EURO 2012 KNOCKOUT ROUNDS

[clockender1]

Rooney was a disgrace Quartz, looking at him sweating i thought it was very hot out there - it wasn't in was in the sixties.

tomorrow mornings papers all mention that we were outclassed and couldn't pass, and a few note the lack of Jack.

not one has the balls to say the wrong forward was pulled.

and so it goes on...

[northbankbren]

Dont all get carried away......

Italy couldnt beat them over 120 minutes of football...couldnt score a goal even....

England....didnt actually lose a game of football in the tournament...but a penalty shootout...

Young scores and its a story of fight and passion and ressillience, he didnt so they lost a shoot out.

Forget individual performances coz the squad was thrown together due to the late appoointment of the manager. They didnt lose a game....Very good acheivment.

[Herd]

What an England team over dependent on average players and losing on a penalty shoot out to another beatable team ,what a shocker that is ?

They did do better than I expected but I didn't even watch it as I knew England were not even going to go for it !
Our players seem shocked because they genuinely feel that because they are paid better than any in the world that they must be the best !
Looking forward to a total break now and wont be watching the dive fest that the Euro's will now become !

Germany will win it but I dont care !

[Rohan]

Its 46 years since Ingerland have reached their only final at home of course.The Czechs and Denmark have won more since then.Ingerland are a 2nd division international side

The football England played in this tournament was trash.

BBC news just showed the penalty shoot-out and didnt show the Pirlo penalty.Sums the English media up

Yah. Something like that. That Pirlo penalty pretty much made rest of the penalty takers nervous.

[greengooner]

As sids thread understandably got locked I will post my thanks to him here,
The best laugh I have had in ages, Ireland may have been the "clowns" of the
Tournament but at least we don't suffer from the English delusion that we had a
Hope in hell of winning it. We're shit and we know we are, those fucking idiots on
BBC and ITV were priceless and it's their xenophobic comments that fuel the delight
We feel over here for Ingerlunds exit. Now we can relax and watch a really good side like the
Germans win it

[LDB]

As sids thread understandably got locked I will post my thanks to him here,
The best laugh I have had in ages, Ireland may have been the "clowns" of the
Tournament but at least we don't suffer from the English delusion that we had a
Hope in hell of winning it. We're shit and we know we are, those fucking idiots on
BBC and ITV were priceless and it's their xenophobic comments that fuel the delight
We feel over here for Ingerlunds exit. Now we can relax and watch a really good side like the
Germans win it

Who in England thought we would win it?

Your mob were convinced you'd get out of the group[ and you didnt even win a game. Or draw a game. Do one please

[flash gunner]

As sids thread understandably got locked I will post my thanks to him here,
The best laugh I have had in ages, Ireland may have been the "clowns" of the
Tournament but at least we don't suffer from the English delusion that we had a
Hope in hell of winning it. We're shit and we know we are, those fucking idiots on
BBC and ITV were priceless and it's their xenophobic comments that fuel the delight
We feel over here for Ingerlunds exit. Now we can relax and watch a really good side like the
Germans win it

Green Gooner as an Englishman i dont think anyone ever thought we might win it in this tournament. Yeah its been all hype and bollocks in previous Euros and World Cups but this one has been the most subdued ive ever known for the national team and it sounds to me that youre the only xenophobic one here

[flash gunner]

Its 46 years since Ingerland have reached their only final at home of course.The Czechs and Denmark have won more since then.Ingerland are a 2nd division international side

The football England played in this tournament was trash.

Babatunde is that you?!!!!

