Euro 2008 (Official Man City LOL Thread)

[talk show host]

I only saw the start and end of that match but it looked like Croatia were lucky to win there. Austria were all over them at the end.

[Britney Diva]

Yeah, Croatia were poor and the Austrians didn't let them play the way they'd like to.

[Frankie]

Germany looked really poor during periods today

[Ganondorf]

Portugal looked good, both goals were top class.

[talk show host]

I thought they looked quite decent.

No surprises so far this tournament :(

[Dead Star]

Underdogs havent even scored yet.

[Frankie]

Croatia really do miss the goal threat of Eduardo

I woulda thought the abilities of Petric and Olic might get 'em to the final but I dunno.

Modric looked excellent in parts today.

[Britney Diva]

Modric was kind of inconsequential to the game. He never really adjusted to the pace and he looked lost for large periods. Petric was anonymous too, but Olic I thought was very impressive. His workrate is immense, although the being a massive diver thing he has going on is a little disappointing. The way he reacted to Pogatetz pulling his shirt was embarrassing.

[poorquality]

Modric was kind of inconsequential to the game. He never really adjusted to the pace and he looked lost for large periods. Petric was anonymous too, but Olic I thought was very impressive. His workrate is immense, although the being a massive diver thing he has going on is a little disappointing. The way he reacted to Pogatetz pulling his shirt was embarrassing.

I dont know if it was the same player, but at one point in that match I actually thought "fair play" for a dude diving, mainly as someone was completely all over him, tugging shirts grabbing him etc etc, the ref wasn't giving anything until he went over.

Only time i ever thought "If he hadn't dived to go down, he wouldn't of actually got the freekick he deserved"

[RandyfromPennywise]

Turkey's diving was abysmal at times, Tuncay at least twice went down shockingly.

Germany looked pretty good. Ballack, what a player. His work-rate is unquestionably superb, real box-to-box player, up-and-down, insert-midfield-cliché here. Real leader of Germany, that's clear as anything. Frings and he make a great pairing. Frings plays it simple, does his job exceptionally well, similar to Makélélé and almost as effective. Podolski's off to a good start and he could be crucial to them. If the Schwein gets in to any sort of form, he'll start on the right instead of Fritz who is a worker but Schwein offers more explosive pace and power, but is really in sh*t-house form. Still, they could go very far in this tournament.

Modrić's touch is good and he's creative, and he'll do well at Tottenham I would say, but yeah he was pretty ineffectual last night. Still, reckon he'll be a good buy for Spurs. Similar sort of player to João Moutinho, well in a few ways anyway, but the Sporting man is better. Would like to see him at Chelsea to be honest. Get rid of Mikel and Sidwell and Maka retiring soon, Moutinho would be a top buy. Won't happen though. Owight, off to watch Australian football (with an oval-shaped ball).

[Timm]

http://www4.comunio.de/external/phpBB2/images/smiles/cheer.gifSchlaaaandhttp://www4.comunio.de/external/phpBB2/images/smiles/cheer.gif

:D

anyone else watching romania - france?

[talk show host]

yeah, pretty boring so far.

[dei]

Why is Benzema playing so far back?

[Britney Diva]

Because Romania are playing deep (and very well) and he can't get on the ball anywhere near the box. I'm very impressed with Romania and bemused at why Domenech would play Anelka when Benzema essentially possesses all of his qualities and more. Anelka has added nothing to the game, yet Henry is sitting on the bench.

[Timm]

first 5 minutes of 2nd half > 45 minutes of 1st half

[Timm]

now that was quite a surprise :)

crap game tho

hopefully netehrlands - italy will be more exciting. a couple of goals would be nice =|

[Britney Diva]

First half was good, second half was intolerable. The Romanians seemed to tire out with half an hour to go, kind of like Croatia did. The French look completely stuffed- I think Italy and Holland will rip them to shreds.

[talk show host]

Hoping both sides will get a goal or two.

I do wish the BBC could just show all the games though.

[Britney Diva]

I can't stomach either of the English stations.

[RandyfromPennywise]

God what an awful game that was. France looked pretty shyte to be honest. Anelka is a joke, Malouda's got talent but chooses not to use it. They need a fit Henry and Vieira back as soon as possible.

[dei]

If they really wanted to roll with one striker, it should have been Benzema.

[talk show host]

Haha, how far offside was that?

[Timm]

not at all.
you didn't see the italian player behind the goal ;)

nice game so far :D

[talk show host]

Does it count if the player is off the field? :confused:

[Britney Diva]

Technically, a player who's not on the pitch is still in play. Why, I have no idea, but according to FIFA's rules he made the correct call. I think if common sense would prevail, it would have been disallowed, but officials these days are terrified of interpreting the rules for themselves for fear of being blacklisted.

God what an awful game that was. France looked pretty shyte to be honest. Anelka is a joke, Malouda's got talent but chooses not to use it. They need a fit Henry and Vieira back as soon as possible.
I'd take Flamini or Diarra over Vieira, but yeah. No real invention about the team and no co-ordination. Benzema and Anelka took it upon themselves to occupy Ribery's right wing for the entire first half, and for some strange reason Ribery didn't seem to mind.

[talk show host]

Hmm, fair enough then. It does seem bizarre.

[Britney Diva]

No rule is too bizarre for FIFA.

Oh well, I guess we've got the token "officiating decision for Italians to piss and moan about for the next 2 years."

I reckon Sepp Blatter will have backed the officials 100%, apologised to Italy, apologised to the Netherland for apologising to Italy, and have sacked the officials by the end of the week.

[Timm]

actually that rule does make sense.
otherwise you'd have a lot of crappy offsidetraps because of defenders quickly crossing the line of the pitch.
and it's not like you couldn't interfere anymore just because you're on foot off the pitch, one step and you're in again

[Iai]

The eyeties got stuffed, so I'm a happy boy. Nearly missed the game though, I was in that deep a coma after watching France stutter around on their zimmer frames for 90 minutes.

[mph4ever]

france look headless, no engine, broad changes needed or we are going to see holland and romania fo through. romania bored me to death.

[Give me Beer]

Yesss, the Dutch kicked the Italians all over the place. :D 3-0, worst defeat for Italy since somewhere deep in the 80s.

[hXcPLISIT]

I'd be lying if I were to say I was expecting a smacking like that.

