[SonicBebs]

saying that there are so many good teams this year
apart from the 2 hosts the irish and greece anyone could have a good run

[the ikara cult]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

Current Paddy Power betting odds for Euro 2012:

Spain 5/2
Germany 10/3
Holland 7/1
England 10/1
France 12/1
Italy 14/1
Portugal 18/1
Russia 20/1
Croatia 40/1
Ukraine 40/1
Poland 50/1
Czech Republic 50/1
Sweden 66/1
Greece 80/1
Ireland 80/1
Denmark 100/1
.

I literally have no idea why France are so long at 12-1. This is the worst England team in a long time, I can only guess theyre banking on Woy making the team a tactically defensive, aesthetically offensive 10-man bodyguard entourage for Joe Hart and just sneaking by everyone. Well, it worked for Greece.

[SonicBebs]

if we play like chelsea played in the champions league semi and final and win the thing i wouldn't mind

we haven't got good enough players to take teams on. Roy plays a very defensive game so i can see us playing that way

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by SonicBebs

how does the seeding work for the groups? How did germany and netherlands get drawn together? Group A has russia poland greece and czech republic and Group B has the dutch the germans and portugal!

maybe i'm underestimating the russians and the czechs... but i thought it was supposed to seperate the "big teams"

It is unusually competitive this year and yeah, I just tried to read UEFA's seeding policy for the Euros and couldn't make any sense of it. It looks like the only teams kept apart are the two host nations, Poland and Ukraine and current champions Spain. It definitely seem a bit silly that Holland and Germany are in the same group. Surely the four highest ranking European sides (right now Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal) should be separated before anything else. I've never agreed with host nations being seeded. They already have home advantage.

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by the ikara cult

Well, it worked for Greece.

FA unveils England's offiicial Euro 2012 strip.

 

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

heynckes made a really fucked up move taking out little mueller. it would have been better to try to score a 2nd goal than to release the pressure on chelsea. complete fucking catastrophe. fucking heynckes, i hope he goes.

Mueller is saying he picked up an injury, which still doesn't excuse Heynckes' decision to replace him with a central defender at only 1-0 up. There was a really interesting interview with one of the Bayern backroom staff on the radio today, basically saying the fear in the team of possibly losing made them increasingly paranoid as the game went on and in some cases almost from the beginning. He doesn't mention names but I imagine he means Gomez. There was an interview with (I think) Lampard where he says he sensed a growing sense of fear and nervousness in the Bayern team pretty much from when Muller scored. Basically that they panicked once they took the lead.

That game will never be remembered as a great display of football, but as a battle of wills and mental strength it has to be up there as one of the most fascinating, at least. It's a game that the more I think about it, the more amazing it becomes.

[!@#$%!]

bayern-holland playing in 5 minutes!!!! i wonder who robben is gonna play for, ha ha.
--
ps he's on the dutch bench
--
demonyo, didn't now about mueller! oy.
and yeah gomez choked! robben too a little i think. they were already on a losing streak on tough macthes (dortmund, leverkusen<--google that game).
--
k- game on!

[demonrail666]

Missed the Bayern-Holland game. Hard to see how any of the Bayern players would be motivated for that. I can only imagine it was a fairly lacklustre run-through of a game. It reminds me of an England friendly that was scheduled for right after the last world cup. The last thing England fans needed after such an appalling world cup was to watch them play a friendly. The Bayern players should've just been left to cry into their pint glasses until called for their Euro duties. Poor bastards.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

Missed the Bayern-Holland game. Hard to see how any of the Bayern players would be motivated for that. I can only imagine it was a fairly lacklustre run-through of a game. It reminds me of an England friendly that was scheduled for right after the last world cup. The last thing England fans needed after such an appalling world cup was to watch them play a friendly. The Bayern players should've just been left to cry into their pint glasses until called for their Euro duties. Poor bastards.

it wasn't violently disputed but it was fun and animated, finished 3-2 for bayern. gomez (finally) scored after a great setup by ribery. so did kroos (great kick from afar) and this guy petersen i've never seen before. also had the chance to see holland, goals by huntelaar and this new guy narsingh, his debut playing for holland-- you might see him play next month, he definitely earned his place by outrunning all defenders and getting the ball past the goalkeeper..

the game was payback by holland for a lesion on robben while prepping for the last world cup-- bayern gets to pocket the money (stadium was full). yes, it was a pain i suppose after the weekend's defeat but as far as i could tell they all acted like professionals and did their job well, even managed to win, sad faces and all-- a futile gesture maybe but nevertheless a good show. there was a leprechaun-sounding commentator who said he thought holland would win that group but then he had to STFU.

also, it was a preview of sorts for the group A of the euros, as the german team is mostly a bayern/dortmund thing.

check out the excerpts:

http://www.soccer-blogger.com/2012/0...s-score-video/

[demonrail666]

The irony of Robben playing for Holland is that he's now lost two games in a row against teams he's played for. The poor fucker must feel cursed.

