c4countdown

Mark James wrote:One of the best nights of my life. Check this out.

He's only gone and done it again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s5gxdzZOCE
I love that he plays for my team in my league but this kid deserves to be playing at the highest level. The technique and the audacity to even try it is amazing. If it was Rooney or Suarez doing that it would be raved about the world over.

A guy I go to school with is going to leave at the end of the year to play for Dagenham and Redbridge.

Rhys Benjamin wrote:A guy I go to school with is going to leave at the end of the year to play for Dagenham and Redbridge.

Represent. Name of?

http://rhysbenjamin.blogspot.co.uk/2014 ... eject.html

And to answer Jono's point from 7 months ago, he now plays for Wimbledon, and his name is Will Mannion. Also, one of my teachers, Robert Rice, plays for Basingstoke.

Rhys Benjamin wrote:http://rhysbenjamin.blogspot.co.uk/2014 ... eject.html

And to answer Jono's point from 7 months ago, he now plays for Wimbledon, and his name is Will Mannion. Also, one of my teachers, Robert Rice, plays for Basingstoke.

I started with

René Meulensteen. Unquestionably the greatest assistant manager of the last decade. '

so I just stopped reading after that.

Rhys Benjamin wrote:http://rhysbenjamin.blogspot.co.uk/2014 ... eject.html

Bradley Cates take note. That's how you write a comedy blog.

Very sad to hear Clarke Carlisle is in a serious condition following a crash. Was a great contestant on the show, so let's hope he can pull through. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30583740

Best wishes to Clarke Carlisle and family.

Bump.
As I can't start new topics, I wanted to open a discussion about THIEFA, sorry I meant FIFA

What I don't get is why it has taken the FAs, who know full well how corrupt FIFA is and has been, so long to disassociate from the organisation. As an Irishman with a poorly supported local league I can kind of understand why the FAI, for example, might want to still be recognised or have some sort of connection to a particular governing body but the Premier League, and by extension the FA, is such a global force it could easily operate on its own brand and should have made moves to withdraw long ago and the same could be said of the other more popular and strong leagues. I guess though the true case is that corruption is rife within all aspects of governance of the game that it wold be churlish of one to come out against another. I do think though it could be the beginning of the end of FIFA if Blatter doesn't resign in the very near future.

We need another world soccer federation. Boxing and dare I say, Darts manage with more than one.
If FIFA can't get their house in order then why not build a new one.
Or alternately, UEFA should maybe invite Brazil, Argentina and a couple of African and Asian teams in the next Euros.

Congrats Ireland. Assume we're not that fussed about shocking handball decisions in qualifier play-offs now?

Jon Corby wrote:Congrats Ireland. Assume we're not that fussed about shocking handball decisions in qualifier play-offs now?

I was never fussed about the Henry situation. I was more annoyed at Paul McShane's terrible defending than Henry handling the ball. We had already had the benefit of a poor handball decision in the qualifying group when we got a soft penalty against Georgia so I thought people were overreacting. Certainly the FAI were an embarrassment in the aftermath. It's one thing for fans to be upset at a dodgy decisions but looking for compensation or wanting to be the "33" team was a disgrace. I think genuine football fans were perplexed by the reaction. The media reaction didn't help either as they had a field day. Why one incident got so much more coverage over any other is a mystery. Must be a French thing.

Leicester City.

Adam Gillard wrote:Leicester City.

I don't really follow football (it's a bit shit when you really think about it), but when there was so much hype in the news about them before this weekend, I really wanted them to not win this weekend, just to see if the news would manage to get itself worked up to the same extent before their next game. But yeah, by not winning on Sunday and instead winning today, it was a sort of draw on that front.

Gevin 1 - 1 Leicester

Come on ye boys in green.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pvm5bfQJOGU

Andy Wilson wrote:Come on ye boys in green.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pvm5bfQJOGU

Nice one. This actually came up as a suggested post on my facebook feed.

Did it yeah? Nice one. Loads of work gone into it, the deep red lads were great. Loads of small things i wish we'd gotten in to make it funnier, but limited time to do it in and a lot of fun was had. Paul McGrath posted a couple of lovely lines earlier. 'June is approaching and butterflies start, but there's nothing more powerful than a brave Irish heart'. The black pearl of Inchicore, the poet. Here we go.

