What is the point? The country is short of money - so why waste huge amounts (policing / security / disruption etc) on this ridiculous extravaganza?

We have enough hooligans here already - without encouraging hoardes more from abroad.

The chances of anyone actually seeing a game will be minimal - with most tickets going to corporate sponsors etc. The vast majority will watch on TV - so it may as well come from somewhere else (and save us huge expense).

Any "profit" will be whisked abroad, and we will be left with the bills.

As the Panorama programme clearly pointed out - this whole thing is a self-serving exercise for a totally corrupt organisation (much like the IOC) which feeds on the gullible foolish enough to get on board.

If Spain / Portugal "win" then that should be enough to financially push them over the edge !!!

This coming from a so called Christian ?
Your post is a disgrace. So negative and taking delight in the collapse
of a country's economy is satanic and evil.

Why worry ?

A typical England football perfomance ...

All Hype - then nothing !!!!!







"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life" - Winston Churchill

Russia are worthy winners and I think it will be fantastic. I visited Russia in 1989 before it came out of the Soviet era and found it a wonderful country and people. I think it will be one of the best hosts ever for the World Cup and far better than the UK.

We have the Olympics in 2012 which we will be funding for 10 years afterwards through taxes ( especially us in London )

BR wrote:
We have the Olympics in 2012 which we will be funding for 10 years afterwards through taxes ( especially us in London )

This bid has STILL cost us about £15 million, BR (which could have provided a new hospital?).

I think Cameron will now regret having got so involved - when there is much more important work to do at home.

We only got 2 votes (and one of them was us voting for ourselves !!!!).

Perhaps we "lost" because they couldn't understand Beckham's mutterings?

PS - Do we get the Gucci handbags back ?

Don't you just despise the arrogance - the reports still believing that we had a RIGHT to the event.

Much will now be made of the "revelations" of corruption - as IF the BBC and other news organisations ought to keep quiet about corruption and greed - just so a few (greedy?) people can wallow in the praise !

Is there a kind of England-arrogance here? A kind of "we want it so we should have it" attitude?
After all, England HAS hosted the World Cup already ... whereas Russia hasn't (even though its been a competitor for a number of years).

PS - The fact that England couldn't even qualify for Euro 2008 - and gave such a miserable performance in South Africa had something to do with it?
If the tournament had been awarded to England they would have automatically qualified.
Were FIFA worried that this may have been an accusation if England had won?

No I despise the arrogance of idiots like you who constantly pollute our minds with your drivel.
STFU !

BR quote "I visited Russia in 1989 before it came out of the Soviet era and found it a wonderful country"

So no police coruption?

BR,If you are going to take a principled postion at least stick to your principles.

Unfortunately I think the only reason BR dislikes the police is that he has been convicted of something in the past and still bears a grudge.

Blue Boy wrote:
Unfortunately I think the only reason BR dislikes the police is that he has been convicted of something in the past and still bears a grudge.

Hardly fair, BB - BR does go on a bit but there is far too much evidence of police corruption to dismiss it entirely.

England hasn't been treated fairly over the years. That's just a fact. For a country of that stature in world football, with its stadia and (important for any host country) TV expertise, it's been snubbed too many times.

Hosts so far:

1930 Uruguay
1934 Italy
1938 France
1950 Brazil
1954 Switzerland
1958 Sweden
1962 Chile
1966 England
1970 Mexico
1974 West Germany
1978 Argentina
1982 Spain
1986 Mexico
1990 Italy
1994 USA
1998 France
2002 South Korea and Japan
2006 Germany
2010 South Africa
2014 Brazil
2018: Russia
2022: Qatar.

First and foremost a World Cup is supposed to be a great spectacle for fans. Blatter has turned it into a very dodgy political project, where the actual event is far too often a shambles because the host country is mainly using the rights for longer-term, insular, ambitions.

Colin Trumper wrote:
England hasn't been treated fairly over the years. That's just a fact. For a country of that stature in world football, with its stadia and (important for any host country) TV expertise, it's been snubbed too many times.

