Because a more attractive international job will more than likely be available.Quote:
Originally Posted by beautifulrock
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Because a more attractive international job will more than likely be available.Quote:
Originally Posted by beautifulrock
Enjoyed that :)
Thank Christ, none of this "we just have to show up to win" boll*cks, from the English media and fans this summer!
Halleluiah!
There is a God after all.
Croatia were brilliant on the counter tonight, Modric looked a million dollars. Not even an England player diving again can get them the result they need. I have to admit I felt a tad sorry for Carson but when your thrown in at the deep end what do you expect?
I think we're all a bit guilty of Schadenfreude here, pleasure in the misery of others. Much as it kills me to say this but I'll miss England not being in the finals next summer. Love them or hate them they're compulsive viewing if only for the stomach churning jingoism spurting from Motson and the fact that we all watch to see their inevitable failure.
Oh well
P.S. The pitch was absolutely atrocious tonight. They built a 90,000 all-seater stadium and plonked a bog in the middle of it.
Only had brief glimses of him before tonight but was still surprised that he was still at Dinamo. His contract last until 2015 so it will take a lot to get Dinamo to sell.Quote:
Originally Posted by shakermaker1982
I was listerning to David Platt and with 5 mins to go he started going on about McClaren having 7 months to get things right! Err Dathi your 3-2 down. Mental stuff. Anyway Do I Quite Like That.
As much as Motty irritated me, I'm a tad disappointed they lost but in the end they got what they deserved.
The BBC panel were surprisingly frank, it kinda threw me a bit, a refreshing change.
I bet Colleen is delighted Wayne will be free for the wedding next summer :D
They were absolutely crap. Never looked like winning. Delighted for Slaven Bilic, never thought he'd make it as manager but what a team he has, one of the best teams i've ever seen on the break.
England's players didn't step up, its like they wanted McClown gone.
Carson big mistake
Bridge useless
Barry will lose his place to Hargreaves
Gerrard..captains performance me hole
Lampard had one touch
Wright-Phillips should have scored
Joe Cole is crap anyway
As for Defoe and Bent they wouldn't make the Irish bench never mind the England bench.
Actually fair fecks to Beckham he came on and played class.
I lost my voice over the weekend was getting it back today, but after watching that game, have near lost it again. Penalty my arse. That referee looked like he was enjoying england's comeback a bit too much!
Basically England had one of the easiest groups to qualify from and overall did not deserve to qualify but i didn't want to tempt fate by saying that before the game :eek:
Gerrard tried in the first half I thought, then realised what shirt he was wearing and gave up, Becks played well when he came one, great cross for England's man of the match Peter Crouch, who I genuinely felt sorry for tonight. Can you imagine knocking the ball into that many great areas only to realise that after that that you are counting on Fatso Lampard to bust a gut to get in there?!
Poor Crouch was knackered by the end of the game in the last 15 mins he didn't win one header.
The pitch is beautiful, the night is beautiful, Croatia is beautiful, football IS a beautiful game.Quote:
Originally Posted by sligoman
ps. "ha ha haha ha ha ha" sounds very good if sung to the tune of "The Great Escape"
:D
bitter, twisted and happy Irishman, even a dive for a penalty didn't save Engerrrland for a change.
A bit of a Gallic understatement there Giuly, you were probably doing cartwheels all over your house.Quote:
Originally Posted by Giuly
I hear now they are blaming the Americans, for mucking up the pitch at the weekend with a NFL game there.
Croatia compared to England looked a class team
Croatia were up for it tonight and well done for them. They could easily have sent a bunch of u-21's out, like Wales. They wanted to win, even when they'd won the group. It was great to see.
England were appalling. They didn't deserve to go through on that performance. McClaren will get all the blame, predictably, but imo those players were the fault England lost. They didn't do enough. They upped it in the second half but then fell back. Imo, it's the players fault. I feel sorry for McClaren.
Thanks for explaining the meaning of Schadenfreude for the Lumpenproletariat you obviously believe post here......Quote:
Originally Posted by keenanboy
Quote:
Originally Posted by Green Tribe
Definite penalty. Great spot by the lino. Too many of these are let go. The stupid part for the defender was that it was not necessary as the keeper had the ball.Quote:
Originally Posted by Scram
Agree Crouch was England's MOTM but that tells you how poor they were and what lack of ambition England had.Quote:
Originally Posted by jebus
Totally agree. Despite England packing midfield, this guy ran the show in that area.Quote:
Originally Posted by shakermaker1982
Croatia displayed tonight what 'pride in the jersey' is all about. They went into a game where they had already qualified, on a shi*ty night, on a shi*ty pitch got pegged backed back from 0-2 but still had the desire and passion to lift themselves to win the game.
