3 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

That would be a known known then Martin. 😁 Or maybe an unknown known. 😉

 

It's 9 o'clock Ray. I can't figure that out at this time of night. I'm winding down.

In other news, Boris is poised to announce a new Bank Holiday if England win. At this rate every week there will be a Bank Holiday. The entire country will be on a four day week. 

 

I think Italy is going to prevail 2-1.  Their creativity gives them the edge over England.

6 hours ago, martin-w said:

6 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

Soccer? I’ve issued bans for lesser crimes. 😉

 

Imprisonment I say, for insulting an Englishman that way. 

Well, hold on just a minute there.....🤔 .  As far as I know, the word that I will not use but is up there in the quote, actually had it's origin on your side of the Atlantic:

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/06/the-origin-of-the-word-soccer/

No insult intended, just a little leg pulling 😉

@Mike A, that frequently gets mentioned too. Iit’s not really used over here any more amongst football fans. You’ll hear footie, rarely soccer.

No surprise it was someone from Oxford. You’ll never hear anyone from Cambridge use the term. 😁

1 hour ago, Greggy_D said:

I think Italy is going to prevail 2-1.  Their creativity gives them the edge over England.

3 Lions on a short with Gareth Southgate's gleaming now and 52 years of hurt - should finally become decisive factors this time.. Go England! (It's coming home isnt' it?)

 

Edited July 9, 20214 yr by Dirk98

2 hours ago, Greggy_D said:

I think Italy is going to prevail 2-1.  Their creativity gives them the edge over England.

Dunno about that. I think it's a bit too easy to lump England in with the cack England teams of old. This is a very different squad and style, and that's why it is getting results.

The England squad is nothing like the appalling squads of old, where the same tedious standbys always made it into the line up year after year, in spite of never delivering the goods and acting like they were owed a place in the squad. It's just a shame that we still have to put up with some of them showing up on the TV coverage and talking about 'what England need to do'; like they'd know anything about it based on their track record. In stark contrast, pretty much all of the squad nowadays are there purely off merit, and they are pretty young too, so they have pace and a hunger to make a mark. Additionally, they are led by someone who has made a lot of smart and creative decisions, as evidenced by the place they find themselves this coming Sunday.

The match with Denmark was a prime example of what that can deliver. In days of old, England would have been out of subs by the time it got to extra time - if it even made it to extra time - because more often than not, they would have been running around like headless chickens after having gone one-nil down, trying desperate 'hoof it up the field and everyone run forward' attempts to equalise, meaning they'd get caught on a defensive break and this would invariably result in two-nil down and game over for them.

Everyone who has cringed through England matches for years, giving them the support they so richly did not deserve, has seen that travesty more times than they've had hot dinners. But that's not what happened this time. Brilliant as Denmark's opener was, it was off a very suspect decision, but instead of crying about that and going to pieces, then turning a one-nil deficit into a two-nil deficit like they used to do all the time, they passed it around so much (England had 75 percent of the possession throughout the game), that Denmark had to blow all their subs before extra time even kicked in, and then their squad had to play for another thirty minutes against a team which still had several substitutions available. So this time the cheers were from people who really had a team, and a manager, actually worth cheering about.

With such a difference in pace available to England, a well-deserved, tactically clever win was the fairly inevitable result from what was undeniably the better team. And that's not something you used to be able to say about England when useless plonkers like Glen Hoddle and Graham Taylor etc were running their squads full of complacent never-has-beens.

Football may or may not be coming home on Sunday, but at least it will be heading in the right direction, for a change.

Edited July 10, 20214 yr by Chock

14 hours ago, martin-w said:

 

Imprisonment I say, for insulting an Englishman that way. 

Football then?

If Italy Wins the English Fans will start throwing Car Batteries at each other 🤣

Edited July 10, 20214 yr by Matthew Kane

11 hours ago, Greggy_D said:

I think Italy is going to prevail 2-1.  Their creativity gives them the edge over England.

 

Hmm... that would be the obvious prediction. But I have a funny feeling about this one. Anything can happen in a final and this is the best squad we have had for a very very long time.

9 hours ago, Chock said:

But that's not what happened this time. Brilliant as Denmark's opener was, it was off a very suspect decision, but instead of crying about that and going to pieces, then turning a one-nil deficit into a two-nil deficit like they used to do all the time, they passed it around so much (England had 75 percent of the possession throughout the game), that Denmark had to blow all their subs before extra time even kicked in, and then their squad had to play for another thirty minutes against a team which still had several substitutions available. So this time the cheers were from people who really had a team, and a manager, actually worth cheering about.

 

👍

They say the atmosphere in the camp is different to squads of old. More like a club atmosphere. Everyone gets on with each other and supports each other. That fact has to make a big difference. 

I think we simply have more skill than in the past too. That Sterling guy is extremely talented. 

1 hour ago, Matthew Kane said:

If Italy Wins the English Fans will start throwing Car Batteries at each other 🤣

 

My friend, this is modern times, the SJW paradise. If there are any disagreements then nothing less than a leaflet campaign will suffice. If it really gets nasty then handbags will fly. Maybe even unisex lipstick projectiles.

 

57 minutes ago, martin-w said:

 

My friend, this is modern times, the SJW paradise. If there are any disagreements then nothing less than a leaflet campaign will suffice. If it really gets nasty then handbags will fly. Maybe even unisex lipstick projectiles.

 

I just make jokes, and you too my friend 

Enjoy your Foosball 🤣

I think that one team or the other will be all out for 64 runs.

I never did understand some elements of football "fans". For some reason, it appears that in the minds of the witless, it justifies appalling crowd behaviour, mindless violence and overt racism. This is nothing new but it is nevertheless as regrettable now as it was in times before the perceived age of political correctness.

If you can see this link: FA fined by Uefa after incidents during England win over Denmark - BBC Sport, it is frankly embarrassing to be of the same nationality as these "people".

Edited July 10, 20214 yr by Reader

13 minutes ago, Reader said:

runs.

I never did understand some elements of football "fans". For some reason, it appears that in the minds of the witless, it justifies appalling crowd behaviour, mindless violence and overt racism.

 

Well at least it's a thousand times better than it used to be. But yes, the tribal thing kicks in for some.

But let's keep this thread on a positive note, rather than a discussion about the minority of idiots that ruin it for everyone. 😀

0:1 and counting!!