England HAS already staged the event ... lots of other countries have not.
Russia has been taking part for some time, and will "open up" a new frontier. That makes an awful lot of sense.

Ditto, Qatar. It could open-up the whole Middle East / Arab region (where the Cup has not yet been staged).

This is clearly FIFA thinking ... South Africa "got it" because it had never been staged in Africa before.

The event belongs to FIFA ... they started it .... they own it ..... they make the rules.
If you don't like the rules then don't joint the club !

"Hardly fair, BB - BR does go on a bit but there is far too much evidence of police corruption to dismiss it entirely"

I agree there is corruption in the police as there is with all bodies and individuals who have power (FIFA, Politians etc etc)

My point is that BR's position is so extreme and at times so irrational it is probably a result of a personal experience

In The Know wrote:
Colin Trumper wrote:
England hasn't been treated fairly over the years. That's just a fact. For a country of that stature in world football, with its stadia and (important for any host country) TV expertise, it's been snubbed too many times.

England HAS already staged the event ... lots of other countries have not.
Russia has been taking part for some time, and will "open up" a new frontier. That makes an awful lot of sense.

Ditto, Qatar. It could open-up the whole Middle East / Arab region (where the Cup has not yet been staged).

This is clearly FIFA thinking ... South Africa "got it" because it had never been staged in Africa before.

The event belongs to FIFA ... they started it .... they own it ..... they make the rules.
If you don't like the rules then don't joint the club !

I repeat: it's a football event, not a social service. Qatar admit they will dismantle all that's built for the event. Zero legacy. What's positive or long-term about that? And England is the only major footballing country not to stage the games at least twice. I don't get this eagerness to depict FIFA as legit - just do a quick search of the many international journalists who've catalogued the corruption at the centre of that organisation since Blatter took over.

People should stop moaning and accept defeat with dignity. To time move on!

Pumpkinhead wrote:
People should stop moaning and accept defeat with dignity. To time move on!

Dignity? These are footballers ! LOL !
They whine on and on .... and look for someone to blame.
Sheer arrogance.

I've got a simple solution .... why not adopt a Eurovision stance?
The winner hosts the next event.

That way - you won't have sub-standard teams "qualifying" (because they are hosts) and England will NEVER stage the event ever again !!!!

In The Know wrote:
Pumpkinhead wrote:
People should stop moaning and accept defeat with dignity. To time move on!

Dignity? These are footballers ! LOL !
They whine on and on .... and look for someone to blame.
Sheer arrogance.

I've got a simple solution .... why not adopt a Eurovision stance?
The winner hosts the next event.

That way - you won't have sub-standard teams "qualifying" (because they are hosts) and England will NEVER stage the event ever again !!!!

This arrogance would never have been displayed by a Scottish bid. We're used to losing.

Angel wrote:
[quote]This arrogance would never have been displayed by a Scottish bid. We're used to losing {/quote]

Ahh, shame !
The problem with English football is that they are only now just starting to realise that they are not as good - and never were - as they thought.

The indignance of refusing to accept the bid defeat rather proves this. How dare anyone not accept our bid???

Perhaps FIFA thought that as England failed to qualify for Euro 2008, and were such a miserable failure at the WC in 2010, then a "bid" was the only way to guarantee a place at a future event?

In The Know wrote:
[quote]Angel wrote:
This arrogance would never have been displayed by a Scottish bid. We're used to losing {/quote]

Ahh, shame !
The problem with English football is that they are only now just starting to realise that they are not as good - and never were - as they thought.

The indignance of refusing to accept the bid defeat rather proves this. How dare anyone not accept our bid???

Perhaps FIFA thought that as England failed to qualify for Euro 2008, and were such a miserable failure at the WC in 2010, then a "bid" was the only way to guarantee a place at a future event?

I think ITK is a secret member of the Tartan Army...

if it wasn't riven with corruption-yes.

But as it is, the World Cup just like the Olympics is a poised chalice and yet another Corporate Nanny State Scam where you the punter pay huge taxes to subsidise private enterprise that couldn't survive without state handouts.

As I keep saying.... either we have f**king real capitalism or opt out for proper socialism.