So that’s that then. After fifty-one games, it turns out that Portugal are the best team in Europe. Who would have predicted that? Particularly after they lost their first qualifying game to Albania. Literally no-one fancied Portugal even with their superstar striker. But this is obviously the year when strange things happen in football. No doubt the Portuguese version of Gary Lineker is preparing to present their football highlights programme in his underpants.
I started supporting the Portuguese after Ronaldo’s injury. Up to that point, I’d wanted France to win because they were the better team and it was in France and also, I thought it would be funny to see Cristiano Ronaldo crying. But when he got injured and taken off after fifteen minutes and actually cried, I felt terrible. I felt like I’d in some way contributed to this man’s lifetime dream being shattered in front of the eyes of the world. I hadn’t of course. Dimitri Payet had done that with what could be classed as a firm tackle.
At that moment, I switched sides. I wasn’t actively cheering them on you understand. I was just less against them winning. I find it weird that I can dislike a team for playing exactly the same way as the Italians even though I really like the Italians. I think it’s got a lot to do with the play acting which Portugal seem to excel at. Particularly Pepe. But there’s been very little of that at this tournament and as the game wore on, I slowly started to warm to them. They’d lost their one world class player but they kept plugging away and they had the odd chance as well.
It was also because France did not go for the jugular. The French have an exciting array of talent at their disposal but they were a bit conservative. Any team that brings on Gignac before Martial is a bit too pragmatic for my liking. I’d like to have seen a bit more derring do. Sissokho had a good turn and shot in the first half, Grieszman should have scored a header in the second half and France almost won it in injury time when Gignac left Pepe on his arse and mishit a shot that hit the post. And that was it.
During extra time, nothing much happened and we all thought that this rather tame affair would end in penalties. And then out of nowhere, Eder turned Laurent Koscielny and thumped the ball into the bottom corner from twenty yards. A dull game won by an excellent goal.
Ronaldo might be a selfish individualist but there was no disguising his desperation for the final whistle to go and his joy when it did. Although he didn’t play much of a part in the final, he still got three goals in the tournament. He deserves this moment as much as any of the others. I’m sure that in that moment, it crossed his mind that Lionel Messi has never won a senior title with Argentina.
As for France, they’ll go away and lick their wounds. It wasn’t the healing victory that they would’ve hoped for but the tournament passed off without any major incidents and I think if you’d offered them that at the beginning, they’d have taken it.
Highpoints - Wales victory over Belgium was brilliant. In fact the whole Wales adventure was great. Closely followed by Irelands late winner against Italy. Such a beautiful moment. I also enjoyed Hungary striker Adam Szalai ending his forty-four game barren spell by scoring the winner against Austria in front of his own fans and most of Iceland’s unexpected run to the quarter finals.
Lowpoints - The one bit of Iceland’s run I didn’t enjoy was of course England’s defeat to them in the last sixteen. England have been bad at tournaments in the past but this was a new low. One of the worst performances I’ve ever seen. It won’t make me stop supporting England completely but at the World Cup, I think I’ll hold back on fully committing until I see something worth fully committing to. I’ve been let down once too often. Also, the crowd violence in Marseille. England fans are a lot better behaved than they ever used to be but we still have a minority that makes most of us embarrassed. But the Russians have taken it to another level completely and that needs seriously looking at. I really can’t imagine why anyone would want to go to the World Cup there in two years time.
As for the tournament as a whole, it never really got going and there wasn’t a single great game although Wales v Belgium was compelling viewing. I’m not sure international football is all that good anymore although I imagine Welsh fans might disagree. I just don’t think it’s as exciting as the later stages of the Champions League although that has its own issues. There are too many negative tactics and it might be worth it for UEFA to look at ways of incentivising teams to make them go for it a bit more. I also think that missing a semi-final for two yellow cards in five games is a bit harsh.
That’s also it for this blog. Thanks for reading it. The Premier League season starts in thirty-three days.
Monday, 11 July 2016
Friday, 8 July 2016
Almost Done
So the hosts are in the final and this is a good thing. Vive La France. The streets of Paris were a happy place to be last night and this has not always been the case in the last year. France are not the finished article but they’ve got some very good players and the tournaments outstanding striker so they just about deserve it. Germany may feel a bit aggrieved about the way things went last night seeing as they had most of the possession. But they created very few chances and it’s possible they wouldn’t have scored even if they were still playing.
It did occur to me that if things had worked out differently, England could’ve been playing Germany last night. In which case, I’d have been writing this blog in total misery having watched us once again lose on penalties to a team we’d pushed all the way. Sadly, England are not even good enough to get to that point nowadays.
If I’m honest, I’ve sort of had enough of the Euros. I start to feel this way quite often with major tournaments but I had high hopes for this one. I liked the twenty-four team format and the fact that it gave the lesser teams a chance of progressing to the knock-out stages. But last nights game was representative of the tournament as a whole. For the first fifteen minutes, it looked like it was going to be a great game but it never really took off.
Maybe it’s familiarity. I’ve seen a lot of big international tournaments and they always seem to tail off if your team is not involved. And my team is hardly ever involved. It’s also the fact that very little is particularly exotic anymore. I remember a time when I might have recognised a couple of players from Croatia or Portugal for example but now, I’ve seen quite a lot of them play in the Premier League or Champions League. Or perhaps it’s the abject failure of the England team. Of course we should expect exactly what happened to have happened but even still, it came as a shock didn’t it? How could we be SO shit?
I guess that’s why Iceland have been so refreshing. Aside from two of the players, I’d never heard of any of them. Maybe we need more new countries to qualify. Malta perhaps. Or Belarus. I don’t really care who. I just want some pictures of ten thousand people in a town square in a country I’ve never been to celebrating after an improbable win over a better team.
Whatever, I’ll be glad when it’s over. I’ll watch the final of course. I’ve seen most of the games and I need completion. It would be like spending forty hours on a two thousand piece jigsaw and then not putting the final piece in. I hope France stuff Portugal but then aside from people who are actually Portuguese, so do most people.
It did occur to me that if things had worked out differently, England could’ve been playing Germany last night. In which case, I’d have been writing this blog in total misery having watched us once again lose on penalties to a team we’d pushed all the way. Sadly, England are not even good enough to get to that point nowadays.
If I’m honest, I’ve sort of had enough of the Euros. I start to feel this way quite often with major tournaments but I had high hopes for this one. I liked the twenty-four team format and the fact that it gave the lesser teams a chance of progressing to the knock-out stages. But last nights game was representative of the tournament as a whole. For the first fifteen minutes, it looked like it was going to be a great game but it never really took off.
Maybe it’s familiarity. I’ve seen a lot of big international tournaments and they always seem to tail off if your team is not involved. And my team is hardly ever involved. It’s also the fact that very little is particularly exotic anymore. I remember a time when I might have recognised a couple of players from Croatia or Portugal for example but now, I’ve seen quite a lot of them play in the Premier League or Champions League. Or perhaps it’s the abject failure of the England team. Of course we should expect exactly what happened to have happened but even still, it came as a shock didn’t it? How could we be SO shit?
I guess that’s why Iceland have been so refreshing. Aside from two of the players, I’d never heard of any of them. Maybe we need more new countries to qualify. Malta perhaps. Or Belarus. I don’t really care who. I just want some pictures of ten thousand people in a town square in a country I’ve never been to celebrating after an improbable win over a better team.
Whatever, I’ll be glad when it’s over. I’ll watch the final of course. I’ve seen most of the games and I need completion. It would be like spending forty hours on a two thousand piece jigsaw and then not putting the final piece in. I hope France stuff Portugal but then aside from people who are actually Portuguese, so do most people.
Thursday, 7 July 2016
Goodbye to Wales
The dream is finally over. Wales couldn’t repeat their glorious victory over Belgium and went out at the semi-final stage to possibly the worst team, bar Greece to ever reach a European Championships final. But as their players and fans have all been saying since last night, they should hold their heads up very high.
Certain parts of the British Isles have not had a lot to smile about in the last few weeks. Politics doesn’t seem to be working, the England football team is even worse than it has been in the past and the weather has been shit. But the performance of first Northern Ireland and then Wales has made everyone and I include most open minded English people in this a little bit better about ourselves. Perhaps these Islands can produce happiness and sporting excellence after all.
In hindsight, although Wales are not a two man team, they are massively reliant on those two men. Gareth Bale was obviously still one of the best two players on the pitch although it’s possible he was trying just a bit too hard last night. But in full flow, he’s still a sight to behold and there’s really nothing he can’t do with a football. When most players get the ball forty yards out, my first thought is not ‘go on, have a shot’. But with him, you think ‘why not?’. As for Aaron Ramsey, losing him was a huge blow for Wales. He was the glue that held everything together. It’s hard to believe that the guy I’ve watched labouring in Arsenal’s midfield for the last few seasons is the same person who has appeared to be one of the best players in Europe these last three weeks.
As for the rest of the team and the squad, it’s only when they were bringing on the substitutes that I stated to realise the magnitude of the achievement. Simon Church (“who’s that?” said me. “He plays for Milton Keynes Dons” said my son), Johnny Williams (“who does he play for?” said me. “No idea” said my son). It’s phenomenal what they’ve done.
Chris Coleman should get so much credit. He’s taken a team that often pulled in three or four thousand for international matches and transformed them into a team that will be greeted by hundreds of thousands of fans when they land in Wales sometime on Friday morning.
As for Portugal, they are so unadventurous and lacking in style that I can barely watch them. And I fervently hope that France or Germany beat them in the final. But it’s always worth tuning in to see Ronaldo. And that header was a thing of beauty. Whatever you may think of this preening, selfish narcissist, there is no doubt that when he puts his mind to it, he’s a great athlete. If Wales were going to lose, at least they lost to greatness.
Certain parts of the British Isles have not had a lot to smile about in the last few weeks. Politics doesn’t seem to be working, the England football team is even worse than it has been in the past and the weather has been shit. But the performance of first Northern Ireland and then Wales has made everyone and I include most open minded English people in this a little bit better about ourselves. Perhaps these Islands can produce happiness and sporting excellence after all.
