Euro 2012 - Get It Quietly Thread

[Des]

I"m loving the faith in the England side, haven"t you lot been reading the press!! lol

[scouse3465]

So Trapper Tony has named his Irish team for their opener with Croatia, a full week ahead of the fixture. 



Shay Given, Richard Dunne, John O"Shea, Sean St Ledger, Stephen Ward, Damien Duff, Keith Andrews, Greg Whelan, Aidan McGeady, Robbie Keane and Kevin Doyle have all been named.  How many think this will be the actual team that will play and if so, is it a mistake to name it a week in advance?

How is that team even in the tourney and Des how can you mention england as outsiders in the same breath as this poor poor team !

And as for England, well there"s no certainty, just questions:

Parker and Gerard in centre midfield?


yes

Ashley Young up top?

Nah on wing

Defoe or Carroll?

Either or prob Defoe cos carrol better to come on if not going well
Oxlade-Chamberlain?

Was leaving Rio out a mistake?

Definately not he is ****e !

In which game do you think Joe Hart will drop the inevitable clanger?

He wont !!!

England for the win good to see how most english backing other teams , at least the Irish support their team !!

[scouse3465]

I"m loving the faith in the England side, haven"t you lot been reading the press!! lol

cos the press are always right Des !

Even the legend Hanson made a gaff by saying his 4 semi finalists couldnt possibly all get there lol

[Des]

Ireland are 14 unbeaten and while they don"t have the potential to set the world alight - as perhaps England do - they definitely have the ability to nick a draw with Croatia and maybe beat Italy.  I like the settled nature of the team, such a shame we"re weak in quite a few areas though.  All of that said, we could lose all three and as long as the team have properly applied themselves, you won"t find the Irish fans calling the players out.

[Des]

I"m loving the faith in the England side, haven"t you lot been reading the press!! lol

cos the press are always right Des !

Even the legend Hanson made a gaff by saying his 4 semi finalists couldnt possibly all get there lol

....or even just watching them play.    They"ll need the ball at some point Steve, lol.

[Marty719]

I"m loving the faith in the England side, haven"t you lot been reading the press!! lol

cos the press are always right Des !

Even the legend Hanson made a gaff by saying his 4 semi finalists couldnt possibly all get there lol

....or even just watching them play.    They"ll need the ball at some point Steve, lol.

Chelsea didnt tbf...

But yea....England lack the quality, with Rooney being the only world class player in the squad.  Build up wnt have done them ne favours either.  Usually at this stage in the run up to a tournament, everyone has started England bashing as the fans/media, have already declared them world-beaters, but I have to say, it"s been different this year.  Seems fans are approaching it with the attitude of, "We are not the best team in the tournament, but have the ability to upset the best teams on our day."  I hope AMRN is noting this approach...

 

[Des]

Friendly Sweepstake.

First sixteen requests for a team will receive one by random draw before the tournament kicks off tomorrow evening.

Shout if you want a team.

[Chipaccrual]

A bad salad at a German hotel is the suspect cause of the bout of food poisoning that left 10 Ukraine players ill before their final European Championship warm-up game against Turkey on Tuesday. Ukraine team doctor Leonid Mironov says the players were hit by "the bad effects of eating a salad."


I think we can all learn a valuable lesson here about how bad salad can be for you

[Marty719]

Friendly Sweepstake.

First sixteen requests for a team will receive one by random draw before the tournament kicks off tomorrow evening.

Shout if you want a team.

In please...

[Chipaccrual]

Here"s some extracts from the Stewart Downing Press Conference.  

Downing on England"s training base: "It is very good set-up, the pitch is nice though it was a bit dry this morning. Once the first sessions are out of the way, you crack on from there, and we have a couple of days to work on until the France game. I am delighted to be in the squad, I aim to do well and make an impression on the team."

Downing on France: "We"re confident we can get a result. We don"t fear them. We know they are a good team but so are we. We know their strength and weaknesses."

Downing: "The World Cup in 2006 was very exciting, so I understand what the young lads will be going through. If they need to speak to me or any of the other experienced lads I"m here to lend a hand. Whoever the manager picks we just get on it with, if I am picked I will just concentrate on my role in the team and get on with it."

Downing on Liverpool team-mate Martin Kelly, who has replaced Gary Cahill in the England squad: "He"s a quiet lad, goes about his business, he"s going to be a terrific player and is a real talent. The manager has seen his ability and he"s settling in quite well."

Downing to BBC Sport"s Dan Roan on six Liverpool players in the England squad: "If you look at our performances we battered teams at times but we did not have the killer instinct."

Downing on being one of the senior players in Roy Hodgson"s squad at the tournament: "I understand what the young lads are going through - it"s a great experience for them. If they need help or tips, I can give them that."

[Des]

Friendly Sweepstake.

First sixteen requests for a team will receive one by random draw before the tournament kicks off tomorrow evening.

Shout if you want a team.

In.  Doing the draw, so Spain a lock obviously

[noble1]

i"ve backed Germany to win @4.5
same with Russia @21 with the plan [i hope] to trade out after the group stage , i"m doing the same with Portugal @21"s with an eye for trading in the future, if they qualify then they may have a winnable chance in the QF"s...

after reading the tips Des gave for a laugh i will do the exact opposite  [at small stakes lol]

[noble1]

Friendly Sweepstake.

First sixteen requests for a team will receive one by random draw before the tournament kicks off tomorrow evening.

Shout if you want a team.

in  

[Des]

i"ve backed Germany to win @4.5
same with Russia @21 with the plan [i hope] to trade out after the group stage , i"m doing the same with Portugal @21"s with an eye for trading in the future, if they qualify then they may have a winnable chance in the QF"s...

after reading the tips Des gave for a laugh i will do the exact opposite  [at small stakes lol]

Haha....probably very wise!

[AMRN]

Sweepstake - yes please Des.

As for the press and expectation.... England nearly always enter these tourneys with the local press causing ridiculous levels of expectation that the team rarely live up to. This time, with a much quieter build up, and with many issues causing upset, the expectation is much lower................... and I have a sneaky feeling that the reduced level of expectation may actually be a huge bonus in that it will life a lot of pressure from the players, who may in turn come out with star performances.

Marty - "England lack the quality, with Rooney being the only world class player in the squad"...... ummmm Gerrard?? Terry??