England tops the group, due to a shaky one-nil win over Ukraine, and France losing 2-0 to Sweden! Who'd have thought?
Some pervy camerman close-ups of Ukraine chicks watching the game and making eyes at the camera, some I'm sure I've seen in some dodgy downloads stored on my hard drive. I suppose even porn stars have to have a night off.
Not such an enjoyable game, and Wayne Rooney has the fear factor for both teams frankly. He seems to unbalance teams a bit, like it's all down to him. Missed a sitter, but tapped in the other. Didn't enjoy the Barmy Army England band contribution, that was another bad omen but it turned out alright.
Perhaps Wayne is a secret Bond fan, and will be reading this....
Oh, that ball cleared off the line. Somehow, it would always be John Terry....
So now we get Italy, no pushovers but better we get them than Spain in full flow.
England tops the group, due to a shaky one-nil win over Ukraine, and France losing 2-0 to Sweden! Who'd have thought?
So now we get Italy, no pushovers but better we get them than Spain in full flow.
Many England fans were probably wondering if they would even win a game before the tournament began. Now they have topped their group and I would say they have a 50/50 chance against Italy. It's not been pretty for the most part but they have shown good discipline, hard work, occasional moments of quality, and had some luck. There appears to be good harmony and team spirit within the squad and credit for that must be given to Roy Hodgson and his team.
Moore Not Less 4371 posts (2002 - 2007) Moore Than (2012 - 2016)
How that goal-line official missed that is completely beyond me when that is his one and only job! So much for UEFA's 'goal line technology'. On the other hand, the original through-ball from the defence was very clearly off-side - which the linesman missed - so it shouldn't have counted any way. But what a mess for the officials and UEFA: an obvious off-side and an obvious goal both missed on the same play!
How that goal-line official missed that is completely beyond me when that is his one and only job! So much for UEFA's 'goal line technology'. On the other hand, the original through-ball from the defence was very clearly off-side - which the linesman missed - so it shouldn't have counted any way. But what a mess for the officials and UEFA: an obvious off-side and an obvious goal both missed on the same play!
This really must now make them use proper tech, as you say the goal was offside but I've seen so many similar instances of this now in other matches and soon it will happen in a final
How that goal-line official missed that is completely beyond me when that is his one and only job! So much for UEFA's 'goal line technology'. On the other hand, the original through-ball from the defence was very clearly off-side - which the linesman missed - so it shouldn't have counted any way. But what a mess for the officials and UEFA: an obvious off-side and an obvious goal both missed on the same play!
This really must now make them use proper tech, as you say the goal was offside but I've seen so many similar instances of this now in other matches and soon it will happen in a final
It finally looks like goal line technology will get the go ahead. Sepp Blatter apparently tweeted after last night's match that goal line technology is no longer an alternative but a necessity. There is a meeting in Zurich on July 5th where it is more than likely that it will be given the go ahead. However, there is a proviso. It will be up to each association to decide whether to use goal line technology in their competitions.
Moore Not Less 4371 posts (2002 - 2007) Moore Than (2012 - 2016)
I'm not into sport so only have a passing interest in The Football But,.....
I've never seen so many players fall to the ground Screaming as if Shot, checking their
heads for blood etc, when they've hardly been touched by the other player. 8-)
Mabey I should of posted this in the Rant Thread.
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 26,913Chief of Staff
How that goal-line official missed that is completely beyond me when that is his one and only job! So much for UEFA's 'goal line technology'. On the other hand, the original through-ball from the defence was very clearly off-side - which the linesman missed - so it shouldn't have counted any way. But what a mess for the officials and UEFA: an obvious off-side and an obvious goal both missed on the same play!
Mmmm...you could CLEARLY see that the whole of the ball crossed the line in normal play, tsa ? I'm very sceptical that you could CLEARLY see that...
And, TDE...that isn't his "one and only job"....and he was in line with the goal line too....I just think he wasn't 100% sure the whole of the ball crossed the line, and therefore couldn't give the goal...
After seeing a few replays of the incident...it did appear that the ball had gone in...and that was my gut feeling...but it was very close...
As for that extra official..?...I'm not really sure they do much other than pick up a wage....I've only ever seen one of those extra officials ever give a decision that the referee hasn't...it's way past the time to use goal-line technology in real matches now, it really should have been ready to roll for this coming season, but they should use it in a few lower league games and then roll it out for the following season.
