I've just sent an e-mail to the Football* Association (For those of you in the colonies it is the ruling body for football* in England and also runs the England team). I have told them that I am no longer available for selection for the England team.
My reasons given were that I am fast approaching 42 years old (I still have the same level of fitness I ever did, as proved yesterday when I had a kickabout with some mates against some 7 year olds and we almost won), and feel it is time to stand aside and allow younger guys the chance to not be selected, and I should now devote more time to my personal life.

Now when a professional football* player retires from international football* there is usually a stampede of journalists to their front door. I am looking out of the window right now but there is no sign yet..........

* For you guys in the US when I say football I am refering to what you call soccer, not that game of fancy dress rugby to which you wrongly applied the name "football".

Oh dear Martin...
bad news indeed...
maybe you should reconsider...you could always go in goal....as long as you've got your own jacket or pully as one of the goalposts. The other is ok we've got bricks.

Will England ever be the dsame again???;)

Cheers
Peter

Hey Marin well your lanky enough to be a cross bar at Ellen rd if they cant afford a replacement :-) :-) :-) :-)

And to think that I have just purchased a season ticket just in case you were selected. Man, now I have to put up with watching all the top-class players soring beautiful goals. If it were the 7-year olds that made you quit, tell me where I can find them and I will teach them a lesson. :-)

As far as the jobs of goal posts and a crossbar, I think that the US basketball team has been chosen. It is probably a good thing since they can't play basketball anyway.

hmmm very sad state of affairs when a 7 year old can out run you. I think you have made a wise choise to retire early and not linger on "(S)thinking you are not yet an old fart" :-)

cheers

I feel in my defence I should mention that I had been drinking quite a bit of lager and kept having to stop for a smoke to get my breath back. As far as I can remember none of the 7 year olds were playing under those handicaps, and they only gave us a five goal start.

And I think they had one more player than us.



And I think they might have made their goal narrower than ours...........

And one of them had propper football boots on.

Maybe you´re just pulling an Alan shearer ?

Henke Larsson came out of retirement, to play for Sweden in the euro-finals. Would you consider it if you were called upon, considering the current injury crisis??

I'm quitting as well two bottles of red,and i am off to bed. :-) :-)
Arthur

Martin, I want you to know that I was once a member of the Hoboken Football Club. It was a German scoccer team.
Not that I was a player, more of the mascot, but they drank a lot, and had a private rifle and pistol range in the basement of the club house.
Too much 'gold-wasser' and bullets didn't mix and not only ended a promising mascot career, but ended my private pistol, rifle range privilege. Actually I was banned from the property.
I feel the pain of your retirement, and the h**l with the reporters, let them pass us by and bother Tony and George, and the other guy..... oh, yeah..... Mr. Heinz.......er... I mean Kerry....

Well, if we're ever in proximity maybe we can arrange a kick-around (as the Bazilians call "Samba). I'd be afraid to actually play against you, as I am kind of a Roy Keane type player and don't want to lose you as a friend! (I am one Yank who very well understood what you were talking about...)

Just don't end up down Maradona's path!

This evening the news was on telly and they announced "Still to come, the end of a football career." I nearly fell off the chair! I thought "The FA had read my e-mail!"
Then the item came on and it was about the manager of Newcastle United getting the sack.

Not to worry, Martin. Iwas just reading Pg.3 er,um, 4 of the Post and they seem to be looking for a "Security Double" (guess that's the same as 'Bullet Catcher') for a certain PM the Honourable Mr. Blair (hear,hear murmurr, murmurr & all that rot....). You're a shoo-in! One door opens, another closes... I mean that the other way around of course...

p.s.-give Grover a pat for me!