[greengooner]

As sids thread understandably got locked I will post my thanks to him here,
The best laugh I have had in ages, Ireland may have been the "clowns" of the
Tournament but at least we don't suffer from the English delusion that we had a
Hope in hell of winning it. We're shit and we know we are, those fucking idiots on
BBC and ITV were priceless and it's their xenophobic comments that fuel the delight
We feel over here for Ingerlunds exit. Now we can relax and watch a really good side like the
Germans win it

As I said Flash it's the media, both print and visual that are at fault, every tournament
Has the same hype and bullshit attached, England's squad is as average as I have ever
Seen and yet the crap still flowed from the toilets of the SUN and the STAR



Green Gooner as an Englishman i dont think anyone ever thought we might win it in this tournament. Yeah its been all hype and bollocks in previous Euros and World Cups but this one has been the most subdued ive ever known for the national team and it sounds to me that youre the only xenophobic one here

[flash gunner]

If you read The Sun or The Star what do you expect? I can honestly say its the most subdued ive ever known for a major tournament even the embarrassing car flags here in sunny Essex have been non-existant this summer in fact i saw more union flags for the jubilee. Believe what you want mate but from Englands group games you could tell we would never win the thing it was a battling team who were just trying to get as far as possible bit like a small team trying to do well in the FA Cup they might giant kill once or twice but they'll get found out before the final

[greengooner]

As sids thread understandably got locked I will post my thanks to him here,
The best laugh I have had in ages, Ireland may have been the "clowns" of the
Tournament but at least we don't suffer from the English delusion that we had a
Hope in hell of winning it. We're shit and we know we are, those fucking idiots on
BBC and ITV were priceless and it's their xenophobic comments that fuel the delight
We feel over here for Ingerlunds exit. Now we can relax and watch a really good side like the
Germans win it

As I said Flash it's the media, both print and visual that are at fault, every tournament
Has the same hype and bullshit attached, England's squad is as average as I have ever
Seen and yet the crap still flowed from the toilets of the SUN and the STAR



Green Gooner as an Englishman i dont think anyone ever thought we might win it in this tournament. Yeah its been all hype and bollocks in previous Euros and World Cups but this one has been the most subdued ive ever known for the national team and it sounds to me that youre the only xenophobic one here

By the way if I appear xenophobic then I am in good company on the forum at the moment,
Since the cross of st George started flapping this place has a "national front" feel to it. The only
Plus is that it forced the premier WUM on here to overstep the mark and get
Banned, roll on the new seasons so we can get back to supporting one team

[augie]

In contrast to the common consensus (nothing unusual there), I cannot understand the line of thought that england did better in the tournament than was expected Yes they are substandard when it comes to the very top level and yes they are usually over-hyped but they do have some very good players and I would have expected them to piss all over sweden and the ukraine and that they didnt do so surprised me tbh plus that is a very average and beatable italian side and they never looked like winning the game at all For all englands weaknesses it should be said that shrek and his cheating manure team-mate (young) had very poor tournaments and as they were two of their main creative prospects maybe it was a big factor in their failure to ignite ?

I think last night again showed the out and out weaknesses in players developed out in this part of europe (england and Ireland) - really kids are not being taught enough about possession football and how to retain the ball regardless of the situation but instead are being encouraged to get the ball forward as quick as they can in hope that a goal can somehow come from that That tactic will indeed work over here but at the very top level it will be woefully exposed as we have seen in englands and Irelands performances in euro 2012 It is too easy to blame coaches entirely for this situation but in my experience it is often parents who are the biggest problem as they encourage a win at all costs mentality in their kids The thing that really stood out for me last night in englands inability to retain possession was not that their passing or movement was poor (which it was) but more the lack of confidence and reluctance the players had when it came to passing to a team-mate if there was an italian within 10 yards of them - they didnt trust each other so hoofed it forward allowing the italians to regain possession and force englands players to wear themselves out chasing about trying to get the ball from the italians again only to go through the same sequence of events all over again when they did get the ball It really is embarassing to see english and Irish players playing that way

Finally can we not go down the Irish v english route on here again over the next few days ? I know some of my compatriots are understandably pissed at franks comments last week but 2 wrongs do not make a right and you are slagging guys on here that took no part in last weeks bullshit

[Herd]

France on Paper are Good
Sweden have a good record against Us
Ukraine were hosts
On that basis to get out of the group was an achievement,not a huge one but certainly one .