In hindsight, although Wales are not a two man team, they are massively reliant on those two men. Gareth Bale was obviously still one of the best two players on the pitch although it’s possible he was trying just a bit too hard last night. But in full flow, he’s still a sight to behold and there’s really nothing he can’t do with a football. When most players get the ball forty yards out, my first thought is not ‘go on, have a shot’. But with him, you think ‘why not?’. As for Aaron Ramsey, losing him was a huge blow for Wales. He was the glue that held everything together. It’s hard to believe that the guy I’ve watched labouring in Arsenal’s midfield for the last few seasons is the same person who has appeared to be one of the best players in Europe these last three weeks.
As for the rest of the team and the squad, it’s only when they were bringing on the substitutes that I stated to realise the magnitude of the achievement. Simon Church (“who’s that?” said me. “He plays for Milton Keynes Dons” said my son), Johnny Williams (“who does he play for?” said me. “No idea” said my son). It’s phenomenal what they’ve done.
Chris Coleman should get so much credit. He’s taken a team that often pulled in three or four thousand for international matches and transformed them into a team that will be greeted by hundreds of thousands of fans when they land in Wales sometime on Friday morning.
As for Portugal, they are so unadventurous and lacking in style that I can barely watch them. And I fervently hope that France or Germany beat them in the final. But it’s always worth tuning in to see Ronaldo. And that header was a thing of beauty. Whatever you may think of this preening, selfish narcissist, there is no doubt that when he puts his mind to it, he’s a great athlete. If Wales were going to lose, at least they lost to greatness.
Monday, 4 July 2016
Thanks for (most of) the memories
So Iceland are out and thanks for the memories (except for the Round of 16 game. I’m still trying to forget that one). The smallest country ever to appear at the Euros are on their way home. Their fans have been a delight and their team played with heart and desire.
But this looked like a game too far. France methodically picked them off and at half time, you feared that their great adventure may well end in humiliation. Iceland finally began to look like a team that hadn’t made a single change to their starting line up. But they pulled themselves together, put up a spirited performance and scored a couple of consolation goals.
In truth though, the contest was over after twenty minutes. My main feelings were elsewhere. I know I wasn’t the only one who sat there watching it thinking “how could England lose to these?” Iceland would, I think, struggle to stay in the Premier League. I think most teams, with even a semblance of defensive nous would learn how to deal with their fairly basic tactics. But England are of course not a team with any defensive nous. And that’s the least of their problems.
Dietmar Hamman was interviewed in one of the newspapers and was talking about how English football is a mess. There were a lot of good points that came out of what he said but one of the main things he mentioned was that English footballers are not educated to the same level as their foreign counterparts. This is not to say that they’re thick although there’s no doubt that some of them might not be college material.
It’s more that they’re not curious about the world. Most English footballers cannot wait to leave school and start playing. One imagines school for them has been one long period spent waiting for break time so they can kick a ball around. To a certain extent this is understandable. One would need that obsession to make it in professional football. And the clubs don’t help. They get these kids as ten year olds, put them into academies and their schooling takes a back seat. I’m not saying that you need to be Steven Hawking to play professional football (write your own jokes if you need to) but a little interest in other things can’t hurt. One only has to see Spanish or German footballers interviewed often in a second or third language to realise how bright they are.
I wrote yesterday that the hotel had to remove the chandeliers for fear that they might get smashed by the players. This tells me that although they might be grown men with expensive cars and watches and facial hair, they’re basically still children. Which is OK in the Premier League because they’re surrounded by adult foreigners. But not so good at international level when the pressure gets too much, they look around and all they can see are other children. No wonder we fail miserably every time.
And then there’s the money. As well as having the best paid manager, the England squad would almost certainly be the best paid at these championships. And the more they’re paid, the worse England seem to be getting. This can’t be a coincidence. Paying a seventeen year old twenty grand a week cannot be good for his mental wellbeing or his desire to progress. If I was making twenty grand a week, I’d be tempted to sit back just a little bit.
Anyway, that’s enough about England. I don’t really want to think about them anymore. I think they should be shunned for a while. Like lepers. Let’s all get behind the Welsh to beat Portugal and make Ronaldo cry.
But this looked like a game too far. France methodically picked them off and at half time, you feared that their great adventure may well end in humiliation. Iceland finally began to look like a team that hadn’t made a single change to their starting line up. But they pulled themselves together, put up a spirited performance and scored a couple of consolation goals.
In truth though, the contest was over after twenty minutes. My main feelings were elsewhere. I know I wasn’t the only one who sat there watching it thinking “how could England lose to these?” Iceland would, I think, struggle to stay in the Premier League. I think most teams, with even a semblance of defensive nous would learn how to deal with their fairly basic tactics. But England are of course not a team with any defensive nous. And that’s the least of their problems.
Dietmar Hamman was interviewed in one of the newspapers and was talking about how English football is a mess. There were a lot of good points that came out of what he said but one of the main things he mentioned was that English footballers are not educated to the same level as their foreign counterparts. This is not to say that they’re thick although there’s no doubt that some of them might not be college material.
It’s more that they’re not curious about the world. Most English footballers cannot wait to leave school and start playing. One imagines school for them has been one long period spent waiting for break time so they can kick a ball around. To a certain extent this is understandable. One would need that obsession to make it in professional football. And the clubs don’t help. They get these kids as ten year olds, put them into academies and their schooling takes a back seat. I’m not saying that you need to be Steven Hawking to play professional football (write your own jokes if you need to) but a little interest in other things can’t hurt. One only has to see Spanish or German footballers interviewed often in a second or third language to realise how bright they are.
I wrote yesterday that the hotel had to remove the chandeliers for fear that they might get smashed by the players. This tells me that although they might be grown men with expensive cars and watches and facial hair, they’re basically still children. Which is OK in the Premier League because they’re surrounded by adult foreigners. But not so good at international level when the pressure gets too much, they look around and all they can see are other children. No wonder we fail miserably every time.
And then there’s the money. As well as having the best paid manager, the England squad would almost certainly be the best paid at these championships. And the more they’re paid, the worse England seem to be getting. This can’t be a coincidence. Paying a seventeen year old twenty grand a week cannot be good for his mental wellbeing or his desire to progress. If I was making twenty grand a week, I’d be tempted to sit back just a little bit.
Anyway, that’s enough about England. I don’t really want to think about them anymore. I think they should be shunned for a while. Like lepers. Let’s all get behind the Welsh to beat Portugal and make Ronaldo cry.
Sunday, 3 July 2016
The Zaza Shuffle
I didn’t watch the whole Germany v Italy game and according to my less than complimentary Twitter timeline, it sounds like I dodged a bullet. Heavyweight clashes can often be a bit like this. Teams are too well set up and know too much about their opponents and they cancel each other out. Commentators will compare what we’re watching to a game of chess and I often think to myself that I wouldn’t spend two hours watching a game of chess.
I watched the highlights when I got home and I was a bit gutted for the Italians, particularly Gianluigi Buffon who is one of the coolest people on the planet and made an absolutely fantastic save. As for the penalties, I know people said it was the worst shoot out ever but try and remember that the goalkeepers were Buffon and Manuel Neuer, probably the best two keepers in the world. Germany scored six out of nine, Italy five. Try and imagine how many England would’ve scored.
Zaza’s run up caused much hilarity and rightly so. As my fourteen year old said “if you’re going to do a run up like that, you absolutely HAVE to score”. It was without doubt the silliest run up I’ve ever seen but if he’d have scored, no-one would’ve cared.
In other news, reports have emerged from the England camp about differences in opinion between Roy Hodgson and his coaches particularly Gary Neville. It’s impossible to know if there’s any truth behind any of these reports. But we all watched England play and no-one could deny that this was a team without a clear sense of who they were or what their style of football was. And getting mixed messages from the manager and the coaching staff would certainly not help.
On top of that, the report said that the Football Association was so concerned about high jinks at the team’s base in Chantilly, the £500-a-night Auberge du Jeu de Paume was told to remove its chandeliers before the players arrived or risk them being smashed. The hotel reopened this weekend and staff have revealed they took down their most expensive glass fittings because the FA was worried they might be damaged.
While I’m appalled by this story, I’m not really surprised. So there you have it. England failed because we had 1) management who couldn’t agree tactics and offered no clear direction and 2) players, some of whom are basically morons, who didn’t know what they were meant to do. No wonder we were so shit.
I watched the highlights when I got home and I was a bit gutted for the Italians, particularly Gianluigi Buffon who is one of the coolest people on the planet and made an absolutely fantastic save. As for the penalties, I know people said it was the worst shoot out ever but try and remember that the goalkeepers were Buffon and Manuel Neuer, probably the best two keepers in the world. Germany scored six out of nine, Italy five. Try and imagine how many England would’ve scored.
Zaza’s run up caused much hilarity and rightly so. As my fourteen year old said “if you’re going to do a run up like that, you absolutely HAVE to score”. It was without doubt the silliest run up I’ve ever seen but if he’d have scored, no-one would’ve cared.
In other news, reports have emerged from the England camp about differences in opinion between Roy Hodgson and his coaches particularly Gary Neville. It’s impossible to know if there’s any truth behind any of these reports. But we all watched England play and no-one could deny that this was a team without a clear sense of who they were or what their style of football was. And getting mixed messages from the manager and the coaching staff would certainly not help.
On top of that, the report said that the Football Association was so concerned about high jinks at the team’s base in Chantilly, the £500-a-night Auberge du Jeu de Paume was told to remove its chandeliers before the players arrived or risk them being smashed. The hotel reopened this weekend and staff have revealed they took down their most expensive glass fittings because the FA was worried they might be damaged.
While I’m appalled by this story, I’m not really surprised. So there you have it. England failed because we had 1) management who couldn’t agree tactics and offered no clear direction and 2) players, some of whom are basically morons, who didn’t know what they were meant to do. No wonder we were so shit.
