Paul Ince Lambasts England Players And Fans

Alan Duffy

7th, September 2011

18 Comments

By Alan Duffy

The Guv’nor is in town and he’s not a happy bunny.

Currently “in between” jobs and probably with an eye on a media position, the tough-tackling former West Ham United star has let rip at the state of the national team.

“If you get called up, you should make sure you’re there, ” he explained. “Nowadays, there are people who make excuses; they’ve got a knock, they’re injured,  because they want to be fit for that game at the weekend.”

“When I played for England there were players who were in that squad every month, or every competition, but, because of the Champions League and Premier League, we now have 40-odd players getting caps. It’s sad, ” he said.

Not content with rubbishing the players, the 43-year-old, who Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson famously called “a bottler” and “a f**king big-time Charlie”, also has England fans in his sights.

“I can’t remember from my time fans singling out a certain England player to boo, or have a go at. And it kind of sickens me, ” he complains. “England expect to win when they go away, because there’s not so much pressure on them.”

Is “Incey” spot on in his analysis, or is he simply trying to increase his media profile with a bit of controversy? What do you think?

Posted in Euro 2012, International football, Media

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18 Comments

  1. Aziz says:

    Paul Ince is a real historic player; and about his analysis ; I think that he is serious;

    somebody which talk to SAF like that deserve to be considered as honest … for Ever Ince…

  2. Les says:

    Spot On! I know i would play every time, even if there was three England games a day! It seems to me that players care more about the pay packet they get from the saturdays rather than the pride and honour of playing for the shirt, for the nation. Players like Gerrard who carried L’Pool to Champs League glory and Lamps, pivotal for CHelsea, have done nothing for England (certainly in comparison for when they play club football). Thus the fans booing is completely understandable; they pay to watch others get the honour of playing for their country and see them underperforming- the draw against montenegro, last night v wales, that wembley night vs croatia, the whole world cup. With the squad we have we should have won much more and got into at least one final. If the results aren’t there as they seem to be week in week out for their clubs then the reasonable answer to come to is that they simply aren’t trying as hard or that they just don’t care enough

  3. Les says:

    And another thing. Caps are being handed out like sweets these days- Carlton cole has 7 caps for england. 7!!! Also featuring under Capello include Kieran Gibbs, Stephen Warnock, Matt Jarvis, Jay Bothroyd and Jermaine Jenas!!!! Lets not even get started with the Sven and Mclaren Eras. There is no way on earth that these are the best players available for selection (granted they haven’t featured that often but its still a poor indictment of the country with the best league in the world if at any point, the best we can do to change a game is to bring on Carlton Cole or Jay Bothroyd). Ok Rant over

  4. Well says:

    He’s right on certain accounts. Fans booing players (their own or the oppositions) is sickening. That shit should not happen at all. It reminds me of children. Also, I agree that getting a cap for your country has lessened in prestige over the years, but thats just the way the world turns.

    As for the “expectations” of England in international competition, there will always be some. However, I believe most of it is simply anxiety. People are getting fed up with England not winning. We want to see the Lions win, and since its been done before, there’s a belief that it can happen again. Every time that belief is shattered, there’s frustration. But supporters should always support, no matter what.

    Jeers are for douchebags, cheers are for fans.

  5. Charlie Adam says:

    Cringingly obvious what the author thinks, anyway.

  6. Conan says:

    former manchester united manager sir alex ferguson???

  7. Matt says:

    Ince also criticised England supporters for not creating a positive atmosphere: “I can’t remember from my time fans singling out a certain [England] player to boo, or have a go at. And it kind of sickens me.”

    How can Ince forget about the treatment of John Barnes?

    Interesting that Ince suddenly makes this big public statement the day after there are calls for more black managers and talk of pressuring clubs to shortlist black managers. I suspect this is a profile-raising bit of PR.

  8. Matt says:

    And Les, you say that “Caps are being handed out like sweets these days” like it’s only a recent thing.

    What about Michael Ball, David Bardsley, Earl Barrett, Gary Charles, Colin Cooper, Steve Guppy, David Hirst, Stuart Ripley, Neil Ruddock, John Salako, Tim Sherwood, Paul Stewart, Alan Thompson, Barry Venison, Jason Wilcox, Steve Froggatt, etc

    All have fewer that five caps for England and they didn’t get their caps recently did they?

