Team GB
I thought I would touch upon team Great Britain team for the Olympics. For those of you who remember you’ll know I couldn’t care less what’s going on with the England national team (until a Newcastle player plays for them), but the idea of a Team GB seems very interesting to me.
Led by former Newcastle United defender Stuart Pearce the team can now consist of players from all across Britain however it is inevitable that the majority will be English. The team can have a maximum of three players over twenty-three in the squad. Plus of course we will be able to watch Olympic football at St James’ Park although Team GB won’t be one of those showcasing their skills at the cathedral on the hill.
There has been no official squad announcement as yet although it would appear that David Beckham has missed out on selection – a bitter pill to swallow after the part he played in winning the Olympic bid – with the media speculating the the three permitted overage players are Micah Richards, Craig Bellamy and Ryan Giggs. Fair enough I guess, but here is who I would take instead and why.
GK – Jack Butland – He was recently called up by Roy Hodgson as a replacement for John Ruddy for the Euros but was third choice so never got a game. He is a promising youngster who will get deserved attention from being in the squad.
RB – Micah Richards – This young Manchester City full-back has been a constant performer in the Premier League for the title winners. He was, for reasons unknown to many, left out of Roy’s Euro squad so will be available for team GB.
CB 1 – Gary Caldwell – This Scotland international has been an ever present in a strong Wigan defence, his leadership and experience earns him the place in my squad.
CB 2 – Chris Gunter – Relatively unknown, this 22-year-old Nottingham Forest defender has made thirty-six appearances for Wales and is looking for some more recognition to play at a higher level. He will be eager to impress to a world audience where he will prove he’s good enough. However I would replace him with Steven Taylor if he was deemed to be fit enough.
LB – Neil Taylor – Another Welsh international, he has been instrumental in Swansea’s incredible run in their first season of the Premier League.
RM – David Beckham – Now I know a few eyebrows will be raised but I have chosen Becks as another ‘veteran’ for a number of reasons, firstly he is the face of the London Olympics and was a huge part of the Olympic bid (he even lit the torch), secondly he provides a well known factor to the team as he is known globally adding more attraction (not physical attraction) to team GB, and lastly this will probably be his last time he represents his country whether it be England or Great Britain and the great man deserves an international send off on a stage like this.
CM 1 – Joe Allen – It’s seeming as though there are more Welshman than Englishmen in the team, but as a key part in Swansea’s highly praised midfield (yes I know he’ll probably just pass it back to the keeper like Swansea usually do!) he’ll be a good addition to team GB’s midfield.
CM 2 – Barry Bannan – the Aston Villa/Scottish international player has appeared a very promising player and it has been suggested that he may move to a bigger club as he is quick, good at passing and crossing and has a wicked free-kick on him.
LM – Gareth Bale – It is probably one of the most obvious choices in the team. Bale is one of the best wingers in the Premier League and many England fans are annoyed by his nationality as it would solve that left wing problem (I’m talking about you Downing).
ST 1 – Jordan Rhodes – Another eyebrow-raiser I know but Rhodes is one of the best strikers outside of the Premier League and many feel that it’s only a matter of time before the striker gets his chance at the top level.
ST 2 – Daniel Sturridge – Even though he didn’t exactly set the league alight this season with goals he was often played on the wing much to his irritation. His speed and vision will cause problems for the defences that he faces, especially the Senegal defence.
Now I know this may not be to the taste of everyone, but with little else going on at least we have some football to talk about. Yes it would be great to talk about a new signing or a new transfer link but it’s a case of same old on that particular front so Team GB it is!
Who would you pick?
Thanks to Andymag for sending this one in!
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131 Comments
Thought i read on a website yesterday no scottish or irish players were in the squad. Did they mean home based?
sorry like i didnt give a shit about the england euro team,and sorry feel the same about the gb team,canny thread like
‘Team GB’
Waste of time. End of
ANDY well done mate
I actually quite like the concept of it all. Something different anyway and possibly the closest thing you could get to a Premier League XI.
There will be some belting players at the Olympics. I know Messi always wants to play in it and even kicked off with Barca about it previously, then there are layers like Neymar from Brazil who will be in it. Some of the best up and coming stars in world football on our doorstep! Can’t wait!