While I agree with the jist of what you're saying McClaren has made some terrible decisions throughout the campaign. Dropping Beckham to begin with was foolish and was only done to make point, as his decision to recall him after England's poor start. Contiuing to play Gerrard and Lampard together when it's clear that that partnership doesn't work and most criminally tonight playing 4-5-1 when they badly needed the win. He'll be a lucky man if he's still England manager after all this.Quote:
Originally Posted by superfrank
He isn't the best manager I know. However, there's only so much that can be blamed on the manager. I know the tactics he went with tonight didn't work from the start but he made the changes at half-time and they did play better. Then once it was 2-2, the players dropped off. Imo, you can't blame the manager for that.Quote:
Originally Posted by DmanDmythDledge
Bit of a mixed night:
Norway beating Malta 4-1 - but Turkey sneaking a 1-0 win against Bosnia to qualify instead of the Norwegians (Thank you Myhre you plank for ****ing up in Istanbul :mad:)
Finland missing out in the most heartbreaking circumstances possible AGAIN (meaning Jari Litmanen probably joins Ryan Giggs and Ian Rush as one of the greats never to go to an International Finals Tournament)
Spain and Sweden firmly putting Northern Ireland in their ****ty little place as a crappy one-player nation. kthx
Proud of Liechtenstein for one of their best ever Qualification Tournaments EVER
McClaren gone by Saturday tbh - hopefully replaced by Staunton
But the return of the Home Internationals Tournament hopefully next summer - stop the smug Nordies from wheeling out the fact they're still "British Champions" - despite fluking that some 100,000 years ago. For the love of God - get it on and someone else win it PLEASE
certainly welcomed back into the bosom of mistress football tonight...what a larph...
England were awful and deserved to lose. God only knows what he was thinking putting Carson in for a game like that. I do think the NFL game didn't help, both wings where all their entourages and subs and that stand was atrocious. But both teams had to play on it. I wonder when was the last time England's Premiership stars had played on a surface that bad. They didn't seem to know how to cope with it, and resorted to lumping it to Crouch who did everything he possibly could. He is such a waste of talent at Liverpool.
Fair play to the Croatians, but I seriously doubt if they would have attacked as wholeheartedly if they had needed a point from the game. No pressure or expectation on them = freedom to express themselves and that they did. Well done Slavan Bilic, a future Champions League winning manager maybe?
Great stuff. I don't think they'll be much of a loss to Euro 2008. Apart from the drama of the penalties against Portugal, they contributed absolutely nothing to the last World Cup. The Paraguay, T&T and Ecuador games were shocking, the Sweden game was meaningless and the quarter-final was scoreless. Didn't take any pleasure in watching them, only relief when they were eliminated.
Croatia were excellant tonight.Played some great stuff on that awful pitch.I really admired the way they took the game to England at 2-2.
Bit harsh on N.I. Reitoir, they had a better qualifiers than we did and came out with pride.Agree with you about Liechenstein though, their 3-0 win over Iceland was the heroic result of the qualifiers.
At this stage who can say Premiership footballers are not overpaid/rated.If I am not mistaken Israel finished on 23 points-same as England.Collectively
how much are they valued at in contrast to "The Golden Generation".
Impossible to feel sorry for them as I do for Scotland and NI. Sh!te, pure and simple, deserved nothing and got nothing from the start to the end of the campaign.
And am I foolish for thinking 20/1 on Croatia winning the thing next year is amazing value? Looking at the way they have played this campaign in the big games, coupled with their savvy coach, makes me think no team will be able to get an easy game off them, and with Europe generally not looking too good in footballing terms right now they have as good a chance as any?
EDIT - from bbc.co.uk
Croatia coach Slaven Bilic believed England's players were unable to cope with the expectations of a hugely expectant country and media.
"We didn't feel that kind of negative pressure," said Bilic.
"It's a bit hard, although they are world-class players and should cope with it, it is hard to cope with that kind of negative pressure.
Bilic added: "Wake up. You didn't lose the game because of the tactics.
"We're simply a better team. I admire your team and your players but my team is a much better team."
I love this guy!
Croatia are a good bet but Romania are very strong too... The power center of European football is swinging east. Teams like Romania, Croatia and Russia play great football. Theyve skillfull players who are full of stamina and play a great passing game.
oh by the way - JA TE VOLIM - HRVATSKA !!! :)
I confess to knowing very little about Romania, although I have noticed how well they have done in this campaign, so they must be doing something right. Anyone in particular to look out for?
I'm thinking Croatia because they seem very intelligent; a real knowledge of when to hold onto the ball, when to spring a counter attack and when to slow the pace down. Combined with the fact that they have some properly good players; I can't be arsed to look up the names but the young fella in central midfield has class written all over him, Olic never stopped running and caused so many problems, very solid central defence, pace on the flanks, with a good cheeky coach...could be a cup-winning combination!