Yeah, well, no surprise Sepp Blatter suddenly comes out in favour of goalline technology when a decision goes England's way. Just as he branded penalties in the final a cruel method of deciding a Final when England's Chelsea win the Champions League.
And, TDE...that isn't his "one and only job"....and he was in line with the goal line too....I just think he wasn't 100% sure the whole of the ball crossed the line, and therefore couldn't give the goal...
After seeing a few replays of the incident...it did appear that the ball had gone in...and that was my gut feeling...but it was very close...
You are correct, Sir Miles, the goal-line officials' job is to 'look out for penalty area incidents' and to determine when a ball has crossed the line in its entirety. But as the ball was lazily looping its way towards the goal-line I would suggest that at the time the officials' one and only job was indeed to state whether it had crossed the line. I am prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt and say that the goal post obscured his view and prevented him from providing a definitive judgement, but it certainly does go to prove that there really is no such thing as a definitive answer unless half-a-dozen television angles are viewed and reviewed...or we introduce more sophisticated technology. That said, the officials 'accidentally' got it right by not declaring it a goal because the play was off-side. Although that was certainly more luck than judgement!
My fear now is that we'll have 'flawless' technology introduced that will do a splendid job of determining whether the ball has crossed the line...but will do b*gger all to state whether it got their on-side, off-side, via a foul, a handball etc etc etc.
The latest news regarding the future of Rangers suggests a growing consensus that they could be re-admitted to the Scottish Premier League as a newco but with the immediate penalty of relegation to the Scottish First Division because of past misdeeds. However, several obstacles need to be overcome.
Aberdeen, Dundee United and Hearts have gone public and said they will vote against the new Rangers being admitted to the Scottish Premier League. If two more of the other nine clubs choose to vote the same way then Rangers will have to apply to be admitted to the Scottish Third Division. Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov has some strong opinions on the matter. Dundee United chairman Stephen Thompson was inundated with correspondence telling him supporters would not renew season tickets if he voted in favour of the new Rangers admission to the SPL.
Reality bites. A promising start from England last night but they faded badly after half time offering commitment but nothing else. The quarter finals is an accurate marker for where they are in reality, until such time they can produce players who are a lot more comfortable on the ball and who are a lot less rigid and more flexible regards their positioning around the field.
The last hour or so was painful to watch. England were like a boxer on the ropes but Italy could not produce the knockout blow. It's difficult to imagine anything other than a humiliation against Germany had England won the penalty shoot out last night.
Moore Not Less 4371 posts (2002 - 2007) Moore Than (2012 - 2016)
I for my part am happy, that the highly destructive defensive tactics from England and Greece (to name the worst of them) have not been rewarded and the result-only dominated football did not succeed.
However I for my part would have preferred England in the half-final - it would have been a far easier match than against Italy
President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Penalty shoot outs are the the same as Flipping a coin a few times, it's all down to luck.
I always support Germany as a back up team as My Ancestors were from there.
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
Its nice to see that the strongest teams have made the semis.
I honestly thought England were going to rob Italy when it went to penalty's, I was convinced Ballotelli was going to fluff his.
What a cheeky Penalty by Pirlo huh? Doing that in the league is one thing but in a Euro Quarter Final?? Imagine the flak he would have got if that was gathered )
Bondtoys did send me a PM over the game beforehand after I made a few bland pleasantries about wishing Germany well against Greece (obviously I didn't mean it, hoped Greece would beat Germany ) - Bondtoys' reply unfortunately did have the ring of 'For you, Englishman, the tournament vill soon be over!')
Aberdeen, Dundee United and Hearts have gone public and said they will vote against the new Rangers being admitted to the Scottish Premier League. If two more of the other nine clubs choose to vote the same way then Rangers will have to apply to be admitted to the Scottish Third Division. Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov has some strong opinions on the matter. Dundee United chairman Stephen Thompson was inundated with correspondence telling him supporters would not renew season tickets if he voted in favour of the new Rangers admission to the SPL.
Three more clubs have gone public and said they will vote against the new Rangers being admitted to the Scottish Premier League. This brings the total to six meaning Rangers will lose the vote on July 4th and will then have to apply to play in the Scottish Football League. It is not clear if they would have to start in the First or Third division.