Saturday, 2 July 2016
All Hail Wales
Last night was one of the best things I’ve ever seen in football. Wales outplayed the team ranked second in the world and they did it playing the sort of football that England can only dream of. They played with heart, desire and tremendous skill against a team that contained some genuinely world class players. It was magical. To be fair, the whole Wales story has been magical. 1-0 down to Andorra in the first qualifier, on one of those plastic pitches where all the black bits somehow end up in your trainers, Gareth Bale scores two goals and they nick it 2-1. And they haven’t really looked back. This is a team that have now won two and drawn one against Belgium who must be sick of the sight of them.
When Naingollan scored that fantastic goal after fifteen minutes, I feared for the Welsh. Yes, they qualified top from what might turn out to be the weakest group and beat Northern Ireland in the first knock out game but this was the real deal. 1-0 down in a quarter final against one of the best teams in the world. Surely the journey ends here.
But this Wales team are made of stronger stuff and they came back at the Belgians. After not scoring for six years, Neil Taylor has now become a danger in the opposition penalty box and he almost scored the equaliser. And then Ashley Williams was given a free header six years out, Kevin De Bruyne went wandering from the post and it was 1-1. It turns out that it doesn’t matter how good your forwards are. If you’ve lost half of your first choice defenders, you’re going to struggle at set pieces.
After the break, it was to and fro and Belgium had their chances. But then Gareth Bale pinged a forty yard pass to Aaron Ramsey, he knocked it inside to Hal Robson Kanu. And Robson Kanu, currently without a club contract, sent three Belgium players the wrong way with a Cruyff turn and cooly slotted the ball past Thibault Courtois. What The Actual Fuck! Possibly the goal of the tournament. This wasn’t Brazil, this was Wales. And after a few scares, Chris Gunther crossed the ball and Sam Vokes produced a perfect header and Wales were in the semi-final.
The Wales fans were singing ‘Are you watching England?’ One would hope that the England players, on holiday in their luxury villas were watching this game and feeling just a touch embarrassed. Or is that too much to hope for?
One more thing. Two bookings in five games is not enough to be banned for the semi-final of the European Championships. Aaron Ramsey has a shot at being player of the tournament and I sincerely hope he gets the chance to play in the final.
When Naingollan scored that fantastic goal after fifteen minutes, I feared for the Welsh. Yes, they qualified top from what might turn out to be the weakest group and beat Northern Ireland in the first knock out game but this was the real deal. 1-0 down in a quarter final against one of the best teams in the world. Surely the journey ends here.
But this Wales team are made of stronger stuff and they came back at the Belgians. After not scoring for six years, Neil Taylor has now become a danger in the opposition penalty box and he almost scored the equaliser. And then Ashley Williams was given a free header six years out, Kevin De Bruyne went wandering from the post and it was 1-1. It turns out that it doesn’t matter how good your forwards are. If you’ve lost half of your first choice defenders, you’re going to struggle at set pieces.
After the break, it was to and fro and Belgium had their chances. But then Gareth Bale pinged a forty yard pass to Aaron Ramsey, he knocked it inside to Hal Robson Kanu. And Robson Kanu, currently without a club contract, sent three Belgium players the wrong way with a Cruyff turn and cooly slotted the ball past Thibault Courtois. What The Actual Fuck! Possibly the goal of the tournament. This wasn’t Brazil, this was Wales. And after a few scares, Chris Gunther crossed the ball and Sam Vokes produced a perfect header and Wales were in the semi-final.
The Wales fans were singing ‘Are you watching England?’ One would hope that the England players, on holiday in their luxury villas were watching this game and feeling just a touch embarrassed. Or is that too much to hope for?
One more thing. Two bookings in five games is not enough to be banned for the semi-final of the European Championships. Aaron Ramsey has a shot at being player of the tournament and I sincerely hope he gets the chance to play in the final.
Friday, 1 July 2016
Wales
I didn’t write a Euro 2016 blog yesterday. There hadn’t been a game for a couple of days and it seemed like a good day to take a break. I’d normally write the blog around eleven in the morning and post it shortly after that. But around the same time, Michael Gove said he’d run for the leadership of the Tory party, Boris Johnson backed out of the same race and the meeting that had been called to demonstrate Labours commitment to fight anti-semitism was derailed by the leader making what could be construed as an anti-semitic comment. Subsequently, my Twitter account lost it’s mind for a couple of hours and I just thought a quirky football blog might get lost in the general excitement.
The thought of Portugal v Poland that evening was not exactly one to stir the blood. Poland are a workmanlike team with only one recognisable star and pretty much the same could be said for Portugal. No-one was predicting a thriller although even then, I think we were all surprised by how bad it actually was. And for Portugal to have reached the semi-finals without having won a single game within ninety minutes is quite impressive if you’re impressed by that sort of thing. Which I’m not.
Tonight has much more potential. Wales and Belgium have a lovely contrast in styles and there’s something great about these two teams meeting in the quarter finals having come out of the same qualifying group. Wales had the upper hand in those games and Gareth Bale has said that beating them at home was the moment that this team moved to the next level. Although I’d suggest that the moment Mrs Bale gave birth to a phenomenal athlete like Gareth might also be considered very significant.
Wales are definitely not a one man team but Bale is an enormous talent who has made a huge contribution on and off the pitch. He’s the one who seems to be doing most of the press conferences. Partly, it’s because he’d be the one player that all the press have heard of but also because he’s a natural. There are no Welsh FA minders sitting next to him and reminding him what the company line is. He just sits there, a man who knows he’s one of the best players in the world, gently taking the piss out of England. And more importantly, he scored against Slovakia, scored against England, scored and assisted a goal against Russia and provided the cross that Northern Ireland’s Gareth Macauley knocked into his own net. It’s safe to say that without him, Wales would not be in the quarter finals. Or even in France.
But having said all that, there is something very together about this Wales squad. Most of them have grown up together and that must help. Also, they’ve been through the massive trauma of Gary Speed dying and the bond they’ve formed seems very strong indeed. I genuinely hope they go all the way although Hazard and De Bruyne are massive obstacles to that happening. I’m just hoping that’s it better than Portugal v Poland.
The thought of Portugal v Poland that evening was not exactly one to stir the blood. Poland are a workmanlike team with only one recognisable star and pretty much the same could be said for Portugal. No-one was predicting a thriller although even then, I think we were all surprised by how bad it actually was. And for Portugal to have reached the semi-finals without having won a single game within ninety minutes is quite impressive if you’re impressed by that sort of thing. Which I’m not.
Tonight has much more potential. Wales and Belgium have a lovely contrast in styles and there’s something great about these two teams meeting in the quarter finals having come out of the same qualifying group. Wales had the upper hand in those games and Gareth Bale has said that beating them at home was the moment that this team moved to the next level. Although I’d suggest that the moment Mrs Bale gave birth to a phenomenal athlete like Gareth might also be considered very significant.
Wales are definitely not a one man team but Bale is an enormous talent who has made a huge contribution on and off the pitch. He’s the one who seems to be doing most of the press conferences. Partly, it’s because he’d be the one player that all the press have heard of but also because he’s a natural. There are no Welsh FA minders sitting next to him and reminding him what the company line is. He just sits there, a man who knows he’s one of the best players in the world, gently taking the piss out of England. And more importantly, he scored against Slovakia, scored against England, scored and assisted a goal against Russia and provided the cross that Northern Ireland’s Gareth Macauley knocked into his own net. It’s safe to say that without him, Wales would not be in the quarter finals. Or even in France.
But having said all that, there is something very together about this Wales squad. Most of them have grown up together and that must help. Also, they’ve been through the massive trauma of Gary Speed dying and the bond they’ve formed seems very strong indeed. I genuinely hope they go all the way although Hazard and De Bruyne are massive obstacles to that happening. I’m just hoping that’s it better than Portugal v Poland.
Wednesday, 29 June 2016
We broke Roy
It’s the day after the day after the night before and like Every England defeat, it gets easier with time. A Welsh friend of mine came up to me last night and asked if I was OK. I said that I was and it was true. It’s not like I haven’t had practice at dealing with England’s failure at major tournaments. Anyway, what else was I going to do? Break down in tears and fall into his arms?
Of course I hated what happened on monday night. Every England football fan did. It was embarrassing and pitiful. But I’ve seen variations on that before. I’m reading lots of articles expressing surprise at that performance. ‘Where did that come from?’ type pieces. Whereas we all know exactly where that came from. It came from the Premier League, the “best league in the world” according to the people who sell it overseas.
We’ve all seen all these players perform well in the Premier League. England finished the game with last seasons two top goalscorer on the field and I don’t think they would’ve scored if they were still there now. Wayne Rooney played for eighty-seven minutes and he looked like someone who’d never played the game before. Joe Hart made one of the best saves I’ve ever seen against Swansea last season but his (dandruff free) head looked shot to pieces. This is what playing for England can do to a person.
And yet they still think they’re brilliant. One of the Icelandic players was saying how much motivation he got from overhearing Joe Hart say to the rest of the players at half time that we really can’t play that badly against France or we’ll get beaten. At half time! When we were already getting beaten by Iceland. He also overheard Harry Kane ask the referee if losing the game meant that England were out. The arrogance is staggering. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that people paid enormous sums of money and feted wherever they go lose a sense of perspective. I know I would.
And that’s where the manager comes in. He’s the one who’s meant to tell them to stop getting ahead of themselves. Personally, I’d have taken Joe Hart off at half time but if I’d have heard him mention the France game, in the tunnel within earshot of the opposition, I’d have completely lost my shit with him. But Roy’s not that sort of guy. Imagine what Antonio Conte would’ve said in that situation. Or Slaven Bilic.
I’ve always liked Roy Hodgson but on monday night, he looked like a man without a clue what he was meant to do next. I totally get the fact that it’s much easier to manage a team from the comfort of ones living room having had a couple of beers. We can all do that. But performing under pressure is what the job is. And neither Roy nor the players could handle it.
On Tuesday afternoon, Roy was dragged into a press conference by his FA bosses. He looked shattered. He said he didn’t know what he was doing there and I could only agree. As much as I wanted an explanation for what we’d witnessed the night before, I knew he couldn’t offer one. This England job breaks managers and it’s broken another one
I feel sorry for the fans who travelled out. Most of them support lower league clubs and they spend their hard earned cash following their country to summer tournaments. And it always ends in failure. I’m sure they have a good time in between games but it always goes the same way. There’s a very funny Youtube clip of a Charlton fan, during the game, swearing mightily and complaining about how he’s been let down again. It ends with him saying “I’ve had a shit season and now I’m having a shit summer”. Haven’t we all.