Gutted the twat pearce left Becks out
as with him in would have made it a perfect send off.
If Becks is missing so am I ….
becks is a bloody waste of space
Andy well done lad good read
Yeah I can see both sides of the Becks one, I do think after all that he done for the olympics it would have been a good way to thank him and for him to have his swan song.
But maybe Pearce wants to go all out to win it I guess we’ll have to wait to see who his over age players are.
Actually the more I think off it I do think it was a real kick in the teeth to Becks as even if I don’t like him he has always gave his all, and im sure he would still add a lot to the team.
I might do a piece on the aussie olympic team….. anybody keen to read something like that.. yaaaay!
Hmmmmm maybe not… it ill be fodder for more wombat, fosters an convict jibes…
Well done on the article Andy! !
AMF that would be gift from heaven for richie
Becks is overated but more importantly he would have kept a younger player off the park had he played.. These younger players will do well with experience, Becks, well he will get a warm fuzzy feeling.. also his presence may over shadow the team and it could quite easily all become about him…
I think Pearce should have gone out of his way to have at least 1 scottish and 1 irish player in the squad . I really don’t consider the team he picked too be a Great Britain team without all 4 home nations represented . They did not have too to play in the premiership to get in ,all it would of took was a look at every nations u21 team a word with the u21 coaches of each nation and the best player they have could have been chosen .
Ice
that it would……
Andy ,well done ,good read
. The idea of team G.B is quite exciting really ,sworn enemies playing side by side .Who knows we might do better than when England and the other national teams play their own teams. My only surprise Andy is you didn’t suggest Forster for Keeper as I know how much you rate him 
. As for Becks, I do feel for him as he may not of been the best player in the world but there are few as committed as he for their country and it would of been a last hurrah for him on his own turf. He was a huge part of securing the London bid and Ido feel he’s been dealt a cruel blow tbh. That aside I have huge faith in Stuart Pearce and hope he does well. 
@16 home not own
Aussie @198 last article, I for one am gutted about Guthrie going ,really liked him and thought he had a lot to offer.Anyway good luck to him at Reading.
We should have put young Ferguson in the GB team there is your Northern Irish representation and a player with a lot of potential.
Axel @ 14 you can’t have an Irish player in the GB squad as Ireland isn’t part of GB
But I think he should have young Shane Ferguson in the team
LUALUA you beat me to it
Feel the same Kim, knew Guthrie was leaving but now its official, It seems a little bit of a downer.. as you say good luck to him
KIM you got sorted with net now did they turn up?
Dont pick Scottish player, they’re shite
Diego Simeone was also upset that becks didn’t make the team. He says “I am sad for David, he was a committed player who was never scared to put the boot in”
Sorry mate couldn’t care less about “team GB”. And there is no Irish player becasue they have their own team.
Oh yeh and I lost internet again last night
It’s been a truly shite week I must say.
Kim I have had the bogus virgin tech guys phone me once, but after 30 secs or so I knew he was a fake so I played along with him for a bit letting on I was on the pc doing as he asked and he was losing the bap because he must have realised that I was playing along with him because I was in tears laughing at him cracking up because I kept asking him to repeat what it was he said etc
then in the end I told him what I thought of him etc 
Nice article Andy!
Apparently there’ll only be English and Welsh players in the squad though, which seems a trifle odd, so no room for your Scottie boys anyway!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/18653453
I’ve always liked the idea of a GB football team, but liked the idea of it replacing England. Mind you, I first started thinking that when players like Ryan Giggs, Damien Duff, Duncan Ferguson, Roy Keane etc were all in their pomp. Imagine the team we could’ve put out back then! Yeah I know I’m English, and England is a separate country to Wales etc but I thought it’d give GB a better chance of winning something than England would. Geographically I don’t see much difference between Scotland, Wales and England than I do different states in the USA; when you think about the size of USA their football team should be world beaters!
It’s a bit of a shame that no players can be picked for both tournaments anyway (Euros and Olympics), which I suppose is how we’ll manage to shoehorn Gareth Bale and Bellamy in there.
