Floorball Forums

Thanks to London Vikings and London Crusaders for sparing the time to come and play against us on both days, all the best in the forthcoming League Matches..........:)

after team england opps i mean GB were truly beaten over the last few days is not time to have seperate england and scottish sides, as i can recall the GB coach never ventured north to look at any players

probie21;2944:

after team england opps i mean GB were truly beaten over the last few days is not time to have seperate england and scottish sides, as i can recall the GB coach never ventured north to look at any players

Not really too sure how constructive this sort of reply is to such a thread?

If you had been out in Poland you would have seen how the GB National Team fought and have developed as a side tactically throughout the event instead of making such a sweeping statement and this is very dis-heartening to read........

Scottish players were invited to the training camps and some attended but were not successful enough to get a place in the final squad, did you attend or make the journey to the training camp?

I would welcome seperate teams if it stopped tools like you from posting such nonsense.

The trials and the trainings for the GB team were open to all, and several from Scotland did try out. Not only this, the travel and accomodation were subsidised and several from not only Scotland but also Sweden and Switzerland came over. Scots being subsidised by the English and being ungrateful, sport imitating society I think. Why did more Scots not bother to try out anyway, too lazy, not good enough or just easier to moan afterwards?

Also, "truly beaten"? We outshot Belgium, played very well against massive teams in Denmark and Poland, and I don't call losing to Serbia despite leading with 23 seconds to play and outshooting them being "truly beaten" in the manner you are implying.

probie21;2944:

after team england opps i mean GB were truly beaten over the last few days is not time to have seperate england and scottish sides, as i can recall the GB coach never ventured north to look at any players

i have to disagree . i am scotish and i was given every chance to go along to the trials like everyone else. i would have been there had i not lost my job and wil be going next time the trials arrive

lets not be negative to the gb team here they had a very tuff group well done to everyone who played there

scott f;2951:

i have to disagree . i am scotish and i was given every chance to go along to the trials like everyone else. i would have been there had i not lost my job and wil be going next time the trials arrive

lets not be negative to the gb team here they had a very tuff group well done to everyone who played there

I would have been there too had i thought i had a cat in hells chance of making the team!! :D

Not sure what point you're making Probie, the try outs for the national team were open to everyone and some guys from the Northern league did attend? The fact they weren't selected might have been based on their ability as opposed to the fact they were Scotish? I wasn't there so can't really comment but thought i would throw that out as a theory.......

Would it be worth having a Scotland and England team enetered? I don't know, something for people to discuss certainly but not for the reasons suggested on the forum so far i would say.

I'm curious by your comment Hluraven with regards "Scots being subsidised by the English and being ungrateful, sport imitating society I think" can you please expand what you mean by this?. I hope you aren't judging your opinion of an entire nation based on the comments made by a single poster on these forums? As someone who donated to the GB team, technically "A Scot" helped subsidise "The English" :D.

SIB01;2952:

I'm curious by your comment Hluraven with regards "Scots being subsidised by the English and being ungrateful, sport imitating society I think" can you please expand what you mean by this?. I hope you aren't judging your opinion of an entire nation based on the comments made by a single poster on these forums? As someone who donated to the GB team, technically "A Scot" helped subsidise "The English" :D.

Firstly, apologies as I was annoyed by probie so thought I would have a dig back. Not very smart and I should have just ignored it.

My reference was due to the amount of subsidy given by the British government to Scotland which is a greater proportion than the amount of tax revenue that comes into central government from Scotland. (I'm not an economist, but this is certainly the impression I get from the media). The ungrateful bit was a petty dig on my part for which I apologise.

hluraven;2953:

Firstly, apologies as I was annoyed by probie so thought I would have a dig back. Not very smart and I should have just ignored it.

My reference was due to the amount of subsidy given by the British government to Scotland which is a greater proportion than the amount of tax revenue that comes into central government from Scotland. (I'm not an economist, but this is certainly the impression I get from the media). The ungrateful bit was a petty dig on my part for which I apologise.