As long as the top clubs in England continue to buy their starting XI from overseas instead of scouting and developing local talent, England will continue to consider themselves lucky to reach the second round of a competition. It's no coincidence that Dortmund, Juve and Barca have two-thirds local-grown players and that Germany, Italy and Spain generally do well compared with England where you have 5 English players out of a squad of 30-35 at somewhere like Arsenal. It's not that English players are no longer good enough, it's that by age 15 or 16 they've been farmed out to lower division sides instead of training with the first team while a ready-made 'pro' who has had the benefit of first-team exposure in a top league elsewhere in the world is flown in.
We only have to look at English goalkeepers to prove the point. England always had one of the top 2-3 goalkeepers in the world, but goalkeepers don't reach their peak until they're in their late 20s which means a long time spent nurturing and developing them. As more and more money flooded into the English game, teams suddenly lost interest in developing a promising 16 year old goalkeeper...and instead decided it was easier and cheaper to just buy someone in their mid-20s or older from elsewhere.
Joe Hart is the first decent national team keeper we've had in 10 years or more...and how many of the top 10 Premiership clubs have English goalkeepers these days? Ummm...Manchester City...Newcastle?
We lost to Italy on penalties which was really more than we deserved. It's not Woy Hodgson's fault, it's the clubs in the Prem who have lost contact with their local communities and for whom vast sums of money and instant success is the be-all and end-all.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 26,913Chief of Staff
As long as the top clubs in England continue to buy their starting XI from overseas instead of scouting and developing local talent, England will continue to consider themselves lucky to reach the second round of a competition. It's no coincidence that Dortmund, Juve and Barca have two-thirds local-grown players and that Germany, Italy and Spain generally do well compared with England where you have 5 English players out of a squad of 30-35 at somewhere like Arsenal. It's not that English players are no longer good enough, it's that by age 15 or 16 they've been farmed out to lower division sides instead of training with the first team while a ready-made 'pro' who has had the benefit of first-team exposure in a top league elsewhere in the world is flown in.
Managers are not given the time anymore to set up a good youth scouting team and then wait for those players to come through...that's why they buy players that are ready now...IMO, the youth set-up at clubs should not be within the remit of the manager at all, this should be left to the clubs academy to run...
The Premier League rules state that each Premier League club must contain at least 8 (I think) home-grown players...the problem with this is that 'home-grown' also covers ANY player that has spent 3 years in an English football academy - regardless of which country they come from....that clause really doesn't help...
We only have to look at English goalkeepers to prove the point. England always had one of the top 2-3 goalkeepers in the world, but goalkeepers don't reach their peak until they're in their late 20s which means a long time spent nurturing and developing them. As more and more money flooded into the English game, teams suddenly lost interest in developing a promising 16 year old goalkeeper...and instead decided it was easier and cheaper to just buy someone in their mid-20s or older from elsewhere.
Joe Hart is the first decent national team keeper we've had in 10 years or more...and how many of the top 10 Premiership clubs have English goalkeepers these days? Ummm...Manchester City...Newcastle?
Well...Newcastle have a Dutch goalkeeper...he was in their Euro 2012 squad...but Joe Hart is as good as any keeper in the world right now and he still has 10 years before he hits his peak ! We are a bit thin on the ground for back up keepers though - quite a few have decided to 'retire' from International football already !!
We lost to Italy on penalties which was really more than we deserved. It's not Woy Hodgson's fault, it's the clubs in the Prem who have lost contact with their local communities and for whom vast sums of money and instant success is the be-all and end-all.
It was more than we deserved...but I disagree with you about Hodgson...it WAS his fault...well, partly...he picked the team and the tactics, no one else did....so he HAS to carry most of the blame...
How he didn't decide to man-mark Pirlo is a complete mystery to me ?:) If you mark Pirlo out of the game then Italy are stopped dead - you watch what the Germans do against him....this is a 35 year old playing in terrific heat and NO ONE closed him down...that's just stupid...Hodgson's tactics were crap....Cole never got across the halfway line, so we didn't push their wingers back....Pirlo was given the freedom of the pitch to play...Young was CLEARLY having a terrible game - and he left him on and took Milner off ?:) Bizarre stuff....Wellbeck and Rooney played more around the halfway line than anywhere else and Gerrard was picking the ball up just outside his own 18 yard box and then had no one to pass to....we needed to be at least 5 - 10 yards higher up the pitch...we needed to get at the full backs and put pressure on the creaking centre back partnership....neither Wellbeck or Rooney were given any decent service...but Hodgson should have started with Carroll anyway...I know it's easy to be wise after the event..but after 5 mins you could the problems..and I think most of us knew exactly how the game would go...and it did...under Redknapp at least we would have had a go at the Italians...we needed to play how English teams do in the Premership, with pace and power....it's how the German national team plays...and they seem to do okay playing that way...