As for Beckham, yeah, his interests are elsewhere these days really. He’s a PR man/public figure now, who just happens to still be playing football in lesser leagues, so I can understand why he’s being left out. Personally I’d take him. Yeah he might not be the sharpest any more, but he’s still one of the best free kick/corner takers/ball crossers in the world, and without them you’ve got fuck all for your strikers to get on the end of.
Ah, I almost forgot. I fucking hated the Olympic logo when it was first revealed 5 years ago but just thought….”well yeah, it must be pretty difficult designing a brand that’s gona bring about awareness and still look up to date in 5 years time”.
…..BUT IT STILL LOOKS FUCKING SHIT!!!
I could do better in Microsoft fekking Word!
Len – that’s right, they cant include any Irish players. The Republic of Ireland is a completely separate country and Northern Ireland isn’t part of Great Britain – it’s part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Great Britain only comprises England, Scotland and Wales.
Really strange about no Scottish inclusion like, but much like everyone else I’m not massively interested in the footy at all…Rowing, Cycling and the tiddly winks for me.
Well done on the article though.
As I understood it the Scots were not that bothered about being part of team G.B .
Dave @27 ,It was a real comedy of errors mate. We get them phone all the time and I hang up ,but because we were expecting Virgin and when Hazel said we was expecting you out, he never put her right the git. On top of that he was Indian and all Virgins tech guys are Indian I have never spoken to one who wasn’t. Once he was online remotely ,slowly the penny dropped and I’m so angry I got duped like that ,i’m normally much more on the ball but it’s been a stressy week and he caught me whilst in a rush that morning
Chris G yeah your officially correct Norn Iron is part of the UK but is an add on to GB even though 99% of traditional unionist people class themselves as British and hold British passports
.
But Northern Ireland sports people can take part in team GB because its as you say GB and NI
Kim funny thing is I got them phoning me around the sametime I was having problems with the service, so it seems there could be insiders in the call centers
Dave @32 .You know ,I did wonder about that too
Feckin parasites ,I hate them. 
I would personally put steven taylor in the squad as t the start of the season he was one of the best cb in the Pl maybe danny guthrie aswell
Kim I can’t stand the way all the big companies are going to them ” Helloo how may I be of help to you Sir ” call centers half the time I can’t understand WTF they’re saying
KIM a real how-do-you -do,glad its sorted,seen a couple of prog on tv about them,i dont get many of those sort of calls now
i fixed them just got a whistle and when they used to call blew it as hard as i could,funny they dont call now 
Ice
That’s one for future reference 
there are a couple of uk banks that have sacked there tec staff and moved to india,they said instead of paying 40/50 grand a yr they get the same job done for 9grand r.b.s and nat west i think,hence that big stuff up the bank had the other day caused by a guy in india wipeing out some tec stuff,cheap eh ffs
BIG DAVE @19 my apologies to all Northern Irish ,i did actually mean Northern irish and Scottish . Hope i haven’t offended anyone or made enemies .
AXEL nee bother mate,dave wouldnt understand anyway
Axel
no mate don’t be silly.
Bale ,out of olympic squad due to aggravated injury while training
.Perhaps a way back in for Becks then 
I can see loads pulling out with sudden injuries.
Kim…nope, Bale isn’t one of the three overage players allowed
Bollox to Becks anyway, Pearce should be picking the players(available to him) that he thinks has the best chance of winning, if he thinks Becks is one of them then fair enough, if not tough shit I’m afraid that’s football.
Dave…nowt to do with nasty, I’d be pissed off if managers picked players for sentimental reasons instead of football ones
Yeah Richie I get your point, but you seem so aggressive
Dave…moi
DAVE richie mrs must have stole a chip off his plate,gets that way if he gets short measure
Paella for me Ice, the only chips I have these days are on my shoulders
Lee Ryder @lee_ryder
#nufc Luuk De Jong sat out of FC Twente’s 14-1 friendly win over RKSVZ today as Steve McClaren’s side warm up for Europa League game on Thur
3hw, Interesting, he’s not injured I suppose
Seems too good to be true . Knowing our luck it’s cause he’s off to somewhere else. 