[Britney Diva]

actually that rule does make sense.
otherwise you'd have a lot of crappy offsidetraps because of defenders quickly crossing the line of the pitch.
This would never happen.

[Iai]

It would. Not in major games or by major teams, but a team like Cardiff are bound to attempt it from set plays.

[Pastorius]

And at a set play you could take all your players off the pitch and all of their players would be offside if they passed forwards.

[Britney Diva]

And at a set play you could take all your players off the pitch and all of their players would be offside if they passed forwards.
This is the worst tactical decision you could ever make.

[poorquality]

Players would get booked for leaving the pitch without the refs permission.

[Pastorius]

This is the worst tactical decision you could ever make.

Realistically, yes. I wasn't being serious.

[dei]

I expected Netherlands to win but I didn't think they would beat Italy this badly. It more than makes up for the snorefest that was the France - Romania match.

[sweboy]

Nice to see Italy get their *** whooped.

[Carn]

that was awesome. I had had a little hope but that was just kick ***. I actually said to a friend dat Van Nistelrooij and Sneijder would make the first two goals..I should have put money on that one :angry: Let's hope that we can keep up that form against France.

[Carn]

Oh and good to see Boulahrouz on that position, he has always struck me as the more experienced guy (compared to Mathijssen).

[hXcPLISIT]

Okay so I know it isn't until tomorrow..

But who's winning between Greece and Sweden ?

[sweboy]

Sweden obv.

[Britney Diva]

I'm not sure which way it will go. Sweden's team is similar to Italy's, in that they've had to rely on older players as quality youngsters aren't really coming through, but Greece are completely unpredictable. I reckon a goal from a set piece will decide the tie either way.

[hXcPLISIT]

So Greece is teh winnar ?! :)

[Carn]

it can go both ways between Greece & Sweden as far as I can see

[talk show host]

It'll be a 0-0 thriller I reckon.

[ATM]

Hopefully the next round is more exciting.

[Britney Diva]

I'm sure it will. The first games are usually cagey affairs. Italy-Holland probably would have been were it not for van Nistelrooy's goal. I love that the Dutch and the Germans (and even the Poles) were so positive in their approach, it really is incredible to watch.

[RandyfromPennywise]

Spat - Blatter, ah, the master politician. Last week he told us we were a chance of getting WC2018, then two days later he says we are no chance, but softens the blow by saying we are a good chance for WC2022. Sort it out geesar!!!

Iai, funny you saying about France stuttering around, it made me think of the pre-tournament predictions of France from WC2006, when people were saying the squad was too old, Zidane's past it etc. etc.. This year, everyone was excited by their youth (Benzema, Nasri, Ribéry) and they've come out and been as flat as they were in WC2002.

[DonMancini]

Thoughts on the Italy - Netherlands game:

We were playing with a severely weakened center defense today, and the Netherlands took advantage of this. As soon as either Barzagli or Materazzi had the ball, the dutch were pressing hard and forcing mistakes out of them. They knew where and how to hit us and it worked. The 2nd and 3rd were both scored off counter attacks and could have been stopped if we had defended decently. I couldn't believe DiNatale was the one next to Sneijder on the second goal; where the hell was the defense?

I was less than impressed, sadly, by gattuso. Although he had a few good tackles, most of them were a bit sloppy and he gave the ball away a lot (bad passes). Oddly enough, I liked Ambro a bit better and thought he really gave it his all and tried to win balls. I'd put DeRossi in next game for sure though, in place of any of the two.

With DiNatale and Camo in the trident, it felt like Toni was too isolated and it was easy for the dutch to shut down our offense; all they had to do was mark him and we couldn't do anything.

As soon as Grosso came in it felt as though the addition of another attacking option brought in a wave of fresh air and we finally started to unlock their defense. I hope it was enough to show Donadoni that having Grosso and Zambro on the wings works better. When Del Piero and Cassano came in as well, it created more chances and we were ultimately unlucky not to have at least 1 goal (namely that shot from in the box that Van Der Sar incredibly saved and that amazing lob from Cassano that Toni uncharacteristically missed; I've seen him score 1395812395 of those at Bayern).

So basically we should have had a couple more friendlies, as this is not a time to start establishing what our starting lineup should be but it looks like it's what's going on. The end of the game makes me hopeful that we can still obtain results but the weakness of our backline will ultimately be our undoing. We might make it out of the group stage but we won't make it very far unless someone in the defense steps up.

The next game is a MUST win. If we tie or lose, we can practically kiss our euro goodbye.

P.S. Sneijder's volley was abbbbbbsolutely ridiculously awesome, and Holland's midfield passing was superb.

[Britney Diva]

I couldn't believe DiNatale was the one next to Sneijder on the second goal; where the hell was the defense?
Halfway up the pitch, having been up for the corner. Di Natali and Zambrotta are the only ones with any real pace, and I'd assume Di Natali takes up a defensive position for set-pieces because he's a shortarse and therefore not particularly useful from crosses.

Toni looked very lacklustre, disinterested even, kind of like Anelka is in 90% of games. He actually improved as the game went on, but that was a horrible miss towards the end. Italy could have had a couple of goals, and Italy will always create chances even when they're playing badly, but on balance Holland were good for at least a 2-0 win. They outplayed Italy in basically every area.

I don't think a lack of friendlies is your problem, though. I think Donadoni is committed to the senior players that won the World Cup and it was going to take a disaster to force him into any changes.

[TakeWarning]

But unlike alot teams competing in the Euro, eg. Spain, France, Croatia, Italy doesn't really have alot of promising talent coming through, so Donadoni is pretty much forced into playing the older players who were so prominent in the World Cup.

I didn't think even think they were too bad, the Dutch just thoroughly outclassed them, and based on the other Group C game, they might just make it through to the quarters anyway.

[Britney Diva]

I dunno, they spurned their chances today and both Romania and France have far more robust defences than the Dutch do.

[TakeWarning]

Yeah, they did, but Toni can be deadly sometimes, and they're always a threat from set pieces.

Based on yesterday's game, I can't imagine France or Romania scoring against Italy if they revert to their catenaccio style, even though they seem to be missing Materazzi.

