Euro 2008

[cartman]

oopps

yep, my CERT that the czechs wouldn't get out of their group is still going ok..id actually fancy the turks to just about nick that game - but if its a draw they still have penos to knock the czechs out...
bennocelt, if you want any more tips off me, let me kbow

in today matches,
germany to win against croatia is 5/6 - great price.. im predicting 3-0 to germany...
austria-poland is a tricky one.. poland to nick it 2-1... poland then to squeeze through with a draw against croatia in their last game!!!
there's a handy few bets for you bennocelt

[bennocelt]

Not to mention Hakan Yakin...

Did you see the 2002 WC? Italy had plenty to complain about.

what? strikers still falling down easy? or strikers missing sitters to win games?
or defenders going AWOL?

I still think there is far too much messing in football, still too much diving and cheating. Turkey were at it last night big time, bloody fairies

Anyway after having them at 2/1 i was happy for them

Ronaldo still have to prove himself. Against the big teams he goes missing.
Portugal wont win this comp, thats a definite.

germany to win easy,
Poland to win tonight, and i would put a bit of dosh on the brazilian/pole to score

[bennocelt]

No, the refs can't apply 'common sense'. They apply the rules, the players should have the common sense to know them and stick to them.

yeah but its funny how those rules tend to change very often

[bennocelt]

yep, my CERT that the czechs wouldn't get out of their group is still going ok..id actually fancy the turks to just about nick that game - but if its a draw they still have penos to knock the czechs out...
bennocelt, if you want any more tips off me, let me kbow

in today matches,
germany to win against croatia is 5/6 - great price.. im predicting 3-0 to germany...
austria-poland is a tricky one.. poland to nick it 2-1... poland then to squeeze through with a draw against croatia in their last game!!!
there's a handy few bets for you bennocelt

yeah well i didnt do too badly last night myself
but i do agree with you on tonights games -
germany to win 3-1
and poland to hammer austria

[gaiscíoch]

what? strikers still falling down easy? or strikers missing sitters to win games?
or defenders going AWOL?

I still think there is far too much messing in football, still too much diving and cheating. Turkey were at it last night big time, bloody fairies

Anyway after having them at 2/1 i was happy for them

Ronaldo still have to prove himself. Against the big teams he goes missing.
Portugal wont win this comp, thats a definite.

germany to win easy,
Poland to win tonight, and i would put a bit of dosh on the brazilian/pole to score

Good players play well against the big teams as it's easy to get yourself up for them games. It's against the small teams where all the real hard work is done great players do this. I think he has had a great tournament so far I hope it continues.

One thing is for sure he won't be the reason if Portugal win it. It will be all about Carvalho and Pepe. These two hold the key. Best players at the tournament so far for me.

[superfrank]

Well done Croatia. Magnificent performance from them. Germany can't really complain.

[jebus]

Great day in the Championship today. Always good to see the host in with a chance of going through, only kicker is RTE are showing Croatia - Poland

Can't wait for tomorrows round of matches now!

[stojkovic]

What's everyones call on todays games ? I say Croatia 2 - Germany 1; Austria 1 - Poland 1.

Spot on Edmundo. Hope ya had a few bucks on it.

[kingdom hoop]

only kicker is RTE are showing Croatia - Poland

Damn Poles dictating our TV schedule now too?

[shaneker]

Spot on Edmundo. Hope ya had a few bucks on it.

Bloody right, fair play to ya.

Looks like a Portugal-Germany quarter final though, and that will be the German's exit - they're not good enough up front to win this competition and Portugal will score past them.

At least I hope so, stuck £15 on Portugal to win the thing over a year ago at 12/1, I've had no problem finding my team to support!

[superfrank]

Damn Poles dictating our TV schedule now too?

Surely BBC or ITV will show the other one.

[kingdom hoop]

Surely BBC or ITV will show the other one.

Ah yeah you'd assume so. I was only joking anyway.

[sligoman]

That has probably cost me the work competition I entered at work

Work competition at work?...and here was me thinking you entered it in school

[superfrank]

Ah yeah you'd assume so. I was only joking anyway.

That's not what your emoticon thought.

[lionelhutz]

Good players play well against the big teams as it's easy to get yourself up for them games. It's against the small teams where all the real hard work is done great players do this. I think he has had a great tournament so far I hope it continues.

One thing is for sure he won't be the reason if Portugal win it. It will be all about Carvalho and Pepe. These two hold the key. Best players at the tournament so far for me.

