Team GB

[lukemackay]

So the short list has been wilted down to 80.

David Beckham, gareth bale, Steven fletcher, Chris brunt, James Forrest, grant Hanley, David goodwillie, And Barry bannan have all been confirmed to be in with a chance of competing in the Olympics.

What I want to know is who would you include in team GB?

Your only aloud 3 players over the age of 23 so use them wisely.

[PaderbornCaley]

Nobody

[old caley girl]

I would like a team that has only English players in it. Don't care who they are.

[Sorted]

No one. It isn't real. It's a made up non entity that will cause nothing but grief if it is allowed to become real.

If it does become real and pretend Scottish people choose to play, hell mend them. I will spend every second of every Scotland game (the remaining few that FIFA allow to take place) I attend, screaming abuse at anyone who took part. BE WARNED JUDAS!

And don't get me started on it being an Olympic sport............

[+DoofersDad]

Being an Olympic champion has a great ring to it. The point of being an Olympic champion is to demonstrate that you are the best in the world at your sport. There are millions of dedicated athletes in a wide range of sports - some popular and some less so - who train hard for years in the hope that one day they can mount that podium, have a medal put round their neck and have their national anthem played whilst they stand there proudly as Olympic Champion. The Olympics come round every 4 years and these athletes target their training to be able to deliver their best performance for the games. Everyone else is doing the same so if you win Olympic Gold you truly can say at that time, when it matters, you are the best in the world.

But football! The World Cup is the Olympics of football and is the competition people aspire to win more than any other. The Olympic title proves nothing and is an irrelevance as far as football is concerned. Worse, awarding gold medals to those who have little hope of ever winning the World Cup devalues the honour of winning gold in other sports. A further problem is that football is such a popular sport that even with the top teams and top players not on show there is considerable media coverage. This means there is less coverage of other sports and that is a real shame. Many of these sports get little coverage at other times and to see them played at the highest level makes a nice change.

I won't be watching the Olympic football and don't give a t*ss who is in team GB.

[+Fraz]

They've barely sold any of the tickets for the games in Glasgow. Lol.

[Gabby]

I have a huge problem with football being an olympic sport. The olympics should be the pinacle of achievement in that sport. So for athletics, swimming, the 20km silly walk etc it is the pinacle. For football, the World Cup is the pinacle. For tennis, winning a Grand Slam is the pinacle.

Adding Football and Tennis is only about selling tickets to make up for the lack of ticket sales at the Wrestling and sychranised swimming. Do not get me started on the complete futility of snychranised swimming.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

But GB have a great chance of gold in synchronised swimming with the pairing of Ashley Young and Steven Gerrard - mind you the Ivory Coast look dangerous as well.

Plus would there have been a GB football team entry if the event was'nt been held in our back yard ?

[bdu98196]

If its Team GB, then why are the players notified by the English FA and the team run by an English manager using it as a platform to give an English vetren (who they treat like a national hero) one final shot at a competition as they know hes too past it for the Euro champs?

I hope none of the Scottish players accept the chance or any other nations.

[ICTPaisley]

If its Team GB, then why are the players notified by the English FA and the team run by an English manager using it as a platform to give an English vetren (who they treat like a national hero) one final shot at a competition as they know hes too past it for the Euro champs?

I hope none of the Scottish players accept the chance or any other nations.

Scottish athletes have always represented Great Britain at the Olympics so why should footballers be any different.

Football isn't even a new Olympic sport, it's been going for years and promotes some of the best youth players around the world. The tournament might not be as popular as the world cup but it's still entertaining to watch.

There probably wouldn't have been a British team if it wasn't held in London but I think it makes for a far more interesting tournament with them in it.

[bdu98196]

Yes, athletes have represented Great Britain through UK athletics etc - not through the English athletics organisation? My point is why is it not run and selected by a British commitee or group - why are the English FA contacting the players (that is what was written in the press) - or because its in London that automatically gives England proirity and the right to run it? In which case that could allow FIFA to argue that nations no longer need an SFA/FAW etc as the EFA can organise it all for us.

[old caley girl]

I think the reason is that the sfa, welsh and Ni authorities are having nothing to do with team GB apart from not stopping players getting involved but not actively encouraging them either.

[ictchris]

I'm so outraged by this that I've written to Neil Oliver to complain. He'll sort this out.

[Alex MacLeod]

Olympics should be about amatuer competition like it once was. If they want a team GB football team then make it up from the best amatuer players in these isles.

[bauhaus]

I honestly cannot believe any Northern Irish, Welsh or Scottish players would even think they would play for Team GB for even a fraction of a second. If any of them do I hope the national association never recognise them again and they are never allowed to be forgiven, no matter who they are or how good they are.