[mph4ever]

real madrid to offer £60m for ronaldo. hmmmm, if they make it £70m, which no doubt they could, then i would say let him go. take their arm off for it actually. i would be disappointed that he would leave, afterall, the great man united players usually play their last great football for manu. very seldom players leave and improve.

france did not seem to have an engine, a play maker. with their team they should have been probing constantly and making serious chances. they didn't look like anyone wanted to take responsibility. i don't think viera will change any of that although henry coming back would allow them a lot more freedom. anelka doesn't seem to have the ability to play with benzema and the youngs 'uns they brought on all looked like they were playing on their own. domenech has some real challenges to solve and i fear he might be solving them with players recovering from injuries instead of tactics

portugal and holland look class. germany are right up there too. my heart goes out to fabio, i know he would make the difference for italy, give them confidence. can't wait to see spain. then we will have a real feel for how things might just turn out

[Iai]

That's just a myth Fergie puts out there. Nistelrooy's goal-per-game ratio is actually slightly better at Madrid than it was at Man U, and Stam hardly got worse when he left (not for a good 4 years at least). Ince was good in Italy too from what I remember.

Real could probably happily go up to about £150M. The merchandising rights for Ronaldo are worth just over half a billion, so providing he doesn't break his leg within minutes of signing they'd make that money back easily.

[mph4ever]

That's just a myth Fergie puts out there. Nistelrooy's goal-per-game ratio is actually slightly better at Madrid than it was at Man U, and Stam hardly got worse when he left (not for a good 4 years at least). Ince was good in Italy too from what I remember.

i have been watching manu longer than fergie has been managing. never heard him say it, honestly, its a homemade opinion in my case. i suppose it was always dangerous as a generalisation but in the most part i think its probably right. they may have played better when they moved on because they played in lesser teams, at that time. ruud was a good player for us, he had some excellent stats. isn't world class though. stam, if i remember correctly, left manu and was then done for doping. not really memory that allows him to be written in to the glory books. ince is just a knacker, thug, as soon as keane came of age then it was time for him to move on. also, any manu player that goes and plays for the scousers never deserves any praise whatsoever.


Real could probably happily go up to about £150M. The merchandising rights for Ronaldo are worth just over half a billion, so providing he doesn't break his leg within minutes of signing they'd make that money back easily.

so really what you are saying is that is all down to ronaldo - if he wants to go or not.

strange thing, you don't much loyalty with high profile players from portugal or holland for that matter, in my opinion

[Ganondorf]

RVN was onside, and good game, come on Holland :p

[Iai]

Pretty much. Figure in the money United would get with a similarly big signing or three and neither team would actually be losing much. The Glazers surely know that. Even Anderson and Nani brought in a good chunk of money in merch and they were unknowns.

You tend not to get loyalty with high profile players from anywhere, really. I suppose the South Americans are the best in general for that, perhaps because the poverty many of them endure makes them appreciate both football and life more, I don't know. I think England only really escapes criticisms about loyalty because of a few high-profile examples - Scholes, Gerrard, Terry, and Neville mainly. Same with Spain and Raul. But having said that you could build a whole England side, and a good one, out of players who just chased the almighty dollar at one point or another. Ferdinand, both Coles, Lampard, Owen, some would say Rooney, Woodgate, Beckham, Campbell, Wright-Phillips....

How's everybody got on so far with the fantasy footy? I made my transfers too late, so my Schnieder points don't count. :(


Edit: also about the Fergie thing, he said it in an interview this week, where he also laughably said 'I know how to deal with Madrid, they tried these tactics with Nistelrooy, Heinze, and Beckham'. And those players ended up where, exactly?

[sgrevs]

So I'm in a tipping comp for Euro with 53 other people, everyone put in $10. Winner gets $324 (60%), 2nd gets $162 (30%) and 3rd gets $54 (10%). I'm currently placed 5th on 9 points after I tipped the draw last night, but I got the other game wrong because I tipped Italy like a knob.

Anyway, tonights games are extremely hard to choose. At the moment I've got Spain over Russia, and a draw for Greece v Sweden. Any ideas/changes/suggestions?

[mph4ever]

point taken, i can see where you're coming from. i suppose they are both playing a game to get as much publicity out of what is going on and hype them as the two teams at the forefront of everybody's minds whilst euro 2008 is going on. doesn't matter if the business is done or not.

[Ganondorf]

i have been watching manu longer than fergie has been managing. never heard him say it, honestly, its a homemade opinion in my case. i suppose it was always dangerous as a generalisation but in the most part i think its probably right. they may have played better when they moved on because they played in lesser teams, at that time. ruud was a good player for us, he had some excellent stats. isn't world class though. stam, if i remember correctly, left manu and was then done for doping. not really memory that allows him to be written in to the glory books. ince is just a knacker, thug, as soon as keane came of age then it was time for him to move on. also, any manu player that goes and plays for the scousers never deserves any praise whatsoever.



Ruud Van Nistelrooy is clearly world class, better than Tevez any day :smash:

If I was Ronaldo I would leave, nothing left to accomplish in England...

[mph4ever]

Ruud Van Nistelrooy is clearly world class, better than Tevez any day :smash:

If I was Ronaldo I would leave, nothing left to accomplish in England...

i never thought ruud had the pace to be world class, good poacher, benefitted from beckham and giggs, glad to see him back in the dutch set up.

tevez still has to prove himself. we have to pay £20m+, he'll have to have a better season.

Ronaldo, unless he wants to become a real madrid player for life then there is no need for him to leave in the next three years. he could when he is just 26 and still set the world on fire

[sgrevs]

So I'm in a tipping comp for Euro with 53 other people, everyone put in $10. Winner gets $324 (60%), 2nd gets $162 (30%) and 3rd gets $54 (10%). I'm currently placed 5th on 9 points after I tipped the draw last night, but I got the other game wrong because I tipped Italy like a knob.

Anyway, tonights games are extremely hard to choose. At the moment I've got Spain over Russia, and a draw for Greece v Sweden. Any ideas/changes/suggestions?

Guys I need serious help here.

[badtaste]

No clue, Shaun, no clue.

Finally some decent euro on free to air tv here, go Spain.

[poorquality]

Personally I'd have Spain win and Sweden Win.

[mph4ever]

i think spain will beat russia and sweden will beat greece. its a gorup of death if you ask me but i think spain are going to take great confidence from what happened with france and italy.