  9. Rob says:

    I remember John Barnes getting booed for not replicating his club form, that was probably close to Ince’s time.
    I’m tired of the England set up and the circus that follows it. The press certainly don’t help, it wouldn’t bother me if they didn’t qualify.
    Gerrard should just stick to playing for Liverpool as the fans appreciate him there, the England fans seem to forget his goals, and contributions in qualifiers and championships, probably the same people who want Beckham in the team.

  10. Steve K says:

    Is what Ince said in any way controversial?

    He basically said he’s disappointed that players pull out of England fixtures too easily. Given the fact, as mentioned above, the likes of Jay Bothroyd and David Nugent have England caps, he has a point.

    Also, he said that he doesn’t understand why fans boo certain England players, and that this probably makes them anxious. Again, he has a point.

    He hasn’t actually said anything that every paper in the country hasn’t already said.

    The best part of the win onver Bulgaria for me, was the lack of “We’re gonna win the world cup!” reaction from the press.

  11. Muppetfinder General says:

    “There is no way on earth that these are the best players available for selection”

    Miroslav Klose – 6 goals in 38 league games, then 4 goals in the World Cup. No way was his form worth selection, either. International football is a different beast, though. Lampard is a better player than Barry but we Barry and Gerrard worked very well once Steve McLaren dropped Lampard, tuned results around and got everybody onside. His big mistake was returning Lampard for the Croatia game. And worrying about his Donald Trump hair in the rain.

    “I’m tired of the England set up and the circus that follows it. The press certainly don’t help, it wouldn’t bother me if they didn’t qualify.”

    Ditto. FIFA corruption, FA incompetence and our media have cheapened and devalued it for me. Journos always looking for an angle, even if it affects our chances in a tournament, like sneaking a fan into the dressing room – if an Italian or Argentinian journo tried that they’d be lynched by fans. Capello hasn’t helped and seems to currently be pandering to the media until he can get out of the madhouse.

    Steven Gerrard (a staunch patriot needlessly injured in a pointless friendly organised by our useless FA simply to pay for Wembley) said in his book that Ince was more concerned with his England shirt than his Liverpool one. I think he’d agree with Fergie’s assessment that Ince was a big-time Charlie. The word is his son, Tom, was shipped out of Liverpool for the same reason.

  12. Steve says:

    KInda on the money, You see it all the time. Certain players go out injured before certain games. But there is to much at stake these days. Be it money or club comps. On one hand playing for country should be the highest of honours, on the other hand, I can see where clubs are coming from. Now days they pay/invest a shit load of money for these players. Only to have them go away on national duty. Esp the smaller countries, where the possibly of second rate coaching and (medical) staff is prevalent. Where these players are expected to carry a team, a country. Only for these guys to end up getting injured for like 6mths. Take Chelsea & Essien for example. Was it 2 seasons in a row where he has gone off to play for Ghana & ended up blowing a knee. Then the club is stuck with depleted team, at risk of getting knock out of comps (& like it or not that means more money). Only to end up with a massive wage bill for a guy who can’t compete?

  13. Michael says:

    Is my memory bad or did England teams when Ince played won anything significantly more than the current lot – Think not. Its a problem England have always had Mr. Ince with your imaginary alter-ego – The Guv. Think Roy Keane was more of a ‘Gov’ than you ever were.

  14. Patrick says:

    Spot on.

  15. gamblino says:

    Legend. Only reason the fans were easier on Ince’s batch is that the played with a bit of spirit though.

  16. Matt says:

    Oh and Beckham – remember the fans treatment of Beckham after the 1998 World Cup?

    Ince clearly has a short memory.

  17. Montesquieu says:

    “When I played for England there were players who were in that squad every month, or every competition, but, because of the Champions League and Premier League, we now have 40-odd players getting caps. It’s sad, ” he said.

    When Ince played (at least in the beginning) England was banned from the precursor of the Champions League. So he failed on that one as well.

  18. Montesquieu says:

    Besides, even in Ince’s time England were horrendous. The team hasn’t been anywhere near the Final since 1990 and that was twenty one years ago.

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