Turning to the Dark Side

[salanya]

These ripped socks can feck off.

They've upped the tempo but Tadic has added a fair bit to the Serbs after a pretty straightforward first half for England - really needed another when we were comfortably on top. I'm just not comfortable watching England with a slim lead, Pickford in particular gives the wobbles every time it goes near him..

What is the deal with the ripped socks??!

[Slick]

These ripped socks can feck off.

They've upped the tempo but Tadic has added a fair bit to the Serbs after a pretty straightforward first half for England - really needed another when we were comfortably on top. I'm just not comfortable watching England with a slim lead, Pickford in particular gives the wobbles every time it goes near him..

What is the deal with the ripped socks??!

Just googled that myself. Apparently something to do with tight socks causing calf strains

[Paddington Bear]

Good advert for rugby that game

[Paddington Bear]

By all accounts the organisation in Gelsenkirchen was utterly shambolic last night

[JM2K6]

Ctrl-c, ctrl-v my criticisms of Harry Kane's performances at major tournaments. Would be nice if he ran around a bit.

Weird game, Foden largely absent and "Trent" is a bit rubbish at times. Bellingham and Saka extremely good, Rice a good complement. Odd not to see Cole Palmer at any point.

[Hugo]

https://x.com/1scottishbanter/status/18 ... ooMPg&s=19

You can't beat the pipes.

[Slick]

https://x.com/1scottishbanter/status/18 ... ooMPg&s=19

You can't beat the pipes.

Just back from a good mates funeral and they had a piper playing Flower of Scotland for us all to sing - quite a lot of tears

[Happyhooker]

https://x.com/1scottishbanter/status/18 ... ooMPg&s=19

You can't beat the pipes.

Just back from a good mates funeral and they had a piper playing Flower of Scotland for us all to sing - quite a lot of tears

yup, the bagpipes always make me cry as well

[fishfoodie]

Good advert for rugby that game

Great minds, etc, etc

Mind you, if you've ever seen Hurling, then you know why it's supporters find it baffling that any other sports exist at all.

[sturginho]

Czechs have scored despite Portugal having 99% possession

[sturginho]

Czechs have scored again, sadly in the wrong goal

[Enzedder]

Sad for the Czechs but that was a very good game to watch

[Slick]

Haven’t watched football for a while but there seems to be a lot less ref abuse and a lot more of the refs telling players to get up and get on with it. Much better

[boere wors]

Aren‘t the players as of this tournament officially no longer allowed to talk to the ref, except for the Captain?!

[robmatic]

Aren‘t the players as of this tournament officially no longer allowed to talk to the ref, except for the Captain?!

They should try that in rugby.

[boere wors]

Aren‘t the players as of this tournament officially no longer allowed to talk to the ref, except for the Captain?!

They should try that in rugby.

They got that idea from rugby.
Rugby in the past 10 years or so got the idea from soccer that everybody should just abuse the ref as one likes

[sturginho]

So so shit

[salanya]

English ref is as shite as the English players

[salanya]

English ref is as shite as the English players

Ok, first comment was a bit whingey, but that was shocking
Video ref can feck right off.

[sturginho]

Ally McCoist does talk an inordinate amount of bollocks doesn't he?

[inactionman]

I thought old firm matches could get a bit tasty

Albania's Mirlind Daku has been banned for 2 matches for grabbing a megaphone and leading chants of 'kill the Serbs'.

Alll pretty unsavoury

[Tichtheid]

That was just about the best rendition of FoS I've ever heard

[boere wors]

I thought old firm matches could get a bit tasty

Albania's Mirlind Daku has been banned for 2 matches for grabbing a megaphone and leading chants of 'kill the Serbs'.

Alll pretty unsavoury

The reason I cant watch that sport anymore. Pathetic.

[sturginho]

Worst dive I think I've ever seen there

[sturginho]

Fucking hell!

[Niegs]

Fullkrug has to start the next match. Havertz would have headed that into the 10th row.

... am no football expert, but more shots on goal and crosses whipped in than trying to tiki taka in front of the 6yd with 8 defenders sinking into the area, please!

[Paddington Bear]

Hard luck Scots, that has to be a gut punch

[inactionman]

Scotland concede in the 100th minute. They probably had to go for it but that's harsh.