Comments
England tops the group, due to a shaky one-nil win over Ukraine, and France losing 2-0 to Sweden! Who'd have thought?
Some pervy camerman close-ups of Ukraine chicks watching the game and making eyes at the camera, some I'm sure I've seen in some dodgy downloads stored on my hard drive. I suppose even porn stars have to have a night off.
Not such an enjoyable game, and Wayne Rooney has the fear factor for both teams frankly. He seems to unbalance teams a bit, like it's all down to him. Missed a sitter, but tapped in the other. Didn't enjoy the Barmy Army England band contribution, that was another bad omen but it turned out alright.
Perhaps Wayne is a secret Bond fan, and will be reading this....
Oh, that ball cleared off the line. Somehow, it would always be John Terry....
So now we get Italy, no pushovers but better we get them than Spain in full flow.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
http://apbateman.com
As for Rooney, is that a mole fur, which has been slapped on his scalp?
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Many England fans were probably wondering if they would even win a game before the tournament began. Now they have topped their group and I would say they have a 50/50 chance against Italy. It's not been pretty for the most part but they have shown good discipline, hard work, occasional moments of quality, and had some luck. There appears to be good harmony and team spirit within the squad and credit for that must be given to Roy Hodgson and his team.
How that goal-line official missed that is completely beyond me when that is his one and only job! So much for UEFA's 'goal line technology'. On the other hand, the original through-ball from the defence was very clearly off-side - which the linesman missed - so it shouldn't have counted any way. But what a mess for the officials and UEFA: an obvious off-side and an obvious goal both missed on the same play!
This really must now make them use proper tech, as you say the goal was offside but I've seen so many similar instances of this now in other matches and soon it will happen in a final
It finally looks like goal line technology will get the go ahead. Sepp Blatter apparently tweeted after last night's match that goal line technology is no longer an alternative but a necessity. There is a meeting in Zurich on July 5th where it is more than likely that it will be given the go ahead. However, there is a proviso. It will be up to each association to decide whether to use goal line technology in their competitions.
I've never seen so many players fall to the ground Screaming as if Shot, checking their
heads for blood etc, when they've hardly been touched by the other player. 8-)
Mabey I should of posted this in the Rant Thread.
Mmmm...you could CLEARLY see that the whole of the ball crossed the line in normal play, tsa ? I'm very sceptical that you could CLEARLY see that...
And, TDE...that isn't his "one and only job"....and he was in line with the goal line too....I just think he wasn't 100% sure the whole of the ball crossed the line, and therefore couldn't give the goal...
After seeing a few replays of the incident...it did appear that the ball had gone in...and that was my gut feeling...but it was very close...
As for that extra official..?...I'm not really sure they do much other than pick up a wage....I've only ever seen one of those extra officials ever give a decision that the referee hasn't...it's way past the time to use goal-line technology in real matches now, it really should have been ready to roll for this coming season, but they should use it in a few lower league games and then roll it out for the following season.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
You are correct, Sir Miles, the goal-line officials' job is to 'look out for penalty area incidents' and to determine when a ball has crossed the line in its entirety. But as the ball was lazily looping its way towards the goal-line I would suggest that at the time the officials' one and only job was indeed to state whether it had crossed the line. I am prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt and say that the goal post obscured his view and prevented him from providing a definitive judgement, but it certainly does go to prove that there really is no such thing as a definitive answer unless half-a-dozen television angles are viewed and reviewed...or we introduce more sophisticated technology. That said, the officials 'accidentally' got it right by not declaring it a goal because the play was off-side. Although that was certainly more luck than judgement!
My fear now is that we'll have 'flawless' technology introduced that will do a splendid job of determining whether the ball has crossed the line...but will do b*gger all to state whether it got their on-side, off-side, via a foul, a handball etc etc etc.
Rangers ready for life in Scottish Football League first division
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/rangers/9345467/Rangers-ready-for-life-in-Scottish-Football-League-first-division.html
http://www.brandrepublic.com/media/article/1137525/specsavers-runs-tongue-in-cheek-ukrainain-goal-press-ad/
Roger Moore 1927-2017
The FULL article.