No worries mate, so longs it was an angry outburst and not your view of every Scot then i won't be too ofended!! :D. With reagrds the politics, not really my area of expertise either and a bit off topic for a floorball forum so i won't comment.

Getting back to the issue raised, purely from a statistical point of view i don't see the benefit to having a seperate English and Scottish team. If team GB takes the best players from the entire country, surely it only weakens the national side to have Scotland and England (what if Wales and Northern Ireland decided to start up leagues?) as seperate teams? Maybe this year it was all English players playing but certainly in the past there have been a fair few Scottish players in the GB team. I hope no-one playing for GB takes this the wrong way but if the team was selected from the best players from all over the country and they got defeated in all their games, is it wise to be looking to reduce the potential for a better GB team making a seperate Scotland and England team?

On the other hand, more teams would mean more players getting the experience of playing at this level so it may be a good thing? The Northen League does have a lot of good Scottish players in it that would enjoy the experience for sure.....Is that you volunterring to coach and organise this Probie??

Hi All,

Since taking over responsibility for the squad a few months ago we have made massive progress, even though that is yet to show in the results. We have adopted a simple yet powerful playing system which all players have bought in to. The team is back on track with extremely positive feedback from all players is - this year was the best team and WC trip since 2000. The losses are explained with our opponents having developed more than us. Despite the results clearly not going our way we take away plenty of experience and good memories from Poland.

One important thing I have learnt over the last few weeks is - provided the right people have the focus and motivation and receive the support required, the GB team that we will be build over the next year will be very competitive in the next WCQ. However, there is a lot of work that is required to take this team to its full potential.

Over the coming weeks and months we will be working hard to continue to build the platform of success which we started work on in Oct 09. We will look at ways of both strengthening the squad, leadership, organisation and funding. We will also put together a schedule of activities for the short term and gradually populate it with the medium to long term objectives and goals.

Anyone that wants to try out for the team should summarise their Floorball experience in a email to [email]johan@nordin.st[/email]

I will continue to inform about National Team activities on this forum as we make more firm progress. For the benefit of the impatient and curious, next training camp is likely to be in Sweden in a few months time.

Regards,
Johan

well to start with i didnt expect such a response to this post and i apoligise if i upset anybody or said something out of turn,

i think i may have worded my post wrong and thats down to drinking at the time.

i know that the trials were open to everyone but people have other commitments and traveling down south can be difficult for some, even if there was just one session in the north so guys who cannot travel can have a go.

as for seperate teams i should have put in that this is something for the future as the number of players in Great Britain grows there will be a big enough talent pool to have two teams

probie21;2956:

well to start with i didnt expect such a response to this post and i apoligise if i upset anybody or said something out of turn,

i think i may have worded my post wrong and thats down to drinking at the time.

i know that the trials were open to everyone but people have other commitments and traveling down south can be difficult for some, even if there was just one session in the north so guys who cannot travel can have a go.

as for seperate teams i should have put in that this is something for the future as the number of players in Great Britain grows there will be a big enough talent pool to have two teams

Usually things are said honestly when people are under the influence so for me what you said is what you meant.........:rolleyes:

The situation for the training camp is the same for the Swedes as the Scotts and while it may not be ideal all the costs are shared so one trip isn't going to be such a hard ship...........:confused:

People outside of the GB National Team have no idea how much hard work was put into this recent trip and I thank the coaches for giving up their own time away from families and work to support the Team and I personally look forward to the future development with this new 'group'........:D

I had the pleasure of playing against GB team just before they went to WCQ and i have to say this team does have a potential. I think Johan,Torbjorn,Jonas and let's not forget Bev are doing a cracking job.

hluraven;2950:

I would welcome seperate teams if it stopped tools like you from posting such nonsense.

The trials and the trainings for the GB team were open to all, and several from Scotland did try out. Not only this, the travel and accomodation were subsidised and several from not only Scotland but also Sweden and Switzerland came over. Scots being subsidised by the English and being ungrateful, sport imitating society I think. Why did more Scots not bother to try out anyway, too lazy, not good enough or just easier to moan afterwards?