With Euro 2016 just a couple of days away, what are people's thoughts/predictions? Any players you're looking forward to watching?

I don't follow international football enough (except in major tournaments) to make any firm predictions but I might just favour Germany to win. They've had a couple of iffy friendly results recently but this has happened before and they always seem to turn on the style for the tournaments. France are certainly a dangerous team on their day and with home advantage, I'd put them as close second favourites. There's been a lot of talk about them being motivated further by last year's awful events in Paris and although this could be a factor, it could also the other way and prove to be a burden for them. Spain are seemingly in transition after their horror show in 2014 and with a lot of their star players retiring/reaching the end of their careers. They still look like a strong team and will certainly be threats. Belgium's an interesting one. Their squad is very strong and if they get their act together, they have a great chance of going a long way. I wasn't overly impressed with what I saw of them two years ago, although I may have to give them the benefit of the doubt and say it was partly down to lack of previous tournament experience (previous one for Belgium was the 2002 WC). That can not be an excuse for them this time.

As for England, I think it's best not to get too carried away. We certainly have a lot of exciting young players developing but we've been in this position before and failed to deliver. The win in Germany underlined their potential but I'm far from convinced by the defence. We've also been fairly ordinary in the four games since then. I'm hoping for the quarter-finals at least and if we get through the group in first or second place, we will probably get a reasonable draw. Anything better is a bonus, as I don't expect us to win and this tournament is about giving the players tournament experience as much as anything. Hopefully, people will keep expectations to a realistic level as we traditionally play better when the pressure's off.

Northern Ireland and the Republic Ireland will find it tough to qualify from their groups but with four of the six third-place teams advancing, I wouldn't rule either of them out. I'm not sure what to expect from Wales.

If I had to pick a dark horse, I'd plump for Austria. I haven't seen much of them but they have a good draw and were very impressive in qualifying, winning nine and drawing one in a group that also contained Sweden and Russia. The 4-1 away victory against Sweden was a superb result.

Hopefully it will be an exciting tournament to follow a brilliant World Cup two years ago, and that it will ultimately be remembered for the football, rather than all of the security threats.

Do Israel and Australia get to enter this?

Gavin Chipper wrote:Do Israel and Australia get to enter this?

Israel do (along with other famously European countries like Kazakhstan), though never qualify. For football Australia choose to be in Asia instead.

During the World Cup 2 years ago, I said that France would win these Euros. Now everyone's jumped on the bandwagon and they're, quite reasonably, favourites. Not feeling like any of the obvious teams - Italy, Spain, Germany - are at their peak at the moment, while some of the smaller countries are coming in with a lot of momentum. We're due a shock winner. Don't know who that will be (Ukraine or Turkey, maybe?), but I'd like to see Iceland win it because they're tiny and it would be such a lovely story.

England could make the semis, but seeing as - after a 6 year hiatus - we're now back to frenzied 'England are going to win it!' mania off the back of a good qualifying campaign and some homegrown players smashing it up in the Prem this year, we'll probably go out in the group stages after Gareth Bale single-handedly beats us 3-0 and Rooney gets sent off.

Jennifer Steadman wrote:We're due a shock winner.

Er, Greece three Euro tournaments ago?

Jennifer Steadman wrote:we'll probably go out in the group stages after Gareth Bale single-handedly beats us 3-0 and Rooney gets sent off.

Rooney screwing up in some way is a fairly safe bet.

Jack Worsley wrote:

Jennifer Steadman wrote:We're due a shock winner.

Er, Greece three Euro tournaments ago?

12 years is quite a long time in the history of the Euros... (and also the number of years between Denmark and Greece winning)

Poland???

Sensible-ish bet = Portugal
Outside bet = Ukraine

(Not putting any actual money on these, it's not golf.)

Belgium on paper have a good team and are worth a bet.
I cant see anyone beating France though.
Dare I say it We (England ) might make the semis.
Btw, I wonder what the Scots will be doing over the next 4 weeks

Jennifer Steadman wrote:We're due a shock winner. Don't know who that will be (Ukraine or Turkey, maybe?), but I'd like to see Iceland win it because they're tiny and it would be such a lovely story.