Richie is it true you get your paella made in one of them massive pans
3HOURSWASTED 14-1 that sounds like a hell of a warm up
some over-excited premature editing over on wikipedia –
‘Luuk de Jong (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈlyk də ˈjɔŋ], born 27 August 1990) is a Dutch footballer, currently playing for English Premier League club Newcastle United.’
‘On the 30th June 2012 De Jong agreed terms to join English Premier League club Newcastle United where he will wear the number 8 shirt.The fee agreed was believed to be in excess of 10m euro although declared undisclosed[13]‘
(the article referenced by [13] says nothing of the sort BTW)
Dave…yes, cos that’s the way they make them
…….but I also use one for my fry ups 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luuk_de_Jong
Aye Big Dave – we should forget about De Jong and sign whoever scored the 14 goals
Richie but your not supposed to get it served in one surely
Dave..says who?
http://www.talksport.co.uk/radio/transfer-talk-show/120630/courtney-debuchy-and-luuk-de-jong-will-both-join-newcastle-175582
3HW aye that would do
M thats the problem with wiki its no more reliable than cwarr.
Richie right enough like there is no right or wrong, is that what you mostly eat now I don’t just mean Paella but their food in general
Thanks guys, didn’t get to see it up till now as I’ve been at work.
.
Toonsy
See you’ve tweaked it slightly
ANDYMAG “See you’ve tweaked it slightly” was that a good thing or bad ?
Dave
all good though. Sucks that Pearce is only choosing English and Welsh players and that Bale is injured.
Good, I hadn’t mentioned about Beckham’s exclusion, and he’s added stuff to my information about players. Though he appears to have swapped Holt with Rhodes.
Andy wee tip if its for the betterment of the article just let on its your own
Dave
aye toonsy is well know for fiddleing with his knobs
As there is now only 2 overage players in the team I’d replace Butland with Forster.
Ice your right Toonsy is a fully qualified timed served knob fiddler
Andy you done well kid, is that the start of you becoming a blog writer
Cheers dave
DAVE did you read MM comment @259 on last thread,we are being watched
Watch out Ice…you know I’m watching….
MM i know you have been drinking like,lucky sod
Ice @ 71
just checked it 
I was going to say something nice about him but he’s here now 
Ice…no just swimming and enjoying the balastic warm weather mate, no gargling for me tonight I’m afraid. Now tomorrow, brunch with the neighbours 10:30 kick off… that’s a different story…wehey…
Big D…watch out mate, you know I’m watching… but I’ve lost me glassess…
I have a feeling we’ll wake up tomorrow to the big news of De Jong and Debuschy signing for the toon…. I can feel it in me watter……
MM I sometimes think that that is maybe the clubs plan to get a big name in asap to keep the natives quiet and to boost the sales of the new shirts when they come out.
Then I think FFS Dave give yerself a good shake we’ll have to wait till we sell a big player 1st
MM
That company ‘Bayer’ are they a pesticide company? Cus I saw at work(garden centre) a lot of pest/herbicides made by a brand called Bayer.
You guys here about Platinnis plans for Euro2020? Wants matches to be held right round Europe, lots of different cities, no host country.
well not that i trust jabba but if keep our main players and get those players in that is talked about we could just have a canny season think keeping taylor fit for a full season will be a big plus imo
Andymag…aye you are dead right mate, it’s the same Bayer, a huge pharmecutical company who produce everything from asprins, materials ….err…absolutely everything, they are HUGE…. check out the web page..
Leverkusen is a pretty naff place though, the place is ruled by a huge refinery like area which runs through the city… would have loved to have nicked Barnetta from them, but he’ll probably move the 80 or so km’s to Schalke 04….
Oh according to SSN Richards is one of the overage players, thought he was underage
, looks like Giggs will play and Bellamy 
Big D@78…
keep the faith big man…. 
I have a good feeling that summat big will happen, though I think someone will be heading out too….. perhaps Ba… When does his “clause” run out, end of July ??
MM
Like Einhoven with that hardware company?
I reckon slappy chops ‘Arry will now retire from footy….will miss him a lot…not…
just read this mmmmmmmmm
http://www.tynetime.com/2012/06/30/newcastle-united-make-their-move-for-junior-hoilett/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=newcastle-unite
Phillips, that’s the company
, is the background to everyone’s page shock ‘smilies’ or is it just mine?