Also, "truly beaten"? We outshot Belgium, played very well against massive teams in Denmark and Poland, and I don't call losing to Serbia despite leading with 23 seconds to play and outshooting them being "truly beaten" in the manner you are implying.

What planet are you living on young man ,I was one of the three Scots at the training camp and we were NOT subsidised at all ( unless you call a parking permit subsidised ). The Scots that did try out were just as good as anyone else there and did not get in except one who could not manage due to exams and the fact he was told he would not get much game time as he would be taken for developement. Now all weekend all we heard about was a pot of money available which could be used if there were juniors there , it is not rocket science to work out why some people were there and it certainly was not on merit but because of who they were. As for the scores especially Denmark you were put over the knee and well and truly spanked end of.

I would love to play for Britain but I'd rather have a seperate association for the home nations as it was clear for these WCQ the squad was practically picked before the trials even began.

Bayner;2965:

What planet are you living on young man ,I was one of the three Scots at the training camp and we were NOT subsidised at all ( unless you call a parking permit subsidised ). The Scots that did try out were just as good as anyone else there and did not get in except one who could not manage due to exams and the fact he was told he would not get much game time as he would be taken for developement. Now all weekend all we heard about was a pot of money available which could be used if there were juniors there , it is not rocket science to work out why some people were there and it certainly was not on merit but because of who they were. As for the scores especially Denmark you were put over the knee and well and truly spanked end of.

I would love to play for Britain but I'd rather have a seperate association for the home nations as it was clear for these WCQ the squad was practically picked before the trials even began.

Thanks for registering on here Bayner and your response is as expected to be honest..............:rolleyes:

I think that it's probably best to not discuss this on such a public forum as it can only harm all the good work being put in by some people within the GBFUA...........:)

Your comment about Denmark is so way off the mark it's un-true but I would be more than happy to discuss this with you on my next trip to Scotland next month.......;)

Baker21;2966:

Thanks for registering on here Bayner and your response is as expected to be honest..............:rolleyes:

I think that it's probably best to not discuss this on such a public forum as it can only harm all the good work being put in by some people within the GBFUA...........:)

Your comment about Denmark is so way off the mark it's un-true but I would be more than happy to discuss this with you on my next trip to Scotland next month.......;)

Hi Simon , I admire your sarcasm but , yes I answered as truthfully as I could , I am not here to make trouble . I responded to the post ( as quoted ) regarding some issues being raised/mentioned and intended to put them right . I was hoping to speak to you guys when you came up north next month anyway so I will look forward to it :)

Bayner;2965:

it is not rocket science to work out why some people were there and it certainly was not on merit but because of who they were.

the squad was practically picked before the trials even began.

Well Bayner, I certainly wasn't 'picked before the trials even began' and yet I got more game time than a lot of the older faces, the ones you might expect to see getting the game time. So saying something like that is totally pigheaded and certainly not the sort of thing we need to hear now that the sport is finally starting to get more organised over here now.

All I can say is that those that were 'Team Bench' as they so affectionately named themselves gave as much support as the rest who were playing. We all understood why we were taken off at some points and we all accepted it.

The team spirit was high and it was a very enjoyable experience. Compared to other trips with teams I've been on, I would say that people bonded on this trip very quickly and it kept all our spirits up even if we were beaten in all our games.

Maybe we should focus on pushing the sport into newer levels in the UK before we try and break the whole system down into an even worse one.

mulletboyjay;2970:

Well Bayner, I certainly wasn't 'picked before the trials even began' and yet I got more game time than a lot of the older faces, the ones you might expect to see getting the game time. So saying something like that is totally pigheaded and certainly not the sort of thing we need to hear now that the sport is finally starting to get more organised over here now.

All I can say is that those that were 'Team Bench' as they so affectionately named themselves gave as much support as the rest who were playing. We all understood why we were taken off at some points and we all accepted it.

The team spirit was high and it was a very enjoyable experience. Compared to other trips with teams I've been on, I would say that people bonded on this trip very quickly and it kept all our spirits up even if we were beaten in all our games.


Maybe we should focus on pushing the sport into newer levels in the UK before we try and break the whole system down into an even worse one.