I agree with you that Carvalho and Pepe are key for Portugal but I think Deco is their most important player. His ability to hold the ball under pressure and control midfield is the reason they have a chance of winning it

[lionelhutz]

On yesterdays games, I was delighted to see Croatia get the win they deserved. They played very well and the Germans showed they're dodgy at the back (especially Lehmann)

The RTE ananlysts (Whelan and Souness in particular) wrote off Croatia after their first game and predicted Poland to go through with Germany. And they were practically orgasmic about the Germans play. I remember thinking it was extremely hasty to dismiss them after one average performance against the host nation.

Didn't see the Austria - Poland game. Heard Austria missed a few one on ones early on - is that right? And was it a penalty?

[jebus]

was it a penalty?

Technically yes, but given the amount of times it happens in a game you'd be hard pressed to find a fan who wouldn't be raging if it were given against their team. Hopefully it's the start of a trend that will see holding on to players shirts in the box stamped out though

[Closed Account 2]

Spot on Edmundo. Hope ya had a few bucks on it.

Damn, I forgot to put the bet on...

I went for a few drinks and then was going to nip to the bookies to put the money on it but stayed in the pub to watch Germany Croatia... I completely forgot about the bet and had one of those "Oh god noooo" moments as Vastic lined up to take the penalty.

I think I'll put a £5 acc. on Italy, Russia and Germany to qualify from the group stages. I think Russia will beat Sweden (an old side who will struggle to contain Arshavin) in their last game, the worry is the Greece game tomorrow if Pavyluchenko is fit I'd say they will win otherwise it could be a draw. Spain should beat Sweden and probably Greece too in the final game, so it's a battle for 2nd. I think Italy will edge past Romania today and France Holland will probably be a draw or Dutch win, leaving Italy with the upper hand on the last fixture v France. I'd say Germany will pip the Poles to the 2nd place in group B, Germany only need a draw with Austria. The Russia prediction is the most risky, the Germany and Italy ones are pretty likely. Anyone any thoughts on the Czech - Turkey match ? I really can't call this one, the Czechs have a great passing game and are a strong physical side and with Chech in goal have a decent chance; I think Turkey's pace and drive down the flanks could cause a tired Czech team problems. I think Ujfalushi and Rozenhal will have the beating of Nihat and Tuncay (or even Semih if he comes on) I either see this as a draw and the Turks winning on pens (Volkan is a specialist) or a Czech win in the 90 mins, anyone else have thoughts on this match ?

[TonyD]

The RTE ananlysts (Whelan and Souness in particular) wrote off Croatia after their first game and predicted Poland to go through with Germany. And they were practically orgasmic about the Germans play. I remember thinking it was extremely hasty to dismiss them after one average performance against the host nation.

RTE analysts are regularly guilty of this. As you said they've done a complete u turn on the basis of two contrasting performances from the Germans and the Croats. Germany are now being written off, while they're talking up Croatia as potential winners now. Maybe they are, but things can change and I wouldn't dismiss Germany yet, or put huge money on Croatia. Similarly, Italy are now written off after one game ("rubbish" according to Dunphy) You'd think these guys had never watched a tournament before. How many times have we seen teams look wonderful in the group stages and then implode, or in contrast, struggle through the group and then go all the way to the final (Italy in particular are noted for this, and the French in the last WC also spring to mind). Way too early to be so definitive about any of the main contenders yet.

[OwlsFan]

Robert Missen's sweepstake "ramblings" this am:

"In fact, the only thing that marred the Croat victory was the appearance of Croatia’s coach Slavan Bilic. To put it bluntly, he is not a good advertisement for the Zagreb tailoring industry. This is a man who has the air of not being a regular suit wearer – like somebody who has been told by his lawyer to wear a suit for a Court appearance. Not only that, but his suits are ill-fitting, and complemented by ties whose knots are hideously tied. And the piece de resistance is his classy earring. This fashion style is known in Parisienne haute-couture circles as ‘the pikey look’. Oh, and he has his wife’s name tattooed on his wrist, too.

What is interesting is that Bilic is given such a positive media coverage for being ‘nice’. French readers will recollect that this is the same Slavan Bilic who in the 1998 World Cup semi-final for Croatia v France clashed with French defender (and nice guy) Laurent Blanc and went down holding his face. Not only did Blanc get a red card but he also missed the World Cup final – and tv replays showed that there was minimal contact."