Oh smilies are gone
Ice…I read it too just noo….. couldn’t they wangle summat with Best gannin the other way ? Though if Hoilett is on a free there is nowt the club can do….
I also like that Martin Olsson bloke at Blackburn, the Swedish left back, he would be a canny signing for the toon too….maybe he want’s to move on after the relegation ?
Andy @ 88 have you been sniffing some of them pesticides
seeing smilies all over the page
Dave…aye, eat alot of rice, mainly ‘cos it’s easy to make so divn’t have to stand in a hot kitchen in this weather
Dave
Can’t believe youd accuse me of such things, I only sniff miracle grow
Richie I think if I lived there I would turn into a Prawn I love the things and they’re really tasty in paella with that sausage I can’t think of the name at the mo
Andy thats alright then as it gives you a nice warm glow,
Richie chorizo thats it
Dave..Chorizo? divn’t like shellfish which is a pity as there’s boat loads of the stuff out here
MM hes a good player mate but where would he fit in if this jong signing comes off as marv is back too and oberton says he will be mint this season cough cough,got to be somebody going out if it all comes off,but nice to see there not putting all there eggs in one basket this time
Dave…top tip for chorizo, cut it into 1″ pieces, chuck it in a sauce pan, cover it wi red wine and let it boil almost all the way down….fekn lush.
DAVE dont think prawns would go well with your pot noddle mate
noo shimps from the north sea mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
I see Blanc quit as French coach
I don’t understand this great send off for a deserving Becks shite. Pearce is the coach and needs to pick his team based on footballing merit. We might not be too bothered about the whole thing, but surely if we had the choice, we’d choose to win it. Its a different matter if you think the lad should be picked solely on footballing merit.
Lol @ Kim and Dave. I’ve been online to get a SIM from talktalk for my son, but the internet dropped out at the crucial moment so I wasn’t sure if I’d been succesful. (We’ve had problems with speed and disconnection ever since we bought a Devolo system (a plug to extend your range around the house and to give you Sky Anytime). Anyway, I’m talking to this Indian guy, and I am talking louder and louder as he repeatedly fails to understand. After ten minutes of this, I say,
“Look. Stop. There appears to be a cultural difference. I am talking English but you are not understanding me and I am not understanding you. Can I speak to somebody else please. Someone English. Are you Indian? I think there is a cultural difference and you just cannot understand me.”
“I am sorry sir, but I DO understand you. As I expalined to you, you have five sim cards, so you have to pay for five.”
“No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Listen to me. I am not paying for five sim cards. As I explained, I ordered two, but cancelled them straightaway, and then re-ordered two with PAC codes so that I could keep my old numbers.”
“That is why you will be charged for five sim cards, sir. You have five sim cards”
“No, no, no, no, no. You speak English, but you do not understand.”
“Do you want to know when you will be billed?”
“What is the relevance of your questions? Are you reading from a card?”
“No sir, no sir”
“You are. You’re reading from a card. How can I get anything resolved when you are reading from a card?”
“I am sorry sir, but I am not reading from a card. I get prompts.” “be resolved”
“Well what’s the good of prompts to me when they are not relevant? Anyway, what do you mean…”be resolved”? That’s not English. Your problem will be resolved or your problem can be resolved. But “be resolved” on its own is not English.”
“Do you want to cancel the cards sir?”
“Just two cards, but not the ones I want to keep.”
“You will have to pay for five cards sir because you have not cancelled them”
“NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO. I am not paying when I cancelled straightaway. I HAVE ALREADY CANCELLED.”
And so on…
30 minutes of my life I will never get back … a call that should have taken 5 minutes tops.
RICHIE you been on the plonk all day,that was oot this morning keep up mate
Andy – nice work mate, it’s an interesting selection for Pearce I think, but I actually think he was right not to select Beckham. I would probably have a starting 11 of:
—————Ruddy————
Richards–Caulker–Williams–Taylor
—–Phillips–Ramsey–Sinclair—–
—-Sturridge———–Bellamy—–
—————Rhodes———-
I know there are 4 players from last seasons Swansea team but I think it’s quite a well balanced 11 from the players available and there would be goals from that midfield and front line.