That we choked surprised me not one jot as England simply do not have it when you get to the business end of tournaments and haven't in my lifetime save one precious day when I was 8 years Old !

[DB10GOONER]

In contrast to the common consensus (nothing unusual there), I cannot understand the line of thought that england did better in the tournament than was expected Yes they are substandard when it comes to the very top level and yes they are usually over-hyped but they do have some very good players and I would have expected them to piss all over sweden and the ukraine and that they didnt do so surprised me tbh plus that is a very average and beatable italian side and they never looked like winning the game at all For all englands weaknesses it should be said that shrek and his cheating manure team-mate (young) had very poor tournaments and as they were two of their main creative prospects maybe it was a big factor in their failure to ignite ?

I think last night again showed the out and out weaknesses in players developed out in this part of europe (england and Ireland) - really kids are not being taught enough about possession football and how to retain the ball regardless of the situation but instead are being encouraged to get the ball forward as quick as they can in hope that a goal can somehow come from that That tactic will indeed work over here but at the very top level it will be woefully exposed as we have seen in englands and Irelands performances in euro 2012 It is too easy to blame coaches entirely for this situation but in my experience it is often parents who are the biggest problem as they encourage a win at all costs mentality in their kids The thing that really stood out for me last night in englands inability to retain possession was not that their passing or movement was poor (which it was) but more the lack of confidence and reluctance the players had when it came to passing to a team-mate if there was an italian within 10 yards of them - they didnt trust each other so hoofed it forward allowing the italians to regain possession and force englands players to wear themselves out chasing about trying to get the ball from the italians again only to go through the same sequence of events all over again when they did get the ball It really is embarassing to see english and Irish players playing that way

Finally can we not go down the Irish v english route on here again over the next few days ? I know some of my compatriots are understandably pissed at franks comments last week but 2 wrongs do not make a right and you are slagging guys on here that took no part in last weeks bullshit

Agree 100% with every word.

Firstly, the game in Oireland and Ingerland is rotten at grass roots level. As augie says kids are not taught technique or possession football, they are taught to attack and be “physical”. The difference in the ball retention and plain old technical ability between the likes of Germany, Spain, Italy and even Holland compared to both Oireland and Ingerland is huge. Both our countries players (bar a couple of exceptions) have difficulty doing things like putting enough back spin on the ball when it’s zipped in behind the back four for a winger to run onto. That’s just one glaring example of poor technical ability. Watch the way Spanish and German players can weight their passes and then watch our lot. Massive difference.

The coaching style must change throughout the game in these Isles (and Oireland are intrinsically linked into this because our best players make their club livings in Ingerland) but also the ethos must change. Flair and technique must be encouraged from the earliest levels, clobbering the flair players as an acceptable style of football must be eradicated (Stoke, Bolton etc). I remember DB10 commenting on the lack of technique in Ingerland and when asked what the difference was in places like Holland and Spain he said most kids don’t play competitive games until they are 12 or 14 years old. They spend all the time before that working on ball skills and technique.

Secondly, I hate to delete opinions but for the sake of this forum I think it might be best if we mods delete any confrontational or insulting posts of a xenophobic nature. We are all Gooners on here and this nationality-based bitterness that has creeped on here should be left for national team forums, not a club forum. Sure, cheer your country on, debate the finer points of certain players, but any insults or provocative gloating should not be acceptable. Should it?

[GranadaJoe]

To clarify, for those of you getting prematurely excited, the 100 year old creature with a top speed of 2 m.p.h. and the turning circle of a barge that has just died, was in fact a large tortoise, not John Terry.

I think Roy did the best that he could with the time and ability at his disposal. Hart and, I surprise myself in saying it, Johnson were good throughout. Young, Milner and Rooney were poor. I too think Roy should have taken Rooney off, but the press love the granny-shagger and would have gone for Roy for taking off 'our one world class player'. He was also one of the few who could be relied on at penalty time.