Rangers newco will not get Aberdeen, Dundee United or Hearts votes.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18539483
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
The last hour or so was painful to watch. England were like a boxer on the ropes but Italy could not produce the knockout blow. It's difficult to imagine anything other than a humiliation against Germany had England won the penalty shoot out last night.
However I for my part would have preferred England in the half-final - it would have been a far easier match than against Italy
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
We call it here "Angsthasen-Fussball" :v
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
I always support Germany as a back up team as My Ancestors were from there.
Ah, that's where your dodgy part comes from
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
I honestly thought England were going to rob Italy when it went to penalty's, I was convinced Ballotelli was going to fluff his.
What a cheeky Penalty by Pirlo huh? Doing that in the league is one thing but in a Euro Quarter Final?? Imagine the flak he would have got if that was gathered
Not only during the match he prove 100% what a cool dog he is, the penalty was probably the coolest thing, that I've ever seen in football. {[]
He's a genius - no doubt!
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
Three more clubs have gone public and said they will vote against the new Rangers being admitted to the Scottish Premier League. This brings the total to six meaning Rangers will lose the vote on July 4th and will then have to apply to play in the Scottish Football League. It is not clear if they would have to start in the First or Third division.
Newco Rangers will not get votes for SPL transfer
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18577192
We only have to look at English goalkeepers to prove the point. England always had one of the top 2-3 goalkeepers in the world, but goalkeepers don't reach their peak until they're in their late 20s which means a long time spent nurturing and developing them. As more and more money flooded into the English game, teams suddenly lost interest in developing a promising 16 year old goalkeeper...and instead decided it was easier and cheaper to just buy someone in their mid-20s or older from elsewhere.
Joe Hart is the first decent national team keeper we've had in 10 years or more...and how many of the top 10 Premiership clubs have English goalkeepers these days? Ummm...Manchester City...Newcastle?
We lost to Italy on penalties which was really more than we deserved. It's not Woy Hodgson's fault, it's the clubs in the Prem who have lost contact with their local communities and for whom vast sums of money and instant success is the be-all and end-all.
Of course the Germans have a word for it...they have been playing that way for years, so needed a name for it
'Sissy-football'....sums up the German league beautifully
Managers are not given the time anymore to set up a good youth scouting team and then wait for those players to come through...that's why they buy players that are ready now...IMO, the youth set-up at clubs should not be within the remit of the manager at all, this should be left to the clubs academy to run...
The Premier League rules state that each Premier League club must contain at least 8 (I think) home-grown players...the problem with this is that 'home-grown' also covers ANY player that has spent 3 years in an English football academy - regardless of which country they come from....that clause really doesn't help...
Well...Newcastle have a Dutch goalkeeper...he was in their Euro 2012 squad...but Joe Hart is as good as any keeper in the world right now and he still has 10 years before he hits his peak ! We are a bit thin on the ground for back up keepers though - quite a few have decided to 'retire' from International football already !!
It was more than we deserved...but I disagree with you about Hodgson...it WAS his fault...well, partly...he picked the team and the tactics, no one else did....so he HAS to carry most of the blame...
How he didn't decide to man-mark Pirlo is a complete mystery to me ?:) If you mark Pirlo out of the game then Italy are stopped dead - you watch what the Germans do against him....this is a 35 year old playing in terrific heat and NO ONE closed him down...that's just stupid...Hodgson's tactics were crap....Cole never got across the halfway line, so we didn't push their wingers back....Pirlo was given the freedom of the pitch to play...Young was CLEARLY having a terrible game - and he left him on and took Milner off ?:) Bizarre stuff....Wellbeck and Rooney played more around the halfway line than anywhere else and Gerrard was picking the ball up just outside his own 18 yard box and then had no one to pass to....we needed to be at least 5 - 10 yards higher up the pitch...we needed to get at the full backs and put pressure on the creaking centre back partnership....neither Wellbeck or Rooney were given any decent service...but Hodgson should have started with Carroll anyway...I know it's easy to be wise after the event..but after 5 mins you could the problems..and I think most of us knew exactly how the game would go...and it did...under Redknapp at least we would have had a go at the Italians...we needed to play how English teams do in the Premership, with pace and power....it's how the German national team plays...and they seem to do okay playing that way...
Sir Miles - always 20 years behind
In watch-taste as well as in football and like the english team - playing now Cantenaccio
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!