I really don't see what Che Adams brings, I appreciate Shankland had a bit more support when he came on but he looked a load better.

And the Hungary number 9 looks like he enjoys a good fry-up.

[C69]

English ref is as shite as the English players

Ok, first comment was a bit whingey, but that was shocking
Video ref can feck right off.

Clear pen wtf ?
VAR ?

[Slick]

Scotland concede in the 100th minute. They probably had to go for it but that's harsh.

I really don't see what Che Adams brings, I appreciate Shankland had a bit more support when he came on but he looked a load better.

And the Hungary number 9 looks like he enjoys a good fry-up.

He brings 2 goals in 19 games

[inactionman]

I've only a passing interest and knowledge about the situation with Ben White, but he's sounding a little bit precious in anything I've read

Apparently he won't play for England whilst Southgate and Holland are involved.

Anyone know what the issue actually is, and are we likely to see him suck it up? We're looking pretty shaky at the back and it's not useful to cut options down due to teenage tantrums

[Blackmac]

Scotland concede in the 100th minute. They probably had to go for it but that's harsh.

I really don't see what Che Adams brings, I appreciate Shankland had a bit more support when he came on but he looked a load better.

And the Hungary number 9 looks like he enjoys a good fry-up.

Clarke has turned into a disaster for the team. More interested in not losing than winning and we aren't even capable of not losing any more. Let's face it the likes of Hungary and Switzerland are pulling most of their players from the lower leagues that same as us but seem to be a greater sum of the parts.

The players also look utterly devoid of confidence and seem more interested in getting rid of the ball backwards or sideways than trying anything worthwhile. What's that now, 1 win in 14 games and that was Gibraltar. No manager should survive that.

[salanya]

English ref is as shite as the English players

Ok, first comment was a bit whingey, but that was shocking
Video ref can feck right off.

Clear pen wtf ?
VAR ?

My comment was about the Dutch disallowed goal.

For what it's worth, Scotland should have had a penalty last night. They also should have played better....

[Biffer]

This England attack, which a fortnight ago was apparently the most potent and feared in the tournament, scored two goals in total against Denmark, Slovenia and Serbia.

There may be an over hyping case to be made. Again.

[petej]

I've only a passing interest and knowledge about the situation with Ben White, but he's sounding a little bit precious in anything I've read

Apparently he won't play for England whilst Southgate and Holland are involved.

Anyone know what the issue actually is, and are we likely to see him suck it up? We're looking pretty shaky at the back and it's not useful to cut options down due to teenage tantrums

A few points.
1 White has played under highly demanding well regarded coaches who are absolutely going to dump unprofessional tossers in bielsa and arteta with no issues.
2 A coach mocking a player especially a dedicated one who has continued to improve for not watching football in his free time and using misquoted press bullshit is lazy and misjudgement of character by Steve Holland.
3 White has an excellent record for being available and playing with injuries.
4 Southgate has had favourites who can play like turds and still get picked.
5 Throwing a player under the bus with stage managed media briefings to protect your mate along with the Henderson Saudi thing have both been missteps by Southgate.

This England attack, which a fortnight ago was apparently the most potent and feared in the tournament, scored two goals in total against Denmark, Slovenia and Serbia.

There may be an over hyping case to be made. Again.

Southgate is a very conservative manager. The England attack has never been potent though Southgate has a very deep pool of talent to select from in that area. France have the identical results to England and also have a conservative manager. Spain, Germany, Portugal and France can't be met until the final for England so a shit house run to the final is possible.

Fullkrug has to start the next match. Havertz would have headed that into the 10th row.

... am no football expert, but more shots on goal and crosses whipped in than trying to tiki taka in front of the 6yd with 8 defenders sinking into the area, please!

Havertz is an excellent enabler of others like wirtz and musiala. His off ball movement is exceptional when his team has the ball and when they don't his pressing is superb. He is a proper endurance athlete as well. Germany have a nice balance with fullkrug and havertz. Let havertz run the defence all over the place and when they are tired on comes fullkrug to ask different questions

[inactionman]

I've only a passing interest and knowledge about the situation with Ben White, but he's sounding a little bit precious in anything I've read

Apparently he won't play for England whilst Southgate and Holland are involved.