Of course I hated what happened on monday night. Every England football fan did. It was embarrassing and pitiful. But I’ve seen variations on that before. I’m reading lots of articles expressing surprise at that performance. ‘Where did that come from?’ type pieces. Whereas we all know exactly where that came from. It came from the Premier League, the “best league in the world” according to the people who sell it overseas.
We’ve all seen all these players perform well in the Premier League. England finished the game with last seasons two top goalscorer on the field and I don’t think they would’ve scored if they were still there now. Wayne Rooney played for eighty-seven minutes and he looked like someone who’d never played the game before. Joe Hart made one of the best saves I’ve ever seen against Swansea last season but his (dandruff free) head looked shot to pieces. This is what playing for England can do to a person.
And yet they still think they’re brilliant. One of the Icelandic players was saying how much motivation he got from overhearing Joe Hart say to the rest of the players at half time that we really can’t play that badly against France or we’ll get beaten. At half time! When we were already getting beaten by Iceland. He also overheard Harry Kane ask the referee if losing the game meant that England were out. The arrogance is staggering. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that people paid enormous sums of money and feted wherever they go lose a sense of perspective. I know I would.
And that’s where the manager comes in. He’s the one who’s meant to tell them to stop getting ahead of themselves. Personally, I’d have taken Joe Hart off at half time but if I’d have heard him mention the France game, in the tunnel within earshot of the opposition, I’d have completely lost my shit with him. But Roy’s not that sort of guy. Imagine what Antonio Conte would’ve said in that situation. Or Slaven Bilic.
I’ve always liked Roy Hodgson but on monday night, he looked like a man without a clue what he was meant to do next. I totally get the fact that it’s much easier to manage a team from the comfort of ones living room having had a couple of beers. We can all do that. But performing under pressure is what the job is. And neither Roy nor the players could handle it.
On Tuesday afternoon, Roy was dragged into a press conference by his FA bosses. He looked shattered. He said he didn’t know what he was doing there and I could only agree. As much as I wanted an explanation for what we’d witnessed the night before, I knew he couldn’t offer one. This England job breaks managers and it’s broken another one
I feel sorry for the fans who travelled out. Most of them support lower league clubs and they spend their hard earned cash following their country to summer tournaments. And it always ends in failure. I’m sure they have a good time in between games but it always goes the same way. There’s a very funny Youtube clip of a Charlton fan, during the game, swearing mightily and complaining about how he’s been let down again. It ends with him saying “I’ve had a shit season and now I’m having a shit summer”. Haven’t we all.
Tuesday, 28 June 2016
Worse than Croydon
This piece contains one or two sentences borrowed from a piece I wrote six years ago just after we’d been beaten 4-1 by Germany at the World Cup in South Africa. Some of it is still relevant now and no doubt will be in fifty years when our Grandchildren are watching us lose to The Maldives in World Cup 2066
Well, that was shit. I knew there was anti-European sentiment in the country but I had no idea it extended to the England team. That performance was the worst thing I’ve ever watched. I’ve seen England draw with Algeria when we couldn’t string two passes together. I saw England get absolutely stuffed by Germany at the same World Cup and this was worse. I watched England lose to Holland with a goal by a bloke who should’ve been sent off and this was worse. I’ve seen us lose to Germany, on penalties twice in semi-finals and this was worse.
Never has being an England fan felt quite so pointless. Every time they jet off to a tournament in their new suits with the nations hopes pinned firmly on them, you think to yourself “this time, I won’t get drawn in. This time, I won’t fully commit so that when it ends in ignominy and embarrassment, at least I won’t feel quite as desolate”. And then they arrive at a tournament and in the press conferences, they all say how happy they are to be there and how the mood is really good. And you start to think ‘maybe this time’. And they play OK in the Group stages and even though they don’t qualify top, there are signs that things are coming together and you feel a slight sense of optimism. And then last night happens.
You’d think that surely now, as they sit in the airport waiting for their (hopefully massively delayed) flight home, the players in the England team know that they’re nowhere near as good as they thought they were. You’d hope that with their humiliation at the hands of Iceland, the realization might have finally dawned on them that even though they’re on multi-million pound contracts, collectively, we are, as a footballing nation worse than Iceland. Worse than a country with the same number of people as Croydon. Yes, Iceland were immense. They were, fitter and had more imagination, more heart, more team spirit and more skill. But surely our best eleven should be able to beat their best eleven. Shouldn’t they? Apparently not.
I know all the excuses and I’m not going to revisit them here. But something’s going very wrong. My friend asked me last night if England were cursed and I thought ‘we’ve looked for the causes to our multiple failures in all sorts of places. Perhaps we should consider the supernatural. We’ve tried everything else, maybe a witchdoctor might be the answer. Why don’t we sacrifice a chicken and spread it’s entrails over the centre circle at Wembley? Maybe that will help’.
As for Roy, he resigned straight after the game. He read from a statement that sounded like he’d spent some time over it but he insisted he wrote straight after the final whistle. Personally, I’d like to have heard what he thought about that performance but like pretty much everything the FA does, it was mismanaged. Wayne Rooney apologised and Joe Hart apologised but no-one really explained what happened. Possibly because they can’t. Who could explain that?
Well, that was shit. I knew there was anti-European sentiment in the country but I had no idea it extended to the England team. That performance was the worst thing I’ve ever watched. I’ve seen England draw with Algeria when we couldn’t string two passes together. I saw England get absolutely stuffed by Germany at the same World Cup and this was worse. I watched England lose to Holland with a goal by a bloke who should’ve been sent off and this was worse. I’ve seen us lose to Germany, on penalties twice in semi-finals and this was worse.
Never has being an England fan felt quite so pointless. Every time they jet off to a tournament in their new suits with the nations hopes pinned firmly on them, you think to yourself “this time, I won’t get drawn in. This time, I won’t fully commit so that when it ends in ignominy and embarrassment, at least I won’t feel quite as desolate”. And then they arrive at a tournament and in the press conferences, they all say how happy they are to be there and how the mood is really good. And you start to think ‘maybe this time’. And they play OK in the Group stages and even though they don’t qualify top, there are signs that things are coming together and you feel a slight sense of optimism. And then last night happens.
You’d think that surely now, as they sit in the airport waiting for their (hopefully massively delayed) flight home, the players in the England team know that they’re nowhere near as good as they thought they were. You’d hope that with their humiliation at the hands of Iceland, the realization might have finally dawned on them that even though they’re on multi-million pound contracts, collectively, we are, as a footballing nation worse than Iceland. Worse than a country with the same number of people as Croydon. Yes, Iceland were immense. They were, fitter and had more imagination, more heart, more team spirit and more skill. But surely our best eleven should be able to beat their best eleven. Shouldn’t they? Apparently not.
I know all the excuses and I’m not going to revisit them here. But something’s going very wrong. My friend asked me last night if England were cursed and I thought ‘we’ve looked for the causes to our multiple failures in all sorts of places. Perhaps we should consider the supernatural. We’ve tried everything else, maybe a witchdoctor might be the answer. Why don’t we sacrifice a chicken and spread it’s entrails over the centre circle at Wembley? Maybe that will help’.
As for Roy, he resigned straight after the game. He read from a statement that sounded like he’d spent some time over it but he insisted he wrote straight after the final whistle. Personally, I’d like to have heard what he thought about that performance but like pretty much everything the FA does, it was mismanaged. Wayne Rooney apologised and Joe Hart apologised but no-one really explained what happened. Possibly because they can’t. Who could explain that?
Monday, 27 June 2016
Here we go
I'm running around today trying to get things done before five. I don’t want to miss either of the games. First up is Italy against Spain. It’s a bit ridiculous that these two footballing giants are meeting in the second round but these are the anomalies you get when there are twenty-four teams. Italy in particular can feel a bit aggrieved to have won a difficult group and then get drawn against Spain in the first knock out game. Belgium finished below them and ended up spanking Hungary 4-0 last night.
Even with their slightly dubious style of defending, I’ve got a lot of admiration for the Italians. Firstly, they have my favourite national anthem. It’s a great tune and is as unlike the dirge like British national anthem as it’s possible to be. I like watching them singing it. Also, they know how to get a result. I said before their group game against Belgium that it was instructive to watch as the camera panned along the line of players. The Italians looked massively experienced and totally ready. They will take some stopping.
The same could be said for Spain. They are of course the double European Champions and they also won the World Cup in 2010. The team is packed with brilliant footballers and they have Andres Iniesta, a player I believe is as good in his position as anyone ever has been. What a nightmare he must be to play against. Up to this point, I haven’t gone in for predictions in these blogs and I’m not about to start with a game like this. But it will be tight.
And then after the hors d’oeuvres, we have, for the people of England and Iceland the main course. England are massive favourites for this game and that’s only right and proper. Aside from Gylfi Sigurdsson, no-one I know had heard of a single one of their first eleven. That doesn’t mean they’re not good players (Arsenal just spent thirty-million quid on a player I was only vaguely aware of) but it does mean that man for man, we’re better than they are. But there’s no doubt that Iceland are a tight knit group and they’ll have the vociferous backing of one in every twenty-two people from Iceland who will actually be at the game.
I think this match could be incredibly tight. I can’t imagine Iceland doing a huge amount of attacking and if the last three games have shown us anything, it’s that England have difficulty in breaking down packed defences. If England score early, I think they’ll win by two or three. But if it’s still level after seventy-five minutes, we could be looking at penalties. And if that happens, may God have mercy on our souls.
Even with their slightly dubious style of defending, I’ve got a lot of admiration for the Italians. Firstly, they have my favourite national anthem. It’s a great tune and is as unlike the dirge like British national anthem as it’s possible to be. I like watching them singing it. Also, they know how to get a result. I said before their group game against Belgium that it was instructive to watch as the camera panned along the line of players. The Italians looked massively experienced and totally ready. They will take some stopping.
