June 24, 201214 yr Oh no, England. Semifinals: Germany vs. Italy Spain vs. Portugal I hope for a final between Germany and either Spain or Portugal. But wouldn't be surprised if Italy makes it, but I hope not.
June 24, 201214 yr it was a really good game, Italy deserves it. I was about to die with the penalties so now, off to bed!
June 24, 201214 yr YEAH GO ITALY!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations to you and your country even though I am rooting for Germany.
June 24, 201214 yr What a heartbreaker, but good job Italy! Went to see it at a pub full of Englishmen. Absolutely insane! So much singing! One guy stood on a table! Even with the loss I had a great time :D
June 24, 201214 yr Really sad for England! Now Germany can settle their outstanding score from the semi-final at the World Cup in 2006. There is an open bill Italy!
June 24, 201214 yr Oh no, England. Semifinals: Germany vs. Italy Spain vs. Portugal I hope for a final between Germany and either Spain or Portugal. But wouldn't be surprised if Italy makes it, but I hope not. Don't worry, we won't (I'll be surprised if Germany won't score more than one goal :| Anyway, I feel the urge to post Seven Nation Army but I won't only because I'm on my iPod :rolleyes:
June 24, 201214 yr Italy deserved it no doubt. Thought Ashley Young was really poor tonight so that missed penalty really did top off a dreadful match (and tournament) for the Manchester United man. Pleased Gerrard scored his pen though. Fully deserved. One of the best players of the tournament. Shame he spent all of tonight doing defensive work. But had England progressed it would have been a rout for Germany in he semi. That's small mercy for England. At the end of the day though they should be doing so much better against these bigger nations and yet time and time again it's always the same result and performance.
June 24, 201214 yr They had a decent tournament despite a lot of setbacks and they did some things no one thought possible. Too bad they played so poorly today, but they were enjoyable up to now. Thanks England for making my summer that much more exciting!:D (And yes, Germany would most likely have eaten them alive in the semi.) Calling a Germany/Spain final, though Portugal could make it.
June 24, 201214 yr Well done Italy. Really showed up England's strength in depth... or lack of it. As the panel said, at the end of the day we're the 5th, 6th, 7th best team in the competition and no more. While most of the PL teams fill their squads with non-English players and the ones that do come through academies are farmed out to lower division sides this won't change.
June 24, 201214 yr Well done Italy. Really showed up England's strength in depth... or lack of it. As the panel said, at the end of the day we're the 5th, 6th, 7th best team in the competition and no more. While most of the PL teams fill their squads with non-English players and the ones that do come through academies are farmed out to lower division sides this won't change. English players are so damn expensive. *Cough* Carroll. *Cough, cough* It was perhaps most evident the day the great Thierry Henry left Arsenal, for £16.5 million. Carrick went to United that same summer for the same fee, with a handful of England caps to his name. Managers buy from abroad because it's low-risk, cheaper and more convenient.
June 24, 201214 yr And Liverpool have had to fork out stupid sums for players since they f*&cked up their academy. The number of players they've brought through the system has dwindled. But it's endemic and not just football: Councils sell off their playing fields for housing developments. Kids more intent on chowing down and playing on their xbox. TV quick fix celebrity 'talent' shows. Parents drive their kids 500yards to school in their 4x4s. Sports lessons are 'optional' and we've had years of it's not the winning but taking part that counts crap from the fat arsed social dogooders. Not good enough, pure and simple.
June 24, 201214 yr And Liverpool have had to fork out stupid sums for players since they f*&cked up their academy. The number of players they've brought through the system has dwindled. But it's endemic and not just football: Councils sell off their playing fields for housing developments. Kids more intent on chowing down and playing on their xbox. TV quick fix celebrity 'talent' shows. Parents drive their kids 500yards to school in their 4x4s. Sports lessons are 'optional' and we've had years of it's not the winning but taking part that counts crap from the fat arsed social dogooders. Not good enough, pure and simple. Absolutely agree 100% with this post!:nod: EDIT: Though I do think there needs to be a balance of sports that encourage participation and sports that encourage competition. Some people (like me) are just not good at sports,lol. But I loved playing soccer in school, and even got pretty good since I was encouraged to have fun and do my best. Having said that, healthy competition is an important part of a child's development.