[talk show host]

I think you've got it right

[sgrevs]

I was pretty confident about Spain previously, but Russia have Guus Hiddink in charge, and the man really is a master tactician. Though they are missing two of their best players (or so I read). I think I'm still sticking with Spain there.

For the other match I feel somewhat inclined to change to Sweden, though I always feel Sweden choke a bit on the big stage. They have the potential but never do anything. I may have to flip a coin to decide.

[Timm]

Guys I need serious help here.

I have no idea what to think of these games and really fcuked up tipping all the other games.
I'm 93rd of 94 players in my tipp com :(

my predictions are Spain 2 - Russia 1 and Greece 1 - Sweden 1
just tipp the opposite and you'll probably be right :) :(

[Frankie]

Spain 3-0 with a Villa hat trick

they've looked quite impressive tonight as well

[hXcPLISIT]

In 25 minutes, the Swedes shall fall. :thumb:

[Interstate]

Spain 4 Russia 1

Spain completely killed them off in the first half.

[Timm]

lol
when a not-even-decent bundesliga forward like charisteas can go through the swedish defense like that torres will rape them

[talk show host]

gee, the greeks sure are an entertaining bunch

[hXcPLISIT]

That second goal made me sick to my stomach.

[mph4ever]

spain and sweden, hope our tips were taken

[sweboy]

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

[hXcPLISIT]

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

AKA Teh Ghey.

[Britney Diva]

What's that, like the third time Ibrahimovic has scored in his career?

[Frankie]

It seems like it to me as well

Apparently he has a good scoring record :confused:

[Timm]

an austrian brewery promises every austrian player who scores against poland or germany free beer for the rest of his life...lol

[Iai]

I have Villa as my dream team captain :D Watch me shoot to #1 in the league!

[Timm]

fcuk you :D

I changed my team a "bit"

http://i27.tinypic.com/14uaooh.jpg

[Ganondorf]

Gera's a dick, he's goen to Fulham, they're gonna have to same ambition as us next season - TO FINISH 17th! Cunts.

[badtaste]

Anyone know anything about this Ramsey fellow who is moving to Arsenal?

I hope Mourinho raids Chelsea.

[Chilifanthatsme]

Cardiff player? He was heading towards Man U but Wenger flew Ramsey out to somewhere in Europe where Wenger is a pundit (!) for some of the matches, to talk to him, and Wenger has good reputation for taking in young players and making them good (Ramsey is 17). But i think Sir Alex does too, he took quite a few "unknown" youngsters in, such as Ronaldo, and look at them now.

[badtaste]

Mmm yeah, I had read that Man U and Everton were also chasing him, so I assumed he must be pretty hot stuff.

[Frankie]

Ronaldo was never an unknown player to those who played championship/football manager :p

[sgrevs]

fcuk you :D

I changed my team a "bit"

http://i27.tinypic.com/14uaooh.jpg

It looks pretty good, except for maybe Thuram.

Spain were awesome against Russia, good on 'em. I hope they win for sure. If not them then Holland.

Tonights tips:
Czech 0-2 Portugal
Swiss 1-0 Turkey

[Iai]

I still have Huntelaar in my side, which is my weakness. Can't really buy anyone too good with that money at the minute though, and I think he'll make an appearance at some point in the groups.

[Timm]

oh great
now I have pepe in my team they concede a goal :mad:

[Chilifanthatsme]

Oh my @ rain in Turkey match. And lol @ the diving. And lol @ the Turkish blokes ripped t-shirt.

Anyone see the Swiss goal? The ball just stopped right dead 'cause the puddle in the goal.

[Iai]

I thought it was just Tuncay who was a shameless diver, turns out it's all the Turkey players.

[Timm]

scolari will be the new chelsea manager :-O

and, this is awesome, when turkey and chechzehuhkjhalköaleköflkaä (sp?) draw, there will be penalty shoot outs right after regular time, seems to be a new rule.
as a german I approve of course :D

[Frankie]

Phil Scolari to join Chelsea

and Boro apparently interested in a young PSG midfielder. From what I've heard he's a pretty good prospect as well like.

[Frankie]

Crotia outplayed Germany really and they're 2-1 up atm

Podolski's strike was ****ing vicious like :|

[Black Ink]

Yeeaaaaah Germany lost. That'll teach those Krauts. Now Poland needs to shore up that back 4 and beat Austria and we're back in business.

Zawsze Bialo, Wierni Czerwonym, Tylco Polska!

[mph4ever]

scolari is interesting. hes not long term either. maybe a season or two. will attract deco and kaka and i suppose thats good enough credentials for a manager. no place in a team like that for drogba

[mph4ever]

anyone could win this tournament, germany looked like they were out for a stroll, never really got going.

[Chilifanthatsme]

Austria are playing good (or is it the Polish aren't at all?!), but cannae finish yet, that Polish keeper is doing rate well though.

[Britney Diva]

Boruc is arguably the best natural shot-stopper in the world right now. His command of his defence, particularly from crosses, leaves a lot to be desired as you may have noticed over the past 2 games.

Somehow Poland are in front! Crazy game.

Croatia were incredible, despite the dire German performance. Pity about that one moment of defensive slackness allowing Podolski in; otherwise it was a flawless performance. Of all the top teams in the tournament, they (and possibly Romania) look like the only team with a top-class defence.

[dei]

Austria are playing good (or is it the Polish aren't at all?!), but cannae finish yet, that Polish keeper is doing rate well though.

You should know who he is, you Scottish cunt.

[Chilifanthatsme]

Since when am i Scottish?

[dei]

Cannae is Scottish speak, yeah?

[sgrevs]

Ok so tonight's tipping is ridiculously hard.

Italy v Romania:
Italy need to win, and they will be going at it. Romania would also very much like the win as they wouldn't really fancy their chances of beating Holland in the last game. Also, they have a superb defence. I think I'm gonna tip Italy right now, but I could change my mind to a draw.

France v Holland:
I think I'm going a draw. I stared at the screen for about 10 minutes just contemplating.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

[Iai]

I think Holland will beat France and Romania and Italy will be another very boring 0-0.

[Interstate]

Austria v Poland was a good match. Some great football, yet some ridiculously stupid chances missed. Austria had enough chances to finish the game in the first half.

[TakeWarning]

Italy vs Romania promises to be mind-numbingly unentertaining. Hope not though, they've both enough quality in their squads to make it a decent encounter.