Well where do I start , firstly congrats on gettin in and gettin game time I'm sure it was a good experience. When I said the squad was picked before the trials started this meant the coaches more or less knew who they were taking not necessarily telling the players before hand , so I hope that clears that point up. I'm glad the team bonded well ,I thought everyone bonded quite well at the trials and made new friends. However I will say this regarding the squad training , as much as I thought I was good enough to get in , I certainly could see that others were too and some ( not many ) were pehaps needing more time to develop before playing at National team level. Please remember I have been playing icehockey for more yrs than half the squad has been alive and hold a coaching licience so I do know what I'm talking about.

Like Probie says in his post why do those in charge of GBFUA never come north of the border ? are they not interested in the northern league ? .

Perhaps you would like to explain your last comment about pushing to new levels before breaking it down into a worse one ? , worse for who ? certainly not for us Scots !!!!!!!

Well the talk while we were in Poland revolved around trying to get sessions in Scotland as well as England. Also talk about a training camp in Sweden to give us the chance to play more experienced teams and give us lots of tough competition but who knows what will happen.

What I meant was that we should try and get the sport a solid foundation in the UK before we start considering having more segregation between the countries.
I've also (despite being one of the youngest players there,) been playing ice hockey and roller hockey for more years than half the squad has been alive and the way that the squad was picked for floorball wasn't too dissimilar to the way it gets picked for either ice or roller hockey. In fact for them, you need to be in the regional team before really being considered and that certainly can't happen with floorball at the moment.

So maybe in a few years once the younger players have bridged the gap and can play at the same level as the adults and there is a constant string of players coming through people might consider talking about having separate teams for each country but that's a way off and certainly not something that would benefit anyone at the moment.

Also, the GBFUA is new so we really ought to let them get more established before we really start to pick them apart, they've done a sterling job so far and I hope that they can get the sport the recognition it deserves and also the foundations it needs for us to be able to compete higher in the future.

Bayner;2965:

What planet are you living on young man ,I was one of the three Scots at the training camp and we were NOT subsidised at all ( unless you call a parking permit subsidised ). The Scots that did try out were just as good as anyone else there and did not get in except one who could not manage due to exams and the fact he was told he would not get much game time as he would be taken for developement. Now all weekend all we heard about was a pot of money available which could be used if there were juniors there , it is not rocket science to work out why some people were there and it certainly was not on merit but because of who they were. As for the scores especially Denmark you were put over the knee and well and truly spanked end of.

I would love to play for Britain but I'd rather have a seperate association for the home nations as it was clear for these WCQ the squad was practically picked before the trials even began.

This may come as a surprise to you but there has been a British National Team for 11 years so we wasn't exactly building a new team. Through the trials we were giving people a chance to impress us coaches and if successful get themselves some international experience. People that didn't impress on the trials weekend didn't make the cut - simple. It is also the responsibility of the National Team to aid youth development where possible without impacting the chances of fielding the best possible National side. Hence, we decided to take two under 17 in the squad to get experience as they are likely to play an important role in the National U19 in the summer. I have no regrets over the people we took to Poland other than our young star in Scotland that we feel should have come, a drop-out as Coaches we feel was very unfortunate and being self critical, something we should have handled differently.

We had from getting assigned the task of sorting the team out leading up to this tournament, one month to figure out who should be in the squad and who not. Hence, this years try-out had to be where near to about 80% of potential players for the squad so we could get as many people as possible to attend. In the future we will manage time and location differently.

No players so far have received a single penny from the federation in subsidy. People have raised money through donations, private sponsorship, educational sponsorship. Overal we raised over £5k this year, I think better than ever before. Still people from Sweden and in particular Switzerland paid quite few a hundred £ more than everyone else throughout this years tournament. Hence, in the scheme of things I think it is a waste of time listening to people that moan about some extra miles of petrol (yes - over half of people that attended Gloucester also had to pay accommodation).

Ok, moving forward from here....

We will be building a team over the next year which will be way more competitive and stronger for the next WC. We already have some new names which look very interesting and we're planning for a set of training camps and international friendlies.

