Euro 2012 Thread

[Psychotic]

Not worldbeaters either, mind you, but my aim for this tournament was "Not tit" so job done boys. smurf Italy and the inevitable shootout defeat, come home now, come home proud.

well i told u so

Too many people called Ashley being allowed to take penalties. BIG ANDY and England's Number 8 Jordan Henderson should've taken them! Or Glen Johnson who is in fact rather quite good. England's best player in this game? I think so!

tbh England were totally dead after half an hour. If only we had the likes of Wilshere, Lampard and Barry available just to do some rotation for the ancient Parker and Gerrard. Alas.

welp time to put some names back.

[Iceglow]

Italy were the better team imo, they deserved the win but all that shirt tugging in the Italian box really pissed me off.

That was so many fouls it should've been an early penalty for Rooney to put in the net.

Also... agreed on the penalties being taken by others other than Cole and Young. Young's had a troutty tournament and should've been off sooner. Walcott would've been a good player for a penalty I reckon too.

I would actually give credit of the player of the match for England to John Terry, the number of blocks he made in that game was astounding.

At full time there was like 700+ passes by Italy compared to under 150 by England... that told us where we go wrong.

[Bubba]

They deserved it, definitely. After they missed all those chances though I kind of fancied us on penalties. Ahh well... Germany would've battered us anyway.

Mr Psychotic? Please can I have my old name back now? I can't spend another day as Jordan smurfing Henderson...

[Old Manus]

What a poor game. Italy should have had it sewn up by half time, but by some minor miracle were pushed all the way to penalties. In the first half, England were OK to poor. The second half/extra time was a smurfing embarrassment, at times worse than look away CuchulainnSpain vs Ireland. England just couldn't keep the ball, at all. From the last ten minutes or so onwards, they just gave up altogether. Hart would hoof the ball upfield, Carroll would give it a consolatory nod nowhere, then Italy would pick the ball up again and have another go. It was just...woeful.

Young had another 2/10 performance (with another despicable dive thrown in for good measure), Milner made it clear he was just making up the numbers as Hodgson didn't want to start Walcott, Rooney looked very, very average, and Glen Johnson, he lost the ball twice as many times as he did anything productive with it. In the second half he played a lot better by virtue of him not having the ball nearly as often.

I find myself not as concerned as I would normally be at that result, as Italy were so obviously the better team it would have been a footballing travesty had they lost. The real winners are the Germans, as evidenced by the incredibly jovial Jurgen Klinsmann. At half time he had the manner of a man who had just managed to sell his damp-infested house for double its value. "We get to play one of these two utter football shambles? I'd better get on and fly my family over for the final!".

[charliepanayi]

Italy are hardly a shambles. And they have a good tournament record against Germany, so though Germany are obvious favourites, it's definitely not cut and dried.

England's next fixture is a friendly in August...against Italy.

[The Captain]

In the end, you could just feel that result coming.

What a player Pirlo is, he really is a wonderful general in the middle of the field. Watching him and Ozil in the semi-finals will be an absolute treat.

English Verdict: Maximum effort, and got about as far as they could on what they currently have. If they somehow pulled this out, it would have been a very sweet ride but I too think Germany would win easily, especially since they are younger, quicker and much more well rested. Hodgson can hold his head high as he managed this team about as well as he could. I thought Gerrard had a wonderful tournament but ran out of gas here. Relying on him and an injured Parker against the Italian midfield was a fool's errand and it showed.

Andy Carroll and Glen Johnson can return to Liverpool knowing that they played well here (at least offensively) too. Ashely Young and Milner not so much while the Rooney mystery continues. Thought Terry had a good showing with Lescott, but they do need more pace in the backline. Walcott's stock rose as well and Hart looked good, save for the penalties which Italy handled masterfully. That Pirlo chip was simply superb.

As for the semi-finals, I think Spain-Portugal will be a feisty match and wouldn't be shocked to see a red card or two. I think Spain must play a striker from the start and Portugal must take the game to Spain. If they sit back, they will be picked apart but I think they could give Spain a hart time. Still, the Spanish players are too seasoned and will find a way through, 2-1.