Netherlands to beat France if both teams perform how they did earlier in the week.

[TakeWarning]

I was embarassed for Austria during the first 15 minutes. I mean their tournament survival depended on them winning and they squandered three top-notch opportunities in the first 15 minutes.

[Interstate]

Holland V France is gonna be a good 'un. I'm supposed to be going out tonight but I might made a detour to the pub to watch the game.

[poorquality]

Italy to win

Holland to win

I've been right so far :)

[Frankie]

Holland to beat France

Italy and Romania will either be a bore all draw or Italy will nick an entirely boring 1-0 win.

[dei]

Holland have **** defence so it could go either way.

[Frankie]

France didnt look like they could score ina brothel the other day so we'll see

[Minus The Flair]

Did anyone see the penalty given to Austria in the final minute by Howard Webb? I read that it's left the Polish Prime Minister 'wanting to kill'. You know you're in the right place when you're Prime Minister's giving death threats over penaltys in a game of football. The shirt was clearly being held, but I dunno.

Looking forward to France - Holland tonight, gunna be pretty amazing I think.

[sgrevs]

**** guys now I really don't know what to do. So freakin hard to pick it. I think I'm gonna go:

Italy

But I really can't decide the other, I'm gonna flip a coin between Holland and a draw.

[Timm]

Did anyone see the penalty given to Austria in the final minute by Howard Webb? I read that it's left the Polish Prime Minister 'wanting to kill'. You know you're in the right place when you're Prime Minister's giving death threats over penaltys in a game of football. The shirt was clearly being held, but I dunno.


poland's politicians are so goddamn full of fail.
one of them also wanted to denaturalize podolski after his two goals thinking he had dual citizenship. too bad podolski never had polish citizenship lol



WHAT THE FCUK IS RIBERY DOING ON THE RIGHT SIDE?!
domenech is such an idiot, ribery plays best on the left, how is he supposed to get me points for my fanatasy team when he's rotting on the right :mad:

[Frankie]

hmmm two threads been merged ey ?

By the looks of it Italy have come out to play well tonight

[Iai]

Romania look like they might nick this with a long-range screamer.

[mph4ever]

Ok so tonight's tipping is ridiculously hard.

Italy v Romania:
Italy need to win, and they will be going at it. Romania would also very much like the win as they wouldn't really fancy their chances of beating Holland in the last game. Also, they have a superb defence. I think I'm gonna tip Italy right now, but I could change my mind to a draw.

France v Holland:
I think I'm going a draw. I stared at the screen for about 10 minutes just contemplating.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

too late, sorry but i i'd be going italy and france

[dei]

I can't believe Toni was called offside.

[Timm]

I can't believe Zambrotta's fcuk up

[Iai]

I have no idea what I was watching for the first 56 minutes but I'm glad the football's started now.

[talk show host]

I got in just in time for the two goals. Good match from what I saw.

[Britney Diva]

That was one of the best games of the tournament so far, though perhaps not from an aesthetic point of view. Romania were disappointing again (!) and Italy got screwed again (!).

[Iai]

Romania disappointing? Really?

Italy deserve to get screwed tbqh.

[hXcPLISIT]

Predictions for tomorrow? \

Sweden and Spain should be fun to watch, unlike alot of games thus far.

[Britney Diva]

Romania disappointing? Really?
Definitely. I know it's their gameplan and all, but they showed no ambition against a proven shaky defence.

Italy deserve to get screwed tbqh.
Always.

God, whose idea was it to let Malouda back for a corner? He wasn't even looking at the ball, and he still failed.

[Iai]

I dunno, Mutu looked lively all game. I still think they'd be delighted with two draws against France and Italy. Hell, England probably would be too.

[Britney Diva]

True, but in the circumstances I think they could have been more adventurous without sacrificing much at the back.

Jesus, Henry just missed a one-on-one. He'd normally bury that sort of opportunity. The Dutch have looked very ordinary down the centre. They're lucky to be in front tbh

[Iai]

Jesus Christ, how much luck are the Dutch going to get in this competition? Henry's miss, handball appeal, and Coupet failing to save that Van Persie shot. Plus those last two goals against Italy....

[Britney Diva]

Holy ****, what a couple of minutes! Robben's finish was godly.

[Iai]

Okay, I take that back. Sheer quality by Robben, and that deserves to win the game.

[Chilifanthatsme]

Holy **** what a match. Holland have to win, i wanted them to win before the Euros started. Robbens goal was brilliant, and the last goal, and Ruuds header woulda gone in off the inside of the post i reckon.

[dei]

France are out.

[Britney Diva]

They can still qualify.

[talk show host]

Haha, that game was nuts. Holland are awesome.

[dei]

They can still qualify.

Yes, but I don't think it's going to happen. ;(

[Britney Diva]

Listen to this. If Romania lose by 4-0 and France draw with Italy, it'll go down to a penalty shoot out!

[mph4ever]

you'd get some odds on that

[Dragon_Prince]

GO HOLLAND!
No one had expected this, first 3 - 0 versus the world champion and then 4 - 1 versus the vice world champion! This is so godly! :) It made a terrific night in Holland :)
Boularouch, van der Sar, van Persie, Robben, Sneijder, Kuyt etc. were all so good, they played as a team. :)

[Britney Diva]

More like Boularuzeless

[sgrevs]

Shiiiiiiiiiiit my tips were bad last night. What was I thinking tipping against Holland? I'm a retard.

And I tipped Italy to edge it against Romania. Oh well.

[Black Ink]

poland's politicians are so goddamn full of fail.
one of them also wanted to denaturalize podolski after his two goals thinking he had dual citizenship. too bad podolski never had polish citizenship lol:

Podolski was born in Poland so he had to have been at one time a Polish citizen....

[Britney Diva]

The quote I read said he wanted to revoke Podolski's passport, to which he replied he didn't have a passport, which would make sense since he left as a child.

[Ganondorf]

What happens if Romania, Italy and France all have identical records at the end of the group phase?

[Smokey D]

Surely the Dutch are going to win this tournament. Only Spain and Portugal have played anywhere near the same level, and that was against much slacker opposition than France and Italy.

As for the Frecnh, although they lost, Henri's goal was oh so nice.

[Give me Beer]

Yes, but I don't think it's going to happen. ;(

To be honest, I think France looked better than Italy so far, even though both teams are failing so far. If Romania wins against Holland, France and Italy are out, that would be really strange.

