If you want to watch something "new", start following the F1 season this year. Still plenty of racing left and this season so far is the most exciting in years with some real competition....
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European championship (football…the real one)
- Thread starter jc100
- Start date
If you want to watch something "new", start following the F1 season this year. Still plenty of racing left and this season so far is the most exciting in years with some real competition....
Sudden death overtime was something that was experimented with one year. It was pretty exciting but I guess it's less predictable for TV stations/schedules.
Mad Mike
Well-known member
Ok for regular season stuff - I get that. But for championships anything would be better than a shootout. Arm wrestle, pissing contest - anything.
You're right. Penalties are a lottery but at least they are dramatic. I'd love to see sudden death overtime come back though.
Priller
Well-known member
I'm still hungover.
This Italy team was very easy to cheer for, even the Juve players I normally curse. Chiellini in particular was entertaining in everything he did, whether it was celebrating every big defensive play like it was a goal, f**king with Jordi Alba before the shootout with Spain, or giving Saka the two-handed jersey smackdown to take a yellow. Mancini deserves a lot of credit for reinventing this team and getting away from the defense-first obsession that had started to hold them back. He even had a hint of Klopp about him with his father-figure approach...
Best international tournament I can remember, with stone classics like everything Switzerland did or so many extra time matches. Italy had a brutal route to the final and definitely deserved the trophy, but England should be proud. In the end, Southgate went a bit too conservative, but he's got a great group of young players to work with. France just rolled over, and Belgium has one more shot next summer to finally live up to their star power. I wanted to boycott Qatar next year for so many reasons, but I don't think I'll have the willpower. It's how FIFA and UEFA get away with so much crap: the end product is just too good to ignore.
PS - Credit to Argentina for finally winning with Messi, too. I didn't get to watch much of the Copa America, but saw highlights and Brazil just couldn't get it together in the final. Serves them right for leaving all three of my Liverpool players on the bench...
This Italy team was very easy to cheer for, even the Juve players I normally curse. Chiellini in particular was entertaining in everything he did, whether it was celebrating every big defensive play like it was a goal, f**king with Jordi Alba before the shootout with Spain, or giving Saka the two-handed jersey smackdown to take a yellow. Mancini deserves a lot of credit for reinventing this team and getting away from the defense-first obsession that had started to hold them back. He even had a hint of Klopp about him with his father-figure approach...
Best international tournament I can remember, with stone classics like everything Switzerland did or so many extra time matches. Italy had a brutal route to the final and definitely deserved the trophy, but England should be proud. In the end, Southgate went a bit too conservative, but he's got a great group of young players to work with. France just rolled over, and Belgium has one more shot next summer to finally live up to their star power. I wanted to boycott Qatar next year for so many reasons, but I don't think I'll have the willpower. It's how FIFA and UEFA get away with so much crap: the end product is just too good to ignore.
PS - Credit to Argentina for finally winning with Messi, too. I didn't get to watch much of the Copa America, but saw highlights and Brazil just couldn't get it together in the final. Serves them right for leaving all three of my Liverpool players on the bench...
Qatar is such a dumb, greed driven decision. I want to boycott it too, mainly because a World Cup not in the summer would be totally out of place for me.
I don't think England will do as well in a World setting. This was their golden opportunity. A relatively straightforward path to a final on home turf with many games played at home/less travelling. They are a technical team, but there's not a lot of flair. If they play defensive minded teams then there's not really one player that can unlock a game like a Messi figure. Kane is a waste of space in my mind. He's anonymous for most of the game and he gets away with it too. He's the old style big gangly striker that England used to rely on for route one football. He could have sat and watched half a Netflix film in the second half and no one would have noticed the difference. Stirling looked alive in quite a few games. He's quick and has some skill but speed isn't everything and he showed he had limits. They need to take some risks as a team too. They were predictable for most of the game against Italy. Their best moments were in the first 20 minutes of the game when Italy seemed disorientated. Sadly, as the game went on Italy had the measure of them and the eventual possession stats were 66% for Italy with more than 4 times as many strikes on goal I think. World class teams don't win with those kinds of statistics.
I'm a Liverpool fan too. If they had someone like an English Salah I think that would be a better fit but I'm obviously biased.
I felt sorry for the penalty takers that missed. That kind of pressure must be unbearable, no matter how professional you are.
Priller
Well-known member
Fully agreed that everything was on a plate for England this year, especially having Wembley as pretty much an unshifted home base. But the insanity around the team in England had to have a negative effect of some kind. The English public and media's cockiness throughout was a bad look, and while Southgate did what he could, keeping the players isolated from that noise is impossible. They came out flying in the final, but that pace can only be maintained for so long, and they eventually retreated into a 5-4-1 shell, hoping to stay compact and keep Italy to the perimeter. It mostly worked, as there weren't many obvious chances, but trying to play 50+ minutes that way is asking a lot. And when Italy scored, scrappy as it was, it took them until the last 10 minutes of extra time before they found the front foot.
Maybe it's because I spend so much more time watching the Premier League than I used to, but I found it really difficult to cheer for a team almost exclusively made up of players from clubs that I range from mild distaste (Arsenal and Tottenham) to the edge of hate (Chelsea and City) to full-on revulsion (ManU). Henderson was a bit player this go 'round, so not even he was enough to make up for seeing Sterling prance, Kane do that bum-first bodycheck/dive thing he does, or Harry Maguire making that weird confused/pained expression he pulls.
But I think if they can keep the egos of some players like Grealish in check, find a little more pace in attack away from Kane (Harvey Elliott is growing up fast!), and maybe add one midfield general to direct proceedings, they'll be a threat to any team on their day. Foden, Trippier, Walker, TAA, Grealish, Sterling, all are still young and will only get better.
The two penalty takers that were subbed on were doubly cursed because they literally had one job. Considering both will play for ManU this year, I wasn't heartbroken...
Regarding Liverpool, they're back in camp today, and seeing Gomez and VVD in the mix was a beautiful thing. If they can sort their CB woes out, I'm cautiously optimistic for this season. City will still take some beating, as will an even more extravagantly expensive ManU, but they'll be in the mix again. After the Hicks/Gillette/Hodgson years, I'm still giddy that they're as competitive as they are...
Priller
Well-known member
Lots of teams operate without a traditional striker these days. Technically, Firmino plays centre forward for Liverpool, but he's the most likely to drop deep of the front three, while the wing forwards make the runs. It's definitely more complex to implement, though.
Still, I don't envy Southgate's position with Kane. He's the biggest name on the squad, and has consistently produced in the league for years. He's even captain, which I find a bit surprising. But as you say, England have no alternatives to his style, which leaves them very dependant on his form. He's not a Messi who can either take a game on his own or elevate those around him. If he doesn't get service, he tends to disappear. But you can't leave him out, because it's Harry Kane. Look at the fuss people made when they wanted Grealish on the pitch...
I find it a lot more puzzling that Sancho saw so little playing time. I'd love to see him and Sterling play those wing forward roles and better take advantage of the speed in the team. I'm not sure if they have a midfield to do the work, but it'd be fun to see. If Italy can win playing an exciting, dynamic, high-line style, anything is possible...
bigpoppa
Well-known member
Robbo
Well-known member
You and me both. Sancho came on as a sub in one match and immediately had an impact on the game. Sterling, Rashford and Sancho would give any team a problem with their movement and ball skills.
The central mid-field also needed something more. A rejuvenated Jesse Lingard or similar style player perhaps?
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You could replace Kane with a Roomba and get the same results right now.
Priller has the good suggestion!
Priller
Well-known member
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