Germany are well rested and have so many options on who to play. I think Gomez and Muller start but wouldn't be shocked to see some more lineup changes. Italy will rely on their spirit and their playmakers, specifically Pirlo but I think they will still be a step slow and the Germans will efficiently see them off 3-1.

Which sets up the really juicy Spain-Germany rematch and I have a feeling, Germany pulls it off.

Take care all.

[Psychotic]

Germany have had 2 days extra rest, did not play 120 minutes and even benched the likes of Gomez, Muller and Podolski. They're gonna walk it.

[charliepanayi]

*shrugs* Italy still have four days until the next game, and they're much better than people give them credit for.

[Cuchulainn]

I have no idea why Henderson & Carroll was brought on. They quite literally did nothing. England were second best throughout. Young was trout, Gerrard was trout, Rooney was trout, Everyone outclassed. Was a joy to watch.

So. 2 teams from Ireland's group in Semi's....NONE from Englands. Interesting.

[Psychotic]

Nothing? Andy Carroll was one of only two England players to do anything after the 60 minute mark. The other was Joe Hart. Hart hoofs ball to Andy, Andy knocks it down to Rooney or Young who lose it, Italy get the ball for the next 10 minutes.

On that note, all of you who were like "Murr murr, WHY SO MANY LIVERPOOL PLAYERS?" at the start can now lick my balls. Gerrard and Johnson (along with the centre backs) were England's best players in this tournament. Big Andy scored a cracking header, Jordan Henderson wasn't the disaster everyone predicted, and Stewart Downing behaved himself by not leaving the bench once. You guys should've trusted in the lads and then I wouldn't have had to give you all Liverpool names.

[Cuchulainn]

you're joking right? Running about like a headless chicken then falling over is not what I'd call a productive appearance. Carroll was terrible.

[Psychotic]

I don't think you quite grasp the concept of football dear sir. Let me put it to you another way. I am pretty sure if Andy Carroll played Spain by himself he would not lose 4-0. And especially not if there were 30,000 geordies singing "The Fog on the Tyne".

[Rocket Edge]

I actually thought Carroll did well when he came on. I think you have to look at how the game went when judging players individually. Italy were pressing England for the ball while England's strategy was to stand completely off them when they lost it and defend. Ashley Young didn't have a great game because of that. He lost the ball to often & didn't defend too well. Shames me to say it but John Terry was probably your best player, along with Gerrard.

If England have any prayer of progressing in tournaments they must change with the times. You could say the same about Ireland but we have a system that works according to our level of talent. Italy should have definitely bet England last night. I seen the stats - something like 69% possession and 36 shots to England's nine. I think the only way to do it is to start practising the pressing & passing philosophy at grass-roots level immediately. And hey, if it converts the English game into one of slick passing & probing, the Irish team are sure to benefit too!

[The Captain]

Can someone please explain something to me:

What's up with everyone hating on how Spain play now? When they won the last Euro and even the World Cup, everyone seemed to love their brand of football. Now, suddenly, they are boring and suck the life out of the game? What changed? Is it because they've won too much? Is it merely Spain fatigue or did something else change?

Frankly and I will use an American Football phrase, "You play to win the game". Regardless of everything else, if you keep getting results and wins, doesn't that trump style? And the fact that Spain have players that have taken the possession game to a whole new level means they've essentially combined results with style.

Now, I am all for new champions and I do think Germany have played better then Spain but all this Spain is boring, Spain is killing football talk is really confusing.

The floor is yours.

Take care all.

[Rocket Edge]

I was never Spain's biggest fan. They have terrific players, the best in the tournament, but I don't get excited looking at them. That's not to say I'm against the way they play however. It's very effective & unique as you all know. I just think it makes for an uncompetitive & (sometimes) boring game, because they are better than everyone else. It's generally like, they will pass around the box until a team makes a mistake all game, retaining possession and finally tiring the opposing team out. :/

I really hope Germany beat Spain if they do meet in the final, but somehow I can't see it happening. Germany aren't that very convincing at the back, & even with their immense attacking threat, getting by Spains crowded midfield will not be easy.