I genuinely believe (and this theory occured to me after Greece won EURO 2004) that the shift in power in Europe is largely due to the prima donna and celebrity status of most English/Italian/Spanish footballers. International football seems to be a chore for them, something they do because they have to, not an honour. Countries like Romania, Croatia, Greece, even Macedonia and Israel, still seem to have that pride and passion for the shirt, and the performances are reflecting this. Maybe this has always been the case to some degree, but with football so money-driven these days it is really starting to have an impact, such as Greece winning the title of best team in Europe. 3 years later, it still makes no sense in footballing terms, so there must be some other factor at play.
Its happened to us, too. Several players looking like playing for Ireland is a minor distraction from their 10/20/30/60 grand a week day jobs. The difference is we aren't good enough to compensate (although I suppose neither are England now! :p).
I know Hrvatska is Croatia (on the passport) - presumably then, it means I love you Croatia?Quote:
Originally Posted by cfdh_edmundo
If so, good shout. Beautiful country, great footballing football team, and, most importantly, stunning women. :)
da odlocino prijateli! ti razus hrvatski/srpski ??
hvala lepo mladen petric i ivca olic
:) Eh no, but I think I might have a strange knack of deciphering foreign tongues. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by cfdh_edmundo
Is it a tough one to learn? I wouldn't mind settling down in Split/Zagreb/Dubrovnik with a local chica bonita!
yeah i spent a couple of months out there and picked bits of it up, but it's impossible to learn it properly, there are so many rules, conjugations etc, but simple enought o pick up waht you'd need for a holiday.
split is very nice, a nice big town by the coast... Zagreb is ok a bit bland though best city in ex-Yug is probably Mostar IMO
back on topic, what a great manager Bilic is!!
No doubt, you and the rest of the Hartlepoole Albion and the Queen's Own Athletic Oirish Paddywackery Division in Oirland FC must be filling your West Brit wellies with sperm...etc...etc...:rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by tricky_colour
Yeah edmundo, I travelled around there for about two weeks before, Split is lovely, and I thought Zagreb was pretty nice too. Of course though I'd rather live nearer to that delightful Dalmation coast if possible.
Agree on Bilic, but not too sure about the earring! Adds a bit of menace I suppose, saying that, its not like he needed much more. It was great to see him so excited after the winner, fair play to him.
Apparently he has a law degree, so obviously reasonably clever, and added to his wonderful passion and the fact that he has the legends of Asanovic and Prosinecki alongside him its no great surprise they played so well tonight and previously.
I think, not just for beating England tonight, they might be my team for the Euros, always had a soft spot for them anyway.
Ja te volim Hrvatska. :)
:confused:Quote:
Originally Posted by shanekerins
Bar the English, all the big guns will be at the finals, Italy are WCW, while all semi-finalists in the last tournament were from Western Europe.
Greece's win was a fluke, when everything went their way. It won't happen again. The winner this time will be one from the usual suspects once again.
As for the English, I have a message for them. Your last EC campaign lasted 12 games, and this one also lasted 12 games. Welcome to the rejects list, and see how you cope with been an also ran for a change.
The Austrian and Swiss Police, fans. residents and open air coffee shop owners no doubt delighted by last nights result and that the en-ger-land hooligan scum brigade will not be travelling en masse to their towns.
McClaren got the bullet this morning according to SKYNEWS. And with the English minority hooligan element out of the equation the bill for running the damn thing has come down by multi -thousands for the Swiss and the Arnies !
Croatia were super to watch. Whatever people say about the southern European / latin style I've always thought the eastern Europeans are the best to watch.
Always tall, athletic and a bit physical they have also always had superb technique and England's "world class" midfield was taught a lesson last night.
It's a deep rooted problem. David Platt (?) was saying as much on SKY (yes,. I watched it again at 10:30 I was so happy!). They way they football will never win a tournament. They are a set-piece and high ball team. Everything Croatia did last night was measured. Even Bent's late chance was from a blind hoof over the top from Lampard that Charlton would have loved. I thought Crouch's goal was very good though.
Did you hear Shearer at HT? I was p1ssing myself. Croatia were passing with aplomb, keeping possession, spreading the play and taking and controlling passes like they had velcro on their boots. Shearer's response was " we've go to...eh...eh....eh.... get in amongst them"! Is that all successful career in club and international football has taught him about the game?
Fascinating contrast in styles, almost like Celtic vs Moscow in the CL qualifier in Glasgow.
As for Motty: "say something Mark" "please Beckham please", oh God it was funny.
Wait a second why didnt we think of that:confused: We should have selected a former experienced defender with no managerial experience as our manager.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gaillimh Al
that is true but England travel in massive numbers (60,000 plus in Germany)and spend likewise when on their travels. Big loss to the economy of the host nation that is for sure.Quote:
Originally Posted by CollegeTillIDie