heavens

yesterday was my birthday. whilst i had a fab day with my daughter there was no card from the rbmb, not even a post that s**t was brown! where is everybody? dead?

A happy belated one Dave..... 

Happy birthday Dave

Have one on me  

thanks chaps, not after a card, but feel that i have been chatting to myself for the last few days

davewebber65 wrote:thanks chaps, not after a card, but feel that i have been chatting to myself for the last few days

That's pretty normal for you though isn't it Dave?

Happy belated birthday!

Happy birthday for yesterday dave!


This place goes into hibernation for the international breaks it appears

Rhys wrote:Happy birthday for yesterday dave!


This place goes into hibernation for the international breaks it appears

.......just goes to show how real interest there is in international football in the UK. I personally couldn't give a fig about it, but you might expect to see a few threads from those who do want to share some thoughts.........

Red614 wrote:

davewebber65 wrote:thanks chaps, not after a card, but feel that i have been chatting to myself for the last few days

That's pretty normal for you though isn't it Dave?

Happy belated birthday!

you are so sweet  

checked my bank statement and found out that the government had just payed me my £200 winter fuel allowance.

THANKS FOR THE COLLECTIVE PRESSO CHAPS. DON'T KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO WITHOUT YOU :bounce: 

TDA wrote:

Rhys wrote:Happy birthday for yesterday dave!


This place goes into hibernation for the international breaks it appears

.......just goes to show how real interest there is in international football in the UK.  I personally couldn't give a fig about it, but you might expect to see a few threads from those who do want to share some thoughts.........

Speak for yourself - I love international breaks, especially when England are facing opposition as strong as they are this break.

Welsh interest in the national game is depressingly low in my opinion, and I still don't think 'we're crap' is a good enough excuse - we are afterall Cardiff City fans, and the half a decade of repeated playoff failure didn't put any of us off, did it?

For me personally, my love of watching England play is bigger than my love of Cardiff City. You can, within reason, pick your domestic team. You can't pick your country.

Red614 wrote:

TDA wrote:

Rhys wrote:Happy birthday for yesterday dave!


This place goes into hibernation for the international breaks it appears

.......just goes to show how real interest there is in international football in the UK.  I personally couldn't give a fig about it, but you might expect to see a few threads from those who do want to share some thoughts.........

Speak for yourself - I love international breaks, especially when England are facing opposition as strong as they are this break.

Welsh interest in the national game is depressingly low in my opinion, and I still don't think 'we're crap' is a good enough excuse - we are afterall Cardiff City fans, and the half a decade of repeated playoff failure didn't put any of us off, did it?

For me personally, my love of watching England play is bigger than my love of Cardiff City. You can, within reason, pick your domestic team. You can't pick your country.

In years gone by, I have been happy to lend my support to all of the UK & ROI international teams at whatever tournament might have been on at the time. The core of me is British and I believe in a proper United Kingdom. For that reason, I would love to see a Team GB becoming a more realistic proposition.

On the other hand, club and player influences have spoiled international football for me, as the national managers are constantly being denied the opportunity to field the teams they would really like to. The paying customer has been fobbed off with second rate international football for years.................and as I have said, I have lost interest...... 

Would FIFA accept us as a proper 'country', however? It affects everything at quite a deep level, from sorting out pools at international tournaments to league table results. And without sounding like the stuck up Englishman, would it truly be 'team GB', or would it be England with Bale and Ramsey stuck on?

The players all picking up miraculous injuries is a cause for concern. It tends to fade away at major tournaments and is therefore a bigger problem for nations like Wales and Scotland, but it's a plague uniformly. Friendlies are critically important to international success because they are the only games the players get to truly start working together as a team. I think Bale is another perfect example - as outstanding as he is, when faced with a team where 90% of the faces he's never played with before, he struggles.

I really don't have an issue with a Great British football team and I'd be more inclined to;

a) Wish both English players well and Welsh players well as their performances of course would affect each others chances of winning.

b) The thought of cheering on Caulker alongside Ramsey and Bale at a World Cup is great.

c) It would be great in uniting Britain and bringing back a sense of collective pride to these shores which is something that has for a long time gone amiss. For a long time, being proud to be British as a unit has been seen as something bad and associated with groups like the BNP/EDL when it should be associated with good things like the World Cup, Charity/Aid and Olympic Games.

d) It allows players like Bale and Ramsey and some Scottish players to actually compete for prestigious awards and enhance their careers and not become victims of being born in a particular country. Whilst of course they should be proud of being Welsh I do believe they should also be proud of being British. David Marshall also, on form this season, would easily be ahead of Joe Hart or at least be getting a look in to playing for the team. That's something to think about.

Happy Belated birthday Dave