The XI best players booed for England…

Ollie Irish

10th, September 2007

14 Comments

aaaaa76595589.jpgIt was almost quite heart warming to hear Bentley booed by England fans at the weekend. With so many empty seats as corporate goons stuffed their faces with Wembley frois graux and prawn sangers, the rings of boos every time the Blackburn winger touched the ball, let the world know real England fans were also in the ground. Fans who were (rightly!) disgusted that the hugely gifted Arsenal reject had snubbed an under-21 call up in the summer. But this got us thinking, what other grrrrrrrreat players have been booed by England fans…
Photo: Getty


1) Shilton.
Some say he was never a good goalie, all agree he was a big dodgy near the end. Technically we would have beaten Germany in Italia 90 if he had been at his best. Hence a few boos near the end.
2) Des Walker
Brilliant player whose injuries saw him play terribly on a regular basis for England.
3) Gary Neville
Arguably England’s finest ever right-back, but he’s such an annoying little toad man even Manchester United fans must struggle to resist the odd little boo.
4) Owen Hargreaves
So respected is Owen now, it’s hard to remember just how hated he was before the World Cup. The poor Canadian was booed like a pantomime goblin for years…
5) Frank Lampard
If he plays in the week, he’ll probably be booed. Extremely harsh on the poor fatty who is without doubt one of England’s most talented players.
6) David Beckham
Booed for months after he acted like a bit tit and kicked that Argie. Luckily this seemed to fire him up and turn him into a better player.
7) John Barnes
Booed throughout his England career as he failed to live up to his tag as one of the world’s best players. If ever there was one, Barnes is an example of a player who couldn’t handle the boos. They frankly destroyed his England career.
8) David Batty
Few people knew why he was playing near the end, and though the boos made him angry, they didn’t make him better.
9) Carlton Palmer
Well, even Carlton would have expected it.
10) Peter Crouch
Deemed by many not good enough for England, he silenced the boo boys quickly with goals.
11) Emile Heskey
Booed for months, but now oddly an England hero again?
The Manager: Sir Alf.
It’s remarkable to think Alf was hated near the end of his reign, but he was.

So who have you enjoyed booing the most for England? Let us know…

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14 Comments

  1. Col says:

    Rightly? Booing your own player when he’s done nothing wrong? You sound like one of the retards that was sat in Wembley.
    He has took the flack, he wasn’t in the squad for the Germany game, he’s waited for his turn. SWP (man of the match by a long way) was substituted for Bentley so McClaren must have been impressed with him for some reason. Enough to sub the best player on the pitch.
    What exactly was “Boo”-ing Bentley going to achieve? You’ve made me so angry.

  2. Col says:

    Though his haircut is probably worth booing…

  3. nicko says:

    booing his haircut is certainly a worthwhile exercise… as for booing because he snubbed a call up to the under 21 squad because he felt he was unfit, i think thats a bit pathetic myself.
    Arguably he is one of the most talented English youngsters around (despite my previous comments slating him)…
    Would you boo Scholes or Carragher if they where to return…. no i didn’t think so

  4. Jay says:

    I like the delusional idea that booing a player from your own team can improve his performance.
    We should all try that novel approach with our kids, they will surely excell in their lifes.

  5. Polle says:

    I just booed at my dog to see if it worked Jay. He just looked confused and a bit sad.

  6. Dom says:

    Boooooooooooo! Lee Coan.
    Editorialising in such a brash and crass manner. Back to journalism school with you!
    Booooooooooooooooooooooooo!

  7. Nathan Marriott says:

    I have been to all the England games at Wembley and have booed Frank lampard, it does pay off!!
    He scored after 9 minutes against Germany, Bentley is a nuggett, and should have turned out for the U 21s. I wonder what the rest of them think? He is playing for the seniors and not them?
    the boos will end if he turns in decent perfomances, anyway I pay £50 to get into Wembley if I dont like a performance i have the right to boo!!!!!!!!!!

  8. Dom says:

    He’d been called up to the squad previously and then was recalled to the U21s. At 23, he really shouldn’t have been going back to the U21s anyway.
    Boo to you too Nathan Marriott. Nobody is making you pay £50. And Lampard is rubbish, despite the booing.
    Booooooooooo

  9. LJ says:

    ‘If he plays in the week, he’ll probably be booed. Extremely harsh on the poor fatty who is without doubt one of England’s most talented players.’
    …As well as by far the least bothered with England’s terrible performances over the last year or so.
    If you’re an England fan and pay your hard-earned to follow them to desolate places like Israel (‘The toilets were a ditch behind the ground’, according to my mate Jez) and Andorra (well, ok, Barcelona), it’s no wonder you start booing the fat chap who hardly does any running, absolutely no tackling, takes a shot whenever he gets the ball when he could’ve easily played in someone in an actual scoring position and generally spends most of his time whinging about what loudmouth Scouser/Manc/Geordie Barton may or may not have said.

  10. Bella says:

    Fun article. Go on and Boo Bentley, he’s got spunk, didn’t appear to mind paying for his summer choice, or apologize for it…says he’ll prove right or wrong on pitch, so let’s have that. Frank said same thing, but looks to be suffering as much as fans…a nice layoff might put him out of his misery for awhile, one of England’s greatest players for club not NT…not everything clicks.

  11. suse says:

    I dont understnad the booing if he’s playing well, if you want to boo someone, pick on someone who cheats or dives, or gets the spud faced nipper sent off during the world cup!!

  12. Dan Clough says:

    No way should fans boo players from their own side. It just went to prove yet again that England fans are fickle. David Bentley had his reasons for pulling out, putting club before country in some respects and trying to make sure he get’s a game in the Euro’s (if we get there). He also took his punishment in not being included in the squad for the Germany game. So leave the lad alone.

  13. Joe says:

    What if the player-who-shouldn’t-be-booed decides he isn’t getting paid enough for this ‘England’-lark and runs towards the dug-out in the middle of a match, demanding the manager gets out his check book? Should we cheer him on then?
    ‘Go Ashley! You deserve 60k son! Of course it’s 60,000 times harder to run up and down a field for half an hour once a week than it is sowing shirts together 25 hours a day in a broom cupboard!’
    If a player simply isn’t very good and having a stinker, it’s the manager’s fault that he’s on the pitch and he shouldn’t under any circumstance be booed. This applies especially to Paul Robinson. The Bentley-case is a tough one but Lampard DEFINITELY deserves to be booed until he gets his mind of the buffet.

  14. Zekky says:

    Fatty fatty fat fat is one of England’s best?
    Sir Chunks-a-lot is so over-rated, they should boo him until the cows come home!@!