Ah well, at least I've finally seen Gomez score (thanks for the link), and that opening goal by Kroos really was something a bit special. I know it's all about if and buts but it can't be denied how different Saturday might've been with that kind of finishing. But I suppose the really great teams are defined by being able to do it when they most need to.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

The irony of Robben playing for Holland is that he's now lost two games in a row against teams he's played for. The poor fucker must feel cursed.

haaa haaaa haaa.

i was just reading this the other day

http://elcomercio.pe/deportes/141673...es-que-disputo

translated headline:
"jinxed? robben added his fourth consecutive final without celebrating"

forget about the list of defeats you already know (2009 against inter, world cup final, dfb-pokal) and look at the photo they posted. hilarious!

[demonrail666]

Hahaha, classic photo.

You might want to embrace your inner geek for a bit, by having a look at this website. Too nerdy for words but life's too short to worry about that kind of thing ...

http://www.zonalmarking.net/2012/05/...-on-penalties/

Seriously, it's a great site if you're into the more tactical side of things and certainly goes into more detail and is better informed than most of the regular newspapers, and pretty much free of their usual hyperbole.

If you're (understandably) not into wading through the whole thing, here's its rather interesting conclusion about the final:

Despite losing the tie, Bayern won the tactical battle. The fluidity of their two deep midfielders meant they kept on creating good chances, while Muller’s positioning was a continual problem and something Chelsea never responded to. Roberto Di Matteo’s side defended much better against Barcelona (even if Pep Guardiola’s side also created chances), which was probably because they played with an extra holding midfielder in that match, rather than because of the selection problems in defence tonight.

Indeed, Chelsea’s last-ditch defending was superb – David Luiz and Gary Cahill played remarkably well considering both were injury doubts, while Ashley Cole’s ability to spot danger and react to it quickly was once again highly impressive. Petr Cech also starred in goal, and while Mikel couldn’t cover the entire space in front of the defence, he did his job manfully.

Just as in the Europa League final, the FA Cup final and the German Cup final, the more reactive side emerged victorious.

[Bertrand]

The French side for Euro (the coach named 27 players)

Keepers : Hugo Lloris (Lyon - he'll probably play all games, and is the team captain); backups : Steve Mandanda (Marseille), Cédric Carrasso (Bordeaux)
Central defenders : Philippe Mexès (Milan), Adel Rami (Valencia - probably exhausted, will also probably surge forward for no reason, causing panic among the French pundits); both are capable of planting a header on a corner kick; backups : Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal), Younes Kaboul (Tottenham - currently injuried), Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa (first call up - from French surprise champions Montpellier)
Leftbacks : Patrice Evra, Gaël Clichy (both Manchester, different teams); Evra will probably be preferred to Clichy who got named in the team after Abidal's health took him to the hospital
Rightbacks : Matthieu Debuchy (former champions Lille - I do like him, he never gives up), Anthony Réveillère (Lyon - older, but not arthritic)
Main defensive midfielders : Yann M'Vila (Rennes - his form's on the wane), Yohan Cabaye (former champion with Lille, instant hit at Newcastle)
Other defensive midfielders : Alou Diarra (Marseille - I don't see why he's there, but Laurent Blanc likes him), Blaise Matuidi (PSG - no impression at all)
Midfielders : Samir Nasri (Man City champ' - can't be trusted on the whole tournament), Franck Ribéry (Bayern ace - paralysed in a blue shirt)
Other midfielders : Marvin Martin (Sochaux, a team that struggled; former ace assister - will probably be used as a sub for 15 minutes), Hatem Ben Arfa (Newcastle - will he be given his chance ahead of someone else, someone like...), Florent Malouda (Chelsea underused - unimpressive for France), Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille diminutive winger - good but a bit dumb), Michel Platini (Nancy - 1978)
Forwards : Karim Benzéma (Real Madrid - will start all games), Olivier Giroud (French league top scorer for champions Montpellier - impressed and looked comfortable in a blue shirt; alas uneffective for his club's final game), Loïc Rémy (Marseille speedy winger scorer threat - if he ain't injuried), Jérémy Ménez (PSG winger - too many ups and downs)

There's a lack of depth in the team, and senior players do not enjoy themselves, as they're mostly remembered for their bus rebellion in South Africa.
If they're not dragging the team down, they sure don't lift it up.

Sparks from Debuchy, Benzéma, Ben Arfa, Cabaye and Giroud would be appreciated.

