Euro 2016

[pauld]

here we go again with the classic Welsh quote of the tournament. Yes England lost because they had no passion? Not that they just bottled it and couldn't handle the pressure. Wales were shit last night, does that mean they had no passion? I'd love to know the criteria and the effects on results.

It's not just a Welsh quote, it seems to be the catchall explanation for any perceived failure in the media and among fans when people can't work out what actually went wrong. Seen it plenty of times on here applied to players and managers.

[Panda Paws]

Passion does not win football matches. Ever. It's a bollocks cliche formed by lazy pundits and fans.

Portugal did what they do very very well - they stopped Wales playing and relied on CR to nick a goal. I think even Germany/France will struggle to beat them right now.

Plus I've got them in the office sweepstake.

[Posh Red]

How embarrassing is it that Wales have won more knockout games at European Championship Finals than England have ever.

And with a team that contains hardly any players supposedly good enough to get in an England team.

Until England work out that it's about picking the best team & not the best 11 players & fitting them in they won't be successful.

Also, Look at our team with the Leeds contingent, on paper possibly the best we had for some time, the fact that one half hated the other half meant team spirit was at an all time low. Same thing applies at international level, you need a group that trust and play for each other.

[pauld]

Same thing applies at international level, you need a group that trust and play for each other.

Bang on. This group of Wales players have largely been together for years. The Germans the same. I keep saying this but one of the easiest things to fix in our national side is to actually value the U17, U20 and U21 tournaments - make the players who are eligible for those age groups play in their age groups, so that by the time they come into the senior side, they've already got 3 or 4 years of experience playing international tournaments and of playing together as a team. But instead we constantly fast-track young players into the senior side so they can get 5 or 10 minute cameos, then get savaged by the media when their inexperience lets them down. Fucking stupid.

[sonicyouth]

Passion does not win football matches. Ever. It's a bollocks cliche formed by lazy pundits and fans.

Effort does win games though and I saw far more of that from Wales than England.

[Ells]

It is genuinely getting a bit nauseating now though. You'd think they'd sacrificed their lives for the greater good or something.

Of course you can't say that here cos you just get called bitter. But it would have annoyed me with England too.

Stuff like this:

The bond between Wales' players and fans has been one of the defining features of Euro 2016, a symbiotic relationship that has propelled the country's football to new heights.

Bollocks.

[Bob's Orange]

It is genuinely getting a bit nauseating now though. You'd think they'd sacrificed their lives for the greater good or something.

Of course you can't say that here cos you just get called bitter. But it would have annoyed me with England too.

Stuff like this:
 

Bollocks.

If it was England our press would have drowned in their own spunk wanking themselves silly.

I don't begrudge Wales at all, its some achievement.

[DarloSTFC84]

If it was England our press would have drowned in their own spunk wanking themselves silly.

I don't begrudge Wales at all, its some achievement.

Yeah, this is my thought process too..

Fair play to them.

[Matchworn Shirts]

a French person just complained to me about the number of 'foreigners' in Germanys' team.
Oh the irony

[Ginginho]

Would've made a good final this game.

Germany to win 3-1.

The French national anthem is ace.

[singingiiiffy]

Effort does win games though and I saw far more of that from Wales than England.

How do you measure effort? Distance covered stats? I'd like to see evidence that England players didn't put a shift in compared to any other team. Miss placed passes, rubbish set pieces, sloppy goalkeeping. Let's be clear on why we are out, passion and effort are an easy excuse from pissed off fans and media and it's shit really.

[Abrahammer]

Would've made a good final this game.

Hopefully it effectively is, want whoever wins to give Portugal a good humping on Sunday

[Ginginho]

Been a good game, France undeservedly in front from a dubious penalty.

Kimmich on Germany's right wing (Perhaps not the best flank to be on) reminds me so much of Matt Ritchie.

Game on.

[Private Fraser]

The Italian ref hasn't gotten over the Germans knocking his team out in the last round, then.   

[Abrahammer]

Stick you arm out like that and it's asking for trouble