The same could be said for Spain. They are of course the double European Champions and they also won the World Cup in 2010. The team is packed with brilliant footballers and they have Andres Iniesta, a player I believe is as good in his position as anyone ever has been. What a nightmare he must be to play against. Up to this point, I haven’t gone in for predictions in these blogs and I’m not about to start with a game like this. But it will be tight.
And then after the hors d’oeuvres, we have, for the people of England and Iceland the main course. England are massive favourites for this game and that’s only right and proper. Aside from Gylfi Sigurdsson, no-one I know had heard of a single one of their first eleven. That doesn’t mean they’re not good players (Arsenal just spent thirty-million quid on a player I was only vaguely aware of) but it does mean that man for man, we’re better than they are. But there’s no doubt that Iceland are a tight knit group and they’ll have the vociferous backing of one in every twenty-two people from Iceland who will actually be at the game.
I think this match could be incredibly tight. I can’t imagine Iceland doing a huge amount of attacking and if the last three games have shown us anything, it’s that England have difficulty in breaking down packed defences. If England score early, I think they’ll win by two or three. But if it’s still level after seventy-five minutes, we could be looking at penalties. And if that happens, may God have mercy on our souls.
Sunday, 26 June 2016
Lacking in Excitement
Jesus, the all British affair of Wales v Northern Ireland was shit. We had Martin Atkinson as ref as well so the entire pitch was peopled with Brits. It was like a post Brexit version of what the Euros could become and it wasn’t pretty. It looked like a reserve match where a couple of first team players were getting a run out to regain fitness. The first half was as bad a half of football as we’ve seen at these Championships. It got marginally better around the fifty minute mark when Wales had a shot and Northern Ireland crossed the halfway line for a short while. And then it reverted back to sheer soporific boredom until Gareth Bale decided to take control and hit a great cross into what we now call the corridor of uncertainty. And that was that. I’m starting to think that Wales could actually win the bloody thing.
All three knockout games yesterday were pretty poor. I watched some of Switzerland v Poland and it was OK I suppose. The Poles were much better but the truth is, it’s hard to care either way. As a neutral, all you really want are lots of goals, incidents and possibly a bit of ludicrous pushing and shoving. We didn’t get much of any of that although Shaqiri’s goal was lovely and penalty shoot outs are always dramatic.
Modern footballers are just a bit too good nowadays. A bit too well drilled. Very few people make mistakes anymore. Everybody’s first touch is perfect so it’s just a case of defenders shepherding players away from danger. Nobody takes risks anymore. They pass it backwards and forwards across the defence and the opposition push up to deny them space to turn. And then it goes back the other way. In the past, passes might be hit vaguely in the right direction but players would mis-control the ball and give the opposition a chance. Tackles would come flying in and players were scythed down with some regularity. Who wouldn’t like to see Cristiano Ronaldo scythed down once in a while.
Talking of CR7, I had to work last night so I missed almost all of the Croatia v Portugal bore fest. My friends tell me that basically nothing happened for one hundred and twenty minutes. I got home in time to see the goal. Ronaldo hit a first time shot that the keeper somehow managed to save but Quaresma nodded in the rebound. It was funny to watch Cristiano celebrate separately from the rest of his ecstatic team mates. Almost as if he’s not quite part of the collective.
Here’s hoping that today brings something a bit more exciting.
All three knockout games yesterday were pretty poor. I watched some of Switzerland v Poland and it was OK I suppose. The Poles were much better but the truth is, it’s hard to care either way. As a neutral, all you really want are lots of goals, incidents and possibly a bit of ludicrous pushing and shoving. We didn’t get much of any of that although Shaqiri’s goal was lovely and penalty shoot outs are always dramatic.
Modern footballers are just a bit too good nowadays. A bit too well drilled. Very few people make mistakes anymore. Everybody’s first touch is perfect so it’s just a case of defenders shepherding players away from danger. Nobody takes risks anymore. They pass it backwards and forwards across the defence and the opposition push up to deny them space to turn. And then it goes back the other way. In the past, passes might be hit vaguely in the right direction but players would mis-control the ball and give the opposition a chance. Tackles would come flying in and players were scythed down with some regularity. Who wouldn’t like to see Cristiano Ronaldo scythed down once in a while.
Talking of CR7, I had to work last night so I missed almost all of the Croatia v Portugal bore fest. My friends tell me that basically nothing happened for one hundred and twenty minutes. I got home in time to see the goal. Ronaldo hit a first time shot that the keeper somehow managed to save but Quaresma nodded in the rebound. It was funny to watch Cristiano celebrate separately from the rest of his ecstatic team mates. Almost as if he’s not quite part of the collective.
Here’s hoping that today brings something a bit more exciting.
Saturday, 25 June 2016
Turn off your Phone Raheem
It's all gone a bit quiet on the Euro front. I guess there's been other stuff going on but I really want the football to start again. There was some news coming out of the England camp that Raheem Sterling had been a
bit depressed because of all the negativity on social media. And there
has been a fair bit of it, some of it from me after he missed that
chance against Wales. I know this is a radical solution but someone
should take his mobile phone away. Or at least turn off the data. Is that even allowed with twenty year olds? Would they die from the shock?
By the way, doesn’t it feel like England haven’t played for about a year? Not long to wait now. But first we have all the other Round of 16 (I hate that expression) games. I might take a glance at Poland against Switzerland but aside from being either 1) the country that my Grandparents were born in or 2) the country where my Grandparents money may well have ended up, I have no connection with either place.
The second game is Wales against Northern Ireland and I’ll definitely be watching this one. Michael O’Neil predicted a cup tie feel for this game and it’s a fair prediction seeing as it actually is a cup tie. I’ve also heard various pundits say that it will be like a Premier League game but the truth is it won’t. For one thing, there won’t be anyone on the pitch from outside the UK which is unlike any premier league game I’ve watched. Also, most the Northern Ireland team don’t even play in the Premier League. This makes their achievement in getting this far quite spectacular. Some of their stories are brilliant. One of their forwards Josh Magennis spent most of his youth playing as a goalkeeper. I know they all want to play outfield but how many of them get to do it at a major tournament?
As for Wales, I’ve had a cheeky fiver each way bet on them winning the tournament. I know it’s ridiculous but why not. They’re playing well, they’re in much the easier side of the draw, they’re scheduled to meet Belgium in the quarter final and they beat them twice in qualifying. And if you get to a semi-final, anything can happen. Greece won Euro 2004 with a much more limited team and Wales have Gareth Bale. Stranger things have happened, not least in the Premier League last season.
I think Croatia will beat Portugal although with Ronaldo, anything is possible. He’s a strange man. It can’t be easy being almost the best footballer on the planet but not quite. None of us would mind being in that position but he’s Ronaldo. He has to be the best and his frustration with his Portuguese team mates is palpable. It’s difficult to know when he’ll have his meltdown at this tournament but it will definitely happen at some point.
By the way, doesn’t it feel like England haven’t played for about a year? Not long to wait now. But first we have all the other Round of 16 (I hate that expression) games. I might take a glance at Poland against Switzerland but aside from being either 1) the country that my Grandparents were born in or 2) the country where my Grandparents money may well have ended up, I have no connection with either place.
The second game is Wales against Northern Ireland and I’ll definitely be watching this one. Michael O’Neil predicted a cup tie feel for this game and it’s a fair prediction seeing as it actually is a cup tie. I’ve also heard various pundits say that it will be like a Premier League game but the truth is it won’t. For one thing, there won’t be anyone on the pitch from outside the UK which is unlike any premier league game I’ve watched. Also, most the Northern Ireland team don’t even play in the Premier League. This makes their achievement in getting this far quite spectacular. Some of their stories are brilliant. One of their forwards Josh Magennis spent most of his youth playing as a goalkeeper. I know they all want to play outfield but how many of them get to do it at a major tournament?
As for Wales, I’ve had a cheeky fiver each way bet on them winning the tournament. I know it’s ridiculous but why not. They’re playing well, they’re in much the easier side of the draw, they’re scheduled to meet Belgium in the quarter final and they beat them twice in qualifying. And if you get to a semi-final, anything can happen. Greece won Euro 2004 with a much more limited team and Wales have Gareth Bale. Stranger things have happened, not least in the Premier League last season.
I think Croatia will beat Portugal although with Ronaldo, anything is possible. He’s a strange man. It can’t be easy being almost the best footballer on the planet but not quite. None of us would mind being in that position but he’s Ronaldo. He has to be the best and his frustration with his Portuguese team mates is palpable. It’s difficult to know when he’ll have his meltdown at this tournament but it will definitely happen at some point.
Friday, 24 June 2016
Some Distraction Required
Writing a blog about Euro 2016 today feels a little pointless. Firstly, there are no games. Secondly, who wants to read a (hopefully) amusing piece about the only European thing we’re still in? And then I thought fuck it. These bastards have lied and lied in order to get people to vote to “get their country back” and the likely outcome is that one old Etonian will hand over power to another old Etonian. Surely we all need something to take our mind off the news.
So as we all know, there’s a major football tournament taking place in (soon to be more difficult to get into) France. And our teams are doing quite well. And when I say our teams, I include Ireland in that even though I know they’re not a “home” country. But seriously, right now, who cares about any of that? I might not have been singing The Fields of Athenry on Wednesday night but I still found some joy in their victory over the Italians and I’ll be cheering them on against the French. Mainly because England would have a better chance of beating them in the quarter final.
Not that I’m in any way ignoring Iceland. I’ve loved watching Iceland in this tournament and they’re no pushovers. They look indomitable. They beat Holland home and away in the qualifiers and they will present a formidable challenge on monday evening. They’re obdurate, together and they love their underdog status. Whereas we’re England with our football history and our Premier League “superstars”. They’ve got nothing to lose.
But, if we don’t beat them, I imagine the reception back at Luton airport will not be a welcoming one. (Personally, I’d make them land at the furthest gate from the terminal building and then only open one booth on passport control.) Let’s face it, after the disaster of last night (I know some of you may feel differently but it’s my opinion), I think it’s even more crucial that the England team put on a performance and cheer us all up.