[badtaste]

What happens if Romania, Italy and France all have identical records at the end of the group phase?

They discussed that scenario on the footy show before. My memory is sketchy, but I think Italy would go through, because they have a better record against Romania in both WC and Euro qualifying. Yeah, something like that... :confused: There was another scenario mentioned, but I can't remember it.

[Give me Beer]

I doubt that, Romania wasn't even in the qualifying group with them (they were in the group with Holland and finished before them if I remember correctly). Besides, it seems like a bit unfair to give a team a win because of games before the tournament.

[badtaste]

I doubt that, Romania wasn't even in the qualifying group with them (they were in the group with Holland and finished before them if I remember correctly). Besides, it seems like a bit unfair to give a team a win because of games before the tournament.

Stolen from yahoo answers:

"The next seperator would be the average number of points scored per game in the qualifying for Euro 2008 and the 2006 World Cup. Over both campaigns, Italy played 22 and scored 52 points, Romania played 24 and scored 54 points, giving Italy an average on 2.36 points per game and Romania an average of 2.25 points per game, so Italy would advance.

In the unlikely event that that had been a tie, it would have gone down to fair play across the three group games, and after that UEFA would have had to draw one out of a hat."

edit: "...France as we've established would finish bottom on the head to head records..."

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080613155221AAbCWD7

[Iai]

So what about the penalty shoot-outs? Turkey and Czech Republic are headed that way, it's been reported everywhere.

[Cesar21]

In the WC I wanted Portugal and Italy to win and Italy won. In this Tournament. I want Portugal to win, but I wouldn't mind if the Dutch win, I like both teams and was disappointed with the Dutch in WC.

[sweboy]

Oh man Spain is gonna taste the grass tonight. Mmmhmm.

[Superfly]

I'm so happy about holland's performance this euro... after so many years of not being able to get their **** together they've suddenly become a machine... I'm putting money on them winning it

[Britney Diva]

So what about the penalty shoot-outs? Turkey and Czech Republic are headed that way, it's been reported everywhere.
They have identical records, so if they draw they go to penalties.

Spain look oh so poor at the back and Larsson is linking up really well with Ljundgberg and Ibrahimovic. Silly goals for both teams to give away though.

[Iai]

Screw Torres >=( His goal puts clear air between Spat and me in the Dream Team league.

I need a Fabregas hat-trick in the second half now.

[poorquality]

VIIIIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAA

:P woop both my strikers scored for me :D

[Echleon]

Urgh this fantasy week has been terrible!

Klose did nothing, Abidal didn't even play, Portugal and Spain conceeded two rubbish goals, Ballack was bollocks :(

I've wanted Holland to win before the start of the Euro's (i'd love to see Van der Sar get a international medal!) but i'm still uncertain whether they will be able to. Yeah, fantastic performances against Italy and France but they still look very dodgy at the back and Italy and France are no way on par with Portugal and Spain really.

[Iai]

COME ON VILLA!

Captain scores again XD

[Give me Beer]

Urgh this fantasy week has been terrible!

Klose did nothing, Abidal didn't even play, Portugal and Spain conceeded two rubbish goals, Ballack was bollocks :(

I've wanted Holland to win before the start of the Euro's (i'd love to see Van der Sar get a international medal!) but i'm still uncertain whether they will be able to. Yeah, fantastic performances against Italy and France but they still look very dodgy at the back and Italy and France are no way on par with Portugal and Spain really.

To be honest, I think France is probably as good as Spain. Spain might have won their two games, but they aren't exactly playing great football. They have a great striker duo, but the defence is looking like crap and the only reason you don't notice it that much is 'cause Russia played like crap and Sweden didn't even try. Sweden deserved that loss 'cause they tried nothing, but Spain hardly shone today, at some points they were just downright aweful.

Portugal looks good, but is being hyped imo.

[hXcPLISIT]

To say that France and Spain are of equal ability.. is nonsense !

Anyways, I hope the Greeks can get past the Russians.

[Iai]

Yeah, France are World Cup finalists and Spain haven't won anything since 1964.

GMB is right in that Sergio Ramos is the most over-rated defender in the world.

[hXcPLISIT]

Clearly, I shouldn't have uttered the word 'Greeks'. Ughhh.

[Britney Diva]

I didn't know anybody rated Sergio Ramos. He's a horrorshow.

[Iai]

The Spanish media fancy him as their Rio Ferdinand, from what I've heard/seen/read.

[Britney Diva]

Because he's black?

[dei]

Because he punk'd David Beckham.

[Iai]

The word is 'merked'.

[dei]

Speak English.

[Iai]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_Ferdinand#TV_presenter

'The program, in which Ferdinand set up his teammates into amusing situations without their knowledge, always started with Ferdinand introducing the teammate and ended with him saying 'You got merked'.'

[dei]

I see.

[sgrevs]

La Furia Roja! La Furia Roja!

I would ****ing love for Villa to come to Liverpool. How awesomely sweet would that be? Very.

[Britney Diva]

I see.
This is the Rio Ferdinand thread and you will use Rio Ferdinand lingo at all times.

[Give me Beer]

To say that France and Spain are of equal ability.. is nonsense !

Anyways, I hope the Greeks can get past the Russians.

Eh, the Dutch won deservedly against France, but if those goals had fallen at other points in the game, France might have won that. They were in fact dominating quite some parts of the game, and they've shown some great football even if that isn't really acknowledged. Spain has hardly had to play competition in the same 'range'.

[Iai]

France's problem is that having two holding midfielders kills their creativity. Right now they're dependent on a good long ball from Makalele, which he's done one per game so far. Why Nasri isn't playing is baffling.

[TakeWarning]

Spain were so very average today. The only teams I can see winning it at the moment are Holland and Portugal. But assuming Germany finish second in Group B, a Germany-Portugal quarter-final could prove very interesting.

[Interstate]

Sweden were so unlucky not to get something from the Spain game. With a few exceptions, they made the Spanish look distinctly average & pulled off some great defending.

[sweboy]

it hurts )=

[Smokey D]

After that performance, I think Spain will struggle against stiffer competition. Clearly they are good, but they aren't invincible.

[sgrevs]

Russian goal against Greece was pretty funny, really poor keeping.

