Official Euro 2012 Thread

[Matchworn Shirts]

Bring back Heskey

well he bloody scored against us

[adje]

You're dreaming Samdy. This is their final hoorah, of course they'd all go.

Their final hooray should have been 2 years ago

[Costanza]

Their final hooray should have been 2 years ago

I agree and we'll say similar when we wheel them out in Brazil (qualification pending).

[Bob's Orange]

Do we really need so many midfielders?

9 midfielders and (omitting Rooney) only 3 strikers? Bearing in mind his great goalscoring rate for England, why not take Crouchy?

[Saxondale]

With the general shitness of English football players I cant tell if people are being sarcastic about the squad.  We've got a load of average players.  Carroll is in but Crouch isnt!  Shock horror.  One shade of grey has been preferred to another.  Oh well, maybe we'll play as a team and do better than expected.  But maybe not.

[mrverve]

I think it's dangerous to drop the experience players and just play the youngsters because  

a) The youngsters aren't good enough yet

and

b) You run the risk of the media ruining them if they get annihilated

[Bob's Orange]

With the general shitness of English football players I cant tell if people are being sarcastic about the squad.  We've got a load of average players.  Carroll is in but Crouch isnt!  Shock horror.  One shade of grey has been preferred to another.  Oh well, maybe we'll play as a team and do better than expected.  But maybe not.

I think you make a good point but for England Crouch has never disappointed. Carroll has had a pretty woeful season, although to be fair has played quite well towards the end of the season.

Perhaps Roy is rolling the dice and taking a gamble based on the fact we don't really have much to lose in this tournament because we are gash, however I'm surprised Crouch is not in the squad personally.

[DRS]

I think you make a good point but for England Crouch has never disappointed. Carroll has had a pretty woeful season, although to be fair has played quite well towards the end of the season.

Perhaps Roy is rolling the dice and taking a gamble based on the fact we don't really have much to lose in this tournament because we are gash, however I'm surprised Crouch is not in the squad personally.

Alot of people who are going on about Crouch are the same ones who are saying try the youngsters. Crouch is 31 now and although he has scored goals is actually part of the past squads that have helped fuck up. Carrol has looked better recently and goes here with a bit of confidence for once.

For the first time i am more confident because these players are going with the nation expecting failure as oposed to overhped bollocks we get every few years

[Uncletrunx]

One of two things will happen:

1. The team will fail to get out of the group. Many people will weep and gnash their teeth about the state of English footy, there will be calls for reform of the game from top to bottom and back again. The FA will respond with a huge enquiry costing millions, performed by someone with a knighthood who will produce a big report suggesting that the top 6 or so clubs have too much power and are not acting in the interests of the national team and jolly well should. Nothing will be done as a result of it because the top 6 clubs won't like it.

2. The team will get to the knockout stages. Suddenly, there will be a huge media rush to proclaim them the next Golden Generation who will win the whole thing, solve the debt crisis, bring balance to The Force and grant us all eternal life. Then they'll lose to Spain or Germany and we'll get endless dissection of the losing performance, comaprisons with the team that wins the whole thing, a million editorials for / against Hodgson's every decision and probably four or five ghostwritten autobiographies about the whole "tournament journey" rushed out before the new season starts.
Then, the new season will start and nobody will care about the Euros.

I've seen this happen bofore, you see...

[Bob's Orange]

For the first time i am more confident because these players are going with the nation expecting failure as oposed to overhped bollocks we get every few years

Couldn't agree more on this.

[Ardiles]

One of two things will happen:

1. The team will fail to get out of the group. Many people will weep and gnash their teeth about the state of English footy, there will be calls for reform of the game from top to bottom and back again. The FA will respond with a huge enquiry costing millions, performed by someone with a knighthood who will produce a big report suggesting that the top 6 or so clubs have too much power and are not acting in the interests of the national team and jolly well should. Nothing will be done as a result of it because the top 6 clubs won't like it.

2. The team will get to the knockout stages. Suddenly, there will be a huge media rush to proclaim them the next Golden Generation who will win the whole thing, solve the debt crisis, bring balance to The Force and grant us all eternal life. Then they'll lose to Spain or Germany and we'll get endless dissection of the losing performance, comaprisons with the team that wins the whole thing, a million editorials for / against Hodgson's every decision and probably four or five ghostwritten autobiographies about the whole "tournament journey" rushed out before the new season starts.
Then, the new season will start and nobody will care about the Euros.

I've seen this happen bofore, you see...

...all of which would be funny if it wasn't completely true.

Good (but depressing) post.   

[larwood]

For the first time i am more confident because these players are going with the nation expecting failure as oposed to overhped bollocks we get every few years

Agree,think the pressure is of to a certain extent because no one is expecting them to do anything.Also lots of other distractions with the jubilee and the olympics,so won't attract the usual hype.

Wouldn't say i'm any more confident that they will do anything though. I'd be happy if they get out of the group and there is no trouble.....

[Costanza]

As I previously alluded to earlier in this thread, I was under the impression that bar had already been lowered and the pressure was off.

Then the squad is announced and all of a sudden everybody is frantically looking at their family history to see if there's any German, Spanish or Italian in their bloodline so they can support them instead.

[Arriba]

Awful squad but no big surprises really. Clear that the Ferdinand-Terry thing is a bit messy and they've backed the better player by picking him. Rio deffo would be in if it wasn't for the overhanging court case as the other dead wood getting call ups shows.
The forwards don't convince me at all but the pickings are shit anyway. Whoever was selected woudln't inspire confidence.
 richards i would have taken along with Johnson.
I think a bit fat stinking MEH says how i feel . Hope the irish do well and show our shower of shit up

[Costanza]

Hope the irish do well and show our shower of shit up

Shame on you arriba, shame on you.

...but they do have Simon Cox