They will surely play more than 3 games, but I'd be surprised if they play the semis.

[demonrail666]

Ben Arfa has been fantastic since starting for Newcastle and definitely deserves to be picked ahead of Malouda, a player I used to like a lot but who seems to have lost interest this past couple of seasons. I'd say France have about the same chance as England, overall: quarterfinals or semis at best.

Out of interest, have you seen anything of Joe Cole at Lille? West Ham are apparently looking at trying to sign him back. He's a legend there but seems to have struggled everywhere he's been to since. Just wondering how he did at Lille last season.

[h8kurdt]

So bloody Man Utd have been sniffing around at getting Baines from Everton. Let's just say I'm non too happy about it. Especially at their stupid offer of 15 mil. He's worth a hell of a lot more than that.

[h8kurdt]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

Hahaha, classic photo.

You might want to embrace your inner geek for a bit, by having a look at this website. Too nerdy for words but life's too short to worry about that kind of thing ...

http://www.zonalmarking.net/2012/05/...-on-penalties/

Seriously, it's a great site if you're into the more tactical side of things and certainly goes into more detail and is better informed than most of the regular newspapers, and pretty much free of their usual hyperbole.

If you're (understandably) not into wading through the whole thing, here's its rather interesting conclusion about the final:

Despite losing the tie, Bayern won the tactical battle. The fluidity of their two deep midfielders meant they kept on creating good chances, while Muller’s positioning was a continual problem and something Chelsea never responded to. Roberto Di Matteo’s side defended much better against Barcelona (even if Pep Guardiola’s side also created chances), which was probably because they played with an extra holding midfielder in that match, rather than because of the selection problems in defence tonight.

Indeed, Chelsea’s last-ditch defending was superb – David Luiz and Gary Cahill played remarkably well considering both were injury doubts, while Ashley Cole’s ability to spot danger and react to it quickly was once again highly impressive. Petr Cech also starred in goal, and while Mikel couldn’t cover the entire space in front of the defence, he did his job manfully.

Just as in the Europa League final, the FA Cup final and the German Cup final, the more reactive side emerged victorious.

Great link btw!

[demonrail666]

Baines would be ideal for Man U but I agree, 15m is ridiculously low. Especially as he'd likely get them a few goals, too. Moyes should try and hold on to him at least until Ashley Cole runs out of steam and Chelsea come, will be willing to spend a fortune to get him.

[SonicBebs]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

Hahaha, classic photo.

You might want to embrace your inner geek for a bit, by having a look at this website. Too nerdy for words but life's too short to worry about that kind of thing ...

http://www.zonalmarking.net/2012/05/...-on-penalties/

Seriously, it's a great site if you're into the more tactical side of things and certainly goes into more detail and is better informed than most of the regular newspapers, and pretty much free of their usual hyperbole.

If you're (understandably) not into wading through the whole thing, here's its rather interesting conclusion about the final:

Despite losing the tie, Bayern won the tactical battle. The fluidity of their two deep midfielders meant they kept on creating good chances, while Muller’s positioning was a continual problem and something Chelsea never responded to. Roberto Di Matteo’s side defended much better against Barcelona (even if Pep Guardiola’s side also created chances), which was probably because they played with an extra holding midfielder in that match, rather than because of the selection problems in defence tonight.

Indeed, Chelsea’s last-ditch defending was superb – David Luiz and Gary Cahill played remarkably well considering both were injury doubts, while Ashley Cole’s ability to spot danger and react to it quickly was once again highly impressive. Petr Cech also starred in goal, and while Mikel couldn’t cover the entire space in front of the defence, he did his job manfully.

Just as in the Europa League final, the FA Cup final and the German Cup final, the more reactive side emerged victorious.

you must spread some reputation around etc...

that is a wicked site.
will probably earn me a p45!

but it basically says the same as was said here earlier. If Bayern had finished their chances they would have hammered Chelsea. Ashley Cole played really well, and chelsea defended well

[SonicBebs]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

Out of interest, have you seen anything of Joe Cole at Lille? West Ham are apparently looking at trying to sign him back. He's a legend there but seems to have struggled everywhere he's been to since. Just wondering how he did at Lille last season.

i think you'd do really well to sign joe cole. if he's given the role he's had at Lille in the centre (he played there at the end of his chelsea career and looked really really good) he'll do pretty well.

but would he be welcomed back by the fans?

[demonrail666]

He's worshipped by the fans. He's one of the few to go with no ill-feelings at all. Always got a cheer from West Ham whenever he played against them for Chelsea and Liverpool. The bigger problem for me would be if he's in any way suited to Allardyce's not exactly flair-friendly style.