Iceland are my outside bet too. I liked the look of them in the qualifiers.

since when are poppies political.
I know FIFA is based in neutral Switzerland but surely they can acknowledge that there have been wars.
I say where the poppies. They wouldn't dare deduct points

OOOOH, TAMMY TAMMY!

Jon O'Neill wrote: ↑Thu Jun 25, 2020 10:27 pm

No open top bus to celebrate the momentous occasion , but they thoroughly deserved their win .

Well done the sweaties for qualifying for the Euros next year.
It will be fun playing the auld enemy next June.
I do hope fans will be allowed to go though

bloody mitrovic missing that bloody pen

Rhys Benjamin wrote: ↑Fri Nov 13, 2020 10:44 pm bloody mitrovic missing that bloody pen

Surely you didn't want Scotland to lose?
It will be like Euro 96 all other again

I wanted Fulham's Aleksandar Mitrovic to get back in form!

Rhys Benjamin wrote: ↑Sat Nov 14, 2020 2:45 pm I wanted Fulham's Aleksandar Mitrovic to get back in form!

Very tempted to put Fulham penalty takers in the Joke items thread

Very Atrocious Refereeing

Who are people tipping to win the Euros then?

JackHurst wrote: ↑Thu Jun 17, 2021 8:23 am Who are people tipping to win the Euros then?

Obviously Italy have been impressive, but I still think that France beat them or anyone else head-to-head if they play to their potential. Making predictions in a largely knockout tournament is always hazardous, though - all it takes is a Covid outbreak, injury to Kante, Lloris howler or Giroud duffing Mbappe in, and suddenly it's au revoir.

[Double post]

England to make Semi final via a penalty shoot out win against Spain then maybe Deja Vue again against Germany

Marc Meakin wrote: ↑Thu Jun 17, 2021 5:06 pm Deja Vue again against Germany

Who does he play for?

Wales vs England final. You heard it here first.

(This may not be a serious prediction.)

Rhys Benjamin wrote: ↑Sat Jun 19, 2021 10:26 pm Wales vs England final. You heard it here first.

(This may not be a serious prediction.)

I did wonder if they could meet but im not sure if they could meet before the final especially if Wales win their Group and England finish 3rd in theirs

Well we need England to go out on penos to the Germans in a QF or SF...
...that's a must for any soccer tournament worth its salt.

Let's have ITALY as winners.
They've been very impressive, and with eye-candy like Marco Verratti on the pitch, what's not to like?

L'oisleatch McGraw wrote: ↑Sun Jun 20, 2021 5:55 pm Well we need England to go out on penos to the Germans in a QF or SF...
...that's a must for any soccer tournament worth its salt.

Let's have ITALY as winners.
They've been very impressive, and with eye-candy like Marco Verratti on the pitch, what's not to like?

They have peaked too soon.
5 years ago Portugal struggled to get out of the group before winning it

Marc Meakin wrote: ↑Sun Jun 20, 2021 8:24 pm They have peaked too soon.
5 years ago Portugal struggled to get out of the group before winning it

Portugal! Another team that are well worth a look!


I get what you are saying with the "peaked too early" comment... but there are plenty of examples of teams that won tournaments like this and looked strong from the outset, (e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro_2008), so with that in mind - FORZA ITALIA!

The peaking too soon thing sounds like superstition.

Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Mon Jun 21, 2021 7:28 am The peaking too soon thing sounds like superstition.

I tend to agree. It's true that none of the eventual World Cup and Euros winners since 2008 won all three group games, but Portugal in 2016 is very much an outlier nevertheless. All the other tournament winners still managed to come first in their groups.

At most, a team that overperforms at one stage might deprive themselves of energy for later games. In Italy's case, they have played three opponents who were clearly weaker than them on paper and rested a number of players for the third one. I don't think that'll do them too much harm.

On the other hand, while the cliché "you can only beat what's in front of you" isn't untrue, we may have a better idea of Italy's chances once they come up against a higher level of opposition.

I know I am clutching at straws but when Greece won in 2004 they were boring negative and difficult to score against which, so far is how England are performing like.