All was sweetness and light at the England training camp yesterday as the team tried to shine the best possible light on us being in the most challenging part of the draw. It was all “we’ll just take each game as it comes” and “every game is hard at this stage of the competition”. And I accept that. On the other hand, I’d rather have to play, for example Northern Ireland, Belgium and Croatia to get to the final than Iceland, France and Italy. But here we are.
Anyway, there’s only one more day of this interminable waiting before we get back to some proper football. In the meantime, we can all contemplate the prospect of having to queue up for visas at the Spanish embassy and the thought of Boris Johnson as our next Prime Minister. Until tomorrow.
So as we all know, there’s a major football tournament taking place in (soon to be more difficult to get into) France. And our teams are doing quite well. And when I say our teams, I include Ireland in that even though I know they’re not a “home” country. But seriously, right now, who cares about any of that? I might not have been singing The Fields of Athenry on Wednesday night but I still found some joy in their victory over the Italians and I’ll be cheering them on against the French. Mainly because England would have a better chance of beating them in the quarter final.
Not that I’m in any way ignoring Iceland. I’ve loved watching Iceland in this tournament and they’re no pushovers. They look indomitable. They beat Holland home and away in the qualifiers and they will present a formidable challenge on monday evening. They’re obdurate, together and they love their underdog status. Whereas we’re England with our football history and our Premier League “superstars”. They’ve got nothing to lose.
But, if we don’t beat them, I imagine the reception back at Luton airport will not be a welcoming one. (Personally, I’d make them land at the furthest gate from the terminal building and then only open one booth on passport control.) Let’s face it, after the disaster of last night (I know some of you may feel differently but it’s my opinion), I think it’s even more crucial that the England team put on a performance and cheer us all up.
All was sweetness and light at the England training camp yesterday as the team tried to shine the best possible light on us being in the most challenging part of the draw. It was all “we’ll just take each game as it comes” and “every game is hard at this stage of the competition”. And I accept that. On the other hand, I’d rather have to play, for example Northern Ireland, Belgium and Croatia to get to the final than Iceland, France and Italy. But here we are.
Anyway, there’s only one more day of this interminable waiting before we get back to some proper football. In the meantime, we can all contemplate the prospect of having to queue up for visas at the Spanish embassy and the thought of Boris Johnson as our next Prime Minister. Until tomorrow.
Thursday, 23 June 2016
Warming up Nicely
I know some people watched the final EU referendum debate on Channel 4 but if they’re football fans and they still chose that over the Ireland game, there’s something very wrong with them. Ireland are a decent but limited football team but the way they went about trying to beat the Italians was superb. I don’t think there’s any way that Ireland would’ve beaten a full strength Italian team but then I didn’t think they’d beat the Italian reserve team and they did. To score one minute after missing the most glorious chance of the game and for the goal to be made by the guy who missed it was beautiful.
And then it was just a case of hanging on. The fact that Italy didn’t actually need a goal probably helped but they’ve still got their pride and Antonio Conte does not look like a man who takes defeat lightly. When the final whistle went, proof if any were needed that this was an incredible performance came when the camera caught Roy Keane with a big beaming smile on his face. And seeing Gianluigi Buffon looking genuinely happy as he congratulated Martin O’Neil was a nice touch as well. So England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland are all in the last sixteen. I almost felt sorry for Scotland for a couple of seconds. But that feeling passed fairly quickly.
The early games were just brilliant. Hungary have been one of the surprises of the tournament and they took the game to Portugal. But Ronaldo finally sorted his head out, scored two and the Portuguese scraped into the last sixteen. But the real story happened in the other game where Iceland nicked a last minute winner against Austria. If you get a chance, try and watch the Icelandic commentary on their winning goal. It’s excitable.
So now we know who will play who in the last sixteen and there are some tasty ties. I’m not sure some of the football on display for Wales v Northern Ireland will be of the highest quality but the atmosphere will be something very special. Croatia v Portugal will be a proper match and Belgium v Hungary is not a foregone conclusion. Seeing the Irish take on France will be worth it just to see Thierry Henry’s face if the Irish somehow nick it. Particularly if it’s a dodgy handball goal. We’ll get to see the first proper heavyweight clash as Italy take on Spain. And finally, England will take on Iceland in a re-run of the Cod Wars of the 1960s.
So much to look forward to but first, we have to contemplate two days without any football. Which is a relief for my family but a nightmare for the rest of us. Surely there’s a kick about happening somewhere.
And then it was just a case of hanging on. The fact that Italy didn’t actually need a goal probably helped but they’ve still got their pride and Antonio Conte does not look like a man who takes defeat lightly. When the final whistle went, proof if any were needed that this was an incredible performance came when the camera caught Roy Keane with a big beaming smile on his face. And seeing Gianluigi Buffon looking genuinely happy as he congratulated Martin O’Neil was a nice touch as well. So England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland are all in the last sixteen. I almost felt sorry for Scotland for a couple of seconds. But that feeling passed fairly quickly.
The early games were just brilliant. Hungary have been one of the surprises of the tournament and they took the game to Portugal. But Ronaldo finally sorted his head out, scored two and the Portuguese scraped into the last sixteen. But the real story happened in the other game where Iceland nicked a last minute winner against Austria. If you get a chance, try and watch the Icelandic commentary on their winning goal. It’s excitable.
So now we know who will play who in the last sixteen and there are some tasty ties. I’m not sure some of the football on display for Wales v Northern Ireland will be of the highest quality but the atmosphere will be something very special. Croatia v Portugal will be a proper match and Belgium v Hungary is not a foregone conclusion. Seeing the Irish take on France will be worth it just to see Thierry Henry’s face if the Irish somehow nick it. Particularly if it’s a dodgy handball goal. We’ll get to see the first proper heavyweight clash as Italy take on Spain. And finally, England will take on Iceland in a re-run of the Cod Wars of the 1960s.
So much to look forward to but first, we have to contemplate two days without any football. Which is a relief for my family but a nightmare for the rest of us. Surely there’s a kick about happening somewhere.
Wednesday, 22 June 2016
Roy Hodgson's Master Plan
I watched most of the Germany v Northern Ireland game yesterday and the last time I saw a more one sided match was when my school team took on William Ellis and got beaten 14-0. If only we’d had Michael McGovern in goal instead of a short, overweight Jewish kid. The Northern Ireland keeper made seven or eight great saves and is the main reason that they’ve qualified for the last sixteen. Due to the rather convoluted draw, we don’t know whether they’ll be playing Wales or France as yet. Personally I hope it’s France in Paris, I think their fans deserve that. They may have been outclassed on the pitch but in the stands, they kept singing for the entire game. They’ve even got a song about one player (Will Griggs) who hasn’t spent a single second on the pitch. This is exactly what the Euros should be about.
I know people are starting to moan about the tournament going on a bit and I get that. I think we’re all ready for some clashes between major football nations and a bit of penalty heartbreak (we all know who THAT will be). But there haven’t been many bad games and it’s only going to get better. We seem to have moved on from the crowd trouble and now it’s all about thousands of people in replica shirts having a gigantic party. There are worse things going on in Europe right now.
Meanwhile, I read this sentence in the Guardian earlier today. “Roy Hodgson’s unsuccessful selection gamble in England’s final group game has left senior figures within the Football Association questioning whether he has made a serious error of judgment that could jeopardise the team’s progress and potentially have repercussions for his future as manager”.
I must say, senior figures in the FA can do one. These are presumably the same senior figures who appointed Steve McLaren. The same senior figures who paid Fabio Capello six million quid a year. The same senior figures who nobody’s ever heard of but pull in a six figure salary for what exactly?
Don’t get me wrong. I think reaching the quarter finals is the least I’d expect from this group of players and if we don’t, I’d blame the manager. I’m not sure Roy Hodgson is the right man for the job. Nobody is. But this is a young team with a big future and Roy is at least trying to do something different. (Have England ever dominated possession for three successive games at a major championships?) He might have made too many changes. He might have left Rooney out but it’s not like we played terribly and we did make chances. Incidentally, to ensure they got a result yesterday, Spain played the same eleven against Croatia as they did in the first two group games. They lost, which means that a tired Spain team will play Italy in the next round whereas at least some of our lot will have had a rest.
I know people are starting to moan about the tournament going on a bit and I get that. I think we’re all ready for some clashes between major football nations and a bit of penalty heartbreak (we all know who THAT will be). But there haven’t been many bad games and it’s only going to get better. We seem to have moved on from the crowd trouble and now it’s all about thousands of people in replica shirts having a gigantic party. There are worse things going on in Europe right now.
Meanwhile, I read this sentence in the Guardian earlier today. “Roy Hodgson’s unsuccessful selection gamble in England’s final group game has left senior figures within the Football Association questioning whether he has made a serious error of judgment that could jeopardise the team’s progress and potentially have repercussions for his future as manager”.
I must say, senior figures in the FA can do one. These are presumably the same senior figures who appointed Steve McLaren. The same senior figures who paid Fabio Capello six million quid a year. The same senior figures who nobody’s ever heard of but pull in a six figure salary for what exactly?
Don’t get me wrong. I think reaching the quarter finals is the least I’d expect from this group of players and if we don’t, I’d blame the manager. I’m not sure Roy Hodgson is the right man for the job. Nobody is. But this is a young team with a big future and Roy is at least trying to do something different. (Have England ever dominated possession for three successive games at a major championships?) He might have made too many changes. He might have left Rooney out but it’s not like we played terribly and we did make chances. Incidentally, to ensure they got a result yesterday, Spain played the same eleven against Croatia as they did in the first two group games. They lost, which means that a tired Spain team will play Italy in the next round whereas at least some of our lot will have had a rest.
Tuesday, 21 June 2016
What would Slaven do?
I’ve been watching Slaven Bilic doing the pundit thing on the telly and I’m beginning to feel a man crush coming on. It’s a big thing for me to admit seeing as how I’ve borne a grudge against the man since 1998 when he cheated Laurent Blanc out of his chance to play for France in a World Cup final in Paris. But everyone should be given a second chance and at this point, I’d like to put in a request for Slaven Bilic to manage my life. I think I’m performing reasonably well but I just think he’d get more out of me. He has an inspirational quality and given his help and motivation, I could perhaps go all the way.