June 24, 201214 yr And Liverpool have had to fork out stupid sums for players since they f*&cked up their academy. The number of players they've brought through the system has dwindled. But it's endemic and not just football: Councils sell off their playing fields for housing developments. Kids more intent on chowing down and playing on their xbox. TV quick fix celebrity 'talent' shows. Parents drive their kids 500yards to school in their 4x4s. Sports lessons are 'optional' and we've had years of it's not the winning but taking part that counts crap from the fat arsed social dogooders. Not good enough, pure and simple. Totally. If England want to change they need to revamp the whole system like Germany did when we beat them 5-1, like Spain and Brazil already have in place. When Johann Cruyff managed Barca in the early '90s, he put in place an academy that would produce players in the "total football" mould that he so famously played under. His captain at Barcelona was Guardiola, who would later manage many of the players that would thrive from Cruyff's earlier system. And look at all the players that they taught the "total football" way to: Iniesta, Xavi, Messi, Ibrahimovic, Villa, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Ronaldo, Fabregas, Yaya Toure, Busquets, Pedro, Pique, Eto'o, players that can take the ball, pass, move, cover for their teammates. I think it is the taking part that matters, I disagree with that bit. But when Barcelona's kids go to bed, they see the Nou Camp from their bedroom window, and they dream of playing alongside that team. That team that so gloriously slay anyone in their wake. And that's what drives people to play football. It's Thierry, Eric Cantona, Messi, Cruyff, Bergkamp and the countless Brazilians who've played in World Cups. The reason people don't want to play football is because it's not fun to be an England player.
June 24, 201214 yr It's not that they're taught "it's the taking part that counts'. Its that they're really being taught that it's ok to lose. That's really what I'm saying there. That it's ok to be a good loser. That's bollox. I hated to lose in a race - and that happened a bloody lot. I'd be the first to shake hands with the winner and look them in the eye while thinking how I'd beat them next time. We've driven that determination out of several generations. I've seen it happen. The Cryffian dogma is yes its good to take part, and it's good to be part of the whole. But more than that its important to be the best of the best. And the endpoint of that is beating your opponents. Winning. If you want an example of that in any sport in the UK then pick cycling which was a bit of a joke sport and there were only a handful of pros on the continent. Bring in Peter Keen and later his protege Dave Brailsford, and 15yrs later we're now one of the powerhouses of the sport. They've done that pretty much on a budget equivalent to what they paid Capello in pocket money and payoffs. The FA are a national disgrace. Awash with money and inept to boot. And so are Tennis and the LTA... though the womens side show some promise under of all people Andy Murrays mother!
June 24, 201214 yr It's not that they're taught "it's the taking part that counts'. Its that they're really being taught that it's ok to lose. That's really what I'm saying there. That it's ok to be a good loser. That's bollox. I hated to lose in a race - and that happened a bloody lot. I'd be the first to shake hands with the winner and look them in the eye while thinking how I'd beat them next time. We've driven that determination out of several generations. I've seen it happen. The Cryffian dogma is yes its good to take part, and it's good to be part of the whole. But more than that its important to be the best of the best. And the endpoint of that is beating your opponents. Winning. If you want an example of that in any sport in the UK then pick cycling which was a bit of a joke sport and there were only a handful of pros on the continent. Bring in Peter Keen and later his protege Dave Brailsford, and 15yrs later we're now one of the powerhouses on the sport. They've done that pretty much on a budget equivalent to what they paid Capello in pocket money and payoffs. The FA are a national disgrace. Awash with money andd inept to boot. And so are Tennis... though the womens side show some promise under of all people Andy Murrays mother! We've had the same thing happen with cycling here...suddenly now that we have a contender, people take it more seriously. As for the FA, it's there in all major sport bodies. I love my hockey, but I know damn well the NHL is dirty. I have to suspend my disbelief when watching a game, sadly.
June 24, 201214 yr It's not that they're taught "it's the taking part that counts'. Its that they're really being taught that it's ok to lose. That's really what I'm saying there. That it's ok to be a good loser. That's bollox. I hated to lose in a race - and that happened a bloody lot. I'd be the first to shake hands with the winner and look them in the eye while thinking how I'd beat them next time. We've driven that determination out of several generations. I've seen it happen. The Cryffian dogma is yes its good to take part, and it's good to be part of the whole. But more than that its important to be the best of the best. And the endpoint of that is beating your opponents. Winning. If you want an example of that in any sport in the UK then pick cycling which was a bit of a joke sport and there were only a handful of pros on the continent. Bring in Peter Keen and later his protege Dave Brainsforsd, and 15yrs later we're now one of the powerhouses on the sport. They've done that pretty much on a budget equivalent to what they paid Capello in pocket money and payoffs. The FA are a national disgrace. Awash with money andd inept to boot. And so are Tennis... though the womens side show some promise under of all people Andy Murrays mother! I'm not saying it's okay to lose, but it is really healthy to put competition above the game itself? The reason no one's really currently bothered about football in this country is because we're so competitive. Too competitive. We don't enjoy our football, we simply go out to win. And the Spanish enjoy their football. As do the Germans, the Dutch, the Brazilians, the French. Sure, they're competitive too, but the taste of success fuels that as much as the failure.
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