ok let me continue from what I have said before.
bah this is my second attempt since BB timed out...
I have had a look and let me give you my opinion
These are our games and I am sure everyone agrees that the top spot is clearly for Germany... Let me give you my thoughts on game by game basis and show you the amount of active members in these countries. Off course this opinion is based on how countries performed in the past, obviously we dont know what their new crop off players would look like.
Germany 1259 active members world ranking 9
Finland 744 active members world ranking 26
Sweden 347 active members world ranking 29
Netherlands 371 active members world ranking 7
Andorra 26 active members world ranking 76
Azarbajzan 22 active members world ranking 82
Bosnia 546 active members world ranking 48
England 738 active members world ranking 49
9/21/2009 6:30:00 PM England U21 -- Deutschland U21 we dont stand a chance
9/28/2009 6:30:00 PM Suomi U21 -- England U21 if we get very lucky, our tactics right and they get theirs wrong we stand a small chance due to home court advantage, but only a very small chance.
10/5/2009 6:30:00 PM England U21 -- Sverige U21 they play the 2 easiest teams first and have home court advantage, no chance at all
10/12/2009 6:30:00 PM Nederland U21 -- England U21 ranked 7 in the world, no chance at all.
10/19/2009 6:30:00 PM Andorra U21 -- England U21 we will win
10/26/2009 6:30:00 PM England U21 -- Azərbaycan U21 we will win
11/2/2009 6:30:00 PM England U21 -- Bosna i Hercegovina U21 i think we stand no chance, i know world ranking wise we are equal, but basketball is a main sport in bosnia and their ranking is so low because for whatever reason they had a few walk overs in season 9 which I am sure would have affected their world rankings. Also they have home court advantage.
I will continue with this thread when I get home... I am currently at work.
As I said a few times before, I would see the U21 project more as a 4 year plan and not a 2 year one. So I do hope the english community would support me and work with me to achieve my goal to get the U21 qualified atleast once to the 2nd round.
Looking at the group we got, we got screwed and I dont think we will end in the top 4. So what to do? I would like to work with a squad off about 12-15 players, since this seems to be the standard that succesfull countries adopt, however I also would add some 18 or 19 year old future candidates, to give the coaches that own these players more the feeling that these players do make part off the future off the U21 team and perhaps this way involve them more so they will train them too. As I mentioned before, I would ask a coach to train these players in a certain way, however I wouldnt ask them to train them for the benefit off the U21 only. These teams have decent players, else they wouldnt be selected for the U21 team and I do hope the players can be usefull for their own team and the U21 team.
I would even consider playing these additional players on a regular basis. Yes I realise a risky and debatable subject, so in case I get chosen, I hope the english community will join in with such a debate. Let me explain what i mean by this, I had myself an U21 chilean player the last 2 season and although he did wasnt a starter, he did pop his experience this season as to where my other ace trainees bought at the same time didnt. Perhaps a coincidence, but i doubt it. I dont know how much experience matters, but I do think it matters. Imagine we dont qualify and end up in a consolidation group, why not try and raise the experience for players that most likely will make it in the next U21 instead off playing the current U21 players.
However these are just ideas, ideas I would like to debate with the english community, I can have as many ideas as I want, but running the U21 and National team is team work for the whole community and not a 1 man show...