And wow, Sneijder's goal against France the other night was really ****ing awesome.

[Britney Diva]

After that performance, I think Spain will struggle against stiffer competition. Clearly they are good, but they aren't invincible.
They probably won't face stiffer competition until the semis.

Russian goal against Greece was pretty funny, really poor keeping.
Well he's not Sylvester Stallone like.

[hXcPLISIT]

Nikopolodis looks washed up out there. Goal should have never happened.

Anyways, I'm hopping on the Croatian bandwagon.

[sgrevs]

Hooooly crap. Turkey comeback? Unbelievable stuff. Cech's error was appalling, Nihat's 2nd goal was superb.

Good on Switzerland as well, they deserved some points.

[talk show host]

That was a great game in the end. I was going to turn it off at halftime too since it was pretty boring up to that point. Glad I didn't.

Would loved to have seen Tuncay in goal for penalties, but I suppose the match had everything else.

Who's Turkey's second goalkeeper? That Volkan guy has been great for them so far in this tournament so I don't fancy their chances against Croatia with him suspended.

[Minus The Flair]

That was a great game in the end. I was going to turn it off at halftime too since it was pretty boring up to that point. Glad I didn't.

Some of us weren't so lucky :(

I switched it back on just after Nihat's second goal, man I was pissed. Saw all the highlights though, great goal, terrible error from Cech, and Turkey's keeper... what a dick tbh.

[ATM]

That was a ridiculous come back.

[TakeWarning]

Wish I'd seen the Turkey-Czech game, the Portugal-Switzerland game was on Setanta and I already knew the result by the time a very very crap Portugal had lost.

[Iai]

Crappy gameweek so far for my dream team. Baros got booked without even playing, wtf is that all about.

[ATM]

I saw that!

The ref was card happy.

[Chilifanthatsme]

Yeah, that was crazy. I thought he was going to book the manager or something :p

Will Baros miss their next game? He'd be gutted.

I hope Austria win, Germany out in the group stages would be brilliant. In theory, Germany, Italy and France could be out before the knockouts.

And people used to say International football was boring.

[ATM]

I don't think Austria have much of a chance against Germany.

[dei]

True.

[sgrevs]

Will Baros miss their next game? He'd be gutted.



They don't have anymore games in the tournament...

Predictions for tonight:
Austria 0-2 Germany (thought it'd be awesome if Austria won)
Poland 1-1 Croatia

[poorquality]

I hope Austria win, the winner will play Portugal in the next round.

[Frankie]

I can only find one of the games on BBC

were the **** is the other one :(

[Chilifanthatsme]

Austria game at 7.30pm on Beeb 1, 'tother is at 7.30pm on Beeb 3.

[Black Ink]

Poland has such an outside chance of making it. :( They need Austria to win 1-0 and then they need to be Croatia 2-0.

[Frankie]

So Germany face Portugal in the Quarter finals.

Should be interesting indeed.

[sgrevs]

Based on how both teams have played so far, I'd say Germany haven't got a hope.

[Britney Diva]

I don't know, Germany have been unimpressive, but they've been ruthless in attack given the chance. The way the Portuguese play, there'll be plenty of chances for the Germans to test the defence. Either way, I think it'll be a high-scoring game.

[Frankie]

Croatia and turkey looks an easy-ish path for Croatia

further fullfilling my semi-final prediction

[dei]

Turkey are going to rape Croatia.

[TakeWarning]

I think Croatia will beat Turkey, but it'll be a tough match. Slaven Bilic has done a very good job managing Croatia. When you compare the Croatian second 11 to the Portugal second 11, the Croatian players looked alot more motivated and confident. He may look like a gypo, but he knows what he's doing.

[hXcPLISIT]

The Croat's are gonna win it all.

[mph4ever]

vive la france

[poorquality]

I think Holland will "accidentally" concede thanks to a goalkeeping "blunder" and therefore lose.

Hey if you had the opportunity to knock out two rivals, two BIG rivals for this competition, you'd take it right?

[mph4ever]

yup, but i'd hope that doesn't happen. they have to do something they have been unable to do against italy and france, win. not sure if they have it in them to do it honestly and i would hate to see them benefit from a poor dutch effort. also, football is all about momentum, holland need to keep it going.

[Bukowski]

I hope Croatia win it all

you know

because they put England out!

[Timm]

ribery injured, fcuk :(

italy - france is intense and they're only 13 minutes into the game, hopefully romania can beat the netherlands like they already did in their qualifying games :)

I'm watching both games, italy - france on tv and the other on zattoo :D

and tbh I'm happy my team made it to the quarterfinals, that's already better than the last two euros, hehe :D

if we play like this

lehmann
friedrich, mertesacker, metzelder, lahm
hitzlsperger, frings, ballack, schweinsteiger
klose, podolski

I can definitely see them beat portugal. gomez was shite so far, podolski is a goddamn forward and we need schweinsteiger

[Britney Diva]

I think Holland will "accidentally" concede thanks to a goalkeeping "blunder" and therefore lose.

Hey if you had the opportunity to knock out two rivals, two BIG rivals for this competition, you'd take it right?
I don't think they have anything to fear from either side. Romania would be a far bigger worry in the semis, since they've already been beaten by them in the past year.

[Britney Diva]

ouch, France are gone. Abidal proves his complete uselessness again.

[talk show host]

Uh-oh it gets worse for the French.

[Dead Star]

Nasri lol.

[Timm]

france needs to pull off a turkey now lol

[Smokey D]

I'm not sure there was anything in the tackle by Abidal (it looked like he simply couldn't stop and ran into Toni), but it was pretty stupid nonetheless. Without Ribery, France has no playmakers in midfield. I think they'll be lucky to win. And if Toni keeps playing like he is, more goals are coming.

Which means gogo Romania!

[Britney Diva]

And if Toni keeps playing like he is, more goals are coming.
You mean missing every chance he gets? :p

[mph4ever]

i still think france can get something from this. italy have no attacking potency. france just have to get it tactically right in the second half

[Smokey D]

And cleaving the defence. But pretty much as I typed that, he stopped. Italy stopped imposing themselves on the game through the second portion of the half. They'll probably revert to traditional tactics of stacked defence and occassional break away.

It's an ugly game though. I wouldn't be surprised to see more cards pretty soon.