L'oisleatch McGraw wrote: ↑Mon Jun 21, 2021 1:19 am
Portugal! Another team that are well worth a look!

https://www.spiegel.de/international/eu ... 41349.html

What is wrong with UEFA?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/football/57564093
Neur also censured for wearing a rainbow captains armband
No poppies
But taking the knee ok

Marc Meakin wrote: ↑Tue Jun 22, 2021 9:50 am What is wrong with UEFA?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/football/57564093
Neur also censured for wearing a rainbow captains armband
No poppies
But taking the knee ok

Well, it was announced before this that Neuer won't be censured, and refusing permission for poppies was a FIFA decision rather than UEFA.

But I agree this is nonsense. They couldn't drop their "no to racism" campaigning or stop promoting women's football because one repressive government announced they were going to crack down on the rights of women or a particular ethnic group, but that seems to be the logic they're using here.

As I think Noel mentioned on the politics thread, perhaps this shows complete political neutrality to be an impossibility.

[Double post - again - sorry]

I'm trying to be generous in my reading of UEFA's comments about the plans for the rainbow on the Munich stadium but I'm struggling to interpret it as anything less than 'we're all for posturing on political issues... right up until the point that it's relevant and might be positively impactful'. It really seems to me to be an implicit admission that it's all tokenism to them. Pretty pathetic. Light the damn stadium up or be consistent in not allowing 'political' gestures.

Phil H wrote: ↑Tue Jun 22, 2021 10:27 am As I think Noel mentioned on the politics thread, perhaps this shows complete political neutrality to be an impossibility.

Good point.

By the way I was talking to a friend the other day (someone who's actually into football, unlike me), and I asked him about who's better between Messi and Ronaldo (Cristiano that is, not the real Ronaldo). He said that Messi's skill comes more from artistry, whereas Ronaldo is more about physical presence. He also said that Ronaldo fans are more likely to be Brexit-voting knuckle-draggers, or words to that effect. Where does that sit with the c4c football experts?

Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Tue Jun 22, 2021 6:19 pm By the way I was talking to a friend the other day (someone who's actually into football, unlike me), and I asked him about who's better between Messi and Ronaldo (Cristiano that is, not the real Ronaldo). He said that Messi's skill comes more from artistry, whereas Ronaldo is more about physical presence. He also said that Ronaldo fans are more likely to be Brexit-voting knuckle-draggers, or words to that effect. Where does that sit with the c4c football experts?

The components of footballing ability can be categorised into 3 groups: mental, technical, physical (and yes, these are the categories that the Football Manager games use). The debate is endless as to which of Ronaldo and Messi leads in the first two categories, but it's quite obvious that Ronaldo excels in the physical department. I think some people sneer at physicality in football (and perhaps other sports too) as if physical attributes are less valuable, important, or admirable than mental or technical attributes. Some even seem to consider them to be somewhat 'base', hence the allusion to knuckle-dragging. It seems one part of this attitude is the belief that physical attributes are largely inherited and unearnt (Ronaldo is taller and has a bulkier frame than Messi so of course he's going to be better in aerial duels, etc).

I think this is bollocks. We should be analysing Ronaldo and Messi as football players, which means analysing football. Not walking football, with a five-a-side style 'nothing above head height' rule. Pace, acceleration, strength, power, endurance, jumping, heading; these are part of football. If someone doesn't like them in football then they need to accept these attributes are part of football whether they like it or not, admit that they therefore don't really like football for what it is, and leave debates on football to those that do. In particular the sneering at physicality as if it isn't sophisticated on an artistic or intellectual level really annoys me, but that's a phenomenon that goes well beyond football. At some point maybe these righteous pseudointellectuals will realise physical fitness, strength, and conditioning are at least equal to - if not greater than - artistic or intellectual endeavours.

"No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable." - Socrates.

Anyway, as for the Ronaldo/Messi thing: someone at my local pub (this someone may or may not have been me) once conducted a survey there to determine a hypothesised correlation (it's a very intellectual pub) between preference of Ronaldo or Messi with preference of arse or tits. While there were a few outliers, there was an undeniable trend for tit-lovers to prefer Messi and arsemen to prefer Ronaldo. I'm not sure what this finding says, but I think it says it emphatically. Make of it what you will.

I did not expect such a detailed response. Thank you for that, Callum, you meathead.