Not sure I’ve ever seen worse passing of a football than Maguire’s last night. Maybe couple of Carragher games back in the day 
Good outcome for me. A few quid on Italy at the start of the tournament means I’m able to put food on the table this week, but when it went to pens I have to admit I was willing to sacrifice the odd hot meal if it meant England would win. I just knew that whoever missed would be subjected to miserable and moronic abuse on social media, or worse still, a starring role in a pizza commercial and no one deserves that.
Southgate’s done well. I don’t get the criticism of his approach. It’s dull as dishwater but he made England hard to beat and it got them to a World Cup semi and one decent penalty kick away from winning the Euros. We’re talking about England here, not noted as giants of the international game.
I’d only criticise him for the penalties. Never liked players being brought on just to take a spot kick. It just heaps more pressure on the lads in an already ridiculously pressurised situation. As soon as I saw Rashford doing his constipated Pogba impression I knew he’d miss. And where the fuck was Sterling? Only too keen to push his way to the front of the queue to take a direct free kick 30 yards from goal but not quite as keen to take a shot from 12 yards with just the keeper to beat. Southgate should have told his experienced players to stand up and show everyone they’d got a pair. I’m all for the fearlessness of youth but poor Saka had ‘miss’ written all over him and should never have been put in that situation.
6 Likes
Your poor kids 
1 Like
How? Why?
First of all Italy looked like the real deal from game one.
But also.
England reached the final but they were not the second best team in the tournament. Probably not even third or fourth.
All the talent in the squad does not help if your manager sets up for such an negative / minimalistic style of play.
2 Likes
i know your angle.
if your on the park, your on the park, type thing. i agree with that in just about every instance in football.
but this smacks of something a bit different…a nineteen year old with 12 months (is it?) playing top flight football, taking the most important kick in the second most important international game on the calender.
to me that changes the landscape a bit.
2 Likes
Yes. Back to proper football now please.
7 Likes
Henderson has potential and is young enough to develop I guess we will see with him.
1 Like
Sorry to expand on this topic of alcohol and British fans. Again this might not be true but my impression is that in other sports popular in the UK like Tennis or Rugby…it seems the fans, I am sure they still do take alcohol but you would hardly hear about fan trouble in these sports, at least not as publicized. Is it because fans who watch football don’t go to these other sports? Or like some of you said, its just a culture thing, but is this culture strangely then, only confine to just football?
Again asking more from a stance of an observation bordering of not knowing the facts on the ground. Interested to hear what the perspective on the actual ground.
my first guess is which class each sport was originally catering for…whether that is still the case isnt the point…once the typecast is set, then you get a self fulfilling prophecy…unfortunately.
but thats just a guess.
I think you have to take into account the shear numbers involved. But yes the percentage of fuckwits going to football matches far exeeds anyother sport.
Also in comparison to other sports and other countries (even in regards to football) is the number of away supporters (or people prepared to travel to games).
Most studies from what I have read put a lot of it down to socio-cultural behaviour. There was a net increase in football violence after WWII and it increased up to the 90’s it is and has benn very much on the decrease since (from what I can gather (tickets are very expensive)).
the thought is that the mass displacements of those returning from WWII created a situation where they needed to find a ‘tribe’ this just so happened to end up being around football clubs. So mainly in London and other big cities (the phenomena of violence spread from there).
Btw after WWI I believe there was nett increase in gang violence (there wasn’t the displacement of returnees however a reiforcement of ‘tribal’ behaviour’).
So it’s a reversion to ‘Neanderthal’ behaviour. I mean WWII is a long time ago and so what is left is a mimic that crescendoed and hopefully is now in nett decline. Why this violence spread to following the national team I guess is purely a nationalistic/patriotic/chauvanist reaction (us against them).
1 Like
Had Euro 2020 actually occurred in 2020, England would have won. The defense would have had red-hot TAA and Gomez, the midfield would have had a red-hot Henderson and an in-form AOC as well. All of those guys were zoning.