Whatever he goes with though, as a huge Stu Pearce fan growing him and a player and man I have loads of respect for – I really hope he gets some success.
Ice…no mate, but usually I only check the Toon websites, probably look at Skysports once every couple of days…i.e just now
B&B…Agree about Becks, I said the same earlier though you put it more eloquently
With Blanc leaving the France job I bet you odds on him being the Spurs manager will go up.
BB your one of many ime sorry to say does your heed in
ANDY think you mean down
Ice
Aye was contemplating which way it went, always mix that kind of stuff, one of several reasons I’m not a gambling man.
BB
Wasn’t an Indian guy ’twas me
B+B thats funny as fuk but I bet you didn’t think it was, it really pisses me off that they can never understand what your on about
My Bros BT infinity internet got disconnected for failure to pay his bill even though he had the paid bill infront of him so he phoned from the phone that is part of the package to see what the problem was, he was on for over an hour with no luck the foreign girl couldn’t put him on to her supervisor or give him her name or nowt, she said that she couldn’t confirm who he was even though he was phoning from that number and could tell her all his other business numbers and account details. because they had him down as a Mr Phillips even though the bills are sent out in his Mr Kerr of Kerr’s Tyre’s name.
Richie I bet its cheap over there when I get it it gets cut up small to go further
Ice I love shrimps too and crab yum yum
B&B@101 You have my sympathy mate ,total bloody wind up it is. Only consolation is at least yours was the real company and not bogus like my bloke, not that I did much better with the real ones mind.
DAVE my brother was part owner/manager of a fish port in qeensland i used to eat kilo upon kilo of every kind of prawns,scallops ect everyday sickened mesel,best thing i ever tasted was the mud-crap,aussie will know all about them bloody lush
Kim thats one of the good things about Facebook, when there is scams going about its all over it, some of the scams are real clever too that if people didn’t about them they could easily fall for them
Ice funny enough I can’t stand fish but love shellfish
and yeah ye can sicken yersel with foods my youngest daughter started in subway a couple of months ago and im starting to get a bit sick of them 
but only starting 
Dave…Don’t think there’s much difference in the price, most stuff is dearer over here
Dave ,re Fish ,me too ,not keen at all but love shellfish ,only cold though ,hate any of it hot that’s the work of the devil.
DAVE we are a-like i think i dont like fish maybe a plaice now and again,pup loves sub-way eats them foot long things stuffed with all sorts.
what made it worse for me brother lived on island so every morning threw net into sea filled with shrimps for breakfast,down to port and stuffed prawns ect all day
DAVE thats a diet richie is on sea-food,everything hes sees he eats so batty told me
Kim yeah cold is lovely
As for subway yeah I had a foot long earlier 
it was lush, me and Dede would fight over who was getting a sub but Hollie has it worked out now that he gets a half sub and his mum gets a salad bowl one night and I get a foot long the next night 
Ice well you don’t get to Richies size by being picky
DAVE at least you have a shareing nature,richie doesnt do shareing when it comes to grub
yeah Ice the only thing he shares is house work
off to watch mrs brown in 10min,laters
Ice take it easy i’m going meself
In the “unlikely” event this is true, Ice will be thrilled http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/330058
kna ice is not bloody thrilled,ive seen him play 5 times (on tv like) and he was crap,but if carr rates him well i will wait to judge him in PL,hope ime bloody wrong
Ice..never seen him, just the bit with his temper
. I’ll trust Pards and Carr though as they haven’t done too bad so far…..for beginners like 
bramble the 2nd here i come
Ice hopefully they’ve seen him more than 5 times, if we’d only watched Cisse during the ACON we wouldn’t have wanted him…he may only be back up for Saylor and Colo anyway
RICHIE aye good point mate,and very true
Team GB chef de mission Andy Hunt said: “Football fans from the across the UK are regarded worldwide as among the most passionate and knowledgeable supporters in the world …” Ha ha ha ha ha ha But no doubt he believes it.
Great info. I love all the posts, I really enjoyed
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