Anyone know what the issue actually is, and are we likely to see him suck it up? We're looking pretty shaky at the back and it's not useful to cut options down due to teenage tantrums

A few points.
1 White has played under highly demanding well regarded coaches who are absolutely going to dump unprofessional tossers in bielsa and arteta with no issues.
2 A coach mocking a player especially a dedicated one who has continued to improve for not watching football in his free time and using misquoted press bullshit is lazy and misjudgement of character by Steve Holland.
3 White has an excellent record for being available and playing with injuries.
4 Southgate has had favourites who can play like turds and still get picked.
5 Throwing a player under the bus with stage managed media briefings to protect your mate along with the Henderson Saudi thing have both been missteps by Southgate.

I've no real knowledge of what Steve Holland did, other than it all stems from something said in camp that went down like a bucket of cold sick. I just query whether packing bags and heading home is the correct response - for the player, if no-one else. God above, the England rugby team would have consisted of a deaf tighthead and Ben Youngs if people did that under Eddie Jones.

I'm also not clear on the 'thrown under a bus' by Southgate - all I recall Southgate saying was that White had made himself unavailable, and that, well, it's true, isn't it? Southgate has to offer some response to questions as to why a fit and capable footballer has left the squad, and I'm not quite sure what else he can say. Just say it's the generic 'Personal Reasons? Maybe. What Southgate is categorically not going to say is that White has left due to arguments with assistant coaches. On the subject of Southgate having favourites, he will pick a team and some players will be disappointed - that is a footballer's lot.

The saddest aspect is a player being denied/denying themselves (delete depending where your sympathies lie) opportunities of a lifetime due to tensions with coaching staff. But he's not the first - and won't be the last - to suffer such tensions. Many England players utterly detested Capello and his infantilising methods - which were sadly initially needed after petty club rivalries had been dragged into the national team - but they managed to stay the course. Of course it led to the likes of Scholes and Carrick retiring before performance suggested they should, but everything I've read suggests that Southgate has gone out if his way to be supportive and engender a sense of enjoyment - which makes White's case particularly jarring.

From your posts it sounds like you're a gooner, but don't take this as a hammer having to knock another London club. I truly think White needs a better perspective on this, leaving camp and making pretty clear that you'll only return if senior leaders are replaced is not a good way to deal with any dispute, in any industry or any walk of life.



On your point about Havertz, he's looked such a genuinely gifted and rounded player at Arsenal, at least Arteta has a clue about how to use him.

[dpedin]

This England attack, which a fortnight ago was apparently the most potent and feared in the tournament, scored two goals in total against Denmark, Slovenia and Serbia.

There may be an over hyping case to be made. Again.

Absolutely this! There are a number of factors at play

- expensive does not equal the best. Prices for players, particularly decent English ones, are way over blown in the EPL. Unfortunately most people think they must be the best in the world because the cost the most!
- the usual disregard for anything foreign, they cant be as good as us so expectations are unrealistic. Even the lowest rank team in the Euros has a set of very handy players who can be well managed, well prepared and play as a team ie Austria. (I obviously exclude Scotland from that analysis!)
- a collection of your best players doesnt = best team. There is more to winning than just shoving the best 11 onto the pitch
- a lot of the best English players play in teams surrounded by top players from around the world. Foden for example at Man C plays with De Bruyne, Harland, Bernardo etc. It is probably easier to play well and look good surrounded by these guys? Alternatively some of the foreign guys who play in lesser EPL teams look so much better when in their own national team
- the Press do England no favors over hyping the team and then quickly turning on them for not playing stylish football in every game. Players are placed under so much pressure it is no wonder they wilt at times and play 'safe'

Bottom line is England are through to the knock out stages and can go further but Spain looked fantastic so far!

[Lobby]

I can't help feeling that, just as the hype around England before the tournament was overdone, the prognostications of doom and gloom are also overdone.

England have the same record as France (both in terms of results and goals scored and conceded) and a better record than defending champions, Italy. Belgium (currently ranked 2 in the world) lost their opening game. Holland have only qualified for the next round from third in their group. Denmark go through without winning a single game.

Germany looked fantastic against Scotland (not difficult), but were less impressive in their other games. Only Spain and Portugal (so far) have100% win records.

[sturginho]

Georgia are leading against Portugal!


Add them to the 6N!

[inactionman]

Georgia are leading against Portugal!


Add them to the 6N!

2-0 now.

Courtesy of a questionable penalty