Finally, to help us Coaches identify UK players for the National team squad in the future. May I suggest that from this year onwards, during the summer months, we organise an annual Scotland - England - British National Champions mini-tournament?

Would someone be up for organising this in the summer?

johan;2975:

We had from getting assigned the task of sorting the team out leading up to this tournament, one month to figure out who should be in the squad and who not. Hence, this years try-out had to be where near to about 80% of potential players for the squad so we could get as many people as possible to attend. In the future we will manage time and location differently.

No players so far have received a single penny from the federation in subsidy. People have raised money through donations, private sponsorship, educational sponsorship. Overal we raised over £5k this year, I think better than ever before. Still people from Sweden and in particular Switzerland paid quite few a hundred £ more than everyone else throughout this years tournament. Hence, in the scheme of things I think it is a waste of time listening to people that moan about some extra miles of petrol (yes - over half of people that attended Gloucester also had to pay accommodation).

Thanks for the reply Johan , its good GB is trying to move forward but lets face it I still will never get a chance to represent my country and its certainly not for a lack of skill. You have quoted me , but instead of picking holes in what I have said you have answered things for me. You confirm no one has received funding or been subsidised in any way like I stated. Also you have confirmed more or less what I said about the team already being picked before the trials. You freely admit to having the trials where at LEAST 80% of the players are being picked in order that they dont have far to travel. That is bang out of order you are virtually saying it will be team England with perhaps a few exiles from Swiss/Swede teams coming in and possibly some from Scotland. Also you think I was moaning because of a few extra miles , please don't embarass yourself by showing your ignorance on here. A few extra miles, with the exception of my fellow Scots everyone was within 2 hrs max of Glouscester , compared to the 7 ( yes SEVEN HOURS ) we had to travel. I'm sorry but the fuel expense on that is so much more considerable than you paint it.You could all travel to and from the trials quicker than I could get there ,so dont give me the there's not much of a difference in expense. We had to take accommodation on the Friday night aswell to make sure we were there on time on Sat morning where as you had accommodation on Sat night only . Maybe you should actually stop and think that yes the Scots did have a considerable amount more to pay than those " in the team because they stay close to the venue ".

To start with, since my original post i have had some time to think about team GB and what has being said on here and i would to like say well done and thanks to johan for taking on the role as GB coach and taking the time to reply on here, bet he didnt think that taking on the job as GB coach would put him in the middle of a Scotland England debate.

Next month i would to be there when baker and bayner get together so if its ok with you guys i shall listen in and have my say.

Bayner;2976:

Thanks for the reply Johan , its good GB is trying to move forward but lets face it I still will never get a chance to represent my country and its certainly not for a lack of skill. You have quoted me , but instead of picking holes in what I have said you have answered things for me. You confirm no one has received funding or been subsidised in any way like I stated. Also you have confirmed more or less what I said about the team already being picked before the trials. You freely admit to having the trials where at LEAST 80% of the players are being picked in order that they dont have far to travel. That is bang out of order you are virtually saying it will be team England with perhaps a few exiles from Swiss/Swede teams coming in and possibly some from Scotland. Also you think I was moaning because of a few extra miles , please don't embarass yourself by showing your ignorance on here. A few extra miles, with the exception of my fellow Scots everyone was within 2 hrs max of Glouscester , compared to the 7 ( yes SEVEN HOURS ) we had to travel. I'm sorry but the fuel expense on that is so much more considerable than you paint it.You could all travel to and from the trials quicker than I could get there ,so dont give me the there's not much of a difference in expense. We had to take accommodation on the Friday night aswell to make sure we were there on time on Sat morning where as you had accommodation on Sat night only . Maybe you should actually stop and think that yes the Scots did have a considerable amount more to pay than those " in the team because they stay close to the venue ".

In general I'm hesitant to respond to this as I think some of the comments aren't very constructive as they originate from a self-centric point of view and a failure to see and accept the big picture. I do feel it's important though to make a few points on the important and constructive bits.

