly tame I found. We had tastier mixes with NI. Obviously I haven't experienced it as an away fan but I doubt it'd be as hostile as Dublin or Hampden. The biggest off at your place is still Cardiff-Swansea no matter who you are playing.
Finnegan Posted 14 August 2013 Posted 14 August 2013 The one a few years ago was 5,000 all No Surrendering together, that's the relationship. The biggest off at your place is still Cardiff-Swansea no matter who you are playing. That's DEFINITELY true! It's amazing. Even the Jocks don't have old firm rucks at games. We are special! Literally every home international someone used to get chucked out.
Fox92 Posted 14 August 2013 Posted 14 August 2013 Yeah, I rekon they should be brought back. Better than playing pointless friendlies. Ticket pricing needs to be structured though, I think a lot of people want to watch England but the pricing doesn't justify their recent performances at all.
Fox in the North Posted 14 August 2013 Posted 14 August 2013 Yes. I'd love it if it could be placed in between the World Cup and euros. I'd love it if it could actually become a recognised competitive tournament like the 6 nations. Though I think reality would bring my dreams crashing down.
foxfanazer Posted 14 August 2013 Posted 14 August 2013 Starting to hate internationals to be honest. When all the domestic football is off due to these games it's horrible!
Rincewind Posted 14 August 2013 Posted 14 August 2013 I say yes. I think they would be more competitive than the normal friendlies. There was always the odd shock result to add to the excitement.
Rincewind Posted 14 August 2013 Posted 14 August 2013 Probably why thet stopped. The England manager pcked up the ball and never gave it back.
The Doctor Posted 14 August 2013 Posted 14 August 2013 Aren't Northern Ireland reigning champions? Republic. Won 1-0 against Scotland in the final, Wales finished 3rd and NI 4th.
Guest Bilo Posted 14 August 2013 Posted 14 August 2013 I meant the Home Nations, back in 1984. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983%E2%80%9384_British_Home_Championship This match has been a right advert for bringing them back hasn't it?
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