[Smokey D]

This god damned commentator needs to stop giving the Romania game away or at least warning people to cover their ears.

[Britney Diva]

You're right, Toni's a really good player, but he's no goalscorer. Ironically, the best thing Abidal could have done was to let Toni have a strike on goal- on the form he's on, he probably would have scuffed it.

[Dead Star]

Surely France have no hope now?

[Smokey D]

Hrm. Poor Henry.

[pooble]

lol... they are gonna lose to italy

i expected better in all 3 games

[Britney Diva]

Buffon just made the save of the tournament to deny Benzema. Could have been the turning point for France.

But what was Terry Henry thinking sticking out his leg like that? Very uncharacteristic.

[Timm]

You're right, Toni's a really good player, but he's no goalscorer. Ironically, the best thing Abidal could have done was to let Toni have a strike on goal- on the form he's on, he probably would have scuffed it.

what :confused:

ribery might have broken his uh dunno the english word, one of these bones jointed to the knee :(

[mph4ever]

You're right, Toni's a really good player, but he's no goalscorer. Ironically, the best thing Abidal could have done was to let Toni have a strike on goal- on the form he's on, he probably would have scuffed it.

true

[Smokey D]

It looked like his shin bone, which is the lower leg if that's what you meant.

Seriously, someone should fire the Sky commentator. I wanted to watch the Romania match.

[talk show host]

They were saying it was his achilles on the bbc. That was Lawrenson though so who knows.

[Frankie]

I hope Croatia win it all

you know

because they put England out!

I do also

and I'm english !

and France looked really poor, Abidal shouldnt have been sent off imo

[Timm]

just looked it up. is shin bone the word for both lower leg bones? I read he broke the thinner one behind the thick one. when you look at someone from the front. you know what I mean =|. bleurgh

so it's turkey-croatia, portugal-germany and spain-italy so far. looks pretty good :D

[Smokey D]

You don't need a shock blanket for doing your archilles. Unless maybe he snapped it, which would be really crap since that's pretty much permanent. His foot did bend into his calf a bit so maybe.

Italy weren't particularly impressive. While they made more than a few opportunities, they didn't take htem. Both goals were capitalising on poor French discipline rather than anything spectacular in broken play. Defence was solid but not impenetrable. Based on that performance I still can't see them beating the Dutch (who I've pretty much made my benchmark so far) on a rematch.

is shin bone the word for both lower leg bones?

The thin one is the fibula.

Abidal shouldnt have been sent off imo


Fouling a striker in the box after he's beat the last man is grounds for a red card. I don't think it was malicious but it was a pretty difficult call from the position of the ref.

[Britney Diva]

what :confused:
I mean he's a poor finisher.

and France looked really poor, Abidal shouldnt have been sent off imo
Why? It was a pretty clear foul if you ask me.

[Timm]

Italy weren't particularly impressive. While they made more than a few opportunities, they didn't take htem. Both goals were capitalising on poor French discipline rather than anything spectacular in broken play. Defence was solid but not impenetrable. Based on that performance I still can't see them beating the Dutch (who I've pretty much made my benchmark so far) on a rematch.

italy was never particularly impressive when they won a tournament, remember wc 06 ;)

The thin one is the fibula.

ah ok so you just use the latin word, I wasn't sure whether there are extra tr00 english words for them.

I mean he's a poor finisher.

are we talking about the same toni? luca toni? 47 goals in two years for ac florence, 31 goal for bayern last season doesn't seem like poor finishing. actually that's the only thing he is really good at.

[Smokey D]

italy was never particularly impressive when they won a tournament, remember wc 06

Yeah. I don't get why so many love them. There's so much talent but such boring style on the national side.

[ashman]

are we talking about the same toni? luca toni? 67 goals in two years for ac florence, 31 goal for bayern last season doesn't seem like poor finishing. actually that's the only thing he is really good at.

8 or more attempts and he scuffed them all, probably just bad luck.

Netherlands are on a pretty decent streak, I hope it lasts to the end tbh.

(Also, the last game they lost was against Belarus, which England are playing for the World Cup qualifiers and that'd make it feel a little better when we lose against them :upset: )

[Frankie]

Netherlands looked pretty good 2nd half as well against Romania

[dei]

I called it.

[badtaste]

Late, but I read that Ballack's goal clocked in at 121 km/h.

German POWAAAAA.

Go the Oranje.

[sweboy]

Russia are gonna get the beating of their life time tomorrow, oh man it's gonna be sweet.

[TakeWarning]

I was sad to see the Italians go through, but I sincerely hope Domenech loses his job.

I thought Nasri should have been kept on the field when that useless twat Abidal was sent off. he should have shifted Nasri out to the right and subbed Govou, who did barely anything useful all tournament.

[Iscariot]

i think i'm watching a late broadcast it's creeping up on halftime between romania and the netherlands right now

[sgrevs]

I think if Ibra plays tonight then Sweden will win it, if not I'm not sure. What happens if they draw? Penalties?

Also, the Spain v Italy quarter-final will be an interesting one for sure, as will Portugal v Germany. I think I'll probably be tipping Spain and Portugal.

[mph4ever]

I think if Ibra plays tonight then Sweden will win it, if not I'm not sure. What happens if they draw? Penalties?

Also, the Spain v Italy quarter-final will be an interesting one for sure, as will Portugal v Germany. I think I'll probably be tipping Spain and Portugal.


yeah, it all gets interesting now. i'd like to see how spain play tonite. greece are defending champions and have nothing to lose really.

germany are going to be be tough, i can see them making lots of chances against portugal

[Give me Beer]

I hope Torres/Villa rape the Italian defence, srsly, Italy hasn't played a single good game this tournament. 70 minutes against 10 people and they only manage to score one extra goal due to Henry putting his foot against the ball, lame. France didn't really deserve to go through, but neither did Italy. And their celebrations at the end of the game just pissed me off, they were jumping around like they won the tournament. :/

[RandyfromPennywise]

Whoa, 10 pages of post since I last came here, what's going on!?

Domenech is a joke, he must be sacked. He is a disgrace and was completely found out. This performance (who THE **** would play Abidal at centre-back?) enhances Zidane's reputation even further.

[badtaste]

...who THE **** would play Abidal at centre-back?

Domenech.

Bah, time to get my three hours of sleep before Russia vs Sweden. I'm supporting Ibrahimovic's right foot.