What people fail to understand is that it's not anyone’s right to play in a National team, it's a privilege that has to be earned by loads of hard work, proven track record, skills, future potential and similar. I can see no reason why us coaches need to defend certain decisions taken, it was very clear to us who should and should not go to the WCQ from the trials. We do however hold our hands up for letting our young star in Scotland stay home this time around.

Also note that we took 6 new players from the try-outs out of a final squad of 17. So please get your facts right before converting my statements into your own comments!

The common feeling of being left out I hear from up north is incorrect and seems to be based on a misconception of people in the South. You guys should really try to improve your Floorball Culture because often when it comes to discussions like this it's very one-sided and not constructive. You should also try to recognise that there are plenty of genuine forces down in the south that wants everyone involved. Being a small sport without much money and all volunteers of course it's often super-difficult to make it happen. The past we should learn from instead of being bitter about. Going forward we need to North and South need to work together for the best of the sport. Looking at what the GBFUA are doing in the south in the last few years, trust me, you guys want to join to learn and help instead of work against. A 5 minute conversation with Bev will convince you of why, if you are just prepared to listen.

probie21;2977:

To start with, since my original post i have had some time to think about team GB and what has being said on here and i would to like say well done and thanks to johan for taking on the role as GB coach and taking the time to reply on here, bet he didnt think that taking on the job as GB coach would put him in the middle of a Scotland England debate.

Next month i would to be there when baker and bayner get together so if its ok with you guys i shall listen in and have my say.

Have no problem getting into conversation and debate about the North - South "war" as at lot of it is a myth. It certainly wasn't very problemaic over the last year, I'm only aware of minor and easy to overcome problems since summer last year. It is unfair and not very constructive to look back further than GBFUA being recongised last year.

I do feel the "North vs. South" is a poor argument which is often used in debate by people as soon as things don't go like they want. People often tend to resort to it as a way of winning sympathy and support for a already lost case and/or cause.

Let's get a annual tournament organised and battle it on the pitch instead of in politics?

Maybe we should start a separate thread about this also in case people really want to clear some air :-)

Johan check your in box

Bayner;2976:

Thanks for the reply Johan , its good GB is trying to move forward but lets face it I still will never get a chance to represent my country and its certainly not for a lack of skill. ".

Well I think that there are players of a higher standard playing than you Bayner! You've got a bit of catchng up to do before you'll push for a place in the GB team!

prophet;2999:

Well I think that there are players of a higher standard playing than you Bayner! You've got a bit of catchng up to do before you'll push for a place in the GB team!

Perhaps but from what I have seen so far I dont think I would be out of my depth as you put it. I know I am a novice at floorball but I am capable of holding my own ;)

Bayner;3003:

Perhaps but from what I have seen so far I dont think I would be out of my depth as you put it. I know I am a novice at floorball but I am capable of holding my own ;)

Being a novice hasn't really got anything to do with it! If you were good enough for the squad I'm sure you would have been picked for the last tournament!
Looking at results of your team looks like you aren't making much of a difference.

prophet;3019:

Being a novice hasn't really got anything to do with it! If you were good enough for the squad I'm sure you would have been picked for the last tournament!
Looking at results of your team looks like you aren't making much of a difference.

Like everyone else you are completely missing the point I was making originally , which was that the team was pre picked , the only reference to skill level was to say that there were people in Poland who were no better than I am. I can fully accept I am not and may never ever be good enough for GB but why have trials when the team was more or less already decided.

To be honest I'm getting fed up with all this dragging on , I've said my piece on this matter and for me it is now closed. I have e- mailed Johan to apologise for anything said that he felt was unjust but also in a constructive manner let him know what it is I was trying to put over.

Bayner;3021:

the team was more or less already decided.

Well like Johan has said previously there were a few players, even ignoring the youth players as I imagine those are the ones you are upset by, that were picked having never played for GB before. There were also some players that had played previously that weren't invited and may have been very useful.

So I almost understand why you were upset and felt like wingeing but it is so unfounded.

Bayner;3021:

Like everyone else you are completely missing the point I was making originally.

That may have been the initial point you were makin, but since then you have bummed yourself up a bit!
The only thing left to do is too prove it in the up coming tournament!