UK? No

Were you orphaned by the Germans, niggly? I thought your mother remarried.

anniebach if you are concerned you could complain to the BBC - you may even get a generic reply as I did once when I wrote and complained about something or other.

It was one of the Tudors who came to the throne of England and Wales who decided to anglicize his name and caused a lot of angst to Welsh people nowadays.
"If I knew then what I know now" he must be thinking up in heaven .....

The was for Ana

Perhaps it's because it's the next best thing to a battle?!! Takes everyone back to the Welsh Princes driving out the English! Until along came Henry Tudor who finally joined the crowns together peacefully, and inevitably the politics! Which takes us to where we are now.

Except when the occasional article reinforces the views of those despisers, of course! (Goodness knows how they find them if they never read 'that trashy rag', though! )

I find the relationship a bit strange as many of the family are totally anti English but ONLY when it comes to football and rugby! If you ask them about becoming independent that is the last thing they want! In fact I have yet to meet any person in South Wales who does. We actually voted against having the Assembly - just costs more money. I think that one MP could do the job of being in the Westminster parliament and also in the Assembly in Cardiff Bay - same could be with the Scottish Parliament - that would save a lot of money on salaries and the constituencies could be realigned if necessary to accommodate this. The MPs could do so many days in Westminster and so many in their home country - that way the English MPs could debate English only legislation which should be just left to them.
I too am in full agreement with having a UK football team -it would be a good team - the rugby teams have individual teams for the six nations but also the British Lions.

By Christian Gysin for the Daily Mail
I thought the Daily Mail was to be despised by Gransnetters for making up stories?

I didn't realise that Switzerland had a national football team, granjura. So who will you be supporting?
Not a soccer fan myself ( since the heydays of Newcastle in the '50s) We watch rugby more .

Yes, that was horrible ab, so was being bombed by Germany, that was pretty brutal! but it doesn't mean you hate Germans! Well you may, but I certainly don't and I was orphaned by them!! so there were lots of awful episodes in history for lots of people, but they don't automatically hate the citizens of a particular country! Hatred is a corrosive and what's done is done and you can't alter it, but you can put it behind you and work for a better future; you can't do that if you constantly fester hatred. I love England, am proud of this country and make no secret of it, and I certainly don't hate others for past wrongs towards it. I have absolutely no axe to grind with Wales,it's a beautiful country and I have both relatives and friends who live there, but if the Welsh really do hate the English that much, (I personally have never experienced this) then why would a country that feels like that be missed?!!

Exactly, FarNorth.

The majority of people in the UK are English. So an announcement, such as that in the OP, is intended to catch the attention of the majority of hearers.
It is natural that many of those in the majority see no problem with this, while some in the minority dislike it.

If Southern Irelanders and Northern Irelanders can play together- and South Africans can play together- then I'd say there should be one team for the UK. Italy and FRance are also made up of very different cultures in the past, so is my country- and they don't have the chance to have different teams for different parts.

Wales cannot seek independence niggly, far too poor so not easy as you state, but if we could I can say of England as you just did of Wales - wouldn't be missed

For the lovely English posters who may read this thread I would say the very same if the newsreader had said Wales/Scotland/ Ireland and the other nations . We are the UK , sadly the majority of English who have posted on this thread think differently

And niggly, try studying the history of the U.K. I was at the demonstrations when England told the villagers of Capel Celyn to either dig up their dead or accept the graves would be cemented over and then flooded , so there are people alive who witnessed the brutality of an English Parliament

I thought you said you did not dislike the Welsh, niggly.
That last sentence does not sound as if you like them.

This dislike of England by the Welsh is quite beyond me. Is it for past misdeeds that were God knows how long ago and hardly the fault of any one alive today? If so, how pathetic is that. I personally have no axe to grind with anyone either from Wales, Scotland or North Korea come to that. This dislike of this nation or that nation is incomprehensible. If the Welsh dislike England and the English so much then why don't they do what Scotland is trying to achieve, ie: independence from the rest of the UK? It's easy enough with perseverance and I doubt they'd be missed!

Trisher I agree- I love that Ireland rugby squad includes both North and South- great example.

Trisher is not squad singular, squads plural

I never support England in the six nations Welshwife, even the BBC commentators refer to a Welsh v English match as - the old enemies . I do support England in the World Cup and I supported Henman in tennis, oh that the sports coverage gave
Murray the same support when he first started to play as they gave Henman

Are the Italian and French squads getting extra protection? What counts as normal protection, or isn't there any normally?And protection from what or whom?

In fact Annie the dislike does tend to be far more on the side of Wales - English fans will support Wales if they are playing another nation unlike Welsh fans who will always support the other Nation.
I was out with a group of Welsh ladies one evening (in Wales and most of them had never lived anywhere but the town in which they were born) and the conversation started to be something about the English - I said nothing as I am English and did not wish to cause any dissent - then one of the women who had lived and worked for over twenty years in England suddenly said words to the effect that she could not understand why the Welsh people as a general thing always said anti English things - she said how in all the years she had worked with English people she had never once heard anyone saying the same sort of thing about the Welsh - does tend to be a one way thing.
My DH is very Welsh - and we have his son and Grandson coming to stay two weeks while the European cup is on - they have tickets for the matches at Bordeaux ( which we know quite well) and Toulouse. I suggested we also book a hotel in Toulouse when they go as we have never been there and initially DH agreed - then he said that no we would not go at the same time as he did not want to spend a couple of nights in the town which would be full of Welsh football fans! I will not put down the words he used but that was his considered opinion.
I think it is a pity that they get like this but I don't blame the French Police - being cautious is by far the best way to be.

Surely a UK football squad would be composed of players from any or all of the UK countries? So UK football squads would not be the same as the English football squad and other home country's squads.

No, the newsreader should have said The UK football squads , I accept it is no concern to others here , didn't expect it to but did hope one or two could have understood. And no Riverwalk, it is not nit picking

France had the good manners to acknowledge the countries

I don't think it was said because of the reputation of English and Welsh fans, most probably aware of the dislike between the two countries as in the six nations . Wales hasn't qualified since 1956 , hardly a sixty year reputation for being World Cup football hooligans

Perhaps the announcer should have said 'The Welsh football squad etc' then we'd all have been happy - maybe!!!! I certainly couldn't care how it's worded, and so long as we get the general message, I doubt many others care either!!!