Which is more than can be said for England. One of the pleasing aspects of the build up to this Euros was the lack of bullishness of all but the most one eyed of England fans. Almost no-one said we were going to win the thing and it turns out the majority were probably right. I would of course love to be proved wrong but watching England huff and puff for ninety minutes, it’s hard to imagine anything but a sticky end when England meet a half decent team.
You’d have thought that a squad with five forwards including two of the three highest scorers in the Premier League would be able to score more than three goals against Russia, Slovakia and Wales. But it turns out that when Englishmen are doing the creating as well as the scoring, the chances are not quite as clear cut.
Roy’s getting a bit of stick this morning for making six changes. I guess it was a gamble that didn’t pay off and I’m sure he’d have expected some negative comments. Leaving Rooney out was a big call but as for the others, it felt like an ideal time to see what the rest of the squad are made of. And surely these top Premier League players had enough to beat Slovakia. Turns out they didn’t and the draw, coupled with Wales victory over Russia (well done Wales) means that we now have an alternative route to the final (ha!) which includes a possible quarter final meeting with France. Oh dear.
And yet, Slaven thinks we can do well. He confidently asserted that England will do better when we’re playing against a team who are actually trying to score a goal. He said that our players are better when they’ve got space to run into and there was no space last night because Slovakia had eleven men behind the ball. And he said it with such conviction that I thought maybe he knows what he’s talking about (well, he definitely knows what he’s talking about but this is England at a major tournament so allow me a certain level of scepticism). It’s not over yet.
Which is more than can be said for England. One of the pleasing aspects of the build up to this Euros was the lack of bullishness of all but the most one eyed of England fans. Almost no-one said we were going to win the thing and it turns out the majority were probably right. I would of course love to be proved wrong but watching England huff and puff for ninety minutes, it’s hard to imagine anything but a sticky end when England meet a half decent team.
You’d have thought that a squad with five forwards including two of the three highest scorers in the Premier League would be able to score more than three goals against Russia, Slovakia and Wales. But it turns out that when Englishmen are doing the creating as well as the scoring, the chances are not quite as clear cut.
Roy’s getting a bit of stick this morning for making six changes. I guess it was a gamble that didn’t pay off and I’m sure he’d have expected some negative comments. Leaving Rooney out was a big call but as for the others, it felt like an ideal time to see what the rest of the squad are made of. And surely these top Premier League players had enough to beat Slovakia. Turns out they didn’t and the draw, coupled with Wales victory over Russia (well done Wales) means that we now have an alternative route to the final (ha!) which includes a possible quarter final meeting with France. Oh dear.
And yet, Slaven thinks we can do well. He confidently asserted that England will do better when we’re playing against a team who are actually trying to score a goal. He said that our players are better when they’ve got space to run into and there was no space last night because Slovakia had eleven men behind the ball. And he said it with such conviction that I thought maybe he knows what he’s talking about (well, he definitely knows what he’s talking about but this is England at a major tournament so allow me a certain level of scepticism). It’s not over yet.
Monday, 20 June 2016
Day of Destiny No.1
This evening represents what all England fans hope will be the first of five days of destiny for Roy Hodgson and his team. Win against Slovakia and our next opponents could be Albania who may well qualify as one of the four, third placed teams after their win last night. I watched the highlights of their game and they battled away. Their fans made a fearsome racket as well. But compared to a lot of the teams in France, they look like a very fit pub team. Passionate but limited. I’d love England to play them in the next round.
On the other hand, if we blow it, we could be playing Portugal (with a wounded Cristiano Ronaldo looking to make his mark on the competition) and then if we somehow get past them, France in the quarter finals. This has been our problem at a number of tournaments recently. Finishing second in the group has meant that our first knock out game has been much harder than we would’ve liked (think Argentina in 1998 or Portugal in 2004). There’s a lot riding on this game.
Which is why the news that Roy is thinking of making six changes has worried me. It’s like he’s read the criticism about him being a conservative manager and thought “I’ll show them how not conservative I am”. The word is that Wayne Rooney is going to be left on the bench for tonights game. For two years, a strident minority of England fans have been asking for Wayne Rooney not to be in the England team. And now, having given his best performances in an England shirt for the last twenty years, Roy’s resting him. Does he need a rest? It’s not like he’s been tearing around the pitch like an eighteen year old.
Also tonight, Wales take on Russia and for all sorts of reasons (Wales being one of the home nations, abhorrence of Russian hooligans, widespread doping in Russian sport, prevailing homophobic attitudes, Vladimir Putin and Russia’s political belligerence), I really hope Wales stuff them.
I started off watching the France v Switzerland game last night but they made five changes and they looked disjointed (take note Roy). There was a definite moment when both teams realised that a point would do and after that, I turned over. The most interesting things about the game were the burst ball and the four Swiss players shirts disintegrating after being pulled by their French opponents. Xerdan Shaqiri said that he hoped that Puma (the shirt manufacturer) did not make condoms. Who knew the Swiss were funny?
On the other hand, if we blow it, we could be playing Portugal (with a wounded Cristiano Ronaldo looking to make his mark on the competition) and then if we somehow get past them, France in the quarter finals. This has been our problem at a number of tournaments recently. Finishing second in the group has meant that our first knock out game has been much harder than we would’ve liked (think Argentina in 1998 or Portugal in 2004). There’s a lot riding on this game.
Which is why the news that Roy is thinking of making six changes has worried me. It’s like he’s read the criticism about him being a conservative manager and thought “I’ll show them how not conservative I am”. The word is that Wayne Rooney is going to be left on the bench for tonights game. For two years, a strident minority of England fans have been asking for Wayne Rooney not to be in the England team. And now, having given his best performances in an England shirt for the last twenty years, Roy’s resting him. Does he need a rest? It’s not like he’s been tearing around the pitch like an eighteen year old.
Also tonight, Wales take on Russia and for all sorts of reasons (Wales being one of the home nations, abhorrence of Russian hooligans, widespread doping in Russian sport, prevailing homophobic attitudes, Vladimir Putin and Russia’s political belligerence), I really hope Wales stuff them.
I started off watching the France v Switzerland game last night but they made five changes and they looked disjointed (take note Roy). There was a definite moment when both teams realised that a point would do and after that, I turned over. The most interesting things about the game were the burst ball and the four Swiss players shirts disintegrating after being pulled by their French opponents. Xerdan Shaqiri said that he hoped that Puma (the shirt manufacturer) did not make condoms. Who knew the Swiss were funny?
Sunday, 19 June 2016
Progress Report
Everybody has now played two games and what have we learnt?
1. England have a lot of strikers at their disposal and Roy intends to use them all. Often at the same time. Roy gets criticised for being unadventurous (how many adventurous sixty-eight year olds do you know) but two half time substitutions against Wales was bold.
2. England fans are, in the main, decent and courteous people but we have a small minority of complete arses. Having said that, so do a fair proportion of the countries at the tournament.
3. Our fans singing “Fuck off Europe, we’re voting out” is a good indicator of the level of debate in the EU referendum
4. The Russian hooligans have taken crowd violence to a different level. If we want to compete, we have to step up our combat training.
5. Raheem Sterling is not as good as he thinks he is. But he’s also not as bad as we think he is. I know the level of hyperbole goes up several notches during a tournament but everyone needs to calm down a bit.
6. Even though most pundits wrote off the Italians chances, they now appear to be one of the favourites for the tournament.
7. Everyone except Cristiano Ronaldo loves Iceland. He criticised the Icelandic team for having a “small nation mentality” which is perhaps not surprising seeing as Iceland’s population is the same as Leicester.
8. Whilst the Welsh are definitely not a one man team, they’re extremely reliant on that one man.
9. Spain are really good. We all knew that anyway but after the last World Cup, I think we’d all started to doubt whether this astonishing generation of players could do it again. I watched the game against Turkey and it appears that they can.
10. Joachim Low is a fan of the smell of the contents of his trousers. Fine in itself but I’d rather not have seem him actually do what he did. Also, sadly for him, it’s what he’s now going to be remembered for which is a shame seeing as he managed a team that won the World Cup.
11. The refereeing has been way better than anyone expected. Long may that continue although a couple of dodgy decisions going England’s way would partly make up for Frank Lampard’s over the line non-goal in 2010.
12. Flares are readily available in France. And also apparently very easy to smuggle into heavily policed football stadia.
13. Croatian football fans seem to be more pissed off with each other than fans of other countries. Whilst things in the Balkans have definitely calmed down, it’s apparent that they’re bubbling away nicely just under the surface
14. Policing in riot gear from a distance with tear gas is not sophisticated. The French police should really take some tips from their English counterparts.
15. The Welsh fans are rather good at communal singing. Their national anthem before the first game was a spine tingling moment.
16. Belgium are a strange team but if they ever properly get it together, they could win the whole thing. Although it’s also possible they’ll lose to Sweden and be on the first plane home. At least they haven’t got a long journey back
17. Football is a brilliant game. Anyone who doesn’t like it just isn’t watching it properly.
1. England have a lot of strikers at their disposal and Roy intends to use them all. Often at the same time. Roy gets criticised for being unadventurous (how many adventurous sixty-eight year olds do you know) but two half time substitutions against Wales was bold.
2. England fans are, in the main, decent and courteous people but we have a small minority of complete arses. Having said that, so do a fair proportion of the countries at the tournament.
3. Our fans singing “Fuck off Europe, we’re voting out” is a good indicator of the level of debate in the EU referendum
4. The Russian hooligans have taken crowd violence to a different level. If we want to compete, we have to step up our combat training.
5. Raheem Sterling is not as good as he thinks he is. But he’s also not as bad as we think he is. I know the level of hyperbole goes up several notches during a tournament but everyone needs to calm down a bit.
6. Even though most pundits wrote off the Italians chances, they now appear to be one of the favourites for the tournament.
7. Everyone except Cristiano Ronaldo loves Iceland. He criticised the Icelandic team for having a “small nation mentality” which is perhaps not surprising seeing as Iceland’s population is the same as Leicester.