Note that none of those English players have been truly zoning over the past season, perhaps except for TAA in late season, who was injured just before Euro.
When I say zoning, I mean being similar to Djokovic in 2015.
2 Likes
During the first half I thought if England scores another goal then game over for Italy.
The second half I‘ve seen England defending the lead.
Pens are a lottery, it can go either way. In the last decades pens were not a strength of the Three Lions.
So why not trying to decide the game after 90. min? I think Southgate (he is a good manager, me thinks) approached the game too carefully, considering the class of his players.
I don’t understand why Rashford didn‘t get more minutes. Sancho also.
I‘m annoyed when teams are parking the bus having top footballers on the pitch.
And I don’t talk about the likes Of Burnley or Sheffield.
2 Likes
There might be a small element in truth to the studies you read.
But in IMO the main reason for football hooliganism, is simply that some folk like to fight!
these people, like the buzz of the fight, the buzz of travelling to other towns and cities, taking it over, been on edge waiting for the other ‘mob’ to come at them, its all an adrenaline buzz.
Also, bear in mind, alot of these lads will have come from good families,
and had a lot of support when growing up, it not like they were raised badly in squalor and are now lashing out at society as they cant find work now
Alot of these guys have good jobs, earn good money, and can afford to blow a grand on their match day uniform
I’ve done alot of travelling in Scotland to football matches, and met quite a few lads who are into the dark side of the beautiful game football, and they are all the same, they chase the buzz.
3 Likes
3 Likes
Yes, this is the socio-cultural phenomena that arised. It doesn’t go against the ‘theories’ it’s the result of tribalism (to a degree violence is engrained in society however in football hooliganism (UK) we see something that goes beyond the ‘normal’ expected (also the case for certain communities within the UK, (I remember it being very violent even at school back in the '80s something that isn’t seen anywhere near as much today))
As said it’s a social-cultural phenomena not a socio-economic one (tribalism). Above all the '60s boom moved the goal posts (it is I believe in the majority mainly a lower middle class phenomena).
My eyes were opened when I stayed with a friend in Wolverhampton, I met a group of his ‘friends’ who arranged fights in the park (just for the buzz). My friend was working class he met these guys through his band they were most definirely middle class.
My main travelling to football matches was when I was in Scotland (Aberdeen) I witnesses very little football related violence. Got into a fight on the main street because I had an english accent and had been talking to my mates about football (the whole lot of us were Aberdeen supporters). Big scuffles in the town center when an Aberdeen Celtic match was cancelled due to waterlogged pitch at the last minute (watched that from my window and after a cup final when Aberdeen beat Rangers (saw that from the top of a hill masses of blue waves pushing a little blob of red here and there with some black specks inbetween).
P.S I must say it’s not all bad quite the contrary, most of the time following Aberdeen I had great moments, once went to a Hearts Vs Aberdeen match. Went down with a fellow Aberdeen supporter and his hearts supporter friends. Met back up after the match toured the town (Edinburgh is a must for a piss up lol) and ended up sleeping over at a Hibs supporter’s flat. Btw I have never met a Hibs supporter who wasn’t drunk all the time 
Regarding Rashford’s lack of playing time, it appears that he has been carrying a shoulder injury that will require corrective surgery. While this might explain his lack of minutes, it raises the question why include him in the squad at all?
Sancho’s omission however is more perplexing. Highly rated in the Bundesliga, I thought he was a shoe in for being an automatic starter. Having said that, he played the full match against Hungary and did little that I can recall to impress. Perhaps this performance explained his omission in the following game against Denmark and late sub appearance/cameo in the final.
Conversely I thought Saka got far more playing time than his performances deserved. The lad is quick but he has a very poor first touch, coupled with an apparent unwillingness to tackle back after losing the ball. Maybe one for the future but currently a liability - he did diddly squat after he came on in the final.
4 Likes
Rashford didn’t get more minutes because he can only play well from the left, and Sterling is significantly better than him.
1 Like
Yeah this is mind-boggling