The English Alex Ferguson

Hairy Homer

Get a load of what Sir Clive has to say about prematch palaver. Talk about the blast furnace calling the electric kettle black.

What a wind-up merchant. Pity his role model is a Scot, eh?

Don't get mad, guys. Get even.


Woodward out of tune with Scots
By Mick Cleary_ (Filed: 23/02/2004)

Sir Clive Woodward hit out yesterday at the Murrayfield pageantry that he feels was stage-managed to try to rattle England prior to Saturday's Calcutta Cup match. Despite the fact that England recorded their second successive victory in this year's RBS Six Nations Championship in beating Scotland by a record score, 35-13, Woodward felt the pre-match routines were excessive and unnecessary, pointing out that England had been deliberately kept waiting._

We are not amused: Sir Clive Woodward made his views known

"It's got to stop," Woodward said. "It doesn't happen down in New Zealand and Australia. The worst places here are Murrayfield and Lansdowne Road. They seem to take great delight in trying to mess England around. Yet we won't get pushed about.'

uberwolf

what exactly happened in Lansdowne road that he's refering to?

Trojan

Originally posted by uberwolf
what exactly happened in Lansdowne road that he's refering to?

Maybe the red carpet business.

Though I did think the pre-match stuff went on a while on Sunday, with the president, then the 2 Irish anthems (there was a minute silence (or almost silence) for the bus tradegy too). It did seem a bit dragged out, though I'm not sure what they can get rid of (the national anthem?)...

uberwolf

I presumed the refernce was the red carpet thing although I thought consensus was Johnson was just being a johnson when he did that?

GreenHell

Yep he was cause he was just sticking it to us, bastard.

Woodward can say what he like rugby has to been packages these days the whole world doesn't revolve around beating the English.

Hairy Homer

Exactly. The Red Carpet business.

The prematch stuff yesterday was badly organised. But we were playing Wales, which just goes to show that it's equal torture for everybody.

I seem to remember that they split the minute's silence before and after the anthems. Maybe it's because they didn't communicate to the Welsh choir that they were in fact having a minute's silence and the lads just piled in with the anthems.

So we have two anthems. Nothing unique in that. So does South Africa. And the New Zealanders or the other South Sea Islanders insist on the haka or its equivalent before starting the game. As well as the anthems. All adds up to a lot of prematch palaver.

Sure we can streamline it and make sure everybody is clear what's going to happen and when. But this is just Ferguson-like gamesmanship from Sir Clive. (Give a scrote a knighthood and they're all the bloody same!) Let's not rise to the bait. Let's just get even by thrashing the gits at Twickenham.

I'll tell you what. I would love it, love it if we beat them. Love it.

uberwolf

Originally posted by Hairy Homer
I'll tell you what. I would love it, love it if we beat them. Love it.

AMEN to that.

Meantime. there's a kick off time. Publish a players out on pitch time. Enforce somehow. I think what the SRU did was good, they're in financial trouble are having difficulty selling out murrayfield. So make a show of it, entertain the masses.

hallelujajordan

Originally posted by Hairy Homer

I'll tell you what. I would love it, love it if we beat them. Love it.

Alle (bleedin) lujah . . would love to see the smirk wiped off that smug little face. . .