8. Whilst the Welsh are definitely not a one man team, they’re extremely reliant on that one man.
9. Spain are really good. We all knew that anyway but after the last World Cup, I think we’d all started to doubt whether this astonishing generation of players could do it again. I watched the game against Turkey and it appears that they can.
10. Joachim Low is a fan of the smell of the contents of his trousers. Fine in itself but I’d rather not have seem him actually do what he did. Also, sadly for him, it’s what he’s now going to be remembered for which is a shame seeing as he managed a team that won the World Cup.
11. The refereeing has been way better than anyone expected. Long may that continue although a couple of dodgy decisions going England’s way would partly make up for Frank Lampard’s over the line non-goal in 2010.
12. Flares are readily available in France. And also apparently very easy to smuggle into heavily policed football stadia.
13. Croatian football fans seem to be more pissed off with each other than fans of other countries. Whilst things in the Balkans have definitely calmed down, it’s apparent that they’re bubbling away nicely just under the surface
14. Policing in riot gear from a distance with tear gas is not sophisticated. The French police should really take some tips from their English counterparts.
15. The Welsh fans are rather good at communal singing. Their national anthem before the first game was a spine tingling moment.
16. Belgium are a strange team but if they ever properly get it together, they could win the whole thing. Although it’s also possible they’ll lose to Sweden and be on the first plane home. At least they haven’t got a long journey back
17. Football is a brilliant game. Anyone who doesn’t like it just isn’t watching it properly.
Saturday, 18 June 2016
Flares
More crowd trouble last night as Croatia fans fought amongst themselves and threw flares onto the pitch. According to Slaven Bilic, it’s a dispute between fans who come from Split and fans who come from Zagreb and I’ve no reason to doubt what he’s saying. It was a little odd because it kicked off when Croatia were 2-1 up against Czech Republic (or Czechia as they now wish to be called). The Croatian players were so upset by the scene that one of them tried to punch the ball clear in his own penalty area and the Czechs got a draw they definitely didn’t deserve.
As for the flares, one wonders how people keep managing to smuggle them into the grounds. These championships were meant to be the most heavily policed and security conscious in history and yet idiotic young men are managing to smuggle marine distress signals into the stadium. Where the hell are they getting them? Are they sailors on shore leave? Are there countless marine supplies shops dotted across France?
The upshot of all this is that Croatia could be thrown out of the tournament although it would seem a bit unfair seeing as Russia got a final warning. Perhaps it’s like false starts at the athletics. The first one is a warning to everyone and the second one is an immediate disqualification. In which case we should start a fight amongst the Spanish fans because their team looked really good yesterday. This is a joke by the way.
Spain really are a class act and I felt for the Turkey players getting booed by their own fans. I’m sure they were trying really hard, they just couldn’t get the ball off the Spanish. Playing against Iniesta can’t help. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player who has a more complete picture of where everyone is on a football pitch at any time. He has more touches than anyone else and he NEVER gives the ball away. Has England ever produced a player like that? Has anywhere?
There was a nice shot of Wayne Rooney walking through Chantilly with his son on his shoulders. Just a dad taking his son for a little stroll. But for the fact that it was one of the most famous men in the country, you wouldn’t have given it a second glance. There didn’t seem to be any bodyguards although it’s possible they were discreetly there but just out of shot. Whatever, this way of mingling with the locals seems a much more sensible way of carrying on than the team being cloistered in some heavily guarded compound. During something as enormous as a major tournament, a bit of normality every so often can’t hurt. Although I wouldn’t suggest he takes a stroll down at the port area in Marseilles.
As for the flares, one wonders how people keep managing to smuggle them into the grounds. These championships were meant to be the most heavily policed and security conscious in history and yet idiotic young men are managing to smuggle marine distress signals into the stadium. Where the hell are they getting them? Are they sailors on shore leave? Are there countless marine supplies shops dotted across France?
The upshot of all this is that Croatia could be thrown out of the tournament although it would seem a bit unfair seeing as Russia got a final warning. Perhaps it’s like false starts at the athletics. The first one is a warning to everyone and the second one is an immediate disqualification. In which case we should start a fight amongst the Spanish fans because their team looked really good yesterday. This is a joke by the way.
Spain really are a class act and I felt for the Turkey players getting booed by their own fans. I’m sure they were trying really hard, they just couldn’t get the ball off the Spanish. Playing against Iniesta can’t help. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player who has a more complete picture of where everyone is on a football pitch at any time. He has more touches than anyone else and he NEVER gives the ball away. Has England ever produced a player like that? Has anywhere?
There was a nice shot of Wayne Rooney walking through Chantilly with his son on his shoulders. Just a dad taking his son for a little stroll. But for the fact that it was one of the most famous men in the country, you wouldn’t have given it a second glance. There didn’t seem to be any bodyguards although it’s possible they were discreetly there but just out of shot. Whatever, this way of mingling with the locals seems a much more sensible way of carrying on than the team being cloistered in some heavily guarded compound. During something as enormous as a major tournament, a bit of normality every so often can’t hurt. Although I wouldn’t suggest he takes a stroll down at the port area in Marseilles.
Friday, 17 June 2016
Tense as a Pig
England
beat Wales yesterday and it was tense. My friend Keith has often used
the expression “tense as a pig” and while none of us has any idea what
he’s talking about, if any game was going to take me to pig levels of
tension, yesterday was it. An injury time winning goal for your team is a
beautiful moment and it was lovely to feel some of the joy that other
countries seem to get on a regular basis. Watching England at a major
tournament can so often feel like a massive chore but the explosion of
joy at the end was genuine and heartfelt. It feels like we’re finally
part of the whole thing and I like the way we kept plugging away.
One could say that Roy got lucky and possibly that’s true. It does seem a little odd to bring four strikers to the Euros (I’m counting Wayne Rooney as a midfielder at this point) and only play one at a time. But what the hell do I know. Perhaps this was the plan all along. Start with one striker and when that doesn’t work out replace him with all the others. I enjoyed Roy’s celebration as well. I can’t begin to imagine the pressure he’s under at the moment and that goal looked like it lifted a massive weight from his shoulders. He deserves a little thanks from a grateful nation, at least for a few days until he brings on the wrong player against Slovakia and we can go back to abusing him.
Jamie Vardy scored with virtually his first touch and the fairy story continues. I wouldn’t be totally shocked if he scored the winner in the final, won the golden boot and was knighted in the New Years honours list. Well I would be but his life at the moment appears to be operating on that rare level where he dreams that something incredible will happen and then it happens.
Daniel Sturridge got the winner and it was joy unconfined although I could do without the celebration dance. Of course I’ll be happy to see it five or six more times at the tournament but I find him a difficult footballer to love. He’s obviously a phenomenal player and when he’s on his game he’s virtually unplayable but he’s just a little too selfish for my liking. And I’m also not too comfortable with sports people professing their thanks to God for letting them play well. If God was that much on your side, you probably wouldn’t be starting on the bench.
As for Joe Hart, he’ll be a relieved man this morning but I wouldn’t be too hard on him. Gareth Bale takes an unbelievable free kick and he’s definitely got goalies psyched out. It’s all very well pundits sitting there and saying that he should’ve started further to the right but Bale has the ability to hit the ball either way and keepers are trying to second guess him. Also, he hits the ball very hard indeed.
I’m told by friends who were there that the atmosphere was intense. At one point during the game, there was a great shot of a Wales fan crying with the emotion of it all. The camera stayed on him and his mates pointed out to him that he was on the big screen. There was no mocking him. Most of the people there and those watching at home would’ve cried at football at some point so there’s no shame in that. It was just great to see the passion.
It was a good day for Northern Ireland as well. I can only apologise for slagging them off the other day but they were terrible in the first match and they all said so. But they were transformed yesterday and beat Ukraine. How brilliant that there’s something riding on their last group game against Germany in Paris.
One could say that Roy got lucky and possibly that’s true. It does seem a little odd to bring four strikers to the Euros (I’m counting Wayne Rooney as a midfielder at this point) and only play one at a time. But what the hell do I know. Perhaps this was the plan all along. Start with one striker and when that doesn’t work out replace him with all the others. I enjoyed Roy’s celebration as well. I can’t begin to imagine the pressure he’s under at the moment and that goal looked like it lifted a massive weight from his shoulders. He deserves a little thanks from a grateful nation, at least for a few days until he brings on the wrong player against Slovakia and we can go back to abusing him.
Jamie Vardy scored with virtually his first touch and the fairy story continues. I wouldn’t be totally shocked if he scored the winner in the final, won the golden boot and was knighted in the New Years honours list. Well I would be but his life at the moment appears to be operating on that rare level where he dreams that something incredible will happen and then it happens.
Daniel Sturridge got the winner and it was joy unconfined although I could do without the celebration dance. Of course I’ll be happy to see it five or six more times at the tournament but I find him a difficult footballer to love. He’s obviously a phenomenal player and when he’s on his game he’s virtually unplayable but he’s just a little too selfish for my liking. And I’m also not too comfortable with sports people professing their thanks to God for letting them play well. If God was that much on your side, you probably wouldn’t be starting on the bench.
As for Joe Hart, he’ll be a relieved man this morning but I wouldn’t be too hard on him. Gareth Bale takes an unbelievable free kick and he’s definitely got goalies psyched out. It’s all very well pundits sitting there and saying that he should’ve started further to the right but Bale has the ability to hit the ball either way and keepers are trying to second guess him. Also, he hits the ball very hard indeed.
I’m told by friends who were there that the atmosphere was intense. At one point during the game, there was a great shot of a Wales fan crying with the emotion of it all. The camera stayed on him and his mates pointed out to him that he was on the big screen. There was no mocking him. Most of the people there and those watching at home would’ve cried at football at some point so there’s no shame in that. It was just great to see the passion.
It was a good day for Northern Ireland as well. I can only apologise for slagging them off the other day but they were terrible in the first match and they all said so. But they were transformed yesterday and beat Ukraine. How brilliant that there’s